《Elysium's Multiverse》


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1


    The wall cracked underneath the weight of the creature, sending splintered wood and paint flying in all directions as a shockwave caused Riven to stumble and fall. His heart pounded, and the screams around him only urged him onwards even more as he picked himself off the hardwood floor of the old house to scramble ahead.


    His brown hair was matted down with blood, and a jagged gash across his left shoulder screamed at him with pulsing sts of pain. His ruined jeans briefly caught on the edge of some furniture when he rushed past, and the words that¡¯d first appeared to every person on Earth half a day ago were still burned into his mind:


    <strong>[Elysium initializing.]</strong>


    <strong>[Elysium initializing.]</strong>


    <strong>[Elysium initializing.]</strong>


    <strong>[Apocalypse hasmenced. Earth to be merged with worlds Zazir and Elhisterii to form the new world of Panu at the end of 72 hours.]</strong>


    <strong>[Worldwide Quest: Escape the First Wave - Your world has been inducted into Elysium¡¯s multiverse. Millions of monsters with a variety of tiers have been unleashed into your realm. Allary citizens and wildlife must survive the next 72 hours or make it to an Elysium Portal to escape the iing horde. All Elysium Portals have been highlighted with pirs of light across the world. Reward for surviving: Brief introduction on the multiverse and Elysium¡¯s Administrator.]</strong>


    Within seconds of those words being disyed on little, holographic, teal-colored screens to every man, woman and child on the - all hell had broken loose. Creatures from Riven¡¯s very nightmares had materialized right in front of his eyes in the middle of the street and started ripping people apart by the dozens. They were all sorts of sizes, shapes, and species - but they all had the same bloodlust about them as they wreaked havoc on humanity.


    So here he was. ¡°Allie, run!¡±


    Riven pushed his little sister ahead, nearly throwing her thin body over the couch and towards the back door. The young woman wore a hoodie, skinny jeans and had the same chestnut colored hair that he did - though hers was much longer, and she nced over her shoulder with frightened hazel eyes before Riven¡¯s best friend - Jose - pulled her to her feet and dragged her out the back.


    Riven vaulted over the couch a secondter and kicked the swinging wooden door to fling it open again, feeling the hot breath of the abomination behind him snapping just inches behind his neck.


    Hended down the set of stone steps running, ignoring the screams for help from nearby houses and flinching at the sound of gunshots to his right. Whirling around in the dim light of the setting sun - he drew his own pistol out and checked to make sure it was loaded. Then he pointed and aimed at the doorway.


    There, struggling to get itsrge frame out of the back door, was arge ck brute of a creature. It had six insectoid legs that were wing at the wood of the victorian-style house, armor-like chitin ting its body with a bulbous back end and the general frame of a spider. Though it certainly wasn¡¯t a spider, not only because of the missing set of legs but also because its head was more wolf-like - extending out from its hairless body by a couple feet on a ted serpentine neck. Its yellow eyes zed furiously at him, and its rows of teeth snapped repeatedly in his direction.


    His hands shook just slightly due to the adrenaline, but he didn¡¯t hesitate and rapidly fired three times at the opened maw of the creature as it tore off another chunk of wall through brute force. He felt the gun recoil with every shot, and was relieved to see his aim was on point.


    Blood sprayed from open wounds in its neck as the bullets cut into the softer parts of the monster¡¯s body, causing it to screech and reel itself back inside the house.


    Turning back around and sprinting ahead, he caught up to Allie and Jose in no time. They were waiting for him around the corner of the suburban fence amidst the backdrop of a neighborhood gone to hell, and each were panting heavily after their strenuous run towards their distant destination. Fire zed along many of the roadways, and there was even arge plumed griffon flying over the embattled streets.


    Sweat trickled down Jose¡¯s bald head. Thetino young man was Riven¡¯s oldest friend and somewhat of a partner in crime, had a simr background in many ways, and was 26 - the same age as Riven. He wore a nnel shirt, a pair of brown shorts, and tennis shoes. He wasn¡¯t used to this kind of workout, and he held up his hand for just another moment of rest. ¡°Give me a sec¡­¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t wait long¡­¡± Riven said between huffs as he took another look over the fence - finding sce in the fact that the creature was still rampaging inside the house. However, upon seeing the battle in the nearby street between three shotgun-wielding rednecks and another, evenrger squid-like alien-creature - his heart began to sink again. Their screams echoed long after thest of their shotgun sts prated the surrounding area as they were eaten alive, and soon Riven decided the break was long enough. He pointed to the pir of light towering overhead into the heavens - a bastion of promised sanctuary far out beyond Das¡¯ suburbs. This was what they needed to reach before they ended up dead like so many others.


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    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ***


    Allie walked with a limp, supporting her weight on her older brother Riven, shakily looking out into the dark forest and finally having a chance to catch their breath. The moon and stars were overhead, and fires still zed on the eastern Das skyline with asional explosions being seen even from here. There was also therge pir of light that they were closing in on, making the surrounding forest at least seeable during their trek even despite it being the dead of night.


    "Are you ok?" Riven gave the young woman a soft, gentle smile. "You look worn out."


    She red at him incredulously between huffs, but then caught the slightly teasing smile. She let out a groan and let out a barking cough that shook her entire body. "That would be the understatement of the century."


    "Well buck up. We''re going to make it." He gave her an encouraging nudge, then bent down to carry her on his back without another word when her ragged breathing became heavier.


    She smiled graciously, then hopped on - and they were off again. "Thanks Riven."


    Stepping over a half-eaten human body, they came along the corpse of another one of those squid-creatures that¡¯d been torn apart by a hail of bullets. Long, thick tentacles with serrated spines along its suckers and smooth, brown skin were testimonies to how deadly this thing was. It was also farrger than any of the three of them - probably weighing as much as a rhinoceros or maybe even an elephant. Its ugly, green eyesy dted in death, and the trio took a moment to stare at it before they kept on going.


    Leaves crunched underfoot and the hoot of an owl sounded out from above. Their nerves were on edge, and Riven palmed the cold steel of the single gun they had in their group. He only had one magazine left, and they were only 9mm bullets¡­ not nearly enough to kill any of the bigger creatures they¡¯d seen thus far - but maybe enough to kill the smaller ones. A couple of the monsters they¡¯d seen were as small as household pets, but they were still very dangerous as some of them spit acid or shot fireballs out of their little wed hands.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Jose muttered under his breath, grimacing as he clutched at a wound he¡¯d sustained while running earlier that day. ¡°The apocalypse? This is un-fucking-believable.¡±


    Riven snorted, still carrying Allie andfortingly squeezing the hand thattched onto his shirt. Straightening to his full height of around 6 feet while adjusting his posture, and readjusting Allie''s weight, he felt his back crack with the stretch and sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve never been the religious type¡­ but this certainly does seem like the apocalypse to me.¡±


    ¡°It said something about an administrator and multiverse¡­¡± Allie mumbled from behind, her skinny legs wrapping around his waist while still nervously looking around. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means, but I¡¯m scared. This is scary, Riven.¡±


    Riven gave her another squeeze of reassurance. She was so frail¡­ and she was the one person in the world Riven would do anything for. The one remaining family member he had, and he loved her more than anything. He¡¯d be damned if he let anything happen to her. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re safe. We¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Her voice was on the verge of tears. ¡°Promise?¡±


    He smiled and tried not to chuckle at how childish the question was, but now was not the time to tease her about something like that. ¡°I promise.¡±


    Putting the gun in its holster and brushing his hands through his hair with an exasperated sigh, Riven trudged onwards with Jose just slightly ahead. He never in a million years would have guessed that today would have been the day that the world ended, but how or why didn¡¯t really matter anymore.


    He pulled out his phone, trying to get an idea of what was going on in the world. It only had 6% battery left, as he¡¯d forgotten to charge it the night before - but he was still able to ess the inte. The major newsworks were mostly down with the exception of one or two - but there were a lot of major online socialworks or forums that were still aze with chatter. All of them said the same basic thing: this event was indeed worldwide.


    Riven called his friend over to watch what he was seeing, and their jaws dropped in conjunction with one another after seeing the video that¡¯d been posted disying the fall of the White House. It was overrun with giant carnivorous beetles that shrugged off most small arms fire, and the president¡¯s corpse was being dragged across thewn on what had been a live recording earlier that day via helicopter.


    The news reporter in the recording was in a state of shock, her voice sounded like it was on the verge of tears as she screamed over the winding des just overhead and into the mic. ¡°THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN KILLED! OH MY GOD! THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN KILLED! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! WHERE DID THESE CREATURES COME FROM AND WHY ARE THEY ATTACKING US!? THE ARMY IS STILL TRYING TO SAVE OTHER VIP¡¯S FROM THE CAPITAL, BUT THESE ALIENS ARE LITERALLY EVERYWHERE AND THE SITUATION IS LOOKING BLEAK!¡±


    From there her words were lost in static, and Riven moved on to the next video. And then the next, and the next. Carnage, burning buildings, mass death and an exodus of people from the cities towards the randomly scattered beacons of light that numbered in the tens of thousands or even more across all the countries of the world - this is what they saw until Riven¡¯s phone died with a beep.


    Neither Allie nor Jose had their phones on them in the mad scramble they¡¯d taken out of the apartment they all shared earlier that day, but none of them wanted to look anymore after that anyways. It was depressing, realizing that everything around them was being destroyed. All of civilization¡¯s aplishments and creations, just being obliterated almost overnight by a wave of alien creatures that came in all shapes and sizes.


    The pir of light in the distance pulsed with a white, warm light, radiating power out towards them that the trio all felt across their skin as a pleasant embrace. It was a promise of safety, one that they could only take on the word of the strange notifications that¡¯d appeared as holograms in front of them right before everything had gone to hell.


    ¡°It seems to be expanding.¡± Riven stated calmly, turning to the other two and nodding his head in the direction of the pir of light. He gave aforting smile to both of them. ¡°Come on then. We probably have another hour to go¡­ Hopefully it really is safe there like the message said.¡±


    Jose snorted in dissatisfaction, but trudged onwards after looking back at the corpse of the monster nearby. ¡°Let¡¯s just hope we aren¡¯t eaten along the way, I really don¡¯t want to be octopus food anytime soon.¡±


    Riven gave Allie a wink and pulled her along. ¡°I think we can all agree with that notion.¡±


    ***


    <strong>[Worldwide Quest: Escape the First Wave - Complete.]</strong>

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2


    <strong>[Worldwide Quest: Escape the First Wave - Complete. Wee to Elysium¡¯s cortex. Wee to the multiverse. I am the Elysium Administrator, caretaker of this new universe. Riven, Allie, and Jose - You and hundreds of millions of others from Earth are being uploaded into Elysium at this very moment. Laws of physics have been altered. Spells have been introduced. Miracles have been introduced. Martial Arts have been introduced. Multiverse initiated. Cultivation and the Dao has been introduced. Earth is now being incorporated. Common Language for Elysium¡¯s Multiverse has been instilled in all participants for equalmunication opportunities.]</strong>


    <strong>[Please Review your status page by thinking or saying the words ¡®status page¡¯ with intent.]</strong>


    <strong>[ERROR - REROUTING PARTICIPANT. UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY ACQUIRED. SYSTEM NOW CONSIDERING ALTERNATE PATHWAY.]</strong>


    Riven blinked as he found himself in arge void of white light. Hadn¡¯t he just touched that pir of light? Was he inside the pir now? He was no longer wearing his previous outfit, and as he looked around into the vast nothingness - he found that even his body was missing. His brown hair, slim athletic body and green eyes were entirely gone. The 26 year old man waspletely missing his physical self.


    Where had his best friend and sister gone?


    <strong>[System analysisplete: Riven Thane is registered as a match for Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage starter quest. Criteria Met: Extremely high magical affinity detected for the Unholy Pir and all rted sub-pirs. Unnaturally high affinity detected for the Blood Sub-pir rted to unique bloodline.]</strong>


    <strong>[Initializing loading sequence. Starting location acquired. If you sessfullyplete the starter quest and tutorials afterward, you will be reunited with Allie and Jose as long as they too seed in their own independent trials.]</strong>


    <strong>[Upload finishing in 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­]</strong>***


    <strong>[Wee to Elysium¡¯s Multiverse.]</strong>


    Riven came to his senses with a gasp and shot up from his position on the cold stone ground. Water pelted his skin as a torrent of rainunched into him from the stormy heavens amidst heavy ps of thunder and shes of lightning.


    He gagged, his muscles spasming as he hurled and dry heaved ¨C twisting around onto his front and trying to clear his head of the nausea as ck ichor trickled from his mouth onto the ground.


    Wait¡­ ck ichor?


    <strong>[***Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage Start Quest: Special, One-Time Event***</strong>


    <strong>Your first step into Elysium has not been an easy one, and you have been given a test toplete prior to your tutorial. Your past haunts you and your future is uncertain. You have fallen from the grace of your peers and have been forgotten, a lone man in a sea of those who care little about you or your circumstances¡­ Yet, you find that you don¡¯t need them. You can do this on your own. All on your own¡­ let the world be damned in your wake, as you tread the path few dare to take.</strong>


    <strong>***Notice: All 1672 participants on Earth having Unholy-rted bloodlines have been rerouted into Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage Starter Quest.</strong>


    <strong>***Notice: You have been afflicted with the Curse of Anthus, and your body begins to painfully rot from the inside out. Be within the first 200 participants to reach the top of the pyramid, or die.]</strong>


    Another crack of lightning lit up the sky, and despite the immense amount of nausea and pain his body was riddled with ¨C Riven couldn¡¯t help but gape at his surroundings now that his vision was beginning to clear.


    In front of him was a massive, looming pyramid of almost Aztec design. It had at least two hundredrge steps before the top, and simply put - was huge. Stone statues of gargoyles, hooded skeletons bearing scythes, gigantic skulls and ck knights were ced at intervals around the pyramid all the way up to the halfway point along the side. At the top of the pyramid a pir of green fire rose skywards into the dark heavens amidst the downpour of rain.


    Even despite the pir of eerie green mes reaching skywards at the top of the pyramid, the structure seemed to soak up light around it and the ming pir did little to illuminate the pyramid given its size.


    The pyramid sat as a monolith amidst a barren wastnd of dead trees in a sprawling forest that spread out into the horizon. Cold winds blew through their dead branches and rattled their old, withered bark with a sound that could only be described akin to that of sandpaper rubbing against sandpaper, though even this was somewhat dampened by the continued booming of thunder and torrent of water falling from the heavens.


    Lastly, and to Riven¡¯s growing confusion, he saw hundreds of other people just like him crawling to their feet and orienting themselves to their surroundings. Men and women of many ages nced over at one another in shock, surprised to be here by all ounts, a few of them tried yelling to one another over the sting sound of the storm.


    Why had Allie been taken from him!? This damnable alien god-figure could go straight to hell!


    Riven felt a lurching sensation in his gut again, and he doubled over with an intense coughing fit that left his insides reeling with pain. Looking down in astonishment as more ck ichor shot out of his mouth and sttered along the stone ground at the pyramid¡¯s base, he went wide eyed. Panic set in when he noticed that down along his stomach: there were growing clumps of ckened, necrosing veins slowly spreading across his abdomen and chest.


    Many of the others around him were in simr states of shock and denial over the next couple of seconds. Some looked to one another as if to ask whether or not this was real, others keeled over in pain, and even more of them stood staring up at the pyramid like deer caught in headlights. But when one of the other young men nearby began to get up and sprinted headlong towards the pyramid¡¯s steps, then started ascending despite his own body showing signs of the same rot that afflicted Riven ¨C that¡¯s when the horror truly hit home.


    If that prompt that¡¯d appeared had been true he needed to get moving, and he wasn¡¯t about to bet his life on all this being some kind of nightmare. He could find the answers to the plethora of other questions he hadter.


    Adrenaline flooded his body and Riven¡¯s muscles nearly spasmed as he shot forward across the short gap between himself and the steps leading up the dark pyramid. He could only curse and bound up therge carved steps ¨C each at least three feet high ¨C as a swarm of other people quickly began to follow, a mixture of horror and frantic need setting in across the scattered crowd.


    The sky rumbled and the wind and rain continued to crash down upon him. His bare feet pushed against the cold stone, slipping more than once as he drove himself ¨C step by step ¨C up the dark pyramid¡¯s face. A looming statue of a knight came into his field of view while Riven tried in vain to wipe away rain water from his face amidst the downpour. Riven paused, briefly looking up and into the dull set eyes when he heard a sharp crack of noise, and the figure quickly started to crumble along its joints.


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    ¡°Ah¡­ Fuck you.¡±


    Heart picking up its pace as the knight began to move with chips of stone breaking off its body as it whirled on him, he shouted out in a panic and lurched to the left to narrowly dodge a slowing sword strike that shattered part of the step he¡¯d been on not even a moment before.


    He felt like his chest was going to explode. The rolling pauldrons of the creature shifted, the statue that was easily twice his size looked his way¡­ and it silently turned to meet him once more. All around the pyramid, as people began encountering their own monstrosities made from the bedrock of the pyramid¡¯s body that they¡¯d thought to have just been statues, screams began to erupt amidst the sh of thundering clouds. The oing torrent of water falling from the skies did little to drown out the sounds of horrified wails.


    The statue let out a creaking, guttural groan and lifted its weapon again - but Riven didn¡¯t wait around to let the slow-moving attack bash him. He dodged left ¨C slipping and skinning his arm in the process as a stinging pain shot up the length of his left limb when another blow crashed into the stone steps nearby. Grunting in exasperation and disbelief at his current situation while he made a mad dash to regain the lost ground, he set his sights higher. He only gave the statue that¡¯d swung at him a very brief look over the shoulder, then powered ahead with renewed determination.


    He shoved ahead, barely passing two others on his left before the next attack from a new opponent missed him by inches. A fire-breathing skull of stone turned and washed away a woman frantically climbing next to him, and he could feel the burning heat of mes that he¡¯d barely scraped by. She screamed and writhed, falling from her perch to bounce down the now dozens of stone steps like a burning beacon in the night. An old man to his right and a little further above him made the unfortunate mistake of getting a little too close to a stone gargoyle, which pounced on him and devoured him to the horrid sounds of begging, screaming and snapping bones.


    The pained or horrified looks the people around him gave as ck ichor mixed with their own blood that dribbled along the pyramid steps, before being slowly washed away by the storm, only did more to make him nauseous. On top of that ¨C his body wasn¡¯t responding the way he was used to. He wasn¡¯t out of shape by any means, or at least he hadn¡¯t been¡­ but now he found himself getting winded by doing half of what he could have done prior to arriving here. He had no idea why, but he felt significantly weaker and slower. Perhaps it was just the ¡®curse¡¯ he¡¯d been afflicted with?


    He had no real answers for what he was doing here other than those god damned text-box holograms that would have seemed utterly ridiculous to him if he wasn¡¯t here at the moment. Had some angry gode down from the heavens to smite his world? Had aliens abducted him? Had he been mmed into some kind of ridiculous fantasy world without even having fulfilled his sexy Latin maid fantasies?


    He really¡­ Really didn¡¯t want to fail, or die. He was too young for that shit.


    His muscles started to give out on him as he got up to the halfway mark, and he found himself panting ¨C all the while continuing to wretch up that disgusting ck gunk that seemed to coat his insides like coal in a chimney. The screams had dwindled down now as most of the statues had been passed by this point ¨C with only the stragglers at the very back still keeping up with the monsters. The glistening stone gargoyles, reapers, skulls and knights all seemed hesitant to follow them up, so the only problem now would be the other people.


    Of which there were still hundreds.


    About half of the men and women who¡¯d started here were dead, having met their untimely ends one way or another by now.


    Riven heard a curt scream from up above and he narrowly avoided another man about his age tumbling down the pyramid slope to bounce unceremoniously with audible cracks and crunches on every hit. The screaming stopped a couple steps down from where Riven gawked back at the man, the poor guy¡¯s head oozing out blood as he remained wide-eyed on the steps. Arge gash along his skull and his neck twisted in a sickening abnormal angle.


    The storm continued to roar overhead, and he stared at the corpse while taking in deep inhales between coughing fits.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stop!¡±


    He turned. The call was from a middle-aged Asian woman to his right. She too was heaving, trying to catch her breath as her slick ck hair was coated to her face and the signs of necrosis were evident along her bare stomach and breasts.


    It was just like his own body, where the ck signs of rot were beginning to creep into his pectoralis muscles and even his right thigh.


    ¡°Keep moving!¡± She puked, throwing a hand back down to the trailing people behind them and to the few men and women who were climbing ahead. ¡°We are in the forefront! Don¡¯t let yourself die because you get a weak stomach!¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Yeah you¡¯re right¡­¡± Riven shakily gulped, nodding to her and trying to smile in appreciation at her words of encouragement. But he failed this attempt when another wave of nausea overcame him. Instead, he pushed himself up by his hands and knees; willing himself to move forward even despite the sickness and pain that afflicted his body.


    Only halfway to go¡­ Only halfway¡­ to go¡­


    The second half of the pyramid¡¯s climb was far, far harder than the first half ¨C even despite theck of enemies. Instead of abrupt and violent ends to meet them, the participants found themselves huddled over and clutching at their stomachs or bleeding from their eyes as they desperately tried to finish the quest prompt for the promise of relief.


    Riven, fortunately, appeared to have more willpower than the others. Even some of those who¡¯d gotten head starts on him began to sag behind. He crawled, struggled, and breathed heavily while closing his eyes to shut out the pain ¨C trying to concentrate on the steady stream of roaring water that berated him as if to deny him his goal. His muscles pumped and spasmed, moving even despite the heavy amount of damage his body had rued, and his mind internally roiled with a torture unlike anything he¡¯d ever experienced before¡­ as it became his new, all-epassing reality.


    ¡°Out of my way!¡± A desperate snarl from ahead caused Riven¡¯s face to lift, and he saw someone he could barely distinguish through the storm shove the Asian woman Riven had briefly spoken with.


    She was obviously dizzy and weak, far too weak to catch herself, and she began to stumble backwards past Riven¡¯s own spot just behind her.


    He blinked rapidly, and with a herculean effort managed to catch the woman with violent vertigo setting in upon the effort. He fell forward, copsing with the stranger who¡¯d encouraged him earlier onto the stone steps and saving her from a brutal backwards fall.


    They locked eyes through the downpour, both panting on the steps with ichor leaking out of their eyes, noses and mouths.


    ¡°Keep moving¡­¡± Riven managed to say with a pained grunt. ¡°Don¡¯t let yourself die now!¡±


    She stared at him, remaining where they¡¯d fallen face-first onto the steps, and winced as new patches of rot began spreading across her right cheek. ¡°I owe you one¡­¡±


    He gave the woman an encouraging nod and red up the pyramid towards the climbing man who''d nearly killed her. ¡°Come on.¡±


    Riven hoisted himself up through blinding pain and tears, his body screaming at him and trying to get him to stop. He looked over his shoulder when the woman faltered in her own attempts to move. He reached down to help her but was overtaken by a dizzy spell, nearly falling over as he stumbled onto the forward step. His body tried to deny his efforts to help, to keep going, but through sheer force of will and a defiant sneer on his face he reached down and hoisted the woman up.


    Silently, they powered on.


    They struggled, leaning on one another when the other was weak. They muttered encouragement to each other as they trudged ahead, and despite their failing organs and the immense amount of pain they felt - they persevered. Riven¡¯s mind was set on only one thing - survival. It was a base instinct he could not ignore, a driving force that far outweighed any motivator that¡¯d been present in his life prior to this moment. He just focused on putting one step in front of the other, one crawling hand in front of the other, until he finally found himself at the top of the pyramid.


    The top was devoid of any structures, but it had arge circr pit in the center where rippling green mes of the skywards pir still erupted at the center. His body immediately rid itself of the rot when they passed through a thin, shimmering veil of gray mist - and a system notification appeared in front of his face.


    <strong>[You havepleted part 1 of 3 in the Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage starter quest.]</strong>


    He gasped and spasmed, finding simultaneous delight in his suddenck of pain and despair after having gone through such a strenuous ordeal. Tears leaked down his face to mix with the rainwater, and he lifted his shaking hands into the air with a primal scream of defiance towards the heavens.


    Beside him the panting Asian woman who¡¯d been encouraging him earlier gave him a sideways nce of relief before puking onto the pyramid¡¯s stone rooftop. Dozens of others around them who¡¯d also reached the top were in simr states: emotionally discharging with sobs, wails and hystericalughing fits befitting that of madmen.


    They¡¯d survived.

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3


    [Two hundred participants have reached the pyramid¡¯s summit; 1,472 people have been disqualified and are now set to be executed if they have not died already. Part one of three in the Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage Quest line is now over.]


    Screams of agony and terror rippled across all four sides of the pyramid, and rays of white light began illuminating the corpses of the fallen. The still-living, still-climbing participants outside the gray sheen of the veil begged and pleaded, wing at a translucent veil in front of Riven that now seemed imprable to them. He even tried to reach through, to pull them in, but found that it was as if a force field had been erected there¡­


    So he could only sit and watch, dumbstruck and horrified, as the men and women in front of him and down the pyramid¡¯s face began to wither and rot. Then the rot elerated amid more shes of white light that burned them from the inside out.


    And in only a minute more of that torturous, evil disy of power, they were simply gone¡­evaporating into the air as wisps of ckened ash that set upon the wind to be carried away into the great expanse of the dead forest about them.


    ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± He shook his head, not sure what to make of all this. What was the purpose? Why had he been one of the people selected to undertake this ¡°quest line¡±? Where was he?


    His answers would have to wait for another time, because in a great burst of green me, the pir exploded in all directions and enveloped everyone atop the pyramid in a searing, heat-filled rush. As his body burned away, he felt his soul twist and roil until he, too, had disappeared from the pyramid¡¯s top as if he¡¯d never been there to begin with.


    </a>Fortunately, he hadn¡¯t died after all. He found himself in an odd, dome-shaped room along with many of the others who¡¯d reached the top, materializing right in front of his eyes with puffs of sickly green mana until their mes all died out simultaneously.


    He began to look around.


    The ceiling was a mosaic, picturing various skeletal warriors praying to a robed figure that held a green-tintedntern in one hand and a great scythe in the other. With more scrutinizing detail of the mosaic, he saw a crooked jaw that made the skeleton look like he was grinning out at the vast crowd while perched upon a throne of bones, and behind him a city burned. And all around the room, along the walls, were a series of torches in racks that flickered ominously, casting shadows about the center where the crowd of people now stood.


    [Part two of three in the Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage Quest nowmencing. Your willpower has been tested and found not wanting¡­ Congrattions on your ascent. Unfortunately, the trial is not yet over, and you must still pass two more tests in order to acquire the power Chalgathi is offering. This time, you will be tested on your wit¡­ Failure follows those who charge headlong with reckless abandon¡­ Sess follows a sharpened mind.


    Notice: Navigate thebyrinth bypleting puzzles that test one¡¯s ability to think critically. The first one hundred people to reach the end of thebyrinth will survive this test. The rest will perish.]


    Who or what the hell was Chalgathi?


    A grating sound quickly apanied this new message as twentyrge doors previously hidden within the stone walls surrounding them began to sink into the stone floors¡ªcausing Riven to snap out of his confusion and whip his head around to take in the sight on reflex.


    Arger, bald man probably a good six inches taller than he was, nearly knocked Riven over with a disgusted scoff as he made his way toward the door. ¡°Move it.¡±


    Riven stared nkly at the back of the guy who¡¯d pushed past him, seriously considering breaking the man right there and then. But he quelled his irritation, deciding there were more important things to do than pick fights right now. His life was on the line, and he needed to get moving.


    Others had the same idea and started for the doorways. Unfortunately he was centered amid the crowd of suddenly shoving, kicking, and yelling people as they tried to dash toward the doors¡ªwhich were onlyrge enough to let a couple people in at a time. There was fighting, brawling, and screaming that </a>picked up in the choke points as fortunate others ran through at breakneck speed while trying to be in the leading group toplete the trial.


    Riven watched in displeasure as he saw one manpletely beat in the head of a smaller teenager before whipping around and marching through the doors. It urred to him there and then, as that young man bled out on the floor with a caved-in skull: If he wasn¡¯t careful, he could just as easily end up in the ¡°deceased¡± category before reaching the end of thebyrinth. No doubt many of the others wouldn¡¯t balk at killing in order to whittle down the numbers for a greater chance at survival and making it to the top one hundred spots. Not after what they¡¯d seen on the pyramid just over thest hour.


    He probably shouldn¡¯t have been so surprised about their behavior. He was a dog in a cage filled with other rabid animals, and they were all out for their own survival.


    Wishing he had a set of clothes and really disliking the way things were going, Riven pushed both hands up through his short brown hair with a snort¡ªhis defined muscture now dried after being vaporized by the green fire a minute earlier.


    He had so many questions¡­but at least things were getting interesting. His heart was pounding like it hadn¡¯t in years, and for the first time in a long, long time¡­he felt alive.


    The crowd thinned over time, and eventually it slowed to a trickle with only four other people aside from himself still remaining in the chamber with the ceiling mural. Three trampled bodies remained limp and dead on the floor, but they did not garner Riven¡¯s attention. Instead, he remained to study the artwork overhead.


    ¡°This time, you will be tested on your wit¡­ Failure follows those who charge headlong with reckless abandon¡­ Sess follows a sharpened mind.¡± He repeated the words aloud. To him it was an obvious clue for what <span ss="italic">not to do, and another balding man nearby nced his way with a wry smile.


    ¡°You caught that, too, did ya?¡± the man stated while pping his hands onto his outstretched belly. ¡°It told us not to rush headlong, literally, and then they all did it. Absurd.¡±


    Two of the others, an elderly woman with thinning hair and another younger man in histe teen years, both nodded their agreement. Thest of them, a middle-aged Chinese man with dragon tattoos, plucked at his neatly trimmed beard with a concerned expression.


    Riven, meanwhile, turned his gaze back to the artwork, looking for something that could provide any further clues as to what that phrase had meant. ¡°There¡¯s got to be something here, some other clue that we can home in on¡­and the only things I see are¡ª¡±


    </a>He stopped short as the torches along the perimeter began to re, and the previously nk stone walls holding them now began to change. The mural from the domed roof spread and began to morph, with the skeletal robed figure growing new arms. The robed figure now had four in total, and all four arms pointed beyond the depictions of skeletal warriors and burning city toward symbols along four of the twenty corridors leading out. They were positioned over each of the four doors and gleamed in brilliant neon-green. One corridor depicted a skull with a long, serpentine tongue snaking out of it. Another depicted twin daggers crossed over one another dripping blood. The next depicted a burning me. Thest was a picture of a bird in flight.


    After that the walls filled in more with additional murals until the entire room was epassed, and very quickly Riven found it to be telling a story. The others no doubt had figured this out themselves, but to what extent each of them understood it rtive to each other was up in the air.


    The story started with a crow that soared across the heavens, observing people far below as they worked their farms and lived simple lives. Then a stranger appeared in their vige, a hooded man with a skull face and serpentine tongue. The pictures showed him bargaining with them, or attempting to, but they cast him out of the vige. It showed the man leaving, but after having tied up and kidnapped one of the vigers to bring him away. The skull-faced man was depicted sacrificing the prisoner with two bloody daggers, and still the crow watched from overhead. The vigers scoured thendscape, looking for their lostrade, but they could not find the skull-faced man or their lost kin until the crow showed them the way. With makeshift weapons and a stampede of men, the vigers were taken to the spot where the skull-faced man was feasting upon the corpse of his sacrifice, but when he looked up, they all fell into a trap and were burned alive with scorching mes.


    All except the crow.


    The vigers had been led into an ambush, and the skull-faced man thanked the crow with a blessing. Red sparks erupted from the crow¡¯s wings, and it found itself flying faster and higher than it ever could before. The crow left the vige to contend with the skull-faced man alone, and they soon sumbed to his two daggers and balls of fire until he¡¯d raised an army of the dead¡ªskeletal minions forming from the remnants of the vigers while he sat atop a throne of bones.


    Riven¡¯s eyes rested on the end of the mural, only for his eyes to drift up again toward the robed, four-armed skeleton pointing toward the four passages adorned with symbols.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Riven stated slowly,ing up closer to the nearest of the passageways. This one was adorned with that of the bird in flight, likely the crow that¡¯d been depicted along the murals. And as he inspected the archway and took a step forward, the hallway leading out began to change. Space warped in front of him, sucking him into apletely different passageway with a <span ss="italic">WHOOSH.


    </a>He staggered to a stop, then looked over his shoulder to stare nkly back at a stone wall¡ªthe room he¡¯d been in was now gone. It was a dead end; the people that¡¯d been there with him were now all gone, and he slowly turned his head forward again to see a stone statue depicting an old woman with a crow perched on her shoulder and a small hole in the stone at her feet. Four stone walls epassed a moderately sized room with a singlentern emitting a dull green light from overhead. In front of the statue was a pool of softly sizzling acid a couple yards in diameter; a pair of odd-looking tongs asrge as his right arm were chained to the near side, and a small rowboat floated in the middle of the pool.


    Riven hesitantly took a step forward, unsure what to make of this odd scenario. He walked over to the edge of the pool, then looked across at the statue. Curiously he circled the pool and inspected the statue more thoroughly, though there wasn¡¯t any clue of what he was supposed to do here¡ªuntil he saw words inscribed onto the back of the old stone woman.


    He read the words aloud. ¡°Let the acid gently pour between my feet, and thou shalt receive my blessing.¡±


    <span ss="italic">Huh.


    He circled back around again. There was indeed a small pathway carved into the stone leading into the statue¡¯s base from the pool of acid, however, the sizzling acid was at a level where it wouldn¡¯t be high enough to glide across the carved pathway.


    Riven was very hesitant to try and push any of that acid, either. He plucked some hairs off his head just to make sure it actually was acid and let them fall. The hairs hit the sizzling liquid with instantaneous eradication, and Riven quickly backed up so he wasn¡¯t so close to the vile stuff.


    He thought about it, looking over to where the metal tongs were chained to the far side of the pool across from the statue. Then he looked to the wooden boat that was mysteriously not taking any acidic damage. Curiously enough, he also noted another set of chains from that same position next to the tongs¡ªonly he hadn¡¯t seen these chains before, because they were attached to the boat and scaling along the bottom of the pool. There was also an odd ck ball at the bottom of the pool, and it looked to be made of metal.


    If the chains weren¡¯t being eaten, perhaps he could break off the tongs and use them to scoop acid into the small, elevated pathway leading toward the statue of the crow and the old woman?


    He circled around again,ing to where the tongs were ced, and gave the chains three sturdy yanks. They held firm, and he tried dipping the binding chains in acid for a while before trying again to no avail. In fact, the acid seemed to slip off the metal without any problem.


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    He pulled on the chain connected to the rowboat, yanking the wooden construct over to him. It drifted silently back,ing to nuzzle against the edge of the stone pool butpletely evading his grasp when his fingers slipped right through it.


    </a>He tried grasping the boat again, only to see his hand pass right through the boat like it was some kind of ghost ship.


    Puzzled, he began to think of other ways to try and get acid into the pathway on the opposite side leading toward the statue¡¯s base. He tried sshing some of it across the pool with his tongs but only cursed when a small droplet of it got on his skin and ate a small, shallow hole into his forearm. He tried pushing the boat across the pool to make waves, but that didn¡¯t work out very well, either. Grabbing the tongs and grasping the metal ball at the bottom of the pool with them was somewhat of a struggle because of the weight of the object; he took the ck ball out and rested it against the stone floor.


    Immediately the level of the pool dropped by nearly an inch.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the opposite of what I want¡­¡±


    Riven rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He lowered the ball back into the acidic pool and watched the level rise again, repeating this action a couple times to see if he could create waves that way.


    He couldn¡¯t. Was there anything else to put into the pool to disce more of the acid, causing the level to rise so it could move into the carved path between the statue¡¯s feet?


    A sinking feeling overcame him. There was his body, or parts of his body, but nothing else.


    Frowning and shaking his head in adamant refusal, he tried a few more times, but it was only when he identally nudged the boat when taking out the ck ball that he considered another idea.


    He¡¯d originally thought the boat to be some kind of ethereal construct, only to be touched by the chains and acid¡ªbut the ball also made contact and was able to push the boat away with a slight nudge.


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± A relieved and victorious smile overcame Riven¡¯s features. Though taking the ball out of the pool actually lowered the fluid level, metal was far denser than wood. It was a pretty neat physics concept and reminded him of a riddle his old physics teacher had once described. Due to the density, the ball should theoretically disce less water¡ªor in this case, acid¡ªthan it would if it were in a container like the boat. It would be heavier, pushing the boat down and causing the level to rise far more than if the ball had just been sitting down there at the bottom.


    And it sure as hell beat sacrificing an arm or leg.


    Quickly he grasped the metal ball with his tongs again, and then he dropped the object into the boat with an audible <span ss="italic">thunk.


    Immediately the boat lowered, and the fluid level of the pool rose. Acid began to flow into the carved divot on the opposite end where the statue remained and flowed through the shallow passage toward a hole at the bottom of the statue¡¯s feet.


    </a>A pulse of energy radiated outward from the statue, and the eyes of the crow and the old woman both turned a vibrant red¡ªchanging the tone of the sickly green to a more sinister hue across the room in an instant. In the back of the room, a hidden door swung open¡ªrevealing a passageway that led off into the dark.


    [You are one of the few to heed this trial¡¯s warning. Take this boon as a reward, and let your path be graced with the flight of the crow to guide you.]


    Riven was frozen in ce, and his eyes went wide when he felt his body go cold. ck and gray miasma began to billow out in front of the statue before being inteced with crimson, and an electrical current pulsed out about a baseball-size globe of energy while Riven failed to react despite his body screaming at him to run.


    In a blinding sh, the power erupted and tore into Riven¡¯s body. He felt currents of cold and hot fluctuations course through his muscles, over his skin, and through his veins, but it wasn¡¯t painful. It surprised him enough to cause him to yell out in rm and stumble back¡­but the energy felt good. Really good¡­and it was as if his body was¡­was on fire? He felt pumped![You have acquired an ability: Blessing of the Crow (Unholy).


    Blessing of the Crow: Activate this ability up to once per day for an hour¡¯s worth of increased Stamina regeneration with a significant boost to Agility.


    This ability is a blessing and does not require learning, as it draws power from a pir or deity. This blessing is currently temporary, but you may choose to acquire the blessing permanently if you wish. You have an extremely high affinity toward the Unholy Pir, and it will ept your body as a conduit if you wish to utilize its power.


    Warning: Choosing this blessing will permanently orient you toward the Unholy Foundation Pir. Doing this will allow you to specialize in various Unholy-rted magics and its subpirs but will close off many other avenues of power in turn.


    Affinities affect how fast you learn, how powerful your abilities are, and what you will be able to perform under a chosen foundation. Your current affinities for the Foundational Pirs are generalized as follows:


    </a>Unholy Foundational Pir: Extremely High


    Holy Foundational Pir: Extremely Low


    Fae Foundational Pir: Low


    Archaic Foundational Pir: Low


    Harmony Foundational Pir: Very Low


    Machine Foundational Pir: Low


    Do you wish to acquire this Unholy ability permanently and bind to the Unholy Foundational Pir? Yes? No?]


    He blinked. He could assume that pirs were categories of magic? If what this notification said about affinities was true, it was a no-brainer. This wasn¡¯t the first time the trial had informed him of his extremely high affinity toward Unholy magics, either. Without much further ado, he selected yes.

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4


    [You have opted to keep Blessing of the Crow, Tier 1, as a permanent ability.]


    *BOOM*


    The shock wave that radiated throughout his body was like a thunderstrike to his soul, and he fell to the ground gasping for air with iprehension while his innards felt like they were violently rearranging themselves. His eyes went wide and bloodshot as green, ck, and crimson lights illuminated across his skin in strange patterns before shimmering away to present elsewhere¡ªcausing burning sensations wherever they went.


    His eyes rolled back into his head, and everything went ck as his body spasmed, but from somewhere deep inside him¡­his consciousness began to emerge again.Only it wasn¡¯t¡­it wasn¡¯t aware of his surroundings. Rather, it was aware of who he was as a person¡­of his desires and the reasons for having them. It was almost as if he was in a meditative state, and all the pain from his body rapidly disappeared as his senses dulled to make way for this new wave of inner sensation.


    Then, from somewhere within the jumbled thoughts and chaotic disorder of the rampaging energies running through his body¡­a glowing sensation of warmth began to emerge.


    He saw them now¡ªthe green, crimson, and ck lights. They were digging through his thoughts, tearing at them only to piece the thoughts back together one by one until the lights sensed this core.


    It was the core of his soul.


    The lights began swimming through the jumbled chaos to get to it. He watched as they surged forward, clinging to one another and then umting their energy into one mix and match of a swirling vortex as it came face-to-face with the inner ball of energy Riven¡¯s body contained.


    </a>Gently, ever so gently, the vortex reached out¡­and touched the essence of who and what Riven was as a being.


    Instantly the connection became solid as tendrils of that bright orb stitched themselves to the vortex of darker power until it was able to stabilize the vortex¡ªcalming it into a slower-moving pool of light that exchanged energies with the core over time.


    [You are now permanently oriented toward the Unholy Pir. You may not bind to any other Foundation Pir, but you may now specialize in subpirs rted to the Unholy Foundation Pir.]


    [System Message: Congrattions on your acquisition of a Foundation Pir and the first step on the path toward greatness. As a newly acquainted citizen to Elysium¡¯s multiverse, it is pressing that you understand the basics. There are six Foundation Pirs of power with which you may choose to align yourself in striving for the top, each with their own major subpirs. In turn, each of these major subpirs has its own innumerable expansions that lead down pathways to power through insight to the Dao. The foundational pirs and their major subpirs are as follows:


    <span ss="bno">? The Unholy Foundation Pir, with the major subpirs of Blood, Shadow, Death, Infernal, Depravity, and Chaos.


    <span ss="bno">? The Holy Foundation Pir, with the major subpirs of Light, Heaven, Grace, Moon, Sun, and Judgment.


    <span ss="bno">? The Fae Foundation Pir, with the major subpirs of Volcano, Storm, Ocean, cial, Swamp, and Forest.


    <span ss="bno">? The Archaic Foundation Pir, with the major subpirs of Arcane, Void, Metal, Illusion, Alteration, and Time.


    <span ss="bno">? The Harmony Foundation Pir, with the major subpirs of Body, Mind, Primal, Chi, Karma, and Zodiac.


    <span ss="bno">? The Machine Foundation Pir, with the major subpirs of Hacking, Armaments, Integration, Mecha, Interweb, and Sci-Tech.


    Your soul has been altered to properly utilize Unholy magics, miracles, and martial arts. You merely need to learn how to acquire such powers now. However, you will be forever barred from any of the Holy, Fae, Archaic, Harmony, or Machine Foundational Pir categories and their subpirs regardless ofplete understanding or not¡ªdue to the changes your soul has undergone. Please note that although some abilities youe across will have only the Unholy </a>Pir requirement, their major subpirs and further specialized pirs may require a deeper understanding of their own attributes prior to utilizing the specialty types.]


    [Dao advancement is partially locked until the pretutorial trials and the tutorial trials have beenpleted.]


    The vision ended as abruptly as it¡¯de, and Riven found himself gasping when his senses returned.


    Scrambling to his knees, he looked around¡ªstill struggling to breathe properly as his heart went wild at the sudden and impulsive rage that¡¯d taken ce within his body and mind. But it was done now¡­and he seemed to be all right, without any bad side effects.


    Riven nodded with a small grin on his face, pleased with the oue and having gone back on a gut instinct to find this statue. He felt like he¡¯d downed three energy drinks simultaneously¡ªand his body even flickered slightly with small yet noticeable currents of red electricity that asionally erupted from his pores.


    ¡°Thanks, crowdy. I owe you one.¡±


    Riven gave the statue an awkward thumbs-up before heading down the hallway straight ahead like he¡¯d originally intended to do. He began to jog, feeling the energy lighting up across his skin and spurring him on¡ªand then he began to sprint. He went fast, then faster¡ªsparks of red lightning surging in abundance across his skin the more he exerted himself. Despite how much he ran, Riven found that he wasn¡¯t even beginning to break a sweat. To his amazement, he was also running way, <span ss="italic">way faster than he¡¯d ever originally been able to run. It was about twice the speed of his old all-out sprint. It would have been more than enough to very easily outsprint many of the collegiate sprinters he used to watch on TV.


    Fuck, yes. This was more like it!


    His body failed to tire as the blessing¡¯s power coursed through him. It brought about the question of what a ¡°tier¡± was. But for now, he was too involved in the moment to care about it much. Of all the questions on his mind, this was one of the ones that least concerned him given his current situation.


    For a short time, as the stone walls and mounted torches rushed past at high speed and the cool air brushed past him as he traversed thebyrinth, he forgot about all the other bullshit that¡¯d clouded his recent events. The disappearance of his parents years ago, the introduction of the new world, the confusing trials he was part of¡ªit all faded away as he was caught up in the thrill of his newfound power.


    Until he tripped and fell t on his face halfway through a turn that was just a little too tight for his own good.


    *WHAM*


    </a>Cursing and wiping his bloodied nose, he groaned a bit and stood up¡ªonly to realize he was at yet another crossroads. This time, however, as he examined the passages in detail, he got no reward for doing so. Nor was there any sign to clue him in which way to traverse. But¡­as he chose the rightmost passage that led upward through a flight of stairs and then dropped back down through a hole in the floor into yet another hallway¡ªhe found himself staring at a door.


    It was old, carved out of marble, and very out of ce given the colors of the rest of thebyrinth thus far. A single, smooth door handle of a medieval make sat at chest level, and with a shrug, he pulled it open. He hadn¡¯t seen any reason why not to.


    That, he found out, was a mistake. At least ording to his nostrils.


    A current of foul wind, heavy with the stench of the dead, pulled him in¡ªsucking him inside like the hand of an angry god hade to grab him¡ªonly to m the door behind as he fell into a pit of dried-up, indistinguishable corpses and innumerable statues¡­


    There <span ss="italic">were two familiar statues, actually. There, on the floor in front of him in the flickering light of the torches¡­were two people he recognized from the group who¡¯d made it to the top of the pyramid. An old man and a slightly younger woman¡ªboth turned to stone. Both missing their eyes and tongues¡­both having wed bloody handprints into the back of the door immediately behind him. Some of their fingers were missing, and many of their toes were gone as well. Their faces were set into a silent scream, and it was probably one of the most horrifying things he¡¯d everid eyes on.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so dramatic with your gawking¡­¡± A deep and feminine hiss echoed out from behind him and farther into the room. ¡°They just didn¡¯t have what it takes¡­ You may not share their fate if you y my game properly¡­ Maybe¡­¡±


    Riven found that his jaw had been opened without him realizing it, and he shut it before slowly turning his head to look farther in¡ªpast the piles of dried corpses¡ªpast the two stone ones¡ªand toward a¡­a medusa?


    He cocked an eyebrow, curiously inspecting the scaled half snake, half woman figure that sat coiled upon an elevated stone tform in the center of a rectangr room. The torches here were far brighter, warmer, and even her smile seemed inviting. She was what he would consider beautiful, with the exception ofcking legs, but she was not hard to look at. The snakes that made up her hair were a bright green, her eyes glinted gold, and she wore no clothes as she sat coiled around her serpentine lower half with a sly smile.


    Despite the eyeballs and tongues lying there on a te in front of her while she tapped her wed fingers on a ss table with a¡­with a chessboard?


    ¡°Sit¡­¡± she invited, motioning to a spot across from her on the opposite side of the table with two of her slender fingers. Immediately, a shoddy wooden chair materialized out of thin air to descend from a foot above the ground, gently touching down.


    </a>He kept his eyebrows raised, slowlying to his feet and hesitantly walking over to the table while eyeing the chessboard. Then he nced down to the chair, and then to her again where she remained smiling with wicked white fangs bared his way under beautiful golden eyes¡ªeyes that he specifically avoided meeting. ¡°You want me to y you in a game of chess?¡±


    She didn¡¯t reply, merely waiting for him to sit as the snakes of her hair aggressively hissed and snapped at him. The way she looked at him gave him the feeling that he shouldn¡¯t trust her¡ªscreamed at him not to trust her¡ªand his base instinct was to run¡­ Unfortunately, there was nowhere to go. The way out had been sealed already, and he saw no other door beyond the piled, withered corpses of victims long dead.


    Other than the chessboard, next to the te with the eyeballs and tongues was a long, slender knife made from silver that was coated in blood down to the handle. The te also had an odd, out-of-ce set of words along the white ceramic rim, and the center of the te acted as a mirror in the middle.


    ¡°Chess¡­is truly a game of wit¡­¡± the medusa hissed, her long green snakes shifting in unison as they looked him over with the asional baring of fangs. Her slender fingers came down to the board, putting the tip of one finger on one of the splendidly carved wooden rooks and then gesturing to the other pieces. ¡°White or ck?¡±


    His eyes narrowed. It¡¯d been a long time since he¡¯d yed chess, but his father had made it a habit when he¡¯d still been around. ¡°White.¡±

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5


    The coiled medusa raised an eyebrow and slowly turned the board, positioning the ck pieces in front of her before gently moving the first pawn two spaces and leaning in to rest her chin on her hands. ¡°The other two chose ck.¡±


    He grinned back at her, not meeting her gaze, and mirroring her own move in order to make way for his queen in the next. ¡°Will you kill me if I lose?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ Perhaps not.¡±


    ¡°Then do you mind answering me a couple questions while we y?¡±¡°It depends on what they are, little man¡­¡±


    He furrowed his brows and crossed his arms thoughtfully. Little? He was by no means little. Was she being demeaning on purpose? He pushed the question aside for a more important one, though, and truly hoped she¡¯d answer it. ¡°Where am I?¡±


    He moved another pawn forward to take one of her own, and a series of uneventful positionings was exchanged.


    She let out a long, dark chuckle as a rook moved into position to protect a forward knight. She gestured for him to move next and then leaned back a little to observe him better. ¡°How would I know? I¡¯ve been down here for centuries just waiting forpany¡­banished here by a lich who got the better of me.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re not part of Elysium, then?¡±


    She teasingly raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean by that.¡±


    Then she ced two fingers on her queen and went in to take Riven¡¯s pawn. As soon as she took the piece off the board, Riven¡¯s right pinkie toe broke off in a gruesome and miniature explosion of blood and bone.


    He screamed, copsing out of his chair and onto the floor in a state of shock and horror as the serpentine woman began cackling in amusement. He clutched and stared down at his mutted foot, then back up to the creature ahead of him. ¡°What the hell is this?!¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond but justughed even louder, and as he reached out to grasp the knife, she abruptly hissed and reared up to her full height.


    </a>He paused, still sneering up at the monster, but slowly withdrew his hand. She in turn lowered herself down into a coiled position again, her prominent breasts on full disy underneath a sly smile.


    ¡°Wise choice,¡± the medusa eventually said with a nod while he grimaced and clutched at his foot. ¡°I am bound by rules here; if you were to have stricken me, I could have killed you on the spot. Considering how weak you are¡­it would have been less than a hassle.¡±


    She gestured to the board, mockingly, and gave him an overly polite smile. ¡°Now, shall we continue? Just try not to lose anymore pieces¡ªyou may lose some fingers and toes along the way if you do.¡±


    ¡°When I took your pawn, nothing happened to you,¡± Riven muttered in anger, sitting back down in the chair with a plop and grimacing. ¡°How is that fair?¡±


    Her smile turned into one of maliciousness. ¡°Who said anything about being fair?¡±


    He snorted, taking one of her bishops and then doing a quick exchange of two more pawns back-to-back as the pieces on the board grew fewer in number. Each time Riven took a piece, he merely set it to the side. But every time she took one of his pieces, a toe or finger would pop off in a miniature, bloody fireworks disy to both the agony of Riven and the gleeful cackles of the medusa.


    He could only hope that this trial had some real way of getting him out of here. It was pretty obvious to him that he stood little chance against her in a fight, so he¡¯d have to bear with it and do his best to try and get out of this using his wit like the trial was designed to do.


    He grunted, screamed, and asionally dropped to the ground whenever he felt another digit explode. First he lost two more toes on his right foot, then three fingers on his left hand. His right pinkie finger and his left big toe next. He sat in a pool of his own blood, actively bleeding out as he became light-headed and unable to think as fast as he had previously¡ªbut he managed through sheer willpower to keep his wits about him and mentally pushed through the pain. Both yers used their queens to push their advantages, neither of them willing to sacrifice their own queen in order to take the other¡¯s, the two prominent pieces dancing across the board. She was good, but he was better, and it was beginning to irk her. Her y style was too aggressive, and it cost her more than one time. Her smile began to fade, and slowly a frown appeared on her lips as she took more and more time to distinguish between the right and wrong moves avable to her.


    It was during one of these pauses that his eyes again focused on the words along the rim of the te beside the bloody chessboard. He mentally strained to focus on the written symbols, doing everything he could to keep himself upright and silent while his limbs screamed in torment.


    <span ss="italic">Reflect upon your opponent and see the truth amid the lies¡­ This was what the te said along the rim of the mirror. What did that mean, exactly? Was this a clue of some sort? If he was stuck in here with a creature obviously meant to test his wits somehow, could he really expect that all this trial wanted from him was to y a game of chess and win?


    </a>That didn¡¯t seem right, given the way it¡¯d gone so far. Even if it was incredibly painful to undergo. In fact, it seemed very, very wrong. It was too simple, out of ce, and didn¡¯t seem to fit the narrative of thebyrinth. He¡¯d scanned the entire room many times over now, but was that even necessary? He could very well just be wasting time here while the other participants in this trial got ahead¡ªleaving him behind to die if he didn¡¯t make it to the top one hundred spots.


    Again, he was brought out of his thoughts by her melodic voice and sweet smile. ¡°Well? Are you going to tell me what you¡¯re talking about?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You asked me about being part of Elysium.¡±


    He humored her, pretending to consider his next move while trying to figure out what was really going on as his trembling hand shifted uncertainly over the chessboard¡ªdribbling red liquid onto the game set. Frankly, he didn¡¯t know how he was even upright anymore, as he literally sat in arge puddle of his own body fluids. ¡°Elysium¡­or perhaps the administrator these messages keep talking about. What are they?¡±


    That¡­that got her attention¡ªand he noticed the ways her eyes narrowed at the mention of the administrator.


    ¡°Oh¡­I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Sure you don¡¯t.¡±


    He was about to make his next move when the words finally registered. <span ss="italic">Reflect upon your opponent and see the truth amid the lies¡­


    The stone figures, the te¡¯s words¡­and the obvious power this medusa held over him. It definitely wasn¡¯t looking good. She¡¯d conjured a chair out of thin air and had piles upon piles of bodies¡ªboth stone and withered beyond belief¡ªlittering her little nest.


    The knife was there, too¡­but he felt like it had been put there on purpose to try and goad people into making a stupid decision, if this was truly a test of wit. He had little chance of killing her head-on, especially if all these people around him had once been other trial takers. Certainly one or more had tried the violent path out.


    Then a random set of messages appeared in front of his vision.


    <span ss="bold">[In order to identify enemies and items, say or think the word <span ss="italic">Identify with intent while simultaneously targeting your desired object. As an example, the identification information of the medusa in front of you is now being disyed.]


    </a><span ss="bold">[Medusa, Trickster, Level ???]


    Oh. Well, that was interesting.


    He dismissed the holograms. Two more pieces were exchanged with pain that rocked his body, and he gambled by sacrificing his own queen to take hers.


    ¡°How unexpected¡­¡± came the soft voice of the woman across from him as she eyed him like a hungry predator¡ªstill not once having met him eye to eye. She ced his queen off the board after having taken it and then moved her rook into position. ¡°Check.¡±


    He smirked, then took her piece with a bishop. He saw a path to victory, and his heart rate began to pick up. The pieces danced across the board. Two movester, and as tension in the room began to rise, he announced ¡°Checkmate.¡±


    There was a long silence, and then a slow p followed his victory. Much to his surprise, and he almost looked up to meet her eyes as sheughed.


    ¡°Good show, young man. Good show¡­¡±


    He put on his best version of a forced smile, one quivering and pained hand missing all but his pointer finger and thumb with bloody stumps where the others had been. ¡°So am I free to leave now?¡±


    There was another pause, and he felt the air in the room shift to a frigid cold.


    The click¡­click¡­click¡­of her ws against the table caused him to flinch with every tap. His arms edged forward a little bit, and he lowered his head more. ¡°Am I free to go?¡±


    There was another muffledugh that quickly turned into a hiss, and that hiss turned into a low growl of annoyance. ¡°No, my dear boy, you were never meant to go. You are mine. LOOK AT ME, BOY! LOOK AT ME!¡±


    She lunged at him and caused the table to nearly upend itself, the contents spraying into the air. The knife, te, tongues, and eyes went flying.


    Or¡­he thought she had lunged at him. In reality, she¡¯d just mmed her wed fists into the table and her snake hair had red up¡ªlittle eyes glowing red along each of the snakes as her ownrger, golden eyes burned brilliantly with power in the next second.


    He did the only thing he could think of, the only reasonable approach to this ridiculous situation, as he knew he couldn¡¯t fight her one-on-one. The only thing that made sense given his knowledge of the ssics and the hint that was literally written into the te itself. Without moving from the spot he¡¯d positioned himself in when starting the game, he snatched the flying te out of the air between two remaining fingers before it was able to get far. He¡¯d been ready for it, anticipated such an action, and he¡¯d bet his life on the one simple trick that he pulled now.


    As fast as he could, with his new blessing speeding his reaction time and reflexes, he brought the te down in front of his face with the mirrored center angled directly back at the medusa to show her a reflection of herself.


    </a>The ttering of the knife, pieces of the ss table, and the body parts hitting the floor sounded all around him as his chest heaved. Slowly, ever so slowly, he brought the te farther down and peered from atop the edge¡­only to choke out a sigh in relief as his eyes met an enraged¡ªyet very stone¡ªmedusa. She¡¯d been frozen by her own power, killing herself in the process of trying to turn him into a statue, and the bet had paid off.


    In an instant he felt a surge of energy as light gathered around his body, enveloping his flesh in a golden sheen that almost instantaneously repaired his losses. His toes and fingers all came back, and his wounds closed over as he remained sitting in a chair over a pool of coagted blood.


    He put his head down into his hands and slowly covered his face, shaking from the mental scar the torturous game had caused him. It felt a little surreal, and in some ways he counted himself one lucky idiot to pass this obstacle in such a way. It¡¯d been a gamble, based on what he¡¯d known about medusas from ancient lore and the clue on the te, but it¡¯d paid off. That, and his chess skills had been up to par.


    Beyond the stage where he sat and farther along the wall on his left, another narrow passage opened up with the grating of stone and kicking up of dust. The dagger that¡¯d ttered onto the floor vanished in a puff of smoke, and so did the mirror he¡¯d used to backfire the medusa¡¯s gaze. Getting up from where he sat and letting out a snort, he checked the surrounding area for anything valuable. After not finding anything, he stepped around the shattered ss and made his way through the room toward the exposed hallway.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6


    Hours passed, and he found himself thrown into a bizarre mix of puzzle games, gates with solvable riddles, dangerous traps, and winding turns that seemed like they¡¯d never end. He encountered a couple more bodies, one half-eaten by arge rat that he had to run from after it noted his presence, and it made him wonder just how many people were going to get past this stage in the quest.


    His Blessing of the Crow had also run out of time, and his once-endless stamina and speed increase now faltered as his jogging came to a fast-paced walk. Unlike earlier, he now breathed heavily and had to take the asional break.


    He thus found himself sitting down against a wall to catch his breath in the corner of a small, dark room that was devoid of anything at all while massaging his aching legs. Dust covered the stone floor underneath him, and he hadn¡¯t seen even a trace of anyone else who¡¯d been sent into this oddbyrinth ever since the stone statues in the medusa¡¯s room. It felt eerily lonesome.


    ¡°This is quite the situation to be in¡­¡±Riven let out a smallugh, finding amusement at how ridiculous his situation was. Regardless of how tired his muscles were, he knew that most if not all the others must be even more tired. That gave him a little bit of hope that he¡¯d still make it. He¡¯d been going nonstop, and he¡¯d had his free trial period of the blessing for the first hour of the trip¡­


    What if the others had already finished the maze and he just didn¡¯t know about it? What if he was one of the ones who were sentenced to die now, to rot here in this godforsakenbyrinth, forever to roam until he died of starvation without a clue that he¡¯d already failed, stuck here in who-knows-where without even realizing it yet? What if he were to remain here and live out the rest of his remaining days, withering away and slowlying to the realization that he¡¯d been left behind?


    He shook his head. No, he couldn¡¯t think like that.


    The cold stone at his back beckoned him to slumber. Yawning despite his best efforts not to and leaning to the side, he realized how little sleep he¡¯d gotten </a>recently. Folding his arms and refusing to let sleep take him just yet, knowing he couldn¡¯t sleep unless he wanted to die here, he decided to give himself just another minute longer¡­and he tilted his head farther out to lean against the adjacent wall for a little rxation.


    Or he would have if the wall had even been there.


    With a start, he fellpletely over. The illusion didn¡¯t hold his weight whatsoever, and he quickly found himself sprawled out in yet another room with a single green ball of mes hovering in the middle of it¡­disying arge wooden chest underneath.


    Curious, and remembering many stories he¡¯d heard and games he¡¯d yed in the past, he quickly got up, brushed himself off, and headed toward said chest. It was old; moss had grown over nearly half of the wood, and arge, rusted lock decorated the front.


    He repeatedly blinked, bit down on his tongue hard enough to elicit pain, and pped himself once to try and wake himself up. Trying to get the lid toe off came with no results, and the chest was far too heavy to move by himself. Frowning, and walking around it while ncing up once more at the ball of green fire overhead, he came to the front yet again and began to examine the lock.


    [Pick the lock to proceed. Failure after attempting this will result in death.]


    In death? That was nothing new here. Captain Obvious to the rescue.


    The system notification red to life as another teal hologram in front of him just as the ball of mes above shed a brighter green¡ªtrails of fire slowly dripping down tond on the chest itself, only to fade away, leaving behind five thin metal instruments.


    He¡¯d definitely done his fair share of lock picking back on Earth, but at first nce he¡¯d thought these objects were some kind of odd bent pins rather than lockpicks he was familiar with.


    Hesitantly he picked one of them up, examined it, and then tried to get a better view of the hole leading into the lock. Having no sess there, either, he once more took a look at the pick in his hand and steadied his breath. Inserting it, he began to fidget around¡­and felt a snap when he applied a little too much pressure.


    And as his initial attempt failed, a metal gate erupted from the ceiling to m into the stone behind him¡ªbarring his exitpletely.


    Oh, no.


    How ominous.


    He rolled his tired eyes. The trial was trying to intimidate him, as if he wasn¡¯t </a>already trapped here. Frowning and withdrawing the lockpick, he found it¡¯d broken off. Fortunately he was able to fish the other piece out rather easily with the end he still had, but then his worry grew as he realized he¡¯d just used up one of five total lockpicks.


    He took another steadying breath and tried to clear his mind of the exhaustion he felt. It was safe to say that breaking all five lockpicks before the chest was opened would constitute failure. He had to do this¡­and do it carefully.


    This time, as he picked up the second of the picks, he very gently inserted it¡ªtrying to make a mental image of the dimensions of the lock with the depth, height, and width. He put very little pressure on his movements this time, careful not to break it¡ªand found that there were actually five tiny spring-loaded cylinders inside the lock that he could gently press upward on.


    To his great relief, he found that the first of these cylinders clicked into ce when he pressed up just right¡­and arge smile crossed his face as he knew how to proceed. He¡¯d seen locks like this before.


    Unfortunately, some cylinders were more sensitive than others¡­and after the first two cylinders had clicked into ce, he found he¡¯d gone too far on the third cylinder. With a snap and crunch, the cylinder mmed back down into the bottom of the lock¡ªtaking half of his lockpick with it and resetting the entire thing in one fell swoop.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    The fireball above him red slightly, growing in size as palpable heat began to descend upon him.


    Bing more aware of his impending doom, he withdrew the broken lockpick from the keyhole again and started anew. The third time went exactly as the second time had gone¡ªthe pick ending up breaking on the third cylinder.


    He inserted the fourth lockpick into the hole and had to calm his nerves before proceeding so that his hand would stop shaking. When he¡¯d finally steadied himself, he began again.


    The first and second cylinders clicked into ce just as they¡¯d done so before, and he gave himself an internal pep talk to congratte himself on at least a small victory in that regard. This time, though, when he came to the third cylinder, he used both hands to steady the advancing pick instead of one. Using it like a lever, he pushed up against the cylinder just slightly¡ªtaking it in second by second, until it, too, clicked into ce. Sweating profusely and moving on, much to his delight, the fourth and fifth cylinders clicked into ce far easier than even the first two.


    [Congrattions, you havepleted part two of three in Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage. Because you have found one of the hidden exits, please choose an additional prize before leaving. Do not choose more than one.]


    </a>With the mechanism audibly unlocking, the chest¡¯s lid was swung open to reveal two items at the bottom of the box. Delighted at having discovered a way out, and also having found a prize in the process, his face fell into confusion as he looked upon either object.


    One was¡­a vase? A very small ceramic vase, painted white with ornate and wilting ck flowers¡­and it had a lid that hid its contents, if there were any to be had.


    Meanwhile, the other item was more typical of the fantasy-style world he now found himself in. Though it was certainly a little grotesque. It was a ne of sorts¡­or a charm, in the form of a bird¡¯s withered foot that¡¯d been encased in an amber stone and then strung up on a metal chain.


    There was no exnation. No telltale sign of what either of them did. No notification to detail their usefulness, and even when he tried to identify these items like the system prompt had described with the medusa, there was nothing.


    A little frustrated at theck of detail, he decided to pick up the vase. It was a white porcin aside from the ck painted flowers, small enough that it fit in his hand, and the lid seemed to be screwed on¡ªbut before he could even try to remove itpletely, the green fire above him red to life.


    In the next instant, he evaporated in a sweltering shower of pain and green mes just as he had at the top of the pyramid in the first trial. Less than a secondter, all signs of his presence were gone¡ªvanished from thebyrinth to move on to the third part of the quest.


    Riven¡¯s mind stayed nk, but a prompt appeared, urging him to select from the following options:


    [For every level gained, you will be presented with a certain number of stat points depending upon both your ss title, your race, and sometimes other unique factors that will not be discussed here. Currently you have no ss title, and your race is set to Human. The human race has +5 free stat points per level. Please choose your starter ss title, or if you¡¯d rather, you may choose to change your race to one of the selected options, courtesy of Chalgathi. All supplied choices are unique to the individual, and remember that beyond this unique event, sses do not dictate your survival style¡ªrather, in the future, your survival style will dictate what sses you are awarded beyond these base forms. The better your performance, the better sses you will be awarded upon evolution opportunities.


    </a>Novice Necromancer (ss Title)¡ªA strictly caster-ss evolutionary pathway emphasizing the mass production and control of undead, such as corpses, skeletons, and ghosts. Unlocks ten minion slots for undead creations, +1 Willpower, +2 Intelligence, +3 free stat points per level.


    Unholy Deacon (ss Title)¡ªA divinity-using, faith-based evolutionary pathway, emphasizing the use of Unholy miracles. In order to get the most out of this ss, you will need to choose a patron god to worship early on¡ªbut choosing this ss now will also allow you to make contact with a deity for contracting their power. +3 Faith, +1 free stat point per level.


    Novice Warlock (ss Title)¡ªA pathway that leads to very high magic damage output in future evolutions, one that focuses on harnessing ck magics and contracting with demons. +1 Willpower, +2 Intelligence, +2 free stat points per level. Enables demons to contact you of their own volition for contracts if your Willpower requirement has been met; up to two contracts may be filled with this ss.


    Novice Rogue (ss Title)¡ªThe beginnings of a ss pathway emphasizing underhanded close-quarters and ranged martial art abilities. +7% bonus to all Stealth attempts or abilities and light armor attributes. +9% bonus to damage done by daggers. +2 Agility, +1 free stat point per level.


    Ghoul (Race Change)¡ªGhouls are the most basic form of sentient undead and disy a sincereck of pain along with a vast increase in Sturdiness. A good choice for any melee fighter. +18 to base Sturdiness and Strength immediately upon evolution. +3 Sturdiness, +2 Strength, +1 free stat point per level.]


    Riven blinked. <span ss="italic">ss choices?


    Frankly, he didn¡¯t know what he wanted to choose. Being a necromancer sounded really cool; the idea definitely appealed to him, as he¡¯d control minions to fight for him while he could remain safe on the back lines and dish out hard damage while at it.


    Because of that, the Novice Warlock ss also really appealed to him. It had an evolutionary pathway emphasizing a simr type of y style, but instead of undead it revolved around demons. Not only that, but it was the only ss described itself as a path that would lead to ¡°very high damage.¡± That was a big plus.


    </a>Unholy Deacon sounded cool, but Riven wasn¡¯t so sure he wanted to get mixed up with any gods early on, either. He¡¯d never been the religious type and didn¡¯t see that changing any time soon.


    Rogue¡­ Well, Riven had an Agility-based blessing ability. So that¡¯d help with this ss given the bonuses it gave to Stealth and Agility, but he wanted to use magic, too. Now that he¡¯d entered some sick and twisted fantasy¨Csci-fi ¡°multiverse,¡± as the prompts had called it, he wanted to cast magic, goddamn it! So Rogue was out the window.


    Then there was the race change to Ghoul. This waspletely off the table, as Riven didn¡¯t want to be transforming into some sort of undead monster. Controlling them sounded interesting, but bing one was certainly less appealing.


    He thought about it some, regarding the choices of necromancer and warlock before finally settling down with a nod. Thus, he selected Novice Warlock.

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7


    [Part three of three in the Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage Quest nowmencing.


    Death stalks the living as you tread down the path of the Novice Warlock. However, Chalgathi demands sacrifice to receive his gift¡­and the blood of your peers is the price he demands.


    Notice: You have been granted early ess to the ss title Novice Warlock. One hundred participants in this trial now remain. Only fifty will leave here alive. ept the ss title, pick your starter pack, pick your bonded starter minion, and select two starting ability tomes to learn from. You will have a time-condensed period of five days to learn these two abilities. You must then kill your opponent to survive. If you have not figured out how to perform your chosen spells, miracles, or martial arts within the five-day period, you will go into the fight at a disadvantage. Good luck.


    Uploadingmencing. ETA for initiation¡ªtwo minutes.]He was standing on an ind, and somehow he¡¯d arrived wearing a thick, hooded, weathered cloak. He was certainly thankful for it, as the night wind was chilly upon his skin. The ind was somewhat t and grassden, with a brilliant moon illuminating the small amount ofnd in front of him. All around him were dozens of other inds equal to his in height with various slopes or ttened tops¡ªall with their own singr inhabitants that he could barely make out when he looked around. These other inds also drifted among the reflections of the currents below, and just like his own plot ofnd, they each had a long drop down magnificent cliffs to a calm ocean underneath that shimmered under the stars and cosmos. Seagulls or some kind of other seafaring bird flew overhead, though their features were somewhat indistinguishable due to the dark of night, and little luminescent lights glowed down below where the ocean met </a>the bases of the cliffs. Of particr note, all the inds were shifting¡ªmoving in various directions but not making contact with one another as they seemed to swim about the massive body of water while avoiding one another entirely, which made the entire scenario all the more odd.


    The air was crisp, and he filled his lungs with a deep inhaled breath only to set his vase a little way back from the edge of the floating ind to dangle his legs off the side. The sight was beautiful, and honestly¡ªafter all he¡¯d been through already¡ªhe wasn¡¯t worried about theing fight this notification spoke of.


    If anything, he was just slightly confused. He didn¡¯t necessarily want to kill anybody, nor did he want them to kill him¡ªbut no matter what happened, he¡¯d not hold back. He was a survivor, and he wouldn¡¯t balk at the idea of killing another person if it meant that he got to live for it. It had been a very, very long time since he¡¯d felt this way¡­since he¡¯d felt so alive, and he didn¡¯t want to let go of the sensation when all the excitement of joining this new world finally pushed him over the edge into wanting to live again.


    Not just to live for someone else, but to finally live for himself.


    It was weird to think about, but nearly having been killed numerous times now had made hime to the realization that he didn¡¯t want to give up. He didn¡¯t want to just roll over and let it all end like he¡¯d thought about when his father had first disappeared. His father wouldn¡¯t have ever wanted that for Riven to begin with. His parents would have encouraged him, told him to try to move on and that they may see each other in the next life, if there was one, so that they might talk about the grand adventures he¡¯d set upon.


    They¡¯d certainly have loved that.


    He at the very least needed to try¡­and even if not for himself, then for Allie¡¯s sake. So that he might see the wonders of whatever this new world had in store for him and his little sister when he found her again. So that he could live through more moments like this¡­and appreciate the beauty of his surroundings¡ªsomething he¡¯d never before taken the time to do. So that he could appreciate the rtionships he¡¯d built up, and not be so confined to the loner mentality he¡¯d secluded himself with. The same seclusion that had only let Allie and Jose inside his close circle of confidence and had never let anyone else get close after what¡¯d happened with his parents.


    He wanted to start over, and this was his chance.


    But moving back to the present, he couldn¡¯t ignore what¡¯d just happened. Looking over the title he¡¯d acquired, he was excited to try out what powers the warlock-type character could give him.


    [This chosen ss title has been opened to you:


    </a>Novice Warlock (ss Title) (Trait): +1 Willpower, +2 Intelligence, and +2 other stat points of your choice per level. Social penalty: -5 base Charisma. Allows demonic contact; two contracts are avable with this ss.


    Note: Choosing this ss will enlist your very first demonic servant. You may only choose one demonic servant for the trial¡¯s purposes.


    Do you wish to ept or decline this ss title?]


    Really? A social penalty? What did that even mean? It hadn¡¯t talked about that earlier!


    But he picked yes anyway.


    [Novice Warlock ss received.]


    [Starter packs are now avable. Every starter packes with a crude cultist¡¯s robe, a cloak, a basic survival kit, and a backpack. Choose from the following:


    ¡ªDual Poisoned Daggers (iron)¡ª12 damage, 30% chance to apply poison


    ¡ªBasic Casting Staff¡ª4 damage, 12% mana regeneration, +3 magic damage


    ¡ªCrude Scythe¡ª17 damage, +5 Unholy damage, 18% chance to apply Amplified Bleeding


    ¡ªMinor Amulet of Protection¡ªrechargeable, applies a temporary shield worth double wearer¡¯s health. One of one charges.


    Starter ability tomes are now avable. You may only select two, then your five-day condensed time period to learn these spells will begin. Choose from the following:


    ¡ªWretched Snare [Unholy], Tier 1¡ªfire snares of ck magic that deal damage over time


    ¡ªCreate Shadowling [Shadow], Tier 1¡ªcreate temporary shadow beasts that attack your enemies


    ¡ªMiasmic Bolt [Death], Tier 1¡ªhigh-damage, high-speed, long-range attack


    ¡ªExtradimensional Chains [Depraved], Tier 1¡ªsummon rooting chains from selected points in space to target your enemies


    </a>¡ªWall of Hellfire [Infernal], Tier 1¡ªcreate a barrier of hell¡¯s mes


    ¡ªBloody Razors [Blood], Tier 1¡ªsummon spinning discs of crimson with minor lock-on abilities to slightly adjust for enemy movements


    Starter minions are now avable. Upon death, minions may be resummoned up to one dayter by paying the blood price. You may currently only select one:


    ¡ªSubus, Unholy, Level 1¡ªcaster demon, good crowd control and debuffs, moderate damage. [16 Willpower required]


    ¡ªShadow Fiend, Shadow, Level 1¡ªfast and mobile, stealthy, good for assassinations [17 Willpower required]


    ¡ªImp, Infernal, Level 1¡ªmobile, physically weak but high ranged damage and a very high intellect [13 Willpower required]


    ¡ªCinder Soul, Infernal, Level 1¡ªethereal demon that can fly and is unaffected by physical attacks but must attack at close range [11 Willpower required]


    ¡ªShadow Monarch, Shadow, Level 1¡ªcaster demon, very high damage output, very long range, very high cooldowns on abilities [18 Willpower required]


    ¡ªRavager, Blood, Level 1¡ªphysically strong, passive regeneration, good for tanking, slow and dumb [10 Willpower required]


    ¡ªBlood Weaver, Blood, Level 1¡ªvery fast arachnid variation of demon, stealthy, good crowd control, fragile, smart [14 Willpower required]


    Each of the potential minions had a Willpower cost¡­ Interesting.


    And he didn¡¯t even know if he had enough Willpower to contract any of these creatures. Focusing on the words <span ss="italic">Status Page, he willed his own information into a hologram screen that appeared right ahead of where he stood¡­and he was a little surprised at how lopsided a lot of his stats were.


    Go figure.


    [Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:


    <span ss="bno">? Level 1


    <span ss="bno">? Pir Orientations: Unholy Foundation


    <span ss="bno">? Traits: Race: Human, ss: Novice Warlock, Breath of Malignancy (???)


    <span ss="bno">? Abilities: Blessing of the Crow (Unholy)


    </a><span ss="bno">? Stats: 8 Strength, 8 Sturdiness, 19 Intelligence, 10 Agility, 1 Luck, -4 Charisma, 3 Perception, 18 Willpower, 9 Faith


    <span ss="bno">? Equipped Items: Basic Cloak (1 def)]


    He finished looking his status sheet over and frowned at a very particr part of it. Breath of Malignancy was listed as one of his traits, and it waspletely unfamiliar to him. What was that supposed to be? The page gave not even a hint, even going as far as to have question marks concerning what it actually did.


    Well, at least he wouldn¡¯t have any problems obtaining one of the minions. He was slightly disappointed that there weren¡¯t any martial arts, but spells were more than okay with him. He preferred magic over physical abilities anyway.

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8


    He looked over the items list first, choosing the Crude Scythe for a couple reasons despite his regrets on wanting the mana regeneration from the staff or the protection of the amulet. Of course, this was all assuming that <span ss="italic">mana was essentially what powered <span ss="italic">magic¡ªbased on previous lore from Earth. The first reason was that he wouldn¡¯t have much mana yet, and if he ran out by spamming abilities, he¡¯d be left with what¡ªexactly? A stick or his fists if he chose the staff or amulet. The daggers would be nice in that regard, too, as they did good physical damage like the scythe, but theycked range and Rivencked any experience in really serious fighting besides a couple brawls or gang fights he¡¯d gotten into over the years. It certainly wasn¡¯t significant enough for him to feelfortable using daggers here where people could use magic. Also, the scythe gave a bonus to Unholy damage¡ªwhich was a category he had now chosen.


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Crude Scythe¡ª17 damage, +5 Unholy damage, 18% chance to apply Amplified Bleeding


    That brought him to the next choices: his two abilities. He¡¯d already decided what he wanted before he¡¯d selected the scythe, and he was rtively certain it was a goodbination.


    The first ability tome he picked was both a crowd-control and damage-over-time ability.¡ª<span ss="bold">Wretched Snare [Unholy], Tier 1¡ªfire snares of ck magic that deal damage over time


    This would hopefully give him some versatility and the ability to lock down opponents, especially if an enemy chose a tanking or closebat minion to attack him. The scythe would also increase the snare¡¯s damage done over time by an average of five.


    </a>The second ability tome he chose was Bloody Razors.


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Bloody Razors [Blood], Tier 1¡ªsummon spinning discs of crimson with minor lock-on abilities to slightly adjust for enemy movements


    He specifically chose this ability due to the lock-on effect it had. He was unsure of how urate his aim would be, so this would hopefullypensate. He needed to make sure he actually hit his opponent instead of wasting all his mana missing when he¡¯d had rtively no time to practice the spells.


    <span ss="bold">[Tomes have been chosen and will be presented to you upon time warp. Please choose the rest of your selections. Once you have been introduced to your demonic servant, your time warp willmence and the battle between upstart Chalgathi¡¯s Chosen willmence.]


    This brought him to what was probably the most important choice for his uing battle: a minionpanion. As for which minion he wanted to begin with¡ªthe options that caught his eye most were Subus, Shadow Fiend, Ravager, and Blood Weaver.


    Honestly, he was ashamed to admit that he was very curious about how the subus would turn out, but Mama didn¡¯t raise no simp. So¡­with a sigh¡­he declined the option. At least for now, because he already had one crowd-control ability of his own, and the message pertaining to the subus seemed geared toward that category¡­even though it truly, truly caused him pain to turn the subus down. His Latin maid and other rted fantasies would have to wait for now.


    The Shadow Fiend was very interesting to him, but looking around his t, floating ind, he couldn¡¯t see any real objects or obstacles the creature could use to its advantage pertaining to stealthy moves. Maybe that wouldn¡¯t matter, but he didn¡¯t want to risk it.


    The Ravager was a really interesting choice. Riven could use a tank, as this ss of his was probably very weak defensively. The Ravager even had passive regeneration! That was a huge plus, but the description also called it slow and dumb. So¡­it was basically a brutish creature of some sort. Slow was definitely a negative, but would being dumb be a huge hindrance to Riven if he was trying to use it as a meat shield? He wasn¡¯t sure.


    Then there was the Blood Weaver. Riven didn¡¯t like that the description called it fragile, but everything else about the arachnid screamed <span ss="italic">this is great! to him. It was very fast, stealthy, smart, and had good crowd control. Surely that wouldn¡¯t be a bad pick, would it?


    </a>Truthfully, though, it was mostly a guessing game, as these descriptions gave very little in terms of information. Wanting them all, he eventually ended up choosing the Blood Weaver¡­and hoped that it wasn¡¯t a mistake that would cost him his life here in the next twenty minutes or so.


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Blood Weaver, Blood, Level 1¡ªA very fast arachnid variation of demon, stealthy, good crowd control, fragile, smart


    <span ss="bold">[You have selected Blood Weaver. Please choose from the two avable Blood Weaver demons that have chosen to ept your request:]


    In a sh, Riven was staring at a pair of realistic holograms of two different spiders. The first was a pitch-ck spider the size of a hound with silver fangs, two red eyes instead of eight that looked like rubies, and simr red patches painted along its body. She had twelve long and slender legs, and they each came down to a sharp point. She looked very pretty, even though Riven had always hated spiders, and there was an elegance to it that he hadn¡¯t expected. Its name was Ath.


    <span ss="bold">[Ath:


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Blood Weaver Demon, Level 1, Female


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Starting Skills: 1¡ªBloody Strings (crowd control), 2¡ªNecrotic Venom (stamina-draining effect and damage over time)


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Trait gifted to you upon choosing this demon: Adrenaline <span ss="bold">Junkie¡ªyou find yourself teeming with energy, and your muscles pump blood faster than ever in response to the bodily change. +15% to Agility.]


    The next Blood Weaver was rather different in its presentation. Its coating was ck, with orange spikes down its back up to its head, and it was a littlerger. It had an extra pair of fangs, one of which dripped acid, but it, too, had a pair of simr red eyes to Ath¡ªand it, too, had twelve legs instead of eight. Its name was Veriksha.


    <span ss="bold">[Veriksha:


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Blood Weaver Demon, Level 1, Male


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Starting Skills: 1¡ªBloody Strings (crowd control), 2¡ªAcid Spray (ranged damage)


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Trait gifted to you upon choosing this demon: Thermal Insides¡ªyou have 90% increased resistance to cold weather and cold-based abilities.]


    The choice was a rather hard one. Ath¡¯s starting skills were about the same as Veriksha¡¯s, though Veriksha did have a ranged attack and Ath </a>didn¡¯t¡ªAth¡¯s blood venom and therefore closebat seemed to be more potent. At least that¡¯s what he got out of the description.


    Veriksha¡¯s Thermal Insides trait was interesting, though he didn¡¯t look favorably on it whenparing it to Ath¡¯s Adrenaline Junkie trait. Thermal Insides would basically make him immune to cold weather or cold-based attacks, while the Adrenaline Junkie trait made him faster with an outright percentage. The problem with Thermal Insides was that it only helped him in very specific situations, and Adrenaline Junkie would help him all the time.


    So that¡¯s what sealed the deal for him, and he selected Ath as his first minion choice.


    <span ss="bold">[Your pact with Ath has been sealed under the watchful eye of the administrator. The demonic seal representing Ath will be etched into your flesh, and your body has been restored to perfect health. Congrattions on obtaining your new demonic minion.]


    <span ss="bold">[Demonic contracts enable you to revive your demons at the significant cost of a blood price that will ever increase the stronger your servants be, but Holy resurrection magics won¡¯t be able to bring them back. Holy healing magics or buffs will have zero effect on them. You have two minutes to introduce yourselves.]


    In a sh of light, the holograms were gone, and in their ce a red pentagram with a spider in the center was etched into the ground in front of him.


    Then he lurched forward, grimacing as light of a simr color began etching itself into his skin. He looked down, gritting his teeth as a numbing, chilling cold blossomed along his sternum. Again the symbol of a spider was drawn first, and it was then surrounded by a red pentagram that remained inked into his skin as he got yet another notification.


    <span ss="bold">[The demonic seal etched into your flesh may be touched and concentrated on to unsummon or resummon your minion from theher realms. This applies to any future demonic minions as well, and again, congrattions on obtaining your first demonic servant.]


    The tattoo was rather neat now that he looked at it some more and the pain had gone away, but he didn¡¯t have too much time to appreciate it. A momentter, Ath began to rise out of the ground in the center of the pentagram. The creature was exactly as the hologram had depicted her¡ªarge red-and-ck spider that was a rather pretty creature for an arachnid, which was odd, </a>considering how he¡¯d always thought most spiders looked disgusting. Ath¡¯s blood-tipped legs tapped rapidly in excitement as she looked around, and as her two red eyes settled on him, she lifted the two front legs and spread her fangs while getting up on her hind legs. ¡°Hi, there, Master! How¡¯s your day going?¡±


    Riven was taken aback. The spider could talk? The voice was high-pitched, feminine, and was the equivalent to a soft summer¡¯s breeze or wind chimes¡ªit was nice, pleasant to hear, and he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. Not only was the spider very pretty for an animal, but even her voice was pleasant and friendly?


    He gave Ath a mixed expression of confusion and amusement before getting up and walking over to the dog-size arachnid. Extending a hand and shaking one of her rather cold, sharpened front legs, he smiled down as she clicked her mandibles together. ¡°You¡¯re rather cute. How¡¯d I get so lucky with my minion choice?¡±


    He could have sworn that the spider flushed pink for a moment before she shook his hand vigorously with dramatic affect.


    ¡°Now, now, human, I can¡¯t have you hitting on me right after summoning me. We¡¯re different species and it wouldn¡¯t work out.¡±


    Riven stifled augh, and he felt himself rx as he heard the clickingughter of the arachnid when Ath got back down to all twelve legs. ¡°Seriously, though, you¡¯re not what I expected. At least when concerning your¡­demeanor.¡±

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9


    Ath looked around the small ind, gazing up at some of the other floating inds in the starlit sky and then down to the crashing waves of the sea below. Then she looked back up to him with a confused expression and poked him with a foot. ¡°So¡­ What is this ce?¡±


    Riven shrugged, put his hands on his hips, and yawned loudly. ¡°Beats me. Something about the quest for Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage. Know anything about it?¡±


    The spider raised a leg, paused, and then slowly retracted it while shaking her head. ¡°No¡­no, I don¡¯t. I have never been to the mortal realms before.¡±


    ¡°Well, apparently I¡¯m supposed to fight to the death with another person here soon in order to keep my ss.¡±¡°Oh, really?¡± The spider perked up and widened her mandibles with a malevolent hiss and a look that Riven could only describe as a spider smile. She used animated gestures with her fangs, abdomen, and legs to describe her next thoughts. She looked¡­hungry as she spoke the words that were turning into a growl. ¡°Who do we get to kill and feed on? I¡¯m starving! Let¡¯s GUT them, RIP out their entrails, DRAIN them of fluid, and LAY OUR EGGS in their carved-out corpses! WE WILL BE FEARED!¡±


    She raised her front legs animatedly, continuing tough with that same clicking sound she made with her mandibles, and danced on her back legs in a circle. It looked a little bit like a ritualistic dance, but the sight was slightly ridiculous to behold.


    Riven slowly examined the creature inch by inch with a mixture of startled disbelief and amusement, this time rethinking his first impression of her. ¡°You really are a demon, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    She immediately red back at him over her little spider shoulder¡ªred eyes sparkling in the moonlight. ¡°And what¡¯s that supposed to mean?!¡±


    <span ss="bold">[The time limit for introductions hase to a close. Time warp for study of tomes is nowmencing. You have five days to learn your two chosen spells from the tomes provided: Wretched Snare </a>and Bloody Razors. During your time here, you will not experience exhaustion or fatigue, and you will not need to sleep. Failing to learn your given spells in the allotted time will result in a disadvantage during the uing fight for your life.]


    *BLIP*


    In less time that it would take to blink, Riven had been ced in a spacious room of white light, a high ceiling overhead, glowing walls, and a lukewarm interior.


    He was quickly getting very tired of being zapped around to different locations at this point.


    A timer of 120 hours started counting down in the ceiling above him, indicating the time he had left to learn these spells. In front of him was a long wooden table with two booksid t: one, with a burgundy cover, was titled <span ss="italic">Bloody Razors with what looked like a circr, six-ded red throwing star on the front of it, while the other was titled <span ss="italic">Wretched Snare and had a ck-and-gray cover depicting something like an ancient fishing.


    A red velvet armchair appeared out of thin air secondster, cing itself softly on the lightly glowing white ground with an echo across the cavernous room. Lastly, a target dummy made of y appeared at the opposite end of the room from where the armchair, table, and books were.


    Cocking his head to one side and ncing one more time around the room to make sure he wasn¡¯t missing anything, he pulled the chair out and took a seat at the table. He stared at the books one after the other before shrugging and picking up the <span ss="italic">Wretched Snare tome first.


    The book was heavy for its size and likely held a hundred or so pages. Opening it and flipping through, he saw the yellowed parchment contained within was filled with schematics, drawings, exnations, and applications of the spell. It appeared there was not just one single use for this spell, but numerous ones depending on his own creativity.


    What had him most interested though was the beginning of the book, where it described basic magical theory in detail. As he started reading, his excitement began to grow until he was fully immersed within the material set before him. An hour in, his excitement had spiked even higher. All the daydreams he¡¯d had as a kid were finallying true. Despite his possible impending death, if this was how he had to die, then so be it! He was going to be a fucking wizard!


    <span ss="bold"><span ss="italic">Prologue: An Introduction to Basic Spell Theory


    <span ss="italic">You have probably already acquainted yourself with the basic rules and ts of spell casting by now. But I will nevertheless give a brief description of what is expected when undergoing spell casting of the Unholy variant.


    </a><span ss="italic">If this is your first attempt to acquire a spell, know that as soon as you have seeded in fully understanding the spell to the point of system acknowledgment, your soul will undergo a permanent change¡ªone that necessitates acquiring mana to cast spells within the pirs of this universe.


    <span ss="italic">All skills can be ced into one of three categories. Those that use mana, or spells. Those that use stamina, or martial arts. Andstly those that use divinity, or miracles.


    <span ss="italic">Some abilities may ovep with one another. For example, Infernal from the Unholy pir, Sun from the Holy pir, and Volcano from the Fae pir. Infernal abilities often utilize hellfire, Sun abilities often utilize blessed fire, and Volcano abilities utilize elemental fires. They may sometimes look the same, but their underlying properties and origins of drawing power are different. They stem from different sources of energy and have vastly different effects upon the body, mind, and soul. Each and every skill is assigned to one of the pirs or subpirs that create the foundations for the universe, and each pir is a different pathway to utilize the pure-energyponent of the soul.


    <span ss="italic">Then there is the topic of cooldowns. Cooldowns are the time it takes for a pir to reset itself after taking the form of a certain spell and utilizing that ability. Sometimes cooldowns can happen out of nowhere¡ªmeaning you¡¯ll activate an ability and suddenly find yourself unable to reuse the same ability for a limited amount of time. Other times you¡¯ll get lucky and be able to cast numerous times in a row as long as your mana, stamina, or divinity doesn¡¯t deplete. When a pir takes a certain shape and releases that shape, it can be rigid and stagnant¡ªblocking the flow of mana for a certain amount of time. This is the essence of what a cooldown is, and it can be worked around by utilizing different parts of the same pir, casting smaller-scope versions of the same ability for decreased amounts of cooldown, or you can increase your resource expenditure and simply push through the cooldown limiter at the expense of more mana, stamina, or divinity being cast. Just know that for a beginner mage, you¡¯ll likely run into times when you¡¯ll be unable to cast repeatedly if your soul¡¯s pirs be too rigid after repeated use of various spells.


    <span ss="italic">Magic tiers, or spell tiers, differ slightly from stamina-rted martial arts or divinity-rted miracles, so what knowledge is written down here only applies to spells.


    <span ss="italic">There are seven tiers of spell casting, with Tier 1 being the most basic and Tier 7 being the most advanced. As the author of this book, I have only ever been able to acquire spells up to Tier 3, though I am sure if you were to find masters of a certain type of magic they could provide you with more knowledge on Tiers 4 and 5. Tiers 6 and 7 are the stuff of legends, and I doubt you¡¯ll ever even bear witness to one of those spells¡ªmuch less cast them yourself.


    <span ss="italic">Tier 1 spells are the easiest to learn, the fastest to cast, and they require three things. They simply require you to channel mana through your soul pir. Not divinity, not stamina, but mana. Experiment if you must between the three to get a feel of what you need when channeling your soul¡¯s energy, but the spell you¡¯re trying to cast </a>won¡¯t react if you have the wrong power source. Then, while having the proper vision of the spell you wish to create, you must have a key understanding of how the spell links to the astral ne around us. Mana channeling, vision¡ªsometimes known as intent¡ªand understanding are the three basic requirements of any and all spells, and without these things you will never be able to create even the most simple of spells.


    <span ss="italic">For a proper mana channeling, you will have to focus on the pirs within yourself and draw the pure energy through those pirs like water through a sieve to convert the energy into the needed mana. Note that if you do not have the required pir, it simply won¡¯t work. You¡¯ll need to acquire that pir¡¯s blessing.


    <span ss="italic">If the pir even epts you, that is. You¡¯ll need an affinity for the pir as well, and though everyone has at least one affinity, it is never guaranteed which ones they¡¯ll be. You may want to utilize the Fae Foundational Pir but could only have the Harmony Foundational Pir avable to you; sometimes it¡¯s just luck of the draw.


    <span ss="italic">For proper vision¡ªthis inner vision is how you wish the mana to present itself when it exits your soul. This requires focus, aplex picture of what you wish to form through you as a conduit, but it is often the easiest of the three things needed.


    <span ss="italic">Lastly, for proper understanding, this can be gained by learning through tomes of people who have perfected the spells already and opportunistic visions given to you by the system that may be deciphered. Upon leveling up, the system may reward you with such visions, and it will be your duty to understand them and learn from them as best you can. If you fail to do so, it is your loss, as they will likely not be presented again. There is a third way to acquire proper understanding, and this is through experimentation¡­but it is often a very dangerous road to take and can lead to one¡¯s death or worse.


    <span ss="italic">Tier 2 spells aren¡¯t necessarily more powerful than Tier 1 spells, as the power of a spell inrge part depends upon one¡¯s magic stat affinity as well as the amount of mana they pour into it, but the higher tiers are usually more potent, and they¡¯re definitely moreplex. Tier 2 spells work the same way Tier 1 spells do and have the same previous requirements, plus one additional requirement. They, too, require mana channeling, vision, and understanding¡ªbut Tier 2 spells incorporate very specific movements of one¡¯s body that works very much like a key fitting into its lock. Though instead of a physical key being ced into a physical lock, you are using those motions to unravel certain astral bindings that rte to the spell you wish to use.


    <span ss="italic">For most humanoids, Tier 2 spells are therefore cast with hand gestures. Hands are a perfect means ofpletingplex motions at a fast pace, but there are many other creatures or even monsters that use different aspects of their body to undertake the same motions at faster or slower speeds depending upon the caster. Hands are by no means a must; you could even cast with your toes or nose if you had the skill to do it, but hands certainly make it easier.


    <span ss="italic">Tier 3 spells require the previousponents mentioned plus yet another addition to the list. Tier 3 spells require mana channeling, vision, understanding, specific movements, and finally they require spoken recitals as well.


    </a><span ss="italic">Think of a recipe in your mother¡¯s cookbook back when you were a child. It was a list of ingredients, a means by which you created that perfect pasta or cake. This is the same concept by which Tier 3 spells are performed. You speak the correct words in the correct order of spell casting, and you receive the proper end result.


    <span ss="italic">As thest portion of this prologue: I will be discussing channeling and items that help you channel. These usually but not always include staves, charms, totems, scythes, pendants, crystal balls, and wands. These items have usually been enchanted with mana lines or inscriptions and have been shaped properly with proper materials of various affinities to create conduits that amplify spells in a certain way. Some amplify mana output, making your spells more powerful. Others reduce cooldown, allowing you to cast spells more frequently or cast more of the same spell at one time. Some are only oriented toward one type of mana, while others are oriented toward all types of mana. Some of these items can recharge your natural mana replenishment, while others utilize your mana at higher costs in order to perform specific functions such as special abilities innate to the item. Some of them don¡¯t even need to be held and can activate spells on their own.


    <span ss="italic">Regardless of which it is, channeling conduits of various types will no doubt present opportunities to you that can be capitalized on. Staves, scythes, or wands can be used in ce of your hands to perform gestures needed for Tier 2 and above spells as well, so do not think that utilizing a handheld item of this caliber will cause you to underperform at the higher tiers of spell casting. In many cases, these conduits can be used to even circumvent a portion of the hand motions or even chants of the Tier 3 spells simply by being held in your hand¡­if it is the right conduit for the job. In the end, creating one of these conduits yourself often takes a lot of practice but is very doable if you have the right skill set. If you do not, it is highly rmended that you find someone who does and use them to better yourself, as in many ways these items can increase your proficiency with spell casting, much like a pen can help you write better on a page than a stick could. Especially when you start delving into the high-quality conduits¡ªthat¡¯s where things really start getting tricky.

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10


    Riven flipped yet another page, curiosity getting the better of him as he continued to read without pause or boredom. Allie and Jose would have loved this kind of stuff, and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what they were going through right now. His mind began to wander, and worry set in about whether or not they were okay. They needed to survive their own trials in order to be reunited with him, ording to the system¡¯s early message when he¡¯d first split off, but he had no way of telling whether or not their trials were just as ridiculous as his own or if they were having an easier time.


    No, he couldn¡¯t think about that. Back to the present, and he put his nose to the grindstone for learning. The prologue for the text had indeed been helpful, but there were still many questions concerning the actual spell he needed to learn rather than just the backbone fundamentals.


    The spell Wretched Snare had a vision that he could produce easily enough just by the way the spell was drawn out in the book. Pictures of a ck, sticky, needleced of Unholy magic were drawn on the parchment rather well. However, the book also described how he needed to epass the thought of burning, the thought of being sticky, the thought of ensnaring an enemy into the vision rather than just what one physically saw. Vision included not only sight, but also purpose and meaning¡ªwhich was something Riven hadn¡¯t necessarily anticipated upon the initial description in the fundamentals section.


    The channeling of his mana wasn¡¯t too hard to do, and that might have been due to the fact that he¡¯d already gained the Unholy pir via the blessing he¡¯d received in the maze. Blessing of the Crow had imbued him with the pir in a vision of what Riven now knew without a shadow of a doubt was the inherent changing of his soul. He¡¯d inherently felt it might be that, but it¡¯d just been guesses made upon introspection until now. What he hadn¡¯t known was that the pir, that bustling orb of green, crimson, and ck lights that had attached itself to the white core of his center self, was actually a type of converter. One that would convert his body¡¯s pure energy into mana that he could then use for the spell he was trying to learn.</a>He was curious about how the next spell would work, but at a bare minimum he assumed learning Bloody Razors would be harder to do because it was in a more specialized pir. He had the Unholy pir already, so a subpir shouldn¡¯t be too hard to acquire? Or maybe it came along as a package deal since he had the major category already? Then again, he did have a high affinity for blood magic, at least ording to earlier prompts. It was hard to tell from the pages of the book.


    Thirty-six hours had passed in that well-lit room, and he was beginning to sweat with the exertions of pushing mana through his body. He¡¯d identified the inner source of his power, his soul, through a good amount of meditation and direction from the book. He could feel it, a presence inside him that pulsed every time he tried to force forward the energies that¡¯d been so foreign to him in the beginning¡ªbut now that this power was within him and avable to him, it made its presence known as a stark outlier from how his body had felt previous to leaving Earth.


    It was like he¡¯d grown an entirely new organ, almost akin to lungs. But instead of air, they breathed power.


    The energy had been very hard to deal with at first. He could feel it, twisting and turning as new mana channels were dug out and created through his physical body and his soul. It¡¯d been painful, but he¡¯d endured¡ªand now the hot, smoldering collection of raw power that tingled at his very fingertips struggled to be let free against some mental barrier he couldn¡¯t quite ce his finger on yet.


    Again he pushed, sending out a wave of rushing power that caused his hands to convulse¡­but otherwise he got nowhere with it.


    What was he doing wrong?


    Riven closed his eyes in a meditative pose while sitting on his red velvet armchair, concentrating on his inner core and feeling the roiling energy within his soul vibrate upon his mental touch. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began to draw the energy through his pir¡ªconverting the energy into mana. He drew the energy forward from his core, into his body, farther into his hands¡ªand could literally feel it heating up the skin along his fingertips on either side.


    All right¡­now for the vision again.


    Within his mind¡¯s eye, he began to focus on what he wanted to create. A of ck, writhing needles that would ensnare his enemies, burn his enemies and keep them at bay.


    The mana began to condense¡ªwelling up into shimmering ck balls of energy that floated over either hand. Smiling to himself for at least getting this far, he began to push harder on his mana reserves.


    The ck balls expanded outward, ripping apart as tiny needlelike appendages began lengthening and withdrawing over and over again until the ck </a>mana had formed strings very much like a. Each one of his hands contained a square, stringy, four-by-four-foot of the Unholy power¡ªand it continued to grow to an even greater size until at the veryst second they each popped.


    The mana dispersed into thin air. He hadn¡¯t been able to stabilize it again, and he felt the energy leave his body. It was yet another failed attempt at the spell that caused him to growl with irritation.


    Something here was very wrong.


    He began flipping through the book again. He was certain he was channeling correctly; his vision was good, too, so there must be something wrong with his understanding of the spell.


    He came up with another hypothesis, which absolutely failed minutester. Then he came up with two more ideas, both of which failed in turn over the next hour despite many attempts. But it was a passage from one of the veryst pages of the tome that caught his attention in the end¡ªsomething that he¡¯d overlooked before.


    He put his finger on the line and read aloud. ¡°¡®Using this Wretched Snare, you must imbue your mana with the concept of pain. You must manifest pain into not only your vision, but also connect that vision with the true essence of what it means to be tortured with mind and body.¡¯¡±


    He blinked and repeated thest part of that line. ¡°¡­with mind and body.¡±


    Previously he¡¯d been thinking about how pain could be inflicted upon someone in the form of physical pain, focusing on back when he¡¯d been a kid and burned his hand on a kitchen stove. He hadn¡¯t been putting much effort into imbuing the magic with the idea of what mental pain could aplish through this spell¡­so it was time to give it a shot.


    Moving through his memories, he didn¡¯t have to think hard on what the most torturous ones had been over the course of his life. There were three of them, each one a significant weight upon his shoulders that even now caused his body to ache when thinking about them. But it was the memories of his family going missing that instantly sprang to the forefront of his mind; it was the hardest to cope with as he sat there in sullen silence contemting his life.


    He quickly snapped out of it, though, using the remnants of those memories in conjunction with a physical burning sensation. He utilized proper channeling once again, forcing the soul energy through his Unholy pir. Then he added vision,manding the ck orbs to begin formings above his outstretched hands. As they slowly expanded, he incorporated his new understanding of what this spell¡¯s purpose was¡­to imbue theses not only with physical pain, but also to afflict his enemies with emotional pain as well.


    Lo and behold, the magic stabilized.


    With a low hiss, thes of ck energy expanded to over six feet in diameter and erupted from his outstretched palms. They shot across the room,nding </a>two dozen yards away and sttering against the floor with an acidic sizzling sound while the ck needles of thes bubbled and writhed.


    <span ss="bold">[You have sessfully learned the spell Wretched Snare. Congrattions! This spell has been added to your status page.]


    ¡°HELL YEAH!¡±


    Riven shot his fists into the air with a hoot and did a very brief victory dance with a self-satisfied nod. He repeated the spell once, twice, and then thrice while aiming at the y dummy a little ways off. Each time thes would expand after being fired, and the sticky needles would contact the dummy before biting in and wrapping around the object. When the acidic ck magic ate all the way through the dummy a couple dozen secondster, a new dummy would then appear.


    It took him a while to get his head on straight after that. The excitement of being able to <span ss="italic">really cast magic was intoxicating, despite his fucked-up situation and the potential of a life-and-death battle headed his way. It was <span ss="italic">insanely cool, so at the very least he¡¯d go out with a bang!


    Riven settled back down and pushed aside the <span ss="italic">Wretched Snare tome, pulling over the other tome that read <span ss="italic">Bloody Razors with the six-pronged red throwing star on the front. The introduction to basic blood magic was overall the same as the other had been, with a few key exceptions to the earlier paragraphs. After that, it got moreplicated.


    <span ss="italic">Just like all other blood-rted spells, the focus you should be keying in on is the concept of remaking blood in your body¡¯s own image. Cause the material within your blood to multiply, redistribute that blood into the environment, and cycle it into your soul¡¯s Blood subpir to simultaneously convert it into mana. If you cannot focus in on the Blood subpir, you may use the Unholy pir as a substitute¡ªthough it may be harder to do it this way and is more costly in terms of mana consumption.


    <span ss="italic">Like many of the elemental pirs, utilizing your blood abilities can actually allow you to create ambient mana from the surrounding environment. Namely, you can draw out power from the blood of your fallen enemies. If there are corpses nearby, use them. This allows you to cast spells in the Blood subpir at a reduced or even free rate if your mana maniption is good enough. This aspect of using your environment to benefit, enhance, or even pay the mana cost of your blood spells is the same reason why the elemental subpirs of the Fae category are so popr despite their rigid utilization and rtiveck of diversity. Just like a water mage can use nearby water, so too can you use nearby bodies to fuel your blood spells.


    <span ss="italic">Otherwise you¡¯re looking at creating mana-imbued blood from thin air. Creating it by utilizing your own body¡¯s crimson liquid as a blueprint is the easiest application </a>of this branch of magic, but this will obviously be more mana-expensive than using the environment around you, such as using the fallen soldiers on a battlefield for a highly reduced mana cost.


    <span ss="italic">But utilizing the environmental factors is a long timeing and will take a lot of practice. Probably years or even decades, especially if you¡¯re a beginner. In the meantime, rotate the mana and sharpen the mana¡¯s vessel in your vision for eviscerating your enemies.

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11


    Ah, so he did have to acquire the subpirs one by one. Or if he didn¡¯t, he¡¯d at least be utilizing these spells via the Unholy pir and paying a greater price to cast them.


    Riven immediately got to work. Now that he had a solid base of knowledge to work off in terms of spell casting, he was able to progress at a much more rapid pace.


    Even without the Blood subpir currently within him, he was still able to force mana out of his soul and into his palms along the mana channels that his initial pir had carved into him. Though he didn¡¯t direct it through the Unholy pir itself, rather, this new vor of rted mana skirted along the edges of the Unholy pir instead. The mana channels were still there and the energy of his soul began to umte¡­albeit it had a different feeling to it than pure Unholy mana did. It was a little more¡­translucent? He couldn¡¯t really describe the feeling otherwise.


    He¡¯d bet on what the previous book had said, though. As long as he had aplete vision and a good understanding of what he wanted, the system should provide him with the correct pir given his will. The system would find its proper match as long as his soul had enough space left for the proper pir, provided he had the affinity for this blood spell type.He closed his eyes, sitting cross-legged on the velvet armchair as he concentrated on the vision of what he wanted while the timer overhead continued ticking down.


    Visions of what had been drawn in the book entered his thoughts first. A spinning disc of serrated, sharpened, solidified crimson. A willingness and wantingness to hunt down his enemies, to cut them apart with the des he would summon. A sea of red, a battlefield of the dead, a liquid that gave life, and a pack of leeches swarming toward prey. These images were merged into one to create the essence of what blood truly was. Hestlybined all this with what he knew of blood and cellr molecules from basic biology back home: the shape of the cells, the oxygen they carried, the otherponents such as telets and sma. They began to settle, forming aplex, flowing tapestry.


    </a>Much to Riven¡¯s delight, the energy within his soul immediately began to respond. And to his utter bafflement, the Blood subpir was incredibly easy to obtain. He was a downright natural¡ªbeyond natural, even, as it actually began to embrace his soul like a warm, long-lost cousin, and this blood magic seemed to be at home within his body, even more so than the Unholy pir was.


    <span ss="bold">[You have an impossibly absurd affinity toward the Blood subpir, with a perfect affinity score of 100%, and it will ept your body as a conduit since you wish to utilize its power. You are now oriented toward the Blood subpir, and your blood spells will cost far less mana and have much more power output than if you were to only utilize them through the broader-spectrum Unholy pir.]


    His mind went dark as warm tendrils of red light began to wriggle their way up and around his limbs, his chest, and his neck¡ªcreeping all the way into his eyes as he let out a silent scream.


    He saw it again¡ªthe myriad of memories that were bits and pieces of his life. The memories that made him who he was¡ªall jumbled together just as it¡¯d been the first time when he¡¯d received Blessing of the Crow and had acquired the Unholy pir. Only this time, instead of a mixture of the crimson, green, and ck lights that symbolized Unholy energy, this time the energy was a pure, bright red. The wash of crimson power slowly drifted through the pockets of memories that made up his life, casually forcing them aside until it entered the central pocket of his soul, where a bright-white orb of glowing light glistened in the very center. Attached to that brighter,rger orb was the conduit of the Unholy pir¡ªstabilizing the left side as it pulsed with ropes of its own energy connecting the two objects.


    The Blood subpir didn¡¯t bother stopping. Instead it continued to drift slowly onward, passing the Unholy pir and his soul core effortlessly until it came over to the opposite side of his soul like a snowkeing to settle down upon a silent, redden hill.


    Tendrils of crimson came out and connected the Blood subpir to Riven¡¯s soul a momentter, calmly stabilizing the connection between them as Riven¡¯s pain faded away into nothingness. Looking at it, he sensed a supreme state of calm¡­ a sense of assuredness, as if the Blood subpir had been waiting to embrace him for his entire life just to let him know that it was where it was meant to be.


    His eyes shed red for just a brief second when they snapped open, returning to the normal green an instantter as mana surged out of his soul¡¯s Blood </a>subpir and entered the energy floating above his outstretched hands. The energy immediately condensed, crystallized, and roared to life as two spinning discs of solid red bloomed before him. They blurred forward, orienting themselves on their own and adjusting course to make a direct impact with the y dummy¡¯s head. The head was ripped open, flinging bits and pieces of the dummy everywhere. It was like a knife going through butter, and Riven waspletely taken aback by just how fast and easy learning this new spell had been.


    <span ss="bold">[You have sessfully learned the spell Bloody Razors. Congrattions! This spell has been added to your status page.]


    ¡°Impossibly absurd affinity, huh?¡± Riven scratched his chin and raised his eyebrows, feeling rather giddy with himself and not being able to hide his growing smile as his heart began to race. ¡°I suppose 100 percent affinity is a rather rare thing? What about my other pirs¡ªwhat are their affinities?¡±


    Unfortunately for Riven, he didn¡¯t have an answer to that question just yet.


    He spent the remaining two days practicing with the new spells he¡¯d acquired. The Wretched Snare could travel somewhere in between ten and fifteen yards urately beforepletely misfiring or falling to the ground, and his Bloody Razors would travel three times that length before losing momentum at his current level. By the end of it, he felt a true sense of aplishment. Frankly, he couldn¡¯t believe he was actually casting magic, and his newfound excitement over being a mage was far outweighing the minimal unease he felt about the uing battle. And as thest few seconds of his time in the alternate space fell away, he finally found himself back where he¡¯d previously been on the drifting inds. It was still nighttime, as it¡¯d been when he¡¯d left, but the spell tomes he¡¯d been using to practice his magical arts were now gone, as if they¡¯d never been there in the first ce.


    <span ss="bold">[You have sessfully acquired the spells Wretched Snare and Bloody Razors.]


    <span ss="bold">[Two minutes until fighting begins.]


    Ath the Blood Weaver demon was back with him, too, though the dog-size red-and-ck spider was blinking at him curiously with both of her eyes like she¡¯d just asked a question to which he¡¯d never given an answer.


    Now that he¡¯d selected his options and obtained his spells, his promised outfit began to bloom around his body as a series of items were put into ce. The crude cultist robes he¡¯d been given were exactly that¡ªa worn, dark outfit </a>that was very fitted to his body. It covered his arms down to his wrists and had an additional hood attached to the back, with a ring gown and cloth pants underneath. The robes fit nicely underneath his cloak, though he had to tuck the new hood into his first one so it wouldn¡¯t scrunch up.


    He got some boots that were well fitted, too¡ªthough they looked ragged and worn. Next an oddly styled backpack of brown leather shed into existence along the ground. The way it sat made it seem full, and a quick look confirmed that it did indeed have a basic survival kit: including a fishing, a bronze hatchet, flint and steel, bandages, a vial filled with red liquid that he could only assume was a health potion, and a small rolled-up nket.


    In his hands he felt a sudden heaviness, which was apanied by the materialization of a long, rusted scythe about five feet in length with a thin, curved de at the top measuring about two feet. Taking the weapon in both hands and waving it around, he found the bnce to be what he¡¯d expected¡ªbut it was a little more awkward than he would have liked. It was leatherbound around the middle of the wooden shaft, devoid of any real decoration otherwise.


    <span ss="bold">[One minute until fighting begins.]


    ¡°Ooooooohhh!¡± Ath crowed, rapidly tapping all twelve arachnid legs with excitement as the notification popped up in front of her as well. ¡°LET¡¯S DO THIS! FIGHT TO THE DEATH, YEAH!¡±


    He spared the demon a nce. Ath didn¡¯t seem to know Riven had been gone all that time. At least she didn¡¯t ask any questions about why he¡¯d been gone or where he¡¯d gone to. The five days of his practicing may have only been seconds here.


    He steeled his nerves.


    It was time, and just to make sure that everything was working right, he gave his spells a final try outside the practice room. Raising his free left hand and aiming across the small floating ind, he thought, <span ss="italic">Bloody Razors. Instantaneously, two spinning, serrated discs of crimson each about a foot in diameter materialized in the air on either side of his outstretched hand and shot out in the direction he was pointing.


    They were pretty damn fast, and they left thin trails of red liquid in the air behind their blurring paths for brief moments until they mmed into the earth twenty yards away¡ªleaving the grass there torn to shreds in little patches around an indentation the magic had cut into the ground before fizzling away into the air.


    They were pretty brutal weapons, and he was eager to see what they could do. Even if it meant killing someone else, he wasn¡¯t about to die here in this strange ce. Not after just having his world open up with the potential for magic. No¡­he was going to live.


    </a><span ss="bold">[Time is up. Your fight to the death ismencing now. If no winner is announced within ten minutes, both participants will die. If you have bondedpanions due to your ss choice, upon death your minions will be sent to theher realm to try and find new masters for further exploration in Elysium.]


    ¡°BRING IT!¡± his Blood Weaver screamed when she saw the notification and waggled a red and ck spider foot his way. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back to theher realms! We¡¯d better win, you hear me?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re damn right we¡¯re going to win.¡± He gave her an encouraging nod and adjusted his stance to ready himself, but he hadn¡¯t noticed the other looming ind closing in until right before the twond masses hit.


    The cliff faces made impact with a thunderous p of noise. Rock mmed into rock with a huge boom, shaking both inds in a spray of debris. The ground shuddered and caused him to almost lose his footing, but he nted down firmly and waited for the shock waves to pass. When the dust settled, Riven found himself by some stroke of luck looking at the same bald asshole who¡¯d shoved him and told him to <span ss="italic">move it in the second phase of the trial.


    <span ss="italic">Why is it that bald people were always assholes?


    <span ss="italic">Bald people are the worst.


    Riven knew it was petty. He knew it wasn¡¯t a good reason to kill the man, but his reason was already set. Riven wanted to live, and even that small amount of injustice, rudeness, and arrogance made it all the easier to grip his scythe more firmly with deadly intent.


    Therger bald man had surprisingly enough chosen a caster¡¯s staff¡­but he also had an amulet. Something that Riven didn¡¯t understand. How could he have two choices from the items list? Riven had only gotten the scythe. His enemy¡¯s staff was long, about five feet in length, and had a gnarled knob end to it. It wasn¡¯t anything special, but what Riven found really odd was the ne around the sneering man¡¯s neck. It had a small circr pendant made of white ivory, depicting a carved dragon with emeralds for eyes. The pendant was held up by a ck cord of some kind, and the artwork was rather ornate.


    Was that really the Minor Amulet of Protection from the items list? Looked rather fancy to be minor.


    Aside from that, the other man had chosen a minion that hadn¡¯t ever been presented to Riven. Perhaps it was because the other man had chosen necromancer or something simr?


    It was a huge, skeletal, zombie wolf. The creature wasrge, as big as any other wolf from Earth, but it had only patches of rotting flesh or fur with bright-white eyes on glistening bones. The breath from the creature¡¯s decrepit lungs came out as a gaseous cloud of green through fangs as it was snarling at Riven with a keen hunger. It looked alien and formidable as it circled its new master protectively. Just by looking at the creature, he guessed it might be able to crush his own spider minion rather easily¡ªbeing two to three times Ath¡¯s size.


    </a>The older, taller, balder man sneered Riven¡¯s way and spat on the grassy ground between his feet. ¡°We meet again, <span ss="italic">pig.¡±

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12


    The words Riven¡¯s opponent spoke were rough and filled with intent to kill, though Riven thought the choice of insult rather odd. Still, the look of disgust on his enemy¡¯s countenance illuminated by moonlight was more than enough to let Riven know he wouldn¡¯t be given any mercy¡­which again only made the things he had to do easier for Riven to go through with.


    But the bald man wasn¡¯t done speaking. Or rather, the man was shouting due to the distance between them. He stepped forward to point at Riven with an usatory posturing while chill winds rustled both men¡¯s robes. ¡°You probably have no idea what¡¯s really going on here, do you? To think that I would be paired with these worthless fools. How was it that any of you got through thebyrinth to begin with? Has Chalgathi becent in who he admits into his chosen? Was it not supposed to be us true cultists who received his graces?¡±


    Riven gave his opponent across the grass a nk stare in return, only shifting slightly when the crisp night breeze blew hard enough to whip his cloak about. This¡­wasn¡¯t going as Riven had expected. It appeared Baldy knew who Chalgathi was? That was weird. And a cult?


    Riven knew he had cultist¡¯s robes on, but he didn¡¯t think that qualified as being a cult member. This guy, though¡ªhe was actually iming to be part of one? How intriguing.


    Therger man angrily spat in Riven¡¯s direction at theck of reply and then scoffed in utter disgust. ¡°You probably haven¡¯t even figured out how to bring up your status page yet, <span ss="italic">have you? You probably never even experienced <span ss="italic">real magic before this; you¡¯re probably one of those people who concentrated on your nine-to-five desk job instead of truly living and thriving in the gift that Elysium sent us as a divine sign of things toe. Pathetic. Utterly pathetic that I spent so much time learning the ins and outs of it all, to be only one of a mere ten within the cult¡¯s ranks to make it to thest round. The rest of you are not deserving of this gift, are not deserving of such power in this new world. You all deserve nothing but death, and after having prepared for this moment with years of study to </apletely master both of my chosen spells, I am confident in my ability to send you into the afterlife. I doubt you were able to master even a fraction of a single ability in the minimal time granted to learn, so perhaps I¡¯ll grant you a final gift before your death and allow you to see what a real sorcerer can truly do! Say yourst prayers, worm, and balk before my majesty!¡±


    Riven raised a skeptical eyebrow, thoroughly unimpressed with the rambling. It really hadn¡¯t been <span ss="italic">that hard to learn those two spells. But a head start? That was rather unfair, though Riven could see no reason why the man would lie to him. Had this guy really taken a years-long head start to learn just two of them? Hmm. That¡¯s what it sounded like. Was it supposed to be bragging? Was that some kind of great feat? Riven cocked his head to the side in confusion, briefly opening his mouth to reply but not finding the words. Regardless, now things were definitely on an entirely different level of weird with the monologue. This guy was basically telling him in some insanity-driven speech that he was part of a cult and had been preparing for this weird-ass situation? Upon studying the man¡¯s words and attitude, Riven definitely could make out that he was genuinely angry¡­and the venting seemed more directed to the world around them.


    So Riven said the only thing that came to mind and opened his mouth to speak again. ¡°Your potato head shines in the moonlight. There, I said it.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You heard me, you bald old fuck.¡±


    There was a long silence after that as the other man considered Riven¡¯s words with a confused re, but he then shook his head with a snarl and began to summon magics to his bidding. ¡°I¡¯m only thirty-six! I am nowhere near old, you fucking idiot!¡±


    ¡°More¡¯s the pity for your baldness then, you poor, cursed man.¡±


    ¡°Silence! I have perfected both spells given to me by Chalgathi far in advance of this trial! You will sumb to my power, and I will bathe in your blood!¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not very nice.¡± Riven frowned to consider the mental image of a literal bloodbath just when shadows began erupting from the man¡¯s staff and the brief monologue ended. Condensing and reforming into one another, the shadows quickly created two skulking, terrier-sized quadrupeds from shadow mana. Their bodies flickered in and out of existence, each with two red eyes ring at him and ws extending as they hissed his way.


    Was that the Create Shadowling spell?


    <span ss="bold">[Create Shadowling [Shadow]¡ªcreate temporary shadow beasts that attack your enemies to do damage. Shadowlings are faster and stronger in dark ces.]


    </a>Then, remembering how he¡¯d acquired his own first unique ability from the second phase of the quest, Riven grew just slightly more confident.


    <span ss="bold">[Blessing of the Crow (Unholy): Activate this ability up to once per day for an hour¡¯s worth of increased Stamina regeneration with a significant boost to Agility.]


    It was his only movement ability. Hopefully this would give him a mobility advantage that he could utilize, especially with Ath¡¯s new trait imbuing his body with even further speed.


    Red sparks of electricity began to flicker to life across his clothes and skin when he mentally activated the blessing. The power began pulsing and shifting to light up the area around him in a sinister shade of crimson, and his body felt invigorated beyond what any stimnt could have done for him back on Earth. The boost empowered Riven with immense amounts of stamina regeneration, speed, and agility¡ªhis muscles were literally electrified with might beyond natural human boundaries¡ªand he red back at the man he¡¯d have to kill just when the shadowlings stopped halfway between them.


    The bald man, not recognizing the ability, gave Riven a confused frown, and his features became even angrier as fights began to break out all around them on other floating inds nearby. Blue, red, ck, orange, teal, and purple energies began lighting up the night sky around them as screams, explosions, and bestial roars echoed around the chasm betweennd masses.


    The fights had finally begun.


    ¡°DIE!¡± the shiny, hairless man screeched with an angry roar as he finally went on the offensive. Pulsing, neon-teal mana was conjured and then condensed into the size and spherical shape of a baseball, then was flung at a shrieking speed past the two shadow beasts and in Riven¡¯s direction.


    Riven was rather surprised at just how fucking fast the attack was going, startled even, but he had expected the attack and instinctively pushed mana into the ability of his blessing to empower it further. His mana channels surged with warmth, the crimson lightning arcing about his body radiated outward beyond its stabilized form, and he blurred left.


    Thus his body shed out of the way just in time, and his opponent¡¯s spell crashed into the ground a couple feet to the left of where Riven now stood. It was also where Riven had just been. His strained movements emphasized the red lightning trickling along his skin, though the mana pull started to decrease as he calmed down. But he was definitely surprised at the result; he¡¯d never pushed that amount of mana through his channels before, and his knee-jerk reaction to force mana into his activated ability far outweighed his previous sprint through the maze.


    </a>The earth and grass exploded and withered right where he¡¯d been a moment before, five feet to his right, and the neon-teal glow faded away to leave a moderately sized hole in the ground that smoked with the remnants of his enemy¡¯s mana.


    Riven spared the impact site a very brief nce. Was that the miasmic bolt spell? If not, it was at least something simr.


    The bald man hissed in disbelief, now sporting a bulging vein across his forehead and focused eyes. ¡°You should not be able to move that fast!¡±


    Ath began to chitter and screech, rushing forward only to be stopped with a hand gesture by Riven. The demon did stop, though she gave him a confused sideways nce. Yet another two miasmic bolts rocketed toward Riven as he tested the waters of his enemy¡¯s strength and let him whittle down his mana reserves. Both miasmic bolts left smoking holes in the ground behind him, both of them were dodged even more easily than the first, and then yet another bolt soared past into the air to make impact with another ind far off.


    It truly was a long-range attack, but this time it was a little too close forfort. His spells didn¡¯t go nearly that far, with the Wretched Snare traveling maybe a dozen or so yards urately while his Bloody Razors went about three times that length. The distance between the two casters, though? It was farther than that.


    Still, if Riven hadn¡¯t activated his blessing, he was utterly sure he¡¯d have been unable to dodge these attacks. Riven dodged yet another magical bolt while he got a handle on adjusting the power output for his blessing, and meanwhile he considered his enemy. What the man had said was right¡ªhe normally shouldn¡¯t be able to move that fast¡ªand even now Riven wasn¡¯t 100 percent confident in his ability to continue dodging if they kept oning or if he was caught up fighting the summoned shadow beasts. Even if it did mean whittling down his enemy¡¯s mana, Riven didn¡¯t know just how much mana his enemy actually had. It would pose a problem if the man had more mana than Riven did, and although Blessing of the Crow didn¡¯t use any mana at a base level, it did utilize a lot of it if he pushed himself to elevate his speed further. So he quickly decided to switch tactics and stopped experimenting. Inrge part he also attributed his sess at dodging the shots to the very animated way the crazed caster would prepare the attacks, basically broadcasting it every time he made a move before he even started channeling the spell.


    Not only that, but thebatants were a good ways away from each other¡ªgiving Riven time to dodge that he wouldn¡¯t have had up close. That being said, his spells were both shorter range than the one this caster was flinging at him, so he¡¯d have to bridge the gap.


    With a grunt Riven pushed off¡ªvaulting ahead in a burst of speed and then keeping his blessing at a base level to preserve mana. His Blood Weaver, who¡¯d been watching him curiously after he¡¯d activated the crow¡¯s blessing, screeched and raced ahead with him¡ªfar outstripping him in speed even when utilizing his boost and passing him by with excitement in her eyes. The fun little Blood Weaver was gone, and in its ce was a feral hunter¡ªsilver fangs shing.


    </a>¡°SHRREEEEEEE!¡±


    Panicking at the speed at which the arachnid was gaining ground, the other caster fired off another miasmic bolt that was easily and expertly dodged by the creature. Ath¡¯s alien screech hit a higher pitch as therge zombie wolf lunged forward with a roar¡ªtrying to snap at the arachnid¡¯s legs only to find empty air. Glinting crimson strands of blood silk wrapped around its neck, and the undead creature was yanked back hard to flip over violently when the spider¡¯s threads met an end.


    Immediately, the spider demon was on top of the wolf¡¯s back¡ªand the two monsters were at each other¡¯s throats with hisses, roars, shrieks, and shing teeth in a tumble over the dirt and grass.


    Despite the battle going on to Riven¡¯s right, he focused on his own opponent. He pushed onward, sprinting faster and faster ahead. He dodged another projectile of glowing miasmic power that seared his cheek, rolled to duck under another, and fired off two Bloody Razors that whipped forward through the air with arcs of crimson flowing out behind them. The caster cursed and, to Riven¡¯s amazement,unched an intercepting attack that took one of his razors out midair before getting nicked by the second attack. The caster roared in outrage, and blood started leaking from a deep cut where he¡¯d managed to turn his body at thest second, though the wound in his arm was certainly ugly to look at.


    Riven took that opportunity to close the gap even farther and summoned the spell Wretched Snare. ck magic erupted from Riven¡¯s outstretched hand as a small globe of ck that quickly expanded into a of cruel needles. It was only partially dodged when the other man frantically kicked off to the left, his trailing leg being hooked by the¡¯s edge. The man screamed as the sharp pieces dug through his pants into his leg, and both his body and mind were assaulted with waves of unholy pain.


    The rest of the mmed into the ground, sticking to both the man and the dirt below like glue as Riven¡¯s enemy repeatedly shrieked and tried to fling it off him, to no avail. The ck magic was burning the target like acid, and smoke billowed up where the needles of the had buried themselves. Riven grinned victoriously amid his sprint forward, focused on ending the fight as fast as possible, and his mana channels expanded with another surge of power. He leaned left, kicking off to bypass one of the small shadow beasts, and prepared to cast Bloody Razors when the two ck shadow beasts he¡¯d been trying to get around lunged. Their sharp fangs and ws wrapped around his legs, and the power he¡¯d been building up across his fingertips fizzled out in an instant.


    *WHAM*


    </a>He mmed face-first into the ground, dropping his scythe and screaming in horrified pain as the temporarily summoned little minions wed at his ankles and bit into his feet.


    ¡°SON OF A BITCH!¡±


    Cursing and kicking at them, he managed to get one off just as he saw another miasmic bolt being shot his way. Unfortunately he didn¡¯t have time to dodge and took it to the shoulder, screaming even more loudly as a chunk of his deltoid was ripped out and fried in a spray of blood.

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13


    A secondter and Ath was there, shing by and rapid-firing hardened <span ss="italic">Bloody Strings from her abdomen that pierced the shadowlings like needle-shaped red missiles. The tiny shadow beasts shrieked and withered into puffs of ck me before the Blood Weaver demon turned around to reengage the undead wolf that¡¯d followed her, nimbly dodging the snaps of the zombie and burying her silver fangs into the wolf¡¯s neck bones.


    The wolf furiously roared and sted a green toxin cloud around its position to shake the demonic spider off. Meanwhile, necrotic venom from Ath¡¯s fangs was injected into its spine in a counterattack. The venom from her silver fangs was ck, creeping along the joints of the zombie¡¯s exposed vertebrae and causing pieces of bone to rot off, while the cloud of toxic gas seemed unable to affect the demon at all. Therger zombie managed to roll Ath off and leaped back to try and buy itself some space¡ªbut it found itself entangled time and time again with strands of sticky red webbing thattched onto its feet, neck, and thorax.


    Meanwhile, Riven snarled despite his mangled shoulder and dodged yet another miasmic st of neon mana that rocketed by his left ear¡ªonly saving himself due to his enhanced body under the power of the crow¡¯s blessing.


    *WHOOSH*


    The bald man was snarling in disbelief at yet another blur of motion on Riven¡¯s end, rage filling the sorcerer¡¯s features while blood seeped from the burned-off portion of his pants where Riven¡¯s snare had entangled his bloodied legs. ¡°YOU LITTLE BASTARD!¡±


    Two more shadowling summons began to form amid dark mana that spilled out of the sorcerer¡¯s staff,ing to life and giving shape to animated quadrupeds yet again. The shadows molded, folded in on themselves, and then solidified to re out at Riven before shooting ahead with a fervor.


    This time, though, Riven was ready.


    His mutted feet ached under the strain, but he shot forward anyways and unleashed two razor discs of crimson. The spinning des of blood mana </a>rocketed ahead to meet the charging shadowlings, which were both too close and too slow to dodge. One almost escaped the attack, but when the small creature went left, the spinning blood magic went left with it. This particr spell had minor lock-on abilities, and the blood magic adjusted to the direction its target was moving in and cleaved the summoned creature cleanly through. The sleek de of magic caused the small monster to burst into another puff of ck fire. It never even stood a chance.


    ¡°INSOLENCE!¡± the bald man screeched, and he raised his staff to cast yet another miasmic bolt but paled when nothing happened.


    Simultaneously, Riven grinned. He must either be out of mana or the man had finally triggered a cooldown. Riven¡¯s muscles flexed, and he dived forward to take advantage of the situation, ignoring the pain of his wounds. Blood seeped through his boots and along his shins, over the torn muscture of his right shoulder, but the blessing kept him going and red electricity pulsed along his skin to drive him toward greater speeds.


    Then he conjured a Wretched Snare, and a ck ball erupted from his left hand where he held the scythe. The magic surged and spread out, evolving and expanding into another that mmed full force into Riven¡¯s enemy. This time there was simply no room to dodge even part of it now that thebatants were so much closer to one another, and the spell caught the sorcerer¡¯s entire body within the rooting ck magic.


    The bald man screamed, flesh and mental barriers alike burning and tearing underneath the damage-over-time effect of the Unholy. Writhing, burrowing needles of the snare dug farther in second by second, ripping pieces of the man¡¯s body apart and letting loose streams of blood under their strangling, tightening hold. The enemy caster dropped his staff only a secondter, and his knees hit the ground while his lungs took in deep, rapid gasps. He struggled frantically in a pained panic, trying to get out of the rooting snare and simultaneously trying to stop his body from going into shock, but was only able to tear off small pieces of the Unholy magic at a time. With each piece he tore off, so too came a chunk of his own flesh, and he was far too slow trying to get the snare off before Riven finally got there.


    With a roar of anger, Riven swung his scythe down, cleaving deep into the man¡¯s thigh. The thigh wasn¡¯t necessarily what Riven had been aiming for, but he¡¯d take the hit withoutint after the sorcerer jerked his leg up to protect his vital organs.


    The de sank deep, but Riven was kicked back despite this and staggered to the ground as the man regained his mana and fired another miasmic bolt. The magic tore a hole through Riven¡¯s billowing cloak, but the sorcerer¡¯s frantic attack had missed the target¡¯s body in his terrified state of mind, and the shot had gone right under Riven¡¯s good arm.


    </a>Riven fell back a ways to put some space between them and whirled. The scythe was still embedded in the man¡¯s thigh, left there after Riven had stumbled backward, but Riven raised up his good arm and drained what little mana he had left to cast his final spells. He could literally feel the rest of his mana leave his body, emptying it like a drain would a bathtub, and he released the magic upon his enemy with a bloodthirsty smile.


    Not two, but four Bloody Razors formed ahead of him and shot forward like spinning crimson bullets aiming for the other caster. The blurring magical projectiles left ribbons of blood trailing their paths through the air, but Riven found his spells mming into the undead wolf when it jumped in front of its master and took the hit for him.


    The wolf was already damaged. It was somehow missing a front leg and had obvious signs of necrosis along its neck and thorax even beyond its original state to the point that its bones were cracking all over its front. Strands of Bloody Strings were flowing out behind it where it¡¯d broken free from Ath¡¯s ability, too. Now, though¡ªas the sharpened discs of razor-edged blood mana crashed into its body¡ªthe undead creature made a final yelp and was shot down midair to m atop the master it served.


    Ity there, twitching, until it died a true death only secondster.


    Riven could barely move despite his blessing. His entire body screamed at him in protest, but he willed it to keep going and continued to push himself forward. He shakily managed to take another couple steps until he fell over again and forcibly let out an expulsion of air when he hit the bloodstained grass in a daze. He was bleeding out, slowly dying while the holes in his limbs poured out his own bodily fluids. He looked right, seeing a piece of muscle hanging on to his shoulder by a slim p, and was disgusted when he realized it smelled like cooked meat.


    The thought of it made him literally gag, and he felt bile climb up his throat.


    But his thoughts were interrupted by the chitteringughter of Ath. The spider had crawled over to him, missing a leg of her own. Pale-green ichor dripped from the wound¡ªbut otherwise she was in great condition.


    ¡°You did well to stay alive! I¡¯m super proud of you!¡± the Blood Weaver said with genuine happiness as she sweetly stroked his head with two sharpened arachnid feet. ¡°Let me finish this. We both participated in the kills, so we¡¯ll both get XP. I think we may even grow a level or two after this! Be right back!¡±


    The spider¡¯s ruby eyes turned, and Ath menacingly stalked toward her prey with a loud, evil cackle. The other mage, who continued to screech at the top of his lungs in agony as the burned away his skin, had only managed to partially get himself out of the tangled mess¡­ But when he looked back over his shoulder to see the demonic spider making its way to him, the sorcerer went into a full-blown panic attack.


    </a>As for the demon? Ath¡¯s next words were filled with excitement and a thrill for the kill. ¡°C¡¯M¡¯ERE, BITCH!¡±


    Riven¡¯s breathing became shallow and time began to slow down, or at least it seemed that way to him when his mental faculties started to shut off. He watched in silence, his vision slowly fading while the other man¡¯s helpless screams of terror and pain reached new heights. He watched as Ath tore into the man¡¯s stomach and began ripping out his intestines. Watched as she loudly mocked the sorcerer amid his begging pleas. Watched as she sprayed webbing all over the man¡¯s face to keep him quiet while she ate him alive, and watched as she did another ridiculous happy dance atop his corpse when the man finally fell silent in death.


    This spider was a goddamn kill-happy psychopath.


    <span ss="bold">[Part three of three in the Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage Quest has beenpleted by ying your opponent in a one-on-one battle to the death.]


    <span ss="bold">[You have gained onebat level. Please visit your status page to assign stat points.]


    <span ss="bold">[You have be one of Chalgathi¡¯s chosen few. You hold no allegiance to anyone but yourself, and Chalgathi in turn is interested to see where you will take this path and how far you progress in your new life within Elysium. Perhaps if you tread carefully enough, you may even find further favor¡­and further power.


    <span ss="bold">That¡­that is to be determined through your own actions.


    <span ss="bold">Good luck, young Novice Warlock. May your kills be many and your dominion be swift.]


    A sh of light surged across his body. Suddenly Riven could breathe normally again, and he took in a long gasp of crisp, fresh air. Riven¡¯s expression of eager happiness increased in magnitude when he felt the wounds along his body clear up and saw his clothes visibly repair, but the expression faltered and turned into yet another frown when he read the texts. His situation sounded rather ominous, and he found it hard to believe Chalgathi didn¡¯t expect anything of him after this. He didn¡¯t know who or what Chalgathi was, but every action had a reason behind it.


    The stars overhead gently twinkled down onto his sprawled-out form, and he took a moment to get a grip on what he¡¯d just gone through. It didn¡¯tst long, however, not with all the distracting noise his victorious demon was making. </a>Pushing himself up with a strained groan, he looked at the still-dancing spider while she chittered and clicked her mandibles atop his enemy¡¯s corpse¡ªwaving the man¡¯s intestines around in the air like pom-poms or batons¡­ Riven studied the bound demon for a few seconds with a nk stare, and then he couldn¡¯t help butugh. It was a sour, coldugh, because he¡¯d nearly died and the sight was rather gruesome. But he was alive¡­and that damnable little spider had without a doubt saved his life.


    ¡°Good job, Ath. I think I owe you one.¡±

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14


    The Blood Weaver turned around, dropped the intestines and scurried over to him. Wrapping her two front legs around his own right leg, Ath nuzzled up against him with her face. ¡°WE DID IT! I WAS SO WORRIED WE¡¯D DIE! Mother would have scolded me if I¡¯d died right after my first summoning.¡±


    [Special event and starter quest Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage hase to an end with sessfulpletion. You will be recycled back into mainstream events two minutes from now. Please gather your equipment, as you will only take with you what is on your person.]


    Shaking his head at the injustice of being yanked back and forth through various realities, he sagged his shoulders and bent down to give Ath some petting¡ªwhich she very obviously enjoyed before she went back to eating the corpse nearby. Then he walked over to the dead man to search his bag. He took the health potion from the dead man¡¯s pack, an extra hatchet, the wooden caster¡¯s staff, and the circr ivory ne depicting the dragon with emerald eyes.


    Elysium¡¯s administrator gave him no information about the ne when he tried to identify it, and he was still skeptical as to whether or not it really was the Minor Amulet of Protection. If it had been, it would have saved the man¡¯s life there at the end to buy him some time¡­but it hadn¡¯t done so. What was this ne doing here, then? Had the man found it like Riven had found the blessing or the vase?


    He tried to identify these items numerous times, both the vase and the ivory amulet, but attempting to do so simply didn¡¯t work.


    Why was that?


    Was there some kind of stiption on these particr items? Or were they just too high a quality to be identified by him?


    Hopefully he¡¯d be able to figure it out soon. He really wanted to know what </a>they were and how they worked¡­but for the meantime, he¡¯d just stuff the vase into his backpack and slip the amulet over his neck. Hopefully the amulet would give him some passive bonuses if the other items he had were anything to judge by¡ªeven if he wasn¡¯t aware of them for the time being. Then, rearranging his supplies and making sure that strange vase was in a secure position inside the leather bag where it was least likely to get damaged, he nodded to himself in affirmation.


    [Your time is up. Starting area confirmed. Commencing upload.]


    *WHUMPH*


    [Wee to Elysium¡¯s multiverse tutorial¡ªEarth Origins, section 239,342.]


    Earth? Did he read that right? Was he back home?


    Riven found himself standing in a sprawling meadow covered in wildflowers and rolling green hills under a cloudless midsummer sky. The chill breeze had be a very faint gust of radiating warmth. Far ahead of him in the distance was a snow-capped mountain range, a radiant green forest was far off to his left, a coastline that expanded into an ocean of shimmering blue waves was farther to his right, and immediately all around him were hundreds of other people in the nude.


    The stark difference between him and the others drew a lot of attention when he arrived. He had a full set of gear, while the rest of the people here were utterly naked and thoroughly confused, just like he¡¯d been when initially starting Chalgathi¡¯s starter quest. That, and his Blood Weaver demon¡ªAth¡ªwastched onto his back.


    She looked around excitedly with rapidly transitioning orientations of her head, clicking her mandibles and eyeing the discouraged, frantic crowds of people around him with genuine curiosity. ¡°So many meals to feed on! Can I eat them? Can I?¡±


    He face-palmed as one of the women nearby shrank away with a scream at seeing the huge spider, and he muttered under his breath so that only Ath could hear, ¡°No. Don¡¯t ask again, and y nice.¡±


    If the spider could have frowned, she would have. Instead she just smacked herself atop her own head with one of her front legs. ¡°Ah, damn. Okay¡­if you insist.¡±


    Although she was cute, Ath was truly a ravenous monster in every sense of the word. It hadn¡¯t taken Riven long to figure that one out.


    [Wee, participants, to the new chapter of your lives. I am Elysium¡¯s administrator, the core essence of Elysium itself, and for all intents and purposes I am the multiverse your new reality is run on.]


    </a>Riven frowned when he read the words and nced around again. It looked like another introduction scenario, much like the one he¡¯d already been through. Were these people really just getting into the multiverse now? He knew he¡¯d been given a unique opportunity, but had it actually been a head start as well?


    None of the others that¡¯d been with him in Chalgathi¡¯s trials were here now. None of the people around him had any sets of items or clothes at all. Had he been put inside Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage Starter Quest early and ahead of schedule? The people he saw around him were agitated, confused, upset, or downright in awe of their surroundings. Sometimes a mixture of all those things. Some people were grouped together as families, while others appeared to be friends. Fewer people were like him, those who stood alone amid the mutterings and questions being thrown around while the people of Earth oriented themselves to this new area they upied.


    [Please note the basic functions of Elysium over the next few minutes. Only bare-bones hints and exnations will be given, so pay attention.


    First, Elysium is built on a leveling system that functions on Dao pirs and sses.


    Second, your world is not alone in this integration. Beware.


    Third, guilds are an important part of Elysium¡¯s event structuring.


    Fourth, you are able to interact with objects in the world around you by essing systemmands. By focusing on the word <span ss="italic">Identify with intent, you can get basic descriptions of objects and entities alike. Identify for the sake of learning in the early stages of integration will present to you as if you had the lowest-tier identifier ss, but your version will changeter on to a more basic form of Identifyter. You are also able to read your own information in detail when focusing on the words <span ss="italic">Status Page.]


    This¡­ This was a repeat of the stuff he¡¯d already learned. When he¡¯d first been told about Identify, it¡¯d been in the medusa¡¯sir ying a chess game. Nevertheless, Riven nced down at his scythe. Then he turned his attention to the staff he¡¯d taken off the self-proimed cultist, and then focused on his robes one after the other. He hadn¡¯t really taken the time to evaluate them in much detail earlier, because he¡¯d been rushed into a quick decision right before life-and-deathbat.


    ¡°Identify.¡±


    </a>[Basic Casting Staff, 4 damage, 12% mana regeneration, +3 magic damage]


    [Crude Scythe, 17 damage, +5 Unholy damage, 18% chance to apply Amplified Bleeding]


    [Crude Cultist Robes, 1 defense]


    Riven nodded in appreciation as these particr items did indeed pull up status pages, and he leaned into the scythe to alleviate some of his weight. Should he have gone with the staff after all? That other warlock had been able to cast more spells than he¡¯d been able to. Had it been the amulet? Or the staff?


    Chances that the amulet also had magic regen properties were slim, so he had to guess that the staff was the reason why. If that was the case, and it probably was, he¡¯d actually done himself a disfavor by going with the scythe after all. He¡¯d only managed to get one real swing in during the duel with the sorcerer and could have definitely made better use of actual spells.


    So from here on out he¡¯d probably be going with the staff after all, or at least until he found something better. After he came to that decision, he then started checking out the people around him.


    [Human Woman, Level 0]


    [Human Man, Level 1]


    [Human Boy, Level 0]


    Interesting. Focusing on the words <span ss="italic">Status Page, he was rather surprised to see his avable stat points had changed from zero to seven, with other ss-based points already having been applied. One point had already been applied to Willpower, two to Intelligence, with five free pointsing from his race and two free points being given from his ss.


    Seven free stat points to assign from leveling up, eh?


    ¡°Hey, Ath, just to rify something¡ªIntelligence is what we use for increasing magical damage, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! It also increases your mana pool, so you can cast more spells.¡±


    He assigned all seven to Intelligence without a second thought, increasing his mana pool as well as his magic damage output and bringing it up to twenty-six. He might branch out more whenever he finally got ahold of some martial art abilities, if it suited his future build, but in the meantime he was a pure mage.


    [Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:


    <span ss="bno">? Level 2


    <span ss="bno">? Pir Orientations: Unholy Foundation, Blood


    <span ss="bno">? Traits: Race: Human, ss: Novice Warlock, Breath of </a>Malignancy (???), Adrenaline Junkie (Blood) (+15% to Agility)


    <span ss="bno">? Abilities: Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood)


    <span ss="bno">? Stats: 8 Strength, 8 Sturdiness, 26 Intelligence, 10 Agility, 1 Luck, -4 Charisma, 3 Perception, 19 Willpower, 9 Faith


    <span ss="bno">? Minions: Ath, Level 2 Blood Weaver [14 Willpower Requirement]


    <span ss="bno">? Equipped Items: Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), Basic Cloak (1 def), Crude Scythe (17 dmg, +5 Unholy dmg, potential Amplified Bleed debuff), Basic Casting Staff (4 dmg, 12% mana regen, +3 magic dmg), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies]


    He nced at a nearby man, who was angrily yelling at his nearby peer about needing to repent and how they¡¯d reached purgatory or some other nonsense. He shook his head. His thoughts drifted back to Allie and Jose. Mostly Allie, actually. He was confident Jose would probablye out just fine given his aptitude for survival in the past, but Allie was another matter. His little sister was frail, weak, and he loved her more than anything. It sincerely worried him thinking that she might be undergoing simr events, but he hoped that Jose would keep her safe in Riven¡¯s absence. Still, he couldn¡¯t dwell on the matter. It¡¯d only cloud his mind with worry and would cause him to lose focus of surviving himself. If what the system had said was true, he¡¯d be reunited with her as long as they both survived. He had to believe that she would live, and he had to make it to her after this was all said and done.


    He blinked to clear his head, then he sighed. While the rest of the people in the field were still panicking and trying to figure out what was going on, there were two more items in particr that Riven wanted to try and identify again. It wasn¡¯t like he had any real clue about what the hell was happening, either, but he wasn¡¯t going to get all worked up about it.


    The first was the ivory amulet around his neck, and the other was the sealed vase he¡¯d taken from the pyramid as a reward for finding that hidden room and picking the chest¡¯s lock. Now that he was out of Chalgathi¡¯s trials, perhaps restrictions on what they were had been lifted? After rummaging through the bag¡¯s contents, he brought the vase out, and then scoffed in disbelief as both attempts for either item came up rather empty-handed.


    The item descriptions were still locking him out.


    [Chalgathi Cultist Amulet: ???]


    [Strange Ceramic Vase: ???]

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15


    He tried opening the vase by unscrewing the lid along the top, but it wouldn¡¯t budge after a certain point. Not wanting to break it, he just grimaced in irritation and ced it back in the bag before hefting the bag over one shoulder while smiling at a kid who identally bumped into his leg.


    ¡°No worries, man!¡± Riven stated calmly as the little boy apologized profusely and began to slink back over to his wary parents a few yards away.


    ¡°HISSSSS! Begone, peasant child! BEFORE I EAT YOU!¡±


    He had to p Ath on the thorax to get her to stop hissing at the terrified kid.


    This spider was going to get him into trouble if he didn¡¯t teach her not to antagonize people. There were already people yelling at one another and trying to gather everyone up, seeing what anyone knew about this situation and trying to figure out where they were or why they were here. No one really knew what to think, from the conversations he overheard, and it quickly became apparent that he¡¯d been correct in his initial assessment. These people were all just now getting here from when they¡¯d entered their own pirs of light on Earth to escape the monster swarms.


    <span ss="bold">[The tutorial event is about to begin. The tutorial provides randomized insight into different aspects of Elysium. You may reengage the rest of your fellow earthlings alongside other participants originating from your two merged sisters when you reach the end of the tutorial.


    <span ss="bold">Please form a tutorial group of up to ten people to proceed. Simply willing yourself into another¡¯s party or willing an invitation to another person in close proximity will allow the party interface to form. If you have not selected a group within the allotted time, then you will be sent into the tutorial on your own.


    </a><span ss="bold">Tutorial part one of two: Crafting will begin within twenty minutes; you will be given limited time and supplies to create items to help you in part two. Part two of the tutorial will be Battle, which will be a fight for your lives centered in a tutorial dungeon.


    <span ss="bold">Countdownmencing now.]


    The unease of the ce erupted into a panic.


    ¡°We have to fight for our lives?!¡± a middle-aged blonde woman yelled out in utter disbelief while hugging her teenage daughter to her. ¡°This is utterly ridiculous! This isn¡¯t funny! Where are we?! Why am I naked, and how did I get here?!¡±


    Another man, who was growing red in the face and shaking his clenched fists, spat onto the ground and began screaming up at the sky. ¡°WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! Why am I here?! What happened to my friends?!¡±


    The sentiment was the same from much of the crowd, many of whom were already anxiety-ridden or still in denial of what was happening.


    <span ss="bold">[As a warning of the severity of your situation, nonbelievers and skeptics of this situation will begin to die off one person per minute until there are none left. Cooperation is in your best interest.]


    Off to Riven¡¯s left, a man¡¯s head abruptly exploded, sending his brain matter all over his wife, who began to scream. It was the shock they all needed to get it into high gear.


    Mass anxiety immediately turned into a clusterfuck as hasty negotiating between groupsmenced amid wails of despair. Most people tried maxing out the number of people they could take, but therger families with young kids were in particrly poor spots, because each child counted toward their number cap. People were avoiding grouping up with these families altogether, and they were often left alone entirely despite trying to match with others just as fiercely as everyone else.


    Riven, on the other hand, had no problems whatsoever getting offers, and he was tantly inundated with requests as people came his way to try and get him toe along with their groups. Out of everyone there, he was the only one with any equipment. He was also an obvious outlier given that he was the only person here at level 2, whereas everyone else was level 1 or 0. It was something most people around him noted quite fast upon using their Identify ability.


    On a rted note, something he pieced together almost immediately was that all of those rated as level 0 were rather petite women or children¡ªalong with a disabled guy who couldn¡¯t walk very well. Every single one of the other adults was now starting at level 1.


    Despite the spider hissing viciously and turning on people while poising to shoot blood silk in their direction, people were not entirely deterred. In fact, </a>many of them were intrigued about the enraged but beautiful dog-size spider riding on his back that began chittering at them and actively threatening them. They¡¯d obviously never seen or heard a spider talk before.


    Ath waved her two front legs rapidly in front of her toward a nearby brte woman who deemed it wise to approach. ¡°I¡¯LL CUT YOU, PEASANT BITCH! COME CLOSER AND I¡¯LL RIP OUT YOUR INNARDS!¡±


    The woman faltered.


    Thus it was a muscr tattooed man in his twenties who was the first to approach Riven head-on instead of calling out to him¡ªbut the man still kept a wary distance from Riven¡¯s back, where the hissing spider was still perched. ¡°Uh¡­we already have three other guys about our age. Why don¡¯t youe along with us? Your pet cane with you, too¡­if you want.¡±


    ¡°I AM NOT A PET! I¡¯M A PRINCESS!¡± The spider whirled to re, hissed at him with an animated wave of her front legs, and sted the poor guy with red silk from her abdomen that caused him to fall back in surprise. ¡°I¡¯LL CUT YOU!¡±


    Riven decided to merely wait and watch as the confrontation between the crowd and Ath unfolded, partially in amusement, while he considered what his best course of action would be. If not anything else, his eyes began scanning the crowd for potential options that weren¡¯t approaching him on their own. He needed someone capable if there was a battle section and didn¡¯t want another close call like it¡¯d been in the Chalgathi trials. Even if he did feel bad for the weaker members and families with kids, he needed to get back to Allie and Jose.


    ¡°I¡¯ll work to pay you back if you take me with you!¡± an older but very pretty raven-haired woman urged, pulling on Riven¡¯s cloak to bring him closer away from the others surrounding him. She then winked and slid her hand down his thigh. ¡°I¡¯ll pay you back in more ways than one!¡±


    The spider reacted poorly. ¡°FUCK OFF, BITCH!¡±


    Ath¡¯s silk hit the yelping woman straight in the face before Riven could even think to respond, and he had to double-check to make sure she could breathe before he fended off even more offers while trying to get out of the crowd.


    Jesus, Ath really wasn¡¯t as friendly to others as she was to him¡ªthat was for damn sure. Even though he half-heartedly asked her to stop underneath a poorly hidden grin, the spider either did not hear him¡ªor just t out was ignoring him on purpose. In fact, it looked like she was even having fun, randomly spraying people that got too close andughing like a maniac with that high-pitched, chittering, feminineugh of hers.


    A set ofrge, rough-looking, raven-haired bearded men who were obviously twins stopped him when Riven managed to pull his sleeve away from another pleading woman with a scowl. They both looked like they lived in the mountains </a>or cut trees down for a living, were both significantly bigger than Riven was, and were covered in thick patchy hair along their thighs, chests, and arms.


    ¡°You¡¯reing with us,¡± one of them said while squaring his shoulders threateningly, his brother in the background ring Riven down. ¡°You¡¯ve obviously got a head start of some sort. You¡¯re going to tell us how you did it. You¡¯re also going to tell us how you got a pet ss already; we can tell this is going to be like one of those fucking video games your generation ys and we want in on the secrets.¡±


    The guy¡¯s twin nodded, then aggressively jabbed a sausage-like finger into Riven¡¯s chest. ¡°I suggest handing over your shit, too, before things get messy. That includes the pet.¡±


    Riven had been busy trying to respond to the numerous other requests, and this new threat kind of caught him off guard.


    Nor did he get a chance to reply.


    ¡°FUCK YOU VERY MUCH!¡± The arachnid leaped through the air like a missile, screeching a battle cry while tearing into the first man¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯LL CUT YOU, BITCH! I¡¯LL CUT YOU AND YOUR MAMA!¡±


    *WHAM*


    The big man screamed and reared back, and Riven watched in fascinated horror while the utterly batshit-crazy spider demon he¡¯d bonded with tore off the man¡¯s nose with her mandibles and swallowed it whole in front of his very own eyes. Ath¡¯s victim struggled to get her off him and was obviously in terrified agony. ¡°GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF ME!¡±


    The man¡¯s twin, who was utterly dumbstruck by the sight, frantically grabbed ahold of the giant spider and got an upper body full of red threads. Only that instead of the normal kinds she usually produced, these were sharper and solid, like the ones she¡¯d used to kill those shadow beasts the necromancer had summoned.


    *WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM*


    The sharp, slender pieces of crystallized blood silk shot out of her abdomen like a miniature nail gun, mming into him and causing him to reel back, screaming. He clutched at his own face this time and tripped to fall backward onto the grass, gripping the solidified blood webbing and yanking on it to pull the spikes out with agonized cries and curses.


    Riven dived for the spider, ripping her off the first man¡¯s head amid the man¡¯s screams while she struggled to take another bite.


    ¡°C¡¯M¡¯ERE!¡±


    Though she was cackling like a lunatic and wiggling her twelve sharpened legs around in a crazed frenzy that dug bloody trenches into the man¡¯s flesh when she was pulled off, Riven finally seeded in wrenching her free. She gave the men a quivering, crazed stank-eye while being held in Riven¡¯s arms </a>and specifically pointed one of her front legs at her first victim while literally spitting venom.


    ¡°FUCK YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR COUCH!¡±


    He had no idea what that even meant. Fuck the guy¡¯s couch? He¡¯d have to ask herter.


    Riven was slightly bewildered, and he saw just how bad the wounds were as the two men rolled around on the ground sobbing and cursing at him. They shouldn¡¯t havee to threaten him for his minion and his stuff, but goddamn, she¡¯d gone ham. The first twin was missing his nose and his face waspletely mutted now, and the second twin had piercing projectiles sticking out of his upper chest, shoulders, and even two that were lodged in his lower jaw.


    The horrified looks of the other people around him told him that they¡¯d overstayed their wee. Without another word, he held Ath to his chest with one arm and ran out of the crowd while wondering what the fuck he¡¯d just gotten himself into with a minion like this.


    But he was amused rather than angry and not really feeling too sorry for the thugs who¡¯d just tried to shake him down. He continued on. Pushing his way through the crowds and away from the wounded men, he began to chuckle slightly. If they came at him again, he might really end them by unleashing the little demon in his arms and wouldn¡¯t think twice about it. No doubt the strange situation they found themselves in had jaded many of the survivors, and people would be very ambitious in trying to get ahead in the new world now that they all had nothing. Thinking about it as he walked across the field, he came to the conclusion that he should expect this kind of behavior more often than not¡ªand would have to be careful about whom he aligned himself with in the future.

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16


    Nobody stopped him to ask or plead again as he made his way to the perimeter of the popted area. Most of them kept their distance, though others still looked longingly his way in hopes that he¡¯d see them and would make an offer himself. A lot of them were scared, and rightfully so, in his opinion. He had a maniac spider with him, after all.


    The countdown timer continued to tick down. Eleven minutes remained.


    He let out a slow breath of contentment and stretched his arms while he sat. The sun¡¯s rays felt rather nice, and the grass of the field between his fingers was soft. He leaned back to watch the chaotic scene unfold, letting in scents of the grasnd fill each intake and dwelling on why he hadn¡¯t been a more outdoorsy person over the course of his life. Meanwhile, he was calming Ath by giving her pets¡­which she epted grudgingly while muttering about cutting people and keeping her two red eyes in the direction of the two men who¡¯d threatened Riven.


    He still couldn¡¯t decide whether or not to thank the demon or to scold her¡­so he just said nothing and continued to sit. He¡¯d also left the scythe behind in the madness and had only managed to pick up the staff. He didn¡¯t see himself using the scythe again any time soon after his telling battle with the other caster, though, deciding mana regeneration was worth far more than the silly de at the end of a stick. So he didn¡¯t bother going to get it. No doubt other people would have use for the scythe over him. Setting the staff down beside his right thigh and pulling his backpack around, he rummaged through it to pull out the vase.


    The painted ck flowers along the porcin refused to reflect any light whatsoever, and he turned the sealed object around in his hands. With a humph and inspecting the lid, he tried to twist it off along the sealed corkscrew top¡ªbut was again met with resistance even when bracing the item against the ground. It would turn just slightly if he put enough effort into it but would jam every time he got to a certain point. Curiously, he turned it back and forth¡ªtrying to get it open, and finally he even considered breaking it to see what was inside.


    </a>The vase was far too heavy to be empty, and when he shook it, he could hear something muffled hit the sides of the object with every movement. Riven guessed that there was padding or packaging of some sort, or perhaps even dirt, and it was infuriating that he wasn¡¯t able to find out. The one thing that stopped him from smashing it open right then and there was the idea that maybe it was the vase itself that was valuable and not the object within it¡­if the vase had any value at all. He assumed it did, though, due to finding it in an event where, out of over fourteen hundred people, only fifty survived. He¡¯d also found it in a goddamn treasure chest, of all things!


    There was no way it was just trash.


    His attention was diverted when another bunch of people in front of him began to throw punches and tackle one another amid shouts, quickly evolving into a full-scale brawl between two groups of at least a dozen different members each. With a huff of irritation at the tantly irrational behavior between the men and women in front of him, he stored his vase and got back up to his feet to move somewhere else with his pet spider in his arms.


    And that was when he saw them.


    It was a family of three a little ways off. They all had red hair with pale-white skin and freckles, obviously of Irish descent. There was a mother, a son, and a daughter, with the daughter being about Riven¡¯s age and the son being in his early teenage years. The teenage son was on the floor. He was the skinny young man Riven had seen get knocked out cold with a fist that¡¯d clipped him along the forehead right when Riven swiveled their way. Their mother was likely in her forties or fifties, with slight wrinkles on her face that suggested she smiled a lot, though she wore a terror-stricken scowl on her face as she screamed for help right now.


    Yet nobody moved to help her and her children. Not a single soul.


    She was desperately trying to shove off another group of four dark-haired white men who¡¯d taken it upon themselves to begin dragging the two screaming and crying women off into another group of theirrades that waited eagerly nearby. Many of the men were obviously¡­excited, yelling andughing about how they needed to ¡°protect¡± the girls in the uing trial.


    ¡°Come on,dies! You¡¯ll be sure to <span ss="italic">love thepany!¡± one of the men crowed while heughed and tugged at the roots of the daughter¡¯s hair.


    Oh, how this <span ss="italic">Lord of the Flies scenario was already starting to y out. Riven could only see this going one direction with the way the men groped the young woman andughed while another of them took it upon himself to start beating the struggling mother savagely with his fists before he straddled her.


    The son remained passed out cold, having stood no chance against the older, fully grown adults who¡¯d seen fit to take his mom and sister away.


    Riven had watched end-of-the-world or postapocalyptic movies in the past, and he couldn¡¯t say that he was surprised at this kind of behavior. Humans were </a>usually dog-shit creatures, and that¡¯s why he¡¯d been a loner most of his life, even aside from having to drop out of high school to take care of his sickly mother before she disappeared like his dad had done. People who got a little taste of power always tried to take it a mile, and without strict punishments for their behaviors, there was little holding back much of society from straight anarchy. He¡¯d seen it many years ago on the news as well, when New Orleans had a hurricane pass through and looters ravaged the city in awless state during the aftermath. He remembered a news report about how some of those people had even shot at a police helicopter trying to help the survivors, and this in many ways was not very different.


    But those thoughts only stayed mere moments before Riven¡¯s heart began to speed up with adrenaline. It also very much reminded him of something more personal that¡¯d happened to Allie years ago. Post-traumatic stress disorder was not always something that made people violent¡ªin fact, it didn¡¯t affect most people that way. However, in Riven¡¯s case¡­he was prone toshing out.


    Riven¡¯s eyes briefly shed a bright shade of crimson, unbeknownst to him, and his breathing rapidly increased while previously sheltered memories berated his mind. Even with his current abilities and his little demon¡­he would likely be unable to take on a group thatrge to stop them. Aside from the four men who were dragging the younger woman away or the two beating the mother¡¯s face in, there was therge group of their friends waiting expectantly nearby. Most of these men had identifying gang tattoos that matched one another on their arms, chests, or backs. When they pulled the young woman inside the perimeter of their crowd, the screams and pleas from the girl only intensified amid theughter of her aggressors. Others nearby slunk from the situation, putting distance between themselves and what was happening so that they wouldn¡¯t be the next targets, and still others just dumbly watched with nk expressions.


    ¡°Ath.¡±


    His voice was shaky, heated, and his entire body became rigid. It did not go unnoticed by the demon, either.


    ¡°Yes?!¡± Ath turned onto her back like a dog wanting a belly scratch in his arms, but instead of asking for that scratch, she lifted her two front legs and ced them on either side of Riven¡¯s cheeks. Her tiny legs were cool to the touch, and she brought her spider face up to him to stare into his eyes and speak to him with that smooth, silky voice that sounded like a wind chime on a midsummer¡¯s day.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Power rippled the air along Riven¡¯s skin, and despite the spider trying to pull Riven¡¯s face toward her own, he did not let his eyes leave the sight of the two women being attacked. Emotions roiled inside him, and he shifted his posture to turn in their direction.


    Slowly, he started to walk. ¡°We¡¯re about to kill a lot of people.¡±


    </a>¡°OH, REALLY?! How splendid!¡± The spider cackled and hopped down onto the grass, excitedly tapping her feet in anticipation. ¡°I assume you want to y hero to those fine li¡¯ldies? Your bodynguage is easy to read. I¡¯ll keep you safe, don¡¯t worry! I didn¡¯t leave theher realms just to be put down by a bunch of cocksuckers like these guys!¡±


    Mental anguish racked his mind, and pain very briefly etched itself into his facial expressions. He barelyputed her words, beginning to pick up pace while memories of Allie on that night all those years ago caused him to literally shudder. He¡¯d been too weak, and they¡¯d been too many. His sister had cried for his help. It was a mental scar he¡¯d never get rid of. But today things were different; today he had the power to do something about it¡ªeven if the odds were not on his side due to a massive number difference. His body stilled and ceased its shaking, his blood ran hot, and his lips curled back in a sneer.


    With an ever-rising fury fueling him, he began to channel mana into his fingertips.


    Riven paused for a few moments to watch, however, when a single man of African descent barreled into the group like a truck. He was big, huge even, and looked like he worked out twelve hours a day, seven days a week. Large tribal tattoos covered his arms and legs, and he took out the first of his opponents with a roar and a single swing of his fist.


    The jaw of the first man who¡¯d dragged the young woman over to his buddies cleanly broke under the force of the dark-skinned man¡¯s knuckles, causing the opponent to let go of the young woman and whip around¡ªspinning to the floor unconscious. Immediately after that, the scene was chaos.


    Four others immediately began attacking the neer, two of them tackling him while the others began to m their fists and feet into his body while he struck back out at them and tried to maintain bnce.


    ¡°Please¡­¡± The mother begged a ways off from her daughter, spitting blood when she was pped hard across her bruised face.


    The man over her just sneered down, a poorly shaved mustache turned into a sour frown. His hands gripped the older woman¡¯s neck and began to squeeze. ¡°Shut up, you dumb whore! I didn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    Two discs of razor-sharp, crystallized blood cleanly ripped through the man¡¯s neck and left a trail of ribbonlike crimson through the air as they passed. The man¡¯s speech was sharply cut off¡ªRiven¡¯s magic cleanly lopping off his head, severing it from the body with a single attack. The head flipped into the air, spraying the others nearby with red fluids as it bounced along the ground to settle in front of the other would-be defiler waiting his own turn with the older woman. He looked up from his prey, bewildered, just when another razor ran itself through his right eye and partway into his skull.


    *SHUNK*


    </a>The man screamed, reeled back, and only managed to choke out a single cry for help before a booted foot mmed into the protruding piece of blood magic¡ªlodging it deeper into his brain. He flopped backward, sprawling unceremoniously onto the grass in death, and began to twitch.


    <span ss="italic">Fatality.


    Those nearby paused or gawked at what had just happened, many of them in a state of shock or simply just in denial of what had just urred. But others were quicker to react.


    Riven held up his staff in his left hand to whirl about, using the object to point at his next victims when they rushed him. A of ck energy erupted forward, spreading out while it went and mmed into the crowded bunch of three men to catch them in sticky, burning, needlelike barbs. The magic pierced their bodies and tangled them up like glue, smoking and tearing into their skin and sending torturous thoughts of agony through their conscious minds. His targets were flung off their feet into the air before hitting the ground hard, and their bodies began to rip more and more due to their struggles while they cried, iled, and screamed.


    Riven stepped forward, animatedly crunching onto the neck of the twitching second man he¡¯d killed. He then aggressively leaned forward with a malicious sneer, conjuring condensing pockets of blood magic in the air around him. <span ss="italic">¡°Kill them all.¡±

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17


    A chittering cannonball of fury rocketed over Riven¡¯s head when his Blood Weaver leaped forward, sinking her mandibles into one man¡¯s neck and injecting necrotic venom that quickly spread across his throat in a nket of ck. She left him in shock, clutching at the spreading, rotting arteries until his eyes rolled back into his head and he died in the grass beneath Riven¡¯s shadow.


    The loudly crying, shaking young woman the gangbangers had been pinning down was let go when they came to help theirrades, but Riven¡¯s enemies had quite the fight ahead of them. The spider zipped around their feet with speed far outstripping their own¡ªtripping them with silk made from enchanted blood that wrapped around their ankles. Then she went for their throats, too, one by one ripping out flesh or arteries in a gruesome disy of violence amid curses and shouts for help.


    Riven held his hand out and rapidlyunched six more Bloody Razors at the foremost enemies who tried to respond, not giving them a chance to even get close. The repeated use of magic continued to surprise everyone, and the projectiles torpedoed through the air at a speed far outmatching what anyone here¡ªaside from Riven¡ªcould dodge. It ripped open chests, guts, legs, and skulls¡ªmutting the surprised, screaming men in sprays of bodily fluids. His targets either died instantly or fell screaming to the ground, maimed with grievous wounds that were sure to be the end of them.


    He turned, absolute rage still building in his heart, and he approached the three men he¡¯d snared. Making it up close and personal while they squirmed and agonizingly wailed in the Unholy, he rapidly mmed the butt of his staff into the faces of the three clustered men until their broken skulls showed brain matter on the ground while his demon kept the others busy. Then he raised his hand to send another set of spinning crimson discs out at a rather bulky guy who¡¯d ended his fight with the African man in order to head Riven¡¯s way. They¡¯d seen Riven was the bigger threat here, and they still hadn¡¯t given up despite their losses.


    </a>The discs ripped through the bulky man¡¯s stomach and left him partially disemboweled, writhing on the ground, only to be met with a sharp <span ss="italic">SNAP. Riven¡¯s boot mmed into the side of his face and twisted his neck back at an abnormal angle, quickly ending his life.


    The fury in his heart propelled Riven forward. He didn¡¯t yell, didn¡¯t frown, didn¡¯t even make any facial expression when he realized he was out of mana and there were still more people to kill. It was a big group¡ªwhat could he say?


    He mechanically flung the staff to his off hand to keep his mana regeneration going and ripped out the hatchet at his side to hold in his right hand. Driving forward into another man who¡¯d been preupied with his minion, he felt a rib snap when the metal axe de pierced his screaming target¡¯s lung. Riven hacked again, and again, and again, sending blood flying out of the gasping man¡¯s back while hey in shock on the ground.


    Ath turned and skittered to the next victim with a loud screech and chittering cackle of amusement.


    ¡°Come on, you bastards¡ªHEY! DON¡¯T YOU DARE FUCKING RUN!¡± Riven lunged ahead, shouldering another injured and rather rotund enemy that tried to flee and knocking the man over before bringing up the hatchet with both hands. There was a dead look in Riven¡¯s eyes while ring down at his intended victim, and the man screamed and begged to be given mercy.


    ¡°PLEASE, DON¡¯T! I¡¯LL LEAVE, I SWEAR!¡±


    Riven only considered the man¡¯s request for an instant.


    What if this had been his own mother being handled like this?


    What if it had been his sister again?


    He snapped the hatchet down into his target¡¯s blocking arms, hacking away at the forearms of the horrified, screaming man until Riven was able to find the man¡¯s chest. It was almost like chopping wood.


    *CRUNCH*


    *CRACK*


    *SNAP*


    He mmed the weapon home while standing over his victim, chopping repeatedly into the fat, the ribs, and then the heart until the rotund man¡¯s body went limp and his struggles evaporated.


    The thought repeated itself in his head over and over as he hacked, shed, and threw out another of binding magic when his slowly refilling mana allowed it. Meanwhile others came off the African man they were beating to death to deal with him instead.


    But Ath was there in an instant.


    Shards of peppering blood crystallized from her webbing sted them in waves. Threads of mana-imbued silk wrapped them up and pulled them away or tugged them in close toward snapping mandibles.


    </a>Riven fought alongside her, taking more than a single punch but grunting and bearing down while dodging a man¡¯s tackle and bringing the hatchet down into the back of a cervical spine.


    Holy shit. He was actually winning this.


    His heart was racing; blood was everywhere; the screeches of his demon and the screams of the wounded filled his ears.


    He whirled and met a fist to the face that sent him sprawling backward. Cursing and rolling to the side, he avoided a foot stomping down onto his gut and summoned another disc of swirling blood mana that exploded against the shins of another enemy, carving into the man¡¯s bones and mming his opponent¡¯s face into the ground. Then the target¡¯s ankles came down at an odd angle with a snapping sound, and his screams quickly ended when Riven drew his hatchet back and flung it in a spiraling arc to embed itself in the man¡¯s face.


    What if that had been his sister who¡¯d been getting attacked?


    The next minutes passed by amid a bloodlust that epassed Riven¡¯s mind, the question still repeating itself over and over like a broken record in his head while he finished off the wounded enemies one by one. He continued to stomp on their necks, chop at their hearts or heads, and blow through whatever mana made itself avable to him as soon as he got it over the course of the fight. He did not blink or hesitate even once.


    Then at the end of it all, the timer indicated five minutes left before theunch of the tutorial events.


    <span ss="bold">[You have gained two levels. Congrattions! Please see your status page to assign stat points.]


    The vase in his backpack began to vibrate briefly before calming again. A faint whisper of power and pleasure drifted through the air, originating from the vase itself, but he was way too far gone to notice.


    Riven¡¯s mind slowly cleared from the fog of rage that¡¯d overwhelmed him. He was covered in viscera and blood that glistened under the bright sunlight; sweat poured down his face, and his heart madly beat in his chest. His clothes were absolutely ruined, and even the backpack would have to be cleaned or reced after this. The bodies of somewhere between fourteen and eighteen tattooed men were all still in death, pools of bodily fluids collecting underneath them, and the younger woman had rushed over to her mother where shey badly beaten with swollen ck eyes and a bloodied face.


    He was actually a little bit surprised that he and Ath had been able to kill all these people.


    He nced about at the carnage, seeing mutted bodies and body parts strewn everywhere. It was a scene straight out of a sher movie. All around </a>them, for the second time since getting here less than an hour ago, dozens of other people on the outskirts stood horror-struck at the sight and maintained a healthy distance.


    All except for one.


    The huge African guy who¡¯d first dived into the fray was covered in shallow cuts andrge bruises, but he stood tall and limped over to where Riven was panting. Holding out a hand of friendship, he bowed his head in appreciation. ¡°Thank you for doing what others would not. You are a good man. What is your name?¡±


    The man¡¯s voice had a thick ent, Nigerian, maybe¡ªbut Riven couldn¡¯t be sure.


    Riven gingerly collected the hatchet from the corpse at his feet, casually smiled, and took the man¡¯s handshake with a nod of thanks. He had to look up just slightly in order to meet the man¡¯s eyes, even though Riven himself was over six feet tall. ¡°Riven. My name is Riven¡­what¡¯s yours?¡±


    <span ss="italic">¡°FEARRRRRR MEEEEEEEE!¡±


    The dancing spider was hopping up and down on her six hind legs while wiggling her front ones up in the air and gnashing her teeth. Ath was chittering loudly as she did it, bouncing around, moving her butt up and down, and hissing every couple seconds while decorating herself with the innards of the men she¡¯d killed. She was wearing a headdress made of intestines, and all Riven could do was look away and pretend not to know her.


    ¡°Hakim,¡± the man said with a small smile, releasing Riven¡¯s bloody hand without a second thought. ¡°You were very brave. Is that your pet?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t know her.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Yes. I mean, no. Okay, she¡¯s mine. Don¡¯t call her a pet, though, she doesn¡¯t seem to like it.¡±


    ¡°Should I call her a demon then? Identifying her says she¡¯s a level 3 Blood Weaver demon.¡±


    Riven gave the spider a sideways nce. ¡°You guessed it.¡±

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18


    Hakim waved his hand at the carnage around them. ¡°I must admit, I was surprised to see you using magic like that. I wasn¡¯t sure if my eyes were ying tricks on me at first, but this is a strange situation we find ourselves in. I guess I shouldn¡¯t be too surprised.¡±


    ¡°Well, you saw it right.¡± Riven nodded in acknowledgment, then cocked his head¡ªand sent Hakim a request to join his party by purely his will to do so. ¡°It indeed was magic.¡±


    <span ss="bold">[You have invited Hakim to join your party.]


    <span ss="bold">[Hakim has joined your tutorial party¡ªtwo out of ten spots filled. You are now able to share gained XP, divided among the group with the majority of XP going to those who get the final kill or put in the most effective effort.]


    The bigger man grinned, and then bowed his head in appreciation yet again. ¡°Thank you for the invitation.¡±


    ¡°Do you have anyone else with you?¡±


    ¡°No. I am alone, or I was until now.¡±


    Riven nodded absent-mindedly. There were three minutes left, and Riven was surprised to find the teenage boy now picking himself up to stumble over to where his sister and mother were. The boy sported a shallow cut where a fist had clipped his forehead, and he shot Riven and Hakim a wary nce. Then he paled when he saw all the death around him, eyes bing wide while he tried to maintain his bnce after being knocked out for a short time. Still, his focus was primarily on his badly beaten mother, and a look of concern was evident as his sister frantically tried to wake their mom. The older woman¡¯s breathing was </a>shallow, and her eyes were swollen; bruises were evident on her neck where she¡¯d been roughly choked, and frankly, it didn¡¯t look good.


    Riven sighed and pulled his backpack around, finding what he was looking for only a momentter. Wiping the blood off the two ss bottles containing both the potion he¡¯d received and the one he¡¯d looted off the cultist at the end of the Chalgathi trials, he identified them and smiled at being right with his initial assumption.


    <span ss="bold">[Minor Healing Potion: use this item by drinking it or pouring it over wounds for a small healing boost.]


    The two vials of strawberry-colored fluid were exactly the same, and he gave Hakim a hesitant look before starting over toward the family of three. As he approached with Hakim on his heels, leaving his spider to do her thing, Riven came to a slow stop when the freckled, redheaded son whirled on him with nearly a hiss and held up a hand to stop him froming any closer. His lips quivered and his green eyes were shedding a steady stream of tears while he put himself between Riven and his family in a stance of defiance.


    ¡°Go away,¡± the young man said with a shaky voice. ¡°Please, just go away.¡±


    Hakim frowned. Meanwhile, Riven moved over to the right and got a good look at the young woman¡¯s mother. Her breathing was worsening by the moment, and shey on her back on the grass.


    The young woman, the older of the siblings, pushed past her younger brother and gripped Riven¡¯s leather vest with both hands. She was almost a mirror image of her mother but much younger, with green eyes and red hairing down to her shoulders. She was covered in bruises, but nothing nearly as serious as the other woman. ¡°Can you help her?! You cast magic earlier¡ªdo you have anything that can help?¡±


    The woman¡¯s voice was weak, even desperate.


    Riven pushed gently past them without saying a word, uncorking the first potion and kneeling down in the grass. The woman¡¯s gasps for air were shallow, and her swollen eyes didn¡¯t allow her to see anything at all¡ªbut she gripped her son¡¯s hands tightly while she struggled to cling to life.


    Opening her mouth, Riven poured the first potion into the woman¡¯s mouth¡ªletting the berry-scented red liquid trickle in and down her throat. As thest of the potion finished and she managed to take in the liquid more easily, she gasped. The swelling along her neck and eyes began to dwindle, and a rib snapped back into ce that Riven hadn¡¯t even noticed had been out of normal orientation moments ago. The color in her face began to return from bruised back to normal, and she opened her eyes to stare up at him¡ªand then her children¡ªwith a mixture of emotions.


    </a>Her kids immediately began to sob openly as they flung their arms around their mother, chests heaving and tears streaming as they consoled one another after the trauma they¡¯d just undergone.


    Riven took the time to stand up and distance himself, giving them some space and feeling good about being able to help. But as he went to walk away, a hand caught him by the sleeve and caused him to turn. ncing over his shoulder, he saw it was the daughter.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± the young woman shakily stated while wiping a tear away. ¡°Thank you so much.¡±


    Riven nodded and silently shifted his gaze to the son, who still looked rather confused and disoriented from being knocked out. Thus it was the mother that introduced herself first. Her daughter had been whispering into her ear to tell her what was going on even with her eyes being swollen shut for much of it, but she straightened herself and tried to keep herposure. She got up with the help of her children and bravely walked to stand in front of Riven, though Riven could tell that she was nervous by the way she sped her hands tightly against one another.


    ¡°My name is Tanya¡­¡± The mother shifted her weight nervously with some effort to stabilize herself and took another look at the gore-strewn battlefield. Then her green eyes fell on two other men far off, wearing the same kind of tattoo as many of those Riven had just killed. The two of them slunk back into the crowd and quickly disappeared from sight when they realized they¡¯d been spotted, but her face turned pale.


    It was obvious Tanya had a lot more to say and many questions to ask, but there was one thing above all else that she needed to ask most. ¡°Would it be all right if my children and I came along with you? I promise, we won¡¯t get in the way.¡±


    No one else seemed to want to deal with the blood-soaked Riven after the encounter, not for any reason, and their group remained at five of ten spots filled when the countdown timer finally hit zero. Riven¡¯s minion ended up not counting toward that number. Perhaps people had gotten the wrong impression of what¡¯d happened, or maybe they¡¯d only seen the end and not the beginning. Perhaps they thought him a crazy magic-wielding murderer, but Riven knew he¡¯d done the right thing. The smiles of appreciation he and Hakim got from the three they¡¯d saved were testament enough for him, though the teenage son still gave Riven an asional wary nce.


    Tanya, their mother, was still a little bruised despite having taken the healing potion, though she was in far better shape than she¡¯d been minutes ago. She was in herte forties and had been an elementary school teacher. Julie was the daughter, being twenty-three years old, and had just graduated from a university </a>with a degree in marketing. Tim was Tanya¡¯s son at neen years old, which surprised Riven because he thought Tim looked much younger than that. Tim had been attending the same university his older sister had gone to the year prior.


    They admitted to their obvious Irish heritage when he asked about it, but Julie managed to roll her eyes andugh at the question while saying they got that question all the time. They hadn¡¯t actually lived in Irnd and had lived in New York before this abduction off-world had taken ce.


    Hakim had also opened up in the short amount of time they¡¯d had before the tutorial¡¯s crafting section began. He was from Ghana but had spent years in the States while getting an education and ying football. Then he¡¯d graduated, and at the age of twenty-eight he¡¯d been a financial adviser and a personal trainer beforeing here. He was rather easy to like and promised to share more stories of his home right before the time ran out and the world around them turned white.


    In a sh of power, they were taken from the sunny field and into arge, well-lit cave with torches at regr intervals along the walls. The cave looked hand-carved, with smooth and polished rock all around the perimeter and numerous skylight holes dug through the stone in the roof. Each of these skylights showed twinkling stars high above them, with asional sound of crickets somewhere up above and outside their cave. There were also six different stations sportingrge tables and various types of equipment at each of them. Farther down the cave was a single iron door, barred shut, and right beside them was a clear pool of water with a series of ordinary wooden cups and t tes of food.


    As for the food? There were grapes, cuts of smoked meat, carrots, and freshly baked loaves of bread. It smelled utterly amazing, and Riven¡¯s stomach immediately rumbled as he stared down upon the food in bewilderment. ¡°We get snacks?¡±


    His Blood Weaver was more enthusiastic. ¡°SNACKKKKSSSSS!¡±


    The demon hopped off his back where she¡¯d parked her head on his right shoulder and scurried over to start devouring a b of meat, unsettling Tanya and Julie by the way she moved so rapidly as they gave the blood-covered demon an uneasy set of looks.


    <span ss="bold">[Tutorial part one of two: Crafting has now begun. This tutorial is only a small taste of the options you¡¯ll find out there in Elysium.


    <span ss="bold">Here in this tutorial we have prepared a randomized sampling of six different crafting pathways with basic supplies and needed tools. Each table will have a small crafting book that describes the fundamentals of each, though you will be unable to take these books with you when you leave the tutorial. Experimenting upon the given knowledge will also bring about potential boons.


    </a><span ss="bold">Here, for your individual tutorial group, we have prepared the following crafts:


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Smithing


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Cooking


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Clothes Making


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Mapmaking


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Totem Making


    ¡ª<span ss="bold">Prophecy


    <span ss="bold">You have seventy-two hours from now to learn and create as much as you can. It is suggested that you concentrate on things that would benefit you in a fight or a trek through the dungeon, though that is up to you in the end. After seventy-two hours, part two of the tutorial, Battle, willmence. The iron door at the end of the cave will open and you will begin your descent into the tutorial dungeon¡ªor you may stay here and starve.]

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19


    With a sigh, Riven dropped his backpack to the ground andnded on his ass next to Ath with a grunt. Shaking his head and scratching, he sniffed. The food just smelled too enticing to leave alone, and even though he was still covered in blood, he really didn¡¯t give a shit. He plucked a grape from a nearby te and began to chew.


    It was goddamn delicious.


    With an eager smile, he scooped up the t te next to the glistening pool of water and began to devour the food like he¡¯d never eaten before. He¡¯d been stressed and overwhelmed up until this point, and he was surprised to find a single tear trickling down his face as happiness bloomed from a stupid smile while he chewed. ¡°Jesus, this is good¡­¡±


    That earned him a smallugh from Hakim as the other man sat next to him and picked up a te of his own. ¡°Good enough to cry over, eh?¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    The two of them shared a grin and then burst intoughter, feeling relieved and rtively safe while knowing they had another three days of peace before more craziness unfolded. As they stuffed their faces, the family of three nearby eventually sat down to eat as well¡­though a little more hesitantly than Hakim had. They were still traumatized after what¡¯d happened and even sat at a small butfortable distance from the two men while they talked in hushed voices or asionally shot Riven, Ath, and Hakim nces.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them,¡± Hakim said cheerfully in a hushed whisper of his own while he tore the loaf of bread on his te in half and shoved some of it into his mouth. Licking his fingers, he burped and smiled politely Riven¡¯s way. ¡°They¡¯re just shaken. I would be, too, if I was them. They¡¯lle around.¡±


    Riven nodded, absent-mindedly chewing on a slice of smoked meat, which he assumed to be ham, and taking a moment to swallow. ¡°Yeah. That was rough, and I don¡¯t me them for wanting to be somewhat alone. You doing okay, by the way?¡±


    </a>¡°Yeah, just a few deep bruises, but I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Hakim patted his stomach and leaned back, taking in a long breath of air and exhaling slowly. Looking up to the rays of starlight leaking through the holes in the cave roof, he seemed to rx. He was also very respectful concerning Riven¡¯s story and his minion, not pushing the subject at all and waiting for Riven to be the one to open up about it. So instead, he asked about something else.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯re here in this odd situation, what craft are you going to take up?¡±


    Riven chuckled, setting his te to the side and cracking his fingers before downing a swig of chilling water. ¡°You seem to be adapting to it rather fastpared to most of the others back in the field. As for a craft? No idea. Prophecy sounds really neat, but I don¡¯t know how that¡¯s supposed to be a crafting ss. Do you craft prophecies? I¡¯m not sure how that¡¯d even work.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always that book the system talked about you could take a look at.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. At the very least, I¡¯ll take a look and get a better idea of how it works. It¡¯d be very useful, that¡¯s for sure¡­¡± Riven turned his head to look at his bloodstained bag, then stuck a hand inside and pulled out the white vase with ck flowers again. He spun the vase around in his fingers, curiously observing the ceramic craftsmanship for some time before speaking. ¡°Though¡­I may actually take a brief nce at totem making as well. Not sure what that¡¯s about, but it sounds interesting. Hell, who knows, maybe this thing is a totem and I just don¡¯t know it.¡±


    ¡°TOTEM MAKING?!¡± Hakim let out a bellowingugh, truly amused, but bent over and extended a hand. ¡°That¡¯d be a long shot if it was. A vase doesn¡¯te to mind when I think of the word <span ss="italic">totem. Mind if I see that?¡±


    Riven nodded and handed it over, gently cing it in Hakim¡¯s outstretched palm. ¡°I have no idea what it is, but I got it in a pretutorial event that was pretty brutal, and I think the vase is valuable. When I identify it, ites up with ¡®Strange Ceramic Vase¡¯ and a bunch of question marks. Are you able to get any other information when you try?¡±


    Hakim slowly shook his head, turned it around, and tried removing the lid¡ªbut failed as well. Then he handed it back to Riven with a grunt. It was also quickly obvious that he considered Riven¡¯s talk about the pretutorial event as a green light to talk about how he¡¯de to get his head start. ¡°I get the same message. You¡¯ll have to tell me about that pretutorial event sometime; I¡¯m curious. I thought the tutorial was the beginning for all the people in our group, but you already had a ss before you arrived. I went straight from the gym to whatever world we¡¯re in now¡­I hope my family is okay. I don¡¯t talk to them much anymore, but I can¡¯t help thinking about them if this is happening to other people around the world. Oh, and what about guilds? The system talked about guilds for like half a second and then didn¡¯t speak of it again.¡±


    </a>Then before Riven could get out a response, Hakim pointed to the ivory dragon-depicting amulet around Riven¡¯s neck. ¡°What does that do? I can¡¯t identify that, either.¡±


    Riven considered the question and shrugged, palming the circr pendant that hung around his neck, and looked into the emerald eyes of the carved dragon. ¡°Neither can I. I took it off a dead guy when we were forced to fight to the death at the end of the trial.¡±


    Hakim¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°That happened? You don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be forced to do that here, do you?¡±


    Riven let out a curtugh. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll happen here. The event I got this ss from had selected over fourteen hundred people that met some sort of hidden requirements, and only fifty of us made it out alive. I guess I just got lucky, but this tutorial we¡¯re sharing right now seems more geared toward preparing us for what¡¯s toe¡­and doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s designed to cull the people participating like that first event did.¡±


    ¡°There were more than fourteen hundred of you? And only fifty made it out?¡±


    Riven nodded again, but he wanted to change the subject and lifted the cup to his lips again. ¡°Yeah. It was brutal. So¡­I¡¯ve gotta ask. What do you make of all this?¡±


    Riven waved his hand around the room, settling his gaze on Ath, who was munching on some meat to his right. ¡°Magic, demons, a tutorial event teleporting us around, and some kind of system intervening to bring people from all over the world into one of many thousands of groups. At least that¡¯s what I assume given our tutorial group wasbeled <span ss="bold">¡®Earth Origins, section 239,342.¡¯ I got a quest, of all goddamn things, to finish that event just before the tutorial, and the very first notification I ever got on those weird holograms talked about not only magic¡ªbut miracles and martial arts, too. Doesn¡¯t this all seem a little bit crazy?¡±


    Hakim shifted his posture while sitting on the floor and hunched a little more¡ªflexing his muscles while the tribal tattoos on his arms rippled under the minor exertion. He wore a perplexed frown, and eventually he shook his head and ced his wooden te of food on the floor in front of him. ¡°I do not know, nor do I attempt to understand it. I am very surprised this is all happening, but it¡¯s rather refreshing in some ways. In other ways, it scares me. The old world was mildly boring, but at least it wasfortable. It was safe. I don¡¯t know what we¡¯re going to be facing or where we¡¯ll even be going after all this is said and done. What¡¯s the purpose? Is this God intervening in our lives? Or is it some other force that we know nothing about?¡±


    Hakim shook his head and let out a deep sigh with a heave of his broad shoulders. ¡°Frankly, it is beyond me, or any of us, really. I¡¯ll just roll with the punches and do my best to live a happy life while I¡¯m still breathing. What about you? You seem to be getting on well with magic this early.¡±


    </a>Riven snorted with contempt¡ªthough it wasn¡¯t directed at Hakim, rather, the contempt was directed at the system that¡¯d brought him into the first set of trials at the beginning. ¡°Getting on well is one way of putting it. But yes, I agree. Not sure what to make of it all. Ath¡ªdo you know what¡¯s going on here?¡±


    Therge red-and-ck spider quickly shot him a nce before turning back to her meal and gobbling down more food. Between mouthfuls and low hisses of delight, she scrunched up her shiny legs and let out a hybrid burp-hiss. ¡°Your world is being integrated into the system.¡±


    ¡°The system?¡± Hakim asked, eyebrows raising.


    ¡°The multiverse, as the prompts have stated,¡± Ath replied tly. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you more than that at the moment, though. The system forbids it, and I don¡¯t feel like being smitten by that damnable thing. It¡¯s a real stickler with its rules. Don¡¯t worry, though, you¡¯ll figure it out eventually even without my help.¡±


    Riven and Hakim shared a nce with one another but remained silent for a few minutes after that to mull over what the spider demon had said.


    ¡°So what do you wanna be?¡± Riven eventually asked Hakim, steering the conversation back on track to the near future. ¡°Any idea now that we¡¯re going exploring into no-man¡¯snd?¡±


    Hakim¡¯s response was quick. ¡°Baker.¡±


    Riven spewed the water he¡¯d been drinking out of his mouth and all over the floor as he choked amid hisughter with the grin Hakim was giving him. ¡°Cut the shit.¡±


    Hakim threw up his hands to either side. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s out there. I see the system describes you as a Novice Warlock, but I haven¡¯t seen much about sses yet. I don¡¯t even know how to get one.¡±


    ¡°Surely you have some idea. Do you want to pursue the <span ss="italic">Dungeons & Dragons fantasy lifestyle? Or do you want to settle down and live peacefully? Is being a baker really what you want to do?¡±


    Hakim rolled his eyes and gave Riven a look. ¡°Adventuring sounds fun if you¡¯re talking fantasy, though I never yed <span ss="italic">Dungeons & Dragons before. Maybe a warrior of some kind? That is, assuming this is really a magical realm we¡¯re entering given the types of crafts and context clues I¡¯ve seen. Despite the danger, I believe it would be a good fit for me. Who doesn¡¯t want to do that kind of thing?¡±


    ¡°Figured you¡¯d say something like that. You¡¯re definitely built for it.¡±


    They continued eating in silence for a time, and Riven took the opportunity to more thoroughly inspect his surroundings. In doing so, he was easily able to identify which crafting station was which.


    The smithing station had a furnace, an anvil, bellows, hammers, tongs, ingots of various metals, a firepit, and numerous other medieval smithing tools or materials littered about a ratherrge and solid stone table. The cooking area </a>had rows of meats, bottles of spices, pots, pans, cutlery, roots, powders¡ªthe list went on. The clothes-making station had numerous textiles¡ªthough they were all rather in, consisting of a couple archaic sewing machines, thread, needles, leather straps, some hammers, of all things, and a variety of odds and ends Riven couldn¡¯t recognize to save his life. The mapmaking station contained a miniature replica of the room, along with a hologram that flickered on and off in various patterns and a bunch of nk sheets with an inkwell and feather pen. The totem-making section disyed another small furnace with mounds of y, a variety of sharp and dull tools, some odd metal piecesid out as insignias, wooden boards with a nail and hammers, some feathers, and paint. Meanwhile, the prophecy corner sported a couple cushions with floating wisps of light that danced among the air.


    ¡°Welp¡­¡± Riven muttered, getting to his feet and turning with a thumb hiked in the direction of the prophecy area. ¡°I¡¯m going to go check these things out. Maybe it¡¯ll be therapeutic after all the bullshit. Catch youter.¡±


    Hakim gave him a wave, then settled back down on the stone floor to lie facing up at the ceiling. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a nap. Don¡¯t stab me in my sleep.¡±


    ¡°I would never. I¡¯d have the crazy spider do it.¡±


    They exchanged grins, and Hakim closed his eyes while Riven took his backpack and marched past the small family of three. He paused, though, remembering that he had a nket in the bag. Taking out the quilt and then removing his cloak, he handed both of them to the two nude women with a nod and a brief nce that did not linger. They seemed startled at the act of generosity, but before they could say anything more, he¡¯d already left them to start for the prophecy area.


    Coming to a stop at the table in front of the cushions and floating orbs of light, Riven acknowledged that this was the most barren of the stations. By far. A single book was set on the table, with only a small crystal ball present otherwise.


    He nced up at one of the lights that floated over and reached out to touch it, but his hand passed right through it, giving him nothing but a warm sensation. The blood vessels and muscture of his hand did light up as it passed through, though, so that was kind of cool.


    Picking up the book, which had the sigil of an outstretched hand and an eye painted along the hand in ck ink, he opened up to reveal the first paragraph. It was all written in English in the same ck ink as the cover but had more of a curvy text style than normal letters.


    <span ss="bold">[<span ss="italic">The Basics of Prophecy: Written by Oralmius Mephator, third sage of the White Tower]

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20


    <span ss="bold">[<span ss="italic">The Basics of Prophecy: Written by Oralmius Mephator, third sage of the White Tower]


    Oralmius? Weird name. A little bit on the grander side of things. Though just reading through the man¡¯s writing over the course of the next while, Riven could tell he was a pompous asshat and the name fit him quite well. He obviously had a thing against peasants to boot.


    <span ss="italic">As an introduction, let me first say that most of you peasants will never be able to fully grasp even the basics of this ancient art. Most of those who do have a gift simply acknowledge it as d¨¦j¨¤ vu and carry on with their lives not knowing their potential. Most who seek potential do not find it. Most of you looking this book over probably can¡¯t even read and are as intelligent as the sheep and goats we feed on.


    <span ss="italic">You fucking peasants usually smell just as bad, too.


    <span ss="italic">The first thing to note about prophecy is that the lines of fate either choose you or they don¡¯t. You will be able to use prophecy, to mold it, or you can¡¯t at all. There is no helping it, no changing it, no rhyme or reason as to why you may or may not have the gift. For one out of every ten thousand that do have a minor grasp of this art, I apud you and highly suggest you keep reading. Having this gift is a great boon that will reward you for the rest of your life, and developing the skill of crafting prophecies and fate to fit your own desires is a worthwhile goal for very obvious reasons.


    <span ss="italic">The art of creating prophecy is just that¡ªan art, one that you can bend and shape to your liking at varying and limited extents. It means you can asionally see and therefore slightly change the future, but only if you have a strong grasp on fate. It is certainly not foolproof, though¡ªeven the greatest of prophets cannot read into everything. For those that don¡¯t have the gift, </a>there is no way to change this, and you might as well stop immediately after finding out.


    <span ss="italic">In order to find out the easy way whether or not you have the gift, I suggest you find a crystal ball. They can be created by various types of mages and enchanters, so hire one if you need to¡ªbut otherwise just buy one from a guild. Many high-ranking guilds employ prophets to tag along on their expeditions, and you could perhaps even use one of theirs for a fee. Crystal balls are a method of channeling, a conduit, for both scrying and prophecy. By just touching one, if it reacts to you¡ªyou will know that you have some form of the gift. So before reading any more: go find a crystal ball. I say again! If the crystal ball doesn¡¯t react by lighting up, there is no need to read any farther, as there is no changing your potential and you should go back to humping donkeys or whatever it is you filthy peasants choose to do in your spare time.


    Was this guy serious? Riven scowled at the book with distaste, but then nced back at the crystal ball on the desk. Shrugging, he reached out and ced a hand on the ss orb and waited.


    And waited some more.


    And then he waited even more.


    He even tapped the ss a couple times with his finger, and then he tried squeezing it, but nothing happened.


    Riven sighed and shook his head. Taking the author on his word, he put the book down with a thud. ¡°Guess it just isn¡¯t meant to be.¡±


    A little disappointed and with a sour frown, he turned to the next in line and made his way over to the smithing table¡ªthough he had no intention of being a smith at any point. He just thought he¡¯d get a general idea of what each book had to offer him.


    What he failed to see as he walked away, immediately upon averting his gaze, was the umtion of the deep crimson cloud within the orb after he¡¯d left. Simultaneously Riven¡¯s Blood subpir, the one attached to his soul, began to radiate small pulses that gave Riven momentary pause with a sincere confusion. He looked down at his hands, which had both begun to tremble. He wasn¡¯t sure what that tingling sensation was, but it certainly felt¡­energizing.


    Even beyond this new, unknown sensation and at that very same moment: in Riven¡¯s bag, the ceramic vase he¡¯d been unable to open or identify began to shudder ever so slightly.


    The crimson power grew within the ss orb. It umted seconds only after he turned his back, being not quite what one would expect of a bright light that the reading described. That crimson coloring stayed there for just a few seconds longer, marinating in Unholy magics, and even caused the orb to crack </a>slightly. The sound of chipping ss caused Riven to cast another nce back over his shoulder from where he now stood at the furnace, but as if sensing his gaze, the Unholy power immediately faded away before he could catch even a sparse nce of the crimson hue.


    There was a long pause.


    ¡°Everything okay?¡± Hakim called out curiously, scratching his chin and frowning at Riven¡¯s wide-eyed expression.


    Riven stared at the crystal ball, stepping closer toward it and seeing that the ss ball now had a splintered chip in the base. He picked up the small piece of splintered ss, spared a quick nce Hakim¡¯s way, then turned back to the crystal ball with growing concern and leaned over the item with furrowed brows. ¡°Yeah¡­I just had a very strange feeling. Don¡¯t mind me; it¡¯s nothing important.¡±


    Hakim blinked twice and shrugged, returning to his meal.


    Meanwhile Riven continued to re down at the orb in the flickering light cast by torches on the cave walls and stars from the skylights overhead. He turned his back to the others, steeled himself, and hesitantly reached out to touch the crystal ball one more time.


    His mind erupted with blinding pain, his vision shed red, and an internal shrill scream so high-pitched that he thought his head would explode pierced his thoughts. His pupils immediately dted, and a feeling of dread overtook him amid a rapid-fire spike of his heart rate. Crimson light red in the ss and ripped through his arm, sending jolts of silent electric currents through his fingertips that set his very skin apart to split open his hands and expose his bone.


    He wanted to yell, he wanted to shriek out in horror and call for help, but he couldn¡¯t move a muscle and stood lock-jawed with pupils expanding out to be so wide he didn¡¯t even look human.


    <span ss="italic">¡°You are not ready. Not yet.¡±


    The voice was a ghostly whisper he could barely make out, so far away from him but simultaneously able to touch his consciousness with ease. It left a sense of intent, of foreboding, a warning not to try to touch the orb again. The electric currents rapidly dissipated, his hand rapidly regenerated to soak up all the blood and fleshy bits that¡¯d ripped off moments before, and he found himself gasping for air over the table. He watched in real time as the crystal ball repaired itself, as the crimson light faded away, and sweat began pouring down off his chin to stter onto the wooden table beneath him.


    Rapidly he backed up, breathing heavily and staring at the crystal ball with an unexinable fear. He didn¡¯t know what the fuck had just happened, but even looking at the ss orb gave him an impending sense of doom.


    The same could be said for the book on prophecy, and despite all logic telling him he should go open it up again to scour its pages and discover if there were any clues, there was some kind of mental block that absolutely refused to let </a>him do so. A mental block that told him exploring this avenue of power would cripple him should he try to master it too soon.


    He internally battled with himself, one part fighting to go and reach out again. To touch the crystal ball one more time and learn more of why it¡¯d reacted that way. To read the words written on those pages and perhaps piece together whether or not what¡¯d just happened was normal, but he instinctively knew it was not. It was anything but normal; even in this new world of fantasy it was not normal, and the other half of him absolutely screamed for him to just walk away and not turn back.


    Riven wiped the sweat off his face and hands, realizing he was drenching the already bloodstained outfit he wore, and took in a shaky breath. Letting out a long exhale and straightening himself, he gave the ss orb a final long look before reluctantly gritting his teeth and turning away. Whatever or whoever that voice in his head had been, it hadn¡¯t been hostile. That much he could ascertain just by the way his consciousness connected with it in a brief moment of time. It was concerned for his well-being, and he wasn¡¯t going to y Russian roulette with powers he didn¡¯t understand. Hell, it¡¯d even started to rip his goddamn arm off! The voice had also said he wasn¡¯t ready <span ss="italic">yet, so theoretically he¡¯d broach this matter again in the future. And as much as his curiosity nagged at him, he put the matter aside with a tinge of regret to carry on¡ªnot saying a word to any of the others about what¡¯d happened in order not to concern them. He was already concerned enough as it was and didn¡¯t need other people flipping shit about ghostly voices in his mind or ominous powers surrounding his situation.


    After a few minutes to calm himself down, and another small snack of freshly baked bread for stress-eating purposes, he settled on checking out the other stations in the cave.


    Riven learned a little bit more about each of them as he passed them by. Smithing was a bit obvious, though Elysium¡¯s mechanics had very different avenues and a wide variety at that. Crafts grew by tiers, rather than levels, that signified immense differences at each step above the previous tier. Each tier title somebody acquired made huge leaps and bounds in what perks they could offer, and if someone was good enough, they were even offered a nobat ss title concerning the craft that would expand those horizons even farther. Crafting sses were definitely an option; they often added in different unique stats and leveled up through progressing on that given ss¡ªbut they wouldpletely rece anybat ss someone had. Thus if Riven wished to pursue a craft, he¡¯d want to acquire as many crafting tier titles as possible but absolutely refuse any potential sses he might acquire options for on potential ss evolutions.


    Smiths could upgrade weapons based on what type of ore they had, build mana veins for enchanting items with the cooperation of an enchanter, have unique signatures that would employ special bonuses specifically based on what </a>attributes their soul had, and could utilize various environmental ores that weren¡¯t ever present on Earth. Those who practiced smithing apparently couldn¡¯t utilize many of these special elements without massive drawbacks. Examples the book included were Lava-Forged Battle-Axe and Scimitar of Windsong. The Lava-Forged Battle-Axe could be created using an element called Molten Ubsrid, which was apparently a very rare material found at the bottom of volcanoes. The Scimitar of Windsong could be created using crystallized fairy dust intermixed with steel. The book even mentioned extremely talented smiths creating varieties of living weapons, though these were often the rarest and very hard toe by.


    The cook, baker, or chef sses were rather unique as well. Most of it was based on a support role, where they were able to create foods that could give buffs, blessings, and resistances to those who ate them. Some foods could be created to keep a person from going hungry for weeks, and other, more valuable foods could even amplify one¡¯s health and vitality by threefold over the course of an hour. The better and rarer ingredients were often sold for massive amounts of money, too. The book was quick to state that nobody could even utilize the cooking skill for these bonuses at all without having the ss¡ªmeaning that in order to even begin to create such extravagant meals, you absolutely had to take up the cook ss. Which was unlike most other crafting sses that could take onbat sses and do the craft on the side with lesser bonuses than one would get with the actual sses oriented to the craft, and it made those who chose the cooking sses a fairly appreciated bunch.

 Chapter 21

    Chapter 21


    Beginning to see a trend, Riven wasn¡¯t surprised when the clothes makers, seamstresses, and tailors had simr advantages. They could create articles of clothing that self-repaired or self-cleaned, perfectly fit whoever wore them, smelled certain ways, camouged the wearers, or gave various buffs and resistances. There was even a thermally heated nket one could make without electricity, which in Riven¡¯s opinion would be a great Christmas gift if he ever celebrated Christmas again.


    Mapmaking¡­now, this was where it got weird. There were different types of maps to be made, and they required different ingredients and materials to create, as well as what the Elysium administrator considered a semiperfect knowledge of the area being scouted out. Sure, someone could just draw a map on a piece of paper and call it a day¡ªbut mapmakers specialized in creating maps one could utilize in different ways. Some of them could track your movements between towns. Others could be edited to your liking as nk tes. Some could be incorporated into your peripheral vision, and others were even three-dimensional or abination of all the above. This one caused Riven pause, and he seriously considered stopping there to take a deeper look at it¡ªbut then realized it required a lot of advanced math. Riven was by no means stupid, and he¡¯d never been bad at math while he¡¯d been in ss, but he had dropped out of high school to take care of his dying mom before her vanishing act. So he doubted he¡¯d be able to understand the concepts here after looking them over.


    Then,ing back around to thest of the bunch, was totem making. Frankly, he found it hrious that totem making was even a crafting option at all. What kind of benefits could someone get from that? What kind of game world would invoke that, of all things, as a craft? Was the administrator being serious about this?


    But then a remnant thought concerning channeling items crossed his memory¡ªone brought up by the spell tomes he¡¯d used to learn Wretched Snare and </a>Bloody Razors. Totems were one such channeling item that he could utilize to emphasize his spells¡­and his interest was immediately piqued.


    He also hoped the book had some information he could use concerning his porcin vase. It was a small hope, one that probably wouldn¡¯t yield results, but he had little else to go on. cing the object on the table beside the book that had a pot drawn onto the front in ck ink, he opened it up and began to read. Surprisingly, what he found¡­was rather fascinating.


    <span ss="bold"><span ss="italic">Totem Making¡ªThe Blessings of Fae and The Curses of Devils: Author Unknown


    <span ss="italic">Totem making has long been used as a basic means of creating decorative monuments, household apparel, and things to keep evil spirits out as a focus of old wives¡¯ tales, and it wasn¡¯t originally such a lucrative or useful craft in the beginning. This is likely due to the disgust many mainstream mages hold for shamanistic practices despite its usefulness, and it is often referred to by great schrs across thisnd as ¡°barbaric¡± for its affiliation with forbidden nature magics and the dark arts.


    <span ss="italic">The key to understanding the basics of totem making is essentially understanding that it is an alternate path of enchanting. Enchanting requires a lock-and-key mechanism via runecraft and mana distribution through a conduit¡ªthe conduit being the person who is creating the totem, who must have the proper affiliated type of magic. The runecrafting is very simr to how one casts a spell with hand motions in Tier 2 and above spells. But the key differences between totem making and enchanting are twofold. First, that totem making requires an imbuement of a soul or soul shard, and second, different lock-and-key sets are utilized. To create a true totem with one step beyond an enchantment, it requires either death magic or specialized fae magic to do so. Fae¡¯s Foundational Pir has multiple specialized subpirs that represent the embodiment of life magic, most specifically in the realm of its major subpir¡ªthe Forest subpir, but it is not limited to that alone. With death being the opposite of life, both the Death subpir and multiple Fae subpirs deal in the realm of souls.


    <span ss="italic">Not only that, but totems require certain amounts of Willpower in order to control and utilize properly. Shamans, druids, necromancers, and warlocks therefore tend to use them more often than anyone else. Those affiliated with the Holy Foundational Pir, Harmony Foundational Pir, and Archaic Foundational Pir along with their subpirs have tried creating totems in simr fashion, as told by the history books, but they have all failed to my knowledge.


    </a><span ss="italic">Regardless, those who consider themselves totem artisans are often nothing more than that¡ªartists whoe up with fancy designs meant to scare children for the holidays. The true craftes into y when we imbue these materials to create what are called influence fields.


    <span ss="italic">Totem making is often used in conjunction with various runes or symbols of power, wards, and enchantments to create stable and consistent magical effects that we term influence fields. These influence fields are essentially a type of interactive enchantment that the soul shard imbued into the totem can control. It incorporates runes but is different from normal runecrafting, as influence fields use a different subset of locks and keys including the shapes and materials of the totem makeup. Why might this be, you may ask? What purpose is there to having different lock-and-key mechanisms in the sigils? The reason is that enchanting is a static thing, unmoving and unbending, while influence fields are ever moving and even be alive. It is also why influence fields that totems use are able to be controlled by souls you imbue the totems with, whereas an enchantment is not inherently able to be controlled by such an attached entity.


    <span ss="italic">Totem making is thus the step between normal enchantments and awakened items¡ªwhich are an entirely different type of category altogether. The three categories of magically enhanced equipment are therefore defined by the following:


    <span ss="italic">Enchantments or enchanted items are rigid and unbending, and theyck the ability to be controlled by anything other than the direct user. This category also includes cursed or blessed items.


    <span ss="italic">Influence fields or totems are fluid and are able to fluctuate or change under the influence of a soul.


    <span ss="italic">Awakened items are entities that have their true consciousness bound to a physical item without any actual soul.


    <span ss="italic">All three have different lock-and-key sets, or different runes or rules, that are bound by the system. All three have their own unique downsides or perks. They are three different parallel pathways to creating items of power, evenparable to how mana, divinity, and stamina differ from one another in their own abilities. But now we are getting off track. Back to totems and influence fields:


    <span ss="italic">Influence fields can be anything from a pleasant smell to seduce the opposite sex to an electrified floor to a defensive barrier¡ªthemonality between them being that they are bendable, fluctuating spell alignments and are contained within a physical object that we call totems. Specificbinations of the right materials, right ingredients, right incantations, the right soul shard, and right runes or symbols in just the right way can create truly potent effects. The important part about this is that the one </a>who makes the totem must have the correct attribute in order to imbue the totem with a spell. If the mage creating the totem gets the symbols, materials, and shape right but fails to have the specialized Forest attribute¡ªthey will fail to imbue the totem with any forest magic regardless of how perfect the totem otherwise is. The same goes for Water, Blood, or any of the subpirs of Fae and Unholy. As Forest is a subpir of Fae and Death is a subpir of Unholy, you will only ever find totems enchanted with categorical magics underneath the Fae and Unholy pirs. Fae, Volcano, Storm, Ocean, cial, Swamp, Forest, Unholy, Blood, Shadow, Death, Infernal, Depravity, and Chaos will be the only types of totems you ever run across. Well, that and their more specialized pir types that evolve from the major subpirs. Additionally, those affiliated with the Unholy pir may never be able to wield totems affiliated with the Fae pir and vice versa, as pir orientation is needed tomand the soul shards and totems after they¡¯re imbued properly.


    <span ss="italic">With the right knowledge and attributes, you may ce the right runes or paintings in the right patterns to provide a magical webbing of sorts. Creating the right shape of the totem is also very important, as they act as a key to a lock in conjunction with the runes you ce upon them. If the runes, shape, pictures, or patterns of the vase are incorrect, the key won¡¯t fit the lock correctly, and the effect won¡¯t take hold. Sometimes even the coloring matters. Sometimes if you do a half-assed job, you¡¯ll get a half-assed effect. That¡¯d still be better than no effect, though.


    <span ss="italic">Moving on to examples of what such things I have seen as a master totem maker, you would likely be surprised. I have created vessels that burn with fae light, illuminating the darkest of ces as beacons to the world. I have created vessels to seal away the greatest of demons, cing them in forbidden tombs to keep them at bay from the civilized world. I have created totems that poison enemies around them and heal those who are marked as friendly, totems that capture the sickness from those they touch and towering bastions that bless farnd for miles around them over decades toe.


    <span ss="italic">Many once scoffed at me,ughed at me, told me I was a fool for pursuing this very abstract and often disregarded profession. In the end, though, it was I whoughed, and as I sit upon a mountain of treasure and bathe in the gifts that kings shower upon me, I often ask my many wives if they¡¯d have another man, to which they of course say no.


    ¡°Well, goddamn, he¡¯s living the life!¡± Riven snorted a fewughs and smirked at thatst sentence, then flipped through the pages some more. It was time to expand his horizons.

 Chapter 22

    Chapter 22


    There were various chapters on different types of runes one could implement, how to collect souls or soul shards from the beyond using Forest and Death magic, and types of wards he could erect with the right application of knowledge. Looking over his shoulder, he found that literally everyone else had fallen asleep¡ªobviously exhausted from recent events after having traversed from one world to the next. Even Ath had fallen asleep and was¡ªto Riven¡¯s surprise¡ªcurled up next to Julie with the woman¡¯s arm draped over the spider while she wore the nket he¡¯d given her.


    Just how long had Riven¡¯s head been in the books to not notice that one?


    But this was good. It was a good thing that they got some time to rx¡­ He was sure the small family especially needed it.


    Turning back to his book, he began to read some more. Time passed like a blur as page after page flipped over in his hands, and soon the daylight hours overhead turned to night and starlight through the holes in the cave roof¡ªleaving only the burning and crackling torches to light the pages in his hands.


    He dreamed of his long-gone dog that night. She¡¯d been a half basset hound, half terrier mix with stubby paws and floppy ears and a bark that was far too deep for a dog her size. He remembered how she¡¯d been just a puppy and they¡¯d taken her from a family friend of his father¡¯s who owned a farm, and how that family friend¡¯s dog had gotten frisky with a stray to produce the litter of puppies Riven got to pick from.He¡¯d known she¡¯d be called Shadow even before he¡¯d met her. Back then, as a kid, he¡¯d thought the name was cool, and that¡¯d been the sole reason for naming the dog that. Funny, because she wasn¡¯t even a ck dog¡­she¡¯d been brown, a deep chestnut-brown color. But he hadn¡¯t cared, he¡¯d liked the name. He remembered how she¡¯d whimper and cry at night in the kitchen while being </a>potty trained¡­ She wasn¡¯t trusted to sleep on the carpet back then because she¡¯d pee everywhere, like all puppies do. He remembered taking out the big blue mat his parents kept in the closet, dragging it out into the kitchen and hiking his legs over the littletched gate¡­putting that mat down next to Shadow and letting that cute little puppy snuggle up next to himte into the night before he had to get up the next morning for school.


    She¡¯d lick his face to get him up at the urging of his little sister as sheughed andughed before dragging him to the car and making him say goodbye¡­ Then he¡¯d get back home and do it all over again the next night.


    God, how he missed those days.


    But here and now¡­in the dream state he was in, he found himself happy again. Finally happy again, with his momughing off to the side as Shadow licked his face to get him up for school¡­


    Riven snapped out of his slumber amid theughter of the others,ing face-to-face with Ath¡¯s two ruby eyes as the spider demon licked his face with a short, stubby tongue between those massive fangs of hers as he drooled onto the desk.


    He¡¯d fallen asleep reading that damnable totem-making book.


    And now he was being licked all over his face by a dog-size spider while she made obnoxious hissing noises and rapidly tapped her feet on the desk to the amusement of the others.


    <span ss="italic">Cool.


    Hakim was the only one notughing, but even he was grinning at the ridiculous disy of mock affection while he leaned back against the smithing station with a bowl of water and another te of food. Tanya and her two children, Julie and Tim, were guffawing loudly¡ªobviously prodding the spider on with theirughter as she went in for what Riven could only guess was a kiss.


    He abruptly shot up and whacked the spider atop her head, resulting in an irritated hiss from Ath when she failed to go in for the finishing insult, and he wiped away the drool on his face. ¡°Is this my drool? Or is it yours?¡±


    ¡°Both!¡± Ath hummed musically. ¡°I was cleaning you off!¡±


    ¡°Is that all you were doing?¡±


    The spider gave him what was probably the most sheepish look a spider could ever give. ¡°Would I lie to you?¡±


    ¡°Goddamn you, Ath.¡±


    ¡°Huzzah!¡± The spider cackled and raced off to jump into Julie¡¯s arms, the young woman catching her easily and without hesitation.


    Riven rubbed his forehead, wiped off his cheek, and made a gagging impression that made everyone else burst into even moreughter¡ªthis time including Hakim. He red at them, and then to Ath, with less amusement than they had by far. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were all so chummy with her. She wasn¡¯t ying very friendly back in the tutorial¡¯s beginning area¡ªdidn¡¯t think she¡¯d like anyone other than me.¡±


    </a>Tanya fished out a wet rag from God knows where and walked over to Riven¡¯s face, wiping it down in a very motherly fashion and smiling down at the younger man. ¡°Your demon is very, <span ss="italic">very nice. I have no idea how anyone could ever <span ss="italic">not get along with her!¡±


    Riven let the woman finish cleaning him off and gave her a polite smile of thanks, then raised an eyebrow and cocked his head at the purring sounds Ath was giving Julie while she was being petted. ¡°You did see her rip through¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t finish the sentence, not wanting to bring up yesterday¡¯s memories when they appeared to be doing so much better than they had been thest time he¡¯d been awake. Whatever Ath was doing, she was doing it well¡­in terms of getting their spirits up, anyways.


    Instead, he just smiled and yawned, then noticed the te of food and water next to him on the table.


    ¡°That¡¯s for you!¡± Julie said while brushing her hair out with ab that she¡¯d gotten¡­from where, exactly?


    Riven looked around. Then, knocking his head with the side of his fist twice, he realized that they were all semiclothed, too. He recognized pieces of his cloak stitched with pieces of the nket he¡¯d given them, sewn into various other articles of clothing that¡¯d likely been taken from the clothes-making station not far off. It was all very crude, but it covered up all their private parts rather well and made moving about pretty easy.


    ¡°I was a seamstress once upon a time,¡± Tanya stated proudly with a grin, cing her hands on her hips. ¡°A bad one, but nevertheless I had training. I figured I¡¯d get everyone properly modest while we¡¯re here together. It was awkward¡­walking around naked in here with men we don¡¯t know. I¡¯d make you something, too¡ªif you want it, but you already had clothes¡­so¡­¡±


    She trailed off, and Riven gave her a thumbs-up of understanding.


    She nodded. ¡°Thanks for the nket and cloak. I appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°<span ss="italic">We appreciate it!¡± Julie said with a small wave Riven¡¯s way. ¡°For the nket and cloak, but also for yesterday, too. I¡¯ve got a question, though; did you really find a giant undead wolf that breathed fire like a dragon?¡±


    All eyes were focused on him now, and Riven¡¯s slightly ajar jaw hung loose as he looked from one to the other. ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Ath said you ran away screaming like a little girl while she had to defend you from a thirty-foot wolf zombie that breathed fire,¡± Tim stated, matter-of-fact, with a concerned frown, softly stroking Ath¡¯s head as the spider continued to purr curled up in his sister¡¯sp. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad about us knowing, though, I would have likely screamed, too¡ªright before dying. I¡¯m just d you made it out alive!¡±


    </a>¡°She said you pissed yourself,¡± Hakim said with a loud chuckle, not being able to retain his grin. ¡°She said she was carrying the team on her back.¡±


    Riven¡¯s jaw dropped even farther. ¡°She really said all those things?! Ath, you little ingrate! That wolf wasn¡¯t thirty feet tall, it never breathed fire, and I sure as shit didn¡¯t piss myself!¡±


    The room burst intoughter again and then went into an uproar as Ath wiggled a spider foot dismissively his way, stuck out her stubby tongue, and went back to being pet by Julie and Tim with a dramatic, feminine humph.


    He felt their mother, Tanya, nudge him from the side, and looked up from his sitting position in the chair. He saw the older woman lean down to whisper in his ear. ¡°I can¡¯t believe Ath is a demon. She seems so nice¡­are you sure she¡¯s really a demon?¡±


    Riven shot Ath a re. ¡°Based on my limited interactions with her, I¡¯d say definitely yes.¡±


    Tanya nodded thoughtfully and straightened back up again, watching the dog-size spider with renewed admiration. ¡°That¡¯s so neat. This whole situation is so¡­just so bizarre. The tutorial messages talked about ¡®earthlings¡¯ and ¡®incorporation into the multiverse.¡¯ What does that even mean?¡±


    <span ss="italic">Bizarre was one word for it. However, neither he nor anyone else here had any real answers for Tanya. No one <span ss="italic">truly knew if this was just a group of them or if the entire was somehow involved in this event¡­but if he took things at face value based on notification pop-ups, he could only believe it really was a worldwide event. More than that, even, with mentions of others being merged with Earth. Also seeing people from all sorts of cultures back in the tutorial wasn¡¯t very promising for this being a limited and secluded event.


    He was curious as to how merging with other worlds would end up after he got out of this tutorial.


    The next few hours went by, and everyone got to work. Tanya went with Tim to start showing him how to sew and fit people with clothes, Julie and Hakim worked together to figure out the basics of smithing and hoped to craft some crude weapons for themselves before the dungeon opened, making the ce echo with their hammering, and Riven worked to figure out more on totem making.


    The time spent crafting kept their minds off the uing dungeon crawl, and the others were all rather uplifted by the fact that Riven and Ath were there with them. This was supposed to be a tutorial dungeon, and Riven was already a level 4 warlock with a level 3 demonic minion.


    Thinking back on it, Ath had likely done just as much as he¡¯d done in thatst fight against the men they¡¯d killed¡­but she¡¯d told him that he likely got more experience for taking the final blows using his hatchet on a lot of the ones that she¡¯d incapacitated and tied up on the ground. He apologized to her </a>for it, but Ath had actually insisted that this was a good thing, as keeping him alive was a priority over herself. Simply put, she could respawn and he couldn¡¯t. She also told him that he needed to put some points into Sturdiness from time to time as well, despite the talk about the majority of his points needing to specialize in growing his Intelligence and Willpower.


    ¡°The reasoning behind this is simple. You don¡¯t want to die, and Sturdiness will help you stay alive by enabling you to take a harder hit,¡± Ath said as he took a break from reading the lore on the most basic runes and the shapes of various totem figurines concerning different lock-and-key mechanisms the gods used for ritualistic summonings. ¡°Every time you level up, you acquire more health, mana, and stamina. Depending on what Elysium deems you needing most and your fighting style, you get different amounts of each. It isn¡¯t always exact, either. Unlike many of the other stats, health, mana and stamina are all hidden stats concerning how much you have. So we won¡¯t ever know what your exact health Points, or HP are¡­but we know they¡¯re there. Putting an asional point into Sturdiness will help you stay alive and increase the amount of damage you can take for every point of HP you have. Each point in Sturdiness will decrease the amount of HP you lose from attacks and decrease the amount of Stamina you lose from physical activities, such as running away. Many mages like you fall into the pathway of bing ss cannons, then they get one-hit killed by an assassin who slips in past their minions and that¡¯s it¡ªpoof, gone. Don¡¯t be one of them. Oh! Almost forgot, since you¡¯ve been given a ss title of Novice Warlock already¡­you may have other demons approach you from theher realms over time. This generally happens for one of two reasons: to form a minion contract if you have avable slots and enough Willpower to contract them, or to make deals with you for one reason or another¡ªas demons can¡¯t usually contact ordinary mortals under normal circumstances. It probably won¡¯t happen until you¡¯re out of the tutorial, though, with stiptions and all that.¡±


    Riven took the message concerning Sturdiness to heart with a nod, knowing full well he could die just as easily as all those people at the pyramid with Chalgathi¡¯s starter quest. However, he was still early in the workup of his power schemes, and he wanted to concentrate more on his other stats first before applying any to make himself tankier. The best defense was a good offense! He¡¯d grown two levels since assigning stat points, and he got five points per level for his race. He¡¯d also gotten one Willpower, two Intelligence, and two free stat points for every level gained thanks to his ss title. That meant a total of fourteen free points, two Willpower, and four Intelligence for the two levels he got. After assigning nine of his free stat points to Intelligence, one into Sturdiness, and the other four into Willpower, Riven came out like this:


    </a>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:


    <span ss="bno">? Level 4


    <span ss="bno">? Pir Orientations: Unholy Foundation, Blood


    <span ss="bno">? Traits: Race: Human, ss: Novice Warlock, Breath of Malignancy (???), Adrenaline Junkie (Blood) (+15% to Agility)


    <span ss="bno">? Abilities: Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood)


    <span ss="bno">? Stats: 8 Strength, 9 Sturdiness, 39 Intelligence, 10 Agility, 1 Luck, -4 Charisma, 3 Perception, 25 Willpower, 9 Faith


    <span ss="bno">? Minions: Ath, Level 3 Blood Weaver [14 Willpower Requirement]


    <span ss="bno">? Equipped Items: Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), Basic Casting Staff (4 dmg, 12% mana regen, +3 magic dmg), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies]

 Chapter 23

    Chapter 23


    ¡°So, acquiring new abilities and spells¡­ Any idea how to do it? I just want to rify that what I read about getting them in the book from Chalgathi¡¯s starter quest was urate,¡± Riven asked with a sideways nce at the spider beside him. Then he started writing on a piece of provided scratch paper with a quill pen¡ªadding to the start-up notes of usable totems, one he could take with him when the tutorial ended. The system message had imed they couldn¡¯t take the books, but given that this station had allowed him two pens and a couple papers, he could assume that he could take down notes and draw out the runes, a means of utilizing soul shards, and totem shapes along with ingredients as long as he could fit it on the provided material.


    So far the list of Unholy variant totems the book knew about was rather small, only havinge across two very basic totems he could personally use as most of the book talked about theoretical situations or Fae pir totems. Even so, these were two totems he could create here and now before they entered the tutorial dungeon. They included a Minor Totem of Murk that slowed down enemies that entered a certain radius with an Unholy mist, and a Minor Totem of Leeching that sucked life out of creatures at a steady rate in small amounts.


    Ath was busy ying with her threads and took a while to respond to his question on the topic of spells, but she nced up at him in between fiddling with the red silk ball she¡¯d made and grunted an answer.


    ¡°There are a couple ways to learn new spells. The first way is at random times by gainingbat levels; the system will reward you through visions that you must decipher. Whether or not you decipher the visions properly is up to you, and often it is heavily oriented toward whatever ss you have. If you don¡¯t have a ss, they¡¯re usually oriented toward what your goals may be or how you¡¯ve performed over your life. There is a saying that yourbat style will influence the way you are presented sses, but the opposite can also be said to an extent, because the system will award ability visions you may or may not </a>decipher depending on yourbat style or achievements¡ªbut also on the ss you have, even if it isn¡¯t one you want to keep. The system isn¡¯t always fair at how it distributes these¡­ Sometimes the world will present visions to you after gaining three levels, sometimes it¡¯ll present it to you after twenty-four levels. Some people think this is purely due to luck, while others theorize it depends on your own actions and environment. You can also find a grimoire that exins a new spell and study the magic that way, find a teacher who is more experienced than you to exin how the magic works, or study the magic that you¡¯ve got by experimentation. You can also find or buy spell scrolls that work the same way the abilities given by the system do¡ªjust read a spell scroll if the magic is within your given attributes and ept the ¡®learn spell¡¯ prompt to collect it into your abilities list. However, these scrolls are very, <span ss="italic">very expensive, hard to make even by master mages, and they often fail if you don¡¯t quickly grasp the understanding it is trying to bestow upon you.¡±


    ¡°Can I create my own spells?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely, though it takes someone who fully understands the magic to do this. The worst mages are the ones that depend solely upon the spells given to them by their ss visions, and the best mages end up having a solid fundamental knowledge of the magics they¡¯re working with to better their spells or create unique ones. The system rewards creativity and hard work that way. That even applies to martial arts and miracles.¡±


    ¡°You seem to know a lot about this stuff after being stuck in aher realm all your life.¡±


    ¡°I only know the basics. This ismon knowledge among the natives of Elysium¡­ Okay, fine. Maybe I did some studying back there in preparation for when I got a warlock master, so I lied. Why don¡¯t you create a disc of blood for me, just a single one?¡±


    Riven frowned in the dim light of the cave, then folded his arms. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can do that. Every time I cast the spell Bloody Razors, I get two discs of crimson per cast. Though if you mean conjure two of them and use one, I can do that.¡±


    Ath stopped ying with her red silk ball and got up on all twelve legs, pointing one of the ck-and-crimson appendages directly at him and prodding him in the chest. ¡°No, you definitely can. This is exactly what I¡¯m talking about. You are only using the basic programming of the spell you were given and not thinking about manipting its potential. That time you summoned four blood discs? You used the spell twice over instead of just once while pooling more mana into the single cast. I saw and felt you do it. It cost you time and additional mana for the start-up cost. If you want to be an elite among your peers¡ªwhich I intend you to be because I want to stay here as long as possible and hopefully forever¡ªyou¡¯ll need to learn these things. When </a>we leave this tutorial, I¡¯ll be giving you regr lessons on how to cast properly, effectively, how to consider cooldown times withbinations of your skills, and how to manipte the magic you do have while learning how each other¡¯s tricks work. This will all be secondhand knowledge, though, because I don¡¯t actually use spells myself.¡±


    His eyebrows raised, and he leaned in with a little bit of excitement evident in the smile he gave his minion. ¡°You¡¯re saying you¡¯ll teach me? Can we swap our blood skills?¡±


    ¡°No, I just meant that so we can fight together better. I utilize martial arts¡ªmy body¡¯s abilities are drawn out of stamina rather than the mana you use. Bloody Strings is a stamina-inducing ability. Your stat points are focused on Intelligence, building a mana pool with every stat you apply to it, while you have very little stamina pool to draw from. Not only that, most martial arts scale off physical attributes like Agility or Strength. There¡¯d be no point even if we do share the same pirs of Unholy and Blood¡­unless you wish to be a hybrid-type fighter.¡± Ath quickly held up one of her spider legs and scrutinized him with two narrowed eyes. ¡°And a word of advice¡ªdo <span ss="italic">not be a hybrid fighter.¡±


    Riven¡¯s brows furrowed in confusion, and he held out his hands to either side. ¡°Why not? Seems like it¡¯d be a good idea to diversify.¡±


    She huffed. ¡°It¡¯s just my opinion, but utilizing a pure build is better. You have enough diversity as it is with the number of spells you¡¯ll be able to acquire, and the higher up you go, the more experience or XP it will take from killing enemies or training to level up. Each level will be harder and harder to acquire, and if you don¡¯t push your stats into a more narrow selection for your build, then you¡¯ll end up finding yourself weaker than your peers who are of a simr level. Because although you may have lots of different miracles, martial arts, or spells at your disposal, they all build off different stats and all will be weaker, and that isn¡¯t good if you end up wanting to continue growing levels and power at a steady rate. Hybrid sses always take far longer to level up¡ªjust look at your average pdin.¡±


    ¡°What about your average pdin? I¡¯m from a without magic and whatnot¡ªdefinitely no pdins in the average neighborhood, if you catch my drift.¡±


    Ath did a spider version of a facepalm and shook her arachnid head. ¡°Ugh. All right. Back to the basics. So there are three general pathways to power: your martial arts that typically key in and scale on Strength and Agility. The second path to power is magic or spells that scale off Intelligence and in some cases Willpower. You in particr will be using Willpower for more than just magic, though, because I¡¯ll be needing more Willpower from you as my bonded ve in order to evolve.¡±


    </a>Riven ignored the <span ss="italic">vementpletely, even with dramatic pause and an amused hiss on Ath¡¯s part.


    ¡°Willpower will also be needed by any other minion-contracting sses, such as beast tamers, angelic summoners, or necromancers¡­but we¡¯re getting off topic here. The third pathway to power is through miracles, which scale off Faith mostly¡ªbut there are a lot of miracles that also have the Luck stat incorporated into how they work.¡±


    ¡°Truly? You¡¯re meaning to tell me that casting miracles can require points into Luck?¡±


    Ath shrugged. ¡°Yup. So again: the bare-bones foundation for martial arts is Strength and Agility, for spells it¡¯s usually Intelligence and sometimes Willpower, and for miracles it¡¯s usually Faith and sometimes Luck. Getting back to pdins¡ªthese hybrid idiots try to spread their limited stat points on four and sometimes even six different main stats. This usually leads to the majority of would-be pdin start-ups dying really early. Still seems to be a popr choice, though.¡±


    Riven frowned. ¡°Popr with who?¡±


    ¡°The other people of Elysium¡¯s multiverse, of course.¡±


    ¡°Others?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    He scratched his head. ¡°Can you tell me more about these others? That¡¯s so fascinating, thinking that I may be eventually meeting people from elsewhere in the universe. That¡¯s just crazy¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t do. Against the rules. I don¡¯t want any punishment dished out my way, no thanks. I can¡¯t give any advantages concerning specific knowledge of the multiverse until one year in, so ask me in a year. Even now what I¡¯m telling you with the general stuff is pushing my luck, but telling you about the other people already integrated would definitely get me a one-way ticket back to demon time-out for a century or two.¡±


    Ath gave a helpless shrug when he red at her, but eventually he sighed and just epted it. It would be a stupid thing to lie about, and there was no reason Ath would gain from doing so here¡ªat least no gain that he could immediately see. ¡°Fine. Then why would anyone want to be a pdin if they¡¯re as bad as you say they are? Surely it can¡¯t just be for the diversity¡­¡±


    Ath paused. ¡°Well¡­ There is one upside to choosing hybrid specializations. If you manage to get a good ss title from the system, if you earn it from the system, you¡¯ll find that they give outrge percentage bonuses or scaling bonuses that make up for the spread-out stat points. It¡¯s an equalizer, but getting one of those ss titles is very hard to do, and it takes a lot of time, dedication, and grinding through the lower-tiered sses in order to get a pdin ss worth a damn. Later on in the leveling schemes, the pdin sses are actually really </a>good or even some of the best, but most people die before getting to that stage in the attempt. You have to survive long enough to make it worthwhile.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that pdins and hybrid sses are typically really weak early on and scale muchter if they earn an evolved version of their ss?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but we¡¯re talking many evolutions down the line¡ªnot just one. You¡¯re a Novice Warlock right now, for example. It¡¯s a base ss, which is really good in the early tiers, so your survival chances are high, and you¡¯ll have a wide variety of evolution options depending on how you fight or progress. Some options may be better than others, and the system gives out better ss titles to those who disypetence in the lower tiers. How you behave, environmental factors, and how well you do determines what options you get. You could even stop utilizing magic entirely and start fighting with your fists, and the system would probably consider giving you some sort of brawler sspletely devoid of any magic perks. It¡¯splicated.¡±


    Riven frowned, rubbed his forehead, and sighed. ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°Just concentrate on putting your stats into Willpower for minion power-ups and Intelligence for your own magical pool. Then, as I said earlier, asionally put points into Sturdiness so you don¡¯t die so easily. At least for now, until you figure out a more specialized build specific to your fighting style. You¡¯ll always want to put a couple points into Sturdiness here and there to keep you alive, or Perception to make sure you¡¯re not entirely snuck up on all the time, but generally focus on Intelligence and a little less on Willpower. Trust me on this. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Fine. What awaits us after this tutorial, by the way? I have no idea what to expect¡­and so far everything has been less than friendly. Other than you, of course.¡±


    Ath gave him a chitteringugh. ¡°That¡¯s for both of us to find out. All I can say with confidence is that it will likely be a version of your world.¡±


    The demoness spider flinched as if she¡¯d just gotten a mental shock, and she shook her head back and forth with a hiss. ¡°That¡¯s just a guess, though¡ªevery integration is different, and the system won¡¯t allow me to say more than that without punishing me¡ªand I have no intention of defying the system. Sorry.¡±


    She paused. ¡°Moving on to another topic I was thinking about¡­ I know that you said, ¡®Mama didn¡¯t raise no simp,¡¯ and you didn¡¯t choose the Subus because of it, and mark my words, I¡¯m happy you didn¡¯t, because you got me! But crowd control specialists¡ªlike the Subus¡ªwill be very valuable to you in the future. Warlocks and most other mage types generally aren¡¯t very mobile, and they don¡¯t have many defensive skills unless you get lucky or reach the higher levels. In order to reach the higher levels, you need to live through the lower ones, and leveling up fast requires killing things. Therefore, your best bet to survive would be to utilize crowd-control minions that can stop your enemies from getting to you in the first ce while you use your high-damage ranged attacks. </a>So a Subus would have actually been a very good first choice for a warlock, if you hadn¡¯t picked me instead. That idiot with the zombie wolf had no clue what he was doing, choosing not only an undead starter minion that¡¯s supposed to be used for hunting and tracking, but also utilizing a poorbination of skills along with a ss meant to utilize numerous weaker minions when there were no resources to raise them. If he¡¯d been smart at all, he¡¯d have chosen at least one crowd-control ability, just like you did, and would have chosen a different ss specializing in one-on-onebat before transitioning to necromancerter if that was what he really wanted. Or he would have capitalized on a minion that had long-range attacks topliment his miasmic bolts, because he already outranged you and probably would have outranged anyone else, too. Fortunately for us, he wasn¡¯t the brightest.¡±


    This was actually making a lot of sense, and Riven rubbed his chin thoughtfully as the spider continued to talk. ¡°Just to rify, since you¡¯re a demon under my control¡­ Does this mean you don¡¯t have your own stats?¡±


    Ath shook her head and plopped her abdomen back on the table to sit. ¡°No, I have my own stats. You can look at my status page for more rification on the matter.¡±


    The spider summoned her own stat page and flipped it around to show Riven what she was talking about, and he immediately realized that as a minion, her stat page was a lot shorter than his own, with a few different descriptors.


    [Ath¡¯s Status Page:


    <span ss="bno">? Level 3


    <span ss="bno">? Pir Orientations: Unholy Foundation, Blood


    <span ss="bno">? Traits: Race: Blood Weaver Demon, ss: None, Adrenaline Junkie (Blood) (+15% to Agility), Naturally Agile (+7% to Agility)


    <span ss="bno">? Abilities: Necrotic Venom (Blood), Bloody Strings (Blood)


    <span ss="bno">? Stats: 12 Strength, 7 Sturdiness, 10 Intelligence, 38 Agility, 5 Luck, 23 Charisma, 18 Perception, 4 Willpower, 1 Faith]


    Huh. So her base stat for Agility was thirty-eight, but the 22 percent bonuses she had from her traits made it really top off even higher at forty-six. That was eight free stat points.


    Interesting. For her, Agility was a stat that scaled faster than the others just because of the bonuses alone¡­and he could see why she¡¯d concentrated her stat points there because of it. He was even lucky enough to have one of those two bonuses, though his path on magic was already set and he wouldn¡¯t be transitioning anytime soon.


    Turning back to the scratch paper he¡¯d been working on and ncing down at the instructions for the two totems he wanted to create, he tapped his finger </a>on the yellowed parchment and kept a solid gaze fixed on Ath. ¡°But this craft, if I choose to pick it up¡­will my Intelligence stat affect it? Or would it not?¡±


    Ath paused, read over the description in the book, then nodded and mmed a spider paw onto the picture Riven was pointing at. ¡°Yes, the more magic you have, the better you can make the totem. I think. A Blood attribute is needed to create this Minor Totem of Leeching as well. These things bind and unbind to the people with the required prerequisites of Willpower and pir affinity to distinguish ownership. Totem making is actually a very rare craft, from what I¡¯ve gathered, and you got very lucky to have it randomized to this tutorial. If it¡¯s a craft you want to pursue, it would be both very useful and lucrative.¡±


    ¡°And very interesting.¡± Riven nodded in agreement with his hands sped in front of him. He winced as Hakim mmed home a rather loud hammer strike from across the room and frowned their way, getting augh from Julie and a sorry wave from Hakim when they caught his nce. ¡°I could definitely see myself doing this. Would you mind helping me, Ath?¡±


    Ath nodded in contemtion atop the wooden table, then flipped the book around with one of her legs. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll have to catch up because you¡¯ve got a few hours on me, but I¡¯ve read about these in minor detail before.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that works for me¡ªgo ahead and start reading up to that point. In the meantime, I¡¯m going to leave you to the book and try to have a go at making the totem of leeching. All the materials are here, so hopefully it won¡¯t be that hard.¡±


    The spider gave him a shining spider grin. ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure of yourself. There¡¯s probably a reason it¡¯s a rarer craft¡­ despite the poor stigma it has, most people would still find totems very, very useful.¡±


    Unfortunately, the spider proved right. Totem making really was hard, far harder than he¡¯d anticipated.


    The Minor Totem of Leeching he was trying to make was about two feet tall and made out of wood. It had to be carved into a cylindrical shape, so using a small tree stump or something like that could have probably worked, but that was just the body for it. Riven found himself using a chisel and mallet, along with asionally pulling out his hatchet, to hollow out the totem until he could see the opposite end of his wooden cylinder and stick his hand through it. Then he stuffed a few small quartz crystals inside, which he¡¯d actually found underneath the table in one of many drawers he hadn¡¯t noticed earlier, dribbled some of his own blood onto the quartz crystals, nailed t circr boards over the top of the crystals to keep them in ce, and painted it red all the way around.


    Apparently for this particr totem, red coloring was a necessity. It didn¡¯t have to be painted, but it definitely had to be red.


    </a>Then after the paint dried, he attached yellow feathers, which he took from a nearby crate, around the top of the totem with a sticky resin and flour mixture. The resin dried after a while into a tar-like substance, and he switched to a yellow paint to add two additional symbols to either side of the totem¡ªeach a hollow teardrop shape with a line from the center down the middle of the bottom. When hepleted the sigil, he carved divots at regr intervals in a ring around the top and bottom.


    Then he took another look at his notes, ced a hand on the totem, and concentrated while attempting to channel his blood mana into it by focusing on the image of what he wanted.


    Nothing happened.


    He did it again, trying to focus on a pool of blood within his mind¡¯s eye.


    Nothing happened.


    Frustrated, he tried to force mana into the totem¡ªfocusing on the feeling he got when he used magic but simultaneously picturing an actively bleeding corpse of one of the men he¡¯d killed not long ago. This time, he got a prompt.


    [Would you like to infuse this totem with the Blood attribute? Yes? No?]


    Smiling widely at his sudden sess, he selected Yes. Then he immediately turned that smile upside down as the totem literally exploded up toward the ceiling in a shower of blood as the top blew off, pelting both him and Ath in disgusting remnants of hisborious attempt. It was far more blood than he¡¯d actually put into the totem himself, which confused him, and then another prompt appeared.


    [Totem creation has failed.]


    Riven muttered under his breath, wiping blood off his face and onto his clothes as he got looks from around the room and chuckles from the spider.


    He did this again, taking another hour to put it back together properly, and ended up getting a notification saying he¡¯d ced the runes improperly. Ath pointed out that they needed to be opposite from one another on each side, and he took her advice to get yet another prompt when he tried to infuse mana¡ªsaying the runes he¡¯d drawn with the yellow paint were not adaptable to blood magic.


    Looking his yellow runes over, he found that one of them had actually dripped paint down the wood before it¡¯d dried, and it didn¡¯t look like the original rune anymore. When he finished with this one, instead of exploding out the top, it just started leaking blood all over the countertop and remained inert without any real effect otherwise.


    </a>[Totem creation has failed.]


    It was hourster, after a light lunch with the others and on his next attempt, that he finally got it to work. Well¡­work better than it¡¯d been going, anyway.


    [You have created an iplete Minor Totem of Leeching. Soul shard is still required forplete autonomy and movement; enchantment and runecraft is intact. Iplete Minor Totem of Leeching has been bound to you; unbind this unfinished totem to transfer ownership to another.]


    [Iplete Minor Totem of Leeching: Slowly whittles away at health, dealing one average blood damage per second, drawn from a single nearby enemy, eighteen-yard sensing radius. Since this totem has no soul shard, you will need to ce this totem in a secure position or on ground andmand it to activate for use. Targets any enemies you would consider hostile. Umon tier. Requirements: 2 Willpower, Blood subpir.]


    The totem¡¯s yellow runes began to light up, turning from yellow to a dull orange glow with a few red strands of power encircling the totem in slow intervals. It was a spherical pattern that traveled through the wood of the table as if it weren¡¯t even there and was rather mesmerizing. Riven definitely felt pride swell up in his chest at having created it. Even though he¡¯d had a handbook guiding him through the process, even though the damage rating was rather pathetic, it was still an aplishment to be proud of.


    ¡°The totem knows who I would consider hostile?¡± Riven asked curiously as he showed her the system message. ¡°And why does this totem have a damage average on its attacks when my spells don¡¯t? I thought that was only for items.¡±


    Ath looked up, putting the book concerning totem making down on the table and folding her front legs sagely. ¡°I don¡¯t know how the totem knows. As for the average damage per strike, that¡¯s because the runes, mana input, and materials you used were good or bad enough to average out that way. If you made another Minor Totem of Leeching, it¡¯d probably be around the same damage but may not be exactly the same. Same goes for the sensing radius.¡±


    Ath jabbed a foot into his chest. ¡°The reason why your spells don¡¯t have those numbers is because itrgely depends on how much mana you channel into them. Like I was telling you earlier, Bloody Razors cane in ones, twos, threes, or any number, really, if you have the mana during the channeling. However, they can also be flung at faster speeds, can have their shapes manipted, can be more mana dense, depend on your magic level¡­ The list goes on. Therefore spells usually don¡¯t have an average damage on them when looking at a status page because </a>it depends on who the user is and how they manipte it on a given casting¡­ But if you really wanted to know how much damage you¡¯re doing with a spell, there are items you can acquire that will measure the damage for testing purposes.¡±


    ¡°Got it. How do I test this totem out here and now, though? We don¡¯t have any enemies around yet.¡±


    The spider demon chuckled, then crawled off the table and walked over to an area of the room devoid of anything fragile. Turning, she waggled her arms at Riven and danced on her back legs. ¡°Think for just a moment that you want it to hit me and see what happens! I don¡¯t know if this will work, but¡ª¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t let her finish as the totem¡¯s glowing orange runes lit up brighter on either side. In less than a second, a strand of red light pulsed and shot out toward the Blood Weaver with respectable speed.


    The spider easily dodged it, though, being far too fast to hit, but she was surprised when the strand of red light took a U-turn and followed her around the room. For a few seconds, the totem and the demon yed a game of cat and mouse where the strand of red light continued to zigzag through the air as Ath dodged left and right, before she eventually went out of bounds and left the totem¡¯s eighteen-yard radius zone. She bobbed up and down and looked at the spot on the ground where the thread of red light had smashed into the stone floor. Then she looked back up at Riven, both eyes sparkling, and literally jumped into the air with a screech of excitement. ¡°THAT¡¯S SO COOL!¡±


    ¡°I KNOW RIGHT!?¡±


    Riven had also jumped up, and the two of themughed as they did a ridiculous dance together and galloped in a circle.


    ¡°WE¡¯RE GOING TO BE AMAZING!¡± Riven yelled over the nging of the hammers.


    ¡°I KNOW! I KNOW!¡±


    ¡°MASTER ARTISANS!¡±


    ¡°WIDOWMAKERS AND BABY STOMPERS!¡±


    Riven immediately stopped dancing and looked down at the excitedly shaking spider. ¡°Baby stompers?¡±


    ¡°I was just kidding.¡±


    ¡°All right, just making sure. Stomping babies isn¡¯t what I ever intend to do. Like, ever.¡±


    ¡°What if you¡­like¡­theoretically had to go to sleep¡­and a whiny baby was keeping you up at night? You <span ss="italic">really wouldn¡¯t stomp it?¡±


    ¡°Ath. I better not catch you ever attempting to stomp a baby because, so help me God, I will strangle your little arachnid neck.¡±


    ¡°To be fair, when I have stomped babies in the past, it was more of a poke because my feet are so small. They didn¡¯t die or anything like that.¡±


    ¡°¡­what the actual fuck are you talking about? Haven¡¯t you been stuck in theher realms?¡±

 Chapter 24

    Chapter 24


    The next two hours were spent making another of the iplete leeching totems. They worked step by step right until Tanya called everyone in for a break. By this point Riven was confident in his ability to remake the totem given the right ingredients, and there were even substitutions for the quartz crystals he could use via other types of gemstones, but he was still unsure about adding the soul shard. That was going to be the hardest part and would require him to utilize the Death subpir¡ªwhich he still hadn¡¯t bound to his soul yet. The description in the manual had a lot of theory behind it that he didn¡¯t quite understand. But he was still very excited to see what would happen when these iplete totems eventually acquired their soul shards. It would be a venture for another day.


    Tanya passed around snacks she¡¯d made, having cooked some more meat they¡¯d taken out of an equivalent refrigerator left by the system for food storage that was fueled by water magic. They had the day-old bread as well, and it still tasted just as great as it had twenty-four hours prior without having gone stale at all.


    Julie was excitedly exining to her younger brother and her mother the specifics of the forge that she and Hakim had learned about through the tutorial book, along with trial and error of their own. She was sweaty, covered in soot, and her hands were starting to blister before she¡¯d wrapped them¡ªbut she was obviously enjoying the work. ¡°We¡¯re trying to make knives, because we don¡¯t have all that much time. I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s supposed to take, but we just finished a knife each¡­¡±


    She held up her own finished product. It was made of solid iron and wasn¡¯t perfect by any means¡ªbut they could tell she was proud of it. The edges weren¡¯t entirely sharp and the leatherbound handle looked a little too big for the de, but it was definitely a knife, all right.


    <span ss="bold">[Crude Iron Knife, 5 average damage.]


    </a>Julie beamed as everyone pped, setting it down in front of her with a smile. ¡°The hand-forging of the de, then grinding them to refine the shape¡­we had to make all the fittings, handles. Had to harden and temper them, then sharpen it again. It took a long time, but at least I have a weapon for the dungeon now!¡±


    Riven thought about the extra bronze hatchet he¡¯d taken off the sorcerer he¡¯d killed and picked up his bag. Going through it, he quickly found the hatchet, then slid it over across the stone floor to Hakim. ¡°Forgot I had this. Go ahead and use it if you want.¡±


    <span ss="bold">[Bronze Hatchet, 10 average damage.]


    Hakim wiped sweat from his brow, still breathing heavily from exertion, and looked at the knife he¡¯d made for himself.


    <span ss="bold">[Poor-Quality Iron Knife, 6 average damage.]


    Passing his own knife to Tanya, he picked the hatchet up with a nod of thanks Riven¡¯s way and pointed to the totems. ¡°What are those?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow. ¡°Have you tried identifying them yet?¡±


    It was a simple thing, but they were still getting used to the idea that they could interact with most things in their environment just by identifying them. Some things had lots of descriptions, while others had none other than a name. Other things were unable to give them details, being too high-quality for them to assess¡­like Riven¡¯s flowered vase or the bone amulet around his neck.


    But he could tell that Hakim got the detailed message regarding his totems when his eyebrows lifted and arge smile crossed his face.


    Showing off his creations next, boy did he get a reaction from the others. It was just unfortunate that only he could use them, because none of the others had any Unholy-rted pirs. Or any pirs at all yet, for that matter.


    <span ss="bold">[Five minutes until tutorial part two, ¡°Battle,¡±mences. Upon countdown ending, the door to the tutorial dungeon will open and you will be permitted to enter. There are multiple ways out of the dungeon and into Elysium, but it is up to you to find out what they are. The only option given at face value for exiting the dungeon is killing one of the dungeon bosses or minibosses. Good luck.]


    Riven had created a third iplete blood-type totem after yet another failure since his initial two were made. He¡¯d also tried twice to make the other type of Unholy-oriented totem that slowed enemies within their radius, the one called Minor Totem of Murk, but had been unsessful both times and no </a>longer had any more time to spare. He¡¯d have to figure out what he was doing wrongter, because the system¡¯s tutorial had stopped giving him hints after his third failure.


    Still,ing out with three semplete totems that drained health from his enemies was something he was not only proud of, but they would possiblye in handy if he utilized them right. He¡¯d created leather straps for each of them and tied them around the middle to more easily carry the objects and was finally ready to go now that the dungeon was opening.


    As for the others, Tanya and Tim had sessfully stitched together some additional clothes: namely some very basic shirts, skirts, and shorts. They¡¯d also been able to make in sandals with some guidance from the tutorial book and the materials given to them, while Hakim and Julie had provided three daggers. There was one for each of the small family, and then an additional small wooden buckler for Hakim, who also wielded the hatchet he¡¯d been given by Riven.


    It was better than nothing, that was for sure, but everyone felt rather disappointed at theck of sess concerning the prophecies. Not a single one of them had touched the crystal ball with a reaction, and they¡¯d all given up on day one after trying.


    Except Riven, of course, who was still very wary about what¡¯d happened with his own experience concerning the crystal ball. That was some information he¡¯d be keeping to himself, at least for now.


    Everyone except Riven and Ath was nervous and shared wary nces with one another while they waited. Even Hakim, who was trying to put on a brave face for the others and was a hulking monster of a man, was obviously a little on edge while tightly gripping his shield and axe.


    <span ss="bold">[Two minutes until the tutorial dungeon opens.]


    Meanwhile, Riven was cram-studying what he could from the totem-making tutorial book at ast second run-through. He¡¯d already stuffed the two papers he¡¯d scratched down instructions on for the two totems he¡¯d be able to use, along with the theory notes on soul-shard acquisition and utilization, but he hadn¡¯t found anything usable in the pages of the book beyond this. The rest of the totems were based in Fae magic and the subpirs like Water, Air, and Forest, because the author of the book had been a fae specialist himself.


    <span ss="italic">¡°Totems will provide experience points toward leveling up if they are used in taking down an enemy, even at a distance. However, this XP is at a significantly decreased value from what would normally be gained by participating inbat yourself.¡±


    Riven nodded, with the final tidbit of knowledge tucked away in his brain, snapped the book shut, and he was about to ce it on a nearby table when it simply evaporated from his fingers in a cloud of warm, glowing white smoke.


    </a><span ss="bold">[Tutorial dungeon is now opening.]


    Therge double doors in front of them creaked, the hinges on the heavy, rusted iron breaking and snapping open while dust and dirt fell to the floor. Swinging open anding to a stop, the doorwayy wide-open before them.


    It was the entrance into an abyss, a shadow of ck that had no end. There was just a whole lot of nothingness on the other side of the door, and a deep chilling sensation ran through Riven¡¯s bones when the cold air hit him.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡±


    *WHOOSH*


    In the next second, a howl of wind ripped him and everyone else off their feet, sucking them into the open entrance without warning. They went screaming into the yawning oblivion, the doors snapping shut behind them¡ªblotting out the light while they fell.


    Falling through the endless void of nothingness had Riven¡¯s heart doing somersaults in his chest as his limbs iled about him. He was internally cursing his luck, and that enraged cursing grew to even greater heights when a new and very unexpected message appeared in front of him.


    <span ss="bold">[As one of the few who made it through Chalgathi¡¯s Lineage Starter Quest to gain early ess to the warlock ss, you have once again acquired the attention of this entity through your various actions in the brief time afterward. Chalgathi has intervened in the tutorial process and has drawn you along with yourrades into his abyssal realm. You have one of two choices, and you have sixty seconds after reading this message to choose before immediate death sets in.


    <span ss="bold">A Choice of Selfishness: Your four recently made allies (Tim, Julie, Tanya, and Hakim) will remain banished here forever, lost souls unable to escape the shadow they are secluded to and unable to sense anything but the darkness around them. Your selfish choice will benefit you, however, in that sacrificing their souls to Chalgathi¡¯s realm will gain you four legendary-tier pieces of soul-woven warlock armor¡ªthe Soul-Woven Warlock Hood, Soul-Woven Warlock Pauldrons, Soul-Woven Warlock Robe, and Soul-Woven Warlock Boots¡ªtoplete one of the best early-stage outfit sets currently avable across your world. You will then be ced back in the normal tutorial dungeon toplete it as the Elysium administrator deems fit.


    <span ss="bold">Or, the next option¡­


    </a><span ss="bold">A Choice of Selflessness: You choose to save your newly found friends and take the hard road yourself. Choosing this option notifies them of what you have done, the choice you had to make, and pushes them into a safe room within the dungeon: each given an earlybat-type starter kit geared toward their chosen style ofbat. They will each also receive an additional one ability tome to learn from, simr to the way that your first spells were taught, an event that will be given to them immediately. The catch is that choosing this option will separate you from the group and insert you into a minor hellscape dungeon of Chalgathi¡¯s choosing instead of a normal tutorial dungeon. This hellscape dungeon will be much harder than the basic tutorial dungeon but will also have more opportunities for you to progress faster. Just like the tutorial dungeon, this hellscape dungeon will also have exits into Elysium that you must find in order to leave. That, or you must kill a dungeon boss or miniboss to leave.


    <span ss="bold">The countdown to choose begins now. 60¡­ 59¡­ 58¡­ 57¡­]

 Chapter 25

    Chapter 25


    <span ss="bold">[You have selected: A Choice of Selflessness. Your previous allies have been notified and have teleported to a safe room within their tutorial dungeon. The road to hell is paved with good intentions; just make sure that yours don¡¯t get you killed while visiting.]


    The warm, musty air filled his lungs as they expanded; the wooden bench he was sitting on felt grainy to the touch. His eyes adjusted to the light while his pupils dted. His body felt¡­different, and the texture of everything was very focused as the transition ended.


    He found himself alone in an old, dusty room with crimson rays of light leaking in through ancient wooden shutters showing signs of rot. The entire ce had a very creepy haunted-house vibe going on. Cobwebs lined the corners and interior of the room, with ancient stone walls on all sides. There was also an old coffin, a rotting old chest, three ss vials on a rickety table, and bloodstained embalming equipment next to them. Then there was a rickety old door leading out as well, with signs of rust umting on the hinges and doorknob.


    As he looked around, another hologram notification appeared in front of him.<span ss="bold">[Special Event: Chalgathi¡¯s Hand of Fate¡ªYou and your minion, Ath, have both started in a rtively high-risk, high-reward, minor hellscape dungeon as an introduction into Elysium. Normally you would be able to unsummon and resummon her to your side by focusing on themands Summon and Unsummon or touching the pentagram emzoned on your skin, but due to the nature of this trial, you must physically find her first before summoning options are avable again. Ath has started out many miles from your current location, despite pairing up with the initial drop.]


    </a><span ss="bold">[New Quest: Find Your Spider Princess¡ªMeet your minion, Ath, at the center of the city next to therge statue of the bearded, axe-wielding man, without dying, to receive a reward. Dying would be less than ideal, for obvious and permanent reasons. But let¡¯s be real, you probably <span ss="bold"><span ss="italic">are <span ss="bold">going to die here, little warlock¡ªso pucker up! Also: if Ath dies in this dungeon prior to bonding with you again, she will be permanently killed, despite her status as your demonic minion. <span ss="bold">WELCOME TO HELL!]


    His brow furrowed in sudden worry. Worry turned to frustration. Frustration turned to anger, and he momentarily closed his eyes to calm himself down. So that¡¯s why he¡¯d spawned alone¡­ If he¡¯d known choosing this option would put Ath at real risk, he¡¯d have just sacrificed the others, as callous as that sounded. But he hadn¡¯t known, there was no way he could have known, and the notifications concerning his choices were not as clear-cut as they appeared to be. Perhaps if he¡¯d taken the selfish option instead, he may have very well ended up in this same exact situation¡ªjust in a different ce with really neat warlock gear¡­


    It¡¯s easy to be a Monday morning quarterback.


    Riven let out a long exhale, rubbing his fingertips against the dusty wood and then against his skin. He sat there, trying to control his breathing on the bench that looked like it might copse under his weight at any second now. ¡°Goddamn it. What does Chalgathi find so interesting about me, anyways?¡±


    He stood up and moved around, gingerly flexing his muscles and stretching before grabbing his gnarled staff and brushing dust from his crude ck cultist¡¯s robes. The backpack was still there, so at least he still had his things other than the missing minion.


    He took a couple minutes to adjust to the new reality of his situation just as hope had been swept out from underneath his feet¡ªyet again being thrust into a lonesome life-and-death situation. He was here, in an alternate version of Elysium¡¯s tutorial dungeon that he knew less than nothing about. He was currently alone, now even devoid of his bonded familiar, who could die permanently if he didn¡¯t find her fast enough.


    God forbid he died himself. More than anything, though, he was concerned for Ath. She was certainly capable, but she was physically weak, and if she got caught in the wrong circumstance, she¡¯d be gone just as fast as she¡¯de into his life. Being a minion, she had a vested interest in his own sess and wouldn¡¯t betray him like so many others had in the past. She was funny, though obnoxious at times, and she put herself on the line for his own sake. Even though he didn¡¯t know her that well, she was a friend. He needed to find her before it was toote.


    He chuckled, thinking that she was likely having simr thoughts about him. Or at least he hoped she was.


    </a><span ss="bold">[You have entered Dungeon Negrada. Other in-area participants: one.]


    His eyes paused uponing to the other one in-area participant, and he frowned. Were he and his minion the only ones here?


    Or did Ath not count as the other in-area participant?


    He sat there for a good five minutes, seriously contemting what the actual fuck had just happened, rubbing his forehead vigorously as he tried to make sense of it all. Eventually he shrugged and stood up. He¡¯d had so much tomfuckery going on with this Chalgathi character and Elysium¡¯s multiverse that he was beginning to just roll with the punches. He would seed, just like he had before, and not only seed¡ªbut he would excel. He had no choice.


    And first order of business was inspecting the rather creepy room around him.


    He walked over the cold, dry floor toward the rotting chest first. A howl of sour-smelling wind whipped against the old wooden shutters of the window, causing them to creak when he got on his knees and put his hands on the unstable wooden box.


    Pulling gently, he heard a snap when one of the rusted hinges on the back of the box immediately gave way without so much as an effort on his part¡ªbut the other one held firm, and the lid swung open awkwardly at an angle to reveal a set of clothes. They were poorly preserved, light brown in color and made of some sort of cloth with numerous holes in them. He stood up, holding the pants and tunic out in the dim lighting to get a better look at them, and grunted when they weren¡¯t in his size anyway.


    <span ss="bold">[Old Sinner¡¯s Pants]


    <span ss="bold">[Old Sinner¡¯s Shirt]


    Identifying them as being nothing special, he just put them back in the box.


    Then he turned around and headed for the table next, where he saw some embalming equipment and three ss vials¡ªthe three inactive totems he had with him rattling against one another. He ignored the ss vials entirely, as they¡¯d be utterly useless to him, but picked up one of the bloodstained, rusty knives that glistened in the dull crimson light and curiously looked it over. It was very simple, about a foot long, and was made of iron with a de dulled from use.


    Though it was still the sharpest of the tools here.


    <span ss="bold">[Rusted Embalmer¡¯s Knife, 3 average damage]


    It did just as much average damage as the staff did. Not what he¡¯d expected for a de. Regardless, he was sure that this world had rules he was unaware of concerning damage output and didn¡¯t question it much¡ªso he held the knife </a>loosely at his side as he moved through the room. Having another means of protection was still crucial just in case.


    He looked underneath the table and underneath the bench, only to find nothing. Coming over to the window, he stood on his tiptoes to get a better look at the outside through a crack in the shutters where dim light was streaming through. There he found a strange, red, midday mist right outside his perch that obscured everything within three feet of where he looked out.


    ¡°Well, that isn¡¯t creepy. Nope, definitely not.¡±


    Riven scratched the back of his head with the handle of his knife and turned around to get a better look at the coffin. It was the only remaining thing in the room he hadn¡¯t taken a good look at other than the door leading out, and he wasn¡¯t about to leave just yet without having opened it up.


    There could be loot in there, after all. This <span ss="italic">was a dungeon¡­right?


    He came around to the side, where he saw a good-size metal sp locking the lid in ce. It was in slightly better condition than the rest of the metal around the room, and he didn¡¯t have a problem flipping it up before yanking.


    With a creak, the lid flung open and banged against the floor on the other side. Years of dust bloomed into the air from where it¡¯d settled on top, and Riven had to cover his mouth and eyes with his robe to stop coughing.


    When the dust finally settled and another shriek of howling wind caused the window¡¯s shutters to quiver, Riven pulled his robe down and evaluated the contents of the coffin more closely. There was a very frail-looking body, poorly mummified, with bandages yellowed with age. The skin was pale, gaunt, and wrinkled beyond recognition underneath the wrappings. It¡¯d probably been a woman once, due to the bone structure of the corpse, but time had been unkind, and he really couldn¡¯t make it out for sure.


    He inspected the mummified old corpse thoroughly, gently folding the arms to make sure nothing was underneath¡ªbut frowned when he saw nothing but the wooden bottom of the coffin. The body was surprisingly soft, yet crusty to the touch, and pieces crumbled off underneath his fingers. He patted it down, trying to figure out if there was anything he was missing¡ªand eventually came to the mummified left hand.


    Feeling something hard underneath his touch along the pointer finger of the mummy, he quickly used the rusty embalmer¡¯s knife to cut away the digit. With a crunch and a snap, the finger came off¡ªand he gingerly unwrapped the decaying old appendage to reveal an emerald-studded silver ring alongside another smooth wooden ring that he really didn¡¯t take a fancy to. The emerald ring was identifiable and titled Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting, while the other ring he got basically no information on, just like the ne he wore.


    <span ss="bold">[Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting, +26 points to Intelligence.]


    </a><span ss="bold">[Old Wooden Ring: ???]


    He almost began to drool at the sight of the emerald-studded witch¡¯s ring. Multiple levels¡¯ worth of stat points to Intelligence? Seriously? This one ring was about two-thirds of his current magic-boosting Intelligence points.


    Gaping at his magnificent find, he took both of them off the finger but flinched as a painful shock lit up his hand when he touched the wooden ring particrly. He dropped it by ident and in surprise, but when he tried picking it up again, he experienced another painful, simr shock.


    Riven raised an eyebrow in confusion, and even when he tried using his foot to prod the wooden object, the same thing happened again. Only this time the pain was far stronger, and he even yelped slightly before stepping back. Nothing like this had happened before, so he didn¡¯t know what to make of the item¡¯s reaction.


    He reached out one more time, and upon attempting to retrieve the item, it vanished in a puff of teal-colored smoke that fizzled away through the air.


    <span ss="bold">[You are now haunted.]


    He blinked.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be fist fucking me.¡±


    Riven checked his status page, with no luck. There was no change there whatsoever, and he didn¡¯t feel any different. He looked around to make sure no enemies wereing after him but didn¡¯t hear or see anything noteworthy. Still on edge, he discarded the decaying finger and turned the remaining emerald-studded item around in his hands a couple times to admire the craftsmanship. It was just beautifully made, with multitudes of tiny dragons encircling one another as carvings in the metal¡ªand the green gem itself was neatly cut into an octagon.


    He put it on, then took it off, but became delighted as he felt the warm surge of power rush into him each time he wore it. The effect was immediate, and he could literally feel the power vibrating as it stabilized throughout his body with the item attached securely to a finger.


    His thoughts were rudely interrupted by a creak from the coffin, and his green eyes tore back to the corpse.


    Had it just moved? He could have sworn he thought he saw the head twitch, and his heart began to quicken slightly. But instead of waiting to see whether or not he was right, he immediately jammed his knife into the skull of the corpse with a brutal downward stroke that cut cleanly into the decayed flesh despite the poor condition of the knife.


    The thing he¡¯d thought to be a corpse wasn¡¯t as dead as he¡¯d initially thought. The old woman¡¯s mummified corpse shrieked and spasmed, iling its arms to grasp at him as he stumbled back in surprise. It abruptly flipped right over the </a>coffin¡¯s side tond onto the stone floor with a thud in response to his attack, let out a croaking and hoarse howl of hunger, and began lurching forward a short ways at a time in a slow but determined gait.


    ¡°Unimpressive.¡± Riven backpedaled, pping away the grasping hands of the zombie that¡¯de to life right before his eyes as it moaned and reached for him¡ªbut was very slow. And given the way pieces of its body were falling off¡­it was still in a very poor state of decay.


    How curious. Riven cocked his head to the side and circled around the room to keep his distance from the slow-moving creature while watching its gait pattern and ripples of teal death mana asionally licking across the edges of its open wounds. If only he could study the monster and learn how to create something like this himself¡­


    The undead monster suddenly lunged forward, nearly getting a hold of his left arm before he brutally rammed his knee into the creature¡¯s face on reflex¡ªsending it stumbling back momentarily with an audible crunch and giving himself some room to summon a Wretched Snare.


    The ck magic bloomed in front of him like a flower, expanding and encasing the creature with its needlelike that tangled the howling undead up in a frustrating, iling attempt to break free while it burned into the creature¡¯s flesh with sizzling sounds.


    Riven stood there, curiously examining his new enemy in silence despite the continued wails of the zombie. ¡°You are quite¡­interesting.¡±


    He watched the creature die slowly in the webbing of his own creation. The magic seemed slightly thicker along the needle-filled ck, and he could have sworn that it had gotten bigger with the cast after putting the ring on.


    Looking down at the emerald-decorated ring on his hand, he curiously stared and then summoned two Bloody Razors, rapidly spinning to either side of his staff-wielding hand. Just as suspected, they¡¯d also grown in size¡ªthough not by much. With a casual flick of his wrist, they shot out and tore into the trapped creature beneath him.


    The creature born of hell screeched even louder as the two spinning discs of blood magic tore off an arm and severed part of its neck, ck blood sttering along the stone ground and wall with a final ear-piercing shriek. The partially decapitated zombie¡¯s reaching hand slowly fell downward while burning on the snare entangling it, and soon the creature¡¯s entire arm fell limp as it died¡ªjaw ajar as pieces of its rotted body continued to fall off like cooked meat from a bone.


    ¡°You¡¯re also one ugly bitch.¡± Riven held up the gnarled staff in his right hand and pped the dead creature¡¯s dangling head with it out of irritation, also kicking it along the way as his magic faded and he bypassed the corpse with a humph.

 Chapter 26

    Chapter 26


    Riven hadn¡¯t realized it until just then, but the wordsing out of his mouth were not in the Englishnguage. He was speaking¡­something else¡­and it was downright natural. It was as if he¡¯d known thisnguage his entire life. Confused, and not understanding how or when this particr bunch of knowledge had transnted itself, he added it to the list of system tomfuckery that¡¯d been going on over the past little while.


    With a creak, Riven turned the doorknob and pushed. A dust cloud came up off the ground a few feet into the air as the door came open, and in front of him, a long dark hallway led to a staircase going down.


    Not creepy at all. Nope. Nothing about this wonderful joyride had been creepy in the slightest, and this dark, ancient hallway definitely didn¡¯t fit that bill, either.


    He walked in silence, only pausing to inspect the immediate surroundings of his hallway. All of this¡­it was downright fascinating to him. Sure, he might be stuck in hell, but he¡¯d been an atheist all his life. Exploring and sightseeing might not be such a bad idea while he was here, and this ruin seemed as good a ce as any to start. There were asional scratch marks carved into the walls to form crude demonic hieroglyphs. Little skulls of oddly shaped rodents were scattered along one side of the hallway where an alcove into the hallway had been built¡ªor what he assumed to have once been rodents. An ancient halberd rusted with age that¡¯d been snapped in half during a battle millennia past was ced directly in his path along the dust-covered floor¡ªand those were only some of the things in the increasingly clutter-filled hallway. Decayed books, overturned tables, and a charred human skull were added to the list¡ªbut nothing of true value other than the ability to stimte his curiosity was found. Soon he came to the end of the dark, dry, and nearly lightless hallway to peer down the set of stone stairs. At the bottom, about thirty steps down, was yet another hallway that was already partially illuminated from here¡ªthis one a lot less cluttered than the one he¡¯d just left.


    </a>His boots stepped softly against the ancient stone steps, and he found himself on another path with ss windows that branched out into three different directions straight ahead at a crossing point. The thick ss windows were mostly smudged withyers of dirt and grime, but still high enough above the ground to give him a real view of what he was looking at despite the clouds and asionalyers of mist.


    It was not what he¡¯d been expecting when he¡¯d been ced in a dungeon.


    The sun above him wasn¡¯t a sun at all, but rather it was a deep red, unblinking, lidless eye wreathed in me. Above him an abyss of crimson sky spread out from horizon to horizon, with lightning intermittently shing in the distance many leagues away and giant flying monsters farther off encircling the skyscrapers of an ancient stone city.


    He was standing on an enclosed catwalk hundreds of feet above the ground. Far below him, down on the broken cobblestone streets below, were piles of rubble and wreckage from another age. Broken wooden carts covered in mold, crows overhead, scattered skeletons and bones, and pieces of copsed stone walls were everywhere. There were alien or goth-styled structures such as citadels and temples with high steeples, and far expanses of wreckage in between were in abundance. All about him were the other towering stone skyscrapers opposite his own¡ªsome with caved-in rooftops. The red mists and scattered clouds of ck smog stretched skyward in various patches. And as he stood there watching, gawking even, the light of the ming eye was soon overshadowed by one of many slow-moving smog clouds.


    More worrying were the lumps of barely recognizable old corpses that¡¯d been strung up and hung in various areas from the rooftops or undersides of buildings. The bodies were of many species that included humans, and they¡¯d beenpletely skinned. They¡¯d also been eviscerated, leaving their intestines to hang out of their bodies in a gruesome disy of malevolence. There were random bouts of me that cycloned through the air from time to time out of small holes in the ground, but they were far and few between while alien bellows echoed out across the taintedndscape. There was even arge, bloody pentagram drawn on a distant temple front.


    asionally movement could also be seen in the streets or between buildings, but he couldn¡¯t get a good look at whatever it was that was living down there¡­and Riven got the eerie feeling that he was being watched.


    ¡°Well, fuck me sideways.¡±


    He turned right, looking down the new hallway where it came to a catwalk¡¯s crossroad while giving his staff a tighter grip. Hesitantly walking over and stopping at the intersection, he saw paths continuing out in all three directions¡­each one disappearing into darkness where they connected with other towering skyscrapers.


    </a>But he didn¡¯t see any giant statue of a bearded, axe-wielding man when looking out the windows¡­ So, without further internal debate, he kept on going straight ahead and hoped that he¡¯d chosen well.


    An hourter he was still wandering the dark halls of the ancient building he¡¯d entered. It was huge, with numerous rooms full of wreckage and stairways, some of them partially caved in, closets full of cobwebs, and many musty halls to traverse. Rotting old furniture, broken windows, and, worst of all, the dusty remains of people numbering in the hundreds with rotted, shredded clothes still on the remnants of their bones.


    What the hell had happened here? To have so many bodies scattered about like this¡­it must have either been some kind of massacre or some sort of very abnormal and deadly event that he couldn¡¯t quiteprehend. The thing was, most of the bodies had their skeletons intact without any signs of sharp or blunt trauma¡­sometimes even with their clothes 100 percent intact¡ªand that really weirded him out. Whoever these people had been, it was as if they¡¯d all just simultaneously dropped dead¡­


    To boot, he was absolutely lost.


    <span ss="italic">¡°KAJIT HAS WARES!¡±


    ¡°AAAHHHHH! SHIT!¡± Riven nearly had a heart attack when the high-pitched, feminine voice of an old woman screeched out at him from a little nook in the wall where pieces of brick were missing. There, in the dim light of the crevice, stepped out a familiar figure.


    Neon-teal mana rippled along her decaying skin in random intervals. ck ichor leaked out of a goofy smile that was missing most of her teeth. Bandages old and yellowed with timey wrapped across her body at odd intervals, and matted gray hair came down over the taut gray skin covering her face. However, the finger he¡¯d broken off one of her hands was now reced again, and the bodily harm he¡¯d done by killing her earlier was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°You again?!¡± Riven said with a dumbfounded, gawking stare. ¡°And you can talk?!¡±


    ¡°Of course I talk! I sell you goods, yes?!¡± The zombified woman from whom Riven had originally taken the ring he now wore was standing¡­no, hovering before him. She drifted slightly off the stone floor with minimal effort, and upon inspecting her more closely, he saw the body she now upied was very slightly transparent.


    Riven blinked twice and took a step back, cocking his head to the side and scratching his head. ¡°Didn¡¯t I kill you once?¡±


    ¡°Yes, death is bad for business. But for you I make special offer, special price!¡± The zombified ghost¡¯s toothy grin only grew wider, and the ichor leaking </a>out of her mouth dripped onto the floor, only to disappearpletely without making contact.


    Riven shifted his gaze from the ghost to the spot on the floor where the ck ichor had disappeared, and then back to the ghost. ¡°This is about that wooden ring and getting haunted, isn¡¯t it? All right, what¡¯s this about you having wares? What was it, Kajit? Is that your name?¡±


    The ghostly, decrepit woman folded her arms with a huff¡ªthe eye sockets in her semitranslucent skull narrowing. ¡°You say it Khajiit¡ªit is Kajit. Say it right, numbskull, or I leave with my wares and never return!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I said. Kajit.¡±


    <span ss="italic">¡°YOU SAY KHAJIIT!¡±


    ¡°Jesus fuck,dy.¡± He pointed an usatory finger the floating woman¡¯s way. ¡°All right, Karen, exin yourself! What are you doing here and what do you want?! Didn¡¯t you try to kill me earlier?!¡±


    ¡°I say I make a special price for one and only!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you ignore me, damn it! You tried to kill me!¡±


    ¡°YOU STAB ME IN HEAD FIRST, UGLY BOY!¡±


    ¡°Ugly?! Take a look in the mirror! You¡¯re hideous!¡±


    ¡°I use special salve that make my skin extra-shiny gray. It all rage in hellscapes, you know. Do not be jealous. If you take salve, too, you may get real man arms.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Riven inspected either arm, though he kept a ball of Wretched Snare in one hand ready to release it just in case this creature decided to stop the crazy olddy act and go feral again. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my arms?¡±


    ¡°They are noodly appendages. So skinny, cannot get girlfriend save life. Barely fit for baby.¡±


    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s rude! My arms are average, okay?!¡±


    ¡°Average for paralyzed stork!¡± The zombie ghost humphed and red down at him from where she continued to drift upward at an ultra-slow, steady pace. ¡°Do you want special price or not?!¡±


    ¡°Special price for what, though? I have exactly zero dors.¡±


    ¡°What is dor? NO! I have special price! Special price on special item?!¡± The ghost suddenly faltered, then seemed confused, judging by her own expression. She clicked her tongue, however a ghost did such a thing, and then started mumbling to herself under her breath.


    ¡°I know I have it here for special price. Where it go¡­ I¡­¡± The ghost trailed off, her voice bing distant and faded, before her body blipped out of existence altogether in a sh of neon-teal light.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The deafening silence was sudden,ing just as quickly as it¡¯d left. Riven took a few steps forward and inspected the area she¡¯d vanished into, but nothing was present at all. ¡°Hello?¡±


    </a>There was no response other than his own voice echoing slightly down the dark halls of the ruined city.


    ¡°Kajit? Spooky ghostdy?¡±


    There was still no response.


    He waited around for another couple of minutes, then assumed she wouldn¡¯t being back. Or at least, wouldn¡¯t being back anytime soon. He could safely piece together what was happening here after the ¡°Haunted¡± notification had afflicted him. He¡¯d never had a notification saying he wasn¡¯t haunted anymore, but he¡¯d originally assumed killing that creature back in his starting room would solve that issue. He¡¯d assumed wrong, apparently, and it very much looked like he had a tagalong ghostdy who was trying to sell him some sort of wares¡­


    How odd. Nevertheless, going on what he knew, he could assume that it didn¡¯t matter where he went¡ªshe¡¯d probably be able to find him.


    Shaking his head and stepping over another set of skeletons while praying to God that these things weren¡¯t undead like the haunted zombie he¡¯de across earlier, he came around and into arge ballroom.


    He could tell that it was once a ballroom at first nce just by the look of it. A huge chandelier many times his sizey crashed in the center of the room with pieces of ss scattered across the floor. Broken tables and chairs were littered about the outskirts of the enclosed area, and dim rays of light filtered in through the roof where patches were missing due to what he¡¯d assume was water damage from the mists¡­though he wouldn¡¯t expect it to rain here anytime soon, given what the outside world looked like.


    ncing up, he noted another human body hanging from a ceiling strut. It waspletely still, with a long chain looped around its neck, and unlike the bodies outside, this one was decayed with one leg missing and a small swarm of flies whirling about it.


    What in the literal hell were flies doing in a ce like this? Then again, he¡¯d seen crows, too. And¡­flying ghostdies he¡¯d murdered trying to sell him goods. Hadn¡¯t been expecting thatst one, either.


    He turned his head right, and then left, seeing another hallway leading out of the ballroom on the opposite end¡­but also noting a single, closed wooden door to his left. The difference with this one whenpared to the others he¡¯d passed, and the thing that caught his attention most, was the gleaming, intact lock along the front.


    That kind of thing hadn¡¯t been present on any of the other doors he¡¯de across thus far, not a single one, and a small smile turned up at the corners of his lips. If that didn¡¯t scream <span ss="italic">loot, he didn¡¯t know what did.


    He nimbly stepped through the haphazard sprawl of shattered ss and debris, passing by the chandelier and moving hastily across the room until he stood at the door. He gingerly took the handle in his grip and then pulled down. </a>It didn¡¯t budge; the lock was definitely still intact. He got down on one knee for a better look; he couldn¡¯t see worth a damn due to the crappy lighting¡­


    He looked about. There was a ray of light nearby, and with a bit of quick thinking he scrambled over to obtain a piece of ss thaty on the floor¡ªone of many pieces of the broken chandelier not far off. Coming back to the door and using the ss to reflect some of the ray¡¯s light into the lock, he began to get an idea of what he was working with.


    It wasn¡¯t like the one he¡¯d picked back in the pyramid; this one was more familiar. Back on Earth, he¡¯d had a minor amount of experience picking locks as a hobby¡­so he was happy to see that this particr lock was just what he expected it to be¡ªand pretty simple upon inspection.


    It was just a knob lock¡ªmeaning the cylinder for the lock was located in the handle itself. He could go about picking it, and that would have been his choice in any normal situation to avoid any noise, but here¡­


    Here he could simply knock the damn thing off with something heavy.


    That, and he didn¡¯t have any lockpicks anyways. Finding or creating a makeshift lockpick would be a real pain in the ass,paratively. If all else failed, he could try to st the door off with magic, but it looked rather sturdy, and he wasn¡¯t too confident in that n.


    It only took him a second to find a suitable item to work with. It was a heavy iron bar, thick and short, that had likely once been part of the ceiling¡¯s support structure before falling to the floor below.


    Riven smiled at the small victory, then walked back over to the door. Dropping his staff and raising the bar overhead, he quickly brought it down to m into the handle.


    The knobpletely broke off on the first strike, tearing out a chunk of the rotting wood and making a loud ringing sound that hurt his ears. He grimaced but dropped the bar and removed what was left of the doorknob from the door. Then, pushing it open, he came into another, smaller andparatively well-lit rectangr room.


    He walked inside.


    There was arge, intact window overlooking a river of shimmering red liquid running through the middle of the ancient, ruined city below that stretched out for miles, but he still couldn¡¯t see out into the beyond for too long before the obscuring film of mist shrouded his vision on and off.


    Was that a river of blood?


    Wow.


    Anyways, it was an awe-inspiring sight, even if it was slightly disgusting. Therefore he took a moment to admire the view despite the spooky factor before looking around the room again.


    </a>There was a bed on thick wooden stilts, a nightstand about two feet across, an oddly shapedntern with a bell curve to it, and a boxy chest. It was all in fairly good condition considering what the rest of this ce looked like, but still looked rather old. The bed had a wrinkled velvet nket atop a well-made mattress, and two slightly moth-eaten pillows wereid neatly at the headboard. The nightstand was redwood, just like the bed, and had two books sitting atop its surface next to the metalntern. Then there was the chest, a container that could have likely fit him inside and made of nks that had a simple sp to seal it shut.


    ¡°Not too shabby.¡±

 Chapter 27

    Chapter 27


    *WHOOSH*


    Riven¡¯s feet were swept out from underneath him as the floor abruptly lit up with green runes and gave way, a hole forming directly underneath where he stood. His eyes went wide, and he had mere moments before his body reacted to gravity¡¯s pull, which sucked him downward into darkness.


    *SPLASH*


    Gasping anding up for air, Riven found himself enveloped in arge pool of blood simr to the river he¡¯d seen outside. Only this one was stagnant and ced in the middle of an enclosed, squarish room with pirs and passageways leading out along the walls. The ceiling overhead was surprisingly well lit with yellow crystals, showing that even the passageways leaving the room ended in dead ends and rubble. Overhead was the hole he¡¯d fallen through many dozens of yards up, but nothing else of note was around him. He frowned at his misfortune, obviously having fallen into a trap set down by the dungeon. He should have expected such things, but this was really the first time he¡¯d encountered anything like it. Considering what options he had and treading the red liquid, he began to think of a way back up.That¡¯s when he felt somethingrge and slippery glide across his leg, easily brushing him away and causing ripples in the otherwise still pool of blood he floated in.


    ¡°What the fuck?!¡±


    His heart sped up. He couldn¡¯t see beneath the surface, but something was definitely there, and this time it mmed into him¡ªsending him spinning through the pool into a nearby wall with a hard thud.


    He gasped, his backpack rattled as the vase inside nearly cracked, but he was more worried about staying afloat with an injured left arm than he was about his belongings. He whirled while treading blood in the pool, summoning spinning crimson des and firing them at random into the depths to scare off whatever had attacked him.


    </a>Nothing happened. Only silence and asional ripples in the red liquid remained. Meanwhile, his breathing only became more ragged, as he simply couldn¡¯t see what was down there. Whatever had attacked him could likely very easily kill him due to surprise alone, because if he couldn¡¯t see, he couldn¡¯t dodge or fight back. And even if he could see, he was very much at a disadvantage treading liquid here and not being able to move properly.


    ¡°Shit¡­ Shit, shit, shit!¡±


    His left leg was abruptly tugged under, causing him to scream and il, only to have it released again. Was this creature toying with him?


    Regardless, he took the opportunity to swim frantically back up to the surface to gasp for air again. His clothes, hair, and skin were drenched in red, and he coughed the lukewarm blood up out of his lungs after having identally taken some in during the panic.


    This time he let loose. Unleashing after and dozens of conjured Bloody Razors, firing randomly into the depths, he burned through his mana with an enraged and simultaneously terrified scream of defiance, sshing into the depths one after another. However, whatever it was down there that he¡¯d hit¡­it didn¡¯t seem to like that very much. The pool beneath him almost immediately turned into a torrent of madness as magics shed with something veryrge, something very angry, that lived in this strange room amid the ruins.


    *BOOM*


    The room shook when a giant tentacle five times Riven¡¯s body length crashed into a pir opposite from where he floated. Debris and dust began showering him from the ceiling above, but there was simply nowhere for him to go. He looked to the tunnels in a mad panic and began swimming toward the nearest one despite the dead end, but they were already in a state of disrepair and began to copse as one after another of newly emerged monstrous red tentacles began climbing out of the depths while a groan of some unearthly god erupted from beneath his feet.


    The room and his body shuddered amid the cacophony of noise, and his eardrums began to bleed. He screamed, covering his ears in sheer agony as this beast from the beyond mbered upward to find the man who¡¯d dare injure it.


    *THUD*


    *THUD*


    *THUD*


    Riven tried to unleash another spell in desperate attempt to discourage the creature, but he¡¯d already unleashed everything he had in his original volley. The magic didn¡¯t want toe to him; his soul reservoir simply didn¡¯t have the stored energy anymore. Meanwhile, the blood pool was billowing upward to make way for the huge bulk of some enormous creature¡ªsending waves of blood in all directions with a rising pinnacle in the center.


    </a>*THUD*


    *THUD*


    *THUD*


    The sounds of climbing through the depths were growing louder, as was the echoing groan. More of the tentacles reached up, this time all around him, climbing and mbering across the pirs and walls toward the ceiling, where suckers each a few feet in diameter stuck to the stone and pulled the monstrous weight behind it.


    *THUD*


    *THUD*


    *THUD*


    Cursing and using his staff to leverage his body, he managed to finally get a poor hold on a ledge where one of the pirs had been cracked by one of the passing monster¡¯s weighty appendages. He pulled himself up, reeling, just in time to see the numerous fleshy red tentacles all slowly withdraw and sink into the pool.


    He paused, heart beating faster than it ever had before. Dead silence descended upon the room like the call of the grave, a foretelling of his impending doom thatsted for more than a dozen seconds before the pool finally stopped rippling. Then, in the center of its t surface and under the yellow light of the crystals above, a figure began to emerge at an incredibly slow rate¡ªbut the face that came up was focused solely on him.


    It was a bulbous, smooth, fleshy head with alien features that Riven could only describe as disgusting. Fishlike eyes on a smooth, semirounded maw¡ªa cross between a giant fish and a frog¡ªpulled out of the depths, revealing itself to haverge rows of teeth. Blood dripped down its mouth that was easily big enough to eat three of Riven in a single bite. And even though it was sorge, it now made absolutely zero noise while it pulled its ugly head up out of the pool to stare at him with a hungry, open mouth.


    Riven was awestruck. He dropped his staff to the ledge, feeling his heart drop with it, when he suddenly realized that this was it. He was going to die here. No matter how many spells he threw at this thing, he was nowhere near powerful enough toe even close to killing it. This was a monster far, far beyond him, just by sheer size and bulk alone, and upon trying to identify it, he didn¡¯t even get a name. Rather, all he got were question marks. There was also no way out, nowhere to go, with all passageways out being dead ends and zero ability to get back up to the ceiling where he¡¯d dropped down¡ªhe was truly and utterly fucked.


    <span ss="italic">¡°RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!¡±


    The room and pool around him vibrated and shook underneath the monster¡¯s bellow, shattering what remained of Riven¡¯s right eardrum right before dozens of smaller tentacles sted out of the water totch onto his body, clothes, </a>and items. Some scoured his belongings, tearing off his clothes and backpack before tossing them aside. Others began burrowing into his newly exposed flesh, leeching off his blood as he felt a sucking sensation from numerous areas where the monster had merged with his bloodstream to begin feeding on him alive.


    The sucking sensation made him vomit immediately, and he wanted to scream afterward when one of the red tentacles crammed itself down his mouth and began draining blood from the veins in his throat next.


    His eyes rolled back, and he experienced pain unlike anything he¡¯d ever felt before via a multitude of pinholes that burrowed through his flesh. His body quickly atrophied while the fluids of his tissues were drained out, though, surprisingly enough, he didn¡¯t immediately die. Though he looked like some kind of skeleton within a mere twenty seconds of being tortured alive and fed upon, his body was somehow regenerating without any exnation of how or why.


    The creature was equally confused by this and moved in closer while maintaining its constant sucking that leeched blood from his arteries at over three dozen points.


    Riven remained like this for some time, in a state of near death where his mind went hazy and he felt the lifeblood of his body being sucked out in droves¡­until primal rage and desperation finally overcame him. His body tensed, his Blood subpir vibrated violently, and his eyes zed crimson as he shrieked through the red tentacles crammed into his throat. Everything became a base-level instinct, and he desperately began fighting for his life.


    <span ss="bold">[You are severely underfed and require the blood of mortals to satiate your hunger. Insanity takes hold of your mind until you feed.]


    *RIP*


    Fangs ripped out of his mouth, and Riven bit down hard, easily tearing into the appendage with a twist of his head and swallowing it in one go. His muscles began to pulse, and a hunger for blood rippled through him as his own screech was joined by the monster¡¯s while its bitten-off tentacle iled about and rapidly retracted.


    The monster roared, erupting from the pool andshing out at him withrger and more sinister-looking ded tentacles that cut through the air like whips.


    The appendages inside his body, draining his lifeblood, exploded as his Blood subpir resonated with a torrent of power¡ªcalling out to theke of crimson liquid in front of him. His red eyes shot wide-open and holes throughout his body immediately mended. A fountain of blood tore through the air to intercept the squid-like appendages immediately thereafter, though he was still far too underleveled to be blocking an attack like that.


    A razor edge ripped cleanly through his leg, severing it at the knee, only to be stitched back a secondter as crimson liquid zed and lit up¡ªcondensing </a>around his body, pouring into his throat while he sucked it down, and repairing his wound over the course of seconds. Meanwhile, he smashed down on another tentacle with abnormal amounts of strength, and he became the equivalent of a frantic, hard-to-kill cockroach for the monster as it dealt out serious punishment.


    *CRASH*


    He lost an arm, only to stitch it back together while ribbons of red tore out of the pool to answer the call of his vibrating Blood subpir.


    *BOOM*


    He narrowly dodged another blow that would have surely ended him, stone in the wall behind him having shattered under the crunch of another tentacle.


    <span ss="bold">[You are severely underfed and require the blood of mortals to satiate your hunger. Insanity takes hold of your mind until you feed.]


    <span ss="bold">[You are now well-fed. Your insanity fades.]


    <span ss="bold">[You are severely underfed and require the blood of mortals to satiate your hunger. Insanity takes hold of your mind until you feed.]


    <span ss="bold">[You are now well-fed. Your insanity fades.]


    Meanwhile, his mind went in and out of consciousness, sanity and insanity battling with one another. Every time his body took in an influx from the blood pool, he¡¯d regain his clear thinking. And every time he suffered arge wound or breaking bone, more of the blood pool was ripped out to repair his body.


    But his regeneration speed was slowing down, and the pool of blood was rapidly being drained. It appeared he had serious limits on this kind of healing. Despite the massive amount of environmental resources, it was taking huge quantities of the stuff to regenerate his limbs, and he could feel his Blood subpir starting to slow down its vibrations.


    He was still going to die here if he didn¡¯t get out very soon.


    <span ss="bold">[You are severely underfed and require the blood of mortals to satiate your hunger. Insanity takes hold of your mind until you feed.]


    <span ss="bold">[You are now well-fed. Your insanity fades.]


    He began to brainstorm. During one of these moments when his sanity returned and his unnatural strength briefly left him, he finally came up with a n. Bone snapped, limbs and guts ripped, ribbons of blood poured out of the pool to keep him alive amid the creature¡¯s barrage that tore chunks out of the </a>stone wall and sttered it with Riven¡¯s body¡ªbut through sheer willpower, he persevered. Even though his body wasn¡¯t healing nearly as fast as it had been even a minute ago, even though the pain was immense and he felt like he was dying a thousand deaths, he still persevered.


    The answer was a simple one.


    During one of the instances when he was free of being pummeled to death by the brutish monster in quickshes that would crush any normal man, his hand shot out and produced a ck. His mana by this time had recharged enough to cast a few of these things, and heunched himself onto the wall in a mad scramble upward.


    The surprised creature behind him missed and shattered rock again where Riven had just been standing. It roared, sending another tentacle upward totch onto his ankle, only to have a Bloody Razor appear to snip the appendage off at the tip.


    He scrambled even faster, firing one after another to make a stickydder out of the Wretched Snares one by one up the side of the wall. He¡¯d been wary of the idea at first but found that the magic didn¡¯t burn him at all, as it was his mana. He was able to manipte the magic and actually grip the needles in one hand, and they¡¯d just melt into a smooth cord instead. Yet they remained sturdy upon his will. Thus when he rapidly reached a point farther up and close to the trap hole he¡¯d fallen through, he was able tobine multiple snares into one casting. He was able to stitch one end to another, and then another, and then another, and he flung it up at the ceiling. He stuck the snare to an area adjacent to the hole in the floor, barely swinging out of the way from another tentacle strike from far below, and allowed himself to climb up in a mad dash.


    *UMPH*


    He breathed heavily and mmed into the floor of the room he¡¯d fallen through earlier just as another tentacle skimmed the tips of his toes. He grunted amid a screech of outrage, still exhausted from the bodily trauma. Passing the threshold into the room, he let himself fall with a light thud onto the stone floor and let out a loud groan. ¡°This ce is the worst!¡±


    His body shuddered, his lungs gasped, and he peered out over the edge of the hole to see the monster roaring back up at him.


    Itsrge, unblinking, fishlike eyes scoured him up and down, watching in a hungry rage. But as it red back at Riven¡¯s sneering face, one of its other eyeballs was directing other appendages to dig through Riven¡¯s things¡ªand when it came to the vase in Riven¡¯s backpack, it simply snapped the thing open when the porcin wouldn¡¯t budge on its own.


    And that was the creature¡¯s fatal mistake.


    A shock wave erupted from the vase, shearing Riven¡¯s peering face clean off along with one of his eyeballs, which was sent sttering across the ceiling </a>above¡ªeven if he¡¯d made it all the way up. So, too, did it destroy all the appendages trying to trail up the sides of the pit, vaporizing most of them instantly with a wave of darkness and causing the creature to shriek in rage.


    The monster reared up, exposing a long, tubr neck that connected to a thicker body near the base where thousands of tentacles swirled about its core. Itsrge maw hissed and roared, but when another shock wave of raw Unholy power directed solely at the monster buried itself in the creature¡¯s face and then sheared through its brain like a razor through cheese¡ªthe monster simply died on the spot.


    The abomination twitched animatedly three times over, the top half of its skull rolled off the rest of its neck and sshed into the pool, and then the rest of the monster crashed into a nearby wall to start sinking back into the depths from whence it came.


    Riven, still somehow conscious, began to see again as a mixture of both shock and disbelief overcame him. His body hung halfway over the hole he¡¯d been looking down, pain screaming through his muscles and skeleton. His shaky hands came up to his face, one of them intact and the otherpletely devoid of almost any flesh from where he¡¯d tried blocking the pulse of power on instinct¡­until it started to regenerate new muscles, bone, ligaments, and skin right before his one remaining eye.


    His eyesight came back to 100 percent again and he felt his face, which was also healing up. For the first time, he actually realized his body was somehow drawing on the blood of the pool beneath the ledge hey on. It finally clicked, and he slowly lifted a finger up to touch one of the now-receding fangs that had sprouted from his mouth. Yanking out what remnants of the wriggling appendages still buried in his skin with grunts of pain and disgust, he saw those remaining holes close over, too. But he froze when his eyes lifted, still in a state of shock, to settle on where the porcin vase had shattered only moments ago.


    There, staring directly at him from below, was an eyeless, ethereal maw with sharp canines and a wicked grin. It carried no body with it, fading in and out of reality by the millisecond. It was made up of a swirling vortex of ck and red, and just looking at it made his bones creak with what he could only describe as an immense hunger. The hunger was unnatural, unbearable, unignorable, and all-consuming, and the longer he stared at it, the longer he felt it¡­resonate¡­within his soul.


    It resonated with the hunger he¡¯d felt after being drained. The hunger for blood.


    <span ss="bold">[Your racial bloodline¡¯s unique additional aspect, Breath of Malignancy, has found apatible Shard of Original Sin: Gluttony. Shard of Original Sin: Gluttony has initiated contact. Core of Original </a>Sin: Gluttony will begin forming in your soul now. Estimated incubation time for corepletion: unknown. You have lost your racial bloodline¡¯s unique additional aspect, Breath of Malignancy, and may no longer bond with any other Shards of Original Sin. Other aspects of your racial bloodline are still partially locked.]


    The essence of the maw let out a demonic scream, far louder, longer, and with a presence far greater than the monster had exuded many times over. The very air around him quaked with raw power, and his soul screamed back. Red light erupted from his chest and ripped through the visage, drawing the Shard of Original Sin into his body with a sh of power that both stung and enthralled him down to his soul core. Heaven and hell, hope and despair, pleasure and pain¡ªhe experienced all these things in that one instant.


    He shuddered, clutching his head as these emotions drove themselves into his psyche with an ever-gnawing hunger. His body fluctuated, muscles bulged and shifted, bones cracked and snapped, only to return to their normal form momentster. This repeated over and over again, and it was during one of these shifts that he felt his neck snap for the briefest moment, causing his head to m involuntarily into the nearby wall¡ªwhich ended up knocking him out cold.


    Standing there, invisible to Riven¡¯s eyes just a few feet away, another man with simrly crimson eyes red down at him. Hooded and cloaked, he dispelled the invisibility and snorted with displeasure. ¡°I¡¯d hoped the monster would kill him so that I could take the piece of sin for myself¡­ How unfortunate.¡±


    The man nced up to the sky and sighed, internally fuming at how close he¡¯de to acquiring Gluttony for himself. But he knew he could not act, not directly, not when the system itself would m down the might of ten thousand suns and burn his soul from the inside out if he intentionally intervened in a system tutorial without permission. Integrated poptions were protected for certain amounts of time dependent on situation, and Riven here was no different.


    Growling and grumbling to himself, he turned around and headed out the door. Perhaps one of the other denizens of this hellscape would finish the boy off for him. Then, and only then, via death not brought about by his own hands, would he be able to strip Gluttony off Riven¡¯s soul to take for his own. Not only that, but the one who sent him would also be furious if he were to strike Riven down now, even if he could get away with it by the system bws. Which he couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Poor luck and misfortunate follow you, youngling.¡± The man red back over his shoulder from under the hood of his cloak, eyes zing with bright crimson light. ¡°May you die a quick death.¡±

 Chapter 28

    Chapter 28


    Riven woke up on the floor of the room, next to the hole he¡¯d fallen through, to see therge pool of blood beneath him was almost entirely drained. It left a long drop down, hundreds of feet, into a chasm where the body of the creature that¡¯d attacked him was half submerged in what little of the blood remained. Where that blood had gone, Riven had no clue, but it¡¯d simply vanished to reveal nothing but a holding pit for the monster without any real areas of interest otherwise. Perhaps he¡¯d drained it in his sleep?


    That in itself brought a lot of questions. He¡¯d grown fangs, regenerated over and over again at extreme rates¡ªalbeit using the blood pool to do so¡ªand had lost his mind numerous times. He¡¯d been told he was ¡°underfed¡± and required the blood of mortals, yet this blood pool had seemed to satiate that hunger and calm his mind. The implications of all this were less than good.


    He groaned, being utterly exhausted, and pushed himself up while blinking rapidly to clear his head. Curiously enough, his clothes and belongings were all right beside him¡­undamaged. His wounds were all long gone, having mysteriously healed without any w or imperfection. He lifted the hand that¡¯d been stripped of flesh and flexed it, feeling it out to make sure there wasn¡¯t any lingering damage. He felt his knee where his lower leg had been severed cleanly and felt around his abdomen, where his guts had been ripped out. He was satisfied with the results.


    He felt slightly different, but not by much. More than anything, he could feel that his soul structure had changed. It was simr to the way his pirs had attached themselves to the soul core, but now as he looked inward, he was able to tell his soul had a dual core on top of the original. The one he was familiar with, that ball of brilliant white light with his Unholy Foundational Pir and Blood subpir attached to it. Then there was¡­another, partial orb. This one was pitch-ck instead of white, was slightly smaller, and orbited Riven¡¯s original core at a slow, monotonous pace. It wasn¡¯t entirely solid, though, and pulsed in between a </a>ghostly ethereal ck to a more solid void ck¡ªno doubt because it was still under construction. He could feel a gnawing sensation of hunger from the core. The same one that¡¯d supercharged his body when he¡¯d seen the visage of a maw.


    Thinking about it, Riven curiously extended a tendril of mana toward the unfinished core of original sin. It immediately and thoroughly rebuked his attempt, letting him know that he wouldn¡¯t be able to utilize this newfound power until whatever it was doing waspleted.


    Hopefully that¡¯d be sooner rather thanter, judging by the monstrosity this untapped power had utterly demolished.


    Riven shakily started putting his clothes back on. He packed up his things¡ªwell, what was left that hadn¡¯t been tossed away in the battle¡ªand was thankful that the majority was still present. ncing up toward the hole in the ceiling, he scratched his head and frowned.


    Allowing himself some time to breathe, he continued to let the light of the fiery sky eyeball warm him from beyond therge clear ss window making up most of one wall. Then, reorienting himself to his surroundings again, he picked out the details of the room he¡¯d so briefly encountered before.


    Thefortable-looking bed with moth-eaten pillows and velvet covers looked quite nice given his current state. An oddly shaped bell-curventern sat on a short nightstand nearby, alongside two thick books, and a rectangr wooden chest was at the foot of the bed. Huffing and getting up off the ground, he started back at square one.


    He walked over to the chest and flipped the sp, then began to pry it open. It held fast at first, but he managed to grunt and heave enough that it gave way¡­when there was an audible click from inside.


    He immediately dodged left and dropped the lid as a bolt shot past his ear¡ªmissing him by half an inch andnding to embed itself in the wall behind him.


    His eyes went wide, though he wasn¡¯t necessarily surprised. Riven cleared his throat and adjusted his robe before turning back to the box. He¡¯d been half expecting it to have mechanisms like this after what¡¯d already happened to him. Still, it had been a close call. This time, a little more carefully, he lifted the lid again and revealed the contents inside.


    A spring-loaded redwood crossbow had been rigged to fire and was set on a stand in the middle of therge box. Now that it¡¯d been released, ity dormant and unthreatening¡ªbut it looked to be in good condition. On the right-hand side was a belt attached to a quiver with over twenty steel bolts, and a sheath on the opposite side of the belt held a knife. On the left-hand side was an empty backpack, a leather vest, and three thick scrolls, each about the size of his hand and made from aging yellowed paper¡­but they each let off a very low glow of various colors.


    </a>He scratched his head, confused. ¡°That¡¯s definitely strange¡­¡±


    He hesitantly picked the scrolls up, bing more confident as they didn¡¯t burn or shock him like the wooden ring from the embalmer¡¯s room had done, and set each of them on the bed. However, he did note how warm they were to the touch¡­and the way that warmth spread up his hand and forearm while holding them.


    He unfurled each of these scrolls, smiling when numerous runic symbols lit up along the paper. They failed to furl back up and each stayed as straight as a board. One scroll was written in red lettering, a projectile of some kind depicted on the front that read ¡°Blood Lance¡± in bold letters at the top. Another was written in dark gray and had a foot with wings on it and was called ¡°Quickstep,¡± and thest one was written in a light gray with an arrow on the front that read ¡°Calcted Shot.¡±


    <span ss="bold">[Spell Scroll: Blood Lance (Blood) (Tier 2)¡ª<span ss="bold">Channel power into your arm and unleash it at your enemies with a chance to pierce through. Very long range, medium casting time, medium cooldown.]


    <span ss="bold">[Martial Art Scroll: Quickstep (Chi)¡ªEnvision the path you want to take in a straight line from where you stand, and blur ahead at great speed. May be used in any direction. Instant cast, high cooldown.]


    <span ss="bold">[Martial Art Scroll: Calcted Shot (Chi)¡ªHighlight vulnerable areas on your selected target, speed your reflexes, and slow time to perfect your aim as you fire. Must have a bow or gun in hand to use. Instant cast, medium cooldown.]


    His eyebrows raised. Really, now? A Tier 2 spell? And they were scrolls as well, being far more valuable than tomes in the aspect that you could immediately learn the spell, but less valuable in the aspect that you couldn¡¯t repeatedly learn from it, and it would disappear after use.


    ording to Ath, anyways.


    From what he¡¯d read, Tier 2 spells required hand gestures alongside the image, intent, and all that other jazz he¡¯d need for basic Tier 1 spells. Huh. And he¡¯d been here less than a day before he¡¯d found some ability scrolls already. Lucky him? Maybe, but it was yet to be seen whether or not he¡¯d even survive this area. After all this was a higher-stakes, higher-rewards tutorial dungeon¡­and it was yet to be seen whether or not it¡¯d pay off or get him killed.


    Or get Ath killed.


    </a>He shook his head to clear his head of thatst thought. He was lucky to stumble across something like this. The idea of having found additional magic so soon, and knowing these things were likely very valuable to sell even if he couldn¡¯t use them¡­ It was a huge boon.


    The key factor here was that these were actually ability scrolls¡ªwhat Ath had said were incredibly expensive and very hard to make. They could imbue him with knowledge far faster than needing to learn out of a tome himself, but they were almost impossible toe by for those who didn¡¯t pay a hefty price, from what the spider had told him. Not only that, but he¡¯d gotten incredibly lucky that one of them was usable with a subpir he already had¡ªBlood. He couldn¡¯t use the two Chi-type abilities, but he could definitely save them forter and give them to someone else if he ever got out of here, and if he didn¡¯t end up selling them.


    He set the other two scrolls down to pick up the one that applied to his ss. The scroll sparkled in his grip, and the warming sensation he got while holding the other two magnified with the touch of the scroll for Blood Lance.


    He could safely say he just hit the jackpot.


    Shutting the door and peering out into the ballroom through where the doorknob had been one more time, he didn¡¯t even bother inspecting the other stuff yet and got to work mentally willing the first of the scrolls he¡¯d picked up to activate.


    <span ss="bold">[You have the proper pir orientation to utilize this scroll. This is a one-time-use item and will be destroyed upon use. Do you wish to use the spell scroll: Blood Lance? Yes? No?]


    He nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    <span ss="bold">[Are you sure? Yes? No?]


    Again, he selected Yes.


    <span ss="bold">[You have learned the Tier 2 spell Blood Lance.]


    Not a secondter, the spell scroll in his hand began to shimmer along the red lettering¡ªand his mind immediately went haywire. Knowledge began to burn its way into his brain as his eyes lit up white¡ªand he began to scream.


    It was not nearly as pleasant as the first time acquiring abilities, when he¡¯d learned them the hard way, that was a certain fact.

 Chapter 29

    Chapter 29


    Two hourster, Riven¡¯s head hurt like crazy as the influx of knowledge was downloaded directly into his subconscious brain. Motions, internal activation sequences, and basic knowledge about the new spell flooded his mind and were imnted into his subconscious brain. The feeling was like a killer migraine, or better yet¡ªlike he¡¯d been a ping-pong ball put into a ss jar and shaken around frantically for a good long while.


    He clutched his forehead after finishing the scroll and groaned, but he couldn¡¯t help but smile despite the pain as the newfound ability was registered into his character sheet. Not only did he see the new ability, but he had an entirely new section solely concerning his new core of original sin¡ªwhich was still currently under construction and otherwise didn¡¯t provide details yet.


    [Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:


    <span ss="bno">? Level 4


    <span ss="bno">? Pir Orientations: Unholy Foundation, Blood


    <span ss="bno">? Core of Original Sin¡ªGluttony: (Under Construction) (???)


    <span ss="bno">? Traits: Race: Human, ss: Novice Warlock, Adrenaline Junkie (Blood) (+15% to Agility)


    <span ss="bno">? Abilities: Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood) (Tier 2)


    <span ss="bno">? Stats: 8 Strength, 9 Sturdiness, 39 Intelligence, 10 Agility, 1 Luck, -4 Charisma, 3 Perception, 25 Willpower, 9 Faith


    <span ss="bno">? Minions: Ath, Level 3 Blood Weaver [14 Willpower Requirement]


    <span ss="bno">? Equipped Items: Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), Basic Casting Staff (4 dmg, 12% mana regen, +3 magic dmg), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies, Rusted Embalmer¡¯s Knife (3 dmg), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence)]


    </a>He took in a deep breath. Patience was a virtue.


    The information was burned into his brain now, and he could summon the new spell at will. He knew what they could do, how he could do it, and he was just dying to try it out. Thus he waited another five minutes for the headache to clear, pushed off the wall with a grunt, and walked out into the ancient ballroom again after flinging the old door to the side.


    He looked around the dimly lit room for a clear space, but there wasn¡¯t much to be had. So instead, he got up on one of the rickety tables¡ªmaking sure it could bear his weight¡ªand stood up straight. He concentrated and began twisting his fingers with an inward wing motion using his conjuring hand. This wing motion, via body parts or instruments, was the specific motion required of this particr Tier 2 spell.


    The spell scroll hadn¡¯t lied¡ªthis ability did indeed have a medium time to cast. Unlike his other spells, where he could cast instantly, this one took a few seconds to charge up after the initial hand motion. As he channeled the magic into his arm, red wisps of liquid magic rose off his skin like soft, slow-moving ribbons, all the way from his fingertips to halfway down his bicep. When those wisps of energized blood reached his bicep six secondster, the spell discharged¡ªripping through the targeted table like it was wet paper and impaling the stone floor behind it in a sh of red energy.


    The attack itself was shaped like an elongated, spikednce, hence the name, and the shaft of magic was probably five feet in length, with the width being slightly smaller than Riven¡¯s forearm. The end of the glistening red spike sticking out of the floor that wasn¡¯t halfway embedded into the stone was also incredibly sharp. The projectile had pierced a couple feet into the stone structure underneath him but hadn¡¯t entirely gone through¡­ Even so, it was significantly more powerful and faster than his spinning des of blood.


    Trying to cast it again with a bit of excitement bearing down on him, he unexpectedly felt the magic resist, and a cooldown sigil indicating Blood Lance appeared in the top right-hand corner of his vision.


    Raising an eyebrow, he felt something inside him click into ce a solid nine to ten secondster and was once again able to cast the spell.


    Meanwhile, he was able to repeatedly fire off discs of Bloody Razors almost one cast after the other with a very short cooldown, if it even activated a cooldown at all¡ªeach not having any casting time at all. The discs of serrated des formed by blood were created immediately instead of having to charge up. Whenpared to the power of the Blood Lance, though, the serrated des only scratched the surface of the stone or shattered on impact without prating.


    Interesting. He¡¯d experienced cooldowns only a few times since acquiring spells, but he knew it when he saw it. Still he repeated his experimentations with </a>this new spell, continuing to charge and fire them off intermittently between his other two offensive spells¡ªthe snare and razors. He spent quite a while doing this, figuring out that although cooldowns didn¡¯t always kick in with his Blood Lance, they urred far more often whenpared to his Tier 1 spells. From what he remembered, cooldowns basically urred because his channeling pir became rigid after pushing an influx of mana into a particr part of it. He also knew that the power of the spells would increase and the cooldowns of those same spells would decrease as his Intelligence got higher, so perhaps one day in the future he¡¯d be able to fire off numerous Blood Lances simultaneously without any cooldown kicking in at all.


    [Blood Lance (Blood) (Tier 2)¡ªChannel power into your arm and unleash it at your enemies with a chance to pierce through. Very long range, medium casting time, medium cooldown.]


    He read the spell description again and nodded while slowly rubbing his chin. He walked over and inspected the hole hisstnce had left in the stone floor after the magic vaporized into thin air and then looked about at the other holes decorating the ruin floor. Damn right, his spell could pierce through things! This attack was incredible! Faster, stronger, and more lethal¡­with the downsides of having a charge-to-cast time and a cooldown time after that. Between the two, he¡¯d have to charge up the Blood Lance, fire it, wait for the cooldown, if he got one, and begin to charge again before a second one could be fired. That was currently somewhere in the realm of fifteen or sixteen seconds between shots, and he could fire off eight rounds of two Bloody Razors apiece for sixteen razor attacks in those sixteen seconds. That fire rate for the Blood Lance was doubled when he charged both arms, each hand creating a wing motion to initiate the spell as red wisps traveled across his biceps, forearms, and hands when the power built.


    He¡¯d also have to use this spell sparingly, at least for now. Not only would it take time to cast¡ªand it felt like it cost more mana, too¡ªbut he would also be broadcasting his uing attack immediately after the enemy knew what those red wisps crawling up his arm represented. They¡¯d be able to anticipate the move. However, with some further experimentation beyond the normal basic information that¡¯d flooded his mind, he found out some pretty unique things concerning the spell. Through trial and error, he was thankfully able to stop the immediate discharge and hold the spell there within his arm for minutes at a time once it charged. This meant that although they¡¯d know he had it at the ready, he¡¯d not have to immediately fire it off and could wait until the opportune moment to let the magic go. He was also able to discontinue the spell, and canceling it sent the mana flowing back into his body with only a very small amount of the mana actually being lost in the transition.


    </a>Getting another idea, he decided to try and channel the Blood Lance through his arm while using his staff-wielding hand to conjure Bloody Razors by creating a curling sweep in the air with his weapon. To his absolute delight, it worked¡ªand the mana actually channeled through his fingers and into the staff before discharging the Blood Lance amid an onught of power across the room.


    However, he was only able to keep this up for a short time before he¡¯d run out of manapletely. He could tell in the three levels he¡¯d grown that he could already cast more frequently than when he¡¯d been level 1 in the duel versus the necromancer from Chalgathi¡¯s quest line, but the change was minimal, and he definitely had limits. Still, if he¡¯d progressed this much in just three levels in terms of how often he could cast spells, then by level 40 or 50, he would be able to cast consistently without having to fear running out of mana¡ªunless he was in a prolonged battle.


    He continued to use the scattered skulls, chairs, and various pieces of furniture around the ancient ballroom as target practice while diving, ducking, and running. All the while, he continued casting and trying to get a feel forbining his new abilities. He knew after talking to Ath that many types of mainstream builds for casters generallycked mobility¡­so he needed to make up for that weakness by practicing firing while on the run. Ath had mentioned to him that casters often met their demise because they stood in one ce while channeling spells or thinking themselves safe on the back lines of a group, and he was determined not to be one of those fatalities.


    He spent the next hour practicing, bing more confident with his timings between the cooldowns of his spells when they triggered and finding that the Wretched Snare spell required about the same hidden mana cost as his Bloody Razors, and it had about the same cooldown when it happened. He could spam the Wretched Snares rather easily, but the problem was it was far shorter of an attack than either of his other projectiles. In his duel with the necromancer in Chalgathi¡¯s quest line and when using it on the would-be rapists in the tutorial, he¡¯d been rather close in proximity while using the sticky, burning snare. Here, though, he quickly realized it had half the range of his Bloody Razors and about an eighth of the range of the Blood Lance. Standing at one end of the ballroom, he could fire a Wretched Snare halfway across therge chamber before it fell to the ground. The Bloody Razors made it the entire way across and out the windows before they started to sag and decline in height. Meanwhile, the Blood Lancepletely went out the opposite wall, through an open window halfway up, and into the next tower over.


    This was, of course, just using the base spells for each of them. If he imbued them with even more mana per cast, he was able to make them each go farther or hit harder or even grow the size of his projectiles.


    </a>Oddly enough, Blood Lance also made very little noise when it struck an object. It was <span ss="italic">almostpletely silent, unlike the snare, which hissed and burned, or the spinning razors, which trailed out ribbons of blood in their path or shattered in explosions of red upon impact with harder surfaces. But the power behind it was far more deadly, and he could only imagine how it¡¯d affect a person¡¯s body.


    He also took an hour to try and figure out how to manipte the spells he did have in various ways. Ath had told him that he¡¯d be able to conjure just one disc of a Bloody Razor at a time, and she had mentioned that spells did different amounts of damage dependent on the mana spent. So he used what she¡¯d said concerning mana as a clue to try and change how much power he put into every spell, instead of the standard amount he naturally prescribed.


    Upon his first two tries, it didn¡¯t work.


    The amount of mana for his Bloody Razors didn¡¯t change, but on the third attempt, he was able to decrease the mana amount significantly as he fired a spell and saw the spinning, razor-like discs of crimson decrease in size by two-thirds. This was exciting to him, because he¡¯d never altered a spell to this degree before. Combined with how he¡¯d used his snares to get out of the trap room, this was another testament that he could change and alter given spells in various ways to find differentbinations or uses for each basic form of the spell.


    He concentrated harder, trying to do the same thing again and again, and finally got the hang of mana maniption¡ªbeing able to reduce or increase the size of his Bloody Razors based on how much mana he ced within them. The bigger the size, the more apparent damage they did to the targets they struck. However, it was much harder to figure out how to change the actual <span ss="italic">number of razors, and that¡¯s where he got stumped momentarily. At first the razors would crack and break; other times the spell would just fizzle outpletely, and yet another hour passed before he was finally able to figure out how to fix it.


    The trick had been visualization. He¡¯d had a certain vision of what the spell should look like, ingrained in him through reading of the tome that¡¯d first taught him the spell. When he changed that visualization and used it as a new temte, he was able to create one, two, three, four, or even five spinning discs of razor-sharp blood magic before it became a problem when he tried to up it to six. So he remained at five or fewer for now, after repeatedly failing to conceptualize a number over that properly and seeing his magics fizzle out or shatter when he tried too hard. He knew he¡¯d probably end up being able to do it with practice, but each disc required a small amount of individualized concentration upon the summoning, and it was temporarily beyond his ability to do so with more.


    Another thing he quickly realized was that the amount of innate mana he used was less with single casting whenpared to multiple casts of the same spell¡ªand he did this by feel. He could literally feel his hidden mana pool empty </a>each time he used a spell, even though he had no visual tool to help him monitor it. When using his blood magic and creating four simultaneous discs of the same sizepared to using two castings of two discs or four castings of one razor disc¡ªhe realized by feeling out his mana pool that the single casting of four discs cost less than the two castings of two discs, which in turn cost less than the four castings of one disc. It appeared that each initialization of the spell had a base cost to it despite what the actual spell was, so he would be able to utilize his mana more efficiently by using fewer individual casting initializations. He also decreased the number of cooldowns he got simply by casting less frequently and in bulk, so that was yet another reason to cast as much as he could all at once versus multiple casts of the same spell.


    During this time, he was very pleased with his results, though more than once he suffered from apleteck of mana that asionally gave him a severe migraine. He even got a decent feel for when his mana pool was about to hit rock bottom, and he tried to avoid it in order to avoid the spinning visual auras and headaches that sometimes apanied mana expenditure.


    He decided to wrap things up and was just about to head back into the room for a final look around, specifically to see what those two leatherbound books on the nightstand were about, when he heard a noise from behind and down the near hall leading out of the ancient wreckage of the ballroom.


    Riven paused, his blood running cold as he heard again what he thought to be metal-on-stone grinding along the floor¡­echoing distantly off the stone walls. He turned to the hallway he¡¯d initiallye from, staring down the dark corridor as the sound became progressively louder¡­and louder¡­and even louder. He didn¡¯t know what would make that noise, but his mind went wild with possibilities¡­ He nced up at the corpse hanging overhead, remembered the skinned bodies strung up in the streets of the city below, and he immediately looked around for a ce to hide and watch.

 Chapter 30

    Chapter 30


    Thinking it foolish to seclude and potentially trap himself in that small, one-entrance room, he avoided it entirely and moved to hide behind an overturned table. His breathing was quickly steadied, and he charged another Blood Lance across his right arm as ribbons of red started peeling off his skin while he peered out around the edge of his concealment.


    Then, he waited.


    The swarm of flies overhead buzzed around the deathly still corpse. His heartbeat picked up. His eyes narrowed as he silently watched from cover, pumping himself up in case of aing fight, as the sound of metal scraping against the stone floor grew louder. While it neared, he began to hear the thud of feet against the ground, too, and soon saw the creature making those noises enter the room from the hallway he¡¯d originallye through himself many hours before.


    It was a grotesque humanoid monster¡ªan <span ss="italic">abomination, if no other words were used to describe it. It was pale, naked, bald, and lidless, with enormous yellow eyes that scanned the room when it came in. It had an unmoving and creepy smile with lips peeled back to show sharpened yellow teeth¡ªliterally from ear to ear¡ªthat set his hairs on end. Onerge, veiny arm on its right side dragged a huge, lusterless, and battle-worn ymore behind it, while a shriveled left arm just dangled uselessly at its side, disying cracked yellowing nails that were far too long for its own good. There were four slits along the front of its face that it used to breathe like nostrils, and its thorax was abnormally elongated into a hunched position.


    Even so, it stood well over seven feet tall, and its long, scrawny legs were just as out of ce as the left arm inparison to the roided-out right arm that carried the ymore.


    Riven slowly exhaled, never letting his eyes leave the creature while remaining in his concealed position. ¡°What in the southern cousin hillbilly marriage is this thing?¡±


    </a><span ss="bold">[Mutated Ghoul Berserker, Level 7]


    Another undead? Perhaps he¡¯d be able to take this thing out with the new ability he¡¯d obtained. However, it looked rather dangerous considering how tall it was and how muscr that one arm was. It¡¯d probably be able to crush him easily if it got ahold of him, and it certainly looked far more intimidating than that little zombie he¡¯d fought earlier¡­ Did he really want to chance it before meeting up with Ath?


    No, he didn¡¯t. It was too risky to fight this thing by himself when he didn¡¯t even know how the basics of this world worked yet or what kind of chance he stood. So he¡¯d just sit his pretty little ass here and wait for that thing to walk on by.


    The metal dragging along the stone floor continued as it leaned back and forth, back and forth,ing down the center of the ballroom and heading toward the opposite end that Riven hadn¡¯t ventured down yet¡ªwhen it abruptly stopped.


    Slowly, the ghoul turned to face the room Riven had just partially looted¡­where the wooden door Riven had opened was still ajar. The creature seemed to know something about that door was amiss, and if it traveled these halls frequently, it¡¯d probably never seen that door open before. It cocked its head with that sickening smile it wore and began to visibly salivate, drool dripping from its yellow teeth to stter along the ground.


    With a sudden scream and echoing roar, it rushed forward with a lumbering waltz straight out of a horror film that shouldn¡¯t have been as fast as it was considering the way it ran. The monster barreled through a pile of furniture, crushed skeletons underfoot, contracted its veiny muscles, and mmed itsrge ymore into the side of the ancient stone wall adjacent to the room¡¯s doorway.


    Riven went pale when he saw part of the unstable wall give way under the creature¡¯s strength and copse in on the small room: crushing the bed, books, and the nightstand in a shower of rubble as therge undead bellowed thrice in a deep, guttural bark. The ghoul probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to take the entire thing out with that one swing under normal circumstances, but given how old things here were¡­Riven wasn¡¯t too surprised after the initial shock evaporated.


    The ghoul waited for the dust to settle, looking right and left expectantly with itsrge, yellow eyes¡ªsearching for the creature that had vited its hunting grounds¡­only to find nothing.


    When the confused ghoul whirled around and scanned the ballroom, Riven skirted around the edge of his concealment to ce himself on the other side. He could hear it breathing, loudly and rapidly sniffing like a dog on the hunt as its footsteps began to close in on his location.


    Wait¡­


    </a>Could this thing smell him?


    Oh, fuck.


    His mind raced, as he couldn¡¯t imagine how it¡¯d feel to be struck by a ymore asrge as he was. It¡¯d probably be thest thing he¡¯d feel if it came down to it. Or worse yet, he might be eaten by this thing. It certainly looked carnivorous with those sharpened Willy Wonka teeth.


    God, it was even uglier than the haunted zombie he¡¯d killed earlier.


    So despite his level disadvantage, hemitted to a n. He only had one life to lose, and he¡¯d be damned if he died here while not putting up a fight. Picking up a small piece of rock on the ground in the hand that still shimmered with writhing ck shadows, he threw it across the ballroom toward the chandelier at a low angle so that the ghoul wouldn¡¯t see the toss.


    The rock hit true, loudly shattering one of the still-intact pieces of ornamental ss.


    Immediately the sniffing stopped, and the ghoul let out a low growl before turning it into a scream. Itsrge gray muscles flexed and sent it barreling past Riven¡¯s hiding ce and into the fray of ss.


    The huge arm and ymore came up, then swung back down¡ªdelivering a shattering blow to the remnants of the huge chandelier. Shards of it flew in all directions while the ghoul repeatedly beat the area around it in a downright violent temper tantrum.


    Riven watched, partially in awe and partially in confusion while the rampage continued. Either this thing was incredibly stupid, or it simply wasn¡¯t hurting itself doing what it was doing. But¡­judging by the way the ss shards were cutting into its body and causing it to bleed¡ªhe could safely assume that it was just stupid.


    Really strong, but also really, really stupid.


    Well, that made him feel a little bit better, but why was this undead bleeding red when the zombie he¡¯d killed earlier bled ck? Was it because it was mutated? Weren¡¯t undead supposed to be devoid of actual blood, from the stories and books he¡¯d read?


    He waited just a little bit longer, taking aim and waiting for the jumping, hacking undead creature to stop its rampage¡ªbefore Riven stood up and aimed.


    Red magic exploded out of his right arm, rocketing with immense speed toward the ghoul and ripping through its body to pierce where its heart should have been. Blood and flesh sprayed out the front side with the shock of the intense energy tearing away to leave arge, gaping hole.


    The ghoul stumbled forward, shocked and gasping as bodily fluids ran out the front and back of its thorax. It bent down, screamed at the floor in rage, and dropped the ymore with a tter of metal. It whirled, wide-eyed, looking for its attacker, just when Riven dived back into cover.


    </a><span ss="italic">How the hell is that thing still standing?!


    In a fit of madness, the monster left the ymore it¡¯d dropped and began to bulldoze through the room¡ªthrowing debris, skeletons, and furniture to the left and right as it went. It didn¡¯t know where the attack hade from, exactly, but it knew the general direction and was quickly approaching Riven¡¯s position when he scrambled to set down one of his three unfinished wooden totems. He had yet to use them in realbat and wasn¡¯t sure how effective they¡¯d be, but when the first totem was set firmly on the floor, he got a quick notification asking whether or not he wanted to activate it. He selected Yes, then popped out of his hiding ce and engaged.


    A Wretched Snare bloomed in front of him as he held his staff at the ready, the dark magic turning from an orb into a as it shot through the air¡ªbut the magic was significantly slower than his other attacks, and the ghoul easily dodged right in its advance with a snarl of fury. Yellow eyes bulged and locked onto him with primal hunger, and the creature renewed its efforts in bulldozing through everything in its path.


    Cursing as the infuriated undead rushed him, Riven activated the Blessing of the Crow only to realize his Blood Lance was still on cooldown.


    Red lightning sparked across his skin, and his body was blessed with newfound Agility. It was Agility that he¡¯d very much needed, because he barely managed to dance backward in time to avoid a crushing blow that shattered the table he¡¯d been hiding behind¡ªsending splinters flying as the creature roared at him with yellow eyes wide. Blood covered the creature¡¯s lower body, continuing to seep from the hole the Blood Lance had made, but Riven now saw that the hole was very gradually starting to seal itself up¡­and he knew it was not going to be a fatal wound.


    The creature screeched in annoyance and pain when the totem Riven left behind summoned a ribbon of red power just over the top of the wooden object and shot it at the ghoul¡ªhitting it in the side of its right arm. It began continually beaming health from the undead monstrosity, ticking away small amounts of damage every second it remainedtched to the slow-moving, stupid monster. The creature whirled, hissing at the blood magic leeching off its primary limb, and crushed the totem with repeated strikes of rage. This was more than enough time to buy Riven space, though, and his now-enhanced body leaped backward again. The blessing significantly increased his speed, and he rushed across the room far faster than a normal human ever could. He slid over another table while simultaneously firing a flurry of five decently sized discs of sharpened, solidified blood aimed at the undead. The spinning discs tore into the screeching creature while it followed, burying into its body and shattering in sprays of red shrapnel while leaving parts of the ghoul ripped or bleeding and forcing it to slow down.


    </a><span ss="bold">[You have inflicted an Amplified Bleeding debuff on your enemy, and it will now take damage over time.]


    <span ss="bold">[Bloody Razors (Blood)¡ªsummon spinning discs of crimson with minor lock-on abilities to only slightly adjust for enemy movements. Targets hit will experience damage to stamina and a slowing effect, and a high chance for Amplified Bleeding damage.]


    <span ss="italic">¡°RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!¡±


    The unearthly, rage-filled scream chilled Riven to the bone as he rolled to the side and narrowly dodged an iing strike that sent vibrations through the floor. Riven¡¯s body blurred left when he empowered his blessing with anotherrge infusion of mana, then he somehow managed to awkwardly flip backward and came to a rolling stop to avoid yet another strike from the ghoul thatnded in quick session and shattered a nearby chair. He couldn¡¯t continue to move like that, though, and needed to keep his blessing at a baseline level lest hepletely run out of mana and be defenseless.


    He kicked off from his kneeling position after the roll and lunged backward to try and put some room in between the undead monster and himself again, but the creature was almost as fast as he was even with his amplified speed. The monster lunged ahead and clipped his shoulder, but Riven retaliated while holding his staff in his left hand and casting another snare that hit the ghoul point-nk. Meanwhile, while his right hand sank the dagger he¡¯d picked up deep into the rolling muscles of the creature¡¯s bicep.


    They crashed into one another when the undead pivoted, and the ghoul briefly snickered at him mockingly while ignoring the burning magic wrapping around its body. For Riven, time seemed to slow as he realized he was in deep shit. The creature¡¯s mouth dripped saliva onto the ground from its sharp rows of teeth in that moment, and the ghoul abruptly backhanded him a secondter to interrupt his casting. Simultaneously it ripped through the entangling snare with little effort and screeched. The blow was enough to knock the air out of Rivenpletely, and he was flung five feet backward tond on his back with a thud.


    Coughing, catching his breath, and reorienting himself to the threat, he quickly realized that the ghoul was now standing over him with itsrge, muscr arm raised above its head for the killing blow. It had acidic burn marks all along its decrepit flesh from where the snare of Unholy magic was still wrapped around it, hissing as smoke sizzled off the undead¡¯s body, but the magic simply wasn¡¯t strong enough to hold it in ce. Nor did the creature appear to feel any pain. Compared to the necromancer he¡¯d fought or the men he¡¯d killed in the tutorial, this thing was an absolute beast. They couldn¡¯t even hold a candle to it.


    </a>With a final roar, the ghoul brought its huge fist down just as Riven screamed in defiance and sprayed another five Bloody Razors out in front of him to blind the monster. He simultaneously just barely rolled out of harm¡¯s way to the left. The blow mmed into stone beneath the undead¡¯s fist, blood from its wounds seeping down its body to pool around its feet, and the creature¡¯s head and neck were slowly oozing from bloody wounds. Spikes of red were sticking out of its upper body and head¡ªthe left eyeballpletely blown open with one of Riven¡¯s sharp magical projectiles sticking out of the eye socket, and numerous shards of ss were stuck into its thorax and legs¡­but the bloodied ghoul didn¡¯t even seem to notice.


    What it did notice, though, when it raised its fist to look at the spot where it¡¯d hit¡ªwas that there was no victim. There was no body, there was no meat to feed on¡­it took a solid couple of seconds for the stupid creature to realize, but the prey had escaped in the hail of crimson that¡¯d blinded it.


    It cocked its head in confusion and stared dumbly at the spot for another fifteen seconds, not understanding what had just happened as Riven channeled red ribbons of mana up his right arm for the second time when his hand gestured a wing motion.


    Riven was pretty sure a rib was broken and his ankle was injured, making him lean on his staff for support. His nose was bloodied, and he had a killer headache, but he was still very much alive and hell-bent on bringing this creature down. He grimaced hatefully at the stupid creature when they finally made eye contact and then gave it the finger with his noncasting hand.


    Its one remaining,rge yellow eye dted upon seeing him, and its sharpened teeth cked and ttered together as it threateningly gnashed them in his direction with the promise of pain.


    ¡°DIE!¡±


    The air in front of Riven split apart. Ribbons convulsed and tore away from his outstretched arm, ripping through the air and into the undead creature¡¯s skull in a stter of brains and bone. The magic continued out the other side to make impact with the far wall and it, too, exploded with rocky debris a ways behind Riven¡¯s target.


    A wet, sloppy <span ss="italic">st was heard as the remnants of the creature¡¯s skull hit the ground; the ghoul¡¯s body staggered back as if in surprise before the huge mass of grotesque, gray flesh slowly fell backward to crash into the stone floor.


    <span ss="bold">[You havended a critical hit. Max Damage x 4.]


    <span ss="bold">[You have gained one level. Congrattions! Please see your status page to assign stat points.]


    </a>Riven was panting at this point, red sparks of lightning still streaming along his skin at random, and he dropped his quivering right arm to the side just before turning and vomiting to his left. He puked again, his heart rapidly beating into his chest, and his body ached¡­but he was alive. He shook his head, sank to the floor, and wiped off his mouth while spitting at the creature¡¯s body.


    But then he grinned, and slowly he began tough.

 Chapter 31

    Chapter 31


    Pain red across his chest like a hot iron, causing him to cringe. Yup, his ribs were definitely broken in at least one spot. It was painful to stand¡ªlet alone move around. It especially hurt when he leaned forward at all, so he did his best to keep his back straight and stiff as he walked over to the corpse. But, to his surprise, his body slowly started to regenerate. Small cuts and scrapes started to mend before his very eyes, his rib snapped back into ce with a <span ss="italic">pop, and his ankle stopped swelling.


    Riven was baffled. This was the second time this had happened today alone. Was it because of the fragment of Gluttony he¡¯d absorbed? But he¡¯d been kept alive before he¡¯d actually absorbed it, when that creature had been sucking him dry like a sponge. Did it have to do with his bloodline that was still ¡°partially locked¡±? He didn¡¯t know why or how this was happening, but whatever the reason, he was d for it.


    Using his foot to roll the remnants of the creature¡¯s face, he wiped his bloodied face off on the sleeve of his robes before kicking the mutted skull across the room.


    ¡°God, that guy was tough¡­¡±


    He was seriously d it hadn¡¯t full-on hit him. The hit Riven had received was half-assed and a sideswipe just meant to stun him for the follow-up killing blow. Even <span ss="italic">one of those real strikes would have easily ended his life in an instant, ymore or not, and he¡¯d been lucky enough toe out with only a rib fracture. That rib and the bloodied nose left him in enough pain as it was.


    Well, he was gunning for a mage-type ss, after all. He¡¯d have to be more careful about getting into closebat encounters like that. Not that he hadn¡¯t tried to in this circumstance, but he was hoping for a build that would eventually allow him to keep people at bay while he did damage from a safe distance. That included either more crowd-control abilities or more abilities involving maneuverability¡­or maybe even more minions that could tank for him and protect him.


    </a>He cleaned off his embalmer¡¯s knife after ripping it out of the corpse, wiping the ghoul¡¯s blood on his pant leg¡ªthen leaned back on his caster¡¯s staff to support his weight, as his legs still continued to shake slightly due to exhaustion despite the healing he¡¯d received. It¡¯d been too close a call not to get his adrenaline going, and he¡¯de within an inch of death.


    He inspected the ymore the ghoul had dropped amid the wreckage of the chandelier after he¡¯d first blown a hole through the creature¡¯s back and chest. The weapon was very, veryrge and looked ridiculously heavy. It had chips along the de¡¯s edges all the way down its surface but was made of a thick metal that was slightly darker than iron. At first he¡¯d thought it just to be dirt and grime from ages of use, potentially even bloodstains, but upon a closer look he was absolutely sure that this metal was just outright different from the things he was familiar with.


    ¡°Identify.¡±


    <span ss="bold">[Damaged Orchalium ymore, <span ss="bold">58 average damage, two-handed for full effect, 89 Strength requirement.]


    This was the first weapon he¡¯d seen thus far with a stat requirement¡ªalbeit he hadn¡¯t seen many.


    And eighty-nine Strength? That was <span ss="italic">way more than he had. Riven only had eight! He ced his wooden staff on a nearby pile of rubble and bent down just to get a feel for the weapon. Even when using both hands and straining, grunting, and getting red in the face¡ªhe was unable to pick it up more than a couple inches off the ground.


    Then it started to slightly shock and burn him to the point that he definitely felt pain. The weapon got hotter and hotter to the touch, beginning to feel simr to the wooden ring back in the room he¡¯d spawned in, until it became downright painful about ten secondster.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡±


    He let it go before his fingers broke off, and the weapon crashed into the ground with a bang. Flinging his hands out to the sides a couple times to get the blood flowing back into them, he just shook head in amazement. ¡°Ridiculously heavy, by God.¡±


    Reading the item information for the ymore did bring up an interesting question, though. It had a requirement, specifically the eighty-nine Strength to wield it. Was this burning sensation he¡¯d felt the system¡¯s way of telling him off for not meeting the Strength requirement and trying to use it anyways?


    He could safely guess yes.


    Regardless, the other weapons he¡¯d seen up until now hadn¡¯t had any requirements at all.


    </a>Pausing, his thoughts drifted to Jose and Allie. He really hoped his friend and little sister were all right, but he¡¯d been trying very hard to block those thoughts from his mind. He needed to survive himself, and dwelling on something he could literally do nothing about would only damper his own mind when he needed to remain sharp. If what the system had said was true, as long as they all survived, he¡¯d be reunited with them after the tutorials.


    He shook himself. ncing over at the caved-in room he¡¯d been in just prior to this, he frowned at losing the books. He didn¡¯t know if they were valuable or not, but now he¡¯d never know. There was no way he was digging through all that rock just to try and find them, and he wasn¡¯t sure he even could if he tried.


    At least he still had the two scrolls he¡¯d found. Maybe he could sell them to other people when he eventually found a way out of here¡­ He certainly couldn¡¯t use them. Ath wouldn¡¯t be able to, either, as she was also bound to the Unholy Foundational Pir and its subpirs. The Chi subpir was in the realm of the Harmony Foundational Pir.


    <span ss="bold">[Martial Art Scroll: Quickstep (Chi)¡ªEnvision the path you want to take in a straight line from where you stand and blur ahead at great speed. May be used in any direction. Instant cast, high cooldown.]


    <span ss="bold">[Martial Art Scroll: Calcted Shot (Chi)¡ªHighlight vulnerable areas on your selected target, speed your reflexes, and slow time to perfect your aim as you fire. Must have a bow or gun in hand to use. Instant cast, medium cooldown.]


    Regardless, he really needed to get the hell out of here to find that statue, and the longer he fucked around, the more of a chance Ath had of dying.


    Yet he didn¡¯t feel entirely guilty for spending time acquiring a new spell or experimenting with his abilities, as these things were the keys to helping him navigate this strange, dangerous ce to find Ath. Without them, he had a good idea of what would happen¡ªand it involved something simr if not identical to the numerous hanging corpses scattered across the ruins. He might have even ended up as a lunch for the creature he¡¯d just encountered if he¡¯d note across the spell scroll for Blood Lance when he did.


    Based on these few experiences he¡¯d recently had, this was an area infested with undead¡ªand that first zombie he¡¯d faced had been quite weak inparison to the ghoul he¡¯d just fought. He likely wouldn¡¯tst here too long if he stayed in these ruins, and finding Ath was still at the top of his priorities list.


    Speaking of that zombie, where was his haunted saleswoman, anyways? Hadn¡¯t she said she¡¯d been looking for some kind of item she wanted to give him </a>a <span ss="italic">special price for? She¡¯d only been gone a few hours, though, so who knew when she¡¯d show up again. He needed to find Ath and get out of this dungeon as soon as possible.


    Riven palmed the polished wood of his staff and hoisted it up. Remembering he needed to distribute his stat points from his recent level gain, he pulled up his status page and ced them into Intelligence and Willpower and one point into Sturdiness. His boots crunched on shattered ss as he walked until he reached the opposite hallway that led around a dark bend. Taking onest look at the corpse behind him with a backward nce, having a minor amount of pride in his recent kill, Riven vanished into the depths of the stone skyscraper like a ghost in the night.


    <span ss="italic">One dayter


    Screeches of the undead echoed through the halls, and Riven¡¯s feet pounded against the stone panels, pushing him ahead with everything he had. Sparks lit up across his skin and his muscles contracted to their fullest, kicking himself up over an overturned crate with spilled-out pottery from another age and toward the exit.


    ¡°OHS VRASHAMA TU VASKI!¡±


    Whatevernguage these skeletons were screaming at him in, it didn¡¯t sound very pleasant. He rolled under a hole in a rotting double door andunched himself back to his feet just as skeletal hands mmed into the ground behind him, wing at the ground and battling one another to try and fit through the hole he¡¯d just gone through.


    Riven sneered and spun in midair,unching a Blood Lance backward that shattered three charred skeletons with glowing teal eyes. More of the undead took their ce, though, and the wave of enemies mmed into the remnants of the thick wood, causing it to splinter right before it burst. He swore and continued running, pushing harder than he¡¯d ever pushed his legs before, and turned a corner while more of the bone walkers rushed him with deathly wails.


    <span ss="bold">[Bone Walker, Level 3]


    <span ss="bold">[Bone Walker, Level 4]


    <span ss="bold">[Bone Walker, Level 1]


    <span ss="bold">[Bone Walker, Level 3]


    <span ss="bold">[Bone Walker, Level 2]


    Hundreds of the monsters were hot on his tail like an ocean wave, having been waiting in ambush for prey in one of therger citadel rooms he¡¯d passed through. They¡¯d nearly killed him in a mad rush when he¡¯d first entered, and </a>now he was struggling just to stay ahead of them whileunching projectiles and counting on his blessing not to run out just yet. He¡¯d been running for God knows how long, but the undead had almost never-ending stamina that kept them moving far longer than any human would have usually been able to match.


    *BOOM*


    The wall in front of him shattered, and he made an abrupt right, skidding along the hall and almost crashing into two minotaurs that bulldozed through the rubble in an attempt to figure out what was making all that noise in their domain. The huge nine-foot demons had rippling muscles, brown fur, curved obsidian horns,rge double-sided battle-axes in their hands, and zing orange eyes that shifted from Riven to the swarm of skeletons screeching down the hallway in a roiling swarm.


    The monsters collided with one another, the tworger minotaurs taking sweeping swings that crushed dozens of the skeletons into the bulk of the swarm before they, too, were overrun by a tidal wave of ravenous, bloodthirsty bones that sank their teeth into the demons to begin sucking life force away.


    Riven didn¡¯t stay to watch, continuing down the ancient stone hallways, past grime-covered windows, over broken altars, and up a spiral staircase toward the top of a tower. He cursed when he saw that there were still dozens of the undead creatures following him, but he had nowhere else to go, and if need be he¡¯d try utilizing his snares to drop off the side of the tower and stick himself to the outer wall. It was the best n he had.


    His heart pounded in his chest, his feet thudded against the stone steps, and he nearly slipped on the corpse of some imp-like creature that was sprawled out on the stairs with a cracked neck. He kicked it down for the undead to feed on, sessfully drawing the forefront of them away from his flight, but more wereing, and they mbered over their undead counterparts in a primal hunger with bones ttering together in a mad rush.


    Another undeadtched onto his right leg, and he spun around to kick with his left, taking the skeleton full on in the face and sending it crashing backward as hended on the steps. Frantically spinning and sting another two of the undead with four of his Bloody Razors, he continued racing up the stairs to finallye to the top of the tower minutester.


    The top of the tower was t, the sky above him red with clouds of ck smog partially obscuring the ming eye overhead. Battlements to his left were still intact, but on his right they¡¯d been crushed or torn off by some great beast in millennia past, and it was here that he set his sights.


    ¡°Here goes fucking nothing!¡±


    Dodging another swipe of a skeletal hand and wincing at such a close screech from the monster, he raced ahead of the swarm, and without even bothering to look and see what was over the edge, heunched himself off the building.


    </a>The ruined city was far below him, and he felt himself free falling with screams of the bone walkers behind him growing more distant the longer he let himself go. He¡¯d always been afraid of heights, but he found himself letting out a sigh of relief while he plummeted hundreds of feet toward the ground.


    Conjuring a multitude of snares and still being far up above the ground, heading toward a chasm splitting the earth of the hellscape apart, he wrapped his Unholy magic around his waist and thenunched the other end at the side of the skyscraper he was falling from.


    The snare stuck, and he felt an abrupt tug around his midsection when the magic stretched. He came to a brief stop and violently mmed into the side of the building for a moment, then sailed back upward like a bungee jumper. Thankfully he¡¯d only been badly bruised by the impact, though he had probably shattered some of his smaller bones, which he assumed would heal due to recent experiences, but otherwise he hadn¡¯t taken much damage. Bouncing a couple more times and watching three of the bone walkers fall to their deaths past him due to their zealous chasing, he eventually lost his momentum and hung along the side of the enormous stone ruin whileughing his ass off and catching his breath. This ce, these experiences, the fights he endured: they were changing him. He was bing somewhat fearless, and honestly, he was even starting to have a good time despite the many near-death experiences. It was thrilling toe so close to death, against such odds, and still survive due to his own efforts.


    Turning and watching the screeching creatures explode into various bony pieces when they hit the ground, he saluted them with a grin and nted his feet on the tower wall. ¡°It was a good run,ds. On to bigger and better things!¡±

 Chapter 32

    Chapter 32


    His searching had resulted in failure. He¡¯d escaped the swarm but had then been chased again three times after that. The calm he¡¯d initially experienced when first presenting here in the hellscape dungeon was now reced with fight-or-flight situations every couple hours. First he¡¯d run into a pack of red-skinned, fire-flinging imps; he¡¯d he managed to kill three before getting out of dodge¡ªand he picked up a level while doing it. Then he took a dive in the river of blood to get away from a pack of hell bears, which were essentially ming grizzlies twice Riven¡¯s size. Then he ended up running into patches of other patrolling undead simr to the ghoul he¡¯d killed, although they were all scrawnier and less misshapen than the one he¡¯d encountered in the ballroom. He¡¯d picked up yet another level there as well, after having stered the floors and walls with ghoul guts numerous times over. If someone were to have asked him, he¡¯d say he was getting pretty good at killing things by now. He¡¯d stuck most of his stat points into Intelligence, some into Willpower, and a few points into Sturdiness to keep himself alive, so he was feeling pretty good about himself.


    [Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:


    <span ss="bno">? Level 7


    <span ss="bno">? Pir Orientations: Unholy Foundation, Blood


    <span ss="bno">? Core of Original Sin¡ªGluttony: (Under Construction) (???)


    <span ss="bno">? Traits: Race: Human, ss: Novice Warlock, Adrenaline Junkie (Blood) (+15% to Agility)


    <span ss="bno">? Abilities: Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood) (Tier 2)


    <span ss="bno">? Stats: 8 Strength, 13 Sturdiness, 57 Intelligence, 10 Agility, 1 Luck, -4 Charisma, 3 Perception, 33 Willpower, 9 Faith


    <span ss="bno">? Minions: Ath, Level 5 Blood Weaver [14 Willpower Requirement]


    </a><span ss="bno">? Equipped Items: Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), Basic Casting Staff (4 dmg, 12% mana regen, +3 magic dmg), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies, Rusted Embalmer¡¯s Knife (3 dmg), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence)]


    Worry about Ath, Jose, and his little sister, Allie, kept him going at a fast pace, though. He had to find Ath to make sure she didn¡¯t die a permanent death, and he had to believe Jose would keep Allie safe until he finished the tutorial. These thoughts continued to haunt him little by little until he¡¯d ended up passing out from exhaustion while looking for the statue his quest spoke of.


    But that had been hours ago, and this was now.


    [Arise.]


    His mind shed with Ath¡¯s image, and an impulse rushed through his body, sending him into a spasming and uncontrolled fit while he remained asleep on the floor. Possibilities and potential events shed with one another in a battle of fate within his soul structure, reorienting his soul pirs and even altering the course of his Gluttony core for a few moments before it resumed its normal cyclic rotation. Images of his bonded minion in a cage, of her death at the hands of some obscured enormous monstrosity, and then of her escape with her small body in his arms all stered themselves against his semiconscious mind. They presented themselves as conflicting scenarios, directly opposing one another before evaporating with a single remnant feeling being left in their wake.


    He needed to get the fuck up.


    Riven abruptly woke to a shrill scream of panic¡ªa sound that could have been pulled from his very nightmares¡ªand he sat up abruptly while clutching his staff. Blinking a couple times and rubbing his eyes, he tried to settle his heart rate by taking in long breaths and exhaling slowly, and then oriented himself to his surroundings again.


    He was in a dark closet from an age past strung up with cobwebs andyers of grime. He¡¯d found itst minute before the lidless eye in the skypletely vanished, bathing the area in darkness without warning a couple hours ago when he¡¯d been searching for a safe haven to get some shut-eye anyways. This had happened more than once now, and he assumed this was the dungeon¡¯s version of nighttime.


    The closet was very small and cramped, but big enough for him to curl up and lie down while shutting the door behind him. The stone floor was ufortable, but it was a lot better than being out there in the open.


    </a>Another scream, and the sounds of begging and crying echoed up through the adjacent hallway. It sounded like both men and women, human voices, but Riven couldn¡¯t be sure at this distance. That was odd, because usually the ruins were devoid of sound other than the asional roar of a monster.


    Were there really other people here? If so, they were in obvious danger¡­and not only that, but they¡¯d be the first true contact he¡¯d had with his own kind since arriving in this dungeon. They might even be able to help him.


    And beyond that, a feeling was tugging at him that he needed to move now. It was an impulse, something coercing him to not wait any longer, and trying to ignore it only caused a sinking feeling in his gut.


    His heart rate began to spike with mixed emotions of excitement, curiosity, and worry, but he slowly opened up the door. Thankfully it wasn¡¯t nearly as creaky as a lot of the other doors that remained intact in this godforsaken ce. He took a look left and then right, making sure the hallway was clear before he slipped out into an almost equally dark hallway. The path was poorly illuminated where he stood now, other than a few windows that let in the pale light that emanated from pools of fire in the distant cityscape, but farther down the hallway from where the screaming was heard¡­ here was another faint orange glow from around a corner.


    Fluidly going heel to toe in the direction of the noises and charging another Blood Lance across his right arm, he passed by another couple rooms that he hadn¡¯t gotten around to checking yet. Most of the doors were already open, showing signs of recent activity and ack of dustyers that much of the rest of these ruins had, and the ones with shut doors he didn¡¯t bother venturing into just yet. He had more pressing matters to attend to.


    The begging, crying, and shouting were getting louder now¡ªand he rubbed his eyes again to clear his sleep-deprived vision. He was still really, really tired, but his adrenaline was starting to kick into high gear as he peeked his head around the corner.


    It was another long and windowless hallway, but this one was a little odd. There was a mounted torch that hadn¡¯t been there when he¡¯d gone to sleep¡ªflickering yellow and orange light from mes that danced not far off. It was stationed in an iron rack off to the end and left-hand side, and it only had one exit point¡ªthe door that the torch was set up next to. This door wasn¡¯t wooden, rather, it was made of metal and had a trail of recently spilled blood sttered across the ground leading up to it. There were also bloody handprints along the front, and as Riven crept closer, he saw that there were also smear marks along the edge where fingers had been desperately trying to cling to the door before being pulled off.


    A sinister, deepugh rang out from the other side, followed by muffled voices and another shrill scream of a woman before she was abruptly cut off </a>into silence. Then there were some crunching sounds, some ripping sounds, and another muffled round of cacklingughter.


    As quietly as he could, Riven slowly ced his hand on the bloodied door and turned his wrist. The handle was utterly silent, as was the door when he very gingerly pulled it back to see through the slightly ajar opening. His eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped.


    There, sitting just a little ways away from him, was a monster the size of a bus. Its skin was red with twenty insectoid legs, two wed armsing off a humanoid upper half, three curved demonic horns, eight buggy eyes, and a gaping mouth full of rows of teeth. Dark rows of spikes were stationed on its forehead, and its long body below the waist snaked around to curl up about itself. It was male, or at least looked male by the more recognizable features, and was chewing on a bare humanoid leg. Blood and fleshy bits dropped to the floor, sttering against the ground below where half of a head was resting¡ªbrains and all, with one strangely pointed ear still intact.


    The door led out to a slightly elevated tform off the rubble-strewn ground beyond, not a room, and the mists swirled around them under the dark of the night sky. Torches illuminated most of therge and rectangr tform rather well, though, being ced in racks a lot like the one outside the door, and there were three shorter,nky, hooded figures dressed in ck that stood together near a number ofrge metal cages. They probably stood at four and a half feet tall each and had arms as long as their legs, which made them look apelike. Their skin was red as well, and they each had a third eye perched along their foreheads between sets of small ck horns. Thick white beards that came down across their chests were knotted or braided in various patterns, and they all clutched small staves while chuckling through sharp teeth.


    Just beyond the tform at a five-foot drop was solid ground, though Riven had no idea how he¡¯d gotten to the bottom level in all this time. He¡¯d thought he was far above the base level, or perhaps he was just on the edge of a cliff. Running around in the maze of ruins was definitely an easy way to get disoriented.


    There were ten cages in total when he counted, and scattered around them were barrels and boxes of various sorts. All the cages had thick metal bars, and two of them had a total of three upants. The upants had been stripped naked, with thick metal cors around their necks that glowed with green runic markings. One of them was a blonde human girl with long hair who looked to be about twenty years old, maybe even younger, and the other was a young human man sporting silver hair bound into a medium-length ponytail behind him.


    Then,stly, there was his Blood Weaver minion.


    Ath and the man were opposite from each other in the same cage; the man was obviously more afraid of her than she was of him, but the spider, for whatever reason, was still in that cage with him and had three of her legs missing </a>with green ichor leaking out of fresh wounds. She was battered and bruised, shaking and curled up in the corner in an obvious state of pain and fear. There was also a long gash across her thorax¡­but she was definitely alive.


    Riven¡¯s heart melted at seeing Ath like that, wanting to scream out and tell her he was here to help, and he had to quickly suppress the urge to sprint out there toward her.


    He took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and thought hard about how he was going to approach this. All of them were utterly terrified, and the blonde woman was outright sobbing as she shook and wrapped her arms around her shoulders while in a cage of her own¡ªsecluded from the other prisoners.


    ¡°Please! My father will pay you if you let me go! He¡¯ll send you more sacrifices! I promise!¡± She was desperately pleading with the robed creatures, who simply ignored her and continued to speak in hushed tones as therger ate nearby. ¡°PLEASE! I DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE!¡±


    [Lurker Demon, Level 45]


    [Jabob Demon Cultist, Level 14]


    [Jabob Demon, Level 9]


    [Jabob Demon, Level 11]


    [Human Hunter, Level 2]


    [Human Priestess, Level 4]


    [Ath, Blood Weaver Demon, Level 5]


    Demon cultists? Really?! <span ss="italic">Why were there so many goddamned cultists in this new multiverse?!


    Riven gritted his teeth, nerves climbing high as his eyestched onto his minion again. She¡¯d obviously gotten into a few scuffles since their time apart and had inly failed to escape this lot. He tried to think of what to do, but all he could think of in that moment¡ªin that scrambled state of mind¡ªwas to harshly whisper to himself:


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be fist fucking me!¡±

 Chapter 33

    Chapter 33


    The highest-level Jabob demon had even acquired a ss title of cultist. What was the difference between his own novice warlock ss title and the cultist ss? Damn it, he should have done more research on this stuff when he¡¯d had the chance. All of them were likely much, much stronger than Riven, too. Even before identifying thergest creature, he knew that trying to fight that enormous lurker demon alone would immediately result in his death.


    No way he was getting into a fight with that thing anding out alive.


    However, he obviously wasn¡¯t about to let his minion die here. He was going to save that batshit crazy spider if it was literally thest thing he did. She¡¯d saved his life in the Chalgathi trial, and he wasn¡¯t going to let her be lurker food.


    His chest swelled, and a surge of determination flooded through his veins. Even if he died trying, he¡¯d give his best shot in trying to get Ath out¡­ He just needed to wait for the opportune time, if there was any to be had. The others, though their plight tugged at his heartstrings, would only be bonuses if he seeded.


    Though even just getting her out alone was looking rather unlikely.


    One of the short,nky, Jabob demons who¡¯d had enough of the blonde girl¡¯s pleading turned around and raised a hand. The beard swayed, and the three eyes narrowed. Its voice was snakelike, with a hoarse hiss to it, and it almost sounded like the creature had smoked far too many cigarettes over the course of its life. ¡°Shut your ugly mouth, mortal wench! I¡¯ve had enough of your sniveling!¡±


    Blue fire red to life from the small demon¡¯s hand, and in an instant the woman¡¯s face exploded with me.


    She screamed even louder, reeling back and rolling around on the ground to try and put out the fire as the other two demonsughed. It made Riven want to rush in, to save her and kill all the creatures participating in her torment. He wanted to y the hero, to save the day ande out victorious. But real life was not like those fairy tales where the knight in shining armor battled against </a>all odds to win. Real life was brutal and cruel, even before this multiverse had swallowed Earth. The strongest made the rules, oftentimes taking advantage of those weaker or less fortunate. This was no fairy tale; if he walked out there without any kind of advantage and tried to fight them in a full-on confrontation, he¡¯d no doubt die a quick death as nothing but a fool.


    So, no, despite his internal struggles concerning this unknown woman¡¯s situation, he would not rush out to save her. Not when Ath¡¯s life was on the line, and dying meant Ath would die, too. No, he would wait until he either had an advantage or opportunity of some sort presented itself, or until he was forced out of hiding when Ath herself was targeted.


    ¡°You are spoiling my meal.¡± The unusually deep voice of the fleshy lurker echoed throughout therge room, putting theughter to silence immediately. ¡°I told you, I want my sacrifices fresh¡­not charred.¡±


    The Jabobs simultaneously bowed to the muchrger demon they served, and the one who¡¯d attacked the girl spoke up while stroking his beard anxiously underneath his hood. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master Rhemvish. I will correct my mistake at once.¡±


    With a snap of his fingers, the girl¡¯s face stopped burning¡­though the charred and smoking skin, the burned-out eyes, and the violent weeping-shakingbination were all testaments to the damage that¡¯d been done.


    And yet¡­while he watched the cultists continued to talk with one another jovially, as theypletely ignored the scared, bawling young woman, a ball seemed to drop into the pit of Riven¡¯s stomach. This was just cruel. These creatures were downright evil.


    [Optional Quest: Save the Prisoners. You have stumbled across a small cult of demons sacrificing people to their master. If you are able to save either of the remaining prisoners aside from Ath and stay out of harm¡¯s way for eight consecutive hours, you will be rewarded. Time remaining: Unknown.]


    Riven frowned and pulled back away from the door as he went over the new notification. It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t want to save them. But both of them? The girl was in a separate cage. How was he even going to approach saving his minion in the first ce? When he made his move, it had to have a chance and couldn¡¯t be a stupid blunder based on emotion. A dead Riven was no good to anyone¡­


    That¡¯s when he heard the begging start up again, and another shrill scream as the woman¡¯s cries hit a new pitch. Riven nced back up from his deep thinking to the slightly ajar door and peered through the crack, going cold with anger as he saw two of the Jabob demons dragging the burned teenage girl out. She was sobbing, thrashing about, and trying to free herself. Terror was evident in </a>her cries, and the remnants of her scorched facial features were contorted with absolute fear.


    This was horrible.


    She was seriously injured, blinded, and for whatever reason wasn¡¯t using any of her abilities. If she even had any¡­but she wasbeled as a priestess and had to have acquired a ss title because of it. Didn¡¯t this mean she had rted powers? Perhaps the glowing cor around her neck was suppressing her abilities? Or maybe she didn¡¯t have any offensive capabilities?


    *THUMP*


    Riven¡¯s eyes dted, and the world around him was tinged in shades of ck, red, and gray. He felt as though he wasn¡¯t actually standing on solid ground any longer, and an unfamiliar yet resonating cold mana rippled across his skin.


    ¡°PLEASE¡­GODS! GODS, PLEASE HELP ME! PLEASE, I DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE!¡±


    The blinded, naked young woman continued shrieking, struggling, and began to hyperventte as therge, wed hand of the monster wrapped around her torso. The cultists let go just as the lurker abomination picked her up and held her ten feet off the ground, and it eyed her with meager amounts of interest for a time as it held her there.


    ¡°Please¡­I¡¯ll do anything¡­I promise¡­ My dad will bring more sacrifices¡­¡± The young woman sobbed, shaking and shuddering in the firm grip of the predator. ¡°Daddy¡­ Daddy, help me¡­ Don¡¯t eat me¡­ I¡ªI want my dad¡­ I¡ªAHHK¡ª¡±


    Her words were cut off with a sharp, high-pitched shriek and the audible crunch of bones as the abomination abruptly squeezed. Riven¡¯s eyes went wide with horror as the girl¡¯s arms at the shoulders snapped inward at an odd angle, and she began to kick around frantically with her dangling legs. The crunching continued as the girl squirmed and tried to form words, but all she could do was gurgle and il until another abrupt snapping sound saw a fountain of blood belch out from her open mouth.


    WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF PLACE WAS THIS?!


    Her eyes went wide, her face turned purple, and blood continued running down from her mouth as death took her.


    Riven had seen death before, but that was a bit much for him. Rage entered his soul like a flood for being so helpless as he watched the giant creature rip off her head, toss it along with the metal cor aside, and stick a snakelike tongue out into the bloodied hole where the neck had been.


    And¡­it began sucking. The sloppy sound was apanied by more crackling as the monster squeezed the priestess¡¯s corpse like a little boy would squeeze a juice box. Even from here, Riven could see that forked tongue of the scaly beast work through her innards and pull them out in chunks and pieces as it garbled her insides down with relish.


    </a><span ss="italic">¡°If you do not like it¡­ For something so small and insignificant, you have the power to change it¡­¡±


    *THUMP*


    An unfamiliar voice whispered into his mind. Riven¡¯s heartbeat literally stopped in his chest, and ice began to flow through his veins. His eyes dted again and began to turn a bright-crimson hue, his breathing slowed to a crawl, and he found himself back just two minutes prior. The girl was still in the hands of the monster, head intact, though she was about to be eaten again.


    ¡°PLEASE¡­GODS! GODS, PLEASE HELP ME! PLEASE, I DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE!¡±


    The blinded, naked young woman continued shrieking, struggling, and began to hyperventte as therge, wed hand of the monster wrapped around her torso. The cultists let go just as the lurker abomination picked her up and held her ten feet off the ground, and it eyed her with meager amounts of interest for a time as it held her there.


    Riven blinked rapidly, not entirely understanding what was going on¡ªbut he was reliving these moments. This time, however, the world was no longer in shades of ck, red, and gray. They were normal hues and felt far more real to him.


    Had he experienced a vision? Thinking back to the crystal ball in the tutorial, he couldn¡¯te up with any other exnation.


    ¡°Please¡­I¡¯ll do anything¡­I promise¡­ My dad will bring more sacrifices¡­¡± The young woman sobbed, shaking and shuddering in the firm grip of the predator. ¡°Daddy¡­ Daddy, help me¡­ Don¡¯t eat me¡­ I¡ªI want my dad¡­¡±


    The world froze, right before the lurker abomination was to crush her body. Everything around him came to a standstill, and his soul apparatus quivered violently.


    [Malignant Prophecy has activated; previously unrecognized heir has been found. Qualifications have been met, link established, royal lineage recognized despite tampering and suppression measures. Imperial system has officially recognized Riven Thane as a prince of the empire, thirty-seventh in line for the throne. All citizens, nobility, clergy, and leadership of the empire have been informed.


    Desired Action: low-tier maniption of fate. Current Willpower stat: 33. Barely sufficient Willpower to perform desired action. Performing this act will put your Malignant Prophecy on cooldown for significant amounts of time. Do you wish to proceed?]


    What the fuck was this about being a prince? And what empire?! A maniption of fate? Goddamn it, he hated this ce. If Riven could have </a>furrowed his brows, he would have looked like an enraged orangutan. But he couldn¡¯t¡ªhe was frozen in time and space, so he mentally just shouted out, <span ss="italic">What desired action?!


    [Desired action: save unknown woman from death. Malignant Prophecy¡¯s only avable option for this pathway is as follows:


    Influence the lurker demon into taking the young woman up on her offer and letting the young woman go.]

 Chapter 34

    Chapter 34


    Riven took a moment to realize just what was being said here. Now that the initial shock of the new notifications had worn off, he pushed away the many unanswered questions to focus on only one.


    This was a question of morality.


    His sight shifted back to the girl being held in demonic ws at his left. Through the crack in the door he could tell that she was utterly terrified, and his heart truly hurt for her. How scared she must be, knowing she was mere moments from being eaten alive.


    The question was, if he did sway fate in her favor, would she really go back to acquire more sacrifices? Would she uphold her end of the promise to this creature after it¡¯d burned her face away? Or was she lying?


    On one hand, he didn¡¯t know what the situation had been prior to getting here. She might have been in league with the demons the entire time, only for them to betray her. On the other hand, there was a very good chance she was outright spewing bullshit just to save herself, desperately thinking up ways to keep on living in the face of certain doom.


    There was yet another question: Would she even be able to hold up her end of the bargain? He didn¡¯t know enough about demonic summonings, despite being a novice warlock, to know whether or not she could safely reach this destination again. Did she have some means of summoning them to her world? Did she create a portal to get here? Did she know about the exits out of here? Or did she enter the dungeon in a simr way he¡¯d been thrown in?


    If she knew the exits out, that was a reason alone to save her. He desperately wanted to skedaddle out of here as fast as humanly fucking possible, but then again the silver-haired man in Ath¡¯s cage might know just as much as she did.


    Then there was the question of what reward he would get for saving her.


    </a><span ss="bold">[Optional Quest: Save the Prisoners. You have stumbled across a small cult of demons sacrificing people to their master. If you are able to save either of the remaining prisoners aside from Ath and stay out of harm¡¯s way for eight consecutive hours, you will be rewarded. Time remaining: Unknown.]


    Hmm. Saving both humans alongside Ath would be preferable for the quest alone; he had no idea what he¡¯d get, but he was sure the reward would at least double in value if he saved two instead of one. Right?


    Yet there was another thing to consider. He¡¯d be putting this new Malignant Prophecy on a significant cooldown by using it to sway fate. Why it was called <span ss="italic">malignant was unknown to him, but any power that could literally change fate was fucking badass, and putting such an ability on cooldown for someone he didn¡¯t know was¡­


    Ugh. Allie would have him save the girl.


    The thought stung like an annoying splinter in his side. How was he supposed to look Allie in the eyes and tell her about this if he didn¡¯t save her? Truth be told, he was pretty convinced this ¡°priestess¡± was just bbering in order to get out of being killed, and he probably would have lied through his teeth, too, if he was in her situation. He would be selfish not to help.


    He sighed internally, then peered back at the quest prompt and grudgingly epted the action. At least he¡¯d be getting an increased reward for it, so there was that.


    <span ss="bold">[Desired action has been selected: save unknown woman from death. Influence the lurker demon into taking the young woman up on her offer and letting the young woman go.]


    Immediately time unfroze, and he could feel his heart beating again. The red-skinned, apelike cultists cackled andughed at the young woman¡ªbut therger lurker demon suddenly paused.


    Confusion marred its face while its open mouth let a forked tongue droop to the side, its muscles bulged and flexed, and it cocked its head in thought before gradually putting the naked woman down. ¡°I have reconsidered your offer, little priestess.¡±


    The cackling andughter from the smaller subordinate demons abruptly stopped. They gave each other incredulous looks, their features outlined by the firelight of the torches outside and along the walls before the tform they stood on ended into an expanse of ruined city.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Master? That seems very unlike you.¡± The highest-leveled of the Jabob cultists began, but he quickly shrieked and backed up¡ªbeginning to </a>grovel when the towering level-45 monstrosity crackled with obsidian power and gave him a tyrannical grin.


    ¡°One more word out of you, ape¡­¡± One of the armored centipede legs of the lurker mmed into the tform¡¯s floor, showering those nearby in sparks and jagged pieces of stone. The lurker pointed a long-wed hand at the Jabob and sneered. ¡°I¡¯ll have your guts in her ce. Understand me, maggot?¡±


    The Jabob demons all quickly nodded, ncing hesitantly between their lord and the still-sobbing woman in a kneeling position not far off. The lurker turned, then waved a hand over the blonde girl as red lights began shimmering all around her.


    The lights pulsed twice, forming balls of blood magic, from what Riven could tell, andunched themselves at the girl.


    The priestess screamed as the magics ripped into her body, but while she began to writhe on the floor, her face began to change. The burns that¡¯d been there were now gone, her wounds healed, and soon she looked up in bewilderment before nearly mming her forehead into the ground with a bow and as a sign of respect. ¡°Y-you are actually s-sparing me after all?!¡±


    The woman quivered, and the demon looked down at her with disgust¡ªbut motioned with a w as if to shoo her away.


    ¡°Yes¡­but I expect you to keep to your word. I will deliver to you a token in seven days that you may use to speak with me, then we can discuss how things will proceed. Perhaps having someone on the outside of this hellscape would be a boon after all¡­ Remember: seven days, lest I be enraged and visit your world to devour you and your entire family. Do you understand? Now, leave me. I have things to attend to.¡±


    The young woman blinked, getting looks of disbelief from everyone else there, and stood on shaky legs. She quickly bowed, then gestured to her cor. ¡°Could I get this off? Making it to the dungeon exit without my abilities¡ª¡±


    ¡°No. Nor may you have your belongings.¡± The lurker demon sneered down with a vile grin, and then chuckled when he saw her face pale. ¡°If you cannot get there on your own, I have no need of you. Begone, mortal, and show me that you have the drive it takes to seed.¡±


    Shit. She <span ss="italic">did know where the dungeon exit was! <span ss="italic">And she was now running away!


    He watched her abruptly nod and catapult off the stone tform, sprinting as fast as she possibly could with eyes darting left and right until she disappeared into the darkness of the hellscape. He cursed his luck; she hadn¡¯t even attempted to stay around and see if the huge demon changed his mind. Which Riven understood, but Riven couldn¡¯t leave himself until he got at least Ath out.


    After the demons watched the girl vanish around another tower, one of the lurker¡¯srge hand searched behind it and pulled up another headless corpse. </a>Beginning to feed and suck on this new body, it made content gurgling sounds while itpped up bodily fluids.


    There was a long pause after that.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± One of the Jabob demons cleared his raspy, hissing throat and tapped his misshapen wooden staff onto the stone floor. He nervously stroked his long white beard and nced around. ¡°I believe it is time. We¡¯ve finally acquired the necessary tools and souls needed for summoning your future partner, and it has been a very long road in obtaining the means to acquire such a creature. I may be hasty in asking¡­but may we proceed?¡±


    All the cultist got in response was a brief nod from the lurker before it turned back to sucking on its meal.


    ¡°Very well.¡± The Jabob speaking, obviously the superior of the other two hooded cultists, began to walk ahead. He then whispered something that Riven couldn¡¯t hear and motioned for them to spread out. As the other two did as he asked, the short demon raised a bony, red, three-fingered hand out in front of him and closed his eyes. ¡°Abt Rhukshash Ver Klonsik Azmoth.¡±


    Meanwhile, Riven was scouring the ce for any signs of a key, anything he could use as a lockpick, or some way to get Ath out of her cage.


    Riven didn¡¯t understand the gibberish of the summoning nearby, but soon a spark of ck and red mana red to life underneath the demon¡¯s small, outstretched hand¡ªand a circled pentagram of crimson light began carving itself into the stone floor below. The other two hooded cultists raised their own hands out in front of them as the first had done and began muttering the exact same words. One by one, they threw materials into the center of the pentagram from sacks at their sides: a scalp of thick ck hair, a couple eyeballs, a myriad of different types of teeth, a couple differently colored crystals, two fingers, and a runic stone that glowed green. All these things dissolved and were absorbed into the mass of ck and red mana umted a few feet in the air¡ªand soon, shrill screams of the dead began to echo throughout the tform as wisps of light shot out from their outstretched palms toward the mana as well.


    Were those the souls that demon was talking about? Holy shit¡­


    ¡°Abt Rhukshash Ver Klonsik Azmoth.¡±


    ¡°Abt Rhukshash Ver Klonsik Azmoth.¡±


    ¡°Abt Rhukshash Ver Klonsik Azmoth.¡±


    Riven watched, fascinated, until he realized that this could be his moment to act. He didn¡¯t know when he¡¯d get a better chance. While they were summoning whatever it was they had in mind, all but the lurker had their eyes closed¡­and he mentally prepared himself over the next few seconds to make a sneaky break for Ath. At the very least he could inspect the cage and see if there was a way to open it from the outside, and if not¡ªhe would improvise.


    He had to. He had no other choice.

 Chapter 35

    Chapter 35


    <span ss="bold">[Your maniption of fate has gained you one Malignancy Point.


    <span ss="bold">Current total Malignancy Points: 1]


    Riven blinked. Well, that wasn¡¯t good¡­probably?


    Regardless, he began to move. With the cultists doing whatever weird summoning magic they¡¯d set their intentions on and the lurker demon sucking a corpse dry¡ªit was time. He slipped out of the door after slowly pushing it open and thanking God it didn¡¯t creak. There were boxes and barrels to his right on the way over to the cages, and this is where he headed with heel-to-toe movements to reduce his noise as much as possible.Therge lurker demon was rather enjoying the meal and continued like that over those next couple of seconds. It didn¡¯t even nce his way, and Riven¡¯s heart was pounding in his chest amid the chanting of the apelike summoners to his left when he finally reached the nearest crate and let out a sigh of relief. However, the peace was interrupted when an abrupt series of crazed roars arose from the darkness, and dozens of shadowy figures began to rush out of the dark mists from thirty to fifty meters out.


    <span ss="italic">¡°SSSHHREEEEEE!¡±


    <span ss="italic">¡°VRRRAAAAAHHHHH!¡±


    <span ss="italic">¡°RRRRHHHOOOOO!¡±


    Riven rubbed his eyes, and his jaw dropped at the fortune luck had sprung on him.


    They were ghouls. Mutated andrger ones, like the first he¡¯d fought in the ballroom. Not like some of the weaker versions he¡¯d seen wandering around at random among the rest of the ruins. There were dozens of them, all of them looking disfigured and grotesque¡ªbut each of them slightly unique in its own way. Some were a necrotic ck or gray, some were sickly green, some were missing limbs, and some had extras. They were all disfigured, yellow-eyed, and </a>ravenous, though, and the Jabob Cultist Demons immediately dropped what they were doing just as a sh of light from the pentagram burst open through a rift along the ground. The Jabobs swore in anguage Riven didn¡¯t understand and began to meet the charge with loud, high-pitched squeals of rage.


    ¡°AMBUSH!¡± one of the three-eyed, red-skinned demons screamed as it sent a roaring blue fireball soaring out into the oing pack, exploding upon impact and taking out three of the undead before they got to the tform¡¯s edge. This time they spoke anguage Riven understood on instinct, though when he reevaluated it, he realized it still wasn¡¯t English.


    The demon quickly whipped his head back and forth, eyes growing wide at the sheer number of enemies that¡¯d managed to make it this close without being spotted. ¡°I THOUGHT WE CLEARED THEM OUT OF THIS AREA! WHY ARE THERE SO MANY?!¡±


    One of the other cultists spat in response to hisrade as a circlet of blue runes lit up on the ground in front of him, and another creature the size of a small dog¡ªa purple-skinned, ck-eyed, and sluglike demon with multiple long stingers¡ªslithered out of the summoning circle to begin belching out high-velocity globs of acid that ravenously ate through the iing undead¡¯s flesh. ¡°Who cares why?! Just shut up and kill them! Negrada will have our heads if we allow the enemy dungeon to interfere!¡±


    The lurker abomination nced over at the oing horde, unconcerned, but stuffed the rest of the human¡¯s corpse into its mouth to hurry up and finish eating. It belched loudly, showering the ground with blood as it wiped its gory face with the side of an arm, and turned to meet the new enemy. ck balls of swirling power began to form and spark on either side of the lurker before sting forward into the oing wave, obliterating numerous enemies at once before the huge monster rushed forward along multiple armored insectoid legs to meet the charge.


    Riven was awestruck by the offensive might of therge demon while it tore through the undead like they were children¡¯s toys, and he nodded to himself. ¡°Yup. d I didn¡¯t go in to try and fight that thing¡­¡±


    And now that the battle between the two sides hadmenced, the demons all had their backs turned to his position.


    He quickly rushed forward past a break in the wall of crates, then ducked down behind one of the barrels and mbered over two stacked sacks of who-knows-what. He slid around to the right while trying to keep his steps muffled, around the outskirts of the cages with the wall to his back, until he eventually came to the one with Ath and the unknown man still inside.


    *BOOM*


    *CRASH*


    The ground shuddered and the walls reverberated with the brutal violence of the battle nearby.


    </a>The silver-haired young hunter was staring toward the battle, hands gripping the bars and a hopeless expression on his face. He was of a medium build and a little taller than average, and he had burn marks along his left shoulder. In the bottom of his cage, a puddle of piss had collected at his feet, and he was breathing heavily. Meanwhile, Ath just remained curled up in her corner of the cage while continuing to shake.


    An explosion of green light rocked the tform, and one of the cultists went down screaming before he hit the ground¡ªshriveled and dead upon impact after just having released another st of blue fire. Apparently the ghouls had back-line casters of their own¡ªbut the majority of the horde was focused on bringing therge lurker down while the ghouls died by the dozens in an attempt to swarm the gigantic alpha monster.


    For just another second, Riven paused to watch in fascination as the battlemenced. The lurker was putting in real work, but the undead just kept oning as they rushed out of the darkness and into view, recing their fallenrades even as the undead corpses began to pile up. Another sh of sickly-green light rocketed forward, sting through an erected arcane shield that one of the Jabob mages had constructed and toppling him backward¡ªthough notpletely killing him, as the shield took the brunt of the attack. It did, however, eradicate three of the nearby slug demons that¡¯d been summoned. Even as they died, though, more of the sluglike purple creatures continued to pour in from portals that the remaining Jabob cultists were creating between offensive sts. Soon there were dozens of the small stinger-equipped, acid-spewing demons, and some entered meleebat while others stayed onstage to support the lurker from afar.


    The force of another green st from the undead side immediately drew Riven¡¯s attention over to the caster. It was a hooded, robed skeleton with glowing blue eyes that carried a long ck staff. It was slowly walking forward through the fog, and Riven wasn¡¯t even able to identify it properly.


    <span ss="bold">[Minor Lich, Level ???]


    Bodies ripped, screams rose, magics roared, and weapons hacked amid spraying clouds of acid that ate away ghoul flesh in abundance. This area of the dungeon was obviously way out of his league.


    Riven knocked on the cage bars from behind with his knuckles, startling both Ath and the man as they turned around. Riven gave a brief nce to make eye contact with the unknown human before smirking in Ath¡¯s direction. ¡°Hey. I can get you out of here, but I need to know where the key is. Any idea on where that would be?¡±


    The unknown man stared his way, his sharp features set into a nk look of confusion as Ath uncurled her body and reached through the cage, gently </a>touching his face with an outstretched limb while the spider continued to tremble. But if spiders could smile, she would be now, and she visibly began to rx as her arachnoid leg caressed his skin. ¡°Riven¡­you found me¡­and yes, the cultists! Hurry, one of them has the keys!¡±


    Riven nced over doubtfully. One was already dead, but the other two were alive and well as they sted magics while loudly screeching and summoned more sluglike minions as time went on. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s the only set of keys?¡±


    ¡°Please!¡± hissed the young man, bing frantic as he nced over his shoulder. ¡°This disgusting monster is right! I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up,¡± Riven interrupted with a hostile stare. ¡°Now.¡±


    The man looked nkly back at him, and Riven snorted with distaste, but his green eyes focused on the red-and-ck spider demon a secondter. ¡°Are you okay? You¡¯re injured¡­¡±


    *BOOM*


    The ground shuddered as the lurker demon ripped through the pack of undead and barreled into a wall. Debris began to fall from the tower, and pieces of stone began falling from the site of impact.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it!¡± she hissed, her mandibles clicking as she gave a worried nce over to the battle¡ªthen twisted her head to show him a small ck-and-green cor of her own. ¡°We don¡¯t have time! You need to get the keys so we can leave. Then we¡¯ll get this suppression cor off and you can bind to me again, sealing the contract so that if I die I¡¯ll respawn. Just be careful not to get caught in the fighting!¡±


    The other man, who was gripping the cage bars and listening to them talk, frowned deeply. Something akin to a sneer crossed his lips, and he gave a resigned sigh while putting his head up against the cage wall. ¡°Oh. You¡¯re a fucking warlock. Great. I might as well just kill myself now.¡±


    *CRACK*


    The mood immediately grew even more sour than it already was, and the ground shook as another st of magic rocketed past them¡ªtearing across the stone tform in a shower of rubble amid the screams ofbatants.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Riven hissed in irritation with a sideways nce toward the nearby fighting.


    ¡°Jalel,¡± the man stated half-heartedly, his excitement at potentially being saved long gone.


    Riven gave him a brief nod, then jabbed a finger into Jalel¡¯s chest as his right arm continued to simmer with wisps of blood magic. ¡°All right, Jalel. Do me a favor and shut the fuck up while I save your sorry ass. Got it?¡±


    Without looking back to see how the prisoner would react, Riven began to make his way around the barrels back the way he¡¯de for a better angle on his approach with a final head nod of encouragement from Ath. Riven </a>felt the wisps of blood magic radiating up his arm and summoned four Bloody Razors that hovered in the air¡ªspinning around him silently just in case the creature turned around during his act of thievery. Mentally preparing himself for a very brazen and out-in-the-open attempt to steal the keys right from under their noses, he took in a deep breath. His sess depended on a lot of factors.


    Sure, the little red ape he was targeting was behind the dozens of acid-spewing scorpion slugs and in the back line¡ªso that was a plus. The battle was also raging rather fiercely now, and it was very loud, but there were a lot of eyes that could turn his way to alert his target. He¡¯d be out in the open with no cover whatsoever, only using the distraction and noise of battle to conceal his movements, so he¡¯d have to work fast. He also cursed his inability to use his blessing, because it was on cooldown for another twelve hours.


    Keeping low to the ground, he broke free from cover and began sneaking forward as swiftly as he could. His radiating right arm itched with vibrating blood magic, and he thought about how great it would be to kill this bastard in front of him. Of how satisfying it would be to see the light leave his eyes after Riven had witnessed the creature burn off that girl¡¯s face, but doing so would certainly alert the others. If for whatever reason he was detected by a stroke of poor luck, then he could st the bastard before trying to flee¡ªbut otherwise he¡¯d have to let the demon live if he wanted to get himself out of there alive. The kill would not be worth the risk of drawing the attention of both demons and undead his way, and not only that¡­but if he died before he bonded her, Ath would die permanently as well.


    *SPLAT*


    One of the smaller acid-spewing abominations in front of him exploded, and a green shaft of neon light rocketed past Riven¡¯s ears as an undead mage from the foggy back lines loosed another spell. He squinted and covered his eyes so the bodily fluids wouldn¡¯t blind him, and a ghoul warrior¡¯s upper halfunched skyward from the brawl tond a couple feet away with a crunch.


    Riven kept moving, though, his boots rolling gingerly against the stone with every step, and his breathing became light as he got within ten feet of the cultist he was targeting. Then it was five, and then he was standing right behind him. The four razors floated ready nearby, spinning rapidly¡ªtwo on either side of where he stood and ready tounch. He could smell the blood on his target¡¯s robes and feel the wind on his face whenever his target briefly changed stances while casting. The bearded little shit was cursing and screaming at the top of his lungs as he continued to throw blue mes out at the undead, asionally erecting barriers to block iing projectiles or enemy magics¡ªbut he waspletely unaware of Riven¡¯s presence even if Riven was close enough to feel the heat of the mage¡¯s fire.


    </a>Riven did his best to get a good look at the cultist¡¯s pockets before moving in for the grab, and to his relief, he immediately saw a ring of keys exactly where Ath had told him they¡¯d be¡ªin the right-hand pocket of the demon¡¯s robes.


    He waited for the shorter creature to adjust his stance so that the weight of the keys would be off his thigh, and when the time came, Riven struck like a viper. With nimble fingers that writhed with crimson magic and quick reflexes, he fluidly extracted the keys and, holding his breath, he turned around.


    Good shit.


    His heart pounded. He made as fast a retreat as he could manage without making sound and quickly oriented himself toward the nearest cover. Coming around the side of a rickety barrel, he let out the breath he¡¯d been holding in. Dropping his head into his hands with a relieved grin, he took in a few more calming breaths as the screams and rage of battle drew closer. Looking back around the barrel, he saw that the swarming undead were still battling the infuriated lurker demon, but a couple of their number were now shing with the smaller red-skinned casters and slug summons in closebat as they scrambled up onto the tform.


    One particr ghoul, a three-armed creature with patches of scattered, rotting flesh and its intestines hanging out the front, tackled the cultist Riven had just pickpocketed like a linebacker. The short, screaming Jabob demon went down onto his back while sting mes into the undead monster, but the ghoul still managed to sink its teeth into his neck while they rolled around on the floor amid the chaos. Some of the smaller sluglike minion summons jumped in to try and peel the ming ghoul off their master, using their acid, stingers, and teeth to tear off pieces of the monster¡¯s flesh, and the brawl thusly spilled onto the tform.


    ¡°RRRHHHHOOOOO!¡±


    Riven whirled and mmed his radiating fist into arge, green-skinned ghoul¡¯s rotting face. Simultaneously he let loose his charged Blood Lance, and the effect was devastating.


    The blood magic exploded from his punch and sted the ghoul¡¯s skull right off, sending the remnants of its body somersaulting across the tform.


    Two more gray-skinned ghouls that¡¯d been circling around rushed him, one with five arms and another with a sharpened tongue that whipped out like a knife.


    Riven dodged the tonguesh with a quick sidestep and ripped through both monsters with the summoned razors¡ªtearing one in half entirely while the other just staggered and roared.


    Shit! They were going to give away his position!


    *WHAM*


    He mmed his staff into the roaring mouth of the ghoul, silencing it as he crammed the wooden shaft down its throat. Simultaneously he dropped to the </a>ground and kicked its scrawny legs out from underneath it before sting it with another summoned Bloody Razor.


    The ghoul gargled and ripped the staff out of its mouth before flinging it to the side, but the razor lodged itself in its throat and caused it to stagger back.


    Riven kicked out with his boot and made contact with the ghoul¡¯s skull to stun the monster and tried to summon another Bloody Razor, but he went pale when he realized the portion of his Blood subpir associated with that spell had be rigid. His Blood Lance wouldn¡¯t respond, either, also being on cooldown, so he created the only spell still avable to him.


    ck mana erupted from his hands and formed a, condensing into a rope upon his will just when he went in to grapple the stronger,rger monster. He took advantage of its momentary stunned state and managed to get on its back, away from where its numerous clumped arms couldn¡¯t easily get to him, and yanked back to securely fasten his Wretched Snare around its neck.


    The rather stupid monster bucked and iled, but he continued choking the creature while it scrambled around and tried to w at him. He rapidly wrenched the ck magic back and forth, scraping away flesh every time he yanked to one side and then the other. Sharp, burning needles dug into its flesh and then into its spine¡ªscraping away bone while he used it like a saw to separate the monster¡¯s head from its body.


    The ghoul thrashed, but because its many arms were so bunched together, it couldn¡¯t reach behind its body while Riven had his feet nted into its back.


    He gripped his snare with everything he had and sawed right, then left, then right again, and finally felt the Wretched Snare rip through the cervical spine. The ghoul¡¯s head flew into the air, spraying ck blood all over Riven¡¯s face and letting the body fall to the stone ground with a thud.


    <span ss="bold">[You have gained one level. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]


    He hit the ground with a thud. Riven spat and coughed the viscous liquid out of his mouth, gagging slightly due to the rancid smell, and then rubbed his eyes while evaluating his surroundings. The battle was still raging, and the demons hadn¡¯t even noticed the scuffle behind them. Checking that he still had the keys in his pocket, he picked his staff back up and started running toward the cage.

 Chapter 36

    Chapter 36


    As Riven moved back to the metal cage where Ath and the young man were still waiting with excitement in their eyes, they began to urge him on to be faster. Ath¡¯s face lit up withughter while Riven produced the set of keys and came around to the front to try the lock, and he gave his minion the equivalent of a fist bump to one of her outstretched limbs while cursing under his breath amid the screams of battle.


    ¡°You did so well!¡± Ath said with a chittering guffaw. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you came back for me! You know, you could have just summoned another minion if I died¡­ What you did was stupid. But you came for me!¡±


    Riven stopped what he was doing only briefly to give her a t look. ¡°I¡¯d never leave you behind after what you did for me, Ath. You¡¯re my partner now, and I¡¯m going to see you out and alive.¡±


    He started working on the lock again, cursing as he tried key after key. However, he did notice the abrupt change in his minion just a secondter.


    Ath had started crying tears of previously suppressed emotion. She¡¯d stopped shaking, though she was still in obvious pain due to her wounds. Riven had never seen a spider cry, and it took him aback, not having expected it at all. Her face was pushed against the metal bars as Riven worked. ¡°You¡¯re a maniac! But I suppose I am a princess, after all, so I can understand why you came to save me. I take back all those things I said about you being a useless warlock or a smelly human! Good job!¡±


    ¡°You said those things?!¡±


    ¡°Possibly.¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes at his minion while shaking his head and began fumbling with the metal pieces in his hands. Riven tried another key without sess before cursing and moving on. The ground shook as the overconfident lurker demon was finally taken down with an air-shattering roar of pain, and a backward nce told him that it was being eaten alive with horrible wailing sounds </a>and continued thrashing while dozens upon dozens of ghouls raced over their numerous defeatedrades to pile over it.


    Karma was a bitch.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± His curse came out as a whisper, but he managed to get the second key into the lock as the two upants of the cage silently watched him¡ªhelpless to do anything themselves.


    The lock clicked a secondter, though, and the cage door swung open, with Riven giving himself a silent congrattions.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The new guy didn¡¯t hesitate and pushed past Riven, lurching out of the cage and over to where tworge linen bags were sitting next to a crate. He tried picking both of them up, but thebined load was obviously far too heavy for him to lift. So he turned around and frantically motioned to the second bag while he picked up the first. ¡°One of you, help me take these!¡±


    Riven immediately grew angry at the suggestion. Ath was in no way able to pick up a bag that size in her current condition, and he was already upying himself as he gingerly picked up the injured minion and cradled her in his arms. ¡°Get fucked and leave it!¡±


    ¡°No! We take it with us!¡±


    Riven scowled even more deeply, feeling anger simmer up in his face as he turned and tried to bnce the spider in his grasp along with the staff he carried. He had no idea what was in those two bags, but it was obviously important enough that Jalel chose to stop in the midst of a battle with an oing swarm of enemies to get them.


    Meanwhile, Ath¡¯s sparkling ruby eyes gazed up into his face unwaveringly¡ªmesmerized and shaking slightly in her master¡¯s arms.


    With a grunt of irritation, Riven rushed forward toward the exit andpletely ignored the silver-haired man, shoving past the sack Jalel tried to give him. ¡°I told you to get fucked. I¡¯m not carrying that¡ªit should be obvious I have my hands full!¡±


    ¡°Leave the spider and take this instead!¡± the man hissed with anger evident in his eyes. ¡°She¡¯s a fucking demon, and she even said you could summon another one if she died! Leave her! This stuff is valuable back in the core systems!¡±


    Core systems?


    Riven had half a mind to kill the man right there for suggesting Riven leave Ath behind, and his grip around Ath tightened ever so slightly.


    What a prick.


    The bag in Jalel¡¯s grasp clinked together with the sound of metal on metal of some sort, and he was obviously struggling just to carry the other one alone, but Riven couldn¡¯t care less. He gave Jalel a final re along with a middle finger, rushed right on past, and didn¡¯t say a word while he made his way for the door.


    </a>Then he felt a small spider foot repeatedly jab his shoulder at lightning speed, and he looked down at the minion, who was eagerly pointing off to their right with enthusiasm unbing of her injured state. ¡°HURRY AND GRAB THAT STONE!¡±


    She pointed to something behind him, and he whirled, half expecting to see an enemy lunging at them by the way she seemed so frantic.


    That¡¯s when he spotted what she had been pointing at. Not even twenty feet away, over the spot where those Jabob demons had been conjuring something from a summoned pentagram, was a glowing red orb. It hovered over the stone tile, sparking with asional bursts of bright-crimson light and disyed another pentagram on its surface. Demonic runes were etched into the edges of the orb surrounding the pentagram as well¡ªand a feeling of uneasiness overcame him as he stared it down.


    ¡°GET IT! GO, GO, GO!¡± Ath screamed over the din of battle, starting to m her little spider legs into his shoulder again, and then she began to wriggle when she thought he was going to ignore her and take her out the door anyways. ¡°WE NEED THAT SHINY THING!¡±


    They were beginning to draw attention from the remainingbatants not far off¡­but Riven didn¡¯t have to be told a third time. With a sideways nce at the battling demons and undead, Riven rushed toward the altar. His heart pounded hard, echoing in his eardrums as one of the beardedbatants finally noticed him and let out a hate-filled scream.


    ¡°THAT IS MINE, HUMAN SCUM!¡± thest living Jabob sneered, turning to raise a hand in Riven¡¯s direction only to have his arm batted away by one of the ghouls he¡¯d been fighting a second before.


    The apelike red demon roared and went down under the ghoul¡¯s weight, quickly forgetting Riven. Meanwhile, the warlock came to a stop right in front of the floating red orb. A quick look over the thing at close range gave him the heebie-jeebies, and he could literally feel heat radiating off it.


    Riven hesitated just a moment, seriously reconsidering touching that glowing, floating orb etched with demonic symbols after remembering what¡¯d happened when he¡¯d tried picking up the wooden ring or the ymore just a day ago. This item, whatever it was, was surely far beyond his current level¡ªand one try identifying it rified his thoughts.


    <span ss="bold">[Dark Arts Miracle Stone (Unique) (Filled): The prayers to Jograz Metz have been heard, the blood price has been paid, and he has answered with this gift. Using this particr miracle stone provides an infant B-grade demon species: Hellscape Brutalisk (Inherent to the Infernal Pir) as a demonic familiar upon binding. Requirements: five thousand of five thousand souls sacrificed, </a>ingredients for summoning met, favor for your chosen dark godplete. This familiar requires a contract prior to binding and must be contacted to agree upon a contract prior to use.]


    ¡°Riven! Hurry!¡±


    He snapped out of his trance and snatched the stone out of the air a secondter. Turning heel, he handed the orb to Ath, who ced it between her mandibles, and he began running as fast as his legs could carry him amid the nearby screams of battle.


    Jalel gave Riven a loud groan ofint when Riven passed him by, not wanting to leave the other bag behind¡ªbut he picked up his own sack and took off with what he could carry. Not long after, all three of them were through the metal door leading into the building, and another minute had passed by the time they were running down an adjacent hallway to put distance between them and the battle they¡¯d so narrowly escaped.


    The first crimson lights of this dungeon¡¯s version of dawn began trickling in through the open window of the ancient, musty tower they¡¯d set up residence in. The lidless, ming eye was back, and it was ring down upon their floating ind of the abyss with mindless scrutiny. The one entrance leading down from the highest level they now rested in was closed and deadbolted shut in five different ces, and although it¡¯d made him feel somewhat secure, it also made Riven question what this barren room had been used for in the past. The red mist was still somewhat present, obscuring the ruined gothic city that sprawled out for miles in all directions, but the dulled rays of the ming eye overhead were still a warm weepared to the dark night.


    Riven was still groggy, exhausted, and ufortable on the stone floor, but he was happy to be alive. Turning his head, he saw that Ath had nestled up against him and was fidgeting with that stone again. He grinned at the spider and remembered with fondness the notification that¡¯d appeared when he¡¯d taken her suppression cor offst night.


    <span ss="bold">[Quest Update: Find Your Spider Princess¡ªYou have found and rescued Ath! After taking the suppression cor off her, and due to being in close proximity, your bond to your minion has been restored to normal. Her death will no longer result in permanence, but rather a temporary banishment as per the normal contract. However, you will still not receive your rewards for finishing this quest until both you and Ath travel to the axe-wielding statue in the center of the city as described before.]


    </a>The suppression cor itself had shattered when he¡¯d taken it off, the cor not recognizing him as its bonded owner even though he¡¯d used the key for it. They must act like Riven¡¯s totems did¡­or at least simr to them¡ªthe totems bound to him as their specific owner, too. Either way, Ath had exined that those suppression cors each had nullification abilities that would stop someone from using abilities of any sort, and oftentimes they weakened the captive physically. After Ath had gotten into a fight with some kind of werewolf, she¡¯d been injured and easy pickings for the cultists to clean up¡ªwhich was how she¡¯d gotten into that situation in the first ce.


    The other guy¡ªJalel¡ªwas still asleep, but Riven gave Ath a wave when he rubbed his eyes to clear the sleepiness away.


    ¡°Morning, Ath!¡±


    She beamed up at him, chittering lightly and pushing her face up against his own to rub against him. ¡°Good morning! Feeling blessed?¡±


    Blessed? What the hell was Ath talking about? Riven felt anything but blessed, and it was an odd question to ask considering she was a demon. Then again, considering he had an Unholy blessing himself, he could assume <span ss="italic">blessed didn¡¯t necessarily mean <span ss="italic">holy or what have you.


    He pushed himself up to his knees and then to his feet, extending a hand over to his minion, and paused as he got a better look at the stone she was carrying in her spider paws. The glowing red orb with the demonic symbols etched into its sides was pulsing slightly. She rubbed it with her newly regenerated legs¡ªregeneration being a perk of the contract between minion and master¡ªand Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Ready to try again?¡± Ath asked, pushing the bauble into hisp and lightly tapping it with a red-and-ck foot. ¡°I¡¯m so excited!¡±


    ¡°Are you now? Just how good is a ¡®B-grade¡¯ demon, anyways?¡±


    Ath shrugged. ¡°Decently good. Not anything super special or overpowered, but for a beginner warlock? I¡¯d say it¡¯s a pretty decent boon. I¡¯m a C-grade type demon myself, if that puts things into perspective. The thing is, you weren¡¯t supposed to be able to bind another demon until we left the tutorial, but this?!¡±


    She indicated the miracle stone with one pointed foot. ¡°This will circumvent that problem and allow you to get another familiar now instead of needing to wait!¡±


    Riven¡¯s face fell, and he sighed. He¡¯d tried using itst night three separate times at her urging but had failed to get ahold of whatever demon was kept inside there. Apparently Hellscape Brutalisks were pretty solid choices for tank-type demons, and the chance to get another minion was definitely a nice find.


    He nced up again to meet her eyes, and she gave him a mischievous cackle.


    </a>¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll work,¡± Riven stated with a frown, rolling the bauble in his hands and feeling the warmth enter his body. ¡°I already tried three times, Ath. It isn¡¯t responding to me.¡±


    She flippantly waved a foot his way, and her arachnid abdomen bobbed up and down in excitement. ¡°Then try again! Maybe he or she was just having a bad day.¡±

 Chapter 37

    Chapter 37


    ¡°Or maybe the demon knows we stole the miracle and won¡¯t present itself to us.¡±


    The spider cocked her head as if deep in thought, then shook it vigorously. ¡°No¡­no, that¡¯s definitely not it. It would have arrived and killed you in the contract ceremony if it had any ill will against you.¡±


    ¡°It can do that?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, and frankly, I doubt I¡¯d have been able to help you much against something this strong. It¡¯s always a risk to take on summoned demons, and this particr breed is not known for their kindness. It would jump at the opportunity to eat you if it didn¡¯t wish to bond with you.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°How the hell do warlocks survive if they risk dying every time they summon a new minion?¡±


    Ath sighed. ¡°There are different ways to contract with demons. One is by having a ss that allows foreign contact at certain intervals or milestones. Another is by creating a miracle stone or summoning circle, which are more dangerous than the ss-contact route, which is protected by the administrator of Elysium. Miracle stones and summoning circles arepletely on your own, meaning the administrator won¡¯t interfere if the demon tries to kill you. The demons you can bind with through the administrator¡¯s system cannot harm you upon picking them. Usually demons contracted through a miracle stone like this are very rare until you reach well over level 100, especially with such a singr and powerful breed, so this is a unique opportunity. Dying is worth the risk for extreme gains and great power.¡±


    ¡°Is it, though?¡±


    ¡°It is if you want to live a fulfilling life! You¡¯re a Novice Warlock, Riven! Warlocks are supposed to be risk-takers!¡±


    He gave her a doubtful look. ¡°Are we, though?¡±


    ¡°Definitely!¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°You took the risk to save me, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    </a>He paused at that one, then gave the spider a small smile and a nod as she beamed up at him while happily tapping her legs on the floor in rapid fashion. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll give you that one.¡±


    Sighing and closing his eyes, he cupped both hands over the stone like Ath had shown him previously. He formed an image of the bauble in his mind and tried to channel mana into the gem by directing a spell¡ªany spell¡ªinto the space it presented.


    There was a connection, just likest night, with each of his three attempts¡­but nothing beyond that. The mana interlinked with the ssy, glowing orb¡­but he got nothing else. No attempt at contact, no other change, and Riven eventually gave up again after sitting there for fifteen minutes while slowly pouring his mana until it almost drained awaypletely.


    He shook his head with a frown. ¡°No good. Are you sure it¡¯s really in there?¡±


    Ath considered his words while pacing back and forth across the room, ignoring the sleeping man nearby and his sack of wealth, which he still hadn¡¯t opened up to share yet despite Riven having saved his life. The spider eventually came to a halt, though, turned on Riven, and padded up to him. ¡°I believe it is testing you.¡±


    ¡°Testing me?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°The brutalisk is likely watching you and waiting to see if it wants to bind with you or not.¡±


    ¡°So it can see me?¡±


    ¡°As long as you are within proximity to the stone, yes, it can.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He pulled up the information on the item again.


    <span ss="bold">[Dark Arts Miracle Stone (Unique) (Filled): The prayers to Jograz Metz have been heard, the blood price has been paid, and he has answered with this gift. Using this particr miracle stone provides an infant B-grade demon species: Hellscape Brutalisk (Inherent to the Infernal Pir) as a demonic familiar upon binding. Requirements: five thousand of five thousand souls sacrificed, ingredients for summoning met, favor for your chosen dark godplete. This familiar requires a contract prior to binding and must be contacted to agree upon a contract prior to use.]


    Pushing mana into the stone did nothing. Not a single thing. Trying to touch it mentally also resulted in failure, and he turned back to Ath after reading it for the fifth time¡ªshaking his head. ¡°Will this Jograz Metz be angry that I stole his miracle?¡±


    Ath burst into chitteringughter almost immediately, her legs tapping wildly as her abdomen bobbed up and down in amusement. Herughter rose, </a>and it took a little while for her to calm down until she settled into a low hum. ¡°Jograz Metz will find it funny, if nothing else. He is a well-known elder god that we demons worship, and he enjoys acts such as thievery just as much as the sacrifices those Jabob demons took in making the miracle stone in the first ce. They may have put in the effort, but Jograz Metz will certainly have no qualms with you stealing the stone he made as payment for their work.¡±


    Riven couldn¡¯t help but grin at that one. ¡°Sounds good to me. And are you still sure you¡¯ve never heard of Chalgathi before?¡±


    Ath seemed to frown, though he couldn¡¯tpletely tell. ¡°Riven, I have told you numerous times now¡ªI have no idea who Chalgathi is. Perhaps he is simply beyond my knowledge, or maybe he is an archdemon of some sort. Few have the power to manipte the administrator¡¯s rules, though, and intervening with the tutorial is exactly that. Even his initial quest line was outside the administrator¡¯s jurisdiction, so whoever he is¡­he must be both powerful and foolhardy.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow, palming the warm orb in his hands. ¡°Why foolhardy?¡±


    ¡°Because if he pushes the boundaries too much, the administrator of Elysium¡ªwhat people sometimes call ¡®the system¡¯¡ªwill destroy him mercilessly. Even the gods must be careful not to tread outside the rules too often, as thest one to overstep too many times was publicly destroyed for all creation to see. It was a very one-sided fight, if you¡¯d even call it a fight. It was more of an execution.¡±


    ¡°Wow, okay. Got it.¡± Scratching his head, he looked down to the amulet he was wearing with curiosity settling in. ¡°Do you know what this is or does? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve asked you yet. Have I?¡±


    The arachnid had climbed up into hisp like a dog, but she turned her head to examine it. ¡°No, you haven¡¯t, and no, I don¡¯t know what this is. You may need a professional identifier to glean information on it.¡±


    ¡°Damn. Well, it was worth a shot.¡± He reluctantly tucked the amulet away and huffed, leaning against the wall as his spider demon climbed up onto hisp again to snuggle in. Stroking her head, he let her y with the glowing bauble some more.


    The spider eventually broke the silence and pointed over to Jalel¡¯s sleeping spot. ¡°We should kill him and eat him.¡±


    Riven stifled a bewilderedugh, stopping his stroking pets as he did. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you get to eat him.¡±


    ¡°Why not? We can take his stuff, too!¡± The spider excitedly got up to all twelve feet, salivating as the red mists from outside showing through the windows caused her eyes to gleam a simr red in the unnatural light. ¡°He probably tastes really good¡­¡±


    </a>He flicked her thorax with a scowl. ¡°Stop that.¡±


    ¡°Ugh. Fine. You¡¯re no fun.¡±


    Ath passively bobbed her head from side to side. Dim red light still trickled in through the open balcony window on her left, and she began gazing out into the fog with a distant look as she drifted into recent memory. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to leaving and getting into Elysium¡¯s mortal realms. I¡¯m excited to see what your new world looks like! But this ce? This hellscape dungeon?¡±


    She held up her two front legs to either side. ¡°I hate theher realms, but the hells are even worse.¡±


    Riven snickered, then put his chin in his hands. ¡°You¡¯ll have to tell me the difference between the two sometime.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t interest you. It¡¯s rather boring stuff.¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes and then frowned Jalel¡¯s way. The sleeping man nearby had undergone a mental breakdownst night; he¡¯d seen all hispanions die, so Jalel really hadn¡¯t been in a talking mood.


    Or¡­at least that¡¯s what Jalel had told him. Jalel had <span ss="italic">imed to be upset about hisrades, but Ath was rather convinced he was upset about losing the other bag of loot. The one Riven had refused to take because he was carrying the spider. Oftenst night, Ath had caught Jalel giving her cold res¡ªand she¡¯d wanted to kill him numerous times already.


    Riven couldn¡¯t necessarily disagree. The man seemed slightly shady and had guarded that bag of¡­stuff¡­without letting Riven or Ath take so much as a peep at what was inside.


    Perhaps he should have left Jalel back in the cages to rot. Perhaps that was an overreaction. Only time would tell.


    Then again, maybe Jalel knew a way out of here. Jalel had given him a little bit of a backstory¡ªhe was apparently from somewhere in the ¡°core systems¡± of Elysium. He¡¯de here treasure hunting with friends before it¡¯d gone terribly wrong and was wanting to make a big break by finding valuables to sell in the markets. When Riven had told him that he was undertaking the tutorial trial after his world had just been introduced into Elysium¡¯s multiverse, Jalel had gone into <span ss="italic">a loudughing fit¡­and had refused to exin why. He¡¯d also given the same reason that he couldn¡¯t talk about it to Riven that Ath had given Riven in the past¡ªthat if he told newly integrated people secrets of the system too early, he¡¯d be punished by the system itself. The only thing Jalel <span ss="italic">had told Riven was that this dungeon might be a trial for Riven, but for other people it was a lucrative yet dangerous surface-level hellscape dungeon connected to numerous nes along a multiverse of innumerable different worlds. One of those nes of existence was Jalel¡¯s home¡ªanother entirely.


    Funnily enough, Riven took it at face value after all the ridiculousness he¡¯d experienced thus far.


    </a>¡°Well, hopefully he can get us out of here. This isn¡¯t a ce I want to spend much time in¡­¡±


    Standing and stretching his muscles, Riven yawned and wondered how Tim, Julie, and their mother, Tanya, were doing. He¡¯d thought much on Allie and Jose, but not about the others until now. He hoped they were all right and wondered what they and Hakim were up to now. They¡¯d probably already finished their own tutorial dungeon, if he had to guess, and from afar he wished them sess in their future endeavors.


    To his left and out the window overlooking the ruins, a silky ck raven with glowing orange eyes flew by, then doubled back to gracefullynd on the windowsill looking in. There was no ss here, and the fog was drifting through in minor amounts to coat Riven¡¯s skin in a fineyer of dew. The bird was no different in that regard¡ªits feathers were extra shiny as it ruffled its body to let loose some of the moisture that¡¯d collected.


    Putting his hands on his hips, he grinned at the odd bird. Those orange eyes were very¡­strange and gave it an almost alien vibe. Otherwise, though, it looked like just a simple bird. Ravens were supposed to be rather intelligent creatures, and he¡¯d fed them as a kid with the spare bread he had¡ªwhich often wasn¡¯t much, considering how poor he¡¯d been. ¡°Kinda misty. Nice day for a passive shower, eh?¡±


    The bird cocked its head to get a better look at him, then looked to Ath, who was eyeing it hungrily, but it didn¡¯t move when Riven made his way forward to the edge of therge window a couple feet to the left of where it was perched. He looked down a steep drop in front of him, going down thousands of feet to the city streets below.


    ¡°Leave the poor bird alone, Ath.¡±


    Riven ran his fingers through his chestnut-colored hair and over his ears, took in a deep breath to expand his lungs to the max, and exhaled with his eyes closed. The air just a few feet away was a lot less fresh than when he stood here on the edge of the tower, and it felt good on his senses to remain there in the morning light.


    Ath sprang up and rushed over to the ledge with a hiss in the raven¡¯s direction, but with a sharp look from Riven, she didn¡¯t attack it and instead crawled up his back to peer over his shoulder. She looked over the stone ledge and whistled at the steep drop beneath, leaning into Riven and cing her head firmly against his arm. ¡°I¡¯m d I bonded with you. Thanks again for saving me.¡±


    He merely smiled back.


    There was a long moment of silence as they looked out over the ruined, partially obscured city, where pools of fire glowed at scattered intervals in stark contrast to the mist surrounding them.


    </a>¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re okay,¡± Riven eventually said while gripping the waist-high stone barrier. ¡°I can say the same about how you saved me, back there in the duel. I know you were being self-serving, but you¡¯ve been very helpful, and I know I wouldn¡¯t have made it without you.¡±


    She chittered augh and pointed at herself. ¡°Without me? You¡¯d definitely have died, silly human. Bask in my presence!¡±


    He forced his smile back, not wanting to encourage her further, and pretended like he hadn¡¯t heard anything she¡¯d just said. Opening his eyes again, Riven scanned the obscured horizon as low-lying clouds and fog drifted across and through the jagged streets, catwalks connecting buildings, pools of fire, slews of strung-up bodies, and ruined gothic temples clustered around them. This tower was certainly not the absolute tallest in the area, but it was one of the tallest¡ªand although it was narrow, there was another catwalk connecting this building to another just three stories down.


    ¡°This dungeon really is a maze¡­¡± Riven mused, catching sight of arge citadel partially obscured by the city¡¯s mists farther in¡ªand then straining to see a distant forest of dead ck trees off in the opposite direction when the fog briefly parted. ¡°Oh! Finally, something other than these damnable ruins.¡±


    A groan from behind them caused Riven to turn, and the orange-eyed raven that¡¯d been watching him took off with a squawk to soar up into the air and away from this sted ce¡­but it gave him one long, sideways nce before it made its final retreat into the fog.


    Riven frowned as the other man got up and rubbed his eyes. ¡°Hey, Jalel. Sleep well?¡±


    Jalel, the silver-haired young man, nced over to him warily and gave him an appraising look before sighing and shaking his head. He took a moment to regain his senses from the grip of slumber and stretched with a deep-set frown as he looked around therge tower room. ¡°Not at all. This¡­this is the worst possible oue.¡±

 Chapter 38

    Chapter 38


    ¡°Wrong!¡± Riven said cheerfully, trotting over and taking a seat a couple feet away with his legs crossed. ¡°Worst-case scenario is you being dead. You got out, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Jalel looked up to Riven and then suspiciously to Ath, but gradually he shook his head no and tried to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes again. ¡°No. I am still here, damned to this dungeon until I am able to buy my way out by finding something of value. There are still many questions that I have for you¡­such as why you chose to leave all that treasure behind. We lost a fortune because you chose to save that spider instead of taking the bagst night.¡±


    Treasure, huh? Jalel had been very nonspecific about what was in those two bags, but Riven¡¯s anger spiked yet again at another negativement about Ath.


    His eyes darkened, and he took an aggressive step forward with a quickly souring mood that was not unnoticed by Jalel. Riven¡¯s voice lowered threateningly,ing out as almost a growl. ¡°You ungrateful little punk. I¡¯ll only say this once, Jalel, so listen very carefully. I don¡¯t know you, and I don¡¯t know what you went through to get here. I don¡¯t know anything about your situation where you have to buy your way out of this ce. However, if you keep talking about Ath like that, I¡¯ll give you something to <span ss="italic">really cry about. I¡¯ll leave you crippled, alone, and I¡¯ll take that bag for myself so I don¡¯t have to hear you whine like a little bitch about it every five seconds. Or I¡¯ll just let Ath eat you. Got it?¡±


    Jalel¡¯s face quickly paled, and he slowly nodded his head in acknowledgment of the very real threat.


    Ath, on the other hand, seemed to brighten up with newfound admiration, staring at Riven through those widened ruby eyes just like she¡¯d donest night when he¡¯d saved her from bing lurker food. ¡°You¡¯ll let me eat him?!¡±


    [Optional Quest ¡°Save the Prisoners¡±pleted: You have saved two of two prisoners aside from Ath and have acquired half of </a>potential rewards based on performance. You have gained two levels, a specialized dagger upgrade, and twenty-five Elysium Coins.]


    [You have gained two levels, one for each victim saved. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]


    A sack of coins abruptly fell onto the floor in front of him, much to everyone¡¯s surprise, and he opened it to see twenty-five bronze coins with an insignia of a sunrise imprinted on the metal. Ah. Nice, the eight consecutive hours must have just passed¡­and these must be the Elysium coins that the system had just spoken of.


    Then, secondster, a popping sound urred, and Riven saw his embalmer¡¯s knife being drawn out of his belt and into the air toward a small constetion of crimson-colored moats of light. They shifted and swirled in the air between the room¡¯s three upants, changing angtion and orientation rtive to the people but maintaining a rigid, strict formation until his knife entered a halo of red in the very center.


    [Upgrade concerning your Rusted Embalmer¡¯s Knife is nowmencing. Upgrades are dependent on your current level, orientations, and needs. Please dismiss this prompt if you do not wish the upgrade to continue.]


    Riven ignored the spider¡¯s quip about eating Jalel again and merely stared, not daring to dismiss this new prompt as the constetion of lights in the middle of the room swirled and rapidly condensed. The sound of a chime rang out, soft and long, and with another sh of light, a new item emerged from the system¡¯s enchantment.


    It was a beautiful weapon, made primarily of gray and deep-blue steel. Faint trimmings of gold decorated various parts of the de with intricate carvings, with red metal of some sort thrown in through the center of the de and along the handle. Hesitantly, Riven reached out to grab the de where it floated at eye level.


    Immediately he felt a chilling sensation run up his arm. He felt a sense of dread enter him. He felt something beginning to bore and tear into his hand, little tendrils of wriggling¡­things¡­and he quickly dropped the dagger to let it tter to the ground.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± he cursed and stepped away, with the other two doing the same. From there, he was able to make out little fleshy tendrils snaking themselves back into the red hilt of the de and reforming around the shaft. ¡°That¡¯s actual flesh trying to worm itself into me!¡±


    </a>¡°So cool,¡± Ath stated promptly with an even tone, and Jalel gave the dagger a look of disgust.


    ¡°Typical of your kind to get a system gift like this,¡± Jalel muttered under his breath. ¡°Warlocks¡­ Ugh.¡±


    Riven shot him a re but ignored the slight and approached the dagger again while getting back onto his knees. He was able to identify it and make out the details of the de more thoroughly now, and he poked it with his finger once while going over the system-given details.


    [Sanguis Foedus (Totem, Sacrificial Dagger): 12 average damage on strike, high chance to apply Amplified Bleeding debuff on biological enemies when struck. Requires a 20% or higher Blood subpir affinity to wield. This item has an abnormally high endurance and is hard to destroy.


    <span ss="bno">? Totem Soul: Low-grade primal, Iplete Fragment, 6 Willpower requirement.


    <span ss="bno">? Flesh Bond: This totem binds to the wielder in a unique way, allowing you to manipte it at a limited distance through a flesh bond. If the flesh bond is severed, it must be restored before undertaking further distal maniption.


    <span ss="bno">? Sacrifice: Use this dagger to sacrifice an enemy and mentally activate this ritual ability to create a portal back to Negrada at any distance. Creating a portal will take up to twenty-four hours.]


    It was a totem, of all things, with a pretty decent upgrade in damage. His embalming knife had only had an average damage of three¡­while this one was at twelve a strike? This was¡­pleasantly surprising. It wasn¡¯t anywhere near the damage that ymore wielded by the first ghoul he¡¯d fought could dish out, but logically that was to be expected. The ymore had also required a massive Strength stat that Riven simply didn¡¯t have.


    The big thing that was unique about this item was the sacrificial portal. He¡¯d be able to travel back here whenever he left, and although he didn¡¯t necessarily want to stay now, he could see a lot of different reasons why he¡¯d want toe back in the future. Be it an escape of sorts, a way to explore the multiverse, collecting loot, or grinding levels whenever he got stronger. It wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing, certainly.


    Recalling what he¡¯d learned of totems from his previous tutorial step one, and from the obvious reminder on Willpower requirements in the item description itself, he quickly realized he¡¯d have to bind this thing to himself to use it properly. He reached out and touched the dagger again, this time not withdrawing his hand when fleshy tendrils started snaking off the hilt to meet his fingers. He winced slightly when they began digging into his skin, but soon the tendrils </a>and his own body meshed together as one¡ªand he felt the presence of the soul shard register when he epted ownership of the item.


    [Sanguis Foedus has been registered as your totem.]


    A firm, tight cord of muscr flesh whipped the dagger up into the air¡ªextending from his limb as the weapon snaked around his torso. Then it withdrew, slicing through the air in a cyclone of motion before smacking hilt first into Riven¡¯s outstretched palm.


    Curiously, he came back with his arm and flung the dagger in a spinning arc through the air. Threads of flesh followed it all the way to the opposite side of the room, where it smacked against the stone wall. Riven¡¯s eyes dropped in disappointment when nosting damage was seen in the thick stone, but what exactly had he been expecting, anyways?


    ¡°Huh. Well, at least it¡¯s an upgrade.¡±


    Riven blinked, finishing his admiration of the new weapon and sheathing it in his belt. He took a moment to apply more points toward his Intelligence, Willpower, and Sturdiness, too, with the level gains he¡¯d achieved. Afterward, he turned to Jalel with an annoyed scowl while he ced the coin pouch in his backpack like nothing interesting had just happened. ¡°Concerning what you said earlier, I have some questions for you, too.¡±


    Jalel frowned right back, settling into a morefortable position against the wall with his arms over his knees and leaning his head back to stare at the mage and his minion. ¡°Go ahead and ask them, Warlock.¡±


    Jalel tried to keep the disgust out of his voice as he said the word <span ss="italic">warlock, but he only partially seeded. Riven could hear the underlying animosity.


    ¡°Why do you dislike warlocks so much?¡±


    Jalel raised an incredulous eyebrow. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    Riven tried to keep his cool and took in a long, drawn-out breath. Putting his hands on his temple to rub his forehead, he tried again. ¡°Why is it that warlocks have a bad reputation? I¡¯m assuming they do, based on your not-so-subtle hints.¡±


    Jalel¡¯s face lifted in surprise, and he put his arms around his knees with a curious glint to his eyes. ¡°You¡­you¡¯re asking me why your kind is hated by the rest of civilization?¡±


    ¡°Is that how it is?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely how it is,¡± Jalel confirmed. He lifted up a hand as if to pose a question, thought better of it, and asked something else. ¡°Some countries or cities across the core worlds even ouw warlocks entirely, though not all. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll eventually figure it out if you survive long enough. Is this your first time in hell?¡±


    </a>Rivenughed loudly, feeling Ath¡¯s weight shift as the spider¡¯s cold legs skittered off his back. Lifting up his arms to either side and motioning out the window, he gave Jalel a t look. ¡°Does it look like I¡¯m a native to hell? I already told you that my world is being integrated. Use some context clues.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. Warlocks tend to do things like involve themselves with hell¡¯s inhabitants.¡±


    Riven face-palmed.


    Jalel, on the other hand, kept going. ¡°You¡¯re from thest wave of integration. You¡¯re going through the tutorials right now, that¡¯s what you said, isn¡¯t it? That means your world is integrating.¡±


    Riven gave the other man an incredulous stare and threw up his hands. Was this guy stupid? Or was Jalel doing this just to annoy him? ¡°Yes. That is <span ss="italic">literally what I just said.¡±


    Jalel snorted, then nodded in confirmation of his own question. ¡°Well, as I said earlier, I can¡¯t tell you too much about it, but there are some things that I can tell you. The integration is the merging of worlds from outside the multiverse. Every couple decades Elysium has a new integration ofs that join the systems of Elysium¡ªa multitude of universes that it has underneath its own umbre of control. It takes them from outer realms and stitches them into the realms of this multiverse, an ever-expanding and almost endless system of worlds. As to why you warlocks are hated¡­there¡¯s a very long history to that. Warlocks have been ountable for numerous atrocities throughout the millennia and care little for the people they harm in pursuit of greater power. The Unholy pir in general is looked down upon by the other, more civilized sects of society.¡±


    The following silence was tangible, and only the sound of a far-off scream of panic broke the silence.


    It caused Riven to turn and look out the balcony window onto the ruined city of mes and blood mists, but that scream could have been from anywhere¡­so it was only a minor distraction before Riven turned his attention back to the other man. ¡°Tell me more of what you can, please. I¡¯d really like to know as much as possible. Surely there is more you can say without angering the system.¡±

 Chapter 39

    Chapter 39


    Riven¡¯s demand made Jalel chuckle. The silver-haired man shrugged indifferently, waving a hand about the room with a loud snort. ¡°What is there to say? I cannot remember the specifics.¡±


    It was a tant lie. Riven didn¡¯t know why this stranger would lie to them, but Jalel hadn¡¯t even attempted to hide it. He just didn¡¯t want to talk. Perhaps it was because he couldn¡¯t? Perhaps not, but the feeling he was getting from the snobbish smirk on Jalel¡¯s face made Riven consider him a liar.


    Riven paused, immediately shifting his posture and considering the man for a moment. Whoever this guy was, Riven really didn¡¯t like him. ¡°I see. Well, since you¡¯re rather useless to us and haven¡¯t wanted to share whatever is inside those bags after I saved your pathetic life, I¡¯m done with you. You¡¯ve insulted my minion numerous times and told me to leave her behind to die. We¡¯re parting and going our separate ways; I wish you luck in getting back to wherever the fuck it was you came from.¡±


    The abrasive, even somewhat aggressive stance Riven took caught Jalel off guard¡ªand it was obvious in his face despite the defensive glower he shot Riven¡¯s way.


    Jalel tapped his fingers along his shins, clearly not liking the idea of being left behind to fend for himself, then shrugged. ¡°Fine. It won¡¯t hurt to tell you what I know¡ªwhat isn¡¯t off-limits to tell you, anyways.¡±


    Riven shot him a disgusted look and turned, reaching down for his few belongings and beginning to pack up. ¡°Get fucked.¡±


    Jalel¡¯s face grew even paler as he realized that Riven was serious. ¡°Wait¡­this dungeon can¡¯t be traversed by just¡ª¡±


    ¡°I said, get fucked. You¡¯re on your own, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do a fine job by yourself considering how I found you,¡± Riven cut him off with another re. Hoisting his wooden staff up and nodding to Ath as the demon chittered a long-windedugh, he nodded toward the bolted door of the tower¡¯s top room. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Ath.¡±


    </a>¡°Wait!¡± Jalel started to get up but stumbled back and fell against the wall as Ath rushed him¡ªstopping halfway between where he and Riven stood while she disyed her hostile fangs that began dripping cold, necrotic venom, leaving ck droplets along the stone floor as she slowly crept ahead.


    Jalel was terrified and began to scream, and Riven snapped his fingers with amand to get her back. ¡°Ath, don¡¯t attack him. He¡¯s a jackass, but we¡¯re not murderers.¡±


    ¡°But we <span ss="italic">are murderers!¡± she argued with a disappointed humph¡ªnot letting her gaze leave the potential meal. ¡°We already killed all those people in the tutorial, and we killed that other warlock, too! This man is no different¡ªlet me eat him! Please?!¡±


    Jalel¡¯s eyes went wide, and his knuckles turned white as he clenched his hands into fists. The outfit he¡¯d put on after escaping, an outfit he¡¯d drawn out of the bag, was made of leather and had a small knife in the side of a belt¡­and his fingers seemed to itch as they slowly went over to where it was sheathed.


    Riven smirked, unintimidated by Jalel¡¯s action, and shook his head. ¡°No, Ath.¡±


    ¡°Please?!¡±


    ¡°I said no.¡±


    She gave him another humph, then backed up and went to rub against Riven¡¯s leg. ¡°Okay.¡±


    The color came back to Jalel¡¯s face, and his hand dropped to his side. He just stared at Riven for a long moment before he cleared his throat and gestured to the bag. ¡°What if I pay you to escort me out of here?¡±


    Riven had been reaching for the door again, but thatst statement gave him pause, and his frown deepened. The wind outside began to howl with a stark, brief st of air before dying down again, and he turned to nce at the other man with suspicion.


    ¡°I thought you needed it to buy your way out?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be the one to worry about that. I just need to leave.¡±


    There was another long pause. Eventually Riven lost that staring contest, faltered, and sighed. ¡°What do you have to offer?¡±


    Grudgingly, Jalel turned and stepped over to therge sack he¡¯d taken with him. Opening it and rummaging around, he pulled out a smaller green sack that was tied with brown rope. He tossed it over to Riven, frowning. ¡°Is that enough? You can use them at altars that will spawn in your world to buy items.¡±


    Riven gave him a t stare, then opened the bag in his hands. The bag jingled lightly, and, peering down into its contents, Riven saw a good number of copper, silver, and gold coins¡ªeach of them with the same insignia he¡¯d seen on the system¡¯s provided coins a minute before. There were likely a couple hundred </a>in there, and Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed while he shifted his weight and ced the sack in his backpack. ¡°Altars? Are they like shops?¡±


    ¡°Kind of. It¡¯s a little bit moreplicated than that, but collecting these coins will allow you to exchange goods directly with the system, and it¡¯smon currency in the core realms. You get these coins by killing certain monsters,pleting quests, or mining ore and enchanting it in a specific way.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­¡± Riven nced back down. Assuming he could use these to buy things in the outside world, money would be very important. ¡°Ath, is this true?¡±


    The arachnid nodded. ¡°Yup! It looks like Jalel has fewer restrictions than I do when ites to information exchange. Now that you know, though, I can confirm what he¡¯s telling you is right. Altars to the system can be used to buy goods from them as long as you have Elysium coins.¡±


    Riven evaluated the man for a time, then nced over to the bag he still hadn¡¯t looked through. ¡°I also get my choice of one item from that little treasure bag of yours.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that! I need it to pay off my debts!¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re on your own. Assuming you even know the way out, it may be hard to leave.¡±


    Jalel hesitated, fidgeting slightly while looking out the window at the gloom of this nightmarish ce. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and then clenched his fists in anger. ¡°Fine. And yes, I know the way. Get me to the exit, and you¡¯ll have your choice of one item from the bag. Just one.¡±


    ¡°Now we¡¯re talking. So, Jalel, knowing that you¡¯ve been here and explored more than I have¡­I want you to lead us to the center of the city, where the statue of the bearded man with an axe is. Only after that can you show us the way out.¡±


    Jalel paused hesitantly to think and then slowly nodded. ¡°Why do you want to go there?¡±


    ¡°Do you know where it is?¡± Ath asked while eagerly getting up on her hind legs to paw at the air. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to finish a quest there!¡±


    Jalel gave the demon a sour look, then bent down and picked up his bag to throw it over his shoulder. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve seen it before. I¡¯ll take you to the statue, but I will not go near it. After you do whatever it is you need to do, I will lead you to the entrance as you escort me and kill anything that tries to attack us if we can¡¯t avoid it. I assume that if you leave the dungeon through my exit you¡¯ll be transported back into your integrating world, but I can¡¯t be sure. The system is picky with newly integrated civilizations and doesn¡¯t let you off world this early most of the time; your case being here in Negrada is pretty unique. Anyways, is that a deal?¡±


    An odd request to not go near the statue, but Riven nodded and reached for the door. ¡°What did you mean earlier by buying your way out of here? About paying your debts?¡±


    </a>Jalel frowned even more deeply and dusted off his shoulders as he adjusted his posture with a humph. ¡°My family owes money¡­ We borrowed too much from a loan shark. It¡¯s a long story I¡¯d rather not talk about.¡±


    Thest dead bolts on the door were unlocked, and the heavy wood swung open a secondter as Jalel motioned toward the spiral staircase descending downward into the depths of the tower. Moisture was collecting from the ceiling, leaking through the old stones and dripping onto the stairway below. ¡°Be careful not to slip. We¡¯re going all the way down to the ground level. Then we¡¯ll be heading to the statue, and from there we will make our way to the canal, where a boat is hidden on the river of blood and tethered underneath an outcropping of rock. After that, it¡¯ll be easier to traverse the city. The river of blood is safer thannd.¡±


    <span ss="italic">¡°KAJIT HAS WARES!¡±


    *CRASH*


    Riven was so startled by the zombified ghost¡¯s appearance that he let loose a torrent of blood magic in the form of instantaneously summoned Bloody Razors. The magical projectiles blew through the image of the ghost and crashed into the opposite wall, not even fazing the decrepit woman as sheughed and giggled¡ªpointing at him while his chest heaved up and down.


    Jalel and Ath fared no better, with Ath now perched upside down on the ceiling¡ªhissing at the ghost threateningly, while Jalel had fallen backward over the bag he¡¯d dropped and smashed ass first into the ground.


    ¡°You again!¡± Riven spat while ring up at the floating ghost with a mixture of irritation and curiosity. ¡°Goddamn it, stop scaring people like that! It isn¡¯t funny!¡±


    The ghost, however, thought it was quite funny, and ck ichor dripped from herughing, rotten mouth while her patchy hair drifted around her. Her semitranslucent state made her frail, bandaged body look even thinner than it¡¯d been when he¡¯d first stabbed the woman upon entering Negrada. ¡°I very funny, you just no have humor. But that not why Ie! Ie for best price you find in hellscapes! How you like knife?¡±


    Riven¡¯s brow furrowed and the other two remained quiet as his eyes tracked down to where the ghost was pointing at the newly acquired sacrificial dagger on his belt. ¡°The knife? This one?¡±


    He held up Sanguis Foedus in the dim red light of the room.


    The ghost nodded with a smirk. ¡°You like, yes? I take as special price, yes? I misce other prize I sway you with, so I take this one instead!¡±


    <span ss="bold">[Sanguis Foedus has been forcibly relinquished from your control.]


    The ghost snapped her fingers, and instantly the dagger he¡¯d just acquired was in her hands. The bond between Riven and the item also snapped, the disconnect causing his body to shudder slightly. Dumbfounded and confused, he </a>grabbed at his waist and then quickly conjured a Wretched Snare that sted out toward the spirit¡ªbut it merely fell right through her image as sheughed at his attempts.


    Ath came next, spraying the ghost full-st with red threads that didn¡¯t affect it, either. Jalel, meanwhile, just stared, confused and scared, huddling with his bag in the corner of the room near the door.


    ¡°Hey, bitch! I don¡¯t know who you are, but that dagger belongs to my master!¡± Ath waggled an angry arachnid limb at the cackling ghost, who sat clutching at her sides. ¡°Give it back!¡±


    More than anything, Riven was just confused. ¡°Ath, doesn¡¯t magic usually work on spirits?¡±


    ¡°Of course it does!¡±


    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t mine work on her?¡±


    Ath shot him a look, then nced back at the amused ghost, who now was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the stone room. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Kajit, however, had an answer. Shezily rolled over onto her side and gave him a disgusting belch, then gestured at him with one of her gnarled hands. ¡°I haunt you when you touch wooden ring, yes? Wooden ring powerful curse ime-use item. You pick up, curse transfer to you. Strong death magic curse. You see: I now reside in soul structure like fly on hippopotamus bum. To get Kajit out, you must pay special price.¡±


    Riven gave the ghost an incredulous look, and then nced worriedly toward Ath.


    ¡°YOU GOT HAUNTED?! When did <span ss="italic">that happen?!¡± Ath asked in a bewildered sputtering of words.


    ¡°Right after we got sent into the hellscape.¡±


    ¡°AND WHY DIDN¡¯T YOU TELL ME?!¡±


    ¡°She seemed harmless earlier and only appeared once after I killed her physical body.¡±


    ¡°BEING HAUNTED IS A PRETTY BIG DEAL, RIVEN! And not many spirits can do that kind of thing! She¡¯s likely a gods-damned phantom!¡±


    ¡°Bleh!¡± The ghost held up her right hand after pretending to inspect the nails that weren¡¯t there. ¡°I phantom, yes, but fear not, spider demon creature. I cannot eat soul even if try, even while haunted. Soul is too solid and likely eat me back, even before binding to great maw.¡±


    The spider blinked twice, then hopped down off the ceiling and stared curiously up at Riven from the floor. ¡°Oh, really? What does she mean by <span ss="italic">great maw, Riven? It appears there are things you haven¡¯t told me yet since rescuing me yesterday.¡±


    It likely meant only one thing. Riven frowned, not wanting to discuss such things in front of Jalel if the man already had such a poor opinion of warlocks to </a>begin with. Riven wanted to get out of this damnable ce, and he wasn¡¯t sure someone like Jalel would lead him out willingly if they knew he had a piece of original sin in his soul structure.


    He cleared his throat. ¡°That¡¯s a story for another time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, now we talk about <span ss="italic">special price!¡± Kajit tossed the dagger over her shoulder, and it blipped out of existence, vanishing into thin air after a small portal of ck swallowed it whole. ¡°I take dagger now for my price, and then your price is next!¡±


    Riven was beginning to get annoyed and crossed his arms, not so much threatened by the being in front of him but rather irritated by the way she¡¯d just snagged the fancy dagger he¡¯d been awarded. ¡°So, to be clear, you¡¯re residing in my soul now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡±


    ¡°And you can¡¯t harm me?¡±


    The ghost paused, then shook her head. ¡°No, no. I can harm but can¡¯t eat soul. Complex death magic I exin another time if special price is paid. I even teach you like student. I once a great witch before I die and go to hell! Even if you stupid ape with noodle arms, I still teach!¡±


    She beamed a brilliantly decrepit grin his way while wiggling her eyebrows. ¡°Want to hear special price to take dagger back? I leave soulplex, and you learn death magic as Kajit¡¯s student?!¡±


    He stared her down for a time, hands still clenched in frustration. Ugh. This was not going to be good, was it?


    Riven slowly nodded. ¡°Tell me what this price you keep talking about is.¡±


    Her smug look slowly turned upside down and into a frown. ¡°You free Kajit¡¯s sister¡¯s soul from Tower of Fates before leaving hell.¡±


    <span ss="bold">[New Quest Obtained: The Tower of Fates¡ªKajit, a phantom whose decaying corpse you happily stabbed a couple times back in the day, now is asking for your help. The Tower of Fates, a spot in existence essible from hell only by those with significant prophetic abilities, holds Kajit¡¯s sister captive. She wants you to get her sister out before you leave the dungeon. Failing this quest will no doubt result in the loss of your newly acquired dagger, an incredibly angry spirit, and the loss of knowledge otherwise obtained concerning death magic. As some free advice from the administrator, I would highly rmend you not decline trying, though¡­because otherwise you¡¯re probably not going to make it out of this room alive.]

 Chapter 40

    Chapter 40


    Riven sneered down at the prompt. Not going to make it out alive? What a fucking joke. As if he wasn¡¯t walking a knife¡¯s edge already. He¡¯d been forced into scenario after scenario with little say in the matter, and he was goddamned tired of it. Anger and disgust surged through him, and his soul resonated with his will.


    Fuck this phantom, fuck this hellscape, fuck Chalgathi, and fuck Elysium¡¯s administrator. He¡¯d do what he fucking wanted to do.


    A ripple ran out from where Riven stood in the middle of the room, ever so faint¡­but the phantom in front of him immediately lost her confidence.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Kajit asked warily, stiffly even, while moving slowly away to the other side of the room.


    He focused on the shard of original sin in his soulplex, forcing it to wake up.


    Another pulse radiated out from his body, and he gritted his teeth while clenching his fists in frustration. People or entities pushing him around would end now, right now, and after what Kajit had just said concerning not being able to devour his soul, it was only a matter of understanding. The pieces had clicked together, at least somewhat, because if the ¡°great maw¡± was enough to deter a high-level phantom even while it wasn¡¯t finished constructing its core¡­


    He searched for her. His magic might not damage the ghost because she was likely recognized as a part of him by the mana he controlled, but that didn¡¯t mean his Gluttony core wouldn¡¯t work. He searched inside himself, trying to scout out just where the phantom had lodged its own piece of being inside him, and it didn¡¯t take long to find it. There, on the outskirts of hisplex, a faint teal bubble pulsed with unnatural light.


    He flexed his will, and Gluttony came to life, howling inside his mind like an uncaged beast that tore through his spiritual grounds and rushed the phantom in a fury.


    </a>Kajit screamed, her body lighting up across the room with ck and crimson mes as gash marks were torn through her ethereal form like invisible teeth biting off pieces of her body. She writhed about in the air, wailing and causing the room to reverberate with unrestrained power.


    But she was unable to focus that power, and Riven¡¯s eyes pulsed a bright crimson before he forcefully restrained Kajit¡¯s presence with carnivorous jaws that mped down threateningly.


    Neither Jalel nor Ath knew what was going on, and both of them just gawked awkwardly while Riven slowly came to stand in front of the panting, badly wounded spirit in front of him on the floor. Part of her ethereal body was now phasing in between mist and solid form, and he ced his boot on her neck while she spluttered ck ichor and neon-teal ghost fluids.


    ¡°How?!¡± she managed to sputter, denying what her eyes were telling her while scrambling to try and get his foot off her neck. It was a question that Ath and Jalel were also asking themselves.


    He merely shook his head, beckoning at her with one open hand. ¡°You were pretty ballsy to do what you did, but it was your own words that gave me the clue to finish you off if I so choose. Where does that leave us now?¡±


    The jaws in his soulscape tightened on Kajit¡¯s soul, and she screamed again.


    ¡°However¡­¡± he muttered, letting up on the pressure he was putting on the phantom¡¯s neck. He took a step back, still frowning at her. ¡°If you give the dagger back to me, we can discuss things on a more professional level. I¡¯m not necessarily opposed to helping you, but I¡¯m going to do it if I fucking want to and not because I was ckmailed or stolen from. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± the ghost spluttered an incoherent string of curses, then snarled from her position on the floor, ¡°I cannot give you dagger. You must take dagger for yourself from Tower of Fates!¡±


    ¡°Wrong answer.¡±


    The jaws clenched, and Kajit started screaming again, invisible teeth ripping pieces of the phantom inside his soul bit by bit while startled onlookers watched. ¡°I DO NOT HAVE DAGGER! DAGGER IN TOWER OF FATES! PLEASE!¡±


    After a few seconds more, he let up. Crossing his arms and fuming angrily underneath his hood, Riven beckoned the phantom to continue. ¡°Exin yourself, Kajit.¡±


    She took a moment to catch her breath, eyeing the warlock fearfully. ¡°Sister and I have soul link, but I cannot travel without ensnaring myself in trap. I send dagger there through link to make sure you free her!¡±


    The ghost spat, her body bing more translucent again now that he¡¯d let up on his shard of Gluttony. ¡°I may steal dagger, yes. But if was Riven¡¯s sister, would you not do so, too?¡±


    </a>Riven mulled over the words slowly, keeping eyes locked on her own with a steady gaze. Eventually his clenched hands unfurled, and he let out a long, controlled sigh. His eyes softened, and he nodded. ¡°Yes, I would. This is not over, Kajit¡ªwhen Ath and I are done with our current quest to find the axe-wielding statue, you and I are going to have a long chat about what¡¯s happened.¡±


    He stared a little bit longer, battling internally about his feelings on the matter. But eventually he just shook his head and turned heel while ncing over to Ath and Jalel. Beckoning to them, he walked toward the spiral staircase leading down to the lower levels. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The statue the quest log spoke of was actually very close to the canal where Jalel¡¯s previous group had hidden their canoe, or so he imed. He led Riven and Ath a little ways across the city using a skinny back street hidden by overgrown, wilting weeds as tall as they were, and they sessfully managed to make it all the way to the statue¡¯s courtyard without any further incidents.


    The trek took a little over an hour. The ground level of the city was far more intimidating than it¡¯d been from above. Ath kept watch from up high¡ªshe was able to crawl up the sides of walls or over rooftops for better vantage points while they made their way to their destination. Flocks of crows flew overhead, and the sounds of distant battle echoed across stone monoliths, while bodies ced on spikes were left along the roadways for onlookers to silently evaluate. Ancient doorways promised hidden enemies at every turn, and movements in the mists foretold death as they swept across the ruined city.


    They kept walking, keeping pace with Jalel and letting him lead by only ten feet until he came to a stop at the end of the corridor. The young hunter gripped his dagger more tightly, looking to his right and then his left, before pointing ahead into the thickening fog.


    Riven gave Ath a signal toe down from her perch on a nearby tiled rooftop, not seeing anything but shrouds, but he inched forward and squinted for a better look. ¡°This is it?¡±


    Jalel nodded slowly, sweat beading on his forehead to intermix with the dewdrops umting there. ¡°This is definitely it¡­ The weather has been terribletely¡ªbut it¡¯s here. This is a courtyard extending for many dozens of yards, and in the middle you¡¯ll see the statue.¡±


    Ath¡¯s light chittering alerted them to the spider¡¯s descent, as the dead-silent advance of her long spider legs waspletely missed before she parked herself at Riven¡¯s side. There was nothing ahead of them that she could see except for ancient cobblestones, with weeds growing out from crevices or cracks in the ground. Immediately beside them, on either side, were tall stone buildings </a>that faded away the farther up she looked¡ªand behind them the long corridor loomed ominously as if to discourage them from turning back.


    Ath moved ahead into the open space before them by about ten yards and gave Riven a backward nce. ¡°I was able to make out part of the statue from atop that building, but I don¡¯t feel good about this. Let me go ahead. Now that I have been bound to you, I won¡¯t be able to die a permanent death any longer. It is better that I be the bait if there is any danger, rather than you.¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t feel good about it, either. It was way too open and exposed in terms of obstacles to hide himself behind, yet there was far less visibility than he¡¯d like given the shrouds of ck clouds and red mists drifting through the courtyard. Setting down his two remaining and halfpleted totems, he activated them¡ªeach giving off minor res of red light as he did on either side of the pathway¡ªin preparation for anything that might be out there in the mists.


    ¡°Also, make sure Jalel doesn¡¯t stab you in the back. It is strange that he doesn¡¯t want toe into the courtyard with us and no doubt thinks this is a dangerous area,¡± Ath stated a little less loudly, so that only Riven could hear. She gave the other man a hiss of discontent and then looked back to Riven. ¡°I still think you should let me eat him. And that bitch of a ghost, too! I can¡¯t believe she took your pretty dagger and just flung it somewhere into the abyss like that! Especially because we have to y fetch now!¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes and let out a low chuckle as Jalel continued to nce around nervously. ¡°Just go on and scout the area. I¡¯ll stay within the range of my totems. Hey, Jalel, got any further information on why you¡¯re decided on staying back?¡±


    It was obvious that Jalel didn¡¯t want to enter the courtyard. The way his breathing had picked up and the ever-firm grip on his dagger were testament to it. ¡°I am sorry¡­ I don¡¯t know why your quest took you here, but I have passed by here before. This is not a safe area of the city. Not that anywhere here is safe, but this statue is known to attract¡­certain creatures to it. Ones that fly, though I am not sure what they are, as I have never gotten close enough to find out.¡±


    He then turned around fully, gripping Riven firmly by the shoulder. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to abandon this quest? Surely the gods will understand. Quests are not mandatory, and your lives are worth more than a simple reward.¡±


    Riven nced at Ath, and he fidgeted thoughtfully with the demonic bauble in his pocket while he pulled up the quest he¡¯d been given from his status page. It was an option he¡¯d noticed first in Chalgathi¡¯s trials, and now wasing in rather handy to review information.


    <span ss="bold">[New Quest (Updated): Find Your Spider Princess¡ªYou¡¯ve rescued and bonded back to your minion, Ath, but you still need to bring her to the center of the city and touch the statue of the bearded, </a>axe-wielding man without dying to receive a reward. Dying would be less than ideal, for obvious and permanent reasons. But let¡¯s be real, you¡¯re probably going to die here, little warlock¡ªso pucker up!]


    Putting his quest log away, he returned to scanning the area. He thoughtfully tapped his fingers on his thigh a couple times, scowling hard at the ground as he went over the options. He could back out, run, and get to the canoe that Jalel had imed was nearby. But then what? They¡¯d just leave aftering so far already? Were these prizes important? How would he know if he was missing out when it could potentially be a boon to help him survive in this fucked-up new world of his?


    He thought back to the choice of selflessness versus selfishness. Had other participants in Chalgathi¡¯s trials, the others of the fifty survivors, taken the one of selfishness? Had they been granted a simr option and been awarded with some legendary-tier outfits that he now didn¡¯t have? If so, he needed to make up for that here. Sure, he¡¯d been awarded the piece of gluttony. Sure, he¡¯d found a new spell here and a demonic bauble. Even the dagger had been nice. However, he no longer had the dagger and wasn¡¯t sure he was going to be able to get it back¡ªand the bauble didn¡¯t respond to him. Whatever B-ss demon was inside that thing hadn¡¯t responded to his summons yet. And if he had to guess, based on Chalgathi still interfering in his life and the Chalgathi cultist amulet hanging around his neck, those others of the fifty survivors would probably be involved with him again. In the past he¡¯d been forced to fight one of them to the death¡ªwould he have to do so a second time? Just how overpowered had his peers be if his guess was correct? Whatever the case, Chalgathi obviously wasn¡¯t done with him and therefore wasn¡¯t likely done with the others. He could only anticipate the worst.


    Back on Earth he¡¯d been a nobody, a guy who barely got by. Jose, his best friend, had always been there for him. Allie, Riven¡¯s little sister, had always looked up to him for guidance that forced him to put on a strong front, but otherwise Riven had been utterly alone. And now he¡¯d met Ath. He barely knew the sometimes annoying, yet rather cute arachnid, but he¡¯d already connected to her on a level that he¡¯d failed to reach with so many others of his own species.


    Now that he was here on the cusp of a new life with Ath at his side, was he going to let things slide by him just because they were hard? He wanted to introduce her to his sister, and he knew Jose would like Ath¡ªhe was fascinated by spiders, and a talking, demonic version of one as a pseudo-pet would cause Jose to go green with envy. Riven had his entire life ahead of him, a new chance to be something and someone great. Would he balk now, just because the danger was unknown to him? It might not even be there at all.


    He turned to Ath, bent down and lightly stroked her thorax with a smile of self-assurance. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to do it, we can back out now.¡±


    </a>Ath watched him for some time, unblinking and staring up at her warlock master while her eyes seemed to twinkle with delight. She slowly nodded, then opened her mandibles¡­a sly expression that Riven hade to know as an arachnid smile ying at the corners of her fangs. Carefully, she pushed one leg into his right pocket. ¡°You¡¯re talking brave for being such a wuss! I think we should do it like we¡¯d nned. But now that you¡¯re asking me, we have to proceed on one condition!¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow before sitting on the ground in front of her, a soft chuckle escaping his lips at the mischievousness of his minion. ¡°What¡¯s that condition?¡±


    She cocked her head and lightly tapped him on the nose with what could only be described as a giggle. Then she put two of her arachnid legs into his right pocket and pulled out the miracle stone they¡¯d stolen from the Jabob demons. ¡°You will address me as Princess from now on! And I get to wear this as a crown jewel until it epts you!¡±


    The spider did a silly dance with the glowing red orb ced on her head, held there by two of her twelve legs. She strutted around as well as a spider could, going back and forth while humming to herself and bobbing her thorax up and down to emphasize her importance.


    Riven could only snort andugh, covering his mouth as he tried to remain quiet despite her ridiculous behavior. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡±


    ¡°I am serious!¡± Ath protested with a gnashing of her fangs. ¡°I am a princess, and I deserve a crown. Humph!¡±


    Riven almost failed to see the abrupt change in Jalel a secondter.


    Almost.

 Chapter 41

    Chapter 41


    Jalel¡¯s jaw had dropped when he saw what she held. It only took him a second before his face twisted in a strange mix of desperation and greed, rage, and hate, and their newfound acquaintance pulled out his dagger. He dropped his bag without even thinking while simultaneously lunging forward toward Ath and pulled out some sort of white potion.


    Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed, and it was as if time stopped as she stood unaware of the impending attack.


    ¡°Ath, move!¡±


    In an instant, Riven had rammed his foot into Jalel¡¯s chest¡ªexpelling the air from the man with an abrupt wheeze and sending the man off course. The potion that Jalel had been about to throw smashed against the ground, blinding everyone momentarily with a loud pop of sound like a sh-bang. Riven cursed and blindly mmed his staff into Jalel¡¯s chest, managing to hit him straight on. The man grunted, scrambling back across the ground, trying to get to the weapon that¡¯d loudly ttered against the stone.


    It took about ten seconds for everyone to recover. Riven blinked rapidly to clear his head, Ath screeched irritatedly while trying to rub her eyes, and the man on the ground groaned and coughed.


    Ath was confused and disoriented by the st, but she began tough at Riven¡¯s disy of violence when the light cleared, and she slipped the stone back into Riven¡¯s pocket. ¡°I would have been fine, Riven. This man is far too weak to kill me, and even if I died¡ªI¡¯de back. Though I do appreciate the sentiment¡­you didn¡¯t address me by my <span ss="italic">royal title! Address me as <span ss="italic">Princess, you peasant ve!¡±


    ¡°I was worried about the stone!¡± Riven snarled and angrily kicked the downed man in the gut while he ignored the crazy arachnid demon nearby. He¡¯d certainly felt that this guy was¡­off. Jalel had seemed desperate, untrustworthy, and all-around shady since the first conversation Riven had with him¡ªbut to see the miracle stone and go on the offensive to attain it¡­


    </a>Jalel had just sentenced himself to death. Why would he have been so utterly stupid? Was he truly that desperate to obtain something of value for his debts? Jalel knew he was weaker than Riven and Ath were, but he¡¯d acted so brazenly Riven simply couldn¡¯t understand. Had he really expected to snatch it and run? Or had he been nning to stab Riven first on the way to the spider?


    ¡°That stone belongs to <span ss="italic">me!¡± Jalel half screamed and half gasped, short of breath after the kick and clutching at his stomach. He was half-mad with envy as he picked himself up and narrowly rolled to dodge a close-range flurry of spinning red des that crashed into the wall behind him, eyes growing wide before howling his rage and swinging in an arc to take Riven¡¯s head.


    Two thin tendrils of crimson from the leeching totems mmed into the man, catching him in the chest and neck and causing him to scream and miss his swing. The threads of red magic pulsed, drawing out his life force by the second as Jalel began to writhe about.


    Though Riven himself was somewhat of a novice at fighting in hand-to-handbat, the spider was not. In a blur of legs and fangs, the Blood Weaver mmed into Jalel with a screech as she sank her teeth into his arm wielding the dagger. Necrotic venom began to slide into his veins as Jalel gave a high-pitched wail, reeling back as Ath kicked off while simultaneouslytching onto him with her blood webbing and spinning in an arc around the man¡¯s body to trip him.


    The next moments were a blur of motion as Ath whipped back and forth, managing to wrap her webbing around Jalel numerous times before he was restrained enough that she could just roll him repeatedly with her legs as her spinnerets went nuts. Before long, only Jalel¡¯s strained face remained open to the air as his entire body was wrapped up in a red cocoon.


    ¡°You fucked up,¡± Riven hissed at the horrified man with a malevolent sneer as Ath finally finished her wrapping job and hopped off proudly.


    ¡°May I eat him now, Master? May I?¡±


    Jalel caught his breath with a panicked expression while still being pressed up against the bloodied wall, groaning in difort as Riven¡¯s arm shoved his face into the stone.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything by it¡­ I swear by all the gods. I reacted on instinct¡ª¡±


    ¡°Instinct?¡± Riven asked mockingly, picking up the knife Jalel had dropped and pressing the de farther into the man¡¯s neck to draw a slight amount of blood. ¡°Instinct to grab it from her without warning and attack us? Fucking liar.¡±


    Riven drew Jalel¡¯s head back and abruptly mmed it into the wall again with a violent thud¡ªleaving a trail of Jalel¡¯s blood after releasing his pressing hold. ¡°Now that I know I can¡¯t trust you, it¡¯s lights out, buddy. Anyst words?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Jalel interrupted after a quick yelp of pain with a desperate, wide-eyed shake of his head. ¡°I do not want it! I was going to destroy it!¡±


    </a>Riven remained unimpressed, tightening his grip on the back of Jalel¡¯s hair, and he nced up at Ath, who sat watching silently by. ¡°You just said the stone was yours, but let¡¯s pretend you¡¯re telling me the truth. Why would you destroy it?¡±


    ¡°It is evil!¡± Jalel inhaled sharply as the freezing venom started climbing up his neck, ncing over at the glowing orb cupped between Ath¡¯s arachnid paws. ¡°You have read the description, yes? Innocent souls have been sacrificed to wield its power! Demonic energy is a taint upon thend¡ªyou and your kind will all burn in the hells forever for your sacrilege! You will rot with them if you don¡¯t forsake the Unholy pir!¡±


    Jalel managed to spit at Riven with a look of contempt, his facade entirely gone now. Instead, a look of malice and hatred that Riven felt was rather misced ovepped every aspect of the other man¡¯s features.


    A loud <span ss="italic">thud sounded from above them, and the wall shuddered slightly, bringing Riven¡¯s attention away from Jalel. Small rocks and pieces of debris began falling from above, and Riven took a couple steps back to get out of the way with Ath scrambling to the side. Then there was a loud and eerie screech from above them in the mist.


    The three of them remained perfectly still, and Riven could feel his heart beating ever faster.


    ¡°Untie me!¡± Jalel hissed as he began to frantically struggle within his bindings. ¡°Please! Please, I did not think before I acted; just let me go and I¡¯ll let you take everything I¡¯ve collected while here!¡±


    The strange cry came again, this time still up above¡ªfrom the other side of the alley¡­with the soft pping of wings apanying it.


    ¡°SHRREEEEEEE!¡±


    The scream was a mixture of both bird and man as a winged, semihumanoid creature dropped down from the sky tond in the path behind them. Taloned ws were present at the end of its stork-like feet, with wings where its arms should have been. Otherwise the torso, abdomen, and head were all more or less human. Thick plumes of brown feathers covered the head just above the eyes, spreading along its neck and along the rest of the body with a strange grace to it. Long, carnivorous teeth spread out in a grin as it eyed them hungrily from catlike yellow eyes, and its abdominal muscles contracted repeatedly while grunting in a crude and beast-like chuckle.


    <span ss="bold">[Juvenile Harpy, Level 3]


    Another one, simr to the first but disying a prominent set of breasts to signify its gender as female, dropped down on the other side toward the statue. The tips of this one¡¯s feathers ended in silver edging, and as it spread its wings, it took a long step toward them with those insanely long legs. Talons grasped at </a>the air hesitantly, as if it didn¡¯t know whether or not to strike yet, and it let off a cunning smile while thinking about its next meal.


    <span ss="bold">[Juvenile Harpy, Level 4]


    Then they moved into action.


    ¡°SHIT!¡± Riven swore loudly and backpedaled frantically, narrowly avoiding a swift jab from the male harpy as it struck out with its left foot. The talons came within an inch of his face like the strike of a mantis as it hissed at him.


    He hit the wall, rolled onto his side, and fumbled for better footing before blocking another strike with his staff. ¡°GET FUCKED, YOU OVERSIZED CHICKEN!¡±


    A st of ckting erupted in front of him and swallowed the creature, burying its Unholy needles into the harpy as it lurched back and screeched in panic while frantically pping and tearing away from the magic. He activated the Blessing of the Crow, and his body reacted with a noticeable boost in speed as red sparks trickled along his skin¡ªand he ducked a counterstrike before mming his staff into the outstretched thigh of the harpy for a solid hit.


    A multitude of crimson discs sted into the harpy¡¯s chest a secondter as he conjured Bloody Razors, and the creature screamed in fury to fall back and tend its gushing wounds while a third harpy charged in. It dived in fast from above, bowling Riven over and causing him to drop the staff as he stutter-stepped. He rolled over twice and gripped at the knife he¡¯d picked up¡ªstarting to charge up a Blood Lance along his right side and shing at the new harpy¡¯s wing when it blew up a dust cloud to blind him.


    Coughing and removing himself from the debris, he briefly caught sight of Ath as she battled two more female harpies with silver coloring. The arachnid was fast¡­remarkably fast, and was dancing in between them or up the sides of the walls while spraying shards of sharpened bloody webbing akin to magically infused needles. She hissed and spun, dodging a taloned strike and wrapping the extended leg up with more webbing to yank and pull the harpy off bnce beforeunching herself at the harpy¡¯s throat and digging into it with her fangs while the other harpy was knocked back with ribboning crimson lights as Riven¡¯s unfinished totems fired totch onto new targets.


    Another nearby screech brought him back to his own battle when his currentbatant was joined by the harpy he¡¯d injured earlier. Crimson razor discs still stuck out of his enemy¡¯s chest and acidic burn marks from where the snare had caught it showed easily. It charged him with bloodlust. Talons, wings, and sharpened teeth were used in conjunction as the harpy used its slightlyrger size to try and bully him, and he was doing everything he could to dodge when its leg shot straight toward him like a snake¡¯s strike.


    </a>*RIP*


    He cried out as the harpy¡¯s talons dug into his back. The monster¡¯s talons wed at him three times with quick, consecutive motions that left deep bloody cuts through his robes and along his ribs.


    ¡°Riven!¡± Ath cried out, forcing herself to disengage from the two females to let them turn their attention on the totems, which were continually leeching life with little red threads as Jalel screamed, thrashed, and sobbed in his cocoon. He was being eviscerated by a fifth harpy that¡¯d dropped from above to eat him alive. The creature was gorging itself on his innards, and hey helpless within Ath¡¯s webbing, but the arachnid didn¡¯t even spare him a nce as she rushed past to help her master.


    Rivennded on the ground and rolled, his enhanced speed allowing him to dodge a second strike and unleash his charged Blood Lance right into the second harpy that¡¯d lunged his way. The right wing waspletely torn off at the shoulder in a spray of bone, feathers, and muscle¡ªsending the new harpy backward into a spinning crash against the far wall as debris from the structure tumbled onto it after thence had made contact.


    But even while Riven conjured another four Bloody Razors, his spell missed due to the frantic casting. The infuriated, injured male he¡¯d originally hit tore into Riven¡¯s back again¡ªonly withdrawing with a hiss when Riven mmed his dagger desperately into the stork-like leg of the striking creature to leave a good-sized gash.


    The harpy pped its wings and raised into the air after that and prepared to dive when strings of red webbingtched themselves up onto its wings from below and yanked down hard¡ªmming the harpy into the stone ground with a squawk. Sharp fangs sank into its side to inject necrotic venom, the spider hissing ravenously while Ath clung to its body. ck areas of rot quickly began to spread, and the harpy screeched and wed at Ath, panicking as the side of its chest began decaying until it managed to get ahold of one of Ath¡¯s legs with its teeth.


    Chomping down hard and ripping the spider off its chest, the male harpy flung the spider into the females that wereing over from destroying Riven¡¯s totems and feeding on Jalel.


    Riven¡¯s scream of rage caught their attention as two more snares flew toward the harpies, one capturing the damaged male to take it down and the other snare just falling short of the females after having miscalcted the distance. ¡°DAMN IT!¡±


    Ath spun in the air, locked onto the wall with another strand of webbing in a legendary disy of agility and pulled herself just out of reach of the females¡¯ talons as they struck. Yanking herself up the webbing and onto the wall, Ath whirled. The arachnid then began firing more shards of condensed needles from </a>her webbing, burying the projectiles into their flesh while scurrying across the side of the wall as the two infuriated femalesunched themselves airborne to give chase.


    Riven scrambled for his staff, pain searing across his back with the effort while he mmed the gnarled end of the wood into the struggling harpy caught in his snare like a club. He struck again, and again, and again¡ªsending blood sttering across the pavement as he huffed and heaved. When he finished it off and the harpy finallyy still, he looked up to see Jalel¡¯s dead eyes staring at him with mouth agape in horror. One of the harpies even continued to feed on the guts of the corpse. Another dead male, the one that Riven had hit with his Blood Lance,y buried in rubble with one of its wings torn off and lying nearby. Ath was keeping the two female harpies upied as she danced along the walls overhead and managed to catch one in a quickly constructed web while hopping across the short distance between walls of the alley, and Riven had decided to try his luck by taking out the monster feeding on Jalel¡¯s remnants by charging up another Blood Lance when he felt ws m into his back again. The strike also seemed to draw mana from his body, almost like a leech would blood¡ªand he felt physically depleted in an instant.


    He screamed and was flung forward onto his face, feeling his muscles literally being torn out of his back as parts of him went numb while others lit up like they were on fire. He gasped and hit the ground, managing to turn and see a muchrger harpy standing over him that¡¯d flown in from above. This one, though still a juvenile male by the system¡¯s standards, was more muscr and a good two feet taller than the others with feathers dipped in orange at their ends.


    <span ss="bold">[Juvenile Harpy, Level 7]


    <span ss="bold">[You are experiencing Amplified Bleeding. This is a damage-over-time effect.]


    The monster sneered down at him, drawing up the piece of his back it¡¯d torn out with one taloned foot and chomping down to chew and swallow it secondster. Then it let out a loud, screeching hiss. ¡°SHHHHRRRRREEEEEEEE!¡±


    Riven¡¯s head spun, his quivering hands tried to keep his grip on the staff so he could bring it around to protect himself, but he quickly realized he didn¡¯t have the mana to cast a snare. How was that possible? The earth beside him jolted when yet another silver female harpynded beside Riven with a hiss, and his heart sank.


    The hissing female came in closer, baring its teeth as it kicked the staff out of his hand to bounce against the ground a couple yards off. Riven¡¯s breathing wasbored, but he spat blood at the creature in an act of defiance. ¡°Fuck you, you bastard chickens!¡±


    </a>He was going to die here.


    Riven closed his eyes and grunted in agony when he felt another chunk of his back get torn out byrge, hooked talons¡ªsquinting them shut to mentally deny the pain and trying to hold back the tears that wanted toe. In some ways, death would be wee¡­it¡¯d stop the agony, at least. But it was still a hard pill to swallow, knowing that he¡¯d wanted to do so much more and had spent so little time doing things he enjoyed in life.


    ¡°Sorry, Allie¡­¡±


    His most treasured memories shed before his eyes as he realized that these were probably thest moments of his life. The time when Riven had gone with his little sister to the mall and she¡¯d bought him caramel apples with what little money she¡¯d earned as a waitress that day. The time they¡¯d gone to see the animals at the zoo, and how he¡¯d let her feed the brightly colored fish after picking up some quarters they¡¯d found by chance. Spending long nights walking through Chester¡¯s Grove when they were at their worst, a park in the city with a swing set he¡¯d push her up high in.


    Then the memory of when their mother vanished finally came¡­how Riven had spent days looking for her and how he¡¯d filed numerous police reports only toe up empty-handed. His mother had been Riven¡¯s world, and suddenly that world had shattered. The final memory of visiting Chester¡¯s Grove to swing on that rusty swing set one more time before visiting the tree at their favorite spot with Allie¡­ Their mother had always taken care of them since their father had disappeared. How was he expected to go on after losing both his parents? But he couldn¡¯t just give up; he had to get out of here and look after Allie. His sister needed him.


    He hadn¡¯t believed in an afterlife, but he hoped he¡¯d been wrong now with the system in ce and the things he¡¯d learned after integration. He wanted there to be a heaven, because if there was¡­maybe death wouldn¡¯t be that bad. Maybe he¡¯d get to see his mom and dad again after all¡­because if that was true¡­then this would all have been worth it. He¡¯d not been able to make the life for himself that he¡¯d wanted, but at least he¡¯d met Ath. It just turned out that this strange new world had unexpectedly decided to treat him unfairly¡­and he¡¯d simply not been cut out for it. Not that it was any different from his old life.


    Simply put, life just wasn¡¯t fair¡ªand that was a pill he had finally decided to swallow.


    A warm sensation in his pocket began to grow as he epted the finality of it all, and he lifted his eyelids just enough to see therger orange harpy raise his taloned leg overhead with a malicious grin unbefitting of a nonhuman creature. It just looked¡­wrong, out of ce, and warped. Riven just barely had enough time and willpower to nce down at his pants, where the warmth was beginning to spread, and in that moment¡ªthe world went ck.

 Chapter 42

    Chapter 42


    Jalel raised an eyebrow from where he pretended to be dead, cocooned on the hellscape floor in some rather pathetic bindings while a lowly harpy ate his entrails. They had made it through the poorly executed ¡°bad guy¡± with only slight amounts of smirking whenever the inexperienced warlock wasn¡¯t looking. Even if Jalel did secretly hope for Riven¡¯s demise and actually kind of was the bad guy, so to speak. He¡¯d faked death pretty well, even if it¡¯d been someone his own level witnessing it, but the fun was now over. He¡¯d give his report back to the queen as instructed, and he¡¯d tag Riven¡¯s soul for when the barriers on the newly integrated world faltered in years toe, but the report wouldn¡¯t be anything worth mentioning. Not in Jalel¡¯s opinion. Riven¡¯s performance had been subpar.


    And, of course, Jalel wouldpletely leave out the part about Riven acquiring that shard of original sin. That was far too valuable a piece of information to give even to his matriarch, because Jalel wanted it for himself one day. How Riven had gone about acquiring it was something Jalel couldn¡¯t even begin to guess at.


    True, Jalel had intervened and stopped the stone from binding to his cousin¡ªforcing the demon in the miracle stone to remain there until Jalel was done assessing the youngster. True, Jalel had also stolen mana from Riven during thest fight in order to press him harder. He¡¯d even stopped Riven¡¯s normal flesh regeneration so that the young man, many centuries younger than Jalel, couldn¡¯t repair his body at a normal rate. Part of this was to truly evaluate Riven, yes, but part of it had been in hopes that Riven would simply die so he could rip the sin out and acquire it. However, the system¡¯s warning curses had been stacking with each intervention, and thest one had been so severe that Jalel could only quiver at the thought of what would happen should he actually be responsible for Riven¡¯s death. Jalel had pushed the system¡¯s limits to the outer boundary, and now he was sure that any further intervention would definitely mean his own death. If he let Riven die here and the system considered it Jalel¡¯s fault, he was done for.


    </a>So disappointment was the only oue. Sheer disappointment. As soon as the queen had sensed Riven¡¯s presence shift from the outer rim to a nearby hellscape realm, she¡¯d sent Jalel to investigate in what was no doubt a system trial.


    Regardless, Riven hadn¡¯t even detected the aura fluctuations that¡¯d suppressed him, hadn¡¯t even had a hint. He literally had zero aura detection, which was baffling to Jalel. Based on what he¡¯d witnessed when experimenting with blood magic early on in the venture through Negrada, he could say that Riven had a decent grasp of how to utilize blood magic but nothing overtly impressive. Riven wasn¡¯t nearly at the level at which he could be brought anywhere near the other counts lest they tear him limb from limb¡ªand that wouldn¡¯t be eptable, because after this tutorial was over, Jalel would be the one to strike the killing blow in some sort of freak ident or ¡°situational mishap.¡±


    So he¡¯d y the queen¡¯s game for now and report like a good little nephew. Riven had the gift; Jalel had literally watched it happen in front of his very eyes. Malignant Prophecy was something all of the royal bloodline had, and though he couldn¡¯t entirely make out Riven¡¯s vision, he could still tell he¡¯d used it to save that worthless peasant girl. Yet Jalel could barely wrap his head around the fact that someone of their blood would be so¡­just so goddamn worthless. Ideologies,bat prowess, and fundamental decision-making in high-stress environments were all just way off.


    Perhaps he was being too hard on Riven. Jalel had been trained by the best and brightest of their empire since birth and could have dealt with these opponents as a mere child, but Riven¡ªto Jalel¡¯s knowledge¡ªhad only just been introduced to a violent life. He didn¡¯t even know what he was yet, which was actually quite funny to think about and caused Jalel to smirk.


    Perhaps that¡¯s why he¡¯d let the girl go, acquiring a malignancy point for something so lowly. To save the life of mere cattle with such a gift was unheard-of, yet to Riven, that girl had been one of his own. They were the same, in Riven¡¯s eyes. But in truth, they were an entirely different species from human.


    Jalel sighed and shook his head, merely letting out a little bit of aura to shred the annoyingly loud harpy feeding on his guts. It evaporated in an instant¡ªunnoticed by any of the otherbatants, turning to a red mist with not even a screech to let its passing be known. His eyes glowed a bright crimson and he ended the suppression on Riven¡¯s body, immediately seeing Riven¡¯s flesh beginning to mend itself and the mana restore at a rapid pace. The stone in Riven¡¯s pocket reacted as well when Jalel¡¯s mana coils let up and allowed contact, then there was a sh of power when the demon finally reached out into Riven¡¯s soul.


    Jalel rolled his eyes as the light in them dimmed to an unnatural brown color, and he went back to ying dead, letting his intestines lie out on the ground in splendid and fashionable designs like the artwork he used to paint with bodies of cattle back in his youth. He grimaced when he realized the curses applied to </a>him by the system for interfering in the trial were still there, eating away at his stats and traits like rabid dogs, and it was likely he¡¯d have to spend a fortune on spiritual fruits in order to get rid of them. Messing around in system-sponsored events without permission was a big no-no, and the residual curses would cost even a powerful prince of the empire such as himself an enormous sum of money that¡¯d likely bankrupt him in the short term.


    No doubt he¡¯d have to check up on this little initiate again in the future, too, if Riven managed to survive the integration. Jalel¡¯s part to y in Riven¡¯s life was far from over. Perhaps Riven would die in that time and spare Jalel the effort, and perhaps then he¡¯d be able toe collect his future prize a century or twoter, but Jalel would not be caught again interfering with Riven¡¯s trials until the integration was done. He also needed to present himself as a dutiful, loyal servant to Her Majesty lest she suspect something was amiss¡ªand he¡¯d even do what needed to be done to help Riven along the way as much as the system allowed to avoid suspicion, at least until the system parameters were off-line and the defenses were down. Until the moment came, he would not be seen as the one who failed her. Oh, no, the queen would have his head for that, no doubt, as she already had big ns for this unexpected heir to appear so suddenly. It¡¯d already thrown the nobility into a frenzy, and Jalel had no wish to draw pointed nces or daggers in the night should he do something as stupid as to harm one of the queen¡¯s pawns and other nephews before Riven¡¯s time yed out to her satisfaction.


    Well¡­at least he¡¯d y the part until the time was right.


    Riven was suddenly cast into a dark and endless void, devoid of any light, as he stood on solid ground. It was startling, going so suddenly from lying on the ground to being in an upright position¡ªbut he also quickly noticed that the pain was gone. He looked down but was still unable to see as his hands patted his bare body down. Again, he was wearing no clothes, and a chilling sensation rippled across his skin as his fingers made contact.


    That¡¯s when a low and menacing growl echoed throughout the darkness.


    The deep, guttural voice berated his senses like a typhoon. Not only did he hear it, but he could <span ss="italic">feel the power behind it, like it had been a physical object that¡¯d pped him upside the head. A familiar, warm sensation began to spread across his body very much like what he¡¯d felt in his pocket just seconds before¡ªbut this time it was from all around him.


    Riven whirled around, trying to figure out where the noise hade from¡ªbut still saw nothing. He wasn¡¯t scared, though¡­not nearly as scared as he should have been. He¡¯d already mentally prepared and resigned himself to death just moments before this, and being taken from the harpy to wherever he was now was more of a relief than anything else.


    </a>Riven hesitantly called out into the shadows, ¡°Hello?¡±


    There was only silence, and Riven furrowed his brows to consider his situation. ¡°Am I dead? Did I just die?¡±


    The deep and guttural voice chuckled slightly, this time from his right¡ªand a secondter he felt a hot breath on his neck¡­only to turn his head just as it disappeared.


    An image blinked into existence directly in front of him, and Riven was staring at his prone body, curled up in pain as the harpy¡¯s striking talons descended upon him in extremely slow motion. It was so slow, in fact, that he guessed he was watching somewhere around one one-thousandth of a second or even less.


    Another low growl echoed out across the shadow, this time¡­a little closer.


    Riven¡¯s eyes slowly went right in the direction of the sound, and using the light of the conjured image¡­he finally saw it. His eyes went wide, and he scanned the creature up and down in awe as his hands dropped to his side. Dear God¡­ Was this the miracle stone¡¯s work in y? Was that why he¡¯d felt that warm sensation from his pocket? If this creature was what the miracle stone contained, it certainly didn¡¯t look like an infant. The stone had called it an infant Hellscape Brutalisk, but this creature was a full-on brute. What in the seven hells would this thing look like when fully grown?!


    ¡°Uh¡­ Why, hello there. What¡¯s your name?¡± He extended a hand hesitantly but put on a bright smile and nodded in confidence. ¡°Mine is Riven.¡±


    Multiple rows of obsidian teeth glistened in the dim light as a hand many times the size of Riven¡¯s reached out and gently touched his hand with a single razor-tipped w. The demon let out another deep, guttural echo and then withdrew the hand back into the darkness.


    Riven kept his smile up, despite theck of words on the demon¡¯s part, but he was definitely a little intimidated by the huge creature. He hadn¡¯t been attacked, though, and if he had to guess, this was almost definitely the demon bound to the miracle stone he was carrying¡­and there was only one reason he¡¯d be here without this creature attacking if that was the case. He shook his head to clear it and sped his hands behind his back with a brave and hopeful huff. ¡°Let me guess¡­ You¡¯re wanting a contract?¡±


    The rows of teeth were exposed more as the demon¡¯s smile widened in the shadows¡ªmes billowing in the back of its throat. Then the creature withdrew farther into the darkness, obscuring itpletely while Riven waited patiently for it to exin.


    Another pause, and then the demon uttered another deep growl as it raised a hand toward him. In an instant, a scroll of purple miasma exploded and unfurled in front of Riven¡ªwords being written out in red mes across the miasmic parchment at incredible speed.


    </a>[System Notification¡ªCongrattions! Azmoth has chosen to offer you his services. You have received a demonic minion contract that you may choose to ept or decline:


    Azmoth¡¯s Offers:


    <span ss="bno">? Acquire Azmoth as a familiar.


    <span ss="bno">? Acquire Hell¡¯s Armor as a spell. Unlike your minion, who uses Hell¡¯s Armor as a physical trait, your own Hell¡¯s Armor will require significant amounts of mana to use, as it is not inherent to your species. Your own Hell¡¯s Armor will therefore be registered as an Infernal-type spell instead of a trait. Hell¡¯s Armor bathes you in mes, regenerating health and damaging opponents while giving you a significant defense boost. This is a very high-mana-cost spell.


    Azmoth¡¯s Demands:


    <span ss="bno">? If the rtionship between you two bes less than amicable, the contract will be null and void.


    <span ss="bno">? 20 Willpower requirement for initial contract.


    <span ss="bno">? Freedom toe and go at will within reason; Azmoth may summon himself into the mortal realm on a whim as long as it does not directly vite your orders.


    <span ss="bno">? Freedom to regrly hunt for prey.


    <span ss="bno">? Freedom to apply his own stat points and choose his own evolutionary pathways.


    <span ss="bno">? Do you ept this contract? Yes? No?


    WARNING: If you choose to ept this contract, this will be your second demonic familiar. Your current ss only allows two.]


    Azmoth? That was his name? Well, the contract was very, very to the point. It didn¡¯t have anything Riven could pick out that rang any rm bells. There wasn¡¯t any reason to say no. ording to Ath, contracts with summoners were a way for demons to be more powerful without any actual danger to themselves, so perhaps that¡¯s all this really was¡ªa win-win situation.


    An irritated grunt from the darkness caused him to look back over his shoulder. He chuckled at the demon¡¯s obvious urgency as he went over its offer¡­but then took a serious and hard look at the harpy back in the image. His smile faded, and his fists clenched.


    ¡°I know why you¡¯re approaching me now, of all times¡ªa littlete, if you ask me. But why would I say anything but yes? You have yourself a deal, Azmoth. It¡¯s nice to make your acquaintance, and hopefully I¡¯m not dead by the time you get there.¡±


    Riven hit the Yes for eptance, and the purple miasma of the contract faded.

 Chapter 43

    Chapter 43


    <span ss="bold">[Your pact with Azmoth has been sealed under the watchful eye of the administrator. The demonic seal representing Azmoth has been etched into your flesh, and your body has been restored to perfect health. Congrattions on obtaining your new demonic minion.]


    <span ss="bold">[Your Hell¡¯s Armor is an Infernal spell. Soul evolution is being expedited, and soul structure is now changing based upon parameters set by your contract with Azmoth. Infernal subpir has been acquired.]


    The next moment was a blur as Riven came back to thend of the living.


    He gasped as a brief sh of a vision blipped across his thoughts, giving him a moment of pause as his soul acquired its third subpir. A torrent of screaming souls, the image of and bathed in hellfire, and the impression of eternal torment all burned into his insides in an excruciating moment of molten pain. Hot crimson lines were then etched into his sternum, right above the spider pentagram he¡¯d gotten through Ath¡¯s contract¡ªthis one leaving the image of a grinning four-armed monstrosity within the pentagram burned into his skin right between and underneath his corbones. He felt knowledge flood his mind in a whirlwind of thoughts and information as the system granted him the means of using his newfound gift. He felt his back wounds seal up, and the bleeding immediately stopped, along with the previous notification denoting the damage-over-time effect.He was healing so fast¡­it was just like that time in the pool of blood. Why hadn¡¯t his body been healing earlier? Why now?


    He still managed to watch in temporary slow motion as the harpy¡¯s talons shot down out for the killing blow to finish him off¡ªjust as one huge, wed, armored hand shot forward in an explosion of mes as a dark portal erupted right on top of where Riveny on that cobblestone ground.


    </a>The headache under the influx of information he received was killer, but even under the mind-numbing effects of his new achievements¡­Azmoth was quite a sight to behold. The demon stood over him protectively¡­eagerly¡­smashing the harpy¡¯s leg aside with an audible snap like a psychopathic child would a forsaken toy in anticipation of the violence toe. The Hellscape Brutalisk was an absolute tank of a creature¡ªalmost literally.


    It had huge, thick, obsidian tes and jagged, delike protrusions of what looked like metal fused all over its body to the more fleshy, muscr parts seen in between the tes and underneath. It had four enormous arms, two enormous legs, and a humanoid form¡ªmore or less in the shape of a bodybuilder that ate steroids for breakfast with his Cheerios.


    Azmoth¡¯s arms ended with hands thatcked fingernails but came to sharp points of ck and hot-red metal, with the ws being created from the gauntlet-like obsidian or whatever the hell created those tes that were cast along the extensor surfaces. Rippling red and gray musclescking skin flexed at various points where the obsidian metal tes weren¡¯t present, giving him somewhat of a sickening yet simultaneously aesthetic appearance with the eight-pack abs he had.


    The demon¡¯s face was covered from the upper lip upward in a helmetlike obsidian ting that fluidly formed a dorsal spine down the center, and itpletelycked any eyes. The armorlike tes then proceeded down the back of his neck and onto his chest, before intermittently being spaced along the rest of his back. He had two slits for nostrils right above a set of strong jaws with rows of gleaming, ck razor-de teeth. A feeling of dread apanied the demon¡¯s presence¡ªlike a palpable presence, one that Riven hadn¡¯t felt in the void realm he¡¯d just been in moments before. It was like a tidal wave of unease that physically shook not only him, but Ath and the nearby harpies as well. Even knowing that this creature was on his side, even having bound it to him with a contract, he could feel his hairs stand on end just being in Azmoth¡¯s presence.


    But the catch to all this, and the most intimidating thing about Azmoth, was the mes that burst into life as the demon¡¯s roar echoed from the beyond. The afterimage of a dying forest in its pocket dimension behind the monstrosity began to fade away when the portal fizzled out, and in its ce, the huge demon¡¯s entire body was quickly engulfed in zing fire, rippling along its arms and searing the stunned harpy only a few feet away from therger monster while maliciously grinning.


    As the abruptly terrified harpy began to screech and frantically p its wings¡ªtrying to get away in a hurried state of panic¡ªAzmoth merely began tough. The deep, demonicugh was filled with a mixture of joy, malice, and hunger. With a lunge and a violent yank, it pulled therger orange harpy toward its opening jaws and snapped down shut¡ªturning the hunter into the hunted as Azmoth¡¯s rows of teeth sank into the soft meat of the squealing harpy¡¯s neck.


    </a>Rearing back and yanking out the other monster¡¯s vocal cords with the sound of shredding flesh, Azmoth took time to savor the harpy¡¯s lifeblood as it trickled into his mouth. Then, with the roar of an apex predator, he took the dying harpy¡¯s body and swung it hard into the other, utterly shocked and newly arrived female harpy nearby¡ªsending both of their bodies violently bouncing with a loud crunch across the cobblestone in trails of singed feathers and blood.


    Riven had crawled back out from underneath his new demonic friend, watching with a mixture of amazement and relief as Azmoth utterly clobbered the two unfortunate monsters with a bloodlust that made him shudder. Bones broke, feathers burned, and flesh loudly tore all amid theughter of his new demon and the squeals or gurgles of the terrified harpies as they were violently manhandled. It was like watching two human toddlers trying to fight a fully grown rhinoceros¡ªutterly andpletely one-sided.


    He absent-mindedly let his finger slide down to his sternum, gently touching the second pentagram burned into his skin, beforeing back to reality and reeling. He got up as fast as he could while picking up his staff, scrambling to find Ath and bolting over to where his minion was fighting a losing three-versus-one battle. Another harpy had joined the fray in attacking Ath, which had turned the tides in the harpies¡¯ favor.


    But Riven could feel the power welling up within him, and confusingly enough, his mana felt like a faucet had just been turned on¡ªpouring it in.


    He sprinted forward and sprayed three consecutive attacks of five Bloody Razors apiece. The discs of sharpened, solidified blood erupted forward like a woodchippere to life with killing intent, shredding the first of the harpies and catching it midair as it tried to dive down at Ath when she dropped to the ground.


    Feathers, bone, and spraying bodily fluids shot ahead of him as the harpy essentially exploded from its manycerations, falling to the floor dead and giving Ath an opening to dodge another attack before countering with a spray of sharp, solidified webbing.


    The remaining two harpies shrieked and dived in together, both missing the agile spider as she jumped to the far wall and continued to spray¡ªbut this got their attention focused on Riven as he ran headlong into their path.


    Aiming for his soft belly with its ws, the first of the harpies lunged forward, snarling. It already showed signs of battle¡ªa missing eye, numerous needles made from webbing protruding from its body, and a wound with part of its thorax having rotted right off.


    Riven took this moment to imbue himself with the new trait and ability Azmoth¡¯s bond had given him. Hellfire bloomed along his skin, intermixing with the red lightning of his speed-enhancing blessing. His staff also lit up, zing to life with fire as he met the charge and mmed it into the harpy like a baseball bat.


    </a>He took no damage, but his Strength wasn¡¯t up to par with his defense, and the two basically collided and each fell over as the next harpy in line reeled backward to get away from the mes. Definitely not what he¡¯d been wanting to aplish, but it kinda worked. Riven shook his head from the jolt of the impact, but as he got up to attack his target again, he found that some of the feathers had lit up with mes that were spreading along the stunned creature.


    The harpy struggled to get up, and Riven cackled like a maniac as he brought the staff back up, overhead, and struck down to begin ruthlessly beating the creature to death with the extra infernal damage and speed of the blessing empowering his strikes despite how physically weak he waspared to the monster.


    The creature died iling around on the ground, burning to death as it was repeatedly bludgeoned, and eventually let out a hiss of agony as its neck cracked and its lower body went limp.


    Riven howled skyward in victory and turned to attack the final, fleeing enemy¡ªbut the mes immediately faltered and died when he deactivated the spell. It¡¯d been chewing through mana at a rapid pace, and he didn¡¯t want to continue it needlessly.


    His head swiveled as the fleeing harpy let out a screech when silky webbing shot out and entangled its wings. Ath wastched to the floor like glue, and despite the harpy¡¯s attempts to fly away, it was still being dragged down toward the cackling Blood Weaver as she gnashed her teeth hungrily and chittered at her entangled prey.


    When the harpy got within jumping distance, Athunched herself off the ground and mmed into the harpy¡ªusing all twelve legs to bring it down as she tore at it with her fangs¡ªand they fell to the ground in a squirming mess of bodies.


    Secondster, Ath had gotten the upper hand, easily avoiding all the harpy¡¯s strikes with her rather impressive agility and leaving numerous bite marks that were spreading venom and necrosis along the quickly dying creature. Ath even jumped off and hissed at it, watching with greedy eyes as the harpy¡¯s efforts to move quickly devolved into nothing but twitches and sputtering breaths before she went in for the final kill.


    There was a quick gush of blood, and then the harpy wentpletely limp. What followed¡­was rather surreal.


    He¡¯d actually lived.


    Riven looked left and saw Azmoth feeding on the two harpies he¡¯d killed and drawing out their entrails to rip and tear between chomps. Slightly closer down the alley was where Jalel¡¯s mutted remains had once been¡ªthough, for whatever reason, the body had disappeared. Perhaps taken away by another of the monsters? There were also four bodies of the harpies and the various remnants </a>of magic he¡¯d used. To his right, Ath was sucking the harpy she¡¯d killed dry¡ªalmost inhaling its blood as she danced a little victory dance with her twelve legs excitedly tapping the ground around her.


    <span ss="bold">[You have gained one level. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]


    Already knowing he¡¯d m most of those points into Intelligence, Riven opened up his status page and applied them. Then, waving down his minions, he told them to guard him as he got some rest. He was utterly exhausted, and he felt rather confident that all their enemies were dead. ¡°Hey, Azmoth, Ath, see this crevice in the wall over here? I¡¯m going to take a nap. Guard me while I do.¡±

 Chapter 44

    Chapter 44


    [Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:


    <span ss="bno">? Level 11


    <span ss="bno">? Pir Orientations: Unholy Foundation, Blood, Infernal


    <span ss="bno">? Core of Original Sin¡ªGluttony: (Under Construction) (???)


    <span ss="bno">? Traits: Race: Human, ss: Novice Warlock, Adrenaline Junkie (Blood) (+15% to Agility)


    <span ss="bno">? Abilities: Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood) (Tier 2), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal)


    <span ss="bno">? Stats: 8 Strength, 20 Sturdiness, 72 Intelligence, 10 Agility, 1 Luck, -4 Charisma, 3 Perception, 44 Willpower, 9 Faith


    <span ss="bno">? Free Stat Points: 7


    <span ss="bno">? Minions: Ath, Level 7 Blood Weaver [14 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 2 Hellscape Brutalisk [20 Willpower Requirement].


    <span ss="bno">? Equipped Items: Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), Basic Casting Staff (4 dmg, 12% mana regen, +3 magic dmg), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies, Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence)]


    Riven slowly opened his eyes after the much-needed nap. The blue mana potion Ath had taken from Jalel¡¯s bag was being gently poured over his lips to slide down his throat. His head was propped up against that same bag, and she was watching him wide-eyed like a child on Christmas while remainingpletely silent.


    The headache quickly cleared as he epted the rest of the potion, nodding to her in appreciation. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Not a problem! Just d you¡¯re okay!¡± The spider raised both of her front </a>legs and chuckled with that usual chittering noise of hers, squinting and looking rather pleased with herself.


    They were still in the alley, with mist dampening their bloodstained clothes and the body of a harpy not far off on the narrow path, though Ath had made sure to create an intricate pattern of webbing overhead to block any potential flyers from diving down. Riven was rather impressed by it. Not only for the protection, but for the shade it cast on them as well.


    Jalel was gone, only a puddle of blood where he¡¯d been before. Otherwise the damage wrought upon the surrounding area was evident by the torn-up stone alley and scattered dead harpies.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re okay!¡± Ath whispered again, following up with another chitteringugh. Her legs trembled slightly, and she nodded to herself and pushed her head up against Riven in an action of affection that Riven would have thought to be very uncharacteristic of spiders. ¡°We¡¯re okay now. It¡¯s all okay¡­¡±


    Riven¡¯s body remained a little stiff, and his rib cage ached from where he¡¯d met the harpy in a head-on collision, but he¡¯d be fine.


    The sounds of crunching, tearing, and chomping reached Riven¡¯s ears¡ªcausing him to furrow his brow and slowly turn his head to get a better look behind him. When he saw the huge ming demon chowing down on pieces of harpy, he smirked and pushed himself into a sitting position. ¡°Ath, have you met Azmoth yet?¡±


    The arachnid proudly turned her head and chittered over her shoulder at the brute. ¡°Yes! We talked while you were sleeping. He¡¯s a very nice young man!¡±


    Riven had to suppress augh at that one and kept a straight face. ¡°Nice young man? Really now¡­ Wait, Azmoth talked to you?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t talk to me. He just grunts.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because he knows I¡¯m royalty.¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re a princess?¡±


    ¡°Mmm-hmm. Mortals like you are too beneath him to speak to.¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes, but the Hellscape Brutalisk overheard them and turned their way with a swivel of his head. Azmoth relinquished his mes; he currently had a mouth full of harpy guts, but the hunched-over demon gave a slight nod to Riven before resuming his feasting¡ªwed hands digging into the corpse of one of the harpies to rip out a bloody liver.


    Riven didn¡¯t buy Ath¡¯s story one bit. ¡°He really doesn¡¯t seem like much of a talker.¡±


    ¡°He is, though!¡±


    ¡°Prove it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    </a>¡°Because!¡±


    Riven just shook his head, not wanting to bother with her shenanigans any longer, and gave her some pets before getting up. ¡°Ready to finish the quest? Assuming that there aren¡¯t any more harpies around¡­¡±


    Ath looked back into the mists and nodded. ¡°There are definitely more¡­I¡¯ve seen them flying around, but they¡¯re all juveniles and below level 5. None of them have beening near us ever since I told them I¡¯d cut them if they came.¡±


    ¡°You told them you¡¯d cut them?¡±


    ¡°I also threatened their mamas. THEY FEAR MEEE!¡± Ath wiggled her front legs around in exaggerated fashion.


    ¡°I see.¡± Riven nced over at Azmoth, raising an eyebrow, and hiked a thumb the demon¡¯s way. ¡°Are you sure it isn¡¯t because he¡¯s here?¡±


    The arachnid folded her front legs with an arrogant humph. ¡°Nope. It was definitely me waving my legs around threateningly screaming into the mists that I¡¯d cut them if they decided to try again.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°Not all monsters are created equal, Riven!¡±


    The arachnid swatted herrge thorax and started another ridiculous dance, but thement gave Riven pause. He studied Azmoth for a time, with his obvious assets for killing in the forms of fire, metallic tes, hulking muscles, and four wed arms¡­and he slowly nodded. Her assessment was dead-on. He wasn¡¯t absolutely sure of how everything worked here in Elysium, but if numerous harpies were avoiding one level 2 demon despite outnumbering and outleveling him¡­this screamed to him that levels likely didn¡¯t mean everything.


    Hell, Azmoth¡¯s stat percentage bonuses and stat rewards per level up alone were enough to testify to that. It made Riven wonder why a leveling system was even in ce, because levels could be incredibly skewed across the board just on what he¡¯d seen thus far. Was there a reason or rhyme to this?


    He turned back to the dancing spider and pushed his hands into his pockets. ¡°Ath, did you get to look at this bag at all?¡±


    She stopped dancing and red up at him. ¡°You were using it as a pillow. I was only able to look at part of it without waking you up.¡±


    He nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°All right. It¡¯s prettyrge¡­but we can sort through itter, and I can take turns with Azmoth carrying it. Let¡¯s go finish this stupid quest and get out of here. I don¡¯t ever want to see this ce again.¡±


    He picked up therge bag Jalel had insisted on bringing, grunting slightly at how heavy it was, and began to follow Ath out.


    Ath skipped over to Azmoth and poked him on one of his ted, muscr legs. ¡°Hey, Azmoth! Time to go!¡±


    </a>Azmoth finished ripping off a harpy thigh, tore into it with his jaws, and swallowed the fresh, messy meat before grinning back at them. Blood dripped down his face, and the rippling muscles of the demon bulged underneath the heavy obsidian tes of his body as Azmoth rose off the ground and burst into mes with a nod of his head and a guttural growl.


    The deep, bestial noise the demon made put Riven on edge. The thing was huge, intimidating, and far beyond what he would have ever thought possible in terms of acquiring it so early in this new world. Or probably ever, actually.


    With amand for Azmoth to take the lead, Ath and Riven followed behind at a short distance¡ªwarily ncing around the dimly lit area as shadows silently moved above them in the mist. Once more they even caught sight of a harpy¡¯s wing overhead through the red mist, apanied by a high-pitched screech, but it never made a move on them.


    Feeling rtively safer after having added a tank to their party, Riven was finally able to rx. ¡°Ath, we need to get indoors somewhere and set up a temporary base¡­ We don¡¯t know what¡¯s in this bag, and we need to figure out if any of it can be useful.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,rade Riven!¡± Ath replied enthusiastically with a skip in her step.


    Riven snorted with amusement. ¡°You¡¯re ridiculous.¡±


    A couple more steps into the mist over the smooth cobblestone blocks, and he saw the first signs of their destination. Riven¡¯s eyes widened at the size of the statue, and he really couldn¡¯t believe that he hadn¡¯t seen it before even with the thick mist in between.


    First was the giant battle-axe. It was granite, was dozens of yards across, and was nted firmly in the ground¡ªdes down, prating from a shadow above. As they progressed farther through the mist, the rest of the statue shortly appeared.


    It was modeled after a confident-looking man with a neatly trimmed beard, pointed ears, and intricate, curved armor. His long hair was carved to look like it was majestically swaying out to his left as he looked out into the distance on his right. He held the shaft of his axe in both hands, resting his gauntleted hands on the weapon, and his armor had a symbol of a sun stered across the breastte. It was even what Riven would describe as awe-inspiring and was definitely out of ce considering everything else around here had literally gone to hell.


    It stood nearly five stories high, was well carved, and despite the moss was rtively well preservedpared to everything else in the city. But what caught Riven¡¯s attention most was the small altar at the bottom of the statue in between the warrior-elf¡¯s armored feet. The rectangr altar stood about three feet high and had two gleaming crystals hovering in the air, shimmering in and out of existence repetitively while the baseball-sized objects seemed to call out to him.


    </a>¡°Do you see those?!¡± Ath eximed excitedly while pointing¡ªjabbing one foot toward the shimmering crystals ahead of them. ¡°Are those the prizes?!¡±


    Riven cocked an eyebrow and nced at a harpy that¡¯d perched far up, along the statue¡¯s outstretched arms between the body and the axe shaft, shrugging as he did. ¡°I¡¯d guess you¡¯re right¡­ Let¡¯s get them so we can leave.¡±


    ¡°Indeed!¡± Ath eximed, rapidly poking Riven in the shin and skipping forward to follow the other demonic familiar toward the elevated stone altar. ¡°Can¡¯t wait!¡±


    Riven chuckled at the humming noises Ath made and quickly pursued her,ing up beside her at the altar a minuteter and observing the shimmering crystals in closer detail. Each of them was ethereal, with both of them beingbeled as Quest Crystals.


    [Congrattions! You havepleted the final objective for your quest Find Your Spider Princess by meeting Ath at the base of the statue of the bearded, axe-wielding man. You and your minions have gained XP. You have received twenty-five Elysium coins and will now receive your tailored prizes!]


    The crystals shattered upon deliverance of the notification, each of them dissolving into dust to reveal two new items. One was a cloak, and the other was a mask. There was also a new bag of twenty-five bronze coins, which he ced in his backpack before inspecting the other prizes.


    [Cloak of the Tundra (Light Armor): 22 average defense, negates frost damage by an additional 56 average defense and significantly decreases effects from cold weather.]


    [Breath of Valgeshia (Mask) (Vampiric) (Light Armor): 48 average defense, amplifies blood damage by an average of 13 base damage plus an additional +9% of mana input. Increases mana regeneration by 6%. If worn by a vampire, applied bonuses are tripled. Combat level 5 and Blood subpir affiliation required to use.


    [Set Piece: one of five. This item is part of the Valgeshia set. Acquire three items of the Valgeshia set for additional bonuses. Acquire five items of the Valgeshia set for all bonuses.]


    The cloak looked rather heavy; it was made from a thick brown cloth and was lined with fur along the outer rim. It had a hood that came up along the top, had two medium-length sleeves, and was otherwise rather in. Grasping </a>it from where it floated in the air and trying it on, Riven found the cloak was actually veryfortable and rather soft. The sleeves came down to his elbows and kept the cloak in ce, while the hem reached his calves. He turned around, bowing as Ath started pping like a fanatic.


    ¡°Stunning! Just stunning!¡± Ath cooed while her two front legs went crazy pping at each other. ¡°Bravo! Bravo!¡±


    ¡°Shucks,¡± Riven said with a wink and augh while Azmoth looked from one to the other at a loss.


    He turned back to the mask, which was obviously the better item of the set, given it had a percentage value to it, and took it from its floating position as well. It also had been titled as a vampiric item, and he had to admit to himself that he was a little disappointed that he couldn¡¯t utilize the entirety of the bonuses because he was a human¡­instead of a vampire¡­?


    Or was that entirely urate? Riven scratched his chin. That one was up for debate after the little incident where fangs exploded from his mouth in the blood pit. He¡¯d tried not to think about it since then, but it had definitely been a little creepy, and he didn¡¯t know what to make of it. Regardless, it hadn¡¯t happened since, so he would cross that bridgeter.


    But it was also the first time he¡¯d ever seen a set piece item¡­ How was he supposed to go about finding other items in this set, exactly? There wasn¡¯t any instruction manual or guide, so he was at aplete loss as to how to even begin searching for the other pieces.


    Unlike the cloak, this mask was somewhat impressive. Not amazing, as was indicated by thebat level requirement of 5, but definitely a good thing to add to his arsenal. Probably great for his level, but he¡¯d definitely outgrow it. The mask was meant to cover just his chin, mouth, and nose¡ªleaving his eyes open¡ªand was ck and red. The majority of the metal was thin, a sleek ck with padding on the inside where it would be secured to his face, but crimson markings wove intricate runes of Unholy pentagrams, modified crucifixes, obscure sigils, and other designs into the surface that glowed faintly and had little holes for him to breathe through. It was polished, obviously enchanted with smooth surfaces that felt warm to the touch, and as his fingers grasped the mask, the dull glow of crimson runes began to smolder.


    Bringing the mask up to his face, it sucked down against his skin when he was within a centimeter of his mouth and the padded inside quickly molded to the shape of his nose, mouth, and jaw. The back of it extended to his ears, where it abruptly stopped, and it had no problem staying there without any straps to keep it up. Breathing or talking through it caused tiny amounts of red mist to erupt from the mask, and it was rather sinister-looking as he looked down at his reflection in a pool of blood nearby.


    On top of that, Ath definitely approved and came over to inspect it thoroughly by jumping up onto his chest and shoving her face within an inch of his own.


    </a>He¡¯d really need to talk to her about personal bubbles, because it was apparent she didn¡¯t know about them at all.


    He took the sack of coins and added it to his own backpack, giving therger bag Jalel¡¯s old party had collected to Azmoth to carry and getting up to continue their trek. He had no idea where he was going, and neither did his minions¡­but it was getting dark, and he didn¡¯t want to be caught out here in the open when night fell.

 Chapter 45

    Chapter 45


    Riven and the two demons had found a small cer, long abandoned, with a pair of dead bolts that still worked well enough after they closed the door behind them. It¡¯d likely been someone else¡¯sir a long, long time ago due to the way various odds and ends were strewn about and a worn-out bed was in the far corner¡ªthough it was all in a heavy state of disrepair and had a thinyer of dust.


    ¡°Trash.¡± Ath threw one of the spare articles of clothing to the side, smacking Azmoth in the face while he grunted and sniffed at the pair of old underwear. ¡°Also trash. This is trash, too.¡±


    She continued to dig through the bag Jalel had imed to be ¡°treasure,¡± tossing it onto the growing pile atop Azmoth, and she let out a huff when she got to the end of it. ¡°This is bullshit! All this crap was supposed to be more valuable than <span ss="italic">me?! How dare that insignificant little shit call you out like that!¡±


    Ath was no doubt talking about when Jalel had been angry about Riven¡¯s choice to save his minion over the other bag of ¡°treasure.¡± Out of all the items Jalel had brought with him in that oversized sack of shit, not a single thing had been useful for Riven at all.


    It was as if Jalel had intentionally been trying to deceive Riven concerning the bag¡¯s contents when he¡¯d been overly hesitant to show the warlock or demon anything inside. Why that was, Riven would likely never know.


    Yet Riven had bigger things to worry about, like how he was going to get out of here. He needed to find the exit; he¡¯d been here far too long, and both Allie and Jose were counting on him.


    ¡°I need a way out,¡± Riven stated tly, staring down the phantom across the room while ignoring Azmoth¡¯s mindless, deep giggling or the enraged chittering of his spider. ¡°I need to get out of the dungeon. If I help you, will you provide this for me?¡±


    Kajit let out a frustrated growl. Her usual semitranslucent appearance of an old, bandaged, half-mummified woman was gone. Now, in its ce was her </a>¡°true form¡±¡ªa rather insidious-looking, deep-blue spirit in the outline of a slender woman with long hair trailing past her bare back, long legs, and pitch-ck orbs for eyes. She was still semitranslucent, but the energy creating her body was much more potent and had an aura of danger about it. ¡°I already state, boy, I cannot show way out. Way out is blocked for spirits like me, to keep from escaping hell. If I find way out, I already leave centuries ago. Hellscapes turn my eyes blind to exits; it is the curse of death. It is like antima. When I look¡ªsystem shows me other path.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just possess a body and see it that way?¡±


    ¡°Why I not do this if I could?¡±


    Riven let out an exhausted sigh and shook his head, arms folded over his chest while he sat cross-legged on the ancient cer floor. ¡°Well, I honestly don¡¯t see a reason to help you, Kajit. I understand your plight, and I¡¯d definitely love my dagger back, but I¡¯m on a time limit here. I have no idea how my sister is doing or if she¡¯s in trouble¡ªhell, I don¡¯t even know if she¡¯s even alive. But I won¡¯t find out until I leave this dungeon, and I have to keep looking for an exit. I¡¯m sorry. You¡¯ll have to find someone else to help free your sister¡¯s spirit.¡±


    Kajit obviously didn¡¯t like that answer, and the room shuddered while ck mana around her fluxed to respond to her rage. However, his piece of sin mped down on her soul¡ªthe soul that resided within his own soulscape, the one she¡¯d tried to inhabit him with¡ªand her anger immediately simmered down to a more calm state of being. She¡¯d essentially be his captive, one that he could use Gluttony to crush at any time due to her own stupidity and actions.


    She took in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled as if she had a body to breathe with. Perhaps it was habit¡ªhe didn¡¯t know.


    Her ck eyes snapped open again, focusing on his own while she imitated his posturing while crossing her arms in front of her own chest. ¡°My sister¡¯s soul is on time limit. It very hard to find entity inside dungeon who have prophecy; she likely die before I find another to visit tower.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow and leaned back on his hands. ¡°What kind of time limit are we talking here?¡±


    ¡°Three hundred years, take or give.¡±


    ¡°Seems like a long time to me.¡±


    Kajit sputtered a coughingugh, and she looked at him incredulously. ¡°Not long time to find another prophet here in hellscape dungeon Negrada, foolish boy!¡±


    </a>¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. Regardless, you have your priorities¡ªand I have mine. I¡¯m not risking my life to free a stranger from a prison they may or may not deserve.¡±


    Kajit¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I give my pledge I serve you if you save Kajit¡¯s sister.¡±


    ¡°Serve me?¡± Riven shook his head slowly. ¡°You¡¯re already bound to my will anyways, and I¡¯m sure as shit not letting go. You¡¯ll probably kill me if I let you out of my soulscape. I can feel the power disparity after you entered to try and possess me. Why shouldn¡¯t I just make you my ve?¡±


    ¡°I will not do as you ask. You may kill me with sin, but I not do as you ask unless you help Kajit.¡±


    ¡°No. Even if you don¡¯t ¡®obey¡¯ me, you¡¯re still not in a situation to make demands.¡±


    Kajit opened her mouth to speak, frowned, and then closed it again with a hateful re cast in his direction. Then she opened her mouth again, with a bit of a waver to her voice and worry on her features. ¡°Please.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Her features contorted back into rage, and with a shriek she ripped out of this existence and into another¡ªvanishing from the room with an echo that nearly split Riven¡¯s eardrums. He could still feel her soul tethered to his own, though, the jaws of Gluttony holding her tightly in ce, and he let on a slight frown. He understood where she wasing from, but he had his own goals. Sadly enough, now was just not the time to have a bleeding heart on disy. One day, when he got stronger, he¡¯d let Kajit go. Until that day came, though, he was keeping a firm grip on her to make sure she didn¡¯t cause him any trouble. God forbid she actually attacked him, because she¡¯d likely be able to kill him the way he was now if her mana fluctuations during mood swings were any clue. Even now he could see her mana waves rippling back and forth across her own soul structure, and though she¡¯d condensed hers to a smaller area, her potency was far greater than Riven¡¯s was.


    Riven nced over at where Ath was making a small nest out of the pile of clothes, odds and ends. ¡°Do you think I made a bad choice?¡±


    The spider demon stopped what she was doing, then cocked her head quizzically. ¡°About Kajit? My advice on the matter is to do whatever you want to do. Don¡¯t let other people influence your decisions, rather, make your decisions based entirely on your own desires. You¡¯ll be a lot happier that way, not being burdened by thoughts of what others want or need or think of you. Just because Kajit has a bad situation going on doesn¡¯t mean you need to be the one that fixes it, and she was the one who tried ckmailing you first!¡±


    Ath gave a quick head nod before going back to her pile, and Riven scratched his chin while pondering her words. He really did want that dagger back¡­and he felt slightly bad for Kajit. But in the end, those things weren¡¯t worth it when itpared to potentially leaving Jose or Allie high and dry in the outside world. Hell, he might even die in that so-called Tower of Fates, and he could never forgive himself if he abandoned those two to fend for themselves in this new world.


    </a>He had a duty to make it back fast, so that¡¯s what he¡¯d focus on. Other things be damned, and the rest of the world could burn for all he cared. Family and friends first.


    Allie stood amid the burning wreckage of a city block that had once belonged to the old world of Earth. Her red eyes narrowed on the man in a church-attire suit underneath her, sputtering pointless bullshit about how she was damned for all eternity while he bled out on the ground and tried to cast another holy spell to heal himself.


    She didn¡¯t let him finish the incantation.


    *SHUNK*


    Her cursed, soul-woven wand snapped forward and unleashed a burst of ck energy that ripped into the man¡¯s heart. He let out a screech and a low wheeze of an exhale, his body seizing up amid the shock of her mana strike. She could feel and almost even hear the soul trapped inside her weapon scream out while it began to soak in the life force of her newest victim.


    ¡°Keep your ramblings on faith, for I do not need them.¡± Allie leaned over the man and sneered, ¡°Save it for the sheep that follow your boss.¡±


    Her body hummed with energy, absorbing death mana from the dead and dying around her while she slowly walked through the wreckage of battle. When she felt two of her minions fall at the hands of the new-world ¡°holy crusaders,¡± she merely lifted her right hand. Teal and ck mana red along her forearm and fingertips before trailing off to give life to nearby bodies around her.


    The corpses twitched, flesh began to melt, and slowly the two skeletons stood up with simrly teal-colored orbs lighting up the insides of their skulls in ce of eyes.


    With a thought, she sent them back into the battle taking ce ahead of her, feeling an influx of XP with each death she brought to the ones foolish enough to challenge them.


    *POP¡ªPOP¡ªPOP*


    Three bullets ricocheted off her soul-woven gauntlets and pauldrons, cursed items created from bone just like the skull mask she wore and the bits stitched into her leather cuirass. One of the bullets did, however, manage to strike her in the thigh, where the armor had a gap. It was merely a flesh wound that would no doubt heal within minutes, but it still pissed her off.


    She snarled and whipped around, locating the young man holding a pistol before he managed to get off another shot. She blurred left with inhuman speed and closed the distance, avoiding another st from the gun andunching herself to m her fist into her attacker¡¯s skull. The young man¡¯s head exploded, a normal human body no match for what she¡¯d be in only weeks.


    </a>Another shot was fired from a rifle through an adjacent window amid screams and shrieks of the undead and the living alike¡ªand she took aim with one hand to fire off a death ball. A globe of teal and ck mes exploded out of her outstretched hands and ripped through the frail, damaged wall to violently eradicate the defender while three of her skeletons rushed over his body to continue their assault on the others.


    She calmly walked ahead, entering through the burning hole she¡¯d created, and looked down where a terrified man and a woman were being eaten alive while holding hands and frantically sobbing. Probably a couple, but honestly she didn¡¯t care. Not after what they¡¯d done to Jose.


    They all had thising, and she was far from done with her work. They would pay for their sins in the blood of their family and friends, a sacrifice worthy of the ones who¡¯d taken her own in the name of <span ss="italic">purging the nonbelievers in this new world where <span ss="italic">God had made his presence known.


    Fucking fanatics.


    She would bring them war, as they¡¯d asked. She would bring them a crusade. She would see just who purged whom, and she would not stop until she stood upon a mountain of their corpses. She would find the one who called himself Prophet. She would hang his corpse from their church so all his holy-aligned nutjobs would see his body and despair, even if it was thest thing she ever did.

 Chapter 46

    Chapter 46


    Two weeks had passed since Jalel¡¯s death, with little gained other than a couple levels for each of them and no results in terms of a way out. Kajit had also been very quiet ever since Riven had denied her request, ever since he¡¯d said he had more important things to do at the moment. She had yet to show up again at all, actually, which was a wee thing in Riven¡¯s opinion.


    They¡¯d never found the boat Jalel had once spoken of, the one that was supposed to have been tethered to an outcropping of rock on the river of blood that traced itself through the city. Perhaps this was because Jalel hadn¡¯t specified <span ss="italic">which river of blood, as it was a farrger area than they¡¯d anticipated, with many waterways branching off the main channel. They¡¯d wandered aimlessly trying to find an exit, killing or running from undead and demon spawn alike when they weren¡¯t scavenging off the battles between different monsters.


    The things he¡¯d learned in that time were quite interesting.


    First off, there was actually a way to see HP (health points), MP (mana points), or SP (stamina points) even though they were usually hidden. Ath was insistent that if they found someone that had attained an Identifier ss title, these people would be able to join a party and allow visualization of such things. These identifiers at higher ss tiers were also able to give a lot more detailed information concerning the durability of items, the tiers of said items, the estimated value of those items, and various other things that normal people with no ss title or other ss titles could not see. It was apparentlymonce for guilds, armies, or explorers to incorporate an Identifier into their journeys to get more urate reads on their enemies.


    Then Riven came across a lich one day in the process of resurrecting the dead. Not just raising it to be an undead itself, but actually resurrecting the creature. He hadn¡¯t realized that even possible until now, and he had gawked like a small child on Christmas when he¡¯d learned that if he ever became powerful enough, he too would be able to perform feats such as that if given the right </a>conditions. However, at the current moment that was way out of his league¡ªthe lich he¡¯d seen do it was over level 200.


    And finally, he was beginning to understand how magic worked at a deeper level than what he¡¯d been able to glean in the past. Every day he practiced the ins and outs of the spells he already had, and he was now able to manipte them far faster and with more efficiency than he¡¯d been able to at the start of his journey. Ath had told him that he was <span ss="italic">a magical genius and a born caster<span ss="bold">, in her own words, and that he had an extreme talent for the Unholy arts. What would take people years to learn, Riven had learned in almost zero time, and the magic responded to him almost as if it was a separate limb he¡¯d been able to use all his life. His spells were beginning to cost him less and less mana as time went on for the same amount of magical output, even disregarding level gains. Ath couldn¡¯t really piece together why this was happening, but she was always visibly excited about it whenever he found a way to improve or expand upon his magical output for less mana cost simply by changing the way he manipted mana or visualized the spell.


    This practice was what consumed Riven¡¯s time in the two weeks since Jalel¡¯s passing while they searched for a way out. Riven wanted to get back home to Earth, or to whatever Earth had be since this ¡°multiverse¡± had incorporated it. He needed to get out of this hellscape dungeon. He still had yet to find a portal exit out of here, and he hadn¡¯t yet spotted any bosses or minibosses to attempt to kill for a ticket out.


    But their efforts hadn¡¯t been entirely fruitless. While they¡¯d been searching for a path out, they¡¯d realized quite quickly that there were different tribes of creatures that lived here in Dungeon Negrada¡ªand mapping out the city in small pieces at a time had doubtless saved them from stumbling into certain death on more than one asion.


    There were the red-skinned, three-eyed Jabob demons, like the cultists they¡¯d encountered when Ath had been imprisoned. The Jabobs were brutal, barbaric little shits that often employed varieties of magic, making them rather dangerous at a distance, but they were physically weak up close. It made them easy targets for Azmoth, as he¡¯d crush them one by one after barreling through their fire-based attacks head-on while having the time of his life. Meanwhile, Riven stayed in the back lines for suppressive fire, dealing heavy damage at a distance, and Ath would focus on keeping Riven safe or on assassinating the back lines of enemy casters, depending on the situation. The arachnid was particrly sneaky and was often able to subdue a target without ever being spotted prior to the all-out fight.


    There were the harpies, too, which had nests scattered among the rooftops and higher ces of these ruins. In particr, the juvenile harpies were far weaker and smaller than fully grown harpies. The adults were twice the size of the ones </a>Riven had first fought and far meaner. On one instance, Azmoth had nearly died fighting off three of them that¡¯d tried to carry Ath away. Azmoth had the hardest time with the adults, as they were hard to catch and he had to rely on Riven or Ath to bring them down to ground level in order to tear them apart.


    There were also the undead, withrge packs of them each controlled by one or two minor liches. The liches in particr were incredibly powerful, and these were the enemies that worried Riven the most. They were often surrounded by monstrous flesh golems made from bunched-up corpses that smelled terrible or a small legion of ghouls and zombies, while being able to cast obliterating magics from the back lines, just like Riven preferred to do. Many of the undead also roamed the city without a pack, often unbound to any master and aimlessly wandering until they found food or were killed to be eaten themselves.


    Then there were the lone solo monsters or lessmon species, ranging in size and variety. Aside from the liches, it was often these creatures that took the title of apex predators¡ªoften being some sort of demon or abomination that Riven had no intention of ever facing in battle lest he be immediately killed. They¡¯d seen a huge yellow-eyed basilisk with shiny ck scales, another muscr, axe-wielding minotaur twice the size of Azmoth, an elemental wolf created from fire and lightning, and even a gorgeous gorgon surrounded by statues and nesting atop a mountain of rotting bodies that they¡¯d dared not approach. A couple of other tribal creatures also called this ce home, but they were sparse in number and not a significant percentage of the dungeon¡¯s upants.


    Aside from the types of monsters, they¡¯d also learned much about how the monsters came to be. The dungeon¡­this ce that the system called Negrada¡­spawned monsters at random. Meanwhile, there were other certain species that were seen reproducing. The Jabob demons in particr had been seen carrying eggs, and one of these eggs had hatched into an infant while Ath watched from a distant window¡ªas she¡¯d been unfamiliar with this breed before now even though she was a demon herself. Meanwhile, Riven had actually seen a zombie ox being created out of thin air from nothing but mana. He¡¯d even gotten a warning notification from the dungeon system saying he was in the spawn area of another creature.


    That¡¯d been the same day that Riven had learned the river of blood had healing properties. The first time he¡¯d actually thought about utilizing it for this reason had been shortly after the encounter with the giant blood squid creature in the pit trap. Back then, right before Gluttony had ripped the monster apart, he¡¯d been instinctively drawing on the blood pool to heal himself, and he was pretty damn sure it¡¯d been the same type of blood as the stuff flowing through the rivers here. So after engaging in a battle nearby that¡¯d been drawn out into the river, Riven had been made keenly aware that drinking it regenerated his body even faster than his already abnormal regeneration could produce.


    </a>They¡¯d been quick to bottle it in the six ss vials taken from Jalel¡¯s bag¡ªone of the few things that¡¯d actually been worth anything in the supplies they¡¯d dug through. The resultant pseudo-potions weren¡¯t really even potions at all, but rather had quite a differentbel to them entirely when inspecting them through systemmands.


    <span ss="bold">[Vial of Sinner¡¯s Blood. Restore an average of 70 health and mana simultaneously. May not be taken outside the realms of hell. Warning: Using Sinner¡¯s Blood frequently may have unwanted side effects over time.]


    In turn, the description of this blood brought about two very serious questions. The first: Was he really willing to give up such valuable healing and mana-rejuvenating remedies just because of potential adverse side effects? Truly? The second: What kind of side effects was it talking about?


    The first question had been answered immediately the day after the discovery, when he¡¯d used two of them to not only heal a nearly fatal wound but also used the follow-up potion to regain mana midfight while helping Ath out of a bind. He couldn¡¯t afford to lose a minion to banishment after their defeat, not here in this horrible ce, not when he likely couldn¡¯t afford the resurrection cost of a blood price (which, ording to Ath, would be at least in the low thousands of Elysium coins that he¡¯d have to pay the system in such a scenario), thus he would risk drinking the stuff time after time in order to make sure he didn¡¯t end up dead.


    He¡¯d also drunk tons of the stuff already without any serious problems, given that he¡¯d regenerated his body numerous times in the pit trap by using it. So even if they knew that there were potentially unwanted side effects, there wasn¡¯t much they could do about it. They needed the Sinner¡¯s Blood; not only had it already saved his life, but it was also a means of sustenance. Jalel¡¯s sack unfortunately contained no food whatsoever. Riven had taken Ath and Azmoth hunting for more food in their spare time, and even though Athid her traps expertly¡ªdropping webbing on her enemies or luring enemies into pits for her to wrap them up in¡ªeach encounter meant potential danger. After discovering that the blood would satiate their hunger to an extent, they would make regr trips to the river of blood to drink their fill despite how grotesque it¡¯d seemed to Riven at first.


    But it was certainly better than starving, and strangely enough, he was also beginning to like it. Logically he knew it was disgusting, but the taste¡­the taste resonated with him¡ªand he couldn¡¯t help but remember the time fangs had sprouted from his mouth.


    </a>It was on one of these trips toward a nearby river, at the bottom floor of a ruined skyscraper within a thin stone hallway, that the three of them found themselves now.


    The undead¡¯s shriveled hand raised high as it screeched, spewing saliva and a foul necrotic stench all over the dusty stone floors before it lunged. The downward stroke sank its copper de into Riven¡¯s staff as he blocked, and he grunted with the effort before spartan kicking the creature in the chest and sending it backward a couple feet.


    This gave him an opening, and arge crimson disc ripped through the air to embed itself within the ugly, half-decayed creature to force it stumbling back. Riven grinned, then looked over his shoulder at Azmoth and Ath just behind him in the hallway. ¡°Watch this.¡±


    He snapped his fingers, and the Bloody Razor he¡¯d already cast was infused with even more mana as it exploded in a spray of red shrapnel. The ghoul was shredded from the inside out, pieces of its body bathing the sides of the hallway, the ceiling, and the floor in gore. This was something Riven had recently perfected through trial and error, and it gave not only the initial strike damage but also the explosion damage as long as he remembered to infuse it again after impact.


    He¡¯d essentially created small bombs from the razors he could summon.


    ¡°Yay!¡± Ath rapidly pped her front spider paws in excitement, and Azmoth gave a grunt of approval, watching what Ath did and mimicking her to p all four of his wed, armored hands together over and over again while smiling as if he¡¯d learned a new trick, too.


    They would often take turns like this. Though they¡¯d experimented and figured out that they all shared a baseline XP even if they didn¡¯t participate in the kill, the more one participated in a fight, the more XP one got. Those who took the killing blows also acquired another boost of XP that the others in their party didn¡¯t get, and they were actually able to measure this through a feature Riven had not been aware of prior to Ath informing him of it.


    With every kill, if he used ¡°Visualize XP¡± as an out-loud systemmand, he would literally see the amount of XP he was getting with a glowing number over the heads of in enemies before they passed away. He certainly didn¡¯t intend to use it a lot, but it was useful from time to time.


    This particr ghoul had given him forty-four XP, as he¡¯d done all the work, while his two minions each got a paltry six XP for what Ath called a ¡°minion tax.¡± It worked both ways, though, so in theory even if hemanded his minions to go do all the work, he¡¯d still be able to sit back and level up¡ªjust at a slower pace than his contracted demons would until they hit the cap that limited </a>them in growth, which was equivalent the summoner¡¯s own level. This cap was also the reason why summoners could not acquire demons far stronger than they were¡ªas the demon contracted would need to be equal or lower level when the contract was signed.


    So in the end, they decided to split it as evenly as possible¡ªasionally toggling the ¡°Visualize XP¡±mand on and off while trying to get Azmoth level with Ath and Riven. ording to Ath, some events hosted by the system had absolute level requirements regardless of actual power¡ªso they weren¡¯t just numbers for show. This also somewhat exined why levels were even a thing, because previously Riven had been questioning why they even existed if some creatures like Azmoth had such enormous stat gains inparison to the average human, for example. A level 5 Hellscape Brutalisk would have gained about as many stat points as a level 15 to 20 human if they were both ssless.


    Then again, Ath had also told him that humans generally had a much more broad expanse of sses than demons did. Neither Ath nor Azmoth had sses yet, and they could only attain certain ones within a limited scope depending on their species. Humans enjoyed an incrediblyrge number of options, and sses could give stat points, too¡ªso in the end, a high-level human with a really good ss could still keep pace or even outpace Azmoth¡¯s stat point gains per level in certain circumstances.


    Riven hummed to himself as he stepped over two more bodies of low-level ghouls he¡¯d already killed, tossing the copper knife to Azmoth, who put it in their loot bag, and yawned as he turned a corner in the small hallway. With every breath he took, tiny puffs of blood mist would exit through small pores in the mask he wore¡­a rather cool visual effect for a vampiric item, and he was pretty damn sure the mask was also purifying the air around him, as every time he inhaled the air felt crisp and refreshing.


    Looking down at his chipped, gnarled staff, he could only hope he¡¯d get a new weapon soon, too. It was looking much worse than when he¡¯d first gotten it, and although he kept it for the mana regeneration, he tried not to use it as a physical weapon anymore because he didn¡¯t want it to break.


    He turned another corner and came to a stop as his eyes locked onto yet another undead, thest of the small pack that was inching its way toward them.


    <span ss="bold">[Level 2 Ghoul, Undead]


    The approaching ghoul, the straggler of the group, had finally seen him after turning the corner and nearly tripping over a small pile of rubble. With a roar and a phlegm-filled, barking cough, it began barreling down the narrow hallway with bloodlust in its eyes, either too stupid or too hungry to care about the peril it was in under the cold stare of the warlock.


    </a>Ath nced Riven¡¯s way with a raised leg. ¡°I believe it¡¯s still your turn?¡±


    He nodded and wiped the sweat off his brow while stepping over a partially broken skeleton. ¡°Mine.¡±


    Riven¡¯s fingers clenched into a tight fist as red ribbons of magic drew up the length of his arm to his right bicep, licking his skin and smoldering as the mana was condensed and prepared for a strike.


    The blood magic immediately bristled, streaked through the veins of his forearm and into his fingertips¡ªand his mind homed in on the intended target. It only took a few seconds, and the ghoul was still ten feet away from him as he let the magic soar through the air like a crimson torpedo. In an instant, the monster¡¯s body ripped apart in a blur¡ªtearing into the shrieking, bloodthirsty creature with a clean hole the size of Riven¡¯s thigh carved out of its chest and left shoulder.


    The st ripped the undead creature backward, flipping it over and spraying ck blood everywhere while it shrieked. It mmed into the ground with a wet st, lying broken on the floor from the aftershock of the magic and only letting out low groans.


    Riven snorted, then casually walked up to the monster¡ªlifted his boot¡ªand mmed it into the creature¡¯s head. He repeated this two more times until his heel went through the skull and into the groaning undead¡¯s brain.


    <span ss="bold">[You havended a critical hit. Max damage x 2.]


    <span ss="bold">[You have grown one level. Congrattions!]


    ¡°Another critical?¡± Ath asked curiously with a paw to her mandibles as if in thought.


    Riven chuckled and lowered his hand, essing his character sheet to assign the stat points to Intelligence. ¡°Yep. I mean, I did kick its skull in.¡±

 Chapter 47

    Chapter 47


    She gave him a chittering nudge while walking by and began to stride ahead with Azmoth in tow. ¡°Nicely done. As expected of my warlock ve!¡±


    Riven snorted and downed another vial of Sinner¡¯s Blood, replenishing his mana to full and wiping the red liquid from his lips on his sleeve. ¡°Warlock ve?! Hold on here¡­¡±


    ¡°Royal jester, warlock ve, servant to the princess¡­ All eptable titles for a plebian such as yourself,¡± Ath stated with a dismissive wave of her spider paw while continuing down the hallway and bypassingrger chambers on her left that were illuminated with dull red light. ¡°Whichever suits you best, little man. Just let me know and it shall be so!¡±


    ¡°Little man?! I¡¯m three times your size, you little runt!¡±


    ¡°PLEBIAN! I¡¯VE STOMPED BABIES STURDIER THAN YOU!¡±


    Riven merely rolled his eyes. They continued their trek toward the river of blood for their daily meal, with Riven muttering to himself about how arachnids were stupid and Ath doing that strange thorax-bobbing swagger-walk she did whenever she won an argument or a battle.


    The three of them had been doing very well in choosing their battles over the course of their time here. Low-level monsters were eagerly picked off in order to grind levels and increase their stats, while higher-level monsters orrge groups of them were generally avoided. The exception was situations like this, where they were able to funnelrger groups of low-level monsters into a tight space with Azmoth as the front line if they needed him to be. It was incredibly likely Azmoth could have handled all these low-level ghouls by himself without much hassle if needed¡ªor that Riven could kill multiple enemies with a single strike of his Blood Lance spell if they were lined up correctly.


    At the very least, they were all improving at a steady rate. Quite a fast one at that, if Riven had to guess. ording to Ath, they were all likely to get level-assigned abilities soon. Riven had been lucky enough to find ways to acquire </a>Blessing of the Crow and Blood Lance, but that¡¯d been external and not an internal source of acquisition. It was all random as to when someone would get a new ability, yes, but the longer one went on without getting one, the more likely they were to get one the next time they leveled up.


    Or, at the very least, they¡¯d get a trait or upgrade or some sort. Ath had to correct herself and exin that one to Riven thoroughly, but long story short, a level up might actually give other types of bonuses instead of spells or abilities. Better sses and longer periods of time between skill gains or upgrades often presented better options, but it wasn¡¯t an absolute. Even then it was still random to a great extent.


    On the way through the ruins, Riven picked up an old bronze coin he saw lying around and pocketed it with a smile, but otherwise he stepped over the corpses and chuckled at Azmoth when the four-armed demon dragged one of the corpses along to eat as he went. The crunching of bone, snapping of ligaments, and shredding of flesh that had once made Riven sick to hear¡­now it was wee. It meant Azmoth was in a good mood, and he was really beginning to like the big guy.


    ¡°Hey, Azmoth¡ª¡± Riven began with a genuine smile, skipping ahead to walk alongside Ath as they turned the corner and continued down their regr path through the dark, ruined building toward the river of blood. ¡°I want to say thanks. Thanks for saving my life the day we met, and thanks for cooking all our meals. Roasted harpy isn¡¯t all that bad.¡±


    ¡°A little like chicken!¡± Ath chimed in happily.


    ¡°You¡¯ve never been out of theher realms prior to bing my minion. Have you ever eaten chicken before? For real, though.¡±


    ¡°No¡­but I n to!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t think so.¡±


    Azmoth disyed his rows of glistening ck teeth and smiled back Riven¡¯s way, letting out a deep and hissingugh that¡¯d be characteristic of the lumbering demon over the couple weeks they¡¯d known him. ¡°Tee hee hee. Harpies big chickens, yes. You like chickens. Right, Ath?¡±


    Both Riven and Ath stopped in their tracks, looked at each other, and then gawked back at Azmoth.


    ¡°Did you just talk?¡± Riven stated, bewildered. ¡°Or is this my mind ying tricks on me?¡±


    ¡°I think he just talked,¡± Ath confirmed with a quick double nod. ¡°Hurry, Azmoth, p him to make sure he¡¯s not hallucinating!¡± Ath jumped up and aggressively smacked Riven across the face again to bring him back to reality. ¡°HURRY, AZMOTH, HURRY!¡±


    Riven scowled down at the arachnid and roughly kicked the spider into a wall with his foot. ¡°Do <span ss="italic">not p me, Azmoth. I¡¯d likely die.¡±


    </a>Ath bounced off the side of the hall,ughed, and nced back over her shoulder as they passed by another window filtering crimson dungeon light into the narrow passage, and she gave Azmoth the widest, most genuine spider smile she could muster. ¡°When we get out, I¡¯ll show you what <span ss="italic">real chickens are like!¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Azmoth stated, as if pondering the meaning of it. ¡°Can you draw chicken for Azmoth? I want see.¡±


    Ath leaped at the opportunity. ¡°Of course I can! When we get back, I¡¯ll draw you <span ss="italic">all the chickens!¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Riven shook his head and nudged Azmoth as they walked. ¡°She doesn¡¯t know what a chicken looks like, either, mark my words. She¡¯ll draw you something more like a dinosaur.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a dinosaur?¡± Azmoth asked in a deep rumbling voice.


    Riven just grunted. ¡°Never mind, but it¡¯s good to hear you talking. I didn¡¯t even know you could.¡±


    Azmoth just chortled again, mes flickering in the back of his throat through rows of sharp ck teeth. ¡°Tee hee hee.¡±


    Ath covered her mouth with her paw, hiding her arachnid smile as she scurried up along the side of the wall. ¡°All righty, let¡¯s get a move on! We¡¯re almost to the river, and I want to be back before nightfall. All the scariese out at night!¡±


    Riven paused, shortening his step for a second as he thought about it with furrowed brows. ¡°Actually, yeah. Most of the scariest creatures doe out at night.¡±


    An hourter they exited the series of closely knit buildings through a pseudo-tunnel to a spot they liked to frequent for visiting the river. Looming archways and the spires of a cathedral to their left stood ominously, casting shadows over a bend in the blood river that snaked into a recess between two mountains of rubble before exiting back into the inner city again. Across the river were ancient stone aqueducts spanning the length of many miles, and underneath these dried-up aqueducts were some of the only fields of nts that the group had encountered since getting here. Instead of grass or green foliage, though, these nts were ck¡­and grew about a foot in length while asionally flowering a bright white. There were also a couple scattered ck trees, each with translucent leaves that gave off a strange, illuminating mist whenever night fell.


    It was at this recess within the mountains of rubble that their tunnel exited next to arge bridge, and as usual Ath sighed with desire at the flowers across the river of blood while sporting a pouty frown. ¡°I really wish we could go pick some.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Riven snorted and put his hands on his hips to stretch, obviously not willing to take that chance. He gave the spider a sidelong look. ¡°Ask yourself this, Ath: Why is there an untouched field of flowers across that river? Why </a>in all the dungeon we¡¯ve explored thus far does this one area seem pristine and beautiful? Why are there no monsters over there, trampling the nts? Why have we not even one time seen a creature venture that way in the weeks we¡¯ve beening here?¡±


    He gave her a knowing look with a raised eyebrow underneath the hood of his fur-lined brown cloak. ¡°It¡¯s absolutely fishy, and I¡¯m willing to bet that those nts are dangerous. What does a demonic spider want with flowers, anyways?¡±


    She animatedly waved her front spider legs around in the air. ¡°I¡¯m a princess, Riven! I need pretty things!¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    Ath red at him, and with a humph she trotted toward the river¡¯s edge to start filling up.

 Chapter 48

    Chapter 48


    Ath had already vaulted over the stone ledge epassing their solitary refuge amid the rubble and was sliding down arge stone b leading to the dirt below with a chittering cackle. Hitting the ground running, she lunged on all twelve legs toward the temple as fast as she could¡ªwhich was pretty damn fast¡ªwith Riven and Azmoth scrambling to catch up.


    His heart pounded, and his nerves were on edge. Those definitely sounded like human voices, but the screaming and pleas were quickly dying out and had altogether stopped by the time he¡¯d made it halfway to the cathedral. Had some other group from Earth ended up here? Were there more people from the Elysium core worlds that¡¯d decided to appear? He began summoning blood magic to charge up ance along his right arm, keeping an eye out on his surroundings as he ran.


    Thirty secondster, his sprint slowed to a crawl, and he began sneaking heel to toe to avoid making noise, with Azmoth doing his best to make as little noise as possible, too, though therger demon had a tough time of it given his bulk and the metal fused to his body.


    The cathedral¡¯s towering entrance was ajar and always had been to the best of Riven¡¯s knowledge. Once these marble double doors had been neatly fixated into the front, but to move such massive pirs of stone to shut the entrance down would have taken a Herculean effort.


    When he finally made it to the daunting, steepled passage at the front of the cathedral, his body pressed up against the marble and he began slinking ahead. Step-by-step, he cautiously moved forward, heart pounding ever harder as he got closer to what he knew to be a very dangerousir even by standards of the ruins they lived in. He could hear crunching, ripping, and distant muffled shouts for mercy from deeper into the structure.


    Coming to a stop at the edge of the ajar door and scowling down at Ath, who was already peering in, he gave his eyes time to adjust¡­and what he saw made him very confused.


    </a>The entrance led directly into a tall, domed area with a ruined set of two iplete statues in the far back, worn away by time and obvious physical abuse. Pieces of therge statues littered the ground beneath, but judging by the remaining details he could tell that they had once been angels.


    Around the room, hanging off the ceiling support struts, were at least two dozen torn tapestries. The colors of the tapestries had been worn away by age. Arge spiral staircase was off to the right, a long dark hallway leading straight ahead and to the left, and then here in the main room of the spacious cathedral was a myriad of different items that really didn¡¯t belong. The most prominent of which was a yellow school bus.


    It was an antique, and it even had letters written in English that said ¡°Bakers ISD¡± along the side. The door had been ripped off, tossed to the side, and crumpled up next to the body of a human man wearing a nnel T-shirt that was being fed on by a creature that resembled therger goat man they¡¯d seen wandering the area in the past, though this satyr was much smaller and likely an adolescent. It also didn¡¯t have its insides partially exposed like therger one did and had a full set of abdominal muscles instead.


    <span ss="bold">[Fallen Satyr, Level 5]


    There were two other fallen satyrs of simr levels searching the bus, each standing at around four feet tall, but otherwise the room was empty of living creatures. Piles of shity scattered across the dirty tiled floor, and trails of blood led from the bus all the way down the dark hallway to the left.


    Ath¡¯s whispering voice from behind startled him. ¡°Wow. That¡¯s a car, right? I¡¯ve always wanted to see one since you told me stories about them! How did it get here? Ooh, and look at that dead guy¡­how tasty. Do you think there are more?¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t bother looking down and kept his eyes focused on the nearest satyr, watching its sharp teeth chomp down on bits and pieces of the man as it carved off chunks of bloody flesh with a small, curved knife and popped them into its mouth. The dark fur along its lower half and head were caked in dirt, and Riven could smell the foul stench of the creatures from here.


    ¡°It is very likely there are more. I heard begging, and the voices were definitely female¡­¡±


    He slowly inhaled and exhaled, building up the bravery needed for what he was about to do. He didn¡¯t know why a bus, of all things, had been brought to the dungeon, or why now and not earlier when they¡¯d first been spawned here, but he didn¡¯t care. That wasn¡¯t important. What was important was finding whoever was down that hallway and helping them escape. ¡°I didn¡¯t see the goat man. At least not the big one. We may have a chance to save them if there are people still alive and all that¡¯s left are these little guys¡­¡±


    </a>From behind them, a low, malevolent chuckle rose from Azmoth¡¯s chest as he knelt next to them and peered in¡ªdespite not having any eyes. ¡°Can¡­can I eat satyr? I cook them and eat them, yes?¡±


    Riven nced back. Azmoth¡¯s toothy grin and giddiness really did remind Riven of a child, and he had to pause to really consider that Azmoth was indeed an infant.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Riven said slowly, cing a finger to his lips and keeping his voice low. ¡°But in a little bit. We need to kill them quietly and then go deeper in to see if we can save the others¡­assuming there are more humans left.¡±


    Azmoth¡¯s armored, spiked head nodded avidly while imitating Riven with a finger up to his lips. ¡°Yes, yes. We kill quietly and eatter. That¡¯s good.¡±


    Riven waited until the two fallen satyrs on the bus finally made their way off it, stepping down onto the stone of the dirty cathedral floor and carrying another mutted body, that of a young woman, with them. It looked like her neck had been broken in two ces, and arge gash was torn through her upper half¡­


    What a grisly sight.


    Despite this, Riven kept his cool and counted to three under his breath from where he sat with Ath. At the end of the count, he pushed a torrent of mana into his left arm and channeled fiverge discs of spinning red razors that thundered ahead at breakneck speed. They cleanly split the first of the fallen satyrs like it was made of paper, lopping off the head and cutting through its body at various points just as the second satyr was taken out by a lightning-fast strike of Riven¡¯s Blood Lance.


    With a scream of surprise from the second satyr that made Riven scowl, he lunged forward to finish the job¡ªonly to see that it was already dead before it hit the floor.


    The attack had been so fast that the third satyr was in a state of shock and confusion as Ath leaped onto it from behind and sank her fangs into the creature¡¯s throat. Rot quickly afflicted the remnants of its windpipe as the arachnid tore its jugr out, and she did a happy dance atop its corpse only a minuteter while wiggling her front legs.


    Despite the fight being a quick hit, the second creature¡¯s brief scream made Riven slightly nervous. He peered down the dark hallway to his left, watching carefully for any signs of movement as Azmoth and Ath crept up behind him.


    Yet, despite Azmoth¡¯s best attempts to remain quiet, he did asionally make noise with those big, armored feet of his.


    ¡°Azmoth, I¡¯m going to unsummon you for now¡­but I¡¯ll resummon you at the first sign of a fight,¡± Riven stated with a nce back at therge demon. ¡°You¡¯re just a little loud. Not your fault! But we need to be sneaky.¡±


    </a>Riven brought a finger up to his chest where Azmoth¡¯s red pentagram was burned into his skin between his vicles, right above Ath¡¯s blue one, and concentrated on themand Unsummon.


    With a nod of understanding, Azmoth vanished through a portal of fire into the abyssal forest he¡¯d spawned from. Riven felt the dip in his mana immediately, frowning at the cost his unsummoning needed. Every time he summoned or unsummoned one of them, it was a pretty decent percentage of his total mana, so he had to be careful how often he did it.


    Ath prodded him with a foot. ¡°Anything on these guys?¡±


    Riven shook his head with a frown while irreverently poking the wide-eyed goat man¡¯s face with his staff. ¡°Other than lots of ugly? No, I don¡¯t see any loot. Let¡¯s keep moving; we can look for treasureter. Right now the priority is trying to find out whether or not there are still people alive.¡±


    The trail of blood led them a good forty meters down the hall as the light grew dimmer and dimmer. Both Riven and Ath did their best to keep their footsteps noiseless, with Ath having a much easier time of it as she scampered along the ceiling like a shadow.


    Up until the end of the hall, it was pretty barren. There were two empty rooms on the right side with a lot of broken boxes, bones, and more goat excrement, but not much else. The stench was rather foul here, too, so they made their way as hastily as possible and came to a crossroads between hallways going left and right and a set of stone stairs that led underground.


    Riven pointed to the trail of blood in the weak light of the ruin, and Ath rushed to scout ahead as he descended the steps.


    The smell got worse when they hit the bottom, and the floor became thick with a viscous fluid that made it all the harder to remain quiet as they tried to sneak through. The low glow of antern hanging along the wall to Riven¡¯s left gave them a meager amount of sight, though, and he quickly found that the blood trail had been lost in the quarter-inch of dark fluid on the floor.


    ¡°Crap.¡± Riven quickly looked around, seeing passages to his left, right, and front¡ªnone of which had obvious signs of recent passage. He was about to ask Ath her opinion on where to start when he heard another distant scream from his right.


    They immediately started moving.


    Ancient stonework riddled with splendid carvings of heroics, monsters, and cities lined the long, domed halls. Green moss, the first of this particr kind that they¡¯d seen since turning up in this dungeon, was stered along various corners and patches of ceiling. The viscous liquid Riven stood in, which they still didn¡¯t know the identity of, was everywhere¡­and about every other stretch of hallway had a dimntern nted on a stone outcropping to light the way.


    </a>¡°We¡¯re already lost, aren¡¯t we?¡± Ath asked nonchntly from her perch upside down on the ceiling.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m memorizing theyout as we go.¡±


    Another scream and distant begging filtered through the underground maze, pushing them forward past many barred or empty rooms until eventually they came to a much bigger and cylindrical room spanning many dozens of yards across.


    It was something between a prison and a sacrificial chamber.


    Therge room smelled like iron and viscera. Torches were ced at intervals along the walls, and arge pentagram with runic markings was etched into the ceiling high above. There were numerous cells holding captives along the entirety of the circumference, with the two exceptions being the entrance they now knelt in, keeping to the shadows, and the bloody stone altar on the opposite side of the room.


    At the raised altar, two of the smaller satyrs, or goat men, stood at either side as they brutally carved daggers into a screaming woman¡¯s chest. Rope tied to stone circlets held the iling woman down. There were also three more of the satyrs standing around and chanting as they waved their small glistening daggers around, with the firelight of the tomb¡¯s torches reflecting off the des. One of them, obviously the leader of the pack, wore a hood.


    The victim, who was likely in her forties, wore a ripped, bloodied mess of what had once been a shirt with a fast-food logo on it, and was begging for her life between screams and sobs. Those screams and sobs abruptly cut off, and she began to go into shock as one of the two goat men made a <span ss="italic">baahhing noise simr to that of a sheep and triumphantly lifted up the heart he¡¯d carved out of the woman.


    It was sickening to watch, and as Riven looked around he saw even more bodies.


    There was only one other person left alive, a scrawny, shirtless man in histe teens or early twenties with a short blond mohawk in the cell closest to the altar on the left. Other than that, all the other cages were filled with monsters of various sorts. There were a couple undead, a harpy, and two Jabob demons¡ªall of which were below level 3. All of which were screaming, growling, moaning, crying, or rattling the bars. A couple Jabob and ghoul corpses were already piled at the foot of the altar, covered in blood and missing pieces of their bodies at random that mixed with the human corpses.


    <span ss="bold">[Fallen Satyr: Level 5 Demon]


    <span ss="bold">[Fallen Satyr: Level 6 Demon]


    <span ss="bold">[Fallen Satyr: Level 8 Demon]


    <span ss="bold">[Fallen Satyr: Level 3 Demon]


    <span ss="bold">[Fallen Satyr: Level 5 Demon]


    <span ss="bold">[Fallen Satyr: Level 5 Demon]

 Chapter 49

    Chapter 49


    Riven¡¯s heart sank when he realized he¡¯d been just barely toote to save the woman or the man out front, but there was still one person they could save.


    His muscles flexed, his body stiffened, and he turned to Ath with a determined upward gesture of his hand. ¡°Go.¡±


    She understood and immediately slunk into the room to start crawling up the wall while the satyrs were distracted. Riven took in a deep breath and exhaled; his warm breath blew out as a cloud of red mist from his mask. With a nod he activated the Blessing of the Crow, feeling his once-daily and hour-long speed boost activate. His heart raced, his muscles flexed, and electricity sparked across his body. He felt his stamina climb rapidly; it was as if he¡¯d just simultaneously taken numerous energy drinks and snorted cocaine.


    Now it was time to kill these sons of bitches, but his projectiles other than Blood Lance were too short in range to cast from here in such arge room. He could let off two of his Blood Lances first, but immediately after that he needed to get closer.


    Wisps of blood energy radiated across either arm, and with curling motions to summon the magic, he felt his Blood subpir radiate. He flexed his muscles again, shifted his weight, andunched both Blood Lances right before he lunged forward into therge room.


    *CRACK*


    *ZIP*


    The Blood Lances blurred forward ahead of him and ripped through the skull of one and the leg of another before the satyrs even knew what¡¯d happened. Numerous shards of spinning, razor-sharp blood projectiles followed him in andunched forward when he was close enough, tearing into his enemies in an arsenal of pain and surprised screeches. He saw a dismembered hand fly into the air and extended his staff forward to cast another volley¡ªcondensed blood umting around the weapon and then shooting forward to impale three of </a>them for a second round. They exploded a secondter, ripping the bodies apart even more with minor sts of magical shrapnel after he infused more mana into the projectiles. Unfortunately two of the discs shattered against the bloodied stone altar, but the majority of his strikes rang true.


    The yellow eyes of the hooded satyr went wide, and it animatedly flung its bloody dagger in a spinning arc at Riven¡¯s neck with a shriek, but he dodged left at high speed with his empowered agility and cackled when one of itsrades was yanked up toward the ceiling screaming as Ath¡¯s webbing bound it.


    ¡°Bitch!¡± Riven¡¯s hand produced tworge snares on either side of him that expanded and shot forward to meet the charge of the three iing cronies. Each of the satyrs made enraged bleating sounds as they waved their bloody daggers in the air and raced toward him, bloodlust in their eyes.


    One of them managed to duck low and avoid the snares while the other two were caught in the one on Riven¡¯s right and tripped to the floor¡ªscreaming as needles along the ckting impaled them and began to sear away their flesh.


    Green light erupted from the altar where the hooded figure was chanting, and a momentter an orb of sickly green power sted forward toward Riven¡¯s position when the nearest of the satyrs¡ªdagger in hand¡ªalso lunged for him.


    But even as Ath leaped from above to try and take the hit herself, a portal of me erupted in front of her, and Azmoth took the attack head-on in a rush.


    The green magic impacted against the huge four-armed demon as Azmoth roared, pulsed with fire, and charged, shrugging off the magical st like it was nothing and causing the satyr caster to start bleating with terrified wails. Thest thing that small satyr ever saw was a rushing bulldozer of death in the form of a ming wed hand.


    The next moment, the spell caster¡ªalong with the majority of the stone altar¡ªexploded into a spray of body parts, me, and stone. Azmoth¡¯s attack was utterly devastating given the brutalisk¡¯s impressive strength, and there was little left of the smaller demon after that.


    Meanwhile, Riven had erupted into an inferno himself when he activated Hell¡¯s Armor and took the attack of the dagger-wielding satyr head-on¡ªgrunting as the demon shed at him, but only taking minimal damage and countering with a ming staff to the demon¡¯s face.


    The demon screeched and fell back as one of its teeth was sent flying, only to be met with shards of red webbing that erupted from Ath¡¯s thorax¡ªpiercing it over numerous spots across its body and neck from where she was perched above.


    The arachnid lunged ahead with Riven hot on her heels, the two of them beating and tearing at the downed, wailing demon together as Riven deactivated Hell¡¯s Armor to save mana before whirling around and firing anotherrge disc of razor-sharp blood a few feet in width spinning ahead in an arc to catch one of the satyrs that¡¯d escaped his bindings.


    </a>The demon was split in two, the blood magic exploding in a shower of shrapnel against the far wall after slicing through his target while Azmoth roared and smashed down on thest of them¡ªtearing its head off and snapping down his jaws onto the skull of the decapitated creature to repeatedly crunch and swallow.


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s what I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ talking about!¡± Riven screamed as he whooped and high-fived Ath¡ªthen gave Azmoth a thumbs-up. ¡°Good shit!¡±


    *WHAM*


    Riven was sent reeling onto his back as pain shot along his staff-bearing arm. He felt teeth and ws digging through his sleeve into his skin, the sensation lighting up his nerves like they¡¯d been hit by lightning.


    Despite the immense pain, Riven¡¯s abrupt fall was due to surprise rather than damage. There were more of them? He hadn¡¯t even seen the little goat bastarde for him, but it must havee through the entrance they¡¯d taken.


    Gritting his teeth and making eye contact with the crazed, bloodthirsty, bulging eyeball of the creature that was trying to tear away his left bicep, Riven pulled his head back and mmed it into the demon¡¯s face.


    His skull rattled and he immediately got woozy, but the effect was shared by the satyr. The small demon released its grip and rolled off him just in time to be met with a heavy, wed hand.


    Azmoth¡¯s mes burned into the creature while it squealed and writhed. The brutalisk¡¯s deep hiss was one of animosity and amusement, and with one hand, it kept the satyr midair and began to squeeze the creature¡¯s neck. ¡°Tee hee hee.¡±


    The bleating, kicking, and struggling became fierce as the satyr¡¯sst attempts to escape were met with a deep chuckle, then the sound of a spine snapping met their ears and the quickly charring goat man went limp in Azmoth¡¯s grip.


    ¡°Puny satyr.¡± Azmoth chuckled once more and irreverently tossed the smoldering, broken body over his shoulder and onto the corpse of a caster near the broken stone altar nearby. ¡°Like taking baby.¡±


    Riven¡¯s grunt of pain was quickly cut off with a raised eyebrow of confusion as Azmoth stopped producing mes from his body and lent a hand to pull Riven up, but Ath just began tough.


    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®like taking candy from a baby.¡¯ Or ¡®I¡¯m gonna stomp that baby,¡¯ Not ¡®taking baby.¡¯ Big difference.¡± Ath patted Azmoth on the back when his mes died away, then gave Riven a sideways nce. ¡°I think Azmoth is trying to learn a couple of my catchphrases from your world.¡±


    Azmoth nodded, his knives of wicked ck teeth growing into a grin of his own.


    Oh, God. Ath¡¯s bad habits were rubbing off on Azmoth.


    Riven grimaced and began tending to his injured arm. The teeth had gone deep, letting blood flow freely out of his body, and he let out a groan of satisfaction when his body began its abnormal regeneration to seal the wounds. To restore his mana, he also took a vial of Sinner¡¯s Blood, downing it while simultaneously feeling his soul¡¯s Blood subpir quiver ravenously at the taste. He felt invigorated, alive, and, standing up straighter, he flexed his arm again to inspect it and made sure nothing was still injured.


    </a>¡°Health and mana are back up, good as new.¡± Riven gave Ath a fist bump. Then he did the same to Azmoth. ¡°Good shit on that attack where you crushed the altar. You really put that caster into an early grave.¡±


    ¡°Tee hee hee.¡±


    He rubbed his temple with his fingers and did a once-over around the room, zing over the rows of monsters that were causing a rather loud ruckus just as they¡¯d been doing so when he¡¯d first entered. With a menacing re of distaste, Riven reached over to his staff and got to his feet. ¡°Let¡¯s get started, then, shall we?¡±


    Ten minutester, all the caged monsters were dead with shards and discs of crimson embedded in their corpses.


    [You have gained one level. Congrattions!]


    Nice.


    After finishing off thest of the ghouls within the cells with another Bloody Razor, Riven stepped over the mangled corpse of a nearby satyr and grabbed the gleaming set of ringed keys from the creature¡¯s robes.


    He shook his head and kept going. His attention was quickly turned over to the guy with the mohawk, who was sitting in his cell silently watching them with folded arms over his knees and his back to the wall.


    Riven held up a finger and cleared his throat to get the man¡¯s attention. ¡°You¡¯re from Earth, right? Hold on just a moment, I need to assign my stat points just in case somethinges up.¡±


    The man gave him a bewildered and simultaneously confused look, and Riven¡¯s snort came out as another cloud of red mist while he got to work. When he put his points back into his usuals, his status page wasing along nicely. He¡¯d reallye a long way.


    [Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:


    <span ss="bno">? Level 16


    <span ss="bno">? Pir Orientations: Unholy Foundation, Blood, Infernal


    <span ss="bno">? Core of Original Sin¡ªGluttony: (Under Construction) (???)


    <span ss="bno">? Traits: Race: Human, ss: Novice Warlock, Adrenaline Junkie (Blood) (+15% to Agility)


    <span ss="bno">? Abilities: Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood) (Tier 2), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal)


    </a><span ss="bno">? Stats: 8 Strength, 24 Sturdiness, 112 Intelligence, 10 Agility, 1 Luck, -4 Charisma, 3 Perception, 57 Willpower, 9 Faith


    <span ss="bno">? Free Stat Points: 0


    <span ss="bno">? Minions: Ath, Level 13 Blood Weaver [14 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 9 Hellscape Brutalisk [20 Willpower Requirement].


    <span ss="bno">? Equipped Items: Basic Casting Staff (4 dmg, 12% mana regen, +3 magic dmg), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies, Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Cloak of the Tundra (22 def, +56 bonus def vs. frost), Breath of Valgeshia (48 def, +13 dmg & +9% mana output dmg for blood dmg, 6% mana regen)]


    He nodded in affirmation of his stats and closed the window. He¡¯d been pushing most of his points into Intelligence and Willpower, and he¡¯d also sunk a few into Sturdiness to keep himself alive. The result was that he could tell a very stark difference in the power of his magical casting whenpared to the spells he¡¯d started with in the beginning, back in Chalgathi¡¯s trials. The snares and razors were the same type of spells, but now they had a hell of a punch and could manifest bigger and better for less mana.

 Chapter 50

    Chapter 50


    He was going toin about the pain still radiating across his recently injured arm to Ath when he paused in what he was about to say¡­and a lump in his throat began to form. Farther back in the darker recess of the cell, past the blond man, there was a pile of four small bodies. All of them human, all of them children, and all of them dead with dark marks of bruising around their necks¡­ Riven had a good idea where they¡¯de from, considering there was a school bus out there in the front room of the temple.


    Riven went rigid and immediately turned away, but he refocused his attention as the other man got up and ced his head against the thick cell bars. In the torchlight, it was evident that the guy was a natural athlete. ¡°So as I was saying, you¡¯re from Earth?¡±


    He looked to have the body of a long-distance runner, was just slightly shorter than Riven by half an inch, and wore a pair of sweatpants with a tight ck shirt. The man looked up at him, and their eyes met, and he sluggishly drawled out a reply. ¡°Yes. These creatures killed any who resisted and dragged them away, and after I saw what they did to my friend Shawn, I pretended to be unconscious as they dragged me here. What is this ce? We were trying to outrun some monsters, and all of a sudden we drove through a fiery door that appeared out of nowhere and ended up here¡­¡±


    His voice carried with it a very slight, almost unnoticeable Irish ent. Worry was etched into the man¡¯s features, and his grip against the bars of his cell tightened, but he remainedposed. ¡°First the world goes crazy and invading monsters roam the streets, killing everyone, and then we¡¯re transported to some woonds where the trees came alive to attack us. Now this¡­ I end up here, I watched my friend get killed before I¡¯m saved by magic-wielding humans. At least you¡¯re human, though. My name is Ben.¡±


    Ben extended a hand through the cell bars, and Riven grasped it to shake firmly. It was nice, after all these weeks, finally seeing another person. Talking </a>to another person¡­though Riven could tell Ben didn¡¯t feel the same way about the situation.


    ¡°My name is Riven. This is Ath, and this is Azmoth. Apparently we¡¯re in hell, in a dungeon called Negrada. I have a lot of questions for you, too, but that can wait forter. As can our exnations for what we know individually. Here.¡±


    He began fidgeting with the keys and trying them out, one by one, on the cell. The keys were a little different than the ones he was used to¡ªthey wererger, thicker, and had different protrusions at all angles along the circumference of the circr rod that formed the base of the key. However, he was able to get the lock open soon enough, and Ben stepped out.


    Ben warily nced Azmoth and Ath over. ¡°They seem friendly enough¡­ How did you get two of them on your side?¡±


    ¡°Long story,¡± Riven stated sourly underneath his hood as he red at the pile of small bodies. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like talking the entire thing through right now.¡±


    Surprisingly, Ben wasn¡¯t in much of a state of shock. Nor did he seem overly grateful about being saved. Rather, he seemed sad. He nced around the room, quickly epting it for what it was, and let out a slow sigh. ¡°This is terrible.¡±


    Riven watched him as he slowly strode up to where the corpse of the woman he¡¯d known was lying. Her heart was carved out, and what was left of her after Azmoth¡¯s shattering attack to kill the caster was still tied down to chunks of the broken stone altar.


    ¡°Negrada¡­¡± Ben said slowly after a moment of pondering. He walked over to let his fingers lightly touch the remnants of the stone altar. He turned around and faced Riven, doing his best to ignore Azmoth, who was staring him down a few feet away. ¡°You said we¡¯re in hell? That¡¯s what this notification I just got says, too. How weird.¡±


    Riven nodded just once, then thought a bit and slowly came to a realization. Stepping over another corpse anding to stand directly in front of Ben, Riven picked up a dagger from one of the fallen satyrs and handed it over to the other man. ¡°You¡¯ll be needing this. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re showing up now. I¡¯d assumed everybody was making the transition over at the same time and the same way¡­ Did you ever go through the tutorial?¡±


    Ben nervously took the de, awkwardly palming it before shaking his head no. ¡°What¡¯s the tutorial? I never went through any tutorial. I was on Earth until I arrived here, but the¡­it looked like it was being rearranged. It was really weird¡ªpieces ofnd mass were shifted and teleported or reced by other things. Some areas we drove by looked like they were going through a time warp with trees aging at incredible rates, and other areas looked like they were staying the same. I didn¡¯t know what to make of it¡­¡±


    Riven frowned, remembering his own experience back in Das when he, Jose, and Allie had managed to escape into the pir of light right before he was </a>told he was being separated from his childhood friend and sister. There were too many questions and too few answers for his liking, but it did give him some sick measure offort knowing that he wasn¡¯t alone on this ride of insanity. ¡°You mentioned monsters back on Earth. What were yours like? I was originally attacked by monsters back in Das before escaping into the pirs.¡±


    Ben looked surprised. ¡°It was all over the news, mate. Before the TV stations went down. Monsters started appearing and killing anyone who was left, with a timer lighting up in vision along the top right-hand side¡­ It was horrible.¡±


    ¡°I only saw snippets of the news. My phone was low on battery when it all happened and it died on the way out.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Half of Earth¡¯s poption was pretty much annihted all at once, or that¡¯s what people were guessing right before shit really started hitting the fan.¡±


    Riven stared at the younger man for some time in silent thought.


    Half?


    But knowing news stations back on Earth, that number could have been blown way out of proportion. There was no real way to tell just how many people had died. Nevertheless, it was likely in the many millions at the very least, since it¡¯d been a worldwide event.


    Ben gave a long, exasperated sigh and ufortably folded his arms over his chest. ¡°I was an elementary school teacher¡­ The school seemed to be an area where everyone had remained behind, and none of my students were abducted, so I piled them in the school bus and tried to make a run for it when the school got attacked by what I now think are werewolves. Some of the other teachers came with me. You saw how that all ended¡­ I think I¡¯m in a state of shock. It doesn¡¯t feel real to me. Anyways, I was pulled into an abyss when we drove through the fiery door¡­ It was almost like a portal. Probably was one, in hindsight. These strange symbols started appearing everywhere, ones I didn¡¯t recognize, and now I¡¯m here. Where is everyone else? Have you seen anyone else other than us?¡±


    Riven frowned even more deeply and nodded slowly. This guy hadn¡¯t seen the pirs of light? He¡¯d been taken through a portal? And why had it been so muchter than when Riven had gotten here?


    Something didn¡¯t add up.


    ¡°There was one other person I¡¯ve personally met here in the dungeon who imed to be from another¡­but he¡¯s dead now. Saw another girl, but she ran off. Before that there were people in my tutorial, too, and they were all from Earth as well. Then there was my friend and my sister, and the system prompt I originally got before starting this whole mess said if I survived the tutorial I would get to reunite with them. So that¡¯s the current goal. I¡¯m not sure about all the pieces to the puzzle just yet, but from what I can gather, this is some kind of event that¡¯s merging Earth with another world, or worlds in the plural, and into a multiverse of some sort. I can¡¯t get answers from my minions because of some kind of rules set up by the system¡­and I¡¯m on a unique starting path whenpared to most of the other people from Earth. Again, this is a hellscape dungeon, instead of the tutorial dungeon most people go through, and I had to choose between taking the hard road myself or sacrificing the people I¡¯d made acquaintances with for an easy way out. Obviously I¡¯m here, so I took the hard road.¡±


    </a>There was a very long pause.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Ben replied tly, eyes boring into the stone floor beneath his feet. They both stared silently at the floor, and then Ben spoke up again. ¡°Well, I¡¯m too deep into this shit to question your sanity. So¡­ What¡¯s with your demons?¡±


    Riven gave a slight smile and motioned over to his minions¡ªoutlined in the firelight of the torches along the walls. ¡°I started a path that appears to be molding me into a warlock, even got a ss title for it. You get race and ss points to add to your stat page with every level up, but if you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about, then you¡¯re farther behind than I¡¯d hoped for.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know about the leveling system. One of my friends leveled up by running over one of the monsters in our way. Any chance you know of a way out of here?¡±


    Riven shook his head sourly. ¡°Not yet, but I¡¯m working on it. Surprisingly enough, I think this dungeon is an extension of the core system worlds¡ªwhich are worlds outside the realm of Earth, from what I¡¯ve been told.¡±


    ¡°To Elysium?¡±


    ¡°Yes, if I¡¯m understanding things correctly. Elysium is apparently a bunch of interconnected worlds. Like I mentioned earlier, it¡¯s a multiverse of some sort, like the ones you read about inics as a kid¡­but I¡¯m not entirely sure how it works.¡±


    Riven took the next ten minutes exining the various things he¡¯d learned since getting there. He exined how quests worked, system notifications, skills, attribute pirs, how he¡¯d gotten his own ss title, and how there were various ways to orient to a given pir if Ben found the means through happenstance or study. He exined stats, the hidden health/mana/stamina that everyone apparently had, and he exined in detail what he¡¯d been doing there in the dungeon for a couple weeks while trying to find a way out. Lastly he told Ben about the ¡°Dao¡± that was currently not avable until the tutorial was over, whatever the hell Dao was, but it¡¯d been mentioned enough times to likely be important. Then again: Weren¡¯t his pirs Dao-rted? Ugh. He really needed to get his head on straight; maybe when he got out of here he¡¯d figure things out.


    Ben took it in stride and at face value, taking in another deep breath and shaking his head in wonder as Riven finished his condensed version of the story. ¡°We¡¯re really fucked, then, aren¡¯t we? And no, I don¡¯t know what Dao is, either.¡±

 Chapter 51

    Chapter 51


    Riven nced around at the bodies of the satyrs, then smirked and shrugged. ¡°I figured you wouldn¡¯t know¡­which sucks, but that was expected. Either way, I seem to be doing okay so far. I¡¯m more worried about Allie and Jose¡ªthe two I¡¯m gunning to meet with after this. The real problem here is that <span ss="italic">you don¡¯t have any abilities or oriented pirs.¡±


    Riven refrained from letting Ben know he had two ability scrolls in his bag. He didn¡¯t know the man yet, and he was hesitant to just hand such valuable stuff out. Especially when he might be able to give them to Allie. And the likelihood of Ben also having affinities for that particr type of pir just by happenstance wasn¡¯t high anyways.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Ath raised a front spider paw and waved it at them shortly thereafter. ¡°I can help you orient toward the Unholy pir without scrolls! If that¡¯s what you want.¡±


    Ben nearly jumped out of his skin as the spider spoke and swore, clutching at his rising chest as he stared dumbly at the arachnid. ¡°Did she just talk?¡±


    ¡°Of course I talk, you insulting little shit!¡± Ath squealed back up at him, hissing and chittering angrily before settling down. ¡°I¡¯m a <span ss="italic">princess! Address me appropriately, you unworthy ape!¡±


    Riven sighed, rolled his eyes, and motioned to the spider with his right hand. ¡°All right, Ath, go ahead and exin it to him in detail, then.¡±


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Ath got up on her back legs and animatedly started waving her front four around while exining to them just what to do. ¡°First, you¡¯ll need an affinity to bind to a pir, and acquiring affinities can either be impossible or doable depending on the person¡ªbut raising an affinity percentage is very hard to do past a baseline point. There are a couple of ways to do it, but Riven here got an easy way out if you don¡¯t include the life-and-death struggles he had to endure. Some events, like the ones Riven had, will give them to you. </a>Others specifically from your world will get them in the tutorial. However, the vast majority of people in Elysium and most of the people from Earth will get their abilities by hard work, training, studying, and repeated activities. Once presented with an ability rted to your efforts, it will orient you toward the chosen pir. Each of the main pirs has its own subpirs, those subpirs have specialty pirs, and the Unholy Foundational Pir is the one demons are oriented toward from birth. The Unholy pir has the major subpirs of Blood, Shadow, Death, Infernal, Depravity, and Chaos¡ªeach with their own innumerable unique pirs depending on how you evolve them. You¡¯ll need to attain the Unholy pir before you ever get any of the subpirs, and to attain the Unholy pir you¡¯ll have to do something that the system considers evil. Like murdering someone, or repeatedly stealing from the needy, or manipting your way through life for your own gain and at the cost of others. Or you can be born into it, like a sentient undead or a demon like me.¡±


    Ben gave the spider a horrified look, and then gave Riven a simr stare as well as he began to back up. ¡°Wait¡­¡±


    Riven quickly held up a hand of dispute. ¡°I got mine from an event.¡±


    ¡°But that still doesn¡¯t exin why you were able to acquire the foundational pir in the first ce, because you¡¯d still have to qualify,¡± Ath stated in an upbeat tone. ¡°There must have been <span ss="italic">something that you did to qualify you. Unless you had some sort of bloodline that imbued you with the Unholy pir. Do you have any bloodlines that you haven¡¯t made me aware of, Riven?¡±


    Riven slowly opened his mouth, closed it, and nced back down to his status page. She was obviously teasing him and knew about the shard of original sin and how he¡¯d acquired it through his bloodline, though she had said little about it in the past two weeks. Her eyes had gone wide when he¡¯d mentioned it, but like most other things she¡¯d been unable to tell him what exactly it meant.


    Riven gave her the side-eye in the firelight of the sacrificial chamber amid the piled-up bodies all around them. ¡°You caught me, Ath.¡±


    Ben gave Ath another ufortable nce and took another step back. ¡°And if I choose the Unholy pir, can I switch to another pirter?¡±


    ¡°Nope! The foundational pirs are permanent.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll pass on the Unholy pir, then¡­thank you for the offer, though.¡±


    ¡°No problem!¡± Ath took a couple steps to the left and sat along a firm outcropping of what had once been the end of the stone altar. She hunched down and rocked forward slightly, tapping her fangs on the stone. ¡°I hate this ce. It¡¯s very ugly.¡±


    Riven shrugged. ¡°Me, too. But you¡¯ve gotta realize that life is all about perspective. I had a friend who had sex two or three times a day, exercised twice a day, read a couple books a week¡­ You¡¯d think it was a good life, right? Yet every day heined about how much he hated prison.¡±


    </a>Ath and Azmoth each just gave Riven a confused stare, but Ben actually had to suppress augh. It was the first time Ben hadn¡¯t looked utterly depressed.


    An echoing thud from the hallway Riven had juste through alerted all of them to the approach of something or someone else. Riven slowly turned his head¡­ The sound was like something had been dropped from a great height. Subsequent sounds further escted the situation as another two bangs sounded against the stone of the hall around the corner.


    The sounds continued to get louder, closer, and were soon intermixed with heavy breathing as a shadowy figure finally emerged from around the corner to stare at them with ck-and-yellow eyes.


    Oh, fuck. There he was¡­the big kahuna himself.


    It was <span ss="italic">the goat man, the monster that they¡¯d been avoiding for weeks due to the sheer size of the prey it brought back with it to feed on. And with nowhere to run, they were trapped in this circr sacrificial room like cattle in a pen. The description of the monster burned with a fiery bright-gold lettering, and this monster had a new word at the end of the hologram identification box that likely signified why.


    <span ss="bold">[Fallen Satyr Warlord, Level 21. DUNGEON MINIBOSS. ELITE.]


    Unlike the other fallen satyrs they¡¯d faced thus far, this creature was an absolute beast. Even more so than what they¡¯d originally thought, now that they were up close and in person. Huge, rippling muscles with veins outlined along its chest and arms flexed in anticipation as it held that giant spiked club they always saw it carrying around. It was a very crude weapon, about the size of Riven¡¯s entire body, and had jutting pieces of metal sticking out of the wood.


    Two curling ram horns were set on either side of its skull above the bulging eyes, and saliva dripped from an open mouth of sharp, bloodied teeth. Hot breath and vapor visibly expelled from the creature every couple of seconds as it panted in a rabid-like state¡ªreminding Riven of himself after he¡¯d gotten his mask¡ªand fleshy strands of muscture partially covering up its hollow abdominal cavity became tense as its exposed spine flexed forward in anticipation of a charge. A purple light from within its chest illuminated the innards of the strange creature, and a momentter the satyr erupted with a purple miasma of energy that floated into the air about it like smoke.


    It mmed its left hoof into the ground, grunted, and roared as its muscles all tensed with veins protruding along the entirety of its body. ¡°RRRAAAAHHHH!¡±


    Then time froze, and a series of pop-ups appeared in Riven¡¯s vision.


    </a><span ss="bold">WARNING


    <span ss="bold">WARNING


    <span ss="bold">WARNING


    <span ss="bold">DUNGEON MINIBOSS FIGHT FALLEN SATYR WARLORD HAS BEEN INITIATED.


    <span ss="bold">DUNGEON NEGRADA HAS SEALED OFF YOUR POINT OF EXIT UNTIL THE BATTLE IS COMPLETE.


    <span ss="bold">SPECIAL EVENT: DUNGEON NEGRADA HAS BET 400,000 ELYSIUM COINS IN FAVOR OF FALLEN SATYR WARLORD. CHALGATHI HAS ACCEPTED THIS BET IN FAVOR OF RIVEN THANE.


    <span ss="bold">BEGINNING BATTLE IN


    <span ss="bold">5¡­


    <span ss="bold">4¡­


    <span ss="bold">3¡­


    <span ss="bold">2¡­


    <span ss="bold">1¡­


    The pentagram on the ceiling burned bright crimson as a thick wall of white mana erupted from the ground to seal the hallway leading out, and time immediately resumed a normal pace.


    In an instant, the room was chaos. Riven immediately began charging his Blood Lance, and his two minionsunched into action.


    ¡°Come on, then!¡± Riven roared, barely activating Hell¡¯s Armor in time as the huge satyr barreled past Azmoth and shed forward in a split second. Riven was immediately flung right like aet of mes when the goat man used his momentum to collide with the warlock in a brutal shoulder charge, but the creature slipped on one of the bodies, and the impact wasn¡¯t as drastic as it would have been otherwise.


    Riven mmed into the remnants of the broken stone altar and cursed while pain radiated through his back. His flickering body, covered in protective hellfire, had significantly decreased the damage, but not wanting to spend all his mana on the ability, he disabled it a secondter. Meanwhile, Ben screamed in horror and managed to make it back into his cell, mming the cage door behind him.


    Ath rapidly tried to tie the satyr warlord down with strings of webbing, and Azmoth simply charged back with sheer weight and power behind him, roaring while he shed at the satyr with his two right sets of ws.


    *CRASH*

 Chapter 52

    Chapter 52


    The two behemoths collided, and the room reverberated underneath the weight of their strikes. Azmoth¡¯s ming fingers tore chunks out of the otherrge demon in huge gashes, but the sturdiness and regeneration of the satyr were obvious immediately afterward. The purple miasma surrounding the satyr quickly healed the shes and burns Azmoth was dealing, and the enormous miniboss stood to its full height a secondter¡ªtearing through the strands of webbing encasing its right arm and swinging its club backward at full force and crushing one of Azmoth¡¯s arms with a thunderous boom. Azmoth roared and counterattacked by leaping at it and bringing it back down to the ground to tear and bite at it, ripping outrge pieces of flesh as the two titans went crazy trying to kill one another. Ath managed to get in there as well with multiple hit-and-run bites that sank venom into the satyr for applications of necrosis.


    Watching the fight unfold was like watching a brutal episode of <span ss="italic">National Geographic where male lions fight¡ªbut this was the hellscape version.


    Riven¡¯s Blessing of the Crow was still in effect, and he whipped around the tform at high speed while pushing more mana into the ability. He was sure-footed, sprinting at a rate easily twice as fast as anything he could have ever aplished back on Earth. Riven was likely going somewhere beyond thirty miles per hour with thebination of both movement buffs, and it wasn¡¯t tiring him, either.


    Coming around and getting a good positioning for his attack, heunched the Blood Lance he¡¯d been channeling into his arm. The flickering crimson power shot out like aet through the dusty air and made impact with the back of the warlord¡¯s head, narrowly missing Azmoth as they iled on the ground to w and bite at one another, but instead of impaling the satyr, the magic just exploded and created arge but superficial wound to momentarily stun the creature.


    That was more than enough time for his minions to take advantage of it.


    </a>Azmoth howled and sank his many rows of teeth into the creature¡¯s shoulder and began ripping out its deltoid muscle while Ath shot ahead and rapidly began digging into the creature¡¯s left eye with her fangs.


    The eye burst, and the echoing scream of rage made the room tremble as it mmed a fist down into the spot where Ath had been just a moment before the arachnid hadunched herself backward with amazing speed.


    Azmoth, however, was not as lucky, and the half-blinded warlord¡¯s anger simmered to full effect as the purple miasma around it exploded outward from the gem hovering in its chest and sent Azmoth shooting up into the ceiling far above like a rocketuncher. The room shuddered under the impact, the purple miasma that¡¯d been rejuvenating the satyr disappeared, and the Hellscape Brutalisk went iling back down many dozens of feet only to meet the satyr¡¯s spiked club. Azmoth was hit like a baseball and smashed through one of the sets of bars of a cage and mmed into the far wall¡ªdebris billowing out like a cloud as the satyr roared in fury and violently shook its head back and forth while blinking rapidly.


    Riven¡¯s volley of razor-sharp discs mmed into the creature¡¯s back a secondter, and each had a secondary explosion of shrapnel as he infused his blood-magic projectiles with more mana after impact, tearing into its flesh just as it stomped down and sent a shock wave of mana across the room.


    It was like being hit with a brick wall. Riven¡¯s footing was thrown off when the wave hit, and he grunted with the impact, expelling all the air in his lungs. He and Ath were flung in opposite directions from the ability¡¯s power, and each toppled head over heels until they too came to abrupt and violent halts against the bars along the perimeter of the room.


    Riven screamed, feeling his right leg shatter under the impact, and he cursed while the satyr snarled his way.


    The monster turned, dripping saliva and wiping viscous fluid from the ruined eyeball Ath had ripped open. It bellowed once, twice, and then charged¡ªmaking it halfway to Riven¡¯s position andpletely tearing through a Wretched Snare thattched onto its legs to finish him off when Azmoth leaped onto its back to bring it down with a predatory roar.


    Azmoth¡¯s face was caved in on the left side with half of his long, obsidian teeth missing. Two of his arms were mangled and broken, and one of his knees looked rather useless as it hung at his side, but he was ravenously biting and wing at the satyr anyways. Completely ignoring his pain, he continued to rip away at therger demon like a tiger that had nearly overdosed on stimnts.


    With the miasma gone, the wounds on the satyr were there to stay and obviously had taken a toll on the struggling monster. Modified blood webbing bombarded it as a plethora of small needles erupted from Ath¡¯s curled thorax, and Riven continued tounch volleys of discs at the creature¡¯s back whenever Azmoth wasn¡¯t in the way.


    </a>The satyr bellowed, got up and nearly fell over immediately after that as it grunted amid the barrage and readjusted its posture. It mped its own razor teeth into Azmoth¡¯s burning neck, but the obsidian ting covering the brutalisk¡¯s body kept it from effectively doing any damage. Snarling, the satyr flexed its muscles, began to glow a deep purple, and, with a burst of power, ripped Azmoth off it and bodily mmed therge demon into the ground.


    Stone sprayed up from the ground as Azmoth¡¯s body made contact, and as Azmoth tried to scramble back up with another roar, the satyr warlord lifted up its gigantic club and brought it down upon Azmoth¡¯s head.


    Riven was now getting low mana after thest volley of discs embedded in the satyr¡¯s oozing back, and his leg was healing but at a much slower pace than normal. Faint traces of purple miasma coated his wounds; it was somehow inhibiting his natural healing abilities, but despite this Riven tried to save the infant brutalisk with everything he had. Drawing out a small knife, he brought his arm back and flung it forward as hard as he possibly could.


    He watched the dagger fly through the air. The brutal beating that the satyr warlord was giving Azmoth was hard to watch¡­the spiked tips of the club were tearing outrge pieces of the demon¡¯s body and face despite Azmoth¡¯s metal ting, and one arm was being utterly crushed as the ming demon tried to get back up. The look of crazed glee from the drooling, wide-eyed satyr was interwoven with bleating cackles¡­


    Until the dagger zipped through the air and embedded itself into the satyr¡¯s remaining good eye with a wet thud.


    ¡°RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!¡±


    The warlord reeled, dropping its spiked club, and clutched at its newly ruined eyeball with shaky hands before yanking the dagger out and flinging it to the ground. It continued to bellow and almost doubled over while covering up its injury, only to whirl and snarl Riven¡¯s way.


    It could still smell and hear, but the satyr warlord was nowpletely blinded.


    Riven snarled right back. Without a second thought and with anger rising up in his chest, Riven pulled a vial of Sinner¡¯s Blood from his bag. Downing the contents, he felt his mana quickly replenish, and his leg began to mend itself more rapidly. ¡°Come on, you cocksucking <span ss="italic">goat!¡±


    The remnants of the monster¡¯s ruined eyes narrowed, and hot vapor trailed out of its mouth while it panted. It wiped its bloodied lips on one arm, hoisted its club above its head, and with a roar threw the club as hard as it could in Riven¡¯s direction.


    The enormous weapon spun through the air in an arc as the monster used the opportunity to ram its foot into the ground¡ªcreating a shock wave that was supposed to knock him down so the throw would hit true. For a moment it looked like it¡¯d work.


    </a>Thus, Ath screeched in disbelief and awe as Riven jumped up and to the left to avoid the waist-high shock wave and conjured not one, not two, but eight simultaneous Wretched Snares that he molded together into onerge. He held on to the with a reinforced mana connection from a location just above his hands and willed the ck magic to expand, opening up to catch the spinning meteor of a club before he was nearly taken off his feet as the projectile¡¯s force pulled him backward.


    But Riven continued to infuse the conjured and reinforced with mana as he quickly slid across the floor, silently screaming at his magic to do his bidding while he was dragged backward to a likely death at high speed. Over and over again, he pictured what he wanted and willed the mana to act, pouring his heart and soul into the internal motion while using the Unholy and Blood subpirs attached to his soul like a sieve to purify the raw mana into blood magic. The pirs responded, embracing him, and it promptly came zing to life under his extreme mental state.


    ¡°Do as you¡¯re told!¡±


    The words left Riven¡¯s mouth as he gave vision and meaning to what he wanted the blood magic to do, and to Ath¡¯s continued amazement, the corpses around Riven were drained and erupted around him. The blood of the bodies all whirled in a vortex toe to his call, and for the first time since the blood pit, he willed his environmental resources to do his bidding just like the textbooks had talked about. The result was a massively reduced mana cost and a vastly increased power output.


    *POP¡ªBOOM*


    <span ss="bold">[The Blood subpir recognizes your authority, and the system hasbeled your Blood subpir as your specialty pir. You may now evolve your Blood subpir, and you are now restricted from obtaining any other specialty pirs.]


    <span ss="bold">[Your bloodline begins to stir. You have created the blood spell Crimson Ice.]


    <span ss="bold">[Crimson Ice (Blood): Summon ice created from blood to cover an area around or on you. You may utilize this crystallized blood to form objects or walls, cause your opponents to slip, and create temporary body modifications with variable utility. Mana cost is situational and can vary from extremely high to extremely low. Dependent on both Intelligence (40%) and Willpower (60%) stats. No cooldown.]

 Chapter 53

    Chapter 53


    Riven hadn¡¯t realized that only one specialty pir could be obtained beyond normal subpirs, but he didn¡¯t dwell on that for more than a half second.


    The exploding corpses nearly blew Riven¡¯s eardrums out and tore into the satyr with intense ferocity that covered the surrounding walls inyers of red. Simultaneously, streams of blood from all around the room began icing over and flowing across the floor at insane speed to race up Riven¡¯s legs. The thick red ice crept up all the way past his knees only momentarily to act as a pair of brakes, stopping him right before he hit the opposite side of the room, and he grinned. The crystallized ice fluidly followed him as he rotated his body, using his projected mana to hold the Wretched Snares intact, and spun around with the momentum of the club in a way that most magic casters at his level would have never even dreamed of doing before now.


    Usually, catching a club that size would require a Herculean amount of strength. But when he was using mana to do the heavy lifting for him, he only needed to reinforce his spells.


    With a grunt from Riven, the caught club rotated with his pivot and circled around his body before beingunched from the snares back at the demon like a stone from a slingshot.


    *WHOOSH*


    *CRASH*


    The badly wounded warlord¡¯s right arm was taken off as the club smashed through it like a high-velocity hammer into a sponge. Cries of disbelief erupted from the shocked onlookers. The blinded demon staggered backward, looking down at its missing stump of an arm despite not being able to see.


    But the demon was not done, and in fact it became even more enraged.


    ¡°PUNY HUMANNN!¡±


    The satyr initially slipped upon the sheet of blood ice covering the floor but rammed a foot into the ground, which shattered the magic Riven had imbued. </a>Flecks and shards were sent skyward, and Riven was thrown back along with Ath just as she¡¯d tried to ambush the creature. With another scream of rage after that, the satyr didn¡¯t let up, blindly barreling toward him at breakneck speed that far outmatched Riven¡¯s own.


    Riven had anticipated this and rolled to his feet.


    He summoned another sheet of red ice along the floor and felt it surge up his legs again; he could literally feel the blood surrounding him and mold it to his will with the spell he¡¯d created through sheer willpower. With narrowed eyes and a snarl, he felt the Blessing of the Crow kick into high gear along with his newer ability as they both shot him forward. The blood ice molded to his skin and pumped his legs harder, giving them more power as he vaulted ahead to slide underneath the oing satyr¡¯s body between its cloven feet. Simultaneously and with a victorious scream of hate, Riven sent razor-sharp discs firing into the creature¡¯s crotch as the monster tore through the air over him.


    The satyr stumbled for only a moment. It looked down¡ªtrying to pinpoint his location¡ªthen turned to Riven again and brought an injured hoof up with a bleating noise to m the foot down into the stone floor yet again.


    Riven¡¯s knees buckled as the room shook again amid a brief shock wave of unnatural kic energy, and he scrambled to pick himself up from where he¡¯d been thrown before the satyr closed the gap in a sprint of its own.


    Ath screeched andunched herself at its back, sinking her venom into its neck and creating a quickly spreading area of necrosis before weaving in and out of its strikes as she continued to crawl all over the creature at breakneck speed¡ªinterrupting its charge as it slipped on the ice again and mmed onto the ground. The satyr continued to roll, il, bleat, and swing its weapon in an attempt to crush the spider¡ªbut missed each time and roared when another Blood Lance pierced its chest in a blur of red magic.


    Riven downed another vial of Sinner¡¯s Blood to speed up the healing process of his body. His previously shattered leg was still killing him due to the purple miasma digging into his injury, and it was hard to move despite Crimson Ice supporting his body. Red lightning still coursed over his body, and his breath was creating bloody vapor clouds as he panted, his cloak whirling around him in the winds of the aftershock, and he snarled at his enemy before casting the vial aside with a ttering sound.


    Riven began channeling another Blood Lance into his arm and rushed backward over the ice to put distance between them when the satyr¡¯s strike blurred downward during its attempts to find Ath. Riven¡¯s eyes went wide in shock as he heard the screech of pain end abruptly, and Ath¡¯s body was crushed against the ground in a spray of green ichor.


    </a><span ss="bold">[Your minion Ath has died. She will be returned to you twenty-four hours after you pay the blood price for your minion. To resurrect your level 13 Blood Weaver demon, you will be required to pay Elysium directly with a sum of thirteen thousand Elysium coins. Simply will this transaction to happen and make sure you have the required payment to further this agenda.]


    Azmoth was not in a much better situation. Though alive, the demon was struggling to get back up as he dripped blood and his mes died away into nothing. Apparently even Hell¡¯s Armor had its limits, despite it being an intrinsic property of the demon.


    Having realized it¡¯d killed one of its opponents, the satyr stood up to its full height, put its mouth to the ceiling where the glowing crimson pentagram remained, and roared with a hungering delight. Numerous injuries, patches of necrosis, protruding shards of solidified webbing, open wounds, and burned streaks from where the Wretched Snares had riddled the creature¡¯s body were obvious. It was missing both of its eyes and one of its arms, but it was still standing.


    It was now winning.


    Riven silently cursed andunched his Blood Lance at the creature¡¯s head, hitting it full-on along the jaw and causing it to stumble back as sharp teeth shattered. It bellowed and fell on the ice Riven had summoned while smacking its face into the ground, and Riven immediately capitalized on that bought time with another flurry of razor discs that crashed into the monster¡¯s body. Despite this, the beast picked itself up after receiving the barrage like an unkible behemoth and snarled his way. Turning to the general direction it¡¯d been hit from, the creature lifted up a foot yet again to m it down into the ground.


    The resultant shock wave tore through the ice covering the floor once more as a nearly perfect counter to Riven¡¯s new spell¡ªsimultaneously sending Riven head over heels and causing him to drop his staff when his head hit the ground. He blinked rapidly, trying to get ahold of his surroundings after he¡¯d nearly been knocked unconscious. Dropping his weapon was also a serious loss in the moment, because that staff had been the source of increased mana regeneration for him through this fight.


    He groaned, his vision blurry and his head aching like crazy, and his groan turned to a scream when the satyr¡¯s spiked club came down on the location it thought him to be in. It hadn¡¯t outright killed him because the aim was off, but the bones in his arm shattered in an instant.


    Pain radiated up his useless, mangled limb as he screamed profanities, only to be silenced by another backward swipe from the spiked club. He felt a rusty metal spike pierce his lung before the wood of the club¡¯s bulk made contact, flinging him against the stone altar with a crunch and thud.


    </a>Riven¡¯s head pounded, and he could vaguely hear Ben screaming at him to get up¡ªbut his body was hardly moving. It was too damaged, too broken to respond to hismands. His ribs were broken. His arms were both useless¡ªhis right was bent backward at an awkward angle. He had a punctured lung, purple miasma was still spreading across his injuries to inhibit his healing, and he¡¯d had back-to-back concussions.


    In the haze that¡¯d be his vision over the past ten seconds, he saw Azmoth, who was also severely injured, take two wed hands and tear into the back of the satyr¡¯s spine. He roared, arms ming again and straining with all his might as he tried to rip and tear at the exposed bone along the satyr¡¯s midsection.


    The two titans violently shed again, both on death¡¯s doorstep and struggling to overpower one another with biting, wing, and the swinging of their limbs.


    Riven was fading in and out of consciousness, losing blood rapidly and feeling his body going cold. But anger and a refusal to quit throbbed inside his chest, and he managed to stand shakily despite his broken body. The shouts and sounds ofbat grew dimmer as he stumbled and leaned against the nearby wall, shaking his head to clear his vision.


    His hand quivered as he forced the broken bones and torn muscles to move forward, reaching back into the bag where he still had four remaining vials of Sinner¡¯s Blood left. Like an uncoordinated toddler using unfamiliar fingers, he limply selected two vials.


    He coughed and spat blood, then red up at the monster across the room. ¡°Fuck this goat.¡±


    His shaking fingers lost their grip, dropping both vials next to him to tter along the ground. He felt drunk.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    Riven grimaced in pain and bent over to pick the vial up while Azmoth held the monster off. He tried to pull off the cork of the closest bottle, doing so by touch just as much as by sight at this point due to his visioning in and out.


    <span ss="bold">[Your minion Azmoth has died. He will be returned to you twenty-four hours after you pay the blood price for your minion. To resurrect your level 9 infant Hellscape Brutalisk demon, you will be required to pay Elysium directly with a sum of nine thousand Elysium coins. Simply will this transaction to happen and make sure you have the required payment to further this agenda.]


    With a massive surge of willpower, Riven popped the cork and brought one vial of Sinner¡¯s Blood to his lips. Simultaneously he flipped the gigantic satyr off when it sniffed and turned his way¡ªdespite knowing the gesture was lost on the blinded demon.


    </a><span ss="bold">[Vial of Sinner¡¯s Blood, restore an average of 70 health and mana simultaneously, may not be taken outside the realms of hell. Warning: Using frequent amounts of Sinner¡¯s Blood may have unwanted side effects over time. Unique Tier.]


    The tainted red liquid trickled down his throat, and within seconds he felt himself begin to heal. Frankly, he should be dead by any normal human standards after his lungs had been gouged, though he still managed to hold on while his Blood subpir radiated upon the warm touch of Sinner¡¯s Blood. His primary pir seemed to pulse, generously feeding off the cursed liquid and causing him to feel whole again¡ªdespite the ominous message the system gave off concerning regrly using the river¡¯s liquid.


    But even though it was taking effect, the miasma was spreading, and the potion was still far too slow for the battle at hand. His eyesight began to stabilize again, as did his other senses, and he got a better look at what¡¯d just happened to his second contracted demon.


    Azmoth was on the ground, broken and still. The familiar¡¯s natural te armor had been crushed and a leg had been torn off, and his long, bony teeth were broken off on the left side of his face where the jaw was unhinged and torn at a gruesome angle. Ben was sprinting across the room while holding an obviously broken hand where the bones had been crushed; his dagger was embedded in the satyr¡¯s right nk, and he was in a state of absolute panic. Then there was Ath, who remained as a sttering of green and white ichor with various spider body parts along the stone floor¡ªintermixing with the corpses of the other, smaller satyrs.


    The blinded, one-armed satyr was lumbering forward in a slow chase to catch Ben; ravaged by deep w marks and other wounds, patches of necrotic flesh were falling off in chunks and burned fur was scattered across its body, with numerous needlelike shards of modified webbing lodged in its chest and back. The monster was an absolute mess, missing one eyepletely from when Ath had ripped it open, while the other eye was deted from where Riven¡¯s dagger had punctured it¡ªbut the bloodlust was evident in the creature¡¯s slow, ominous walk toward Ben¡¯s screams.


    ¡°Riven! Riven, help me!¡±


    <span ss="italic">Riven, help me? Seriously, man? Did it look like Riven could help yet?! What a fucking idiot¡ªdid this guy not realize he was drawing the demon his way? Toward both of them?

 Chapter 54

    Chapter 54


    Riven began to push himself off the wall when he felt the bones in his arms snap back into ce. The pain was immense, and he could barely breathe as he began violently coughing up fluid that his lungs had umted¡ªbut he managed to get to his knees.


    He needed to speed up his recovery.


    That¡¯s when he saw the second vial of Sinner¡¯s Blood he¡¯d identally dropped on the floor. He reached for it, fumbling with the cork.


    The second vial was drained in an instant, and just as the monster bellowed to charge Ben up against the wall with its horned head down, Riven knew that Ben was about to die. There was no way the slender man could take the many-ton monster crushing him against a stone backdrop¡­and in that instant, Riven¡¯s heart twisted with hate. Visions of the school bus, of the dead children, of his sister¡¯s wish that they find the courage to make a better life for themselves thatst night they¡¯d spent together scrounging for scraps of food¡­ They all shed through his mind.


    He had failed to save the others, but he wasn¡¯t going to let the satyr get its way.


    Riven¡¯s vision began to turn red, his muscles began to pulse, and a hunger for the satyr¡¯s blood boiled over to envelop his very soul. Everything he¡¯d been imbued with, from the way his magic worked at a base level, to the hate boiling up in his gut, to how the power felt when summoned and unleashed, was brought to bear. The way his muscles tensed and his mind warped with each casting came to light, and he applied all of it here and now.


    Then something finally clicked, something primal that had been there ever since he¡¯d been born but had never surfaced until now, and his entire life abruptly changed in that instant.


    [Sinner¡¯s Blood has caused the remnant biological locks on your body to finally degrade. You have regained your dormant heritage:


    </a>[Pureblooded Vampire, Malignancy Heritage (Blood/Shadow/Death)¡ªYour heritage as a pureblooded vampire has finallye to fruition and is no longer repressed. As a person holding one of the original vampiric lineages and as a greater undead, you are a favored descendant of the Blood god. Your heritage empowers you with many bonuses, but it alsoes at a steep price. Please review the following changes.


    Negatives:


    <span ss="bno">? You suffer 400% additional damage from any silver-based weapons.


    <span ss="bno">? You suffer 300% additional damage from any Light and Sun subpir abilities.


    <span ss="bno">? You may not be healed or have active buffs applied to you by any Light or Sun subpir abilities.


    <span ss="bno">? Your mana and stamina slowly drain while your skin is exposed to direct sunlight. If exposed to sunlight when they start to run low, your health will also deteriorate.


    <span ss="bno">? You are required to feed on the blood of mortals on a regr basis. You will lose your sanity and go into a rage if underfed.


    <span ss="bno">? Your heritage bestows a baseline -300 Charisma. -2 Charisma per level.


    Positives:


    <span ss="bno">? 100% affinity to the Blood subpir, 96% affinity to the Shadow subpir, and 95% affinity to the Death subpir. These pirs now take less resource consumption to use abilities with, control is increased, and potency is increased.


    <span ss="bno">? Your heritage also bestows upon you a baseline +40 Strength, + 70 Sturdiness, +70 Intelligence, +150 Perception, and + 80 Agility.


    <span ss="bno">? Perception has been upgraded to Vampiric Perception and has extra emphasis per stat point applied for heartbeats, dark vision, and smell.


    <span ss="bno">? Your race change to Pureblooded Vampire upgrades the number of stat points per level to +1 Strength, +2 Sturdiness, + 1 Intelligence, +4 Agility, +1 Perception, and +5 free stat points per level.


    <span ss="bno">? You gain extreme regeneration while in dark ces.


    <span ss="bno">? You are immune to most diseases.


    <span ss="bno">? You will not die of old age.


    <span ss="bno">? You may currently create new vampires at a thirty-day cooldown period without risk to yourself; how much they inherit from your gift is partially dependent on them and partially randomized.


    </a><span ss="bno">? Ancient Vampiric Lineage¡ªMalignancy Heritage: Allows you to acquire a shard of original sin through Breath of Malignancy. Allows you to utilize Malignant Prophecy.]


    [Your bloodline has directly affected your current minions. Ath has three possible upgrades avable to her, undisclosed until her blood price has been paid and resurrectionmences. Azmoth has one possible upgrade avable to him, undisclosed until his blood price has been paid and resurrectionmences.]


    [You have been granted four ss upgrade options to choose from, undisclosed until your current battle is over.]


    [You are severely underfed and require the blood of mortals to satiate your hunger. Insanity takes hold of your mind until you feed.]


    Riven¡¯s mind blew a fuse, and the internal scream of hunger and hatred that overwhelmed him escaped his lips as a bone-chilling roar. Fangs ripped out of his mouth underneath his mask, and his eyes turned from their normal green to a bright crimson. His muscles tensed and ripped through skin as they toned and gained mass, only for his body to quickly regenerate the superficial wounds within seconds. His body¡¯s skin tone became pale white, and it felt like a boulder had taken residence in his stomach as hunger wed at his insides.


    Just before insanity fully engulfed him and he lost his mind, Riven was able to scream out a single phrase toward his opponent: ¡°Eat shit!¡±


    He took a single step forward and lunged, streams of blood ripping from the walls, floors, and corpses around the room to fly in ribbons through the air toward him, condensing into des of red ice along his outstretched hands and forearms in the instant it took for him to cross the room and collide with the demon who¡¯d killed his minions. The strike, empowered by his blood mana, was devastating.


    *BOOM*


    The satyr roared in conjunction with Riven¡¯s bloodthirsty screech of madness, and the two of them blew by Ben like a tidal wave of violence, ripping through the bars of a nearby cage and sending rubble into the air as the back wall partially gave way.


    Riven¡¯s mind was devoid of everything except the need to kill this creature and the extreme hunger building up inside him. Like a viper, he struck at the downed demon in the pile of stone over and over again, ripping out pieces of muscle and bone as the satyr¡ªalready on death¡¯s doorstep¡ªwailed and tried to break out of its confinement.


    </a>¡°RAAAAAHHHHHH!¡±


    The familiar sound of a feral beast reached Riven¡¯s ears, but he was too far gone to realize that it wasn¡¯t the satyr making that noise¡ªrather, it was him this time.


    *CRUNCH¡ªSNAP¡ªBAM*


    Riven¡¯s head jerked back and snapped forward, headbutting the satyr¡¯s mutted face, which sent the huge demon jerking backward with a newly broken nose.


    *WRENCH¡ªTHUD¡ªRIP*


    Riven¡¯s hands, turned into wed crimson gauntlets of ice with protruding desing out of his arms on either side, tore into the creature like a Gatling gun. His now-enhanced limbs shot forward like lightning strikes and deflected the desperate attempts of the monster to get back up, and before he knew it he was standing over the remnants of what had once been a powerful demon.


    His heart pounded, his chest heaved, and his ears rang from the noise of the battle as he started to cough. Dust filled the room from where the warlord had beenunched through bent and torn metal bars after Riven had collided with it in a rage. The satyr, or what remained of it, had been reduced to a shredded mess of bones and viscera within a crater in the stone ahead of him. Blood was sttered on the walls alongside scorch marks, and the remaining corpse was stered into the indentation like glue on paper.


    CONGRATULATIONS


    CONGRATULATIONS


    CONGRATULATIONS


    YOU HAVE DEFEATED THE MINIBOSS FALLEN SATYR WARLORD. DUNGEON NEGRADA HAS LOST ITS BET. FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND ELYSIUM COINS HAVE BEEN DISPENSED, WITH HALF GOING TO CHALGATHI AND HALF GOING TO RIVEN THANE.


    [Instead of the normal prize for beating a dungeon miniboss, you have received half the betting pool, two hundred thousand Elysium coins, as the key yer in Chalgathi¡¯s won bet.]


    [You have gained two levels. Congrattions!]


    [Your minions, though temporarily dead and banished to theher realms, have received their XP and level ups as well. Congrattions!]


    [You are now able to exit your tutorial dungeon and proceed to the starter area, where you will pick your starting destination and be </a>provided details of what Elysium has in store for you. In order to do so, please focus on themand <span ss="italic">Exit Dungeon to summon a stair portal to your location.]


    Riven remained there: panting, hunched over, and in a good amount of pain as two enormous wooden chests of tinum, gold, silver, and bronze coins bloomed into being in front of him¡ªsetting themselves down one after the other as the lids flipped up to reveal their contents. His body was covered in viscera, body parts, and blood, and gingerly he picked his mask up off the floor; it had fallen off at an undisclosed time in the conflict. His insides burned and recoiled with every movement he made, but the hunger¡­the hunger still persisted.


    It was an extreme,pulsive feeling. Something that he couldn¡¯t shake no matter how hard he tried. It wed painfully at his gut and his mind, forcing his will to submit to it as it became an all-epassing need.


    He wanted to feed.


    He needed to feed.


    He needed blood.


    Desperately, he got down on his knees and began licking up the satyr¡¯s blood, but he quickly spat it out and let a primal hiss of disgust escape his lips. It made him want to gag, and thepulsion became even greater as he let out a scream of rage that it wasn¡¯t what his body needed to satiate the painful, ruthless craving he was experiencing.


    ¡°Riven?¡±


    Ben¡¯s hesitant voice called out to him from behind, and Riven stiffened.


    Fangs extended, Riven whirled with a manic look in his eyes¡ªhungrily staring Ben down.


    The other man shrieked in terror upon seeing the obvious change, and he didn¡¯t take more than another second to start running, but he was far too slow. Thest thing that Ben ever saw was Riven¡¯s bloody, wed hand reaching out for him¡ªand then everything went ck.

 Chapter 55

    Chapter 55


    <span ss="bold">[You are now well-fed. Your insanity fades.]


    Riven regained his sanity an hourter, with the fuzzy details beginning to outline themselves now that he was in a right state of mind. He rapidly blinked and furrowed his brows, finding himself wrist-deep in Ben¡¯s intestines. Once he realized what he was doing, he began to backpedal and scream. It was a scream not filled with the primal rage or hunger he¡¯d experienced before, but now it was that of horror at what he¡¯d done¡ªa scream of disgust and revulsion. He began to hyperventte and stumbled backward away from the corpse, not knowing how or why he¡¯de to do this until memories of his primal hunger flooded back into his mind as one memory after the other.


    The pleading, cryingst moments of the man Riven had known for less than half an hour came pouring in.


    Riven gagged and vomited profusely, feeling sick with himself and incredibly confused. The notifications he¡¯d received when his vampiric bloodline had been awakened hade so fast and the change had been so sudden that he¡¯d had no time to reallyprehend what it¡¯d all meant up until now. He managed to calm down after that and remained staring at the floor between his knees in a hunched-over position amid a mountain of body parts while he took time to reflect upon the day¡¯s events.<span ss="bold">[You are now able to exit your tutorial dungeon and proceed to the starter area, where you will pick your starting destination and be provided details of what Elysium has in store for you. In order to do so, please focus on themand <span ss="italic">Exit Dungeon to summon a stair portal to your location.]


    The two chests of Elysium coins were still there. Five of the torches had been blown out or extinguished during the fight, so the lighting in the room was far </a>darker than it¡¯d been when he¡¯d first gotten there, but he could still see perfectly into the darkest crevices of the chamber. The sacrificial room waspletely devoid of life, and there were even two more satyr corpses near the doorway that hadn¡¯t been there before his change¡ªones he must have killed while in his crazed state of mind. The doorway was also devoid of any magical barrier that¡¯d sealed him inside in the first ce, so he was free to go whenever he pleased.


    He felt a small amount of pride after having passed the tutorial dungeon and finding a way out now, but that feeling was utterly dwarfed by what he¡¯d done to Ben. Riven had truly be a monster in every sense of the word.


    He¡¯d been right with his earlier suspicions after his encounter with the giant blood squid. Even in the beginning, the notifications he¡¯d received talked to him about how his affinity for blood magic was incredibly high. Now Chalgathi was making bets on his behalf like one would gamble on a prized racing horse.


    The thought of it made Riven go from sullen and guilty to incredibly angry in the course of a couple seconds. He gritted his teeth, spat, and hopped up to his feet with clenched fists. However, he went a little bit too fast and found himself jumping instead of just mbering up. Hended without much issue, though, and quickly realized just how thoroughly his body had changed after all¡ªeven its outward appearance. He had slightly thicker, broader shoulders and was toned all over. In the poor reflection of a pool of bodily fluids, he was barely able to see that his eyes had changed to a glowing crimson color and his facial features looked far more symmetrical than they had been in the past¡ªthough he was slightly paler, too.


    Extending his right hand, he flexed his muscles and felt power there that¡¯d never been present before. He felt good¡­though one nce down at the dead man at his feet made him cringe inwardly and outwardly.


    No, this wasn¡¯t his fault. He hadn¡¯t known any of this would happen, and he hadn¡¯t been in his right mind when he¡¯d murdered Ben. Even as disgusting of an act as it was, Riven was not at fault here.


    Or at least that¡¯s what he was going to tell himself in order to allow himself to sleep at night for the foreseeable future.


    He gritted his teeth, shook his head, and turned from the grisly sight while pushing the subject out of mind. He¡¯d talk to Ath and Azmoth about thister and get their opinion on what to do, but in the meantime he first had to summon them back.


    Gratefully eyeing the chests of money, he walked over and ced his hand on one of them. Then he resummoned the notifications concerning the deaths of his minions from his status page to reexamine just how much he¡¯d have to pay for their returns.


    <span ss="bold">[Your minion Ath has died. She will be returned to you twenty-four hours after you pay the blood price for your minion. To </a>resurrect your level 15 Blood Weaver demon, you will be required to pay Elysium directly with a sum of fifteen thousand Elysium coins. Simply will this transaction to happen and make sure you have the required payment to further this agenda.]


    <span ss="bold">[Your minion Azmoth has died. He will be returned to you twenty-four hours after you pay the blood price for your minion. To resurrect your level 11 infant Hellscape Brutalisk demon, you will be required to pay Elysium directly with a sum of eleven thousand Elysium coins. Simply will this transaction to happen and make sure you have the required payment to further this agenda.]


    Riven took a moment to go ahead with the transactions, noting how the original levels of his minions had shot up, and saw thousands of the coins from the two chests evaporate. However, he thankfully had a good amount left after that, and Riven was suddenly very worried about how he was even going to get this money to a safe ce. There was no way he could carry it. Even one of those chests looked like it weighed a literal ton.


    <span ss="bold">[You have paid the blood price of twenty-six thousand Elysium coins to resummon your contracted minions from theher realms after their untimely demise. Ath and Azmoth will both be returned to you within twenty-four hours.]


    Riven shook his head and rubbed his eyes, and looking around again, he noticed a stark difference in the darker areas of the room and cells. The ck recesses that¡¯d once been hidden in the backs of the cells out of the torchlight were still dark in various shades of gray, but their details were outlined for him to make out anyway, with highlighted ck or gray etchings that¡¯d never been there before.


    Well, at least it wasn¡¯t entirely bad. He had survived, after all.


    <span ss="italic">¡°Greetings.¡±


    The voice was unfamiliar, alien, and raspy. It echoed through the room as light and heat bloomed from behind Riven¡¯s back.


    It was a smaller version of the ming eye that illuminated the dungeon¡¯s sky, though it was still four feet in circumference. Made of orange, yellow, and red mes, the lidless eye gazed at him as it hovered midair. Unblinking and staring directly at him, the visage curiously evaluated the vampire. ¡°I must say¡­I¡¯m rather impressed. An ascension into a pureblooded vampire was not expected¡­ Perhaps knowing you were on the verge of an ascension is why the creature that calls itself Chalgathi epted the bet in the first ce. Such is the way of things, I suppose. I am Dungeon Negrada and am pleased to make your acquaintance.¡±


    </a>There was Chalgathi¡¯s name again, and it was beginning to grate on Riven¡¯s nerves. It appeared this Chalgathi character had a very keen interest in his life.


    Riven¡¯s scowl deepened, and he took a step forward to get a better look at what was apparently the representation of the dungeon itself. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize dungeons were living things.¡±


    The entity chuckled, mes writhing along its conjured body as it focused solely on him. ¡°Well, I¡¯m pleased to inform you that we dungeons are indeed alive, though I¡¯m a little less pleased that I lost my bet. That was a good number of Elysium coins to lose, and along with your gained levels and ss upgrades, it appears this encounter has been quite the boon for you. Tell me¡­as the one who dealt the killing blow and received half of the fruits of my failed bet, would you be interested in a deal? Chalgathi seems uninterested in trading those coins back to me, and I cannot break thews of Elysium and cheat you of your winnings without incurring the wrath of the system¡ªat least not for a little while. But you¡­ I think you may see things my way as a path to mutual benefit.¡±


    ss upgrades? That caught Riven¡¯s attention.


    But this situation was getting weirder and weirder. Riven nced over at the entrance to the room, which had just recently resealed itself with another wall of white mana, and then looked back to the floating eye.


    It was very interesting to him that dungeons were actually living entities. Could dungeons use these coins, too? What would dungeons even use them for? Riven knew that they¡¯d be valuable eventually, but he didn¡¯t really know how to use them other than the brief description he¡¯d gotten earlier about <span ss="bold">¡°system altars¡± that were like stores you could buy supplies from.


    He also didn¡¯t know why he¡¯d acquired even half the coins instead of Chalgathi getting them all¡ªas he was the one who¡¯d made the bet, but he assumed this Chalgathi entity found them useful as well. Chalgathi had retained the other half of the prize money and was apparently refusing to trade them back to this dungeon, which was slightly amusing if not baffling to Riven.


    But this dungeon, Negrada, was correct in its assumption that Riven was more than willing to strike a deal with this dungeon entity before he left this literal hellhole. Riven had no way to transport this massive amount of money. With the coins he¡¯d umted throughout the time spent here in the dungeon, the two hundred thousand he¡¯d just gotten, and then the twenty-six thousand he¡¯d spent on reviving his minions, he had just over 174,000 left over. It was all just sitting there in front of him or in the bag he¡¯d thrown to the wayside during his fight, and with no way to move it, why <span ss="italic">shouldn¡¯t he trade with the dungeon?


    No doubt Dungeon Negrada knew this. How could Riven carry two enormous, heavy chests of coins? Perhaps it¡¯d be different if Azmoth was here, but he wasn¡¯t.


    </a>The mary system here was very straightforward, from what Ath had told him in her brief lecture of Elysium economics, and the system had done a good job of integrating the currency and making system altars the basis of most prices¡ªsometimes even being on the higher end of things if people wanted to bepetitive. It often was able to stabilize intion this way. Of course, rarer items often didn¡¯t appear in the Elysium altar shops, and one had to look elsewhere for them. Often the system altars werepletely random or sometimes even had unique selections based on the specific altar, refreshing every month with a new set of inventory. He¡¯d also gathered that one copper piece was worth slightly less than one US dor whenparing altar prices on foodstuffs to those at a local grocery store back home¡­ Ten copper pieces equaled a silver piece, ten silver pieces equaled a gold piece, and ten gold pieces equaled a tinum piece, meaning that one tinum coin was worth about nine hundred to one thousand US dors inparison to old-world money, and then there were a few other types of coins above that, which Riven likely wouldn¡¯t see for a very, very long time, if ever.


    But Riven wasn¡¯t quite sure this was still the case, as Ath hadn¡¯t gone into much detail during her brief overview, and he quickly decided that he was going to y dumb here and act like he simply didn¡¯t know. He¡¯d press the dungeon for information and see what he could find out.


    So Riven nodded. ¡°Sure. What¡¯s your deal? Let¡¯s hear it.¡±

 Chapter 56

    Chapter 56


    The more he thought about it, the better an idea doing a deal here and now became. He wasn¡¯t about to just hand the money over, but there was a good chance he¡¯d be killed and robbed for this amount of wealth if people realized how much he had¡ªeven if he <span ss="italic">did find some way to move it all out of here when he summoned the portal to exit. And even if he <span ss="italic">did find an Elysium altar after that to buy from. So he was going to use as much of it as he could as long as the deals were reasonable, because he didn¡¯t want to leave it behind in this wretched ce.


    Then again, how would he know what was reasonable? He literally had zilch to go off. That was going to pose a problem.


    The eye evaluated Riven for some time, then let out a wheezing noise as its pupil expanded. ¡°I have a variety of different items you may be interested in trading for. I obviously want those Elysium coins back¡­ Instead of buying from the local Elysium altars, perhaps you can trade them back to me instead? The coins you already carry with you in those sacks can be traded to me as well¡­if you wish¡­ There¡¯s one item in particr that I could offer you a rather good deal on¡­and I think you won¡¯t be disappointed.¡±


    Riven nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. It was bing hotter in here¡­or maybe he was just feeling off because of the recent fight and damage to his body. ¡°Sounds fair¡­and I think I¡¯ll be able to trade some of them back to you. Under some conditions.¡±


    There was a long pause.


    ¡°What conditions?¡±


    He slowly exhaled. ¡°I want information. I¡¯m going to ask you some questions, and you¡¯re going to answer them.¡±


    A deep, richugh echoed throughout the enclosed room in response to his request. Theugh grew louder as the eye thrummed with mana, unnerving Riven just slightly, but eventually it settled down. ¡°Very well! I can provide you with what I know as long as the system permits it¡­free of charge¡­though I </a>am surprised by your request. I was under the impression that you were more acquainted with the system than the average newly integrated person, given how easily you managed to survive here. How hrious. Though this is only the first level of my dungeon¡­your request exins much of the bumbling about that I have seen.¡±


    The eye circled Riven curiously, slowly moving with a wisp of me trailing out behind it as it studied him. Stopping in front of him once more, the pupil dted yet again. ¡°What information do you seek, little vampire?¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t hesitate. ¡°Chalgathi. Who or what the hell is Chalgathi? Why did I get half the money from its bet?¡±


    The ming eye pulsed, narrowed, and stared at him for some time. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    Riven shook his head.


    There was another long pause before the dungeon answered. ¡°I am not quite sure myself. It offered to take up my bet when Elysium decided to decline it. All I know is that I was able to sense an Unholy aura from its presence as it watched. If I had to guess, it is likely an archdemon or a minor god that isn¡¯t well-known¡­or perhaps some kind of greater lich. But those are only guesses. I had assumed that you knew or that you were affiliated with it somehow. If this is not the case, it vexes me greatly¡­because it could have taken the money for itself. Usually bets at such high stakes between greater entities are clean-cut and done behind the scenes, with only the system acting as a mediator. How very odd¡­¡±


    The dungeon¡¯s voice trailed off, leaving Riven even more confused than he¡¯d been a minute before. So Chalgathi had decided to just give half of the money away as a token of goodwill? Well, Riven had earned Chalgathi that money in the first ce¡ªbut it appeared that Chalgathi didn¡¯t need to have done what he¡¯d done at all. Riven could still be broke and without reward, by that logic, and he¡¯d not only have been unable to pay the blood price for regaining his minions after their deaths, but he¡¯d never have been able to utilize that money here and now.


    Riven pushed the information acquisition to the back burner as he pondered these new details, deciding to go ahead and spend the money while he thought on things. ¡°I see¡­ Let¡¯s take a look at your offers?¡±


    ¡°Certainly. Though you must remember¡­many of these items will be very hard toe by if you leave here without making a deal. Each of them is also an item customized to your¡­situation. Instead of a straight price, we will use the barter system with one another, and if you have questions, feel free to ask. None of the creatures within my body will bother you while you decide.¡±


    A series of three screens abruptly disyed in front of Riven, and he soon found himself looking at a three rather pricey, but very high-quality, items.


    </a>[Negrada¡¯s List of Items for the Little Bastard Riven Thane:


    [<span ss="underline">Amulet of Many Faces (Relic): Once a day you may change your facial features and identify information for a maximum of three hours at a near-perfect level that cannot be detected by the vast majority of counterspells, identifier abilities, or miracles. Increases all Stealth capabilities by a bonus of 20%.]


    [<span ss="underline">ck Redemption (Tier 1 Awakened Staff): 74 average shadow damage on strike, with each hit drawing a small amount of mana from you to apply a knock-back effect with a minor explosion of shadow magic. All cost of Shadow spells is decreased by 7%; mana regeneration is increased by 68%. Shadow magics all have damage modifiers applied by +27% while channeling through this staff.


    <span ss="underline">[ck Lightning: This staff can passively build up charges of ck lightning. Power of ck lightning depends on the amount of charge emitted.]


    <span ss="underline">[Sleeper (Vampiric) (Tier 1 Awakened ymore): 118 average damage on strike, 1%-62% bonus chance to stun on strike. 3% leech life applied on biological enemies when struck. Requires vampiric heritage to wield.


    <span ss="underline">[Crescent Strike: Sweep your de in an arc and imbue it with mana to send out a wave of blood magic to cut down your enemies.]


    The amulet was definitely good, no doubt about it. He could pose as someone else and people wouldn¡¯t be any wiser. It was almost like a superpower from theic books he¡¯d read as a kid.


    But Riven stopped right there after seeing the word <span ss="italic">Awakened. The ck Redemption staff was exactly the kind of weapon he¡¯d been looking for this entire time, even having hit effects with shadow explosions and ck lightning discharges as a special. Looking at the staff¡¯s physical attacks alone, it wasparable to the other ymore he¡¯d seen early on in the dungeon that the crazed ghoul had nearly smashed him with right after he¡¯d acquired Blood Lance. More than anything else, though, it gave a passive mana regeneration boost of 68 percent¡ªwhich was absolutely huge. It was almost six times more of a regeneration boost than he got from his current staff. That would be invaluable in fights, allowing him to push more mana into more spells for more damage. Spell-damage output was inrge part based on mana consumption in creating the spell, so mana </a>regeneration was in essence almost a bonus to continued damage output for any mage that entered an elongated battle.


    [Damaged Orchalium ymore, 58 average damage, two-handed for full effect, 89 Strength requirement.]


    And if he remembered right, these awakened weapons didn¡¯t have souls, but rather were alive in their own right. They were supposed to have conscious thoughts of their own.


    He rified just to make sure. ¡°So¡­what does ¡®awakened¡¯ mean, exactly?¡±


    The floating eyeball made of mes chuckled slightly. ¡°It means that they are able to grow with you. Though they grow in leaps and bounds, through tiers, instead of leveling up like you would. These particr awakened items would be a good starting point for someone such as yourself¡­ They aren¡¯t grand now, but they could be so. I would sell you something better, but you wouldn¡¯t be able to afford them.¡±


    ¡°I see. How would I get them to grow, then?¡±


    ¡°Through experience and finding the right materials for their required upgrades. Every awakened item is unique in what they want or need to evolve, and their experiences will guide their evolutionary pathways depending on use by the wielder. However, some awakened items won¡¯t bind to you because your personalities, fighting styles, or wills do not match up.¡±


    ¡°Gotcha.¡± Riven rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be out of here in a bit, ording to the system notifications, so I won¡¯t be bothering you much anymore. Thus I assume you¡¯d have no problem giving me some advice on what to pick if you were me?¡±


    The eyeball gave him a thoughtful stare, then had another amusedughing fit thatsted a little longer than his mere chuckles from before. ¡°You¡¯re asking me for advice after killing my miniboss and taking my coins? The audacity. I love it¡­ To answer your question, I believe any of these three items would be useful to you. As I said, I custom made this list for you based on what you¡¯d need most from the wares in my dungeon. Or at least the ones you could afford with the money you have¡­ There are others in my wares that would benefit you, but they are far too valuable to part with for what you have to offer.¡±


    Riven blinked, then pulled up his status page to examine his stats before he went on with the conversation.


    [Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:


    <span ss="bno">? Level 18


    <span ss="bno">? Pir Orientations: Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty, Infernal


    <span ss="bno">? Core of Original Sin¡ªGluttony: (Under Construction) (???)


    </a><span ss="bno">? Traits: Race: Pureblooded Vampire (Extreme Darkness Regeneration) (Sunlight Decay) (Extreme Weakness to silver weapons, Sun subpir, and Light subpir attacks), ss: Novice Warlock, Adrenaline Junkie (Blood) (+15% to Agility)


    <span ss="bno">? Abilities: Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood) (Tier 2), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal)


    <span ss="bno">? Stats: 50 Strength, 98 Sturdiness, 188 Intelligence, 98 Agility, 1 Luck, -308 Charisma, 155 Vampiric Perception, 59 Willpower, 9 Faith


    <span ss="bno">? Free Stat Points: 14


    <span ss="bno">? Minions: Ath, Level 15 Blood Weaver [14 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 11 Hellscape Brutalisk [20 Willpower Requirement].


    <span ss="bno">? Equipped Items: Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), Basic Casting Staff (4 dmg, 12% mana regen, +3 magic dmg), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies, Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Cloak of the Tundra (22 def, +56 bonus def vs. frost), Breath of Valgeshia (48 def, +13 dmg and +9% mana output dmg for blood dmg, 6% mana regen)


    <span ss="bno">? Notices: ss Upgrades Avable]


    ¡°Well, my minion Ath told me that I shouldn¡¯t be trying to specialize in more than one route to power. She said to stick with my magic because I was good at it, and that generally it¡¯s hard to level upbination sses that utilize martial arts and magic. If you¡¯re offering me the ymore right now, I¡¯m assuming you think I¡¯d utilize it. Why would you think that after I only used magic in thatst fight?¡±


    The eyeball scoffed audibly, then shook itself from side to side as the fires lighting it danced along the walls to illuminate the stone room. ¡°That advice was certainly given to you before your evolution into a vampire, and you haven¡¯t even bothered to look at your ss option choices yet. I can see them for what they are¡ªit is within my ability to do so¡ªand it would be foolish not to capitalize upon abination ss now that your race empowers you in physical aspects more so than magical ones. Perhaps specializing in magic could be your primary, but having a secondary focus because of your physical stats would be quite wise. Not only that, but you utilized your spells Blessing of the Crow and Crimson Ice to modify your body so that you could better engage in physical contact with my satyr in the end of the fight. You were in close quarters for about a third of the fight despite iming to be a mage. I believe it would be in your best interest to reevaluate your sses soon, and if </a>you¡¯re thinking about taking one of the spirit weapons, they would be a good foundation for you to proceed with. However, these items are very expensive and would cost everything you have just for one of them.¡±


    ¡°Everything?!¡±


    ¡°Everything. Even then, I¡¯d be losing a slight amount of what they¡¯re really worth.¡±


    ¡°Huh. That¡¯s not going to fly.¡± Riven shook his head promptly, and a low growl escaped the depths of the floating eyeball. ¡°Sorry. I have nothing to go off, so unless you have some way to prove to me that these items are worth that much, you can fuck right off into the sunset. Or¡­¡±


    There was a pause for dramatic effect.


    ¡°Or what?¡± Negrada eventually asked, obviously irritated.


    ¡°Or you could make it very much worth my while.¡± Riven tapped a finger to his forehead a couple times. ¡°I have a decent idea of what a general price range is for food, but I have no idea what magical items would go for. I don¡¯t know how rare they are, or how hard you¡¯re trying to swindle me. But there¡¯s gotta be something you have that would obviously be worth it for me to part ways with the cash, yet it holds little value to you. I need it to be obvious if you want it all back, otherwise it¡¯s a no go.¡±


    There was a long, deep sigh¡ªmaking Riven wonder just what Negrada was thinking. Then the dungeon bobbed up and down once. ¡°Very well, vampire. I have instructed a team of my treasurers to report back to me within the next few minutes after they search my wares, and I¡¯ll get back to you soon.¡±


    ¡°Fine. In the meantime, I¡¯ll look at my ss upgrade options.¡±


    ¡°Take your time, little vampire.¡±

 Chapter 57

    Chapter 57


    Riven gave Negrada a skeptical look and then pulled up the options for his new ss choices. To his surprise, they were indeedbination sses for two of the three options, just like Negrada had talked about¡ªso apparently the system thought Riven was a good match. Ath had told Riven that the system only handed out ss options for those who earned them, and apparently thest fight he¡¯d had with the satyr warlord in conjunction with his race evolution was more than enough to get him a spot with these three.


    [ss Upgrade Options:


    Warlock Adept: The Warlock Adept is a direct upgrade from the ss Novice Warlock and emphasizes demonic minions with a high damage output through magical attacks. You gain additional negative charisma. You will have a percentage upgrade to all Unholy pir and rted subpir spells through this ss, you will acquire an additional demonic contract slot when you hit level 35, you will acquire more stat points per level than you did as a novice, and you will experience visions from the system concerning Unholy pir abilities more often by taking this ss. Bonus structure for Staves, Cloth Armor, Willpower, and Intelligence included. (Comes with the knowledge of the Shadow subpir and the Shadow spell Riftwalk.)


    Reaper Initiate: The Reaper Initiate is the first in line for a ss style that primarily focuses on physical attributes, epassing Unholy, Blood, Death, and Shadow abilities. This ss employs Stealth bonuses for those who would be assassins, spies, or thieves. This ss has bonus structures for Scythes, Crossbows, Small </a>des, Axes, Cloth Armor, and Light Armor, as well as Agility and Strength, but also applies smaller bonuses to Intelligence. (Comes with the knowledge of the Blood martial art Flurry.)


    Blood Pdin: As a Blood subpir specialist primarily focusing on physical attributes with martial arts, the Blood Pdin will also gain bonuses to magical and miracle-based abilities to a lesser degree. This ss gives very good bonuses to heavy armor, shields, mental defense, andrge weapons, as well as good Sturdiness and Strength stat increases per level. It also has a very high bonus structure for the Blood subpir abilities but has no bonus structure concerning any other pirs. (Comes with the Blood miracle Crimson Wings.)]


    He immediately noticed a couple things here. The first was that each of these ss upgrades came with a new ability¡­which was pretty sweet, considering his first ss hadn¡¯t had that. He¡¯d had to learn his abilities in the Chalgathi trials when he¡¯d been given the Novice Warlock ss.


    The Warlock Adept had a huge bonus that Riven really wanted¡ªthe third demonic minion. Having two demonic minions was already a huge boon, and having a third? That just seemed downright unfair. But the big seller on this one was the spell Riftwalk, which he could only assume was some kind of teleport or movement ability. If that was the case, he very much wanted that martial art. Being a mobile caster was something that Ath said wasn¡¯t done often, and not being mobile was often the downfall of many once-sessful casters or mages in the end.


    The Reaper Initiate ss was apparently the type of fighting style that Negrada said Riven had, and although it sounded neat, Riven was a little bit hesitant to choose it based on how it described the ss being a ¡°primarily physical¡± ss. He liked magic a lot, and he didn¡¯t see his fighting style changing all that much. Sure, he¡¯d used a hatchet to kill a bunch of thugs prior to the dungeon, and yeah, he¡¯d killed the satyr warlord with his bare hands after enchanting himself with Crimson Ice, but he¡¯d primarily been using magic all along to get to where he was now. To switch it up after investing most of his points into Intelligence thus far would seem a little off to him. He also didn¡¯t know what Flurry was or how it could be used, but it was a martial art, and if he had to guess from the name, it likely involved quick sessive strikes against an enemy.


    Thenstly there was Blood Pdin, with the strength and defensive bonuses. It would definitely be a good fit for the ymore. The idea of walking around in a cool set of heavy armor, wieldingrge intimidating weapons, and being hard to kill definitely appealed to him for obvious reasons, as did Crimson Wings if it meant flying. Flying would be even cooler than a teleport, but Riven </a>really didn¡¯t like the idea of utilizing only the Blood subpir. What if he wanted variety? He was way too early into this new world to be focusing down like that. Not only that, but this ss also utilized primarily physical attributes ording to the description, and he was dead set on utilizing magic as his primary function¡ªeven if he was possibly going to switch it up a bit with martial arts in the future given his new racial evolution.


    He thought long and hard about the decision for quite some time, with Negrada waiting patiently.


    His thought process was this: he definitely would have liked to be some kind of magical assassin or pdin, but he had no real training in closebat using medieval weapons. He had no real training using a sword, no real training in daggers or assassinating people. Those were rtively high skill-cap sses, and the only reason he¡¯d done as well as he had so far was because he could control mana at a freakish level. He was gifted in magic, ording to Ath, which was a rarity in itself but didn¡¯t require the type of training for Riven that it might for other people. It didn¡¯t require the type of training he¡¯d need to be a sessful assassin or closebat fighter. So maybe, one day, if he ever got the training realistically needed to do that kind of closebat fighting, he¡¯d consider it. Until then he¡¯d stick with what he knew.


    He also just couldn¡¯t pass up a teleport¡ªit was too tempting to leave behind. In the end, though, Riven selected Warlock Adept. The draw of another demonic familiar, a teleport spell, and a bonus to all spells under the Unholy umbre was just too tempting despite what the dungeon had advised. He was staying on the straight and narrow magic route, at least for now, and if he changed his mind, he could always try for a different type of sster.


    [You have chosen Warlock Adept as your ss upgrade. Congrattions! You now are able to contract a third demonic servant when you reach level 35. Yourparisons between Novice Warlock and Warlock Adept are shown below:


    > Old ss: Novice Warlock (+1 Willpower, +2 Intelligence, +2 free stat points per level, -5 base Charisma, allows otherworldly contact, allows two demonic contracts)


    > New ss: Warlock Adept (+2 Willpower, +3 Intelligence, +2 free stat points per level, -5 base Charisma, -1 Charisma per level. Allows otherworldly contact, allows three demonic contracts, with the third contract being avable starting at level 35. +5% stat bonus for Staves and Cloth Armor.)


    You are now being imbued with knowledge of the Shadow subpir </a>and the spell Riftwalk. Failing to recognize the vision for what it is will result in you failing to obtain the spell Riftwalk. Good luck.]


    The following experience was a lot more pleasant than his previous ones. There was no headache, no failure to understand what was happening, and the visions were incredibly straightforward. Or perhaps this is just what Ath had meant on one of their recent scouting trips around the city when she said that Riven was ¡°a magical prodigy¡± and that he learned things quickly. Perhaps it had to do with his incredibly high affinity for Blood, Death, and Shadow pirs that led him to acquiring these things with such ease¡ªbut he was thankful for it regardless. He could only wonder what higher-tiered spells would be like in terms of learning, as he¡¯d understood Tier 3 spells to be significantly worse in terms of failure rates for people obtaining them.


    As the process started, his mind went ck, and he found himself internally evaluating his soul again. The images and lights representing his memories all passed him by until the core soul structure, a sphere of bright white light, radiated in the center of his vision. The fiery pir representing the Infernal path was now attached to it as well¡ªa torch of raging inferno alongside the pure, smooth, and bright-crimson Blood subpir. The Unholy foundational pir was a multicolored green, ck, and red coloring, with Blood being a brighter and purer crimson. They stuck out from the sides of his spherical, radiating soul and acted as converters for his power channels, enabling him to utilize certain abilities as long as the pirs were attached. Then there was the rotating ck orb of his forming Gluttony core, which still phased in and out between solid and translucent states. And out of the abyss from beyond the scattered lights representing his thoughts and memories came yet another.


    This one was different, though. Instead of radiating light like the rest did, it absorbed light. It was a ck mark, in stark contrast to the light of his soul or any of the other pirs, and it gingerly edged its way past the zing Infernal subpir to settle down beside it. As it attached itself to Riven¡¯s soul, he felt a cold rush flow through his body. It was a wee feeling, though, and it felt¡­right. Just like the Blood subpir, the Shadow subpir seemed to wee him home as if it¡¯d always intended to find him. Unholy and Infernal certainly vibed with his soul well, but inparison to Blood and Shadow, neither of them could quitepare in how they felt or the synchronizing feeling they had whenever their mana channels reached out.


    As the Shadow subpir solidified and finished fusing to the edge of his soul, Riven then felt and saw another vision.


    It was that of the birth of a sun after the passing wave from a supernova. The vision condensed time and space,paring the stark contrast of the ck void to the light given off by the sun¡ªand then it showed the death of the star and the continuity of the void even in its absence. From what he gathered and the feelings he was receiving, the Shadow subpir was essentially showing him that Shadow was always there and would always remain there even in the absolute absence of light. In the eventual death of the universe, light would cease to exist¡ªyet Shadow would forever remain.


    </a>The vision switched again, this time showing a series of holes in time and space, ones that he could travel through by forcing a rift in space¡ªholding that rift open with his mana channels. Where there was absence of light, Riven could find passage and sanctuary. The wormholes continued on and on, forever reaching out into the expanse and onto solid earth until they came upon ces where the shadows could not reach.


    Channeling mana through the Shadow subpir, understanding the vision for what it was, and applying meaning to it were the three fundamental pieces to any Tier 1 spell. Channeling mana was a given and easy enough to do. Understanding what he needed and wanted by the ability was also easy enough. Applying meaning and understanding to the vision was the hard part, but unbeknownst to him, even that was child¡¯s y for Riven whenpared to the average caster. Pondering the vision of the wormholes led him to a single and obvious conclusion: there was a path to sanctuary in the absence of light that he could tread upon. In fact, he might even be able to establish links between spots by pushing light away even in its presence, expanding the wormholes, tying the loops together like so, and¡ª


    [You have sessfully acquired the Shadow subpir. You have sessfully interpreted and learned the spell Riftwalk. Congrattions!]


    [Riftwalk (Shadow): Channel mana into your Shadow subpir and focus on the ce you wish to travel to. Then rip open a portal in space and pass through it, allowing you and other people or objects nearby to pass through until you close the rift. Mana cost is dependent upon length of space traveled and time maintaining rift.]


    Huh. That was all it took? Honestly, it seemed rather simple to him, and it made him question whether or not the system was just screwing with him and trying to make him feel good about himself. Was it belittling him? He¡¯d thought that solution was a rather obvious one.


    ¡°I see you have made your choice,¡± Negradamented patiently, narrowing its pupil slightly as Riven turned to him. ¡°You acquired your pir rather¡­fast¡­no doubt due to your affinities being so absurdly high. Have you made up your mind on what you want to trade for?¡±

 Chapter 58

    Chapter 58


    Riven took in what the dungeon avatar had said concerning his affinities and rubbed his forehead. ¡°Have you found something obviously worth the full amount yet?¡±


    ¡°My treasurers are still looking.¡±


    The only thing he could trulypare to with Ath gone was the basic system of one copper equals one dor, give or take. Trying to gauge just how much each of these were worth without a baseline was guesswork, so he put out some feelers and tried a shot in the dark¡ªcalling Negrada out on potential bluff. The dungeon had said one item was worth all the money Riven had, but there¡¯s no way he¡¯d part with everything over one item. Not when the dungeon seemed so eager to get the money back.


    ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t find anything that is of obvious value beyond these items, I want both the staff and the amulet. I think that¡¯d be a fair trade for both.¡±


    Negrada scoffed. ¡°Absolutely not. The Amulet of Many Faces or the staff, not both.¡±


    ¡°The staff and the ymore, then.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°The staff is what I primarily want here, but I feel like it might not be worth all the money I have. Sure, it¡¯s good, but it¡¯s not that good, and I¡¯d be foolish to trust you outright.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think that, little vampire?¡±


    ¡°Because I found a low-quality ymore in the dungeon that dealt just slightly more damage than the staff and just a little bit less than the ymore you¡¯re offering me.¡±


    ¡°That ymore had a Strength requirement and wasn¡¯t a spirit weapon, thus it could never better itself, eventually have sentience, or evolve. It also didn¡¯t have any abilities associated with it or a mana-regeneration perk.¡±


    Riven thought about it, then nodded in agreement. ¡°Fair point. However, I¡¯m at a distinct disadvantage here, not knowing what these items are really </a>worth, so if you don¡¯t bend here, I¡¯ll just take the money, conjure a portal, and leave. Again, I frankly don¡¯t trust you.¡± Riven stared the ming eyeball down in challenge, and when there was no reply, he continued. ¡°Final offer. The staff and something else thrown in for¡­let¡¯s say one hundred and fifty thousand. I keep twenty-four thousand of the coins for you being a pain in the ass. Is it a deal or not? You¡¯re giving me bad vibes, so I¡¯m not backing down from this. At the very least, I¡¯ll know it¡¯s a fair deal if I find an altar to the system beyond this dungeon. Plus, what do you have to lose? I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t get many buyers here.¡±


    The eyeball narrowed its pupil slightly and grumbled something in anguage Riven didn¡¯t understand but eventually nodded. ¡°Very well. You have yourself a deal, fledgling undead.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve still gotta add something to the pot.¡±


    ¡°Patience. I¡¯m working on finding something I have no use for. In the meantime, here is your staff. The deal is not struck yet; you will have your coins returned if you do not find the additional item worthy.¡±


    In a burst of light, Riven saw a single item appear in front of him as the coins in the chests quickly began to vanish¡ªthough he did see his backpack fill up as Negrada deposited a few thousand different types of coins into the bag along with the ones he already had in there.


    It was a staff far superior to the shoddy, chipped one he¡¯d been carrying around since the Chalgathi trials. It may have been basic, ording to Negrada, but to Riven, who was newly oriented in this universe, it was great. This gnarled staff was a beauty despite its in design, carved from ck-stained oak that was polished to glint in the dim light. It came up to a knobby, twisted end where the tree branch had been left somewhat intact, and upon touching it he could feel a mana influx that was far superior to his normal rejuvenation potential.


    [<span ss="underline">ck Redemption (Tier 1 Awakened Staff): 74 average shadow damage on strike, with each hit drawing a small amount of mana from you to apply a knock-back effect with a minor explosion of shadow magic. All cost of Shadow spells is decreased by 7%, mana regeneration is increased by 68%. Shadow magics all have damage modifiers applied by +27% while channeling through this staff. <span ss="underline">ck Lightning: This staff can passively build up charges of ck lightning. Power of ck lightning depends on the amount of charge emitted.]


    The gnarled staff was cool to the touch and just a little shorter than he was when ced on the ground, making it ratherrge. He also didn¡¯t have any offensive Shadow abilities, with only Riftwalk being avable as a movement ability. Despite this, though, the 68 percent buff to mana regeneration alone was </a>reason enough to carry it, and he was sure he¡¯d be getting some more Shadow abilities over time. Plus the ck lightning attack seemed pretty nifty, and upon trying to push mana into the staff, he felt the weapon in his hands begin to slowly charge up¡ªstoring the mana within the wooden shaft, which began to lightly re with shadows when he pressed on the power mentally.


    ¡°Neat.¡±


    He slid his hands along the polished ck wood of the staff for another few moments until a jolt of surprise ran through him, and he felt a consciousness touch his mind.


    It wasn¡¯t an overwhelming presence, but he could still feel the consciousness of the staff in his hand as it evaluated him just like he was evaluating it. Curiously staring at the weapon for some time, Riven eventually got a prompt:


    [ck Redemption epts you as a suitable wielder for surface-level bonding. Do you wish to bond with this spirit weapon?]


    Surface level? He could only assume that meant there were deeper levels of connection that he could attain. Riven nodded thoughtfully with a small grin, and the prompt went away to be reced by a new one.


    [ck Redemption is now bonded to you on a surface level, allowing it the opportunity to grow based on shared experiences with you. Congrattions.]


    Riven gave a thoughtful humph and rested the end of his new staff onto the ground. He put his runic mask back on and picked up his sturdy bag and hoisted it over his shoulder to strap it onto his back. He would have once thought the bag heavy, but now he could carry it pretty easily with one hand.


    ¡°I have found something suitable,¡± Negrada stated after a few more moments of Riven admiring the staff. ¡°However, there is a catch.¡±


    A vision was conjured, and then another, and another. It was a series of pictures showing off a rather luxurious-looking stone mansion, three stories high, resembling Victorian architecture with a rectangr build and a wide tower climbing up over the front entrance. Stone gargoyles lined the balconies, and a wide metal gate encircled a courtyard out front with gardens in the back.


    ¡°A house?¡± Riven asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Not just a house, a guild hall. One that I took off a foolhardy group of adventurers a few years ago.¡±


    The pictures changed, this time showing the interior. Red carpets lined the hallways, with picture frames hanging empty on the walls. An indoor pool with a skylight, arge dining room and kitchen, dozens of rooms or storage areas, a </arge library at the top of the tower, and a huge meeting area for social gatherings in the front were all present. There was even a small dungeon and an armory in the lower levels, disyedst before the images winked out.


    ¡°It looks fancy,¡± Riven stated with a shrug and sideways nce. ¡°Though in terms of end-of-the-world stuff, I can¡¯t say I¡¯d find it useful. How am I supposed to move a house, anyways?¡±


    Negrada gave off an amused hum. ¡°Guild halls are only called such by the system when they have three basic conveniences that other buildings do not. The first would be a recall option, allowing you and anyone in your guild to recall back to the guild hall after channeling for a given time based on distance away from the guild hall. This can be done from anywhere in the cosmos, though you can¡¯t teleport back once you arrive home again. The second would be the binding of servants, creatures, or guardians. Guild halls can bind these to their cores and maintain permanence within a radius, meaning that bound beings cannot venture outside a certain perimeter from the hall¡¯s core based on how advanced your guild hall is, lest it teleport them back, but it also keeps them from dying permanently as long as the core remains intact. Then, third andst, would be the ability for guild halls to transition between locations. Per system rules, it takes an entire year of channeling the core to transition between guild hall locations. There are also a lot of restrictions to prevent inteary guild hall invasions, sometimes requiring a system administrator request ticket, but otherwise the location will be able to move. Everything and everyone bound to it can transition.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Riven blinked a couple times and folded his arms. ¡°Now, that actually is interesting. A teleporting home that keeps bound workers and guards alive as long as it isn¡¯t destroyed? Very neat.¡±


    ¡°Elysium emphasizes guild activities quite often, so guild halls are amodity many would consider valuable. Being a dungeon, I do not find it so. However, you would probably make better use of it. Take this orb, nt it where you want this guild hall to appear, and it shall materialize. Remember, after your initial use it will need to be channeled for an entire year before it can change locations. So be wary about where you nt it.¡±


    ¡°And by servants, creatures, or guardians¡­would I be able to hire on additional demonic familiars?¡±


    ¡°Ones that you could not summon to you, yes. They¡¯d need to stay within the guild hall¡¯s perimeter. This particr hall allows them to travel out a few miles from the hall¡¯s core, but then it forcefully relocates them back when they go beyond the boundary. You¡¯ll also be limited based on how advanced your core is. This one, though the building itself looks pristine, is a low-quality guild core and only allows for fifteen hiree spots. Each spot also requires you to pay Elysium¡¯s administrator a tax to keep your attendants on board¡­ Here, I¡¯ll just pass over the information and you can take a look at it yourself.¡±


    </a>[Guild Hall: Stone Manor


    *nt this at a chosen location to create your premade guild hall. This is a packaged, ime-use item*


    Homeward Teleportation: Very long channel time


    Fifteen attendant spots avable; six hundred Elysium coins per month per active attendant are taxed by the system administrator.


    Three-mile exploration radius for attendants before forced retrieval back to guild hall.


    Core Sturdiness: Moderate


    Defensive wards: None


    Other features: Library, kitchen, dungeon, cer, armory]


    ¡°So if I hire attendants as guards, servants, etc., if they die¡ªwill they respawnter or what?¡±


    ¡°Their souls are bound to the guild hall. As long as the core remains intact, they will live. If they are bound to the hall when the core is shattered, they will then lose their permanence. It¡¯s very much like the contracts you already have, except that they¡¯re bound to a specific physical area and cost upkeep paid directly to the system administrator. I hear many mortals like to hire cooks, smiths, and other craftsmen, too. Others aside from just soldiers to guard your home, but ultimately it is up to you.¡±


    ¡°I see. How often will they be able to bind and unbind?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ve never used one of these things before, but I do know there are limits. So how is that for making it obvious? Is the deal struck?¡±


    Riven could only nod slowly. The price to keep attendants was a little rough for him now, but it likely wouldn¡¯t be in the future, and it provided a nice home base of sorts. ¡°Yeah. Keep the hundred and fifty thousand.¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯ll be taking all of it if you want the guild hall, too, including the money you managed to scrounge up while here before the satyr fight.¡±


    Riven opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it again. The guild hall alone was probably worth a hell of a lot more than two hundred grand, so he nodded again. ¡°Fine, take all the money I have and be done with it.¡±


    ¡°Nice doing business with you.¡±


    His backpack suddenly felt lighter, and all the coins in those two splendid chests evaporated in a wink of light. A portal appeared a secondter, and out of it materialized a globe of sparkling lights. It was the size of a golf ball but weighed significantly more as he took it out of the air and embraced it between his fingers.


    ¡°Feels warm.¡±


    He ced the bauble inside his backpack. Dusting himself off, he gave another sidelong look at the corpse of Ben and felt a little sick to his stomach, but he brushed the feeling off with a shake of his head. He still had to pick up </a>the supplies that he¡¯d taken off Jalel a while back, but then he¡¯d get the hell out of here and onto the next stage of his life. Hopefully it¡¯d be a more pleasant experience than this one had been.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m off to see the wizard. Thanks for the transaction, Negrada, it¡¯s been a pleasure.¡±


    The ming eye did a literal eye roll and gave a snorting sound in return. ¡°Truly. But before you go, I have some words of advice for you, vampire. Advice, and yet another deal.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow. ¡°Advice?¡±


    ¡°Yes, advice. I realize you are new to the transition, so I thought I should tell you. It is the least I could do considering you were willing to barter with me and trade some of the coins back to me, even if you are somewhat of a thief about it.¡± Negrada¡¯s avatar paused, and it examined Riven a little bit more thoroughly this time. ¡°When you exit this dungeon and finish your tutorial, you must try to find a destination that holds a coven if you wish to survive. That, or you will need to create your own.¡±


    Riven frowned from underneath the ck mask that glowed with red sigils and turned fully to face the eyeball, holding his rickety old staff in one hand and his new staff in the other as he curiously cocked his head to the side. ¡°Why?¡±


    A deep chuckle was elicited from the dungeon¡¯s avatar. ¡°Your kind are considered monsters by the rest of the multiverse. Just like I am plundered for being what I am, just like so many invaders try to find my core to destroy me for being a native to the hells, so, too, will you be hunted down simply because you are a vampire. For every level you gain, you will likely go deeper and deeper into the negative with your Charisma, and that alone will cause humans and other mortal races to both fear and hate you. They will be repulsed by negative emotions upon first meeting you, and making good impressions with those who are not of your kind or do not also have negative Charisma will be a hard thing indeed. If you do not join your own kind, you will find it all the more difficult to survive¡­and believe me when I say that the early years of integration for any new world are not easy ones. You may falsely assume acquiring your newfound power as a vampire will benefit you, and in some cases it will, but in the grand scheme of things, you have just doomed yourself to a very hard life.¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t know what to think of that. He just stared nkly back at the floating fiery eyeball, trying to find what words to say. Eventually he let out a sigh and pursued the other topic the dungeon had mentioned. ¡°What¡¯s this other deal you¡¯re talking about, then?¡±


    Negrada chuckled. ¡°Well¡­that phantom you¡¯ve got locked down in your soul? I want her.¡±


    Immediately there was a re of power, and Kajit was floating there, wide-eyed and panicked. She whipped around toy eyes on Riven, brought up a hand to begin casting a spell with a re of neon-teal light, and for a brief moment he thought the attack was going to discharge.


    Immediately he mped down on her soul with Gluttony, and she let out a shriek.


    </a>The attempted attack had been so sudden he hadn¡¯t had time toprehend anything but a knee-jerk reaction, and the phantom began writhing around on the floor screaming while Gluttony¡¯s jaws ripped at her soul structure from within his own.


    ¡°You see¡­she is untrustworthy,¡± Negrada coolly stated with a billow of mes. ¡°Let me take her off your hands¡­ She just tried to kill you and escape, after all. I¡¯ve been trying to catch this one for a very long time, and she¡¯s been rather pesky. She and her sister¡­¡±


    ¡°Riven, please!¡± Kajit shrieked between gasps, but after what he¡¯d just seen her try to do, he wasn¡¯t even going to try and hear her out.


    Riven blinked, and his heart rate began to settle down.


    Wait. Wasn¡¯t he undead now? Why did he still have a heartbeat?


    He scratched his head and looked at the floating eyeball. ¡°What do I get?¡±


    ¡°What she stole from you,¡± Negrada stated simply. ¡°The dagger the system provided, the one that allows you to gain ess back to my dungeon.¡±


    Riven nced back over to the writhing, deep-blue spirit on the floor¡ªand nodded. He certainly had no love for the phantom. ¡°She tried to ckmail me and stole my stuff. Then she tried to kill me. So go right ahead¡ªit¡¯ll be good to get her out of my soul space.¡±


    Kajit¡¯s eyes went wide, and teal power surged out of them just before a pool of mes tore out of the floor underneath her. Arms of souls damned to the hells reached for her and began to drag her down, screaming and writhing, while she cursed both Negrada and Riven.


    ¡°THIS WILL NOT BE THE LAST TIME YOU SEE ME, RIVEN THANE! I WILL REMEMBER THIS! KAJIT TAKE REVENGE!¡± The phantom swore, screaming in rage just before she was sucked under and the pool of fire died away.


    Riven promptly felt her soul¡¯s presence leave his own soul structure.


    ¡°No need to worry about that one,¡± Negrada stated rather happily, or as happily as a floating fiery eyeball could. ¡°Now, let me fetch your dagger. It¡¯s located in an older acquaintance of mine, another dungeon holding that one¡¯s sister, but shouldn¡¯t be too hard to get ahold of. In the meantime, as youplete your stay here in my very humble first level, I¡¯d like to wish you luck when you get back to your world. Thanks for doing business with me.¡±

 Chapter 59

    Chapter 59


    <strong>Chapter 59</strong>


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    The door to her left shattered in a cloud of splintered wood, and the roar of battle could be heard all around her.


    Allie ducked and weaved in the dying light of day, shredding a man in a spray of viscera with a ck arc of light from her wand. Granite exploded amidst a hail of holy lightning smites that fractured the building around her, and dozens of skeletons poured forth through the courtyard to meet a charging horde of men and women wielding maces, baseball bats, shields, guns and swords.


    Priests in the backlines frantically healed the frontline warriors of the chapel¡¯s defense, using the powers of their newfound holy book to quickly mend the flesh of theirrades in shes of white light whenever bone ws and teeth tore at their bodies.


    She blurred across the far wall of the outer courtyard and into a side building, her hand tearing through the throat of a woman just when she opened the door. Blood sprayed across the worn paint and Allieunched herself through another window to hit the ground and roll amidst the spray of bullets, taking one of them to the skull where her bone mask deflected it.


    Her hand gestures blurred, producing a spell of ck and neon teal death energy that crashed into the bloodstained grass in front of her like a freight train. Forming rapidly, a spire formed from mana ripped out of the ground - unholy symbols etched into its body that radiated a curse to apply a weakening effect on all living creatures within its zone. The area around them darkened for hundreds of feet in all directions even despite the sun remaining on the horizon. The men and women fighting her small army noticeably slowed, already exhausted from the drain of the battle, and the undead began to push forward with more brutality.


    Out of the alley between buildings behind her, a series of death balls rocketed overhead and mmed into one of the towers overlooking the courtyard. Screams were heard from overhead, and the tower began to crumble and crash to the ground while more of the undead poured in.


    Allie turned and ran over to where the attacks hade from, seeing her subordinates slowly walking towards her. There were three of them, all souls she¡¯d saved from Chalgathi¡¯s trials, all loyal to her despite not being her minions. Rather than that, they were all independent undead that had chosen to serve her for the grace she¡¯d shown them. And in turn, they all had their own minions to add to Allie¡¯s for this assault.Each was a low level necromancer just like herself, though instead of being vampires like her - one was a ghoul and two of them were called ¡®Skresh¡¯. Each of them also had a different type of necromancer specialty ss, which made their inherent pathways to power a lot different than one would think considering they were all necromancers.


    As for what Skresh were: Skresh were a form of living skeleton, though they certainly weren¡¯t mindless like the creatures charging thepound. They were also a lot thicker in terms of basic body mass whenpared to normal skeletons, and were able to modify their own bodies by collecting new materials that made them rather intimidating to look at. Undead anatomy was a bitplicated, and there were still rules to abide by if one wanted to maintain stability within one¡¯s undead race. But because these skresh were just now starting to level up and grow after being trapped in a stasis for so long, they hadn¡¯t had the time or power to incorporate anything other than more reinforcing bones along their basic humanoid skeletons. Each arm and leg had multiple long bones along their shafts, fused together with death mana, and their eyes would start radiating neon teal light whenever they activating their mana channels. Instead of a hollow interior underneath the rib cage and along the spine, there were interwoven cords of mana strapping a cage of further reinforced bones onto one another as well.


    ¡°Mistress¡­¡± the hooded ghoul necromancer by the name of Mara bowed at the waist, followed by the other two hooded and more skeletal figures of Nin and Vin. ¡°We destroyed the messengers sent for aid, the prophet will likely not know of this attack until the morrow. I have also stationed some of my raven familiars along the rooftops overlooking the more prominent paths through the city, if prophet does manage to send troops we will see theming.¡±


    Allie silently nodded, examining the ghoul. Mara was rather pretty, with long raven hair that trailed down her breasts and a patchwork of stitched flesh that melded together from pieces of females they¡¯d killed that Mara found attractive. Incorporating them into herself and stabilizing it with necromantic powers, Mara had managed to be quite the beauty - with the exception of her dead, milky eyes. She¡¯d evolved her necromancer ss into something called a ¡®Novice ck Summoner.¡¯ It allowed Mara to see into the void that permeated reality around them, and she could bind shadow familiars in ce of undead creations or even fuse the two types together to create a shadow-undead hybrid - but fusions cost 3 times the normal minion slot requirement so it was reserved only for the personal guards she created. Of which, two pitch-ck skeletons holding long daggers blended in and out of the shadows of another doorway off to her left.


    Allie had actually had this ss presented to her as an option as well, though she¡¯d opted to take the ¡®Novice Swarm Necromancer¡¯ instead that boosted her up to a staggering 200 ¡®basic¡¯ undead minion slots, and 2 ¡®captain¡¯ undead minion slots. The ¡®captains¡¯, which she hadn¡¯t sessfully created just yet, were supposed to be intelligent and could control the other undead shemanded alongside giving her swarm amand stat buff whenever they were nearby. However, she¡¯d failed every time when trying to create a ¡®captain¡¯ type undead, as it required the soul to remainpletely intact while simultaneously controlling them.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Allie¡¯s current minions were all just soul shards, rather than entire souls. They were merely fragments of the souls they¡¯d once been used to manipte the skeletons she was sending in waves at the chapel ahead of her, and neither she nor any of the other three necromancers she¡¯d befriended had figured out how topletely control an intact soul yet.


    This was also why she¡¯d been unable to save Jose. The day he¡¯d died, she¡¯d tried to keep his soul here in the physical realm - but it¡¯d slipped through her fingers despite all the power and knowledge she¡¯d acquired. He¡¯d died bleeding out in her arms as she wept uncontrobly, and she¡¯d vowed vengeance on the people who¡¯d so eagerly cut him down just for being in the wrong ce at the wrong time.


    For not wanting to ept their bogus new religion.


    ¡°Good job on hunting down their messengers.¡± Allie gave an approving node as Mara smiled brightly up at her with her milky white eyes. ¡°Nin? Vin? Did you nt the bombs?¡±


    Each of the skeletal skresh cackled delightedly, eagerly nodding with Nin on the right side rubbing his boney hands together. ¡°It is done! Time to rake in more bodies and materials for us to use!¡±


    Allie grinned maliciously underneath the skull mask she wore. Nin and Vin were actually brothers in their past lives who¡¯d ended up learning a bit of necromancy before they¡¯d died, though they¡¯d progressed far further following her than they¡¯d done before their first deaths. They followed each other¡¯s footsteps and path to power to the T, basically copying one another as long as the system would allow it, and were both a type of necromancer that specialized in gues. They were called ¡®Novice Deathbringers¡¯, which severely limited the amount of undead they could have but enabled them to imbue their minions with various types of gue resonating with death magic. One of their abilities, called ¡®Corpse Bomb¡¯, allowed them to create zombies with built-in bombs. They were essentially suicide bombers, and when triggered, they¡¯d st an area with death mana and simultaneously release a wave of cursed gue that spread many times farther than the actual st radius did. It rapidly caused people to decay and necrose, resulting in a painful and horrible death, and would literally peel flesh off of bone. The gue was contagious as well, though it often killed people far too fast to spread much.


    And as of right now, those suicide zombies were positioned along the perimeter of the opposite side of the chapel where more of Allie¡¯s minions stood in hiding. Now, with the front of the chapel and courtyard under heavy siege, it was time toe in through the back. They¡¯d piled bodies upon bodies in various positions around the chapel in preparation for the siege and with each new minion cut down by the prophet¡¯s forces, more of them were raised up and sent in. In total Allie and her three subordinates had collected well over a thousand bodies in nearby buildings along the ruined city, meaning that the chapel defenders - which only numbered in the couple hundred - would each need to do some heavy lifting in order to offset the number disadvantage.


    Allie gave an affirmative nod, sped her hands behind her back, and waited for it to begin. Within ten seconds a re of holy light enveloped the chapel, likely a reaction to the subsequent sts of ck and teal mana that rocked the ground she stood on. Screams from within the chapel echoed out amidst the tter of weapons and battle within, and the holy shield abruptly shattered when three more sts ripped through the stone walls on the opposite side.


    With a mentalmand, the shrieks and ttering of undead rose like a hurricane and her minions rushed in through the back of thepound. With the majority of the defenders at the front end and those akin to civilians in the back, her creations tore through them like a wrecking ball. The nk had been incorporated spectacrly, and soon the primary fighters would be pinched on two sides.


    The battle was over, and Allie had won.


    ***


    The words of warning from Negrada haunted Riven¡¯s sleep that night as he slept in the makeshift bunker he and his two demonic minions had created earlier that week as a safe haven. It was located in one of the cers of the ruins, but this would likely be the veryst night he slept here.


    He¡¯d be hunted just for what he was?


    Because he was a vampire now?


    Then again, he¡¯d murdered Ben in cold blood without even realizing what he was doing until it was already toote. His insane hunger and crazed state of mind had led him to literally eat the poor guy in a disgusting act of cruelty, and the knowledge of this was gnawing at Riven¡¯s guilty conscience at a constant rate.


    But he couldn¡¯t just avoid human society. It simply wasn¡¯t an option for him. Allie, his little sister, and his best friend Jose were both human. As long as they¡¯d all survived, they¡¯d probably be waiting for him. The system had told him right before starting Chalgathi¡¯s trials that he¡¯d have the opportunity to make it back to them as long as he survived. There was no way he could drag them into a den of creatures like himself.


    And he wasn¡¯t even going to entertain the thought of how they possibly could have died. No, that wasn¡¯t an option. They were alive, and he needed to get back to them soon.


    The small rectangr room was devoid of all light, with wreckage from an age past piled in front of the door as he hid in a closet in the back corner with the sack of Jalel¡¯s old belongings being used as a pillow. He tossed and turned as the howls of demons and undead alike echoed through the ancient hellscape, and even after waking up the next morning he still found himself mentally exhausted with little appreciation for the minimal sleep that he had managed to get.


    He stared at the ceiling for a few hours, listening to the echoing cries throughout the city until his minions eventually appeared another 8 hourster after he¡¯d woken up.


    ¡°WE WERE WATCHING THE ENTIRE THING FROM THE NETHER REALMS! THAT WAS SO BRUTAL!!!¡± Ath squealed with excitement as the arachnid promptly exited her portal from theher realm and rushed over to his side. She began violently and excitedly whacking his forehead as he nkly stared back at her, and her giddy, chitteringugh echoed throughout the room as Azmoth stepped through a fiery portal of his own. ¡°Oh my GAWDDD!!! RIVEN YOU BEAST YOU!!! Why didn¡¯t you TELL me you had an ancient vampiric bloodline!? Oh MUR GAWD you¡¯re so buff now too! And handsome! Riven, you should have stayed ugly. Now I¡¯m going to have to fight off all the subi who want to contact you for a new contract.¡±

 Chapter 60

    Chapter 60


    <strong>Chapter 60</strong>


    Riven couldn¡¯t help but smirk at that one, and he began to feel a little bit better having his friends back so he could talk about what happened. ¡°Subi huh?¡±


    ¡°YES!¡± Ath whacked him again and sat her big thorax down on hisp with a prompt humph. ¡°Though you should really wait a while before you even attempt to bind one. I assume they¡¯ve already started knocking on the door in your mind?¡±


    Riven blinked, then nodded. He could feel numerous otherworldly creatures, their auras, pressing up against his consciousness - inviting him toe speak with them. ¡°Only a handful, but yes.¡±


    ¡°Well ignore them for now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because the longer you wait, the more time they¡¯ll have to discover you. Don¡¯tmit to one until you have more options. Plus you can¡¯t bind them until level 35 anyways, right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    Ath nodded vigorously. ¡°Yes yes! I¡¯d say wait at least a month! Despite your fast progression, binding demonic familiars and acquiring new contract slots is very hard to do most of the time and is not to be taken lightly. Wait a while and then decide, don¡¯t even try to talk to them now. Oh and that poor Ben guy, such a shame! Was he at least tasty!?¡±Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed at the chipper spider in the dark, ancient cer, and he didn¡¯t bother to reply.


    Ath quickly caught onto the hint, and her usually chipper demeanor faltered under his angry gaze. ¡°Sorry. I forget you¡¯re a little nicer than most warlocks I¡¯ve heard of, or vampires for that matter. You probably felt bad about identally eating him. That¡¯s it, isnt¡¯ it?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad.¡± Azmoth stated in a deep, rumbling voice as the huge demon approached the other two and slid down the wall with a grating sound of his metal tes against stone until he came to an abrupt stop. The hellscape brutalisk ced a wed hand on Riven¡¯s shoulder and shook his head. ¡°Not your fault.¡±


    Riven gave Azmoth an appreciative nod. ¡°Thanks man. Yeah it made me feel shitty, that¡¯s for sure. What¡¯s worse is that I was trying to save him. I¡¯ll figure my thoughts out eventually¡­ but onto more important things. I can now exit the dungeon at any time and end the tutorial if I focus on themand ¡®Exit Dungeon¡¯ now that I¡¯ve killed a miniboss, but first I¡¯d like to evolve you two. You both have pending evolutions, right?¡±


    Azmoth grinned widely and Ath shrieked with delight.


    ¡°Yes! We have our very own evolutions!¡± Ath began dancing up and down on her four hind legs, but abruptly stopped to look down at Riven skeptically. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you can afford them yet though.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°How much Willpower do you have? Have you checked out what our avable evolutions are yet? This is another reason why you need to wait on the new familiar, each additional familiar will cost more willpower and every familiar you have will take up more willpower with each of their evolutions. If you¡¯re not careful you could contract too many and stunt your own growth due to willpower being more of a priority to intelligence.¡±


    Truthfully Riven had been so caught up in his own changes and the events that¡¯d happened that he hadn¡¯t checked his minions¡¯ status pages yet, but Ath did him the favor of pulling them up for him. Each evolution would cost the master a certain amount of Willpower stat points, otherwise the evolution couldn¡¯t proceed. He also quickly realized that the evolutions were slightly different in terms of what they offered: Ath had actual race evolutions, while Azmoth had bodily modification evolutions but kept his race the same.


    <strong>[Avable Evolutions for Ath:</strong><ul><li><strong>Dryder: Your blood weaver will evolve into a dryder, a half woman, half giant spider demon that gains arge bonus to magical damage and mana regeneration. Comes with 1 randomized offensive spell designated by the system. </strong><strong>COST: 11 additional Willpower.</strong></li><li><strong>Abyssal Trapper: Your blood weaver will evolve into an Abyssal Trapper. This demon has a set of 6 legs and 2rge scythes, along with numerous appendages along its back that are utilized for snaring enemies with webbing or injecting poisons. This evolution trades the speed of the blood weaver for a slow moving and tanky evolution, but the utility and damage output is drastically increased. </strong><strong>COST: 18 additional Willpower.</strong></li><li><strong>Arshakai: Your blood weaver will evolve into an Arshakai. Arshakai are humanoids with spider-like attributes, specializing in assassination with their high speed and agility, and utilizing their minor shape-shifting abilities to infiltrate enemy establishments. Shape shifting abilities are limited to both spider and humanoid forms. </strong><strong>COST: 12 additional Willpower.</strong><strong>]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[Avable Evolutions for Azmoth:</strong><ul><li><strong>Tail: Your Hellscape Brutalisk will gain a tail, increasing the agility per level as well as bnce and acrobatic ability. Your brutalisk will be faster and more nimble. </strong><strong>COST: 7 additional Willpower.</strong><strong>]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven quickly reviewed his own status page after reviewing the potential evolutions.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    <strong>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 18</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty, Infernal, Shadow</strong></li><li><strong>Core of Original Sin - Gluttony:] (Under Construction)(???)</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] Race: Pureblooded Vampire (Extreme Darkness Regeneration)(Sunlight Decay)(Extreme Weakness to Silver weapons, Sun pir, and Light pir attacks), ss: Warlock Adept, Adrenaline Junky (Blood)(+15% to Agility)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood)(Tier 2), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal), Riftwalk (Shadow)</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 50 Strength, 98 Sturdiness, 188 Intelligence, 98 Agility, 1 Luck, -308 Charisma, 155 Vampiric Perception, 59 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li><strong>Free Stat Points: 14</strong></li><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 13 Blood Weaver [14 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 9 Hellscape Brutalisk [20 Willpower Requirement].</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), ck Redemption (74 shadow dmg, 68% mana regen, shadow dmg +27%, ck Lightning), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies (Guild Hall: Stone Manor), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Cloak of the Tundra (22 def, +56 bonus def vs frost), Breath of Valgeshia (48 def, +13 dmg & +9% mana output dmg for blood dmg, 6% mana regen)]</strong></li></ul>


    So he had 34 Willpower already utilized to contain their contracts. He had 59 currently, which was 25 free points already applied. That was just barely enough to both get Azmoth his tail and pick any one of the upgrades for Ath - including the most expensive one at an 18 Willpower cost.


    ¡°Which were you thinking you wanted?¡± Riven asked curiously, looking up from the hologram in front of him that portrayed his stats.


    Ath immediately let out a long, exaggerated sigh. ¡°I was talking to my mother about this back in the void. She¡¯s got a load of her own opinions¡­ but she said to go with my heart. I think I¡¯ll take Arshakai. It¡¯ll take some adjusting with the new body, but my fighting style and trait are agility based and I don¡¯t see myself changing that. Plus the infiltrating stuff would be so neat and I can switch back into a spider whenever I need to! Hehehe!!!¡±


    The spider mischievously rubbed her two front paws together, causing Riven to grin.


    ¡°Fine. Let me apply my points, and I¡¯ll start the upgrade process now. Is there anything I need to know about these evolutions before we proceed?¡±


    He looked from Ath to Azmoth, but both shook their heads and remained in quiet excitement. It was palpable for both of them, Riven could feel it, and he quietly assigned all 14 of his free points to Willpower. Though he didn¡¯t need all of them for the evolutions, the additional few points would help for whatever evolutions or minions came next.


    But upon selecting the evolutions for his minions, the changes were a lot more violent than he¡¯d expected. At least in Ath¡¯s case.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAHHAHHHHHHH!!!!¡± Ath screamed in both excitement and incredible pain as her body shifted, limbs snapped, and parts of her innards began to bulge and split her carapace. Inky, smooth, pitch-ck skin then started recing her harder exterior. She belched ichor and writhed on the floor while huping the nasty stuff out of her mouth every couple seconds during sudden, abrupt movements as her body expanded.


    Meanwhile, Azmoth looked back over his shoulder with a ¡®Tehehe¡¯ chuckle as his lower back exploded - and out of it came a long, thick tail. It was spiked, covered in te armor just like the rest of him and easily doubled the length of his body from the tip of his head to the tip of his new appendage. Sinewy, muscr flesh underneath and between the spikes and obsidian tes flexed as he waved it around in the air, and the demon looked rather proud of himself as he spun around to excitedly show Riven. Sometimes Riven forgot that Azmoth was still a baby in the eyes of demonkind, but moments like this gave him pause to remember and he celebrated with therge demon with a thumbs up and augh.


    <strong>*SNAP-CRACK-POP*</strong>


    ¡°OW THIS HURTS!¡± Ath groaned and rolled around on the floor, finallying into the final stages of her evolution as her body¡¯s features began to shape themselves from the writhing mass of flesh and muscle. Toned calf muscles, thighs, abdominals and arms quickly took shape while ichor was thered onto the floor after being purged from her body.


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows rose in surprise upon her finalpletion, and as Ath stood up in the darkness of the cer they resided in - Riven couldn¡¯t help think that she was actually quite pretty. He would never, EVER tell her that, hell he¡¯d go to the grave with it so that she didn¡¯t get a big head or make fun of him for the rest of his life, but even as weird as it was to admit it to himself - he had to acknowledge it. It was very much a surprise considering he had been expecting something more along the lines of thin and wiry with more spider-like features, but she looked more human that she did arachnid now with a very demonic twist to it.


    She¡¯d turned into the semnce of a young woman with silky, ck hair that trailed down to her lower back. Her skin was a mixture of white and pitch ck, as ck as the void, and it almost glinted in the light of Azmoths mes when Azmoth red up slightly to look at the tail he¡¯d acquired. Ath was stark naked, had prominent womanly curves and features, the body of an Olympian and a perfectly symmetrical face with a strong but very feminine jawline.


    Then came the demonic touch: She had the same two brilliantly red eyes. A long, ck tongue briefly whipped around the room at a length well over twenty feet as she stretched - cutting through the far stone wall like a knife through butter before she withdrew the tongue to zip it back into her mouth as she gave Riven a pearly-white and perfect smile. She had six arachnid legs protruding from her back as well, each of them far sharper, longer andrger than the ones she¡¯d had in the past - and she was easily able to climb up the wall using them or even just using her humanoid limbs that appeared to stick to smooth vertical surfaces without a problem. The extra legs were essentially desing out of her back, and were no doubt to be used as weapons. On top of that, every movement she made was utterly silent¡­ Riven was pretty sure that it had to be a perk of some kind because she made literally no noise walking up the wall until she began to test it herself. She tapped the ceiling up above once as it made no sound, then tapped it again with the same spider leg with a resultant sound.

 Chapter 61

    Chapter 61


    <strong>Chapter 61</strong>


    She¡¯d gained a new silencing ability or trait concerning the movements of her body, in addition to the elongating razor-sharp tongue she could now use as a weapon.


    As he silently admired her new look. She dropped from the ceiling and sputtered a cough of irritation.


    ¡°Ugh! I can¡¯t seem to get this shape shifting thing under control!¡±


    Riven watched as she furrowed her brows in concentration, saw her nose began to shift slightly - but then it quickly reverted back to the normal, symmetrical features she originally had a secondter. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get it under control soon enough. How do you like the changes?¡±


    Ath brushed the silky ck hair out of her eyes, hissing in irritation at the failure of her shape shifting, and stood to her full height while looking her new body up and down with her glowing red eyes. She turned around, looked at her backside, felt up her bare muscles and wiggled her eyebrows Riven¡¯s way seductively. ¡°How do YOU like them!?¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up!¡± Rivenughed and threw his cloak to nail Ath in the face, knocking her over as she screeched in protest and toppled over. It was obvious she was going to have a lot of coordination training to do before she got ahold of her new body, as a simple act like that would have never knocked her over while she¡¯d still been a full-blown spider. ¡°Put that on and stop ying around. We have to get out of the dungeon and I¡¯m truly tired of being here.¡±


    ¡°Indeed!¡± Ath spluttered as she spun a cord of blood-webbing from her fingertips andunched them at Azmoth with a st. ¡°YUS! I STILL GOT IT BABY!!! You can keep the robe too, I don¡¯t want it. I¡¯M A FREE SPIRIT! Your mortal clothes can¡¯t hold me down! Oh, and Azmoth - I like the tail!¡±


    ¡°Thanks Ath. You look pretty.¡±¡°How sweet of you to think so, Azmoth! I wish I gotpliments like that from our master, but he¡¯s too busy eating people to realize perfection when he sees it!¡±


    Riven stared nkly back at them, then sighed and shook his head. Despite her shenanigans, he was really d to have her back. Same with Azmoth. He¡¯d missed them both, and he was looking forward to introducing them to his sister. He hadn¡¯t told Azmoth or Ath about Allie just yet, but he was sure that they¡¯d get along.


    ***


    ¡°Exit Dungeon.¡±


    Light bloomed overhead and directly in front of him as he spoke the words aloud.


    The portal erupted before them in the form of a set of translucent stairs leading up to a spinning vortex a couple yards above them.


    This was it. He was finally getting out of here.


    Meanwhile Ath cackled with delight and yfully nudged Azmoth before whispering something into his ear. Riven stared up at the spinning lights, pondering what was awaiting him in the next step of this strange adventure his life had be, before the two demons abruptly picked Riven up and flung him into the portal headfirst even despite the profanities he threw their way before he was tossed unceremoniously upwards.


    <strong>[Pre-Tutorial and Tutorial trials have beenpleted. Dao advancement is now possible.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have exited Dungeon Negrada. You havepleted your modified Tutorial and are now embarking on the beginnings of your new life on a newly created. </strong><strong>Earth has been merged with worlds Zazir and Elhisterii to form the new world of Panu</strong><strong>. Of the 53 billion original participants from these 3 worlds, 32 billion participants still remain. Of the 32 billion remaining participants, 28 billion have finished their tutorials while 4 billion are still finishing up. Do not be concerned, as this is within normal parameters for early integration death rates for tutorials.]</strong>


    <strong>[All identification information prior to this point was previously enhanced by the system due to the Tutorial parameters, resulting in low tier identifier-ss level information on all items. Identification information parameters returning to normal. To acquire more information on your surroundings: obtain the identifier ss, obtain an equivalent ss, or utilize someone who has such a ss.]</strong>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>New Quest: Finding Your Friends</strong><strong> - As promised by the Administrator, yourpletion of Chalgathi¡¯s Trials and the Tutorial Trials have brought you together in close proximity with your family and friends. Allie has survived her trials and continues to live on. Once per day, you will receive a ping on Allie¡¯s general location to let you know which way to go. Finding her andpleting this quest will grant you XP.]</strong>


    The portal created by the system erupted into the new world, violently expelling Riven and his two demonic minions from a height of six feet into the air andnding them on a wet, grassy hilltop.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Landing with a thud, Riven scowled and rubbed his head. He was still covered in blood,pletely disoriented after the transition with a mix of warring emotions. On one hand he was delighted to hear that his sister and friend were alive! By god did that make him happy to hear! But on the other hand, the system had told him he¡¯d be reunited after the trials were done¡­ In his opinion he¡¯d been cheated, as they were just ¡®nearby¡¯ and he still had to find them.


    Frankly, the bastard system had lied to him. Or at the very least it¡¯d only given him a half-truth. And why had it only talked about Allie? It didn¡¯t mention Jose at all.


    Sitting up and letting his eyes adjust to the dim light, he noticed how much morefortable his vision was when staring into the darker ces across thendscape surrounding them ¨C as opposed to when he looked up to the patches and rays of sunlight streaming down from the gray, cloud-covered heavens. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t look that way, but it definitely wasn¡¯tfortable.


    A light drizzle of raindrops was pouring down onto a temperate forest along the base of the mountain they stood on, and a valley was a little further down from their position. In that valley was what looked like a small city orrge town depending on personal definition, but it was at least a couple miles away and hard to make out due to the rain.


    Cranking his neck left and feeling it crack, he sighed with relief and watched as the rainwater cleansed his bloodstained, dirty skin. The blood began to fall off in coagted clumps, and soon it revealed the ivoryplexion underneath.


    Startled at the change, he looked closer. His skin had always been mildly olive ¨C still white, but he¡¯d definitely had a touch of oliveplexion. Now it wasn¡¯t even close, he was very pale white, and the skin was devoid of any blemishes. Hadn¡¯t he only been just slightly pale thest time he saw his reflection in Negrada¡¯s sacrificial chamber? He¡¯d changed even more over the past day. His jaw dropped slightly, and he stood up to walk over to a pool of water collecting in a divot along the hillside. There, in the dim reflection of the puddle, was his face staring right back.


    Even despite the ripples that the drizzle poured on, he could still easily make out his features ¨C and just as Ath had said, he looked startlingly good. His cheekbones hade up slightly, his chin smoothed out, and it had the same ivory look to his skin as his hands. His brown hair was the same, but he looked like a model¡­ and his eyes were now a bright red that gave off a very faint glow. Touching his face and feeling out his new features, he just shook his head as the rainwater washed off the majority of the blood.


    ¡°Told you! You look pretty!¡± Ath stated happily as she joined him to look down at Riven¡¯s reflection. Her dark hair drifted over her own red eyes as her long ck tongue snaked out andtched onto a nearby cricket before tearing it back into her mouth to chomp down on. ¡°Er ¨C Handsome. I can still tell it¡¯s you though. Azmoth, you ok over there?¡±


    Riven and Ath both turned to look back at the huge fire-attuned demon who was picking himself up off the ground and looking absolutely miserable in the downpour. He looked SO miserable in fact, that Riven though he was going to have a mental breakdown at any second. With the way Azmoth¡¯srge armored body shook with disgust as he spat repetitively, Riven couldn¡¯t help but loudly snicker.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine.¡± Riven said with augh as he waved a hand at Azmoth as if to tell the huge brute to get over it. ¡°It¡¯s just rainwater.¡±


    ¡°AZMOTH DOES NOT LIKE RAIN WATER!¡±


    The flustered infant demon bellowed a roar to the heavens with all four obsidian sets of ws stretched out, and a st of me tore skywards off his armored body. His immense muscles,pletely devoid of skin between fused metal tes, tensed and rippled in the exertion as he screamed an angry tantrum upwards into the shimmering sky of rain and stormclouds.


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t be so dramatic!¡± Ath crowed with amusement, extending her four long spider legs to prop her up and hoist her over the ground with stunning speed to tower over even the more brutish demon for just a minute. ¡°Just re up or something, it¡¯ll evaporate. You¡¯re hotheaded as it is already and no doubt you shan''t have a problem purging some tiny, itty bitty droplets!¡±


    Ath cackled and avoided a swipe from one of Azmoth¡¯s ws, and she nced over her shoulder to catch Riven staring. She raised an eyebrow teasingly. ¡°What are you staring at? Did I do something wrong?¡±


    Riven shook his head, unblinkingly, and he slowly stood up with his ck, gnarled ck staff in his hand. ¡°I¡¯m not staring at you¡­ I¡¯m staring at that.¡±


    Ath and Azmoth both turned to where Riven had nodded, and a momentter they wore the same expression as Riven. There, only a dozen yards off, was an overgrown gas station.


    The structure looked like it¡¯d been torn out of the earth along with half of the connected parking lot, then had been transnted tond smack dab in the middle of nowhere while leaning crookedly at a nt along the hill¡¯s side. The ss door was ripped off its hinges and had been thrown to the left, and a couple of the windows were shattered ¨C showing a dark interior that Riven¡¯s eyes could now easily prate.


    There were shelves that¡¯d once held food, now all empty. A cashier¡¯s station had been hammered with a club or baseball bat, leaving dents and bent metal along the counter. The lights along the ceiling allcked power, and as Riven came closer he saw there were two half-eaten human bodies on the floor.


    The sight was gruesome, and the remains were starting to decay with a swarm of flies circling the corpses. Riven bent down a few feet from the bodies, evaluating the shredded T-shirt on one and the half-torn jeans on the other. Both were young men, and had obviously had some very violentst moments before passing. Whatever had eaten them was very big given the size of the bite marks on what remained.


    ¡°Brutal.¡± Riven stated glumly. ¡°I¡¯m really hoping this ce isn¡¯t as bad as the dungeon we¡­¡±


    His voice trailed off as an unfamiliar scent hit his nostrils like a tidal wave. It smelled like wet dog, and came in conjunction with the sound of a beating heart that was growing faster and faster in pace. Riven¡¯s new vampiric senses also picked up the crunching of leaves from the tree line a little ways away, and his red eyes slowly rose to peer into the forest from over the border of his runic mask.


    It likely didn¡¯t know he could see it at this distance and kept to the shadows, hulking down between two bushes and reading itself to spring forward. It was something like a cross between a gigantic wolf and a bear ¨C but was neither. It was covered in brown fur: toorge to be a wolf, too elongated to be a bear, and had small tufts of darker ck fur coursing down its back.


    <strong>[Mountain Warg]</strong>

 Chapter 62

    Chapter 62


    <strong>Chapter 62</strong>


    Ah. So that¡¯s what it was. Riven had read about creatures like this in fantasy novels, though he¡¯d never thought them to be real up until now. He supposed it shouldn¡¯t surprise him though, considering what he¡¯d been through over thest little while.


    Wait, why didn¡¯t his identification give any more than a name? Wasn¡¯t it supposed toe with levels, or at least question marks afterwards? It didn¡¯t give him any indication of power level at all.


    Was this what the system notification upon leaving the dungeon had meant concerning identification going back to ¡®normal¡¯?


    He motioned for the others toe in closer and nted his staff into the ground while pretending not to have noticed the creature at all - whispering to his demons to keep quiet and remain non-confrontational. This was a perfect opportunity to experiment.


    He grinned as Ath and Azmoth came up behind him and gripped his weapon more firmly. ¡°Let¡¯s see what this bad boy can do, yeah?¡±


    Channeling into the staff felt like slowly pouring a pitcher of water into an immense vacuum in space. The staff sucked up the given mana like it had been starved for millenia, and ck lightning began to crackle down its surface as the simmering ck wood palpably begging him for more.


    So he gave it more. The item description said it would passively charge this item over time, but he didn¡¯t have time to wait if he wanted to field-test this little experiment. He continued to actively charge the staff with his own mana over the next couple seconds while warily keeping a peripheral watch on the warg, just as eager as the staff to see what exactly his new weapon could do. It even began to give him a migraine by the end of his distribution.


    But that migraine still wasn¡¯t enough to slow his reflexes down as the iing warg made its move. Therge beast sprang into motion, silently rushing them from behind with muscles rippling along its back and limbs. No doubt it though itself the apex predator of this part of the mountain, but it was sorely mistaken.Riven simultaneously turned his heel, pushing past Ath and raising his new staff directly at the sprinting warg. ck sparks of lightning rippled across the polished wood as the item began to activate, and with a thought the power erupted out of the tip of the weapon.


    A torrent of magic roared into life, sending a chaotic beam of pitch-ck electricity as thick as his thigh out to crush the iing enemy. Ripping the warg apart as the animal let out an abrupt screech that cut off just as quickly as it¡¯de, the magic bloomed and exploded through therge beast to discharge into the trees beyond.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The st had left scorched earth in its wake, a long jagged line carved into the ground with ripples of power still sparking along the dirt as an aftereffect. Trees in the background had caught fire under the rain of the storm clouds, and pieces of the animal¡¯s body had been violently flung in various directions.


    <strong>[You have killed 1 enemy. Your battle has ended. You have acquired 48 Elysium coins. You have gained XP.]</strong>


    Meanwhile, Riven gawked.


    ¡°What the hell was that?!¡± Ath eximed as she got up from the floor with an open mouth. ¡°And what did you just kill!? Was that a wolf!? How did you see it and I couldn¡¯t!? This is bullshit! Give me your vampiric powers to you dirty, good for nothing peasant!¡±


    ¡°Do not speak to master that way! QUIET SPIDER WOMAN!¡± Azmoth aggressively smacked the demoness along the backside of her head and sent her facenting into the wet ground with an *UMPH*, then he chuckled as she red back up at him from where shey covered in mud.


    Riven eyed the downed woman with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Azmoth, smack her like that every time she smacktalks me from now on. Anyways, that was my staff¡¯s inherent ability: ck Lightning. Really a kicker, right? And that creature was a warg.¡±


    She raised her own muddy eyebrow at the scattered remnants of the monster. ¡°Oh. Didn¡¯t think those were real, but I guess I¡¯m not surprised.¡±


    ¡°How did you not know Wargs were real?! Aren¡¯t you supposed to be the knowledge guru of our group!?¡±


    Ath threw up her hands defensively between wiping the mud off of her athletic, feminine body that shimmered ck in the dim light of the midday storm. ¡°I could only study so much beforeing out of theher realms! Sheesh! This is my first time out and about you know!¡±


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    Riven noticed the long cooldown insignia concerning his staff¡¯s ck lightning ability in the top-right corner of his vision after casting. He¡¯d noticed them before with other abilities, but this one was going down much more slowly than any of the others. He didn¡¯t know the exact time as it was represented by a circle slowly starting to disappear in a clockwise fashion, but if he had to guess just by staring at it over the past 10 seconds: it was likely a couple of minutes before he could use it again. Nothing toin about though if he got to use a mana-free high-impact spell like that, as long as he let the staff charge it up on its own.


    He was also slightly surprised it¡¯d created a cooldown in the first attempt at using the staff¡¯s inherent spell, because most of his other spells oftenpletely overlooked their cooldowns unless he got unlucky. Cooldowns didn¡¯t always activate, and ording to the magical theory texts he¡¯d read in Chalgathi¡¯s trials it was usually random as to when cooldowns would activate. More urately, it just involved a lot of different factors, but because he had such high affinities for the magics he used - he experienced a lot less cooldown periods than other casters usually would.


    With great poweres great cooldown times.


    ¡°Well let¡¯s try to get some sleep, we have some exploring to do in the morning and that teleportation out of the dungeon really has me feeling queasy..¡±


    Unfortunately Riven wouldn¡¯t get much sleep that night, and neither would Ath or Azmoth. The new vampiric changes to his body were still causing slight physical adjustments here or there, with a random snap of tendon or crunch of bone that would elicit a scream from the exhausted man. His previously hazel eyes would revert back to their original form for just a movement before appearing bright red again, his fangs would sprout out and then retract rapidly and then settle back down again. His senses would fade in and out, and it made him feel absolutely nauseous. Originally they¡¯d been absolutely exhausted and decided on picking up the trail for Riven¡¯s sister and his friend Jose the next morning, but instead Ath found herselfforting Riven as best she could while Azmoth patrolled the surrounding areas to relieve his boredom.


    ***


    Beautiful orange, red and yellow hues scattered across the horizon that, in terms of beauty, dwarfed anything any painting could truly capture. The storm was gone, reced with scattered tufts of clouds that reflected the brilliant colors from the sunrise.


    Riven stood on the hill after having practiced his newest acquired spell: Riftwalk many times over. Riftwalk was definitely an interesting ability, where he could cut open a linear ck rift in space by thought alone, get sucked through it, and literally vanish from one location to the next at any point within about 20 or 25 yards at the expenditure of mana with a silent ck rift opening up at the point of exit too. Even more interesting was that his demons could go through the rift too, though maintaining it for more than a couple seconds was very mana-heavy - and if he tried to extend the normal range of the ability it was still doable but was even more costly. Currently he was able to max out the distance at a little over 100 yards, but mana cost climbed exponentially as he improved the range and the maximum range drained his entire mana pool to travel across. The skill would certainly be a useful boon to have, considering he was currently going for a highly mobile-mage type build.


    Intentionally defying his new body¡¯s difort, he stood looking outwards towards the oing sunlight. He could feel himself weakening as he looked directly at it, and in some ways that made him very sad. He¡¯d spent his entire life cooped up inside while living in Das, kept away from the outdoors all those years like so many people in the newer generations did - only to arrive in a refreshed world of magic with an aversion to being outside in the life-giving light of the sun.


    He couldn¡¯tin too much though. Without his newfound power he would be long dead¡­ and although it was a bit ufortable watching the sun rise - it was bearable. Definitely worth it to bask in the beauty of the morning, in his opinion, even as his stamina and mana very slowly ticked down to weaken him. At the very least he was getting an idea for how long it¡¯d take to reach a point that was painful, and from what he could tell - he guessed he¡¯d be able to withstand direct sunlight touching his skin for about an hour before serious repercussions set in.


    He also learned through trial and error that pulling down his hood, putting his hands inside sleeves or pockets, and covering his skin from direct rays of sunlight meant that the debuff would stop umting.


    He needed to get some gloves, and maybe even some sunsses.


    Maybe sunscreen would work?


    Nah, it couldn''t be that easy. And even if it was, where would he get some?


    He thought about it some more. It was also rather interesting that utilizing Riftwalk did give him some relief from the sun¡¯s rays. It didn¡¯t necessarily replenish any stamina or mana that the sun had drained away, but it kind of reset the wear on his mind.


    Ath was still asleep, as was Azmoth, but he could hear their heartbeats from here if he focused hard enough. The dull thuds echoed in his ears until he somehow was able to transition that focus elsewhere through nothing but his own willpower. His new vampiric perception even enabled him to sift through the sounds of the surrounding forest, and he could make out the locations of small chipmunks from further into the treelines in front of him - versus the owl fast asleep in its nest behind him. Most of these creatures he could only sense in terms of their actual heartbeats though, and he wasn¡¯t able to tell exactly what they were until he made visual confirmation. Still, he was able to generally tell how big they were based on their heartbeats - so that was something he could probably utilize in the future.


    Songbirds of the early morning chirped in the treetops, a frog off to his left ribbited, and wind rustled the surrounding foliage with a chill breeze.


    Turning his gaze to the south, he gave himself a break from the debuff and kept his hood up - immediately beginning to feel better as he turned away from the sun. It was as if a pressure had been lifted off his shoulders and a fog had been cleared from his mind. He continued pondering his current situation as his sunlight debuff slowly fizzled away while keeping his skin hidden from the light underneath his cloak, but over time he was beginning to grow restless. He¡¯d been thinking about it all night, and the anxiety was getting to him.


    He needed blood.

 Chapter 63

    Chapter 63


    <strong>Chapter 63</strong>


    The thoughts that had once repulsed him after killing that man in the dungeon now swept through his mind like a tidal wave of hunger. It had satiated him then, and he didn¡¯t feel crazed like he had in that moment of blood-starvation, but he could still feel the effects of wanting it. It¡¯d been a little over two days since he¡¯d fed, and he was getting hungry.


    His red eyes cast over the corpse of a nearby bird, and he frowned. Animals did not satiate his hunger. The words of the system spelled it out for him well enough though - he needed the blood or mortals. Humanoids.


    And yet¡­ he did not feel disgust any longer.


    Disgust had been reced by cravings.


    ***


    The trek to the town was much longer than they¡¯d anticipated due to a steep drop off down the side of the mountain that they had to reroute around. The sun was already starting to set, and they¡¯d walked all day with a couple breaks here and there to explore the area. They also crossed paths with a couple of very weak monsters that, despite the power discrepancy, attacked them like rabid animals.


    There were horned rabbits and a couple of smaller wargs, the wargs usuallying in pairs or trios but none of them being nearly asrge as the one that Riven had sted earlier that day. The wargs were usually about the size of wolves and bloodthirsty creatures, and would have given any normal human that hadn¡¯t been subject to recent continuousbat a run for their money and lives¡­ but they were all left very dead in the wake of Riven¡¯s small group. It was so easy for the mageling and his two summons that Riven, Ath and Azmoth often didn¡¯t even pause in their trek towards the distant town other than to pick up the bags of Elysium Coins that were dropped by the system after kills. The coins were deposited in his backpack, and the small sacks they started in disappeared soon after collection.


    ¡°Do you think these monsters are spawning all over the world like this?¡± Riven eventually asked as he stepped over one of the mutted corpses of a warg that¡¯d gotten a little too close forfort. ¡°And why only wargs and horned rabbits?¡±The demons both shrugged in unison and proceeded through the trees further down the mountain towards the valley.


    ¡°We don¡¯t question the system.¡± Athlea eventually said as her extended arachnoid legs kept her more humanoid legs and body up in the air - gracefully guiding her across the forest floor at an elevated height. ¡°None of it ever made sense to me and half the things it does won¡¯t ever have answers. There are theories about why it does the things it does, but it wasn¡¯t an area of interest or study for me.¡±


    Azmoth just grunted in affirmation as a heavy, ted leg smashed through the wet undergrowth with indifference to what was in his way. Toppling a small tree over with an irritated flick of his hand, therge demon plowed ahead to clear a path for the other two.


    Riven¡¯s stomach loudly growled, and the knot inside his gut began to churn. Both Ath and Azmoth looked back at their master with curious nces, and Riven could only shrug helplessly and hold up his free hand in a gesture of helplessness.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you already eat part of that warg you killed? That wasn¡¯t enough?¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­ No. I think I¡¯ll need what the system considers ¡®mortal blood¡¯ to fill me up all the way. Other food seems to help just a little bit, but I can¡¯t get the edge off.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Right. ¡°You need the blood of mortals otherwise you¡¯ll go insane like you did a couple days ago!¡± Ath gave him a wicked grin that earned her a scowl, but she brushed it off with a flick of her long, ck hair. ¡°I thought you were rather dashing, the way you ate him. It made me want to join in as well!¡±


    He paused their trek, turning around fully to gaze at his minion. True anger towards her, something he hadn¡¯t experienced much since meeting the demoness, surged forward and he jabbed a finger into her chest. ¡°Ath, shut up.¡±


    The tone he used was obviously not yful, and for the first time ever - Ath was taken aback. Her eyes went wide, she opened her mouth to speak, and then she shamefully nced at the floor. ¡°Did I go too far?¡±


    ¡°Yes and it¡¯s fucking pissing me off.¡± Riven pushed his finger off of her chest with a little bit of force, but it wasn¡¯t enough to shove her. He took a step back, calmed himself, and met her eyes as she stared back at him like a kicked puppy dog. ¡°Honestly I¡¯m tired of the disrespect. I told you that was a touchy subject, and I¡¯ve been lenient in how I¡¯ve handled you because you¡¯ve been a great help. But you need to fucking know when you¡¯ve crossed the line, and you just crossed it. I fucking MURDERED someone that didn''t deserve it Ath, someone I didn¡¯t want to and had no control over. It''s not like the others, he was innocent and it isn¡¯t fucking funny. Got it?¡±


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    She sped her hands in front of her, and gave a sheepish nod. ¡°Yes master.¡±


    ¡°Good. Don¡¯t fucking forget it.¡±


    He was about to turn around, when she hesitantly reached out to grab his sleeve. Turning back around, he was surprised to see her tearing up.


    ¡°I¡­ Uhm¡­¡± Ath¡¯s gaze shifted across the forest floor from a stick, to a rock, to a stump - anywhere but looking directly at him. ¡°Are you really mad at me?¡±


    ¡°YES I¡¯m fucking mad at you! Are you being serious?¡± Riven whirled on her, disbelief etched into his features.


    She stuttered. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry if I came across as disrespectful. I just¡­¡±


    ¡°You do it all the time.¡± Riven cut her off with a frown,pletely pissed about her jabs and jokes on murdering that man in the dungeon. ¡°I¡¯ve been half tempted to just use the contractmands but that¡¯d feel like very to me. So I don¡¯t. Frankly it¡¯s not even just about that guy. The jokes can be funny sometimes but lean back on that shit, it gets really fucking irritating when there¡¯s this superiorityplex you¡¯ve got going on all the time. I thought we were friends, but you obviously don¡¯t want to respect me as a friend because you trot all over the requests I give you like <em><strong>¡®don¡¯t fucking tease me about the guy I killed and ate.¡¯</strong></em> It¡¯s pretty fucking simple I¡¯d think. Just give me some space, ok?¡±


    She withdrew her fingers from his sleeve, nodded silently, and quickly blinked to get the water out of her eyes. ¡°Sorry, master.¡±


    Birds chirped overhead, the wind rustled the treetops nearby, and an awkward silence followed while Riven red at Ath from a few feet away. That was when a high pitched scream echoed from further down the mountain, and a series of more screams or shouts quickly followed it with other sounds akin to metal shing on metal.


    He turned his head. Was he hearing that right?


    Riven shared a look with Ath who clearly had heard it too, but Azmoth was none the wiser as he trudged through the forest in a mindless, rambling way until he noticed the other two hadn¡¯t continued to follow. Therger demon¡¯s hearing just wasn¡¯t on par with the others, and he had no idea why they¡¯d stopped.


    The demon¡¯s armored head turned as well to look at them despite having no eyes, and he curiously cocked his head to one side. ¡°You noting? Why?¡±


    The sounds were faint, but Riven¡¯s boots began to shift in the mud as he turned right to adjust their trajectory. His amplified senses now allowed him to pick up sounds at a far greater distance. Ath had likely gained some sort of stat bonuses to perception as well after her evolution, which was likely why only he and Ath heard themotion while Azmoth had remained ignorant.


    Riven motioned for therger demon to follow before taking off. ¡°Come.¡±


    The two nimbler members of their party melted through the underbrush like shadows on the wind of the early morning breeze, and despite Ath always having been much quicker than Riven previously - Riven found himself able to keep up with her rather easily with a body far more agile than he¡¯d ever thought himself possible. He¡¯d had little to no experience utilizing his body to its true extent, so he was far more surprised than he should have been. Foliage flew by as their enhanced bodies drove them ahead at speed and grace far beyond what they could have achieved in their past life in Negrada just a few days ago, and Riven felt himself beginning to eagerly wonder what it was he had the pleasure of taking out his pent-up anger on; while also wondering just how far he could go speed-wise if he really pushed himself.


    He didn¡¯t know what to expect. He didn¡¯t know who was fighting or why, but at the same time he knew that he needed to find out. There was a good chance that they¡¯d be able to help someone, or at the very least they¡¯d be able to watch from a distance to glean some information about the locals.


    Coming up therge hill and rounding around arge outcropping of rock, they continued onwards as the sounds of Azmoth barreling through the underbrush far behind them echoed out along with the crashing of trees. Meanwhile the sounds of fighting ahead of them were growing louder and the words that people were screaming were growing more tangible. Riven was able to hear swearing, threats and begging ¨C along with some garbled hissing, as none other than a medieval war horn sounded out just over the next ridge.


    His breathing picked up and his heartbeat began to spike - simultaneously picking up the heartbeats of many of thebatants just over the hill. Making sure Ath was still with him after a single backwards nce, he firmly gripped his staff and reached the next hilltop to discover a rather unusual sight far down at the bottom of the slope.


    Numbers of bodiesy dead along a beaten dirt path running through the oak trees of the forest. These bodies, however, were not human. Rather: they were the bodies of little green men with long snouts and ugly faces¡­ likely goblins if he had to guess at first nce. The bodies of blonde or silver-haired elves as designated by the sharp pointed ears and fair features were also present, and despite everything he¡¯d seen so far Riven was still surprised.


    Both the goblins and the elves wore very little. The bald goblins had a mix-and-match of various shoddy spears, daggers, bucklers and blow darts. They wore loincloths and sometimes thicker furs around their shoulders. The fair-skinned elves on the other hand usually had some form of designs drawn onto their bodies at random with blue paint or paste, probably tribal markings, with a couple of them bearing blue handprints along their thighs, chests or even foreheads. Many of the elves were barefoot with furs or stretched blue-green material that looked like interwoven palm leaves, leaving little to the imagination for both men and women as they brandished long curved knives or bows and arrows.


    Of the survivors, there were only a handful left for either side. The battle that¡¯d been fought was drawing to a close. There were two men and two women, all elves, all of them obviously injured in some way or another with cuts and bruises evident. One of the men even had a long deep gash across his front where a spear was still sticking out of his chest ¨C though despite his screams of pain and horror, his allies were too busy fighting to help.


    Meanwhile, there were still eight goblins left. They snarled and screeched, stepping over the bodies of the fallen as they tried to overwhelm the remaining elves with numbers as thest arrow in the quiver of the woman on the left sang through the air ¨C clipping one of the goblins to leave a deep gash along its skull.


    But it kepting along with the rest of its green-skinned kin, quickly pushing the two women and man who remained standing up into an enraged, snarling ball of knife fighting. The ensuing iling along the ground bloodied resulted with desperate screaming and tearing of teeth, and it quickly became a one-sided battle.

 Chapter 64

    Chapter 64


    <strong>Chapter 64</strong>


    Senna had never been so scared in her life.


    Her world had been flipped upside down, with thend that the tribe had known for generations being mix-and-matched with newndscapes and sceneries overnight. The new creatures and dangerous monsters now appearing out of nowhere¡­ appearing from ambient mana in what the Elysium System had called the world of ¡®<strong>Panu.</strong>¡¯ These creatures had already killed many of her kin already, with numerous people mysteriously going missing. Her tribe was just one of many nomadic elf groups in the area though, and they¡¯d sent messengers to the other surrounding tribes to see who was still around¡­ and who¡¯d been taken to some other part of this new world.


    In the meantime, she and her hunting party had been one of many to scout the surrounding area. It¡¯d only been two days since the great migration, the apocalypse, and merging of her world with two others, and their safety was their first priority. After discovering a human city within the nearby valley and having seen the chaos ongoing there, they retreated and tried to inform the elder council¡­ only to be intercepted by goblins of all things.


    Goblins were native to her own home world, and they¡¯d been a gue upon her people since as long as she could remember. She¡¯d grown up hating the little green devils. Often taking prisoners as ves or meat, goblin raiding parties were not to be scoffed at. Though their individual strengths were weaker than an elf¡¯s, they made up for it in sheer numbers and could spawn infinitely like rats.


    A lesson that their hunt leader had learned the hard way, having fallen into what Senna had considered an obvious bait and trap while bringing the rest of the party with him. They should have never chased¡­ She¡¯d tried to dissuade him from taking the bait, but she was low in the tribal hierarchy¡­ and she was a woman. That alone made her opinion worth less to her peers in the eyes of the elder council.


    Because of it, because of prejudice and arrogance, they were all going to die here.


    ¡°Ethel!¡± She screamed and began to sob, trying to stab at one of the goblins that was violently beating her with a small club just as another goblintched onto her ankle, sinking in its sharp teeth and ws as she screamed. Blood stained her silver hair as it leaked from a head wound and matted it against her face, partially her in one eye. ¡°ETHEL HELP ME! PLEASE!¡±


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>The young woman felt her vicle snap as the goblin¡¯s club was brought back down with a jerk. She screamed again, horror filling her as pain radiated up her body. She kicked and iled, desperation filling her as she began to hyperventte, only for the goblins pinning her down tough at her misfortune with jeers and snarls. She felt the teeth of the goblin on her ankle sink deeper through muscle and into bone, and she felt the goblin with the club m it into her scrambling arms as she tried to get away. Bones shattered, and the pain was unlike anything she¡¯d ever experienced.


    ¡°Please let me go!!!¡± Senna went rigid with a squeal of agony as her wrist snapped. ¡°PLEASE!!!¡±


    Her words trailed off, her chest heaved with every violent sob, and she watched the bloodlust in the goblin¡¯s eyes under the forest canopy as it raised the club for a final time.


    ¡°Elf go die die!¡± It snickered ¨C right before a crimson blur of motion abruptly mmed into the creature standing over her.


    The goblin¡¯s chest rippled and exploded within the time of a single second, a torrent of red magic tearing through the small humanoid with a brief torrent of bloody wisps and a savagery that caught its peers by surprise. What remained of the goblin went slowly limp after that, dropping to the ground as its eyes went cold ¨C the club going with it to thud into the dirt next to Senna¡¯s bloodied face.


    She blinked twice, shock overriding her other emotions and senses as she tried to adjust to what had just happened. Had that really been blood magic just now? She¡¯d seen it used once before when their tribe had expelled a man for meddling in the forbidden magics of the Unholy Foundational Pir, but they¡¯d been banished many years ago¡­ No one in her vige knew anything but nature magic from the Fae pir.


    So what had just happened?


    By this point the elves had beenpletely overpowered. Ethel, Senna¡¯s best friend, was being tortured just as she was a few feet away and was missing a hand ¨C pulsing blood from acerated wound with three goblins atop her. Bortris, who¡¯d been speared earlier, nowy dead and unmoving in a patch of moss nearby. Then,stly, there was Vorthem¡­ the youngest son of a vige cksmith. Vorthem was beaten ck and blue, barely breathing, and was being bludgeoned to death with his arms and legs at odd angles where the bones had snapped. However, all activity immediately ceased as the collective goblins realized what had happened¡­ and settling their gazes in the same general direction, all of them began brandishing their weapons to silently step back. Even the goblintched onto her leg seemed to see something that made it go visibly tense, and it left her bare, bloodied leg a momentter to join its fellows as they grouped up.


    Senna, still rigid with pain and silently crying as she clutched at her broken hand, was able to sit up with excruciating effort and a lot of pain radiating down from the shattered vicle. Letting out a high-pitched grunt of pain and wincing, she came about to see what had put the goblins in such an obvious scare.


    Two figures stared out under the morning shadow of trees. One of them was a demon, a spider-humanoid variant of some sort with toned bare muscture, six de-like appendagesing out of her back, and a wicked smile of teeth that was slowly beginning to sharpen. She had one of the goblins strung up between her outstretched fingers as either hand produced thin crimson strands of silk, and she was toying with him by making the terrified three-foot green man dance for her as if she was maneuvering a puppet.


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    The other figure was cloaked and carried a ck, wooden staff that radiated shadow energy at the gnarled tip. His features were hard to make out because of the runic mask he wore, but the pale skin and glowing crimson eyes¡­


    She felt her blood run cold as she looked upon the neers. All hope faded, drastically and immediately, as she realized that it wasn¡¯t help that¡¯de¡­ rather, it was another group of even more dangerous foes.


    Apex predators.


    Vampires were widely regarded as some of the worst opponents to go up against. Their senses, strength, speed, tracking abilities, and natural affinities for the Unholy Pir¡¯s magics meant that they were often incredibly dangerous. Add on that they could live for many millennia and weren¡¯t the mindless monsters that most creatures of the Unholy Pir represented: it meant that their collected knowledge, intelligence and experience over their vast lifetimes was incredibly ominous for any who wished to fight them. On top of that, this vampire had a god damned demonic summon with him. Demonic familiars were incredibly hard to acquire even for the most experienced of ck magic practitioners, to have one with him made things all the more bleak in terms of outlook on her situation. Demonic familiars under contract could be banished, but they couldn¡¯t truly die unless the summoner died first. It made them expendable frontline fighters, ones that could and would without hesitation sacrifice themselves temporarily in order to save their masters from otherwise permanent deaths.


    She¡¯d heard the horror stories and had even seen a young vampire once, a long time ago in a trial that¡¯d ended in its execution after being caught feeding on one of her tribe¡­ and this figure fit the bill perfectly. His eyes were a little bit more red than normal, as the only other vampire she¡¯d ever seen hadn¡¯t had eyes that glowed like that, but he was still no doubt the real deal. The goblins had certainly realized this as well based on their reactions to the neers, which were all a mix between anxiety, fear, and anger.


    With a flick of her wrist the demoness yanked on a couple of her crimson threads, and the yelping goblin she was using as a marite abruptly exploded in gore. The otherwise beautiful demoness crowed withughter, a malicious and heartlessugh as the little goblin¡¯s body rained down around her - and she sneered back at the other greenskins with bared teeth before putting one of her long arachnid limbs forwards in an aggressive gesture.


    There was a long silence after that as the remaining, wide-eyed six goblins continued drawing back into the trees of the forest, away from the beaten path, while the vampire and his demonic familiar slowly progressed forward.


    Senna felt a lump in her throat forming as she stared, dumbfounded at what would probably be thest thing she¡¯d ever see. She knew she couldn¡¯t run, not with the way her leg was mangled as it was¡­ and her friends were all either dying or already dead.


    This was the end¡­ or so she thought, until she snapped out of her trance as she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She¡¯d been staring off into space with sullen eptance of her grim fate, anding back around to reality ¨C she saw that the vampire was now kneeling next to her.


    ¡°Are you able to move?¡± Riven gently asked in a low tone, removing his mask to reveal handsome features, his red eyes holding her gaze captive as he spoke.


    Senna took in a deep breath,batting her fear and natural urge to scream, and all she could manage to do was shake her head no.


    Why did he care? Was he just making sure she wouldn¡¯t get away whenever he finished doing whatever other business he had here?


    The man frowned slightly and gave her a firm, reassuring squeeze ¨C then withdrew his hand from her shoulder and stood back up. ¡°You¡¯ll be ok. I promise, we¡¯ll get you out of here.¡±


    ***


    The elf just looked back, dumbfounded, and Riven seriously began to doubt that she understood him. He could have sworn he heard them speaking the samenguage that¡¯d been incorporated into his mind ever since the transition, but maybe he¡¯d been wrong¡­


    A guttural barking voice called out to him from the line of goblins as they stood at the ready, warily taking an assessment of the neers for any weaknesses amidst the cries of the elf they¡¯d sawed a hand off of ¨C and the croaking,bored breathing of the broken man on the ground. ¡°Why vampire here?¡±


    The fact that Riven and Ath had killed two of their number already and the goblins remained almost frozen in fear and hadn¡¯t retaliated was an obvious give away to who held the cards in this standoff.


    Riven snorted in disgust, snapping his fingers out in front of him to briefly sparked with a crimson ribbon that quickly dissipated into thin air. His time in Negrada over the past month had jaded him. These goblins may be the same level of the ones he¡¯d fought earlier, but the quality of their power was on apletely different scale. To see such rtively weak monsters in front of him whenpared to the things he¡¯d been killing back in the modified tutorial dungeon¡­ it gave him no room for second guesses at what he was about to do.


    ¡°Bleed.¡±


    His hand shot into motion as a wave of crimson des bloomed around him in the air, rapidly closing the distance between him and the little green men. Shredding the first and blowing off the leg of the second, Riven drew his staff up off the ground as it crackled with ck lightning that ripped through another goblin and tore him into paste.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    The trio of sts sent the goblins shrieking and scattering, only to cry out when Ath blurred forward and ripped into another to cleave off the goblin¡¯s head with fingers-turned-ws, ¨C then she did it again, blurring forward and impaling a goblin¡¯s skull with one of her arachnoid legs all while cackling loudly as she did it. Her perfect set of human white teeth had abruptly turned into a lipless snarl of a piranha, with rows of razor sharp fangs underneath her red eyes that¡¯d each grown to twice their normal size. The beautiful features of the woman look-alike had turned into truly a monster, and her feminine muscles tensed while her six arachnid limbs turned rigid at their tips to produce spears of ck, sharp, needle-like appendages.


    ¡°SHRREEEEEEE!!!!¡± Ath blurred forward with a screech of relish. Like a whirlwind of crazed rage, she ripped through another two goblins that¡¯d been hiding in the bushes - ones Riven hadn¡¯t even seen or taken note of as he¡¯d been caught up in what was happening in front of him. It was something he¡¯d have to work on because he knew if he¡¯d paid attention, he¡¯d have noticed their heartbeats.


    Limbs and heads flew skywards in sprays of blood, and the demoness hooted withughter while simultaneously flipping head over heels in a cartwheel to rip entirely through a small tree with her ws - along with yet another hidden goblin that¡¯d been hunkering down behind it.


    The rest of the goblins screamed and scattered.


    Riven walked over with a malice to the sneer underneath his mask, whipping his staff around while grinning into a groaning goblin¡¯s eyes as it clutched at the bleeding stump of what remained of its leg. ¡°Say goodbye.¡±


    The once-innocent man plunged the butt of his staff into the terrified goblin¡¯s chest, ramming it into the shrieking creature¡¯s body that sent an explosion of shadows down into the fallen creature. The blunt force impact of the on-hit shadow magic shattered the goblin¡¯s ribcage, jaw and pelvis in one go - quickly sending the pathetically weak and broken creature into shock.


    Licking his lips and letting his body slide down to the ground, his lips peeled back to expose his fangs. His hunger gnawed at him, and he felt a need - nay, apulsion to drain the small body of all the lifeblood it had. His hand shot forward, quicklytching onto the dying goblin¡¯s neck¡­ and he began to squeeze.

 Chapter 65

    Chapter 65


    <strong>Chapter 65</strong>


    Ath watched her master curiously¡­ watched him sink his fangs into the dying goblin¡¯s arteries. Watched him give in to the hunger he¡¯d been feeling over the past day. Then, letting out a long sigh of eptance, she turned and bolted through the trees to kill thest of the little green creatures. Catching up to them over the next twenty seconds of sprinting, she nearly tripped over a tree root ¨C but collected herself with an eyeroll and drew back her head. Stopping and suddenly lurching forward, Ath¡¯s long, slender tongue ripped through the air like a ck viper - striking urately within the creature¡¯s cervical spine with a thud and dropping it to the ground after a brief gasp.


    She could probably find them faster if she transitioned back into her normal spider form, but she was very opposed to doing that any time soon. She needed the experience in this new body, needed to hone her ability to manipte it beyond the practice runs she¡¯d done in theher realms in a false body, and she was very much enjoying the new sensations she got from it.


    In the distance, the sounds of other small green creatures quickly hustling through the trees met her ears, but she could tell that the monsters were running in the opposite direction in a flight for their lives. There¡¯d been a lot more than the ones battling here, though they may have been reinforcements or they may have just been circling around to get the drop on the elves - who knew. She shrugged indifferently at the thought and yanked back her bloodied tongue - licking her lips to evaluate the taste of the short, green-skinned man and turning her more demonic features back into that of a beautiful, slender young woman again. Her unhinged jaw clicked back into ce, her elongated, sharpened teeth shrank down into normal sized human variants, and her abnormally hypertrophied muscles softened. Thinking about it and ncing over her shoulder to where the two elvish girls were, she paused and then withdrew her arachnid limbs back into her body as well - standingpletely naked in the midday forest with blood dripping down her mixed white, gray and mostly pitch-ck skin. Her ws retracted next, and she brushed her long dark hair out as the droplets of goblin fluids seemed to roll off her silky, straight locks like rainwater off a windshield.


    She giggled at the good fortune she¡¯d had, bending over and crossing her legs to pick up the bag of elysium coins that¡¯d dropped in the form of a pouch on the goblin she¡¯d just killed. A good master to serve, a newly integrating world, and boundless opportunities. ¡°This is going to be so fun! I can¡¯t wait to tell mother about what goblin tastes like¡­ Auntie was right!¡±


    ***


    Riven hadn¡¯t moved from his initial spot. He¡¯d gorged himself on the lifeblood of the broken goblin, taking in deep breathfuls of air between bouts of slurping down the warm, red liquid. He continued to do this, ignoring Athpletely until she walked up next to him and jabbed her toe into his side.


    Snarling reflexively and baring his fangs, Riven jerked back and got to his feet. Blood dripped down his face and he looked like a rabid dog until recognition sparked across his features. Slowly looking down at his recent mealtime ything, and then back up to Ath, he furled his hands into fists in front of his chest¡­ concern very evident.


    ¡°You do realize that they¡¯re bleeding out and dying, right?¡± Ath said with a casual snort.She pointed to the blonde elf who¡¯d had her hand cut off on the dirt trail to their right. She was quivering, shaking and trying to stall the blood from flowing freely from her stump with a makeshift tourniquet. She was failing miserably in shakily tying it, but nevertheless she was trying while giving the vampire and his minion anxiety-filled nces.


    Riven shook his head to rid himself of the urges he¡¯d fallen prey to and picked up his staff before cing his mask back on. ¡°I need to get ahold of myself.¡±


    The man who¡¯d been holding onto life by a thread, the one with the broken limbs who was battered to a swollen pulp, well¡­ he had finally stopped breathing before Riven even approached. Faltering, then sinking down to his knees and feeling for a pulse along the man¡¯s neck, Riven frowned.


    ¡°Dead.¡± Riven pronounced to the general area before hurrying over to the blonde woman, and ncing over at the silver-haired girl briefly to make sure she was ok as well. The woman with silver hair had an obviously broken hand, a broken vicle, a shredded leg that was profusely bleeding, but she was in far better shape than her sole remainingrade and was staring dumbfounded at him.


    Kneeling down beside the woman with the stump, she shrieked and began begging while weakly trying to push herself away. Even aside from the loss of limb, she was in very bad shape. She¡¯d been battered, beaten, and had numerous cuts all along her body ¨C and even though she was utterly terrified at Riven¡¯s approach, he couldn¡¯t help but stop and recognize how pretty she and her friend were. In fact, now that the battle was over and his adrenaline was down, he nearly did a double take before ncing over his shoulder topare to the silver-haired woman.


    God damn.


    ¡°Please d-don¡¯t eat me-ee¡­..¡± the young woman sobbed, shaking even harder as blood continued gushing out of her left arm. ¡°P-pleasee-eeee¡­ I-I want to g-go home¡­¡±


    Tears streamed down her face and her nostrils red, her eyes squinted shut tight for the violence that was sure toe.


    Riven gave Ath a look of bemusement, then snorted a sadugh. ¡°Calm down. I need to stop the bleeding before you die of blood loss. Here-¡±


    He reached for her stump arm, and she screamed like it was the worst pain she¡¯d ever felt before. It was mostly out of fear, as she iled weakly on the ground, trying to push herself back along the dirt by her bare feet, but the elf was already in terrible shape and too weak to resist.


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    Was this his negative charisma at work? He could only assume so.


    ¡°Use this.¡± Ath held out a belt in one hand, and Riven¡¯s eyebrows shot up in surprise.


    Taking the belt and curiously examining it, he looked back up to his demonicpanion. ¡°Where the hell did you get this? This is Earth-made.¡±


    The demoness hiked a thumb back into the woods and smiled sweetly. ¡°One of the green midgets had it!¡±


    Riven thought on that a moment, not thinking anything good could have been interpreted from such news, then pushed it out of his mind.


    Ignoring the elf¡¯s strained cries and thinking her actions a bit absurd, Riven grabbed her stump again and quickly wrapped the belt around the wound. When she wouldn¡¯t stop iling, he pushed her back down and knelt on what was left of the bicep in order to keep her there while he made sure the belt remained tight. This only amplified her horrified screams, but it was for her own good¡­ otherwise she¡¯d likely bleed out and die in the next few minutes.


    He pulled it tight and snapped the belt into a secure position, cutting off the blood flow by over 90% when he felt a rock m into the back of his head. Dazed and immediately irritated, he clutched the back of his skull and hissed ¨C fangs reflexively extending as he whirled.


    There, barely able to stand and supporting herself against a tree, was the other living elf. She took in deep, ragged breaths and quivered fearfully with another rock in her hand ¨C her knife having been thrown a good ways away by goblins so that she couldn¡¯t reach it. Regardless, she took in deep breaths despite the pain in her vicle and lung ¨C snarling at him to try and hide her fear while her silver hair whipped about in a gust of wind. ¡°GET OFF OF HER!¡±


    Ath was initially in shock that the silver haired woman had attacked her master, but watching the elf throw that stone sent her into a rage. Her arachnoid legs ripped out of her back again, sharpened, and all six pointed menacingly towards the girl. ¡°You little BITCH!¡±


    The elf who¡¯d thrown the rock paled when she saw the demon getting ready to pounce, and her bravery faltered in the lines of her face just as Riven shot forward to grasp Ath¡¯s wrist.


    He stood there, not saying anything, staring his demonic servant down with a firm and unwavering gaze until a stream of sunlight momentarily broke through the treetops and lit up his face. He winced, turning his face away from the ufortable morning light when it managed to prate underneath his hood, but he didn¡¯t let go of Ath¡¯s wrist until the arachnid legs withdrew into her back again.


    ¡°But¡­ But she hurt you¡­¡± Ath whimpered, for the first time in a long time being anything but the usual ridiculous spider-demon that epassed her usual persona. She took in two deep breaths, looked over at the elf she¡¯d nearly just killed, and then back to Riven. ¡°She hurt you¡­¡±


    Riven took in a deep breath, smiled that Ath obviously cared so much, and pulled her in for a hug that she hesitantly epted and embraced. He rxed his muscles and let the cool morning winds brush against his skin to calm his nerves with a light chuckle. ¡°Keep your urges to kill in your pants, ok? Also, sorry for getting angry at you earlier. I was just on edge.¡±


    Ath stood there in shock for about 5 seconds, not knowing what to say, but then jabbed him yfully in the side of his ribs. It caused him to yelp and let go as he fell over to the ground beforeughing at the expression on Ath¡¯s face.


    ¡°If anyone gets to hurt you Riven, IT¡¯S ME DAMN IT! REMEMBER THAT! At least I do it lovingly to build character! Hmph!¡±


    The demoness crossed her arms and straightened her posture while turning her back on him, but he didn¡¯t notice the mild amount of moisture she wiped away from underneath her eyelids. Facing the terrified elf who¡¯d thrown the rock, Ath slightly bowed and folded her hands in front of her with a widening and malicious smile. ¡°Hey¡­ I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just that when you attacked my master, I got defensive and I wasn¡¯t thinking¡­ Maybe it¡¯s because I realized that since I hadn¡¯t been paying attention, you could have really hurt him. So¡­ I¡¯ll forgive you. But do it again and I eviscerate you. Got it, slut?¡±


    The silver haired elf just sat there quivering, pale faced as razor sharp teeth began to glisten one by one as they reced Ath¡¯s more human set of pearly whites.


    ¡°And for the record¡­¡± Riven interrupted with folded arms as he came to stand ahead of Ath ¨C ring the scantily d elf down. ¡°I was putting a tourniquet on your friend to save her life. You¡¯re wee.¡±


    Ath frowned over at the blonde who was still clutching weakly at her arm below them. Then, stepping over a dead trio of goblins and another elf body, she made her way forward. Lightly touching the woman¡¯s stump arm where Riven¡¯s belt was wrapped tightly around, she shushed the abruptly protesting girl when the elf instinctively jerked back with a yelp. ¡°Quit your whining!¡±


    Gripping the stump arm with one hand and causing the blonde girl to scream, Ath rolled her red eyes and pped the girl three times with quick sessive strikes to silence her. ¡°I DO NOT HAVE PATIENCE FOR THIS MORTAL! BE STILL!¡±


    Shocked, physically stunned and not entirely all there due to blood loss - the second elf red daggers up at Ath while the demoness used her free hand to spin out bloody threads from fingertips. Slowly the threads began to drift down onto the open wound of the stump arm she was holding, and the threads began to mend the flesh little by little.


    Slowly, the blonde girl widened her eyes in shock as the skin along her amputation site began scabbing over. It wasn¡¯tpletely healed, but it was nevertheless <strong><em>not</em></strong> bleeding out after Ath had finished with it. Then Ath got up, snorted in disgust at the girl beneath her, and took a step back.


    Riven was really impressed. He knew that abilities and skills could be utilized in ways the system hadn¡¯t described in the detailed notes concerning his own status page - an example of this was utilizing Wretched Snare as a to slingshot the satyr warlord¡¯s club back at the demon in Negrada. However he hadn¡¯t expected Ath to be able to partially heal someone utilizing her threads, it hadn¡¯t ever even urred to him as a possibility.


    Meanwhile: fear was still evident in the creases of the elf¡¯s face and the rapid heartbeat that Riven could quite loudly hear. The stunned girl looked to her stump arm with a mixture of emotions, then gingerly sat up from where shey bloodied on the ground. ¡°Are you truly not going to eat us?¡±


    Riven gave an awkward nce to the goblin¡¯s body, the one he¡¯d fed on, and scratched the bag of his head. ¡°Uhm¡­ No, we¡¯re not going to eat you. Sorry if I gave off that impression.¡±


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    ¡°WHERE THEY GOOO!!??¡±


    Azmoth tore through the underbrush and collided with arge tree, toppling itpletely over and sending wood chips scattering about therge demon who was obviously enraged. In one hand was the corpse of yet another goblin who¡¯d been unfortunate enough to run into him while trying to get away from Riven and Ath, and Azmoth promptly mmed the body into the soft earth before sttering its brains all along the dirt with a wed foot. ¡°WHERE THEY GOOO!?!?!?¡±


    The two elf women promptly let out terrified screams at the sight of Azmoth, the one standing falling over her own feet and scooting backwards across the dirt.


    Ath gave Riven a smirk and then rolled her eyes with a long, drawn out sigh directed at the less intelligent of Riven¡¯s minions. ¡°A littlete to the party, idiot. While you were out and about ying sasquatch, Riven and I already dealt with them. Try to put some points into agility next time you level so you can begin to keep up.¡±

 Chapter 66

    Chapter 66


    <strong>Chapter 66</strong>


    Jalel adjusted his dark, well-made, form-fitting robes and smoothed out the sleeves where they meshed with fingerless gloves. The brte ve girl attending him adjusted his cor and he gave her an appreciating nod of respect, one she blushed furiously at before smiling widely and exiting the waiting area.


    He smirked himself, finding it quite funny how little was required of him to make a ve¡¯s day like that. Despite being quite the ass in many circumstances, he at the very least could safely say he treated his ves with a moderate amount of respect. The humans weren¡¯t all that far off from animals on the totem pole, but he treated them like pets and had even grown to like some of them very much.


    Even if they were a lesser species.


    The double-doors began to open, and Jalel smoothed the ring cloak-like tail of the garments he wore before before taking confident steps forwards into the room. It was a splendid attendance hall, with dozens of well-dressed nobles he¡¯d grown up knowing for better or worse on either side in luxurious and elevated chairs. ve attendants stood with note pads, tters of food and drink, or various substances to smoke from that added vor to the scented air wafting into Jalel¡¯s nostrils. Directly ahead and underneath an enormous banner of the crescent blood moon on a ck backdrop, sat the queen of their empire.


    The queen herself looked not a day older than 20 years of age, though she was nearly a million years old now and had to restrain her aura in the presence of lesser creatures just so she wouldn¡¯t crush them under the sheer weight of looking at them. She wore a thin veil, bright red eyes glowing from underneath it where strands of dark brown hair flowed like silk over her shoulders down to arge ruby-colored amuletid out on her chest. Otherwise she wore a bright white and silk robe simr to his own, though hers had a more flowery look to it and spread out across the splendidly polished wooden throne she sat on that disyed carved depictions of lesser races holding up vampiric nobility. Her three sons and lone daughter stood on either side of her, Jalel¡¯s cousins, and all shared unimpressed looks with one another as he made his way down the red carpeted aisle to kneel before the queen on her elevated tform.


    The low muttering of the court quickly subsided under the dim light ofnterns overhead when the queen raised a hand, and all went silent.


    ¡°Raise your head, dear nephew, and tell me of what you found.¡± Queen Nephridimanded with a voice that whispered out across the room effortlessly, shaking Jalel to his very core under the sheer weight of the power contained in those words.


    He shuddered involuntarily, then nodded and did as he wasmanded to meet her own gaze from underneath the veil she wore. ¡°It is indeed one of our own. The lost branch of our family has been, found, at least in part.¡±Muttering and hushed whispers immediately tore through the room, echoing about the hall until the nobles got a harsh re from the queen to immediately silence them. She turned back to her nephew and gave him an approving nod while her children all grimaced in turn. ¡°Very good. You were able to locate them both then?¡±


    Jalel frowned, then shook his head and apologetically touched his head to the floor. ¡°Forgive me, my queen. I was only able to find one, but I am certain that the other is of the same blood. The one I found was named Riven Thane, a rather unimpressive man but one able to use the gift of malignant prophecy. He spoke of his sister, Allie Thane, and I have no doubt that she too is the other beacon of prophecy you sensed. However, Elysium is unwilling to let me travel to their homeworld. It is still within a quarantined frontier sector, and I was only able to meet Riven due to special circumstances surrounding his tutorial upon initiation into the multiverse.¡±


    The queen¡¯s silent gaze quirked up in a small smile, and one of her pale fingers began tapping at the armrest of her throne. ¡°Indeed. It appears that my granddaughter survived the tribtion after all¡­ and no doubt had children of her own. How curious. Any signs of Sheline?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡±


    ¡°How unfortunate. I do hope she still lives, she was my favorite after all¡­¡±


    At this, all four of Queen Nephridi¡¯s children frowned even more deeply and her eldest son even began to sneer.


    ¡°Nevertheless, it is a starting point for finding her again. And at the very least they will be useful assets to use in a century or two whenever the integration ends and the floodgates to their new world open for us.¡± Nephridi leaned back in her chair and thoughtfully hummed, pushing her fingers up against her soft lips and rocking her head back and forth while smiling in deep thought. ¡°Was there anything else you could tell me about this ¡®Riven¡¯ character? Anything interesting?¡±


    Jalel immediately thought back to when he¡¯d discovered the shard of gluttony Riven had acquired, but actively avoided talking about it at all cost. That shard would be his one day if he had anything to say about it, and no doubt telling the queen or any of the others here would immediately throw his ns asunder. ¡°He was unimpressive in all regards.¡±


    One of Jalel¡¯s cousins snorted in amusement, getting a re from his mother.


    Nephridi frowned at the actions of her children and shook her head before sighing and crossing her arms. ¡°Nothing at all?¡±


    Jalel shook his head again. ¡°No, your majesty. He was sub-par in all standings. Hecks talent,cks intelligence,cksbat prowess,cks good decision making, and even spent a malignancy point for the life of a human girl he didn¡¯t even know or benefit from.¡±


    A snicker from the sidelines resulted in an abrupt scream, and then a manbusted into a flowering cloud of blood that rapidly condensed and flew threw the air like crimson ribbons over to the queen¡¯s outstretched palm. She absorbed the noble, causing the hall to go deathly silent now that she was growing irritated with their disrespect towards her descendent, and she gave another meaningful re over to her children on either side of her as they stood absolutely still under her angry gaze.


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    She shook her head, absorbing thest of the blood filtering through the air and crossed her legs. ¡°Well that is uneptable.¡±


    ¡°I thoroughly agree.¡± Jalel stated in reply, hiding his savage smile underneath a mask of sorrow. If he could keep the queen disinterested, he¡¯d be able to take Riven out in the future without much problem at all. ¡°I suggest we abandon-¡±


    ¡°I will see to it that he gets proper education and training if he¡¯scking that much.¡± Nephridi said thoughtfully, speaking over her nephew with indifference towards him. ¡°Rhael?¡±


    Arge male ve attendant in shadowy robes stepped forward and bowed deeply. ¡°Yes, my queen?¡±


    ¡°See to it that we figure out a way to ess the quarantined frontier sector.¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­ My queen?¡± Rhael replied with a confused look and raised eyebrow. ¡°I am not sure that is possible. It is against Elysium¡¯sws.¡±


    The queen nearly facepalmed, but she managed to struggle against the impulse and just let out a long sigh while massaging her forehead. ¡°Dear god I¡¯m surrounded by idiots. No, you fool! I do not mean to travel there, I merely wish to - oh gods damn it I¡¯ll do it myself!¡±


    With a huff she stood up and walked out of the room and into a side hallway, leaving the entire gathering of nobility rather speechless and sharing nces with one another. The queen was certainly powerful, powerful enough to lead a bloodthirsty and violent empire for generations upon generations, but she oftencked what other leaders of other factions had in terms of patience or political maneuvering.


    This time was no different, and Jalel¡¯s gut tensed in irritation. The way her majesty had reacted could be a potential problem, so he¡¯d have to think of some countermeasures to offset this unfortunate state of events.


    ***


    ¡°Well this throws a wrench in things.¡± Ath stated absentmindedly while staring at the two wounded, blood covered elves whoy half-exposed on a bed of furs and under nkets that¡¯d been stripped from the supplies of the dead.


    They¡¯d settled into a darker recess of the forest half a mile away from the battleground where the trees wererger and the brush was thicker, next to arge boulder the size of a truck that had a small stream passing by. Ath had set up traps and walls of red webbing all around the perimeter at a good distance away, and Riven was absolutely sure that if he crossed the kind of makeshiftir in the forest without knowing what had created it - he¡¯d absolutely 100% avoid it at all costs given how it looked. Despite this it really was the perfect spot, considering they had all the shade Riven needed to avoid difort and water for cleaning the wounds of the two wounded women. Originally the wounds had been full of dirt and contaminants, and although the stream¡¯s water wasn¡¯tpletely sterile ¨C it was a hell of a lot cleaner after a washout than how they¡¯d originally presented.


    Not long after Riven had cleaned their wounds, both of the exhausted elves had fallen asleep. Quickly even, especially after their initial fears of being eaten had been somewhat put aside after an extended period of time with the strange trio watching over them. Their bloody garments had been set aside by Ath in order to better examine their bodies for further injuries before being covered with nkets, then cleaner garments taken from the dead were used as bandages, and Ath had even gotten one of them tough at a stupid joke she¡¯d made before the girl had passed out due to the battered state of her worn-out body.


    ¡°Yes¡­ Yes it does throw a wrench into things¡­¡± Riven stated slowly, tossing the guild-hall bauble up into the air and snatching it before itnded, then he repeated the action over and over again. Hey on his back, staring up into the canopy with one leg crossed over the other, and tried to keep his eyes off the two injured beauties not far off. ¡°Elves huh. Who would have thought¡­¡±


    During the time they¡¯d been waiting for the elves to at least somewhat recover, he¡¯d been going over his options on how to proceed.


    He still needed to find his sister Allie and his best friend Jose. The quest log would tell him the general direction Allie was in every once in a while, and it¡¯d actually confirmed this over the course of thest twelve hours. It happened when little while ago it¡¯d pinged her location for an entire minute that took the form of mental sensations confirming both person and ce in the wreckage of the small city at the foot of the mountains Last he knew ¨C his sister had been about 12 miles from the gas station Riven had started at after leaving Negrada¡¯s hellscape.


    He¡¯d figure out if they¡¯d been going in the right directionter with the next set of pings, and would adjust as needed based on what happened. However it was safe to say he was on the path to reunited with them soon.


    Then there were the two injured elves. Riven wanted to question them desperately¡­ to find out what they knew, and why they¡¯d been fighting the goblins in the first ce. To ask them if there were more goblins in the area, more elves, and why they¡¯d reacted like that to seeing that he was a vampire. He was a monster now, and he knew he had a negative charisma that would influence others to some kind of degree¡­ but he was still more or less human in nature. Wasn¡¯t he? Surely charisma wouldn¡¯t cause that kind of reaction from EVERYONE he met, right? He still felt like the same person he¡¯d been just days ago, only now he had vastly increased prowess with a voracious appetite for blood. Didn¡¯t seem like too bad of a tradeoff to him considering the change had saved his life. Hadn¡¯t they jumped to conclusions about him and his demons rather fast, considering that they¡¯d just saved the elves from a violent death?


    Speaking of voracious appetites¡­ he may end up going back to feed on some of those bodies. Just thinking about it made his stomach rumble, and the gnawing hunger in his gut grasped at him like a wild, rabid animal waiting to be unleashed.


    He clenched his fists to quell the urge. Instead his thoughts traced back towards the city he¡¯d seen further down the mountain and into the ins. He had a feeling, based on how the elves were dressed with hardly anything but furs and primitive wrappings, that whoever or whatever had built that distant city was not them. The other equipment that the elves had was also subpar at best, being nothing but long hunting knives, longbows, and steel arrows. Not a group he¡¯d assume to make suchrge structures at such a distance. He couldn¡¯t make out the architecture very well from so far out, but it did look Earth-made from where he¡¯d seen it on his vantage point up the mountain.


    Ath walked over, poked Riven¡¯s shoulder with her bare foot and smiled down at him. ¡°Cheer up! You look miserable.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow her way as the arachnoid woman plopped cross-legged onto the ground beside him with narrowed red eyes and a wide, brilliant grin. ¡°You good!?¡±


    Dusting himself off he shook his head and pointed a finger in her direction with raised eyebrows in mock aggression, pocketing the guild hall¡¯s bauble in a cloak pocket. ¡°You¡¯ll be sorry for kicking me. I¡¯m going to strike back in the near future and you won¡¯t even see iting when I do.¡±


    ¡°Kicking you!? I just poked you with my toe!¡± She stuck her tongue out and pulled down an eyelid. ¡°Bleh! But seriously, are you ok?¡±


    He smirked, then nodded with a content groan while adjusting his posture on the ground to rest his head on her thighs as a pillow. ¡°Yeah I¡¯m ok. Just shut up and stay there, no funny business or messing with me while I¡¯m resting. I¡¯m going to sleep, wake me up if something important happens.¡±


    Ath was about to give a snappy response and raised a finger to protest as her chest heaved to draw in air, but thought better of it after she watched Riven close his eyes. Her finger dropped, and a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. Instead she merely muttered under her breath and to herself so that only she could hear. ¡°Funny business!? I don¡¯t know what you even mean by that!¡±

 Chapter 67

    Chapter 67


    <strong>Chapter 67</strong>


    The mission was threefold ¨C figure out what was going on with the city concerning the people he needed to find, find some more food, and find a location that would be suitable Riven to stay in long term¡­ if there even was one. There hadn¡¯t been any system notifications since leaving dungeon Negrada, but Ath was utterly certain there¡¯d be more toe.


    ¡°Each integrating has its own unique trials!¡± Ath said to him, trying and failing to contain a smirk, right before he was to leave. ¡°Sometimes many of them, sometimes less. Just depends, but they¡¯reing!¡±


    Riven frowned at her expression under the shade of the canopy, and that frowned deepened whenever she started to outright snicker while covering up her mouth with her hands. When Azmoth started tough a deep, guttural barking sound, Riven could only cross his arms. "What''s so funny?"


    "You just look so handsome!" Ath said between giggles, meanwhile Azmoth continued to cackle.


    Riven didn''t notice therge red mustache drawn onto his face with Ath''s webbing until he put his mask on. When it stuck and he had a hard time prying the mask off, both demons began to howl withughter even more loudly.


    His eyes narrowed, but an amused grin spread across his lips. "Really!? While I slept!? Ok. So that''s how we''re going to y it huh? I''ll have you know I''m a master prankster! You don''t want this kind of war, girl."


    ***


    Keeping his hood down over his eyes, his body moved at superhuman speed - moving three times faster than his outright sprint prior to his ascension into vampirism while utilizing little effort to do it. The sun was beating down and he had to asionally stick his hands in his cloak pockets in order not to get a debuff, but overall avoiding the light touching his skin wasn¡¯t too much of a hassle. Meanwhile the staff was attached to his back with a pair of straps he¡¯d taken off one of the dead goblins that¡¯d likely been meant for keeping prisoners or animals bound.Trees began to disappear as he made his way into the ins where fields of green grass, buzzing bumblebees and beautiful wildflowers bloomed to life along either side of a long dirt road. The mountain behind him loomed with frosted peaks and jagged edges, making him feel small whenever he looked back.


    The city in front of him wasing closer as the foothillspletely gave way to tter ins, and he began to make out buildings from a little ways off between a trio of lower-lying hills. Further beyond the town and into the east: the ins led out into a sprawling sea of grasnds and rivers before turning into patches of forests in the furthest reaches of his vision.


    It wasn¡¯t but another hundred yards before he slowed his sprint, hardly having broken a sweat despite the long run, as his boots touched down onto a road made of familiar cement. There was a stark contrast between where the road and dirt path connected, and it looked like they¡¯d almost been taken out of twopletely different puzzles and ced alongside one another in cookie-cutter fashion. Even the grass, which had been a luscious green, was now slightly less vibrant in a noticeable straight line that struck out to his right and left ¨C and beyond it even the trees were different. The change was subtle, but the leaves were certainly different when Riven looked closely. The oaks and evergreens that¡¯d been present beyond the ins¡¯s edge and into the forest were now being reced by small numbers of scattered maple trees, something that hadn¡¯t been present at all up until the city¡¯s border along that perfectly straight line.


    How odd. Perhaps this is what the administrator had been talking about when it¡¯d said his world was being meshed with two others? It was like two jigsaw puzzle pieces, albeit somewhat simr, had been pped together.


    The paved road led him around the small hill, presenting a main street that led into the heart of the city by a long way before disappearing with a curve about a mile out. Light poles, store fronts, houses and familiar English lettering on street signs was obviously present with a typical modern American-style architecture. It was definitely from Earth, and now that he was up close ¨C he still couldn¡¯t decide whether or not it would be ssified as arge town or a small city.


    The odd part about seeing this was¡­ the street was deserted.


    There were broken down cars scattered down the length of the road, two of which had been lit ame and were smoking as they burned. A couple dogs barked in the distance, and even a gunshot was heard in the far distance¡­ though nobody immediately presented themselves out in the open. He briefly remembered how monsters had started spawning all around the world before civilization had turned upside-down with the chaos it brought. Guess it made sense¡­ seeing this ce the way it was.


    Surely there would be survivors though¡­


    That¡¯s when he saw the big, blue road sign on the left-hand side. It Read: ¡®<strong>Wee to Brightsville, Virginia! Home of the Fighting Prairie Dogs!</strong>¡¯ inrge yellow letters.


    He snickered at the thought of prairie dogs fighting. Must be a highschool or college, but it wasn¡¯t any college he¡¯d ever heard of. He¡¯d been too poor to afford a college education anyways and hadn¡¯t really had an interest in them because of that, and even though he¡¯d been smart and gotten good grades in school ¨C he¡¯d dropped out early in order to help take care of his family.


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    His hand reached over his back to grip the staff strapped there with a tight grip when he caught a brief glimpse of motion within a backyard to his left and pulled it out to hold in front of him. Turning to the fenced-off area, he squinted. Nothing presented itself again though, and the heartbeat he¡¯d heard began to fade into the distance. He shrugged it off and kept moving ¨C wishing he¡¯d still had a belt so that he didn¡¯t have to carry this damn staff everywhere, but he¡¯d rather have it than not even if it did make traveling at high speed a little less fluid.


    With a grunt, he casually strolled down the road and down the main street ¨C hoping he¡¯d find some clue as to what was going on here and if there was anybody worth talking to still alive.


    He came across a Walmart Supercenter,pletely ransacked of all supplies with a couple of fresh bodies along the entrance area where a gunfight had obviously broken out. He visited a Best Buy, a McDonald¡¯s, and even a Home Depot. Only the home depot had supplies that were still intact, and even some of those were gone. In each of these ces the electricity wasn¡¯t working, creating dark interiors in each. Running water wasn¡¯t working properly whenever he came across a drinking fountain or sink, and as Riven continued further into the city¡¯s interior over the next couple hours at a slow walking pace ¨C he began to see more signs of smoke and fire.


    He turned down a side street into the suburbs, trying to stick to the shadows of the scattered maple trees along the sides of the roads. Still, there were no cars ¨C no motorcycles ¨C and no signs of any electricity being used. An hour into casually walking the streets and he was beginning to get discouraged about finding anyone, until he spotted a middle aged man and woman jump a fence to his right and sprint across the road in front of him ¨C stopping only momentarily in shock at seeing him before screaming at him to run.


    ¡°GET AWAY!¡± the brte woman shrieked. Her clothes were ripped, bloodied, and she ran with a limp while holding her bleeding side. ¡°SLAVERS ARE COMING THIS WAY! GO!¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow as the skinny man tugged at hispanion, whispering frantically at her before they began running again towards the houses on the left. vers? Here in what was very recently a piece of Virginia?


    The man and woman continued onwards down the cement street a bit on Riven¡¯s left, panting at the exertion and fumbling with a pair of keys at a doorway as Riven took the hint and got behind a nearby minivan to hide. Curiously ncing over the windows and seeing out through the other side, he watched and heard as four bigger men mbered the fence after the duo. Two bald, muscr white guys with tattoos wore gray wife-beater tank tops and golden chains. The next guy had a mohawk and a machete while wearing a leather jacket, with another African American guy wielding a shotgun jumping the fence after them.


    ¡°Hurry it up!¡± the guy with the mohawk snarled at hisrades as he tore after the two fleeing people that¡¯d just entered a two-story, boarded up house to m the door behind them.


    The house had a white painted exterior up top with a brick first story. The ss along some of the windows had been shattered, but each of them on both floors was boarded up with numerous nks nailed into the interior side. The door itself was wooden with a circr ss window, but the brief nce inside before the two people had mmed it behind them showed Riven that they¡¯d reinforced the door on the interior as well.


    Gliding down the street after the four chasing men as they came up to the door, Riven curiously watched to see what would happen. He had to quickly step to the left, hiding behind a tree when he caught the guy with the shotgun turning in his direction ¨C but sessfully avoided detection. He didn¡¯t think his body would be able to withstand a shotgun st at close range even with his newfound prowess, so he¡¯d have to be careful here if he wanted to intervene in any way.


    Riven peered back around the thick trunk of the maple tree, lips curling as the two men in wife-beaters took turns ramming the front door while the guy with the shotgun kicked open the fence to the backyard and circled the house to make sure they¡¯d not escape.


    ¡°WE¡¯RE COMING IN MY PRETTY!¡± cackled the machete-wielding, leather d man that Riven designated as ¡®Mowhawk¡¯ in his head.


    Designating the two wifebeaters as cronie 1 and cronie 2, and the ck guy with the shotgun as ¡®shottgun guy¡¯, he quickly came to dislike all of them and realized that the woman who¡¯d warned Riven had been absolutely right about their intentions.


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t be shy!¡° Mohawk crowed while waving around his machete at one of the windows, spitting and working himself into a frenzy: ¡°A life of forcedbor isn¡¯t that bad! Come on and let us in, and we may be a bit nicer when handling you before putting you both on sale!¡±


    Yup. That¡¯s all Riven needed to hear.


    A scream from the other side of the house, the sound of a quickly mming door, and a follow up st from a shotgun made Riven scowl. Lunging across to his left and into the adjacent house¡¯s back fence, he vaulted over the wooden pickets and rushed towards the opposite side.


    ¡°Are you going to kill them!?¡± Ath asked excitedly, appearing out of nowhere to his left and almost causing him to scream in startled surprise. ¡°How kinky!¡±


    Ath was perched on the balls of her feet with a manic smile, setting herself promptly behind where Riven had been looking at just a moment before.


    ¡°Kinky!?¡± Riven whispered in a snarl beforeing to a stop at the edge of the bordering fence between the house at his back-right and the house that was being broken into on his front-right. ¡°How the fuck is that kinky? Where the fuck did you evene from and why can¡¯t I hear your heartbeat?! How¡¯d you sneak up on me like that!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an ability I have. I can silence myself and do all kinds of sneaky things since my evolution! Though you did actually sense me earlier when you first entered the town¡­ kinda disappointing really. I¡¯d been doing so good up until then.¡±


    ¡°That was you behind the fence? And aren¡¯t you supposed to be watching the elves?¡±


    ¡°Nah. Azmoth has them covered. Now¡­ How about we capture them for torturing and..." She abruptly paused like a deer in the headlights. Her excited grin melted away, and she looked down at the ground with mild amounts of shame. "Oh, wait. Sorry, I''d forgotten you asked me to stop that kind of teasing. Bad habits die hard."


    Ath gave him a sheepish smile. "I''ll do better, I promise."


    Riven''s features softened slightly, and he gave her an appreciative nod. "Thanks. For the record though, it isn''t that I mind you getting excited about fighting. I know you enjoy it. I just don''t want you to tease me about killing <em><strong>innocent </strong></em>people. Regardless, I appreciate the effort."


    She beamed at the praise with a warm smile, sping her hands in front of her and looking like she''d just gotten an A+ on a test in school.


    Their hushed whispers came to an end as Riven examined the scene again. Shotgun guy had blown a small hole through the door halfway up and was kicking at it as screams of pain and fear echoed out from the back.


    ¡°LEAVE US ALONE!¡± the woman¡¯s voice cried out as a pleading, wavering sob amidst the ruckus. ¡°PLEASE LEAVE!¡±

 Chapter 68

    Chapter 68


    <strong>Chapter 68</strong>


    Shotgun guy justughed, then he got tired of kicking ¨C took aim ¨C and fired again. Another good-sized chunk of wood sted off the door into bits and pieces, but the idiot had been too close when he¡¯d fired and recoiled as chips of debris hit him in the face and eyes. ¡°Fuck!¡±


    He staggered back, rubbing at his face and cursing loudly until he managed to clear his line of sight¡­ only to blink rapidly as he came face to face with Riven to his left and Ath to his right.


    ¡°Hello chap.¡± Riven said with a friendly smile underneath the ck hood,zily leaning against the side of the building. ¡°Care to die for me?¡±


    Ath¡¯s ws extended and shed up, skewering the man¡¯s stomach and kidney before her arm protruded out the left side of his back. Shotgun guy screamed in agony and horror, shock clear upon his features amidst Ath¡¯sughter right before Riven grasped onto the man¡¯s neck and brought it forward ¨C headbutting the guy¡¯s face and breaking his nose in a gush of blood.


    <strong>*RIP*</strong>


    <strong>*TEAR*</strong>


    <strong>*SPLAT*</strong>


    ¡°AAAHHHHHH!!!¡±Riven found himself beating the man to death alongside his demonic minion. He felt no sympathy, no remorse, only a deep sense of satisfaction knowing he was - at least in his mind - doing the right thing. Meanwhile the screams and gurgles intermixed with the asional small explosion of shadow whenever his staff would make contact with the man¡¯s bloodied body.


    Ath ripped a spleen out of the man¡¯s gut as the guy tried to fumble with the shotgun he held onto for dear life, but Riven easily knocked it aside as it fired again. Coming down hard on the falling man in a downwards strike, one of Ath¡¯s sharpened arachnoid legs whipped out of her back and severed the man¡¯s left hand to send the appendage flying. Riven then brought his foot down onto the man¡¯s neck with an audible crunch when the windpipe copsed.


    Surprisingly the guy didn¡¯t die right away. His eyes bulged, coughing up blood and he quivered there on the ground in disbelief. Riven cocked his head to the side in confusion at how he hadn¡¯t passed yet. Shrugging and walking over to the shotgun ¨C he picked up the weapon and inspected it. Seeing that it had no bullets left in it, he walked back over and searched the dying man ¨C finding only two cartridges.


    ¡°Good enough.¡± Riven stated tly, then he stood up ¨C gave his enemy a final swift kick to the face that sent his neck over at an odd angle with another crunch, and the many still.


    Ath frowned his way. ¡°Hey! That was my kill.¡±


    ¡°Sorry not sorry.¡±


    From the holes in the door, within the dark interior, he saw the man and woman who¡¯d warned him watching with wide eyes. The man inside had been shot in the leg when they¡¯d tried to make a break for it out the back door and was being bandaged by the woman on the kitchen floor, and both of them wore expressions of mixed hope and horror.


    ¡°Eyo!¡± Riven stated, smiling widely at the husband and wife with a thumbs up while Ath did her best to give them an innocent look despite the spleen in her hand. ¡°Just wait one moment and we¡¯ll get to talking!¡±


    Shouting from the front echoed out and the pounding on the front door stopped, with the sounds of footsteps quicklying around the side where the entrance to the backyard was.


    Riven quietly held up a finger, pocketing the shotgun shells and kicking the gun to the side as he turned to face the three men that¡¯de around the side of the boarded-up house. They were all in a line as they ran, giving Riven reason to grin before scowling when a ray of sunlight dashed across his vision when his hood had been drawn back a little too far. Regardless, it didn¡¯t stop him from beginning to summon the magic as he prepared a bloodnce in front of his outstretched fingers.


    Wisps of crimson began radiating off of his skin, rippling down his forearm and into his hand as a thin, shimmering, blood-red spike a few feet across with sharp,cerating edges materialized at his unspokenmand. This time instead of the usual form of magic, he began to concentrate on making it more solid - forming a more permanent projectile instead of one that fizzled out after impact. He¡¯d been thinking about practicing something like this and although it probably wouldn¡¯t have much effect on the oue - he thought he¡¯d give it a try for the sake of science.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Mohawk, Cronie 1, and Cronie 2 all came to a sudden halt when they saw the disy of power ¨C confusion evident as they stumbled into one another, when the spear of bloodunched forward into the first of them.


    Thence ripped through Mohawk¡¯s chest with ease, shredding his left lung and heart as the magic embedded itself into Cronie 2¡¯s right shoulder. Mohawk gasped in shock, dropping the machete he carried to the grass and fell to his knees while Cronie 2 shrieked and howled to stumble back.


    Riven curiously cocked his head to the side as he realized his attempt at keeping thence in a more permanent state had worked - as it didn''t disappear, but remained lodged in the 2nd man like a gpole.


    ¡°WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?¡± Cronie 2 roared, trying to rip the blood magic out of his shoulder before it vaporized right before his eyes when Riven snapped his fingers ¨C leaving a seeping, bloody wound and exposing torn deltoid muscle. ¡°WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?¡±


    Cronie 1 was stunned, his eyes having grown wide at the sudden and unexpected death of his boss and the injury of hisrade. He scrambled for the machete, catching sight of shotgun-guy who was bloodied, missing a spleen and dead with his neck at an odd angle behind Riven.


    Cursing and adjusting his gold chain, Cronie 1 screamed and rushed Riven to sh at him, only to have his eyes widen further in surprise as Riven easily avoided the predicted attack with a blurring sidestep ¨C letting the machete slide through thin air while Riven rammed upwards into the extended arm of the attacking man underneath the shoulder joint.


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    Shadow magic erupted from the ck, gnarled staff and rippedpletely through the shoulder joint. With Riven¡¯s enhanced speed and strength, the arm waspletely severed with a single blow ¨C but the shocked cronie only had time to stumble forward before the staff whipped back around and mmed into the base of the man¡¯s skull.


    Riven didn¡¯t bother watching as Cronie 1¡¯s brains sttered across the dirt, and like a sack of potatoes his body lifelessly hit the ground. Instead he kept eye contact with Cronie 2, who was staring open-mouthed and clutching at his wounded shoulder in utter disbelief. That disbelief turned into horror as Riven gave his best impression of an evilugh, extended his fangs, and pointed the staff Cronie 2¡¯s way.


    ¡°Come here, child, I¡¯ve brought cookies!¡±


    It was a little ridiculous, Riven knew it, but he didn¡¯t care. He was having fun, and as Cronie 2 let out a horror-filled scream and turned to run ¨C Ath dropped from the rooftop above in a dive attack that skewered the man in six different ces. Pinning him to the ground with her arachnoid legs, her hands and ded tongue when into a flurry of motion as she tore his body into literal shreds that went flying like someone would see if you sent a log through a woodchipper.


    ¡°KINKY!¡± Ath eximed with an excited shuddering, beginning to let out a giddyugh of pure amusement.


    Seeing the body parts drenching his minion though, Riven had to take a step back and re-evaluate whether or not she would be able to get all that gunk off even with an hour-long bath.


    He checked the dead men, not finding anything of value before proceeding over to the shotgun and picking it up. Casually loading the gun with the two remaining shells, he hupped and nodded in appreciation at his new loot.


    <strong>[Shotgun]</strong>


    <strong>[Shotgun Shell]</strong>


    He sighed, again acknowledging that the identification information was still not nearly as good as it¡¯d been back in the tutorial. He¡¯d really have to find what the system had been referring to as an ¡°Identifier¡±, because being able topare items, enemies and ingredients for his totem crafting would be essential for the future.


    Regardless he assumed the gun had stats just like his staff did. He¡¯d never thought of guns as having stats before, but now that everything else had stats in terms of items and weapons¡­ he could safely say it should be the same way. What DID surprise him was the abrupt sound of a strong heartbeat directly behind him that was inching closer¡­ He whirled, and when he did finally see it¡­ he froze.


    There, not even five feet from him, was some kind of enormous cat creature. It was definitely not a native to Earth, had six wed feet, and looked like a cross between a leopard and a tiger but had four fuzzy ears ¨C the back set of ears being twice the length as the front set. ck spots intermingled with stripes along its otherwise yellow coat, and when it realized it¡¯d been spotted ¨C it lunged his way.


    <strong>[Juvenile Wrath Cat]</strong>


    Mana coursed through his veins and red sparks lit up across his skin amidst Blessing of the Crow. ck lightning exploded out of his staff a millisecondter, taking the cat head-on mid-air that had a recoil effect which sent Riven mming back into the side of the house. It also knocked Ath head over heels, sending her cartwheeling down the alley with a shriek. Meanwhile the cat had gotten the worst of it though, and its body erupted into smoldering pieces like fireworks of fleshy bits amidst a torrent of destruction out behind the path the cat had taken. The fence behind it exploded and the ground underneath erupted to send dirt and debris skywards in a thirty-meter arc of destion, and Riven¡¯s staff hummed in pleasure as he coughed and picked himself up off the ground to shake himself off.


    <strong>[You havended a critical hit. Max Damage x3.]</strong>


    To any onlookers, it had appeared that he¡¯d moved so fast that his body had defied time itself¡­ and to Riven¡­ Well, he was just happy to be alive.


    Cursing jovially and getting up to evaluate the remains of the dead cat, he cackled gleefully at the dead monster and pushed himself up from the ground. ¡°You thought you had me, didn¡¯t you ¨C ya little bastard!¡±


    Riven spit on the cat¡¯s corpse, picked up a coin purse that¡¯d dropped out of thin air as a reward from the system, chuckled some more, hoisted the shotgun and its remaining single shot onto his shoulder. His chest heaved with the thrill and excitement of the brief but stimting fight, and he regained his normal respiratory rate secondster. ¡°Phew! That was a close one.¡±

 Chapter 69

    Chapter 69


    <strong>Chapter 69</strong>


    ¡°THAT¡¯S WHATSUP RIVEN!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am the kinkiest.¡± He referred to her earlierment, nced over his shoulder and winked at Ath who was licking off her toned extremities with her elongated, ck, ribbon-like tongue - and he gave her a genuine smile. ¡°Thanks foring. Having you around has been a lot of fun.¡±


    Ath paused mid-licking and her red eyes focused on him for a moment before she blinked and turned around in embarrassment with her hands covering her face. ¡°Oh stop it! You¡¯re making me blush!¡±


    Riven snorted in amusement and rolled his eyes. Turning heel and walking over to the back door, he nudged it open with his boot. After the locks and reinforcements had been blown off in the initial shots that shotgun guy had fired, the wooden door easily swung open at the small disy of applied force.


    The door creaked and came to a halt, and he stepped inside to close the door behind him ¨C shutting out the light as well and bringing the house into a darker version of itself.


    Given that Riven could now see in the dark, that waspletely fine and even slightly morefortable than being out in the sunlight.


    A teapot was set along a stove to his right with a kitchen counter full of used, unwashed tes next to it. A turned over table, some wooden chairs and a hockey stick were also present before the kitchen led out into the front room.


    Coming into the carpeted front room with a television and some book shelves, Riven had the choice of going down a hall to the right, out the front door which had been barricaded with a couch and boxes, aundry room just beyond that with its washer and dryer, and then a stairway leading up.Riven didn¡¯t need to ask which direction the people had gone given the trail of blood leading up the stairs, and he could hear their frantic heartbeats directly above him on the second level when he concentrated hard enough. Wondering why he could pick up heartbeats with his sense of hearing, yet couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying in hushed tones, he shrugged and began stomping up the stairs to make his approach apparent.


    ¡°Coming up! I killed the guys chasing-¡±


    His voice cut off as he turned the corner and met a metal baseball bat square in the forehead.


    ¡°OW!¡± He nearly stumbled back and tripped down the stairs, but managed to catch himself on the railing with a scowl. Rubbing his bruised forehead, he scowled back up the stairs where a woman and man both shrieked to run back down the hall out of sight.


    But he could still hear their voices as they frantically scrambled into a room and mmed a door behind them.


    ¡°You goddamned idiot! That was the wrong guy! He just saved us and you could have fucking killed him!¡± the man¡¯s voice said with a growl and a huff, saying some other words after that Riven couldn¡¯t make out. ¡°Now he¡¯s DEFINITELY going to kill us!¡±


    The woman¡¯s frantically sobbing voice came next. ¡°I got scared! I wasn¡¯t sure if it was the vers!¡±


    ¡°You knew god-damned well it was him when he yelled up the stairs! And what about that scary woman he had with him!?¡±


    ¡°It could have been anyone saying that! And what about the things he did out there? You saw how he moved! And that thing he summoned into the air and killed those men with, and the fangs!? He¡¯s one of them!¡±


    ¡°One of who?¡±


    ¡°The monsters that keep appearing! Look at the woman he was with! He came to kill us too! That¡¯s why I swung ok!? I thought I¡¯d get him good!¡±


    ¡°Linda for the love of god¡­ You¡¯re such a damnable surly wench! Get it through your thick skull that you don¡¯t need to WHACK everybody that we see!¡±


    Surly wench? He actually really liked that insult and jotted it down in his memory. He needed to use that one himself sometime. Riven blinked and began to make his way up the stairs again with Ath still eating outside. Muttering to himself about how if that¡¯d been any normal man he¡¯d likely have died, he stepped onto the open hallway that was cluttered with various children¡¯s toys and a couch half-way dragged out of a room on his right. Meanwhile, the closed door leading to a room at the far end of the hall on the left was where the man and woman continued to argue.


    They were alsopletely engrossed in their arguing to the point that they didn¡¯t even hear his footstepsing up to the door.


    Flinging the door open and easily throwing the man and woman behind it to the ground, Riven stepped inside toy eyes on the dynamic duo of husband and wife. The brte, slightly balding man was bracing his left side with a crutch after having been shot in the leg, a white, bloodstained bandage around the leg as he pushed himself up with a pained groan. He turned around, mbering to his feet again, limped over to his wife with a fearful nce Riven¡¯s way and nearly stumbled when he saw Riven staring him down with red glowing eyes.


    The man looked to be about 40 years old. He was skinny, wore a gray checkered shirt and jeans that had holes in it after the shotgun had grazed him.


    The woman with him looked to be about the same age, with longer brown hair in a ponytail and being mildly overweight. She hid fearfully behind her crippled husband with wide teary eyes, carried a metal bat and wore a dark blue shirt depicting a guitar that was stained with blood along her hip where a cut had been bandaged up with gauze. The wound must have been shallow though, because she paid it no mind and didn¡¯t limp like her husband did.


    ¡°Jerald!¡± the scared woman scolded her husband when he nearly fell before settling her gaze on Riven. She frowned and opened her mouth to speak, but closed it immediately after with a shameful and avoiding nce to the floor.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t realize you would attack me for trying to help.¡± Riven stated tly, anger ring to life again as he saw them. ¡°Maybe I should have just let them do their thing.¡±


    The husband, who¡¯s name was apparently Jerald, tried to hold back a shaky frown and failed as he remembered what they¡¯d just gone through. However his emotions were only partially directed at Riven, and he limped over to sit on a desk with a groan ¨C suspending his injured leg. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what happened. My wife, Linda, was out of her goddamn mind when she swung at you.¡±


    The man¡¯s voice shook. His wife followed him over to hide behind him at the desk, and both of their heart rates were beating frantically.


    Riven raised an eyebrow and folded his arms in the doorway, watching Linda put a hand on Jerald¡¯s thigh. ¡°Oh?¡±


    The husband and wife exchanged looks, but neither of them caught Ath¡¯s lithe, ck body silently leaning against the windowsill outside with a shit-eating grin as she snickered silently at Riven¡¯s bruised forehead. She was holding herself along the side of the house with all six of her arachnoid limbs, and she was utterly silent.


    Riven just looked back at his demon, unamused, as she made silly faces at him while sticking out her tongue and pulling her eyelids up or puffing out her cheeks and wiggling her ears with her fingers.


    They had no idea she¡¯d been there the whole time. Ath really was one sneaky bitch, and she apparently thought this entire situation was hrious.


    ¡°Well¡­ We¡¯re sorry¡­¡± The man trailed off uncertainly, turning back to Riven a moment after ring his wife down. ¡°Now that she attacked you, I just wanted to let you know that we really meant you no harm. There are no hard feelings, right?¡±


    ¡°That hit would have killed a normal person.¡± Riven stated sourly, turning his attention away from Ath and back to the couple. ¡°Probably, anyways.¡±


    ¡°Normal person?¡± repeated Jerald as Linda started to tug at his arm.


    ¡°See!¡± Linda stated, quickly bing frantic as she jammed a finger repeatedly in Riven¡¯s direction. ¡°He¡¯s not normal! Not human! He has RED EYES Jerald! Humans can¡¯t do the things he did out there! Even LOOKING at him gives me the creeps! You feel it too Jerald, don¡¯t you!? He gives off terrible, scary vibes! You should just kill him now so he doesn¡¯t hurt us!¡±


    Kill him now?


    Was she daft? Riven nced down to Jerald¡¯s bloody leg, the stered image of fear of Riven and rage directed towards his wife frozen there after her words hade out without thought. The husband paled and slowly turned to the ranting woman, then aggressively pushed a quivering finger up to her lips to shut her up.


    Ugh. Was this the negative charisma at work again? He¡¯d literally saved their lives, and this woman was literally telling her husband to kill Riven just because he was ¡®different¡¯? Or was she truly just that stupid? Perhaps it was abination of both.


    Riven gave her a t look, then turned the t look on Jerald. ¡°And what if you¡¯re right, Linda? What exactly is it that either of you are going to do? Even if I¡¯m not normal, I saved your life. Didn¡¯t I? Do you really think your husband can take me in the state he¡¯s in?¡±


    Linda hadn¡¯t been expecting the near admission of guilt after she¡¯d used him of not being a ¡®normal¡¯ person. Her face puckered as she pointed a quivering finger in his direction when the words finally hit home, and her expression turned upside down. ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    She lowered her finger, nodding to herself as if a lightbulb had gone off in that small brain of hers. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. You did save our lives. Apologize to him Jerald, what WERE you thinking!?¡±


    She smacked her semi-crippled husband across the forehead with the back of her hand and he recoiled, almost causing him to fall off the desk. ¡°Idiot!¡±


    ¡°IDIOT!? I¡¯m not the one who hit him with a BAT!¡±


    ¡°Keep talkin to me that way and you won¡¯t be gettin sex for a week!¡±


    ¡°Are you SERIOUS, WOMAN!?¡±


    Riven¡¯s t look turned to one of confused amusement, and then one of sheer disbelief as he realized that they weren¡¯t joking ¨C rather they were actually stupid. Truly, truly stupid. The further and further down this rabbit hole they went, the more inbred they seemed, and he was seriously questioning just who he¡¯d saved when they finally came to a stalemate in the conversation about ten minutester.


    He¡¯d only lost a couple brain cells. He¡¯d be ok, but in the background Ath was clutching her stomach and reeling with silentughter.


    Sighing anding around the back of the chair, Linda humphed and stepped forward with a sheepish bow. ¡°Sorry bout that. My husbands a true moron at times, he had me convinced I had to smack ya, so I did.¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t really believe that for even a half-second, but was just happy he didn¡¯t have to kill them. Even though they were idiots, they seemed like nice enough people. Well, at least her husband did.


    He closed his eyes, leaned against the wall, and shook his head. ¡°So¡­ how¡¯d you two get caught up with those thugs?¡±


    ¡°vers, ya mean?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Yeah. Let¡¯s start there. Why are there vers here and who are they selling ves to, exactly?¡±


    The woman frowned and rubbed her chin thoughtfully, getting a better look at Riven in the dim light of their home. ¡°You really aint from here are ya? Haven¡¯t you seen what happened with our town?¡±


    Riven shook his head. ¡°Obviously not.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll answer your question if you answer mine first.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Go ahead then.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d you move like that? And what was that red spear thing you created in the air to shoot at those men? And the lightning? WHY does your staff asionally ripple with ck mist!?¡±


    Riven looked down to his hand, then briefly summoned a bloodnce through his arm and then up into the air to hover over the top of his palm like a sanguine de. ¡°It¡¯s magic. I also¡­ changed, since the integration. I am from Earth like you two, but I¡¯ve gained a bunch of stats that make me move faster. The ck lightning was from my staff, which is actually semi-sentient if I understand things right.¡±


    Jerald exchanged a look with his wife and snorted. ¡°Told you. That administrator guy was the real deal, we didn¡¯t hallucinate him.¡±


    ¡°That batch of weed brownies wasced with some sorta crack or shrooms!¡± Linda stated sourly, folding her arms in defiance of the husband. ¡°Of course I¡¯d have thought it was a hallucination! We had no reason not to!¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t had no weed brownies for at least a good week, you dumb wench!¡± Jerald growled while poking Linda with the butt of his crutch. ¡°You have to think!!! THINK woman, THINK!!!¡±


    Oh boy. Speaking of thinking, Riven really was beginning to think twice about these two. But he needed information, and because they were the first people he hadn¡¯t had to kill that could speak to him clearly and knew the situation from Earth - he might as well try even despite their stupidity. Clearing his throat and inwardly sighing, he got their attention before they went off on another rant. ¡°Alright so let¡¯s just cut to the chase. I¡¯ll give you a brief overview of myself and my story, and you can do the same for you to cover the basics that you¡¯d think I¡¯d want to know about this city. Alright?¡±


    Both husband and wife nodded in agreement after glowering at one another.


    ¡°Good.¡± Riven said, wiping a hand through his chestnut-colored hair. ¡°Alright¡­ So it¡¯s a long story. The short version is as follows: after the apocalypse I was transferred to a trial to acquire a demonicpanion, and then I was ced in a dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Demons and a dungeon?¡± Jerald asked, interrupting only for Linda to shush him.


    Riven nodded, modifying his story of what''d happened slightly to reduce the amount of questions he¡¯d get. ¡°A dungeon that spawned monsters and things that tried to kill us. No interrupting please. Anyways, we survived there for a couple weeks and I drank some tainted blood in order to survive because there wasn¡¯t much food and it also had healing properties¡­ter on, I became a vampire.¡±

 Chapter 70

    Chapter 70


    <strong>Chapter 70</strong>


    Riven took his runic mask off, pointed to a widening smile and extended his fangs for the two to see. The duo gasped in shock, before he retracted both fangs with a shrug. ¡°I became stronger, fought against a dungeon miniboss and won a good amount of Elysium Coins. The dungeon was a sentient being and offered me a deal to get the coins back, I ended up teleporting out of the dungeon and ended up on the mountains to the west. Fought some goblins, saw some elves, and now I¡¯m here. End of story.¡±


    ¡°Elves are real? I don¡¯t buy it.¡± Jerald said stubbornly.


    Linda, however, was overly eager to believe. She smacked her husband across the back of his head and scowled. ¡°We¡¯ve already been seein monsters and the god damn world ended! The roads outside the town disappeared and the entire god damned area was transported somewhere else! We¡¯ve seen him use MAGIC Jerald! He even showed us his FANGS! Why aren¡¯t we gona believe him you fuck¡¯n idiot!¡±


    She shook her head with an exasperated sigh and rubbed her temple. ¡°All we know is the world ended and now everyone¡¯s gone mad. The city has devolved into chaos, people looting and stealing and killing one another. When the apocalypse started it was bad, yeah, but since the administrator came down back just a few weeks ago when the world changed¡­ we ended up here-¡°


    Riven held up a hand. ¡°Wait¡­ you said you just got here a few days ago?¡±


    That¡¯s when he¡¯d left the dungeon. He¡¯d expected them to be here longer.


    Linda nodded adamantly. ¡°Yes. The apocalypse started a week ago, and the transition to this new world that the administrator person calls ¡®Panu¡¯ happened two days ago.¡±


    Riven¡¯s frown grew. That didn¡¯t seem right¡­ To him, the apocalypse had started well over a month ago. However he¡¯d also gotten here just two days past where he¡¯d ended up at the gas station with his minions¡­ had time run differently in Negrada than it did here?¡°Are you absolutely sure that the apocalypse started a few weeks ago? How many weeks?¡±


    Again she nodded, and Jerald confirmed this with a nod of his own.


    ¡°Maybe 3 weeks?¡±


    ¡°And did you ever go to a tutorial of your own?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is. A tutorial for what?¡±


    Riven scratched his head and frowned in the dim light of the room. Huh. Well this was something he¡¯d have to think about, but not now. Another time maybe. ¡°Alrighty then. You still haven¡¯t answered my question though. How¡¯d you get mixed up with vers?¡±


    Jerald grimaced, looking out the near window through a crack in the boards they¡¯d nailed across the opening. He stayed that way for some time, examining the house¡¯s surroundings. ¡°The city¡¯s gangs and thugs were the first to start leveling. People are growing stronger by killing things. That includes other people, not just the monsters that¡¯ve been appearing, and criminals took advantage of that.¡±


    The man shook his head sadly while immersed in recent memories. ¡°Some people were given quests, others were given abilities somehow, a lot like you. Ammo started running low, as did the food, and all within a week. There aren¡¯t enough supplies in the city to go around anymore. I¡¯m surprised at how fast it happened¡­ but anyhow, the worst of it happened after the electricity stopped working. Even though the power nts were up, none of the lights woulde on. I know because I used to work at the nt and the equipment is still in top shape ¨C but nothines out of it.¡±


    ¡°Even the batteries in our shlights and cars all died and all at once¡­¡± Linda chimed in with a sad frown. ¡°Anyways, we were at the hospital when it all happened. Our little girl has leukemia. This was her room before she started living in the children¡¯s quarters over at Mercy West.¡±


    ¡°Mercy West being the hospital you were talking about?¡±


    Linda nodded, her lips beginning to quiver. ¡°Yes¡­ They were doing a good job taking care of her. Sara is our daughter¡¯s name, she¡¯s only 9 years old now. Anyhow, she¡¯s still alive and the hospital was running out of supplies. They didn¡¯t have enough of the medication she needed to continue treating her after it ran out yesterday, and we had some here¡­ so we came looking for it even though we knew leaving the hospital was dangerous. Her life is worth more than ours, so we took a chance¡­ and ended up here with you. As for the vers ¨C we heard about them before heading out, but then we saw them taking people a few streets over: tying them up and dragging them away to sell to other bigger groups. They¡¯ve been killing and eating people like cannibals because food is so low, or they use the ves for their liking. That¡¯s what the word is anyways. Hospital security warned us not to go¡­ but that wasn¡¯t an option.¡±


    Linda pulled tworge bottles of pills out of her left-back pocket, rattling them for Riven to see. ¡°We need to get back to the hospital so our little girl can continue living. The doctors there are taking care of her¡­ but¡­ we can¡¯t stay here.¡±


    Jerald and Linda stared at Riven hopefully, asking an unspoken question as it hung suspended in the stale air of their house.


    <strong>[You have been offered a new quest: Admirable Escort. Escorting Jerald and Linda back to the Mercy West Hospital will result in a sess for this quest. Completing this quest will result in an undisclosed system prize. If either Jerald or Linda die, this quest results in failure.]</strong>


    Riven blinked once, then twice. Quickly walking to the window and peering through the window where Ath was curiously looking at him with folded arms and legs crossed while her arachnoid appendages held her off the side wall. The sun had certainly crossed the sky in the hours he¡¯d been knocked out, but it was still definitely daytime. ¡°How far is the hospital?¡±


    ¡°Just three miles¡­ Not far.¡± Linda said hopefully, pocketing the medication and sping her hands in front of her.


    ¡°And it isn¡¯t just a kid¡¯s hospital, is it?¡± Riven pressed curiously with a n formting in his mind.


    Linda shook her head with a confused frown, brushing her brown hair off to one side and setting her weight on one hip. ¡°There are pediatricians there, but most of the doctors there don¡¯t specialize in kids¡­ Why?¡±


    Riven let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Because I have some people who need help, and a hospital is a perfect ce to get it for them.¡±


    ***


    By the time they¡¯d reached their destination, it was dark. Moonlight thankfully graced their passage with stars to aid it, and Riven had never known the cosmos could look so beautiful until now. Previous to this, city light pollution had made this kind of scenery an impossibility. But here¡­ he had a real appreciation for what was out there in the universe.


    The hospital was rtively smallpared to most he¡¯d seen before. It was a rectangr three-story building made of gray brick and he¡¯d been told it included a fourth level, being the basement underground. It was amunity hospital on the northwestern edge of the city, surprisingly close to where Riven had first entered along the main road, and was surrounded by a circr hedge of tall bushes on the outer edge of a parking lot. Lanterns had been lit at the entrance and within the building to give it a more illuminated appearance, with families in tents camped out along the parking lot between cars.


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    There was absolutely no sign of any electricity here or anywhere else under the night sky, with the only other lights he saw being fires burning away various buildings in the interior of the post-apocalyptic settlement.


    Riven had insisted on going to get Azmoth and the others first before hitting the city, and introductions had been made before they helped carry the still unconscious elf women back towards Brightsburg. Both elves had faltered in and out of consciousness regrly ording to Azmoth, with one of them being able to make out the word ¡®Poison¡¯ before sinking into another feverish bout of unconsciousness. It didn¡¯t take long for Riven to realize that their wounds, wherever a goblin¡¯s teeth had sunk in, were now sprouting veins of ck and green.


    He''de back not a moment too soon. They were dying, and needed help fast.


    The hospital¡¯s outer-edge location along the city in turn was likely a contributing factor to theck of harassment on the return trip, as they avoiding going into the deeper recess of the inner city where most of the fighting between gangs over resources was concentrated and skirted along the edge of Brightsburg until they saw the entrance with a sign saying ¡®Mercy West Hospital¡¯ in big blue letters. Underneath the overhead sign and between the tall bushes encircling the hospital¡¯s parking lot were a pair of armed guards holding pistols that shouted out to them from behind a makeshift barricade of overturned metal tables ¨Cmanding Riven¡¯s group to stop before getting any closer.


    It was here that Riven¡¯s group made their case.


    ¡°It¡¯s me! Linda ¨C and my daft husband Jerald!¡± Linda called out from down the road as she pulled out her medicine bottles and rattled them at the two uniformed security officers. ¡°We¡¯re here with the medicine for my daughter Sara!¡±


    The two guards quickly recognized the woman as she approached alone in the dim light of the litnterns, but they were still on edge. The older one, a man with a short speckled beard, motioned for her toe forward. ¡°I see you Linda, but who are those others with you? I won¡¯t be letting them in if they don¡¯t give up that shotgun, even if they got injured people with em. We can¡¯t be having vigntes running around the hospital causing trouble, and our security need all the weapons and ammo we can get.¡±


    One of the other uniformed security guys nudged the first, nodding to Ath and Riven. ¡°Man I don¡¯t think those are humans¡­ They both have red eyes, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen a girl with that kind of skin color before.¡±


    ¡°They give me bad vibes. Especially the hooded guy, just looking at him makes my hair stand on end.¡± Another of them chimed in while warily palming the pistol at his side.


    The first officer and the one in charge gave them both a stern re. He turned around, putting his back to Riven¡¯s party and shook his head. ¡°Of course they¡¯re not human. But honestly? We¡¯ve seen a lot of ¡®not human¡¯ ever since the fucking world ended so as long as they don¡¯t cause problems and hand over that shotgun - which we sorely need - they¡¯re going to be let in. What are just two of them going to do anyways, eh? It¡¯s obvious those two girls they¡¯re carrying need help, and regardless of how that hooded man gives me the heebee jeebees I won¡¯t be pushing them out just because of a bad gut feeling. Got it?¡±


    Linda and Gerald shared a nce and both turned in unison to Riven, who was holding the shotgun he¡¯d acquired over one shoulder and holding a scantily d elf over the other. Meanwhile his ck staff was strapped to his back.


    The young vampire frowned, realizing he should have probably kept the gun underneath his cloak to look like less of a threat, but also knew that he didn¡¯t necessarily need the gun either. It¡¯d be nice to have, but it wasn¡¯t necessary.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather keep it!¡± Riven shouted back over the stretch of distance. ¡°Given the state of things, can you me me?!¡±


    The older guard adamantly turned around and shook his head at a distance as more security personal began to walk their way. ¡°No. If you want in, give us the gun and ammo. We¡¯ll put in a good word with the docs so you can get your friends healed if you do, that¡¯s the trade. A win-win for us all, and we promise we won¡¯t be using that gun of yours on you if you choose to give it up. We have enough fuckers runnin around these parts already to worry about some pale pretty boy.¡±


    ¡°Pretty boy!?¡± Riven was about to retort when he caught Ath chuckling. From within theher realms and through their conneciton - Riven could feel Azmothughing as well. He hadn¡¯t summoned the enormous demon because of the reactions he¡¯d doubtless get with him, and even Ath was pushing it. ¡°Shut the hell up, the both of you.¡±


    ¡°That goes for you too, nakeddy!¡± The other guard called out as he pointed at Ath. ¡°What¡¯s your story? Walkin around like that without any clothes! There¡¯s no way you¡¯re human! Linda, Jerald, can this one be trusted!?¡±


    Jerald attempted to hold up both his hands as Ath took in a deep, exaggerated gasp of offense. However his leg was still badly hurt after the vers had attacked earlier that day and he nearly fell over, but caught himself on his wife instead. ¡°Ugh. Yes, they¡¯re trustworthy. Come on, she¡¯s basically the same as us! Just cuz she has additional legsing out of her back don¡¯t mean nothin!¡±


    ¡°Additional legs?¡± The guards all frowned at that, not seeing any spider legs on disy because they¡¯d been withdrawn into Ath¡¯s back to make her more like ¡®normal people¡¯. They all exchanged nces with one another, and eventually the older guard and lead man of the troop shrugged. ¡°Jerald¡¯s been doing drugs again¡­ But it can¡¯t be too dangerous, she doesn¡¯t have any weapons. And it wouldn¡¯t be the weirdest thing we¡¯ve seen over these past couple weeks. Just hand over the shotgun and you can all enter. Come on man, make this easy on me.¡±


    Starlight twinkled overhead in a cosmos-filled sky, and in the distance an explosion across the city echoed out as a crash while a distant down-town condo erupted with fire. It was enough to draw all of their attention for a minute, but only a minute due to how far away it was. No doubt there were two other groups fighting it out over god knows what over there.


    Riven pooched his lips, ced his mask back on and let out a grunt in response. Then he grudgingly held up the weapon. To say Ath wasn¡¯t dangerous only meant that these people either didn¡¯t know how to identify or were getting even less information when they tried to identify her than he¡¯d been getting recently. Jerald and Linda hadn¡¯t had tutorials either, so it was safe to say they really didn¡¯t know how to use the identify feature. Yet people like Hakim and Riven had them? Either way he wouldn¡¯tin.


    A minuteter Linda had been sent over with the shotgun, informing the two security guards about how there¡¯d only been two shells left. Despite this, the guards were happy with the exchange and informed her that they had more ammo for it back in their cars. They did however give Riven curious or even outright hostile stares as he walked by, and they eagerly gawked at Ath¡¯s lithe figure. The pointed ears of the two elves gave them pausest, and one of them actually held up a hand to stop them from continuing further when he saw it.


    ¡°Are those elves? Like the people from fantasy books with pointy ears?¡± A younger, uniformed, clean shaven man with bright blue eyes and a muscr frame asked. He cocked his head to the side while walking out of a small crowd of tents and refugees on a nearby patch of grass between parking lots and scratched his head curiously while examining the unconscious silver-haired woman that Riven had slung over his shoulder. Then he turned to the blonde girl that was being carried by Ath.


    Riven nodded, relieved he could speak so openly without a hood covering his face after the sun had set. ¡°I believe so, yes.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I¡¯d heard there were sightings, guess it¡¯s true. Well have Jerald and Linda lead you to Dr. Brass. He¡¯s the head of medicine at our humble little hospital. We¡¯re not a big trauma center but he¡¯ll be able to set you up with one of the two orthopedic surgeons we have on staff, and should be able to get them some proper bandaging and antibiotics. Should be on the first floor, left wing. By the way, cool mask. Goes with the creepy vibe you give off.¡±


    Riven awkwardly smiled underneath that same mask this man was talking about, not sure what to make of that statement, and gave him a nod of appreciation. But that smile turned into a grimace when he caught sight of Senna¡¯s leg wounds. The bandaging he¡¯d used earlier to wrap the silver-haired woman had fallen off after collecting green and ck drainage. The elf girl was breathing heavily now, and the lines of poison streaking up her leg had made it all the way to her knee. ¡°I¡¯ll go get him now.¡±


    Then he heard a jingling of coins as a sack was added to the backpack he wore.


    <strong>[You havepleted the quest: Admirable Escort. Escorting Jerald and Linda back to the Mercy West Hospital has resulted in sess, and you have acquired 60 Elysium coins]</strong>


    Not an amazing reward considering he still hadn¡¯t found an altar to utilize the coins he possessed, but he¡¯d take it withoutint for now.


    The hospital had be somewhat of a refugee camp. There were definitely people out in the parking lot or along the grass surrounding it on the inner sides of the tall hedge bushes, numbering at a couple dozen with sleeping bags and camping equipment, but the inside was even more packed. They slept on the floors, chairs, couches, and were cramped beyond belief as the security forces ¨C which numbered only at ten ording to Linda ¨C tried to maintain order. Small rations from what the hospital had left were being passed out, such as saltine crackers and orange juice, but Riven absolutely knew that the food would run out soon with this many people here.


    Nurses in green and blue scrubs were alsoing in and out of rooms, using any space they had left open for the injured and sick. They were exhausted, outnumbered, and almost in a frenzied state as they barked orders at one another. One room had a couple doing chestpressions and running I.V.¡¯s, another had a man screaming and being held down as a doctor used a medical instrument to pull out a bullet from a man¡¯s arm without any anesthesia, and yet another had an old woman who¡¯d been stabbed and stitched up ¨C left to recover with her family.

 Chapter 71: (poll)

    Chapter 71: (poll)


    <strong>Chapter 71</strong>


    The scene was chaotic, and it looked like it would be a mad scramble without any order at all at any waking moment. The only things really holding people together was the asional armed guard patrolling the halls and the hope that the medical staff was giving people as they treated hurt or sick loved ones.


    ¡°This is absolutely crazy¡­¡± Riven mumbled, taking the brunt of the elf¡¯s weight on one leg when he pivoted around a kid who ran past.


    Jerald motioned them to follow him further through the hospital hallway, limping heavily to relieve pressure on his wounded side and using the crutch as support. ¡°Come on, Dr. Brass is a good man and he¡¯ll see you as long as he isn¡¯t busy.¡±


    Normally in a hospital setting Jerald¡¯s bloodied leg and Linda¡¯s cut would draw immediate attention. As would the two injured elves that Riven and Ath were carrying in. But here, in this madhouse, it was just a free for all. It also probably didn¡¯t help that the medical staff kept a wary distance from Riven and Ath, as if they could smell danger on their very being.


    They went down a less-crowded hall to the left and then took another turn around a corner. Wood paneling along the walls with pictures of the hospital¡¯s founders decorated the interior, and the lights that¡¯d once illuminated the hospital had all been reced withmps.


    ¡°How manymps do they have?¡± Riven asked curiously, a little impressed with just how many were present.


    Lindaughed, lightly clutching her injured side. ¡°This hospital was really, really old, and they kept a lot of supplies from the colonial days in the basement believe it or not.¡±


    Riven couldn¡¯t help but think about how ridiculous that sounded, but it¡¯d certainlye in handy. ¡°Wow.¡±The couple led them to a ss door where two old men with gray hair and wearing white coats were talking inside at a desk. They both looked tired, haggard, and were pouring each other cups of whisky while speaking in low, hushed tones.


    Linda knocked on the door, and the man with sses facing them from behind the desk motioned for them toe in. The door swung open, and the other old man ¨C who was beginning to bald in the back, gave her a smile of recognition. ¡°Oh Linda! Good to see you! Did you get the medication for Sara?¡±


    Linda smiled widely and pulled out the two bottles of pills. ¡°Dr. Telsky, I did! Hello to you too, Dr. Brass!¡±


    The man with sses chuckled, downed his mug of alcohol with one go, and slowly exhaled. ¡°I¡¯m d you found it. You should start your daughter back on her regr regimen immediately, her leukemia treatment was almost done but she¡¯s still immunpromised. Go ahead and see her upstairs, give her the starting dose tonight. Two pills. And¡­ you both look terrible. Jerald, were you shot?¡±


    Dr. Brass, the one with sses, got up from his desk and came around to look at the leg wound ¨C but startled himself half to death when he saw the state of the two elves slung over shoulders in the hallway. Completely forgetting about Jerald and eyes going wide at the state of the bite wounds and obvious infection rapidly spreading, his jaw dropped. ¡°By sweet baby Jesus, these poor girls¡­ what the hell happened to them!?¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem to notice or care about their ears at all, nor did he mention the state of the less-than-human features Ath and Riven had, and quickly gestured for them to follow him. ¡°Come with me. Are you two able to carry them down a flight of stairs? We only have room left in the basement now.¡±


    Riven and Ath both confirmed that they could, waving goodbye to Jerald and Linda as they continued to talk with the other doctor before following him to wherever their daughter was located.


    ¡°By god I did not sign up for this kind of shit¡­ the world¡¯s gone mad.¡± Dr. Brass muttered, shaking his head as they passed by the crowds and through another hallway towards a stairwell behind a door. Opening the door and ushering them down ¨C Dr. Brass closed it behind. ¡°It¡¯s just down one level and to the left. There¡¯ll be a sign that says ¡®operating room waiting area,¡¯ we¡¯re going past that and into operating room 5. Watch your step! It¡¯s dark in here.¡±


    The light of the candle-litnterns didn¡¯t prate the stairway almost at all. Dr. Brass had to use the handles along the side of the stairs to make sure they didn''t fall, but Riven and Ath navigated them in the front without any issues.


    Coming to a door and pushing it open with his free hand, Riven found himself in the waiting area. It had only a couple people lounging in chairs, some of them asleep and others whispering to one another in the dim candle light. They all looked over as Riven walked in, but many of them paid him no attention after that. All of them were too scared, worried, or hungry to care about more neers.


    ¡°Is that an additional limbing out of your back!?¡± Dr. Brass asked incredulously, pointing to Ath¡¯s arachnid appendage that¡¯de out to casually scratch her neck. ¡°Actually, you know what? I don¡¯t care. I really don¡¯t, not after all the other baffling stuff I¡¯ve seen. Follow me, operating room 5 is straight ahead.¡±


    They pushed through a set of double-doors and continued on, passing the screams of someone on their right as they were held down to a table for surgery.


    Dr. Brass sighed and adjusted his sses. ¡°We ran out of propofol, other anesthetic agents, and most pain meds two days ago when the world split apart and was rearranged. Anyone needing surgery has to be bound, and it¡¯s causingplications¡­ God what I would give to have a coffee right now.¡±


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    He pushed open the operating room door that had a big number 5 hanging above it. Coming in and pointing to a rolling bed, he coughed once and turned to the others. ¡°Put both of them on the bed. We don¡¯t have enough to go around for individuals, but you can stay here for now after I¡¯m done. I¡¯ll hook up some IV antibiotics and do an I&D on them each myself, it¡¯ll probably take an hour.¡±


    ¡°I&D?¡± asked Riven curiously.


    Dr. Brass adjusted his sses again. ¡°Incision and drainage. They¡¯re going to need surgical debridement to clean out their wounds, somectated ringers for fluids so they don¡¯t go into shock after their already obvious blood loss, and then we¡¯ll just hope the antibiotics will be enough. I have no idea what the hell kind of infection they have and our micro and pathologybs are down, so I¡¯m just going to hit them with the big guns and give them broad spectrum antibiotics. Probably Vaycin and Zosyn¡­¡±


    The old man muttered to himself with medical lingo and dismissed Riven with a wave and headed over to a drawer where he began fishing for supplies, and Riven walked ahead to the rolling bed ¨C making sure the wheels were locked in ce before gingerly setting the unconscious girl down.


    She groaned, sweating from her illness and was still obviously feverish as he pressed a hand to her forehead. The blue tribal elf paint was beginning toe off due to the perspiration, and her breathing wasbored.


    ¡°What about their fractures? This woman¡¯s vicle is broken, and-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can to reset them properly.¡± Dr. Brass interrupted with another dismissive backwards wave. ¡°I¡¯m no orthopedic surgeon though. All I can do is my best since the others are busy with more urgent emergencies.¡±


    The room was square, with pristine white walls and overhead lights that could be rotated to get a better view of things while operating ¨C but there was no electricity to power them and Dr. Brass had to use antern. He had Ath hold it up for him to see while asionally adjusting his or her position for a better look while using a scalpel to cut away small pieces of necrosed tissue, drain a couple abscesses that¡¯d quickly formed over thest day, and then wash out the wounds with a good amount of saline before starting an IV.


    During that time, Riven absentmindedly looked around. There were supplies stacked in one corner, some of which were obviously not native to an operating room under normal circumstances. There were a couple boxes of crackers, juice boxes, water bottles, and gran bars. There were stacks of scrubs in different sizes, masks, gloves, syringes, and various medications.


    It was all pretty barren aside from that, with only a long metal table on the right side next to a shelf with a deadputer. But it wasfortably warm: and by the time Dr. Brass had packed the girls¡¯ wounds and bandaged them up, washed his hands, and dried them off ¨C Riven wasfortably dozing off in the corner with his head slumped to one side.


    ¡°Now all we can do is wait.¡± Dr. Brass stated with a grunt. ¡°I¡¯m surprised neither of them woke up. They squirmed a little, but nothing that I couldn¡¯t handle. You¡¯ll likely know over the next couple of days whether or not they¡¯ll make it. That¡¯s if any of us make it¡­ with all the gangs and monsters roaming around since the apocalypse set in.¡±


    The old man solemnly shook his head a final time, wiping away thest remnants of blood and washing his hands for a second time with a bag of saline and some hand sanitizer. He¡¯d used gloves, but his forearms had still got a little bit of the wound¡¯s fluids on them while operating. ¡°What¡¯s your name? Your friend Ath has already introduced herself, but I left you alone because you were half asleep.¡±


    Riven blinked twice, yawned, and stood up as the words struck home. He noticed how the two elves were tucked under nkets on the wheeled hospital beds, and he extended a hand. ¡°Riven. Nice to meet you Dr. Brass, and thank you for all you¡¯ve done.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Dr. Brass replied, smiling back under tired eyes and taking Riven¡¯s hand to shake. ¡°I¡¯m not even going to ask about your situation and what¡¯s going on because I have too much to worry about, but eventually if things all calm down¡­ Well I¡¯ll have questions for you then. Good luck to you, and feel free to help yourself to some of the supplies ¨C but please ration it. It¡¯s for the entire hospital and we don¡¯t have anywhere else to hide it at the moment.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised as he nced over the stacked boxes. ¡°This is all you have left?¡±


    Dr. Brass shrugged. ¡°Not all, but still¡­¡±


    The old man waved as he exited the room through the door, leaving Riven and Ath to themselves.


    Ath smirked, picking up a couple water bottles and flinging them across the room into the waiting hands of Riven. ¡°Well this is certainly a situation¡­ You should eat and drink some normal human sustenance too. Blood alone isn¡¯t going to do it.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Riven acknowledged with a lightly growling stomach, still blinking to wake himself up with another yawn. He was about to say something else, when there was a sudden boom from up above ¨C and the hospital shook. Screams, abrupt gunfire, and the sounds of mayhem followed immediately after that ¨C with yet another shudder as the very foundation of the building rocked.


    Riven¡¯s eyes widened and his teeth clenched. ¡°What the hell¡­¡±


    Ath¡¯s smirk faded to be reced by worried furrows. ¡°Well that doesn¡¯t sound good.¡±


    Without another word, Riven and his demonic servant exited the room. Immediately the screams grew louder as they opened the door of OR 5, and the sounds of more gunshots rapidly echoed across the building¡¯s upper floors.


    ¡°Fuck me¡­¡± Riven muttered as people downstairs began to scream and scramble back. A handful of terrified nurses sprinted down the stairwell and found ces to hide, running from something, as Dr. Brass tried to calm them.


    The old man threw up his arms and rushed to ce himself in front of thest nurse ¨C a skinny young man in his early twenties ¨C as the others tantly ignored the doctor in their mad rush to find cover. ¡°What the HELL is going on Jim?¡±


    The nurse was pale, breathing heavily, and he shakily pointed back up the stairwell as others in the area watched with wide eyes. ¡°We¡¯re being attacked!¡±


    ¡°By who!?¡± Dr. Brass roared, beginning to surge past the nurse to reach for the door handle.


    ¡°DON¡¯T!¡± Jim yelled, grabbing Dr. Brass by the shoulder and whirling the old man around forcefully. ¡°It isn¡¯t who, it¡¯s WHAT! I¡­ I can¡¯t describe itpletely¡­ It''s enormous. It looks almost like a person, but is rotten¡­ has gray flesh, and is unbelievably strong! At first it was just a weird looking guy with a sick smile in a bloody clown suit, and then his body erupted and he became something else! It was like he shapeshifted and blew up to three times his size! He began eating people and ripping them apart with ws and a multitude of mouths! The officers were shooting it with bullets and they had no effect- they just kept shooting and people kept dying- body parts were everywhere and-¡°


    Another boom rocked the basement as the screaming upstairs continued ¨C but the gunshots and stopped. The nurse looked frantic as everyone listening paled, and Dr. Brass was certainly one of them.


    The old doctor took off his sses, wiped them along his white coat, and slowly ced them back on his face. ¡°You¡¯re saying that this is another one of those monsters?¡±


    The nurse frantically nodded, his chest heaving fast due to his obvious horror at what he¡¯d just seen. ¡°I¡­ I wouldn¡¯t go up there. They¡¯re all gonners if they don¡¯t run, and there¡¯s nothing we can do except hide and hope it doesn¡¯te down.¡±

 Chapter 72

    Chapter 72


    <strong>Chapter 72</strong>


    Riven had heard enough, and was about to start walking towards the two talking men when he heard Ath whisper. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±


    Riven shot the demoness a look of anger. ¡°What do you mean, don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I mean.¡± Ath stated tly. ¡°Whatever that creature is upstairs, I can sense its aura from here¡­ and there are more of theming. It feels like¡­ like a hive mind creature of some sort. We can expect a swarm soon.¡±


    Yet again the building rocked, and there was a crashing sound as another shuddered caused dust to filter down from the ceiling.


    ¡°I can summon Azmoth.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Summon him, but it may not be enough. You are not a coward, Riven. I know that, but please trust me on this. Swarm creatures are very dangerous and can beposed of multiple bodies with one entity controlling all of them.¡±


    Riven stared nkly back at the demoness, desire to go up and save those people battling with how certain Ath was of their failure. He couldn¡¯t sense the heartbeat of the creature, which was disturbing in itself since he¡¯d gained his newfound abilities - but he could certainly hear and sense everyone else upstairs as their own heartbeats were rapidly snuffed out one by one. He also couldn¡¯t sense any ¡®aura¡¯ that Ath was talking about. He¡¯d certainly need to talk to her about her new demonic capabilities after this since the evolution.


    Riven snarled, clutching his fist as he thought about Jerald, Linda, and their little girl Sara. ¡°What about all the people upstairs?¡±¡°They¡¯re dead.¡± Ath stated confidently as her arachnoid limbs began ripping out of her back, producing ded tips on all six of them that gleamed ebony in the candle light to the gasps or further screams of the already terrified people nearby. ¡°Or they will be. If you go up there, whatever those creatures are will likely kill you. It has the ability to seek out living auras a lot like I do, a form of magic that can track down creatures based on their life force. It¡¯s probably some kind of high tier undead variant, and I¡¯m absolutely certain that it has already identified our presence and will likely make its way down here even if we continue to hide. We need to seal off the stairway. You may be a vampire, even a pureblooded vampire, but you are still not anywhere close to the top of the food chain. You have a long, long way to go and now is not the time to y hero.¡±


    A ball in his gut started to form. He wanted to go up there and save all those people. All those families, the children, all those people who had thest remnants of hope being stripped from them now in this new world that Elysium had created.


    It was so fucked up, and Riven felt his face flushing as he realized what he needed to do ¨C yet still didn¡¯t want to do.


    Then he realized that everyone in the room was looking at him.


    ¡°God damn it, AZMOTH! Get out here!¡±


    Riven pulled down his shirt and touched the pentagram sigil on his chest, lighting it up as a swirling portal of hellfire erupted in the middle of the room that sent many of the others scrambling. The armored, muscr tank of a demon stepped out of theherscape portal and it winked out a momentter to reveal the colossus, his newly acquired spiked tail whipping back and forth in anticipation of the fight toe and all four of his wed hands visibly itching to start the violence. ¡°You called, master?¡±


    Ath scowled but responded to Riven¡¯s choice as well, her ded six arachnoid legs whipping out of her body on full disy and ws extending from her fingers in the blink of an eye.


    In total, there were probably three dozen people down here. The nurses that¡¯d run down from upstairs, Dr. Brass, a couple people operating on some guy in one of the rooms they¡¯d passed earlier ¨C who now were sticking their heads out to see what was going on, and three small families with children. All of them had heard what Ath had said and all of them were staring wide-eyed at the two demons with mixed emotions.


    Dr. Brass flinched as another scream echoed further up the stairs, and he hesitantly approached Riven to look up at where Azmoth had burst into mes a few feet away. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what that is boy, or how you¡¯ve made friends with these creatures, but if you have a way to save us then please do it.¡±


    The manpletely ignored the fact that Riven had been called a vampire or how Ath had called herself a demon, something that Riven appreciated. Maybe the reality of their situation had set in on the old doctor, but regardless ¨C Dr. Brass had put his public support for Riven on disy.


    They all shifted their gazes to the stairs as another individual pushed through the door ¨C sobbing and clutching at her throat. It was another nurse, her usually pretty features contorted with fear as she tried to stop a gushing wound the size of Riven¡¯s fist from pouring out to no avail. Blood sprayed all over the door, the floor, and she gurgled something to the rest of them before passing out and dropping to the floor.


    ¡°GET HER INTO A ROOM NOW!¡± Dr. Brass screeched as her coworkers rushed to the downed woman, lifting her up in a mad scramble as the families began to try and calm their screaming, terrified children.


    Without another word, the warlock grasped his ck staff and headed for the stairs.


    Coming into the stairwell, steps leading up were already slick with blood and a recently deceased body was sprawled unceremoniously along their path. Screams got louder as Riven vaulted upwards, quicklying to the door of the first floor and pushing it open to reveal a madhouse of death and carnage.


    Bodies were everywhere, the floor was thick with rubble and blood as people tried to scramble while slipping or tripping over one another as fiverge and faceless humanoid monsters killed indiscriminately in the dim glow ofnterns and starlight seeping in through arge hole in the wall where one of them had barreled through.


    If youe across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Though they were humanoid in shape, these five monsters looked like fleshy, gray-skinned goris devoid of any hair or genitalia. They stood six feet to seven feet tall and were two times thicker than an average man concerning their muscr, wed limbs. They had no eyes, no facial structures, but did have circr maws where thick tongues whipped out to pierce people - dragging them alive into their mouths while screeching and ripping people apart. Their mouths could extend to massive proportions, enabling them to feed on people whole before they dragged their prey into some kind of abyssal core that seemed to suck the terrified, dying men and women into an internal ck hole after being shredded to smaller pieces with long razor teeth.


    And even more horrible was that right outside the hospital was even worse. There were dozens of these monsters, all of them ughtering with wild abandon amidst the refugee camp that¡¯d been set up outside. A bloody gun in a hand missing a body to Riven¡¯s right on the ground spelled out what¡¯d happened to the security forces.


    The nearest of them was just about to m a wed hand on a screaming, crying little boy¡¯s head when Riven blurred across the room and mmed his ck staff into the gray creature. ck shadow magic pulsed and exploded from the magical weapon, rocketing therge brute across the room and over bodies to m into one of the other monstrosities as yet another, sixth creature ran in through the outside.


    ¡°Die.¡±


    Riven stepped in front of the child andunched a flurry of blood razors, pushing his new body and heights of power to the limits to create even more of them. His blood pir quivered and his body pulsed with red light. The fluids of the numerous dead began to rise up off the ground and from the walls amidst swarming people - the environmental resources heeding his call. A dozen razors became two dozen in an instant and the spray of des left red ribbons in a crimson tide after their passing.


    <strong>*ZIP-ZIP-ZIP-ZIP-ZIP*</strong>


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The room turned into a blur of red for just an instant - sting into the gray skinned creatures and tearing off limbs, heads and eviscerating the beasts in a multi-pronged attack that left them looking like a gatling gun had just mowed them down. Some people stared in wide eyed shock, while others just continued to run for their lives or hide while doing their best to collect loved ones.


    The light left Riven¡¯s body and he felt the environmental pool of avable blood around him diminish as the magic dissipated. Ignoring the notifications about XP and the small system-made bags of money, he turned to the entrance where screeches and howls of anger roared in unison. His eyebrows rose when he realized that not one, not two, but every single one of the odd, grotesque creatures was now ring his way with those eyeless faces and gaping round maws.


    And then they charged, theirrge gray bodies pounding over pavement, grass and flesh in a simultaneous howl of anger that echoed across the city blocks.


    ¡°Come on you cock suckers, let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve got!¡± ck lightning ripped out of Riven¡¯s weapon while he simultaneously threw out a wave of red ice that covered the floor through therge hole in the wall. Bodies melted into sizzling piles of ash and theirrades slipped over the debris or on the ice itself while piling up over one another.


    Riven quickly charged two bloodnces and shot them directly into the choke point where dozens of creatures were pouring in to attack.


    Thences of solid crimson mana split open eight of the creatures in a single devastating strike, leaving their bodies as corpses for more of the swarm to stumble over.


    And just as the mass of bodies finally made it to the entrance, Azmoth¡¯s roar bellowed out and a ming giant demon shot forward into the wave of beasts - tearing them apart one by one in a tidal wave of violence.


    Blessing of the crow activated and lightning crackled along Riven¡¯s skin. His eyes glowed red, and his staff flickered with shadow. Many of the heartbeats of nearby civilians had disappeared, either having run off through other entrances or having been snuffed out by death. However there were still many of them left, watching from their hiding ces in rooms nearby or remaining as hidden as possible while the sounds of battle raged in the entrance hall of the health care center.


    Ath blurred left, tearing open another of the monsters Riven hadn¡¯t seening due to ack of heartbeat - and he gave her an appreciative nod before she disappeared noiselessly behind a pir and mbered up to the ceiling to view the action from thirty feet above. He didn¡¯t have to ask what she was doing, he knew she was prioritizing his own life over the immediate battle because she was worried. The expression she wore was that of obvious anxiety, and she quickly darted her eyes around to different avenues of entry while perched there.


    ¡°AAAZZMOOTTHHH CRUUUSSSSSHHHHHH!!!!¡± The brutalisk roared and picked up two of the slightly smaller and significantly weaker humanoid beasts in front of him, burning them alive and smashing their skulls together while whipping his spiked tail around and around to sh and maim.


    Ath provided a hail of red needles in the form of solidified webbing from up above, showering the choke point in carnage while continuing to nce around anxiously.


    Riven lowered his hand, smiling underneath his runic mask with a content hum. He hadn¡¯t been the only one to be stronger since his evolution. That, andpared to the denizens of hell these monsters were significantly weaker. There was very little chance that their level difference was that far off from the negrada undead or demons, considering Negrada¡¯s surface level had contained even creatures as low as level 2, but the quality of race and base stats was just miles apart. It had to be, considering Azmoth was beating these things senseless like a violent child with squishy pinatas.


    <strong>[Nightmare Fledgling, Hive Mind Dream Creature]</strong>


    <strong>[Nightmare Fledgling, Hive Mind Dream Creature]</strong>


    <strong>[Nightmare Fledgling, Hive Mind Dream Creature]</strong>


    Feeling a bit more secure and wondering just why Ath had been so rmed about these rtively weak creatures, Riven turned around and knelt in front of the quivering little boy who stood covered in dirt and someone else¡¯s body fluids. The child¡¯s lower lip trembled, and tears streamed down the kid¡¯s face. He had to be only 5 or 6 years old, and seeing the boy shake even more violently when Riven reached out to him only made the vampire¡¯s heart drop.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be ok.¡± Riven said, withdrawing his hand and motioning to a room¡¯s doorway where other people were staring wide-eyed at the battle in a hushed cluster of bodies. ¡°Go over to them, they¡¯ll keep you safe.¡±


    The boy was frozen in fight and shock while looking up at him, but a young mother already holding a young child of her own raced forward and grabbed the boy by his hand; yanking him back and sparing Riven a wary nce before running back to the rtive safety of the room.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    Ath smashed into the floor behind Riven a dozen feet away, impaling one of the dream creatures in six different spots before using lightning-fast strikes to rip open its head. She nced his way - muscles tensed. ¡°Riven, I can feel moreing!¡±


    The vampire rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Well there are lots of them out there!¡± Riven said with a nonchnt wave of his hands towards the piles of monster bodies gathering in the choke point - the swarm of beasts still having failed to bring Azmoth down or even slow the cackling, ming demon.


    ¡°No! I mean the aura is drastically increasing! I think-¡±


    Ath¡¯s voice was cut off as a deafening howl reverberated all around the hospital. Dozens, then hundreds of voices rose as feral screeches towards the night sky that shook the building to its foundations - and Riven¡¯s glowing eyes went wide.


    ss windows shattered and doors were thrown off hinges all around the hospital¡¯s first floor when hundreds of the beasts came surging in from hallways to his left, right, back and front.


    It looked like things had just gotten a whole lot more interesting.

 Chapter 73

    Chapter 73


    <strong>Chapter 73</strong>


    Doors from nearby rooms mmed shut and people started barricading themselves inside immediately upon hearing the rushing wave of oing monsters, and soon Riven stood alone with his demons as enemies flooded into the main entrance hall from four different directions. Rippling muscles and rounded abyssal maws full of teeth and writhing tongues bore down on him with wed limbs, racing ahead like hairless great apes.


    But he remained calm. He¡¯d survived far worse enemies than this. To his surprise the sacrificial dagger he¡¯d acquired from Negrada seemed to agree and began to quiver with primal rage - reminding Riven that it was still there and wanted to be used. It¡¯d been a while since he¡¯d even attempted to use the item, or at least it felt that way. In reality he¡¯d only just got it back after trading with Negrada.


    He took a brief moment to nce down at the exquisite weapon. The intricate patterns on the de resonated with his soul, and the flesh bond between his weapon and his body began to connect again with wisps of muscle that crept across his lower leg.


    Ath to his left began to shriek in rage and yelled at him to run before vaulting ahead into the oing swarm of enemies at his right - ws outstretched, ck hair whirling out behind her, and six scythe-like arachnid legs shing forward. Azmoth was already busy mowing them down by the dozens in his own little choke point and couldn¡¯t be concerned with the other three pathways leading to the main hall where Riven stood.


    Yet despite the oing swarm of roaring monsters that made the hospital shake with their simultaneous charge, Riven was not concerned. He found himself oddly at peace, a content sigh of resignation parting his lips to escape the runic mask in a small cloud of bloody mist.


    Smiling at the dagger and feeling it continually resonating with his body, the totem weapon crept up his free arm and ced itself through stretching fleshy connections into his palm opposite of the staff he carried in the opposite hand.


    It wanted to be used.


    And you know what? Riven wouldn¡¯t deny its request.In a sh of inspiration, Riven mmed the hilt of the Sanguis Foedus down into the top of the shadow-imbued staff. The flesh of the dagger roiled and writhed, rapidly encircling and intertwining with the ck wood of ck redemption and their screens simultaneously disyed.


    <strong>[Sanguis Foedus (Totem, Sacrificial Dagger): 12 average damage on strike, High chance to apply ¡°Amplified Bleeding¡± debuff on biological enemies when struck. Requires a 20% or higher Blood Pir Affinity to wield. This item has an abnormally high endurance and is hard to destroy.</strong><ul><li><strong>Totem Soul: Low Grade Primal, Iplete Fragment, 6 Willpower Requirement</strong></li><li><strong>Flesh Bond: This totem binds to the wielder in a unique way, allowing you to manipte it at a limited distance through a flesh bond. If the flesh bond is severed, it must be restored before undertaking further distal maniption</strong></li><li><strong>Sacrifice: Use this dagger to sacrifice an enemy and mentally activate this ritual ability to create a portal back to Negrada at any distance. Creating a portal will take up to 24 hours.]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>ck Redemption (Tier 1 Awakened Staff)</strong><strong>: 74 average shadow damage on strike, with each hit drawing a small amount of mana from you to apply a knockback effect with a minor explosion of shadow magic. All cost of Shadow spells is decreased by 7%, Mana Regeneration is increased by 68%. Shadow magics all have damage modifiers applied by +27% while channeling through this staff.</strong><ul><li><strong>ck Lightning:</strong><strong> This staff can passively build up charges of ck lightning. Power of ck lightning depends on the amount of charge emitted.]</strong></li></ul>


    His thoughts raced up while Riven instinctively internally drew on a fragment of his soul, chiseling off a tiny part of it and incorporating it into the blood magic now running down his fingers and across the shaft of his ck wooden staff. Crimson ice ripped through the weapon from where his hand held it mid-shaft, intermixing with ck shadows that radiated out from ck Redemption and fusing with the strings of flesh that were rapidly digging into the wood from the top end. The staff hissed and the dagger screeched, but their sounds were not of agony - rather they were of bliss. To them, this was the truest form of trust. To this awakened weapon that had no soul at all, yet lived in physical form, and to the fragmented totem soul that was iplete, Riven was making them whole. He was generously reforming them into something new, something unique, by giving them a piece of his very being through pure will and inspiration.


    And his inspiration was not off the mark.


    The flesh of the dagger, shadow-imbued wood of the staff, and crimson blood with Riven¡¯s soul fragment all collided with one another and intermingled to form an explosion of power that was directed straight upwards - ripping arge hole through three ceilings and sending a shockwave outwards from Riven¡¯s position. Enemies were blown back and even his two demons were knocked down, while the barricaded rooms around him all shuddered and jolted furiously until the aftermath of power died down.


    And there, standing under the light of the stars after all of the candle-litnterns had been blown out or utterly destroyed by the st of power, was Riven. He held an entirely new weapon now, one created from the concepts of shadow and blood.


    It looked very simr to the previous weapons he¡¯d put together. They weren¡¯t necessarily changed in terms of looks when one studied their individual pieces that¡¯d been fused in both spirit and the material world, but rather they were changed by identity. The system now considered it one single item, with the other pieces having been absorbed into the weapon.


    The gnarled staff now had fleshy strings of muscle weaving around the ck wood that continued to ripple and re with shadow. A smooth stream of actively flowing crimson blood washed along the staff¡¯s insides and on top of the wood in various pathways. It had once been Riven¡¯s soul-infused blood magic, but nowced in interweaving patterns beside the fleshy strings. Beyond that, spikes of the crystalized crimson-ice form now decorated the top of the gnarled staff: reaching up-and-out that grew more numerous in all encircling directions until reaching the top. There, at the very top of the staff, the dagger that¡¯d once been a sacrificial dagger was now nted like a spear¡¯s tip - the hilt having fused entirely into the ck wood with red crystals further reinforcing the connection at the base of the de. Even more enticing was the fact that Riven could literally feel the weapon. He could feel its thoughts, its wants, its inherent abilities, and could control its functions by sheer willpower.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    <strong>[You have created a unique soul-fused sorcerer¡¯s staff. Congrattions!]</strong>


    <strong>[Vampire¡¯s Escort (Vampiric)(Unique Soul-Fused Weapon, Sorcerer¡¯s Staff): 104 average damage on strike with each physical strike dealing minor shadow-explosion knockback. Mana regeneration is increased by 102%. All Shadow and Blood spells cost 9% less mana while dealing 22% additional damage. This item has an abnormally high endurance and is hard to destroy. Requires Vampiric Heritage to wield.</strong><ul><li><strong>Sacrificial Kill:</strong><strong> Killing strong opponents has a chance to imbue this weapon with additional attributes, stats, or bonuses.</strong></li><li><strong>Scorpion¡¯s Sting:</strong><strong> The de at the tip of this staff can extend through flesh molding to cut down enemies. Enemies hit with the de portion of this weapon do not experience shadow-explosion knockback like the rest of this staff, rather the de portion of this weapon will imbue stacking bleeding damage to all biological enemies.</strong></li><li><strong>ck Lightning:</strong><strong> This staff can passively build up charges of ck lightning. Power of ck lightning depends on the amount of charge emitted.</strong></li><li><strong>Portal Master:</strong><strong> This weapon can sync to any stabilized portal you have permission to use by the portal maker and master. Current locations avable for ess: Dungeon Negrada.]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven had never read anything about soul-fused weapons before, and it certainly piqued his curiosity. However he was brought back to reality when a shrill and simultaneous scream broke the silence from hundreds of throats around him.


    His crimson eyes lifted from the marvelous weapons in his hands, and he slowly began to grin.


    ***


    Moving the carnage out from the hospital interior and into the parking lot had definitely been a wise decision, as it kept idental civilian deaths to a minimum while Riven fought like a man possessed over a growing mountain of corpses - monster and human alike. It also brought the dream creatures an obvious target, drawing the vast majority of them out of the hospital and onto a waiting open battlefield.


    ded fleshy tonguesshed out at him and ws ripped through the air trying to pin Riven down, but torpedoing bloodnces and waves of spinning bloody des tore through the masses in a blitz while he dodged and swerved to avoid closebat.


    He may be a vampire with enhanced health, speed, and strength now - but there was still no way he¡¯d have ever been able to take on this many enemies in melee. He was, however, able to deal with them at a reasonable pace while kiting them at range.


    ¡°EEEEEEEEHHHHHHH!!!¡± A monstrous and faceless dream creature rocketed over a smashed pickup truck, jumping at Riven only to receive a spike of crimson ice directly into its face that¡¯dunched itself from the crimson-colored ice that was creeping along the pavement at a rapid pace.


    <strong>*SQUELCH*</strong>


    Therge monster felt limp and lifeless slid lifelessly down the solidified blood magic it was impaled on, its position quickly being overtaken by more of the zealous creatures that chased the vampire in droves around the medical campus grounds.


    ck lightning crackled along the ck, fleshy wood of his staff before ripping through the forest of gray monster with a resounding <strong>*BOOM*</strong> and an explosion of body parts. Riven wasted no time and opened a rift in space behind him, quickly vanishing through the shadow portal and closing it to appear along the top of a storage shed on the opposite end of the campus. His portals, he was quickly learning, actually left an afterimage of his traveling route. It was something he hadn¡¯t realized in the short time of experimenting with ¡®Riftwalk¡¯ upon first obtaining the skill, but was thankful to know now. Each time he entered the rift, a very brief sh of ck wisps flickered along the path he took in a direct line - leading the hive-mind monsters to catch on and quickly redirect their course with every attempt to outpace them.


    <strong>[Riftwalk (Shadow): Channel mana into your Shadow Pir and focus on the ce you wish to travel to. Then rip open a portal in space and pass through it, allowing you and other people or objects nearby to pass through until you close the rift. Mana cost is dependent upon length of space traveled and time maintaining rift.]</strong>


    Thankfully though, Azmoth and Ath were making their own waves in the horde.


    ¡°RRRHHAAAAAA!!!!¡± The titanic ming demon stampeded through the ape-like dream creatures with wild abandon, seemingly untouchable even despite their numbers piling on top of him. They were just slightly smaller than he was but the strength difference was massive, and those that did manage to tie him down with numbers soon found themselves simply being burned away into ash over time before he was freed again.


    Meanwhile, Ath was zipping in and out of their forces - following Riven like a silent shadow on the wind that he only saw in brief glimpses when a spray of viscera or flying, decapitated head was noticed. She was doing quite a good job at keeping the pressure off of him too, as there¡¯d been more than one incidence where he¡¯d been hard pressed to maintain his barrage only for her to take the brunt of the frightening - allowing his mana to recharge.


    And now, standing on the storage shed, he used her intervention to yet again prepare a devastating attack. Arcs of red ribbons raced along his staff and the ded tip of ¡®Vampire¡¯s Escort¡¯unched skywards. The arcs of red followed it, crimson ice flowing down the fleshy string that attached the de to the rest of his weapon, before expanding in full bloom when he swung the weapon horizontally.


    The skywards de came down and around like a whip,shing out with blurring speed that left a trail of mana-infused ice and red ribbons in its strike-path and over two dozen through-and-throughcerated bodies that toppled over like dominoes.


    ¡°YOU ALMOST HIT ME!¡± Ath screeched over the torrent of roars and charging bodies while ducking and ring back at him from the ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that much credit!¡± Rivenughed, reeling in the de of his newly created toy and summoning the environmental blood of the most recently fallen enemies to do his bidding.


    The bodies of the two dozen he¡¯d just killed coagted and ripped from their corpses, filling the air with fluid before they condensed into spinning des that then rocketed out into the oing mass of enemies in a storm of carnage.


    He turned to nce at his minion, who stood shaking her head in bewilderment at the absolute destruction he was wreaking. Then he looked back to the massive amount of enemies who nowy dead or dying on hospital grounds. He smiled to himself, his heart pounded with excitement, and he felt truly alive. How ironic, seeing that he was actually undead now, but regardless he was having a lot more fun than he should be.


    Not only that, but Riven was quickly beginning to realize the true extent of his powers. When environmental resource pools like hundreds of dead bodies and the now-avable blood in them presented themselves for a blood-mage like him to use, Riven could quite quickly be a fully-blown harbinger of destruction.

 Chapter 74

    Chapter 74


    <strong>Chapter 74</strong>


    Allie sat meditating in her bone garden atop what had once been one of the downtown skyscrapers under a starry night sky. Well, she supposed it was still a skyscraper - but it¡¯d been converted into her home base of operations and had a rather spooky feel to it after the makeover. The building itself had an aura to it, with ripples of teal and ck mana asionally shimmering across the structure while it was being pseudo-terraformed into a death-oriented zone through ritual magic Mara had introduced her to. The bone garden on the roof of the top floor 42 stories up, where she now sat, was also littered with bodies and intricate bone structures - each having their own unique function in producing sentient undead.


    Opening her eyes as another soul passed through the veil, Allie smiled underneath her skull mask when another of the bodies began to twitch. Slowly the ghoul began to move, examining her environment as Allie''s aplices: Nin and Vin the skeletal Skresh brothers, got up to greet the neer. Their forces were growing¡­ and now it wasn¡¯t only the mindless minions that aided them. Oh no, they now had fully thinking, sentient beings working on their side as they brought new life into the bodies of the enemies Allies forces had killed - born anew. And this new bone garden had thus finally brought about a turn of tides in the war that Allie had been hoping for.


    It was rather peaceful tonight, and she took in a deep breath of crisp air before pushing herself to her feet and walking over to where her friend Mara was standing. The ghoul necromancer''s dead, milky eyes panned over the city beneath them, where rogue groups of survivors still battled one another for supremacy over their little pockets of remnant civilization. Battled over what little food and medicine they had left, or to subjugate and enve. It was all the same in the end, people killing other people instead of working together.


    And it made Allie sick with disgust.


    ¡°You look angry.¡± Mara said, ncing over at Allie with a small smile. ¡°Still thinking about Jose?¡±


    Allie slowly nodded, her piercing crimson eyes ring down at the shouts and small fires in suburbs not far off. ¡°Humans.¡±


    Mara chuckled and pped a hand onto Allie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We used to be humans too, you know.¡±


    Allie¡¯s frown only deepened, and her eyes did not move from where she heard and saw the gunfire many stories down. ¡°Unfortunately you¡¯re right. Even when I was human though, I always felt like the human species was¡­ gross. Evil, even. People in general were always out for themselves, always greedy, always eager to undercut others to get ahead. It¡¯s why Jose died too, those fucking bastards from Prophet¡¯s domain thought they could just waltz right in and dere everyone subjects.¡±Mara raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, turning her head to watch the firefight below and a couple blocks away alongside the woman who was quickly bing a very close ally and friend. ¡°And look what it cost them. Thousands of their holy order have died, they¡¯ve been pushed back into the northern section of the city and they¡¯ve resorted to allying with the otherrger groups there to fight us off.¡±


    ¡°They im us to be monsters.¡± Allie sneered, kicking a small rock off the side of the building and watching it tumble through the air to the street far below. ¡°Yet they were the ones who brought this on themselves. They started this, I will merely finish it.¡±


    There was a long pause, and the silence stretched on with only the echoes of the firefight and the sound of the breeze flowing through their cloaks to be heard. Yet, despite all of the anger she felt inside, Allie couldn¡¯t help but look around at their surroundings and feel a sense of awe at the majesty. Beyond the city - snowcapped mountains loomed in the distance to reflect moonlight and starlight. The cosmos above glittered in a way that no city back on Earth could have done due to light pollution back then, and rivers leading out to an ocean in the far off distance shimmered and sparkled.


    It made Allie want to explore after this little war was over. After she set the foundations for a new undeadmunity in the wreckage of what had once been ¡®Brightsville¡¯. It was abundantly clear to her now that humans would never have a ce for her, she¡¯d been shunned many times already, and she didn¡¯t want to be one of them anymore anyways. So she¡¯d just make a ce for herself instead - through brutality and force.


    Her thoughts were interrupted when an explosion of massive proportions bloomed on the western edge of the city. Her eyebrows lifted in surprise when crimson mana exploded upwards into the air - illuminating the buildings over that way for just a brief moment before it disappeared just as quickly as it¡¯de.


    ¡°What was that?!¡± Mara asked, mouth slightly ajar and in awe of what she¡¯d just felt. ¡°Was that a magical attack?! Did you FEEL that mana pulse!? That must¡¯ve been an <em>enormous</em> sum of energy if we could feel it at this distance!¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ That was blood magic.¡± Allie stated curiously, turning her body and tilting her head to the side as if to study the aftermath of mana fluctuations that she could still barely feel before they faded away entirely. ¡°How very interesting¡­¡±


    Vin and Nin both raced over next, abandoning their talk with the neer to one of their undead assistants with curious clicking noises that their teeth made when on edge.


    ¡°Was that a mana signature I just felt?¡± Nin asked - only to get pped by Vin across the back of the head.


    ¡°Of course that was a mana signature, idiot. Don¡¯t ask stupid questions. The REAL question is who could produce that kind of power output?¡± Vin turned his head and motioned to Allie. ¡°That kind of raw magic is on your level, Allie. If I read the signature correctly. To think there¡¯d be two monsters of your caliber here! Who¡¯d have thought.¡±


    ¡°Another person to be wary of.¡± Mara interjected with a long sigh. ¡°Hopefully not someone who¡¯ll join that system quest of ¡®purge the undead¡¯ that so many have already signed up for. Whoever that was, I don¡¯t want him or her on on the wrong end of a conflict with us.¡±


    Mara, Vin and Nin all began chatting about what they¡¯d felt, with Mara describing what she and Allie had seen. Meanwhile, Allie continued to study the area of the western city¡¯s edge with a curious re, tapping her slender fingers on her bone bracers while slightly humming to herself and swaying side to side.


    Perhaps she needed to go investigate. As the others had said, that kind of power was on her level - and she couldn¡¯t let another person that strong remain in the city if they were going to be a threat. She had to find out just who and what that was, and she would then deal with it if necessary.


    ***


    Normally he¡¯d never have been able to make this kind of attack by himself, but with the army of the dead around him - he¡¯d actually done it. The drawback was that he¡¯d nearly killed himself and damaged his soul during the attempt. This would very likely not be something he tried to do again.


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    Riven screamed in agony as his left forearm exploded. The battlefield around him rippled and surged skywards - pirs of crimson ice spearing hundreds of the gray, ape-like dream creatures in one massive attack. All the environmental blood was utilized, his internal mana reserves werepletely drained, and he¡¯d very obviously overexerted himself due to the bacsh that¡¯d nearly ripped his entire body apart before he¡¯d managed to quarantine the fallout into just one limb.


    But in turn, that push had granted him the gift of further insight. Visions he didn''t entirely understand started shing before his eyes, and he began to slowly enter a mental state caught between reality and inspiration from the Blood Pir. Pathways to power opened up before him as images and meaning, insights and secrets, as the stairway to the heavens brought him brief glimpses of true meaning. Of true control of the abilities he used. Of the Dao of Blood.


    He gasped, dropping his new staff to the ground and shuddering uncontrobly while his vampiric regeneration began to rebuild his mangled limb. And above him, the pirs of red exploded in an ocean of shrapnel that blew through enemy ranks like a high-powered cannonball through wonder-bread.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Despite his agony and rapidly decaying control on the violent mana surge he¡¯d set into motion, he did manage to angle the explosions enough to avoid himself, the hospital, and his minions. Notifications pinged him over and over again, but he didn¡¯t have time to acknowledge them at all.


    <strong>*WOOOM*</strong>


    The air current of the shockwave blew Riven over anyways and caused him to skip across the ground a few meters, only to be caught by Ath and cradled in her arms while the parking lot around them essentially blew up. Fragments of concrete were ripped out of the ground and intermixed with the ocean of blood overhead, and the roar of noise from the mana around them was entirely deafening. It also caused his ears to ring for almost a half minute after the initial st was done.


    Riven blinked and looked around, trying to regain his focus and shake of the dizziness he was experiencing. He felt very weak, shaky even as Ath fetched his staff with a thread of webbing. His left arm was still growing back tendons and flesh, or even bone in some parts, but his vampiric body was definitely resilient in the dark. All around him, a shimmering mist of glowing red mana specs floated down from high above andnded in the devastated outer area of the medical campus grounds. The monsters were utterly gone, thest of them decimated by the all out attack that had been inrge part enabled by so many of them dying in the first ce to fuel Riven¡¯s power surge.


    Azmoth¡¯s ming figure lumbered out from the red mist, grinning wickedly and cackling with deep demonicughs - though Riven¡¯s ringing ears could only make it out partially.


    ¡°I feel sick¡­¡± Riven muttered amidst swirling visions that continued to berate his conciousness. He fell further into the madness of insights and desperately tried to grasp at their true nature, letting himself go now that he was safe, and slumping down in Ath¡¯s arms. The demoness could tell that something wrong was happening, and picked him up bodily to princess-carry him over the debris towards the still-standing hospital.


    He started to tremble, internally screaming at himself to capitalize on these visions before they left him forever. His body felt sluggish and weighed down, but his mind was on fire while image after image presented itself - only giving him glimpses of the possible pathways to greatness should he attain even a fraction of the true meaning he now saw.


    ¡°I do not feel ok.¡±


    Ath chuckled and softly said something with a gentle smile directed his way, but he had no idea what it was she¡¯d said through the ringing in his ears. Funnily enough, staring up at her while she carried him, it reminded Riven of the times when he was a child and his mother used to hold him like that to make him feel better.


    The memory made him smile.


    And then a roar was heard from beyond the ruined parking lot, one that even Riven in his weakened state with ringing ears could hear. He and his two minions turned to see arge, hulking figure moving towards them at a rapid pace a hundred yards away - but Riven didn¡¯t get a good look at it because Ath began to sprint.


    With Azmoth directly behind them they rushed into the hospital, and Ath headed directly for the stairs leading into the basement below while still carrying Riven''s rapidly weaking form in her arms.


    ***


    Riven¡¯s body was going into overdrive trying to repair his mana channels, and he¡¯d started convulsing due to the visions - but she knew he¡¯d be ok as long as they were able to hunker down and didn¡¯t move him around too much. However moving him around alot while he underwent these kinds of repairs could potentially be very bad, and the safest bet they to keep him in a stable position was to seal the basement off.


    Ath waved Dr. Brass down with a yell, literally threw one of the male nurses off of a nearby couch with two of her arachnoid limbs and dropped her unconscious master onto it instead. ¡°Hey! Are there any other entrances down here!?¡±


    The panicking staff and fugitives now huddled here in the basement were some of the only ones remaining in the hospital after the surge of hive-mind creatures had arrived. Ath hadn¡¯t had the heart or time to let Riven know, but many of those who¡¯d been holed up upstairs were devoured during the fight after he¡¯d try to lure the oing horde his way. It''d been a valiant effort on Riven''s part, but in the end he''d only partially seeded.


    ¡°Only the elevator, and it doesn¡¯t work!¡± Dr. Brass called back upon seeing who it was before rushing into another operating room to try and save someone else dying from blood loss.


    Ath gave a quick nod and crimson webbing began spilling out of her fingers as well as the four arachnoid limbs. ¡°Azmoth! If that thing tries toe down before I¡¯m done, you need to tank and buy me time! Got it!?¡±


    The previously ming, four armed demon lumbered forward towards the couch.


    He made sure Riven was ok, and then gave a grunt of acknowledgement before backtracking to the entrance at the stairwell. His armored body still simmered with embers, and hisrge ws extended in anticipation should the pursuing monstrosity actually attempt to force its way down. A crowd of onlookers either cried, yelled out questions about what wasing, or fearfully stood back all the while. If these demons were running away, just what on Earth wasing for them?


    Weaving the strings of ribbon in the air, Ath¡¯ss begancing back and forth across one another and into the passage leading up to the first floor. They crisscrossed and ovepped innumerable times, faster and faster as she poured out webbing in condensedyers - only to stop every couple seconds with an additional series of tighter cords and knots reinforcing the plug at the stairway withs of his own. Threads continued attaching from wall to wall against the heavily reinforced cementyers that were easily a couple feet thick down here in the basement area. They weaved over and over again until Ath began to feel a real drain on her stamina reserves, with stamina being the resource she used to make these threads, and she eventually backed up all the way to the end of the stairwell where Azmoth was still standing ready for a fight. By the end of it, the entire stairway had a 8-foot thickyer of sturdy webbing to stop whatever creature it was up there froming down here.


    She just hoped it¡¯d be enough. ¡°I sure hope this holds¡­¡±


    She heard a distant roar, and then felt the ground shudder. It shuddered again and again, and she even saw slight ripples in the plug she¡¯d made¡­ but the resilientyers of webbing held firm. Then she heard a pounding up the stairs again, and screams from up above echoed distantly through the ceiling.


    The monster must have found other survivors that hadn¡¯t been snatched up yet.


    From her left, she felt a light tap on her shoulder and turned to see a teenage boy. The boy shot his parents a look over his shoulder for encouragement and gulped, pushing trembling hands through wavy blonde locks. ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    At blinked twice. ¡°What is it, twirp?¡±


    The teenager gave a half-hearted and nervousugh while fidgeting with the brim of his shirt, and looking at the floor he nodded. ¡°I have a mapper¡¯s ss, I like to draw maps and it was given to me by the system in the tutorial along with a few minor abilities. One of them is that I can envision a 3-dimensional map around wherever I am¡­ so if it¡¯d help, I can show you what¡¯s upstairs. We''ve actually been watching parts of the fight down here with my power... But I can''t maintain it for long and have to take breaks. So...¡±


    Ath¡¯s eyebrows raised from underneath a couple locks of ck hair, and she nced over at her still unconscious master who was passed out on the couch nearby. ¡°Well, that¡¯d certainly be helpful if not at the very least quench my curiosity. Go ahead and do it.¡±


    The boy nodded, held up his hand, and a spark of light illuminated the surroundings. In an instant, Ath¡¯s world view changed.


    It was an out of body experience. Completely and utterly. She was looking at herself as a phantasmal projection and was able to shift around the room at will. Her top right-hand side vision disyed a 3 dimensional miniaturized map of her surroundings too ¨C disying everything within a small sphere of influence. She could see deep into the earth, all around the parking lot, and view each and every floor in vivid detail or vague detail depending on if she wanted to use her direct sight or watch the minimap.


    Ath soon got a hold of her ability to zoom around. Quickly adjusting and orienting herself to how the map worked, she erged the minimap and identified the happenings upstairs. Then she zoomed in for an up close nce.


    Simply put ¨C it was carnage.


    A pocket of three dozen or so survivors hade down from the second level in an attempt to run after thinking the coast was clear, and it¡¯d been a mistake. Fresh bodies by the dozens littered the first floor, and the entire right outer wall had copsed ¨C leading to that side of the small hospital copsing with it ¨C all three floors of the right eastern wing. Dust and rubble filled the halls and floors that remained, and the remaining people that weren¡¯t buried, dead or unconscious were running for their lives like rabbits from a hawk.


    Chasing them was a creature that Ath didn¡¯t really know what to make of. It was simr to the other hive-mind monsters that they¡¯d already fight, but this one was a much more evolved version. And a creepy one at that, even for her.


    It wasrge, very wide, easily a couple tons to stand over ten feet tall, and was essentially a giant rotting humanoid with writhing tendrils ending in leach-like mouths ¨C containing hundreds of teeth apiece . It had stark, yellow eyes and oddly enough ¨C the face of a clown¡­ red nose and all. It had huge wed hands, small webbed feet, and a thorax that looked like it¡¯d been stitched together with sewing materials and fleshy strings alike.


    ¡°Identify.¡±


    <strong>[Nightmare, Dream Creature]</strong>


    Well it wasn¡¯t undead then, but it certainly looked that way. Moreso than the other dream creatures anyways. Maggots ate at its exposed, necrotic muscles and as it tore a man in two ¨C pieces and bodily fluids of its meal sprayed out of its throat while swallowing.


    It dashed from person to person, rending and tearing people apart or picking the screaming people up to m them into one another like bloody pi?atas. The tendrils in the meantime continued to eat anything and everything around it, living or dead, as they ripped off pieces of flesh if anything got close. Men, women, and disgustingly enough¡­ even children fell in violent deaths to the creature as the horror scene unfolded.

 Chapter 75

    Chapter 75


    <strong>Chapter 75</strong>


    Visions of towering monoliths flooded Riven¡¯s mind as his mana channels surged and reformed themselves. Riven wasn¡¯t out cold or out of action like the humans around him thought him to be, but rather he was attempting to craft an evolution that was rapidly taking shape even as hey convulsing on the couch. After he¡¯d thought the fight was done when he¡¯d basically blown up the entire parking lot, he¡¯d had to make a choice due to a surge of inspiration that came with his massive attack: grasp the moment when it¡¯de to him and immerse himself in the visions - or ignore them.


    He was guiding that evolution, molding it to his body, and simultaneously he was experiencing scenes that were not of this world.


    He couldn¡¯t quite interpret them yet, but he felt like he was on the precipice. Oceans of blood, tidal waves of death, and the birth of new life. Blood was the key to mammal physiology, the life-bringer, and when it was taken away it stripped that life with it. Even certain nts and elementals had blood in their bodies, though it came in different forms and shapes. Different colors shed in front of his eyes while he asionally glimpsed the real world around him in shes of heat and light, but he struggled to continue the visions - one after another - while doing his best to interpret their meaning.


    Each vision held immense amounts of meaning. Meaning that he could only glimpse snippets of, but held the truths of the universe in quantities far surpassing his own knowledge. His mind was expanding, his soul structure reaffirming the rightful ce as the master of the sanguine while his pir began to churn and change.


    He almost had it¡­ and yet, he grew frustrated as the minutes rolled by in what seemed like eternities to him. He was so close, yet could not reach the summit of that knowledge. He was only able to grasp part of it.


    Not yet. Riven wasn¡¯t able to unlock the entirety of the greater truths and insights of his pir despite how hard he tried. Just not yet¡­


    His eyes rapidly blinked and he came out of his pseudoa with a frustrated scream that shook the room around him when his soul pulsed, giving off an aura of rage that wasn¡¯t necessarily directed at anything in particr other than himself. Yet the people around him, the humans, all scrambled backwards with terror in their eyes while Azmoth continued to brace himself against Ath¡¯s makeshift plug in the stairway.


    The creature on the opposite side was now done massacring everyone upstairs and beating on the plug¡¯s opposite side, tearing away little by little with its immense strength while Ath fidgeted nervously and children around the room began to cry. But upon his scream she whirled around, wide eyes not understanding how he was even awake after burning through his mana channels so thoroughly. Then she gawked as an aura unlike anything she¡¯d ever felt out of theher realms before began to simmer around Riven¡¯s body - and it was the same power that''d been carried on his voice when he''d yelled out in anger.Crimson eyes red, and the vampire slowly sat up. When he stood, the floor underneath him shuddered and quaked, and the couch underneath him shattered while being flung back as his aura exploded. A vibrant red cloud of power engulfed his body, and everything within miles of their current position came to a standstill as he took a single step forward.


    Even the beast on the other side took pause, and stopped its hammering to let out a low whine.


    With lightning speed far faster than he¡¯d ever done before, a bloodnce charged and rippled up his arms with wisps of energy before ripping out of his outstretched hand to collide with the plug Ath had made.


    It passed right inbetween Azmoth¡¯s armored left arms and a feral scream of rage was heard on the other side of the plug as it shredded and began to fell apart. Riven¡¯s staff shuddered with an influx of mana and his demons both hastily stepped out of the way when the de sted out from the top of the shaft and crashed through the decaying plug, whipping backwards and dragging a gargantuan beast back through with it. It wasrge, a grotesque clown¡¯s head snarling with long, yellow, carnivorous teeth while it squealed and tried totch onto anything and everything it passed by. Eel-like appendages with bulging muscles and maggot-ridden flesh whipped around and sought Riven¡¯s death right before impact. But right before the monster reached Riven - a torrent of red ice torpedoed through the conduit of fleshy, whip-like rope attaching the impaled de to the rest of the vampire¡¯s staff.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    The room shook and Riven¡¯s aura faded slightly when a torrent of power collided with the creature in the underground basement, eviscerating and mutting the creature with thousands of spikes, needles and des all created from the blood magic he¡¯d just unleashed.


    With a crash, the dead dream monster smashed into the cement walls of the stairway and then was buried in rubble when the stairway copsed. Dust and debris was sent scattering amidst shards of solidified crimson magic, and when it settled the mangled remnants of the beast were partially seen scattered through the ss-like portion of the underground passage.


    Riven red at the dead foe, continuing to seeth and radiate power that rippled the very air around him. Slowly though, as Ath''s hand gently touched his shoulder, he calmed down and closed his eyes. The route up was sealed off, and the monsters in the immediate vicinity were all dead.


    At least they were still alive.


    ***


    A final blood-curdling scream and a bestial roar of excitement was heard from up above while Riven and the few dozen others present silently watched the ceiling above them. More of the dream creatures, the hive mind, hade looking after their initial battle was ended - and they were truly pissed off. But it appeared they either didn¡¯t know where Riven or his forces were for some reason, perhaps being another of the same species but a different hive mind, or they just simply couldn¡¯t find a way down into the basement after Riven¡¯s magic and the copsed stairwell had led to an impassable blockage.


    Dr. Brass hade out of the room shaking his head in dismay after the loss of thest woman he¡¯d tried to save. He was in bad shape, and his hollow eyes epted the strangeness of his situation despite not knowing how it was being done. ¡°There were hundreds of people up there that we left to die.¡±


    Riven frowned in consideration, but felt a tight squeeze of reassurance from Ath to his left. ¡°We did what we could. Would you rather have died as well with them?¡±


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    ¡°You did what you could. I just hid down here like a coward.¡± Dr. Brass scoffed, taking off his sses and slowly walking over to the desk at the front of the surgical waiting area, plopping down into a cushioned rolling chair. ¡°Obviously I would have rather not died too. It¡¯s just incredibly sad, frustrating, and somewhat unbelievable. How has ite to this?¡±


    The old man threw up his hands to either side as the staff, families, patients and one other doctor present all listened to the exchange in silence. ¡°What the hell is even happening here? What IS Elysium and why did it do this to us? We all saw the messages about that bullshit apocalypse, half of us even went to some forsaken tutorial event, but am I really supposed to believe that our world merged with two others and is now connected to some sort of intergcticbyrinth ofs?¡±


    The old man then pointed to Riven usingly. ¡°And you! Youe in here with a two demonic pets and have the ability to do shit like cast APOCALYPTIC MAGIC!? We watched your fight through the kid''s mapping ability! You took on hundreds of those beasts by yourself! And WHY do you have elves with you of all god damn things!?¡±


    Dr. Brass mmed his fists down onto the desk in frustration, biting back tears and ring his nostrils. He then pointed to where the door had once been, now being sealedpletely shut by stone to form a thick wall. ¡°How!? Why?! What the fuck is going on here?! I demand answers! My friends just DIED up there god damn it!¡±


    People around the room began to murmur, with only an asional groan from the guy who¡¯d recently had surgery to remove a piece of metal from his arm in the next operating room over. Riven didn¡¯t know how to approach the situation. He knew the doctor was hurting. This entire situation was fucked up.


    Ath, fortunately, was there to exin things for him when Riven found hecked the words. ¡°I believe I may be of some assistance in exining our situation, now that I¡¯m at liberty to divulge slightly more information with the tutorial being over.¡±


    Lightly nudging Riven¡¯s side with a finger of hers, she turned around and happily hummed. ¡°My name is Ath! I am a rather young demon, which is an immortal entity that generally isn¡¯t allowed into the mortal realms unless certain requirements are met. This is my master, Riven Thompson, who contracted me so that I could safely get out of theher realms and then saved me from being cannibalized by another group of demons in the realms of hell. The big guy who asionally lights himself on fire is Azmoth, he¡¯s another of Riven¡¯s demons and he¡¯s basically a dumb ape. It is very nice to meet all of you!¡±


    Nothing but awkward staring and silence ensued, other than an irritated and guttural growl from Azmoth behind her.


    ¡°Well then!¡± Ath stated sourly, her sharp feminine features be visibly irritated at theck of reply. ¡°Tough crowd! Anyways, I¡¯ll start with some of the already posed questions and statements. Yes, your Earth has been incorporated into Elysium¡¯s multiverse. The multiverse is a vast and sprawling universe ofs that you can travel between at different portal zones. However, because your of Panu is newly formed from Earth and two others ¨C Panu will have a cleansing of sorts in the form of trials.¡±


    Ath waited with a pause again for questions, but there were none. So she continued with an eyeroll. ¡°I don¡¯t know what those trials will be, but they will either be surpassed or billions will die for every one of them that isn¡¯t passed. I¡¯m not at liberty to say what those trials will be, and a lot of the time they even differ. I could even be wrong with my own guesses, but you¡¯ll all find out soon enough. Moving on - now that you are all part of the multiverse, you are part of a magic-dense existence. Ambient mana can be controlled and wielded into various useful tools, such as ascensions, but many forms it takes materialize as monsters such as the creature that killed most of the people upstairs. You will also soon find yourself able to cultivate and grow various Dao pirs, which are insights and pathways to power that stack on top of your normal stats, levels and magical abilities. Unfortunately for most of you, the death rate for newly integrated worlds is very high and you likely won¡¯t ever get to begin leveling - and you¡¯ll likely get nowhere near cultivating. But fear not! If you take a pledge of allegiance to my master and allow him to feed on you regrly, we will keep you safe.¡±


    The demoness turned gracefully to focus on Riven ignoring the shocked looks of horror written on the mortals around her. ¡°Was that a Dao vision you were experiencing earlier? You¡¯re able to produce an aura now. Oh, and I highly suggest that you keep these people as subjects. Finding cattle to feed on regrly will mean you don¡¯t have to hunt, and it can make finding a good thrall or two a lot easier.¡±


    He ignored her first question and narrowed his eyes. Riven didn¡¯t even know what a thrall was, but he was more concerned about how she was openly talking about turning these humans into cattle and scaring the living daylights out of them after they¡¯d just been trapped in a basement with him and his demons. He gave her an openly angry re, and her smile turned sheepish when she realized she¡¯d fucked up and mouthed the word ¡®sorry¡¯ his way with a pout. She truly looked bad about it too. Habits were tough to break, but at least she was trying.


    Even the teenage kid who¡¯de up and shared his mapping ability with them for a bit looked visibly shocked at Ath¡¯s words, and people began silently looking for another way out soon after.


    A small child with a pink bow in her blonde hair, about 6 years old with a teddy bear held to her chest, slowly inched out from behind her mother near the cushioned chairs on Riven¡¯s left. ¡°Are you a vampire mister? I heard thatdy talking and she said you were.¡±


    ¡°A friendly vampire!¡± Riven said awkwardly, taking off his mask and smiling gently down at the little girl. ¡°I promise.¡±


    Another burly man with a basketball logo on his shirt scoffed nearby and folded his arms. ¡°Vampire? Really? You¡¯re going to make us buy into that? You just look like a creep in a cosy outfit to me.¡±


    Riven¡¯s smile turned to the man and he extended his fangs for everyone to see. A couple people took in sharp gasps and even more backed away, but Riven¡¯s smile returned to normal secondster. ¡°Is it really that hard to believe after everything that¡¯s happened? I cast magic, have demonic summons with me, and you''re questioning... that? Are you a fucking idiot?¡±


    He shook his head with a snort. ¡°Unlike all of you, I was flung into a hellscape. I was changed because of it. If you don¡¯t want to stay due to that, I¡¯ll let you all leave after this is over¡­ but you¡¯re all going to have to wait for those monsters to leave first.¡±


    Murmurs flooded the room as they looked to the area where the door had been and then to Riven. Some of them continued to inch back with fearful looks cast his way, while others were just simply curious.


    ¡°So you were human at one point then? How does that work, exactly?¡± The doctor that¡¯d been performing surgery not even 5 minutes ago asked with a curious re. She was tall, thin, middle aged and had blood spots along her blue scrubs with a nametag that read ¡®Dr. Beth Waters¡¯ and ¡®Physician¡¯ across the front. She stepped forward, brushing her brte hair to the side and peering at Riven¡¯s face. ¡°Open up again.¡±


    Ath sneered at the absoluteck of awareness on the doctor¡¯s part for personal space. Or at least that¡¯s what Riven assumed she was sneering for.


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± Riven stated hesitantly, opening up and extending his fangs for the doc to take a look at.


    Ten secondster Dr. Waters nodded absentmindedly and shut his mouth for him by lightly pushing up on his jaw. ¡°Fascinating. We should talkter, but I have to make sure my patient in the other room remains stable. Keep me posted if anything happens.¡±


    The woman walked back into the operating room with a nurse in tow, obviously a no-nonsense kind of person and seemingly not bothered at all by everything that was going on around them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll not have my kids around monsters like you three.¡± Atina mother snarled from across the room, holding a little boy in herp as her heavily tattooed husband next to her sat tensed and ready to spring. He was with another mean-looking bald man that wore no shirt and carried a baseball bat on his left. ¡°You¡¯ll keep your word and let us out when those creatures leave?¡±


    Riven snorted, partially in amusement and partially in disgust at the way she was talking to him. ¡°You¡¯ll be more than free to leave. I could give less than a flying fuck about where you go,dy. For now, I¡¯m going into OR 5. Don¡¯te in without knocking first and try not to bother us unless something interesting happens. Ath, Azmoth, ¨C let¡¯s go.¡±

 Chapter 76

    Chapter 76


    <strong>Chapter 76</strong>


    Riven turned heel and walked out of the room, cloak flowing out behind him, leaving the other people to talk amongst themselves about what had happened. Tensions were high and he could still hear the creatures above asionally roar through the ceiling even despite how thick it was.


    Riven gazed upwards. ¡°They probably just found new prey.¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­¡± The teenage boy interrupted his thoughts with a nervousugh, having followed them inside OR 5 without permission but not seeming to care. ¡°Those creatures are trying to find a way down here and are expressing their rage. I¡¯ve been watching on my map. They tried the stairs, but couldn¡¯t dig through the rubble.


    ¡°Oh really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Thoseyers of stuff you packed in there after that awesome attack held them back...¡± The teenage kid gave an awkward thumbs up. ¡°So thanks for that! My name is Jake by the way.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you Jake, my name is Riven.¡±


    He shook hands with the smaller, blonde young man and gave an appreciative nod. ¡°Thanks for the help. Do me a favor and continue to watch out for it, alright?¡±


    ¡°Will do!¡± Jake gave a quick salute, a more firm smile than his previous ones, and turned around to march out the door towards his parents on the sofas.***


    The visions had returned.


    Riven found himself surrounded by an ocean devoid of life. Only the warm, rolling waves gently tossing his body back and forth was cause for any noise, and his body rxed amidst the never-ending massage of the waters around him.


    Slowly he opened his eyes, and as he did - his body began to rise up out of the ocean and into the air. Demonic wings sprouted from his calves, his lower back, and his upper back one after the other as flesh tore and gave way to greater substance¡­ but this rebirth did not hurt. If anything, as his red eyes finally opened fully to meet the visage of a brilliant crimson moon ahead of him - and he felt the grip of a god on his soul pulling him home.


    The moon was so close¡­ barely hovering above the horizon of the otherwise dark and starlit sky. Yet it epassed well over a third of the sky above him - with pockets of craters and mountains visible even from here where he looked upon the moon¡¯s brilliance in all its glory.


    He felt it getting closer now, felt the pull of his ancestors calling to him - and in a sh, the sea around him began to roil and churn. Water turned to blood, sending cyclones of spinning red torrents cascading about him. The calm sea turned into a hurricane and the bodies of those he¡¯d in rose up from beneath him as a mountain of corpses, all of them reaching out to him with dead eyes as they worshiped the one they now called master from the afterlife.


    But beyond all else, and within the eye of the storm about him, a sword forged from the blood of his enemies was created before his very eyes. The legions of dead men and women he stood upon screamed in anguish, the zombies all draining of theirst visage of undeath while they withered away and fell into the ocean of red beneath. One, two, and then three of his thralls appeared in explosions of shadow in the air around him, all bowing their heads towards his divine form while he rose up into the sky and took the gleaming red weapon from where a tornado of rage swirled about them. Then he lifted his hand, shimmering crimson light epassing it as a rocket of powerunched itself into the heavens with a st of power that tore through the heavens and exploded overhead - creating a nova blooming above them to finally signify his return. The world trembled under his power, the oceans roiled, and the air about him simmered. All would see it, and all would know it was him.


    The king wasing home. Though his enemies and usurpers might try, they would not be able to stop him now.


    Yes¡­ He was finallying home.


    ***


    <strong>[Quest Update: Finding Your Friends - As promised by the Administrator, yourpletion of Chalgathi¡¯s Trials and the Tutorial Trials have brought you together in close proximity with your family and friends. Once per day, you will receive a ping on Allie¡¯s general location to let you know which way to go. Locating the position of your sister Allie now.]</strong>


    Riven¡¯s notification woke him from the dream he was having, and he rubbed his eyes with a yawn. He hadn¡¯t slept well, his mind repeating the strange images of the man in the ocean, the blood moon, and the sword created from a mountain of the dead.


    Was it supposed to mean something?


    Why had it repeated over and over like it had? Though he¡¯d been asleep, he could distinctly remember having it numerous times over¡­


    But then he saw the hologram notification and his heartbeat began to spike. Through the cement walls and dirt, through the city and not that far away was a gleaming figure. He couldn¡¯t make out the true identity just yet as she was only represented by blips of light, but he could tell exactly how far away and which direction she was in.


    Finally. Fucking FINALLY! A huge smile tugged at his lips and he clenched his fists with an inward scream of triumph. She was alive and not far off! But just why hadn¡¯t he already had a notification appear before now? Had it appeared when he¡¯d been undergoing transitional pains during that first night in the broken down gas station? Or had it happened during one of his fights and he¡¯d identally dismissed it?


    He was half tempted to rip through the ceiling and just charge through the waves of enemies to get to her, but he knew doing so would result in the death of dozens of people that hid here with him. Inwardly cringing that he was stuck down here in this hospital basement, he could only hope that next time he¡¯d be ready to move and out in the open.


    Ath¡¯s voice spoke from behind where she sat against the wall, ying pattycake or something akin to it with Azmoth. ¡°Looks like your friends aren¡¯t that far off. I¡¯m excited to finally meet your sister.¡±


    She¡¯d gotten the notification too then.


    He nodded, yawning one more time and reviewing the vivid dream he¡¯d had again. Secretly feeling rather jealous of the two recovering elves on their rtivelyfy hospital beds, Riven rubbed his forehead and yawned beforeing over to sit next to Ath. ¡°Can¡¯t sleep?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel like it. You¡¯re supposed to be nocturnal now, ya know. As a vampire. You¡¯ll hunt better that way and you won¡¯t have to worry about debuffs.¡±


    Hmmm. That was probably true, but Riven also liked being able to walk around in the day. Was needing to wear extra clothing to block the sun¡¯s rays really too much of a hassle? He didn¡¯t think so.


    ¡°Yes yes.¡± Azmoth stated profoundly, giving Riven a knowing look as he gave up on the pattycake game and swatted at Ath instead - easily missing her in the process as she dodged backwards. ¡°You want hunt at night.¡±


    Riven smiled slightly, chuckled and leaned his head on Ath¡¯s shoulder to rx a bit when she settled down next to him. ¡°It may take some adjusting too, but you¡¯re right. Moving around in the daylight is a little¡­ ufortable.¡±


    There was a knock on the door, and the familiar voice of Dr. Brass echoed through a momentter. ¡°May Ie in?¡±


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    The doorknob turned, and the door opened wide to reveal the old man¡¯s haggard appearance. He looked like he¡¯d aged a decade in the short time they¡¯d known him, his gray hair was frazzled beyond belief and it looked like he¡¯d just woken up. His white coat was dirty and covered in small patches of blood. Dark bags were under his eyes, and he rubbed his temple with a tired expression to shut the door behind him. ¡°May I sit?¡±


    He motioned to the floor in front of Ath and Riven.


    Riven silently gestured for Dr. Brass to do as he pleased, and the old man came over to plop right in front of the others. ¡°Most of the others are still asleep, so I thought this may be the best time to get away from them and have a word. I¡­¡±


    His words faded away from him as his thoughts became muddled. Dr. Brass sat silently by, inspecting Ath, then Azmoth, and then Riven. Putting his hands over his face and sputtering something under his breath, he rubbed his tired eyes and removed his sses. ¡°Riven, right? That¡¯s your name?¡±


    Riven nodded once, taking a pack of saltine crackers on the floor nearby and opening them. He was beginning to feel hungry again. Specifically, he wanted blood¡­ but he was curious as to just how long he could stave off the hunger and was self-experimenting by eating other food in the meantime. He obviously wouldn¡¯t go too far, as he didn¡¯t want to have another insanity attack, but he could feel just how far away the tipping point was and he hadn¡¯t evene close yet. This gave him some measure of relief, meaning he wouldn¡¯t need to actively gorge himself all the time - but rather could probably put days inbetween each feeding if he really needed to.


    Dr. Brass grunted, pulling his knees up to his chest and slowly rocking back. ¡°So¡­ how did youe across your magic, if I may ask? By randomly finding them after they appear out of thin air? Surely you didn¡¯t learn it on Earth. You can shoot piercing bolts of blood at creatures to kill them. And you can obviously summon demons. Is this some kind of sick joke? I want to believe this is all just a bad dream, but over and over again I am disproven. I know what I saw, but I can¡¯t seem to grasp the reality of it. Can you please show me one more time? A spell?¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Riven frowned the doctor¡¯s way with a raised eyebrow, realizing that the man was nearly at a mental breaking point by the way the old man¡¯s voice shook, and he pointed at the far wall. Crimson ribbons flickered along his forearm, licking his skin and engulfing his hands until they reached the fingers a half-secondter ¨C and a thin shard of blood magic materialized out in front. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    The three-foot shard of sharp, pointed magic rocketed forwards into the wall, piercing the stone without much effort and sending chipped pieces of concrete skipping onto the floor. Dr. Brass gawked, shook his head, and sprung to his feet to inspect the projectile. He gingerly touched it, withdrawing as a warm sensation began to spread along his hands when he did ¨C and watched the solidified blood magic slowly fizzle away into nothingness a couple secondster.


    ¡°So I¡¯m not dreaming. That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s real magic¡­¡± Dr. Brass gasped, putting a finger into the hole in the stone wall where the magic had almost cut cleanly through. ¡°This isn¡¯t a dream. This isn¡¯t a dream. This really isn¡¯t a bad dream. How is this possible?¡±


    Riven was truly confused. Had Dr. Brass actually been trying to convince himself that this was all fake? And if so, why would a simple act of magic like what he¡¯d just done be enough to convince him when everything else the old man had seen were just as convincing? This doctor was about to mentally shatter.


    ¡°You¡¯re really going to ask that after all you¡¯ve seen?¡± Riven asked sincerely, cocking his head to the side and looking down as he felt Ath¡¯s covered headnd in hisp when she scooted across the floor.


    Dr. Brass in the meantime was still dumbfounded. He whirled on Riven and stomped over, pointing back to the wall. ¡°Do it again!¡±


    Riven slowly shook his head. ¡°I need to conserve mana in case that thing breaks through our barrier.¡±


    ¡°What are your other abilities? I know you can teleport because I saw you rip open space and travel through it in the visions conjured by that boy in the front room. What else are you hiding?¡±


    Dr. Brass was breathing heavily. There was a long pause, and Riven raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not talk about them right now. I don¡¯t know you that well and giving away all my secrets doesn¡¯t seem like a wise decision, considering the post-apocalyptic scenario we find ourselves in.¡±


    ¡°¡­Are you really a vampire then? Like, really?¡±


    Riven chuckled. ¡°Just recently became one. Yes¡­ you saw the fangs, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I thought that was some kind of weird trick to try and intimidate people.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a trick. I¡¯m also a hell of a lot faster and stronger than most people now too.¡±


    Dr. Brass narrowed his eyes suspiciously. ¡°You¡¯re not a threat to us, are you? When I first met you, I did get a rather bad feeling about you¡­ but I always like to take people for who they are rather than go at face value. I hope I didn¡¯t make a bad choice.¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes. ¡°No, I¡¯m not a threat. Not unless you cause trouble for me first.¡±


    ¡°Good. You seem like good people¡­ I¡¯m deciding to trust you, please don¡¯t make me regret that decision.¡±


    The old man sat back down, trying to collect his thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to bother. I¡¯m just trying to wrap my head around all of this and what¡¯s happening. You seem to know more than anyone else that I¡¯ve met. It¡¯s a god-damned mess out there! Everyone in the next room looks up to me, and I have no answers. I¡¯m just a man doing his best, but my best is not nearly enough.¡±


    Riven smiled, genuinely, as he recognized the sincerity in Dr. Brass¡¯ words. ¡°That¡¯s all we can ask of ourselves. As for what I know ¨C it¡¯s very limited. I¡¯m counting on Ath here, mostly.¡±


    ¡°Even I don¡¯t really know that much!¡± Ath stated bluntly with a chipper smile from where her eyes were covered up by the nket she¡¯d thrown over her face. ¡°I¡¯m rather young for a demon. I was only in theher realms for 200 years until Riven freed me!¡±


    ¡°Two hundred years?¡± Dr. Brass repeated disbelievingly.


    ¡°Mhmm!!!


    ¡°That¡¯s an absurd amount of time. Are you certain it was that long?¡±


    Ath wiggled her fingers at him like a witch casting a spell, pulling the nket halfway down and chuckling like an evil witch. ¡°Mhmm!!! Really it was 197 years, if you want a specific amount of time. I know what you¡¯re thinking though! Demons can live for indefinite amounts of time through the ages if they acquire enough power.¡±


    Dr. Brass scowled back at Ath and adjusted his sses again ¨C a habit that was quickly bing overly repetitive and, to Riven¡¯s eye, seemed like it was something Dr. Brass did whenever the old man got flustered.


    The old man coughed into his closed fist - addressing the demoness again. ¡°What is Negrada? I heard you and Azmoth talking about it earlier.¡±


    ¡°The dungeon that was going to eat me!¡±


    ¡°Dungeons eat demons?¡±


    ¡°Not all the time, but sometimes. Their minions can absorb our essence, and sometimes they even bind other demons to do their dirty work.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s barbaric.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the circle of life! I¡¯m just happy I ended up getting out. I didn¡¯t want to die, and I really want to make Riven proud after picking me as his firstpanion. I think you made quite the oh-so lucky steal by binding me, Riven!¡±


    ¡°I did?¡± Riven asked with mock curiosity. ¡°Didn¡¯t realize you were old enough to be my great, great, great grandma by the way. You old fart.¡±


    Ath growled and narrowed her eyes dangerously. ¡°Yes, you did get a steal, idiot! AND I¡¯M NOT OLD!¡±


    ¡°Not just old, but really old.¡±


    ¡°Shut it twirp!¡± Ath tried to sucker punch his kidney, but was quickly deflected by Riven and aggressively smacked back across the forehead to get a feminine <strong>*UMPH*</strong> from Ath when she fell backwards. This got an amusedugh from Azmoth to their right.


    ¡°Riven¡­¡± Dr. Brass began in a low tone, staring at the floor between his legs. ¡°Where did you grow up before all of this started?¡±


    Riven¡¯s red eyes found their way to the old man, and he blinked ¨C wondering why the doctor would care. ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s a long story. The short version is Das, Texas. Let¡¯s just say I didn¡¯t have the greatest of childhoods¡­¡±


    ***


    Ath found herself waking up to the sound of a pained moan. The clock on the wall said it was 4am ¨C meaning she¡¯d slept 4 of the 8 hours she¡¯d usually sleep, and she still feltpletely refreshed. She blinked, yawned, and clucked her lips a couple of times, and she could hear children ying out in the waiting room down the hall. The sounds ofughing and giggling with happy, carrying voices was enough to make Ath¡¯s heart swell in a way it almost never did. It¡¯d been a while since she¡¯d been so rxed, as odd as that was given their situation.


    Riven was peacefully asleep next to her, and Azmoth was in a rather ufortable position next to the metal surgical table. Therge demon did give Ath a nod of affirmation though, rifying that he wasn¡¯t asleep but merely bored out of his mind as he went back to staring at the ceiling.


    Another low moan of pain echoed out from one of the two elves, and Ath saw the one with silver hair adjust her posture underneath the nkets ¨C blinking rapidly and coughing as she sat up with a startled yelp.


    ¡°Why hello there!¡± Ath said, reaching out a hand and patting Riven¡¯s hair down while he slept.


    The elf blinked in surprise. ¡°We¡¯re not dead...¡±


    Ath gave the other girl a confused frown, and then stood to grab a small box of orange juice. Walking over to the bedside, she noted how tired the elf looked. The IV was still in her arm, and the poor girl barely had enough strength to sit up properly ¨C her head sagged and there were bags under her eyes, yet she was still very pretty. The blue paint across the elf¡¯s face was partially gone or smudged, and the broken vicle was still obviously broken even after having it set into its proper anatomic location as the injured woman grimaced when she moved it before thinking.


    The woman groaned again, wincing and eyeing Ath suspiciously beforeying back in the bed under the warm covers. She looked to the IV in her arm, a little worriedly, and then underneath the nket to see that her clothes were missing.


    Lastly, the elf looked to her leg where it¡¯d been bandaged properly by Dr. Brass. ¡°What are you doing to me?¡±


    ¡°Healing you.¡± Ath said with a wink, using a straw on the back of the juice box to puncture its seal and then handing it to the other young woman. ¡°Take this and drink. What¡¯s your name again? I forgot. Or did I ever know?¡±


    The elf took the box gingerly, trying not to move her right vicle as she did, but looked it over without understanding how to work it.


    Ath snickered, pointing to the straw. ¡°Suck out of that. It¡¯s fruit juice¡­ Oh don¡¯t give me that look! I could have killed you any time. Just shut up and take our hospitality whether you like it or not!¡±


    The elf frowned again, eyed the IV where it was attached to her arm, and gingerly put her lips against the straw to suck. She was too weak to argue or protest anything, but her brilliant blue eyes shot open wide when the juice hit her tongue. She began hungrily sucking it down, quickly draining the box while Athughed and handed her another.


    She was given crackers, a couple gran bars, and then a water bottle after that. All of it was quickly downed as if the poor girl had been starving for weeks, and after she was done Ath capped the water bottle for her and set it on the steel surgical table next to Azmoth.


    ¡°So what¡¯s your name?¡± Ath pressed again ¨C a little more forcefully this time.


    The girl parted her hair with her left hand ¨C the side that didn¡¯t have the vicr injury, and lightly smiled. ¡°My name is Senna. Thank you for helping us¡­ but I must ask, why did you do it?¡±


    Senna¡¯s gaze shifted to Riven sleeping on the floor, and then to the faintly glowing cinders ring to life at random along Azmoth¡¯s body. Her eyes shot wide open, and she gasped in disbelief. ¡°Is that a hellscape brutalisk?!¡±


    ¡°... Yes. A baby one. How¡¯d you know?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen pictures in my uncle¡¯s archive!¡± The disbelief was written along with momentary shock on the elf¡¯s face, but she quickly regained control of her emotions and let go of the breath she¡¯d been holding in for so long. ¡°Wow¡­ I never thought I¡¯d see one in my lifetime. Much less one that was casually trying to sleep.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t sleep.¡± Came the deep voice of Azmoth while he continued toy on his back and stare upwards.


    Senna looked back in surprise, and an eyebrow raised. ¡°Really¡­ Alright then. How do you all speak mynguage?¡±


    ¡°Yournguage?¡± Ath repeated. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s yournguage?¡±


    Senna was about to answer, when she stopped and thought about it. Her jaw dropped in surprise. ¡°No¡­ no this isn¡¯t mynguage. What¡¯s happening? Is it yournguage?¡±


    Ath shook her head with a pleasant smile as Azmoth giggled uncharacteristically from behind. ¡°Nope! Ournguages likely merged or converted to the universalnguage upon entering the multiverse.¡±


    Senna nodded slowly, then turned to look at her friend ¨C the other, blonde elf who was missing her entire forearm and part of her bicep. ¡°Ethel¡­ is she going to be ok?¡±


    Ath hesitantly shrugged. ¡°This old looking baby-stomper Dr. Brass said he thinks so¡­ but I didn¡¯t press the matter. Honestly we weren¡¯t sure either of you would live after what happened. Apparently those goblins have some pretty nasty infections that they spread through their bites¡­¡±


    ¡°Poison.¡± spat Senna with venom in her words, anger ring to life across her pretty features. ¡°Those wretched goblins¡­¡±


    Ath shook her head slowly. ¡°No¡­ Dr. Brass said it was definitely an infection. That¡¯s why he put you on medication.¡±


    Ath pointed to the IV. ¡°He¡¯s directing medicine these humans call antibiotics into your blood vessels for faster ess. Be sure not to take those out, they have limited supplies here after the hospital was attacked.¡±


    Senna coughed again, this time a little more violently ¨C hacking up some phlegm and spitting it out onto her covers between closed hands and looking to Ath apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ Did you say hospital?¡±


    Ath frowned and folded her arms over her toned abdomen. ¡°Well it was a hospital from Earth. Then that monster attacked, and most of the people here died¡­ Riven and I sealed off the entrance down here for now.¡±


    Senna¡¯s face slowly fell, and she sighed. ¡°Earth you say? Where is that?¡±


    ¡°My master¡¯s home.¡± Ath replied promptly. ¡°Part of Panu now. Your world was incorporated into Panu as well.¡±

 Chapter 77

    Chapter 77


    <strong>Chapter 77</strong>


    Senna nodded yet again. ¡°My people called the Ie from ¡®Zazir,¡¯ though neither of our worlds exist as they once did if what the administrator said is to be believed. I cannot grasp the meaning of all this¡­ I¡­ I need to get back to my family. How long have I been asleep?¡±


    Ath thought back to the battle in the forest. ¡°Almost two days now.¡±


    ¡°Two days!?¡± Senna repeated, dumbstruck. ¡°Were there any other survivors other than Ethel and myself?¡±


    ¡°Not from your group. We almost got there in time to save one of the men with you, but he died shortly after we killed the goblins.¡±


    Water began to tear up along Senna¡¯s lower eyelids, and her lip trembled slightly, but she got a hold of her emotions soon after that and swallowed hard to bring herself in check. ¡°Uhm¡­ Ok. May I ask again though, why did you two help us?¡±


    Ath shifted her position, leaning against the bed with her arms folded - and her smile went cold. ¡°Because my master has a bleeding heart. Personally? I would have let you die. It isn¡¯t that I want you to die or have any ill will towards you, it¡¯s just that I don¡¯t care if you live or die. You are as unimportant to me as the grains of dirt underneath my feet, but he¡¯d have been unhappy if we didn¡¯t help you out. And believe it or not, I¡¯ve taken a keen liking to my master and don¡¯t want to see him upset.¡±


    There was an awkward pause. Senna¡¯s eyes went wide at the admission, but they softened as they fell onto Riven¡¯s sleeping figure nearby. ¡°Well, you are a demon. I should have expected as much. Still, I¡¯m surprised that he would have wanted to help. He is a vampire after all.¡±


    Ath snorted, suppressing augh, and then beat her chest twice to expel a belch. ¡°Nice! That was a good one. Anyways, Riven wasn¡¯t a vampire up until recently. Or maybe he was and just didn¡¯t know it? He drank some sinner¡¯s blood from the hellscape and unlocked a dormant bloodline. Not sure how that works out, but that¡¯s what happened.¡±¡°And¡­ he was human before?¡± Senna asked uncertainly, shifting to a morefortable position on the bed.


    Ath nodded. ¡°Human. He¡¯s been a vampire a grand total of a few days.¡±


    ¡°He certainly took to feeding on that goblin without much of a problem for someone who¡¯s only been a vampire for a minimal amount of time.¡±


    Ath¡¯s stare turned cold, and her unusual features were set into hard lines that made Senna visibly shiver. ¡°I¡¯m trying to be nice for my master¡¯s sake. If you want me to leave you alone, I can certainly do that. I¡¯d appreciate it if you weren¡¯t so judgmental with the people who saved your lives though.¡±


    Senna opened her mouth to speak, then shut it again. She shook her head, eyes downcast, and sighed. ¡°I am sorry. I apologize¡­ I am just not ustomed to the idea that¡­ Well, usually his kind views my kind as cattle. If you say he was just turned though, I will believe you. There is no reason not to since I am still in thend of the living¡­ You are very pretty, by the way.¡±


    Ath immediately beamed. ¡°Thanks! You¡¯re very pretty yourself! For a mortal, anyways.¡±


    Senna blushed and half-smiled, ncing over at Riven again. ¡°As is your master.¡±


    The room¡¯s mood immediately soured and Ath¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡±


    The way Ath got so protective over Riven in that single instant was somewhat funny to Senna, and the elf suppressed augh of her own with her good side cupping her mouth when Azmoth also began tough.


    ¡°Not funny!¡± Ath snapped at the brutalisk, only for Azmoth to wag his tail even faster with amusement. ¡°I¡¯m serious Azmoth! It isn¡¯t funny!¡±


    ¡°I am promised to another.¡± Senna stated with a sly smile. ¡°Though he is good looking, I must admit. What is your master¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t press your luck! You aren¡¯t worthy!¡± Ath replied, half joking and half threatening with a finger pointed the elf¡¯s way. ¡°His name is Riven.¡±


    Senna raised an eyebrow. ¡°Do you intend to vet all the women who chase him then?¡±


    Ath raised an eyebrow, daringly. ¡°That or I intend to kill them. Unless of course they meet my standards¡­ I¡¯d allow it if they were up to par.¡±


    Senna¡¯s face paled, only to beginughing again when Ath¡¯sposure broke and she couldn¡¯t keep the straight face.


    ¡°I¡¯m already beginning to like you Ath.¡± Senna said with another sigh, closing her eyes and letting her head sink into the pillow behind her. ¡°This is such an odd situation I find myself in¡­ when I tell my father of this, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll not believe it until he meets you.¡±


    ¡°Until he meets me?¡± Ath repeated with an eye roll, using a finger and wagging it in front of Senna¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. Just look at how you reacted. At how the goblins reacted. Let me ask you a question, if you had arger group of people with you and encountered us ¨C would you have tried to kill us?¡±


    Senna opened her eyes and met Ath¡¯s gaze, then winced in pain when her vicle moved with arge intake of air. ¡°Certainly. However, I will be able to convince him and the council. Your master has proved himself a good person. I am in his debt, and my tribe needs to know of this ce. The more allies we have ¨C the more protection we can bring to one another against the monsters that roam thesends.¡±


    Ath wasn¡¯t buying it one bit. ¡°I am incredibly skeptical that any elf tribe would want to ally themselves with a vampire and his demonic servants. You may broach the subject with him when he wakes, but I will advise him against meeting your father or any of the rest of your kind. Do not think that because <em><strong>he</strong></em> is newly turned and unaware of your peoples¡¯ histories that <em><strong>I</strong></em> do not know them. Just as I studied his realm before the integration, I studied yours too.¡±


    Azmoth got up from the side of the surgical table, standing to a full height and peering down at the elf with a scrutinizing gaze unbing of anything friendly. ¡°They will not know of the master unless he wants it.¡±


    The elf was not to be persuaded otherwise though.


    ¡°But people can change, and we must change if we are to survive. Why not try?¡± Senna asked hesitantly, looking a little sad and lightly sping her hands. ¡°I understand that you don¡¯t want to let my tribe know about Riven for good reason, but can we not at least find amon meeting ce to leave each other messages or set aside times to talk? I¡¯m in his debt and wish to know more about all of you after I leave here.¡±


    Ath¡¯s sly smile quickly spread across her lips while examining the visibly nervous elf. ¡°No¡­ You¡¯re just fishing for information.¡±


    Ath took a step forward and jabbed a finger into Senna¡¯s sternum. ¡°You¡¯re just afraid he¡¯s going to select you to be his thrall. Azmoth, should I tell Riven about how to make thralls now that he¡¯s got such a fine specimen here that seems so easy for the picking?¡±


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the vition.


    The elf¡¯s face quickly paled and a look of horror overcame her, and Ath followed up with a shrill and cruelugh. ¡°Do not y games with me, mortal. But beforted, as he would be appalled by such an idea anyways. However, if you truly are interested in meeting us again after we let you go¡­ You may speak to Riven about it when he wakes.¡±


    Senna¡¯s horror vanished, letting out a deep and shaky sigh before she brightly smiled. ¡°Good! I am excited to let my family know that I have made friends with a vampire! It¡¯s actually quite exciting¡­¡±


    A quiet knock at the door drew the attention of the elf and two demons, and the voice of Jake the teenager from earlier called out to ask if he coulde in.


    Ath quietly exited the room, literally not making even the slightest of sounds as her bare feet traveled over the tiled operating room floor. It was uncanny. Even the swing of the door made no noise, her body¡¯s passive abilities dampening the sound just because she was in contact with it - as she didn¡¯t want to wake Riven up for no good reason.


    He needed his sleep.


    Exiting the room and staring down at the teenager who gawked at her breasts with wide eyes, she open-palmed pped the boy to get his attention and startle him back into reality. ¡°The hell do you want, runt?¡±


    The blonde, curly haired teen stammered a reply and hastily tried to reconstruct hisposure while blushing immensely. ¡°I, uh, just wanted to update all of you. There¡¯s something important I¡¯ve found with my maps.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Are the monsters gone?¡±


    The boy slowly shook his head. ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s still sniffing around upstairs. It actually looks like they¡¯re making a nest, or trying to find a way down here, or both. They¡¯re not having much luck on the second.¡±


    ¡°Then what is it?¡±


    The kid pointed back towards an old closet, and he motioned for her to follow. Taking one of thenterns from a nearby table and using the dim light to lead the way, he opened the closet up and pointed at a thin metal sheet on the floor that was clipped down to another metal ring via padlock. ¡°If we can break this, it actually leads into a sewer system. We can get out of here without ever needing to fight the creatures up above, even if they¡¯re nesting.¡±


    ***


    The next two hours passed with little to do for Ath, but eventually Riven yawned and woke up with a stretch.


    ¡°HOLY shit!¡± Riven eximed and reared back his head - whacking it against the near wall when he opened his eyes to see Ath¡¯s own pupils staring daggers at him from only half an inch away.


    He grimaced her way and rubbed at the bruise with a frown. ¡°OW!¡±


    The demoness snickered and Riven smacked her upside the forehead before pushing her away and sitting up. ¡°You think you¡¯re funny, huh?¡±


    She gave him a brilliant smile. ¡°I know I¡¯m funny! Anyways: Jake, that teenage brat, has some information from scouting out the surrounding city. We also found a passage out of here, so get your ass moving and let¡¯s go talk to him!¡±


    Riven smiled at her chipper attitude and massaged the back of his head some more, but took her hand to pull himself up when she offered it. A minuteter he approached Jake who was nestled inbetween his parents on a couch, and a few minutes after that he was in the three-dimensional mapping system alongside Jake while having various details pointed out about the surrounding environment. It was a very useful ability and ss if Riven had any say, even if it wasn¡¯tbat oriented. The main sphere of his map was updated live, in real time. The issue with his 3D mapping sphere was only within a certain radius concerning his current spot, which was maybe a couple hundred yards, and Jake couldn¡¯t be paying attention to all details at once. But he was able to use summoned dragonflies to go beyond this sphere, looking through their eyes as they zipped about to do the scouting for him beyond the updated-live map to map out other parts of the area that were stagnant based on thest thing Jake saw. The teenager apparently could create up to 5 of these scouting mana-based dragonflies at one time too.


    First thing the kid had scouted were the monsters upstairs. It really was beginning to nest there, dragging piles of corpses over to feed on and integrating body parts little by little of what it didn¡¯t need to eat.


    Jake had alsobed through the western edge of the city with his dragonflies after he¡¯d run out of investigating the surrounding area in thorough detail. This had been done over the past couple days actually even before the monster attack, and the kid had even adopted a pattern of developing intelligence on surrounding groups only for his own curiosity - which he was happy to share with Riven.


    The city was a lot bigger than Riven had initially thought, being situated mostly inbetween two mountains in arge valley but also extending out into the ins beyond.. Of the scouting Jake had done thus far, three areas were most noticeable.


    First, after passing through arge neighborhood where looters were frequenting various houses, was an old prison. Watching and listening through the eyes of their dragonflies: Riven hade to realize that this prison was now one of the city¡¯s hubs. Inmates, once prisoners there, had overthrown the guards and taken control of it. The prison was basically a fortress, with heavy-duty barbed wire fences in multipleyers and easily guarded points of entry. Being two stories tall, it also had a lot of room to keep people. They¡¯d killed all the original guards in the prison, and the inmates had reced them with ves while forming a hierarchy around one man named James. These people raided the surrounding city wherever they were able to find supplies or other humans: killing anyone that got in their way, taking their things, and raping whoever they chose to take for their own pleasures. They had a stockpile of guns, with a few of them even having earned sses, levels and abilities by killing monsters or finishing their own tutorials ¨C the most noteworthy of these being James himself.


    James was a big, bald white man with a bushy brown beard who always remained shirtless, having long scars in the form of X¡¯s ced along his front and back. Heavily tattooed sleeves inked his muscr arms up to the shoulders, and he was quick to anger ¨C killing people who even thought of challenging his authority with some kind of earth magic that enveloped his skin in rock with strength and defense bonuses. Given the way they conducted themselves, Riven had already marked him as an obstacle they¡¯d have to take care of sooner orter if he wished to stay in Brightsburg.


    The second noticeable area was a veryrge church next to argeke: located on the northern edge of the city where hundreds of people, mostly rednecks and the adamantly religious types, had congregated. A priest by the name of Benjamin had acquired a form of holy magic and some divine book of miracles he¡¯d likely found in a tutorial dungeon, and had called upon his fellow followers of God to pray with him and take up arms. In typical redneck fashion, they¡¯d brought their guns and bibles and created something of a religious cult ¨C referencing Benjamin as their lord and savior reincarnated and a direct messenger of god that would lead them from the apocalypse into greater destinations. Benjamin¡¯s followers called him ¡®Prophet¡¯, and ording to Jake they¡¯d been very aggressive in their recruitment tactics - often forcing other people to join via threat of violence. Rumors were going around before Riven got there that Benjamin¡¯s men had actually murdered the previous city mayor, and had killed the remnant police force as well.


    The third noticeable group was a bit more¡­ scary. At least ording to the teenager. News from other survivors who¡¯d witnessed the fights or even those who¡¯d just happened to be in the wrong ce at the wrong time swore up and down about a new undead faction in the downtown area. There was a lot of debate about whether or not they were actually people who¡¯d just obtained necromancy magics after the integration, or whether they were just monsters feeding on people to grow their own numbers. Whatever the case, Jake had scouted it out as well - and he¡¯d found hundreds of various undead species holed up within the tallest tower of the downtown skyline. The tower was very tall, and in the snapshots Jake had taken it was even pulsing with teal and ck magics that slowly warped the building from steel into¡­ something else. The process was still underway, but it was very obvious that the base structure of the tower was actually being converted into new materials with patches of ivory and ck along its surface. Unfortunately Jake¡¯s creatures had been spotted rather fast when exploring this particr area, so he hadn¡¯t been able to glean much information on it yet.


    The neighborhoods to the north of the western edge of the city was also a madhouse. Entire blocks had been lit ame in the past and burned down street by street as gang wars erupted between a multitude of different smaller factions fighting over resources. These resources were often found by Jake to be food, ammunition, toilet paper, medical supplies, and sadly enough - women. From what Riven could tell, most of these people were smaller groups and spread out amidst the anarchy without any major leader unifying them just yet¡­ but many of the gangs actually bartered and traded with one another within these five categories of goods. Apparently Elysium Coins hadn¡¯t be a really big hit yet with the local popce, and Riven couldn¡¯t me them. He had yet to see any Elysium Altars since getting here, so how was he supposed to spend these damn coins?


    Quite frankly Riven was quite surprised to see that society had fallen so far and so fast as to resort to very within weeks of bing a post-apocalyptic wastnd though, but Ath wasn¡¯t as surprised as he was.

 Chapter 78

    Chapter 78


    <strong>Chapter 78</strong>


    ¡°No Riven, this is typical of your species.¡± Ath had stated tly with an uncaring yawn as she watched unspeakable things done to various victims across the city through Jake¡¯s vision. ¡°You people call us demons bad, but really there are a lot of humans out there who are easilyparable to the worst of demonkind given the opportunity to obtain power.¡±


    Marketces had all been looted by this point, and as the dragonflies scouted further into the city ¨C they found more and more anarchy following suit. The police were gone, either disbandedpletely or having hunkered up somewhere further east, but more than a few cop cars were seen flipped over and set aze. There were still a couple patches of city blocks where people and their families holed up and tried to wait it out, but more often than not this was no longer the case. People were bing frantic, desperate to scramble and fight with one another over thest resources of the old world instead of turning to try and make something from the new.


    They also learned that monsters, though they were certainly appearing in small packs or at random, were usually rather weak in this area. There were a few stronger ones such as the hive-mind dream creatures that¡¯d made their new nest in the recesses of the hospital, but even they were individually weak for the most part. And the scouting they did revealed only a handful of these stronger creatures were noted. Some of the monsters were also somewhere inbetween, like that six-legged tiger-cat that¡¯d tried pouncing on Riven ¨C but even those weren¡¯t verymon. They¡¯d seen more wargs, a couplerge birds with de-tipped wings, some semi-translucent mana-wisps that were more passive than other creatures and only attacked if provoked, arge ugly looking troll, and even some more packs of goblins that raided along the outskirts of the city in small war parties.


    Despite all this searching though, they didn¡¯t see any sign of Jose or Allie. Riven was anxious to get out and up above ground so he could better evaluate where the glowing lights indicated their locations to be - rather than be stuck down here in the basement when the next brief interlude of the system¡¯s quest happened again.


    Riven spent another three hours exploring the surrounding area while using one of Jake¡¯s fireflies. Meanwhile: Ethel ¨C the blonde elf who¡¯d lost part of one arm, hade around. She¡¯d woken up in a state of panic and had taken a lot of time talking to Senna in order to calm down. By the end of their talks however, both elves were on uneasy speaking terms with Ath ¨C who they¡¯d taken a hesitant liking to.


    The feeling was not entirely mutual, but Ath did her best to put on a face, keep thempany and answer any questions since Riven had gone out of his way to save them. Even if they <em><strong>were </strong></em>disgusting elves.


    Food distribution was also going poorly very fast. Rations were already scarce as they were evenly distributed amidst the people here, because most of the food in the hospital had been left upstairs before being sealed off ¨C and theck of a sun made the ce feel rather gloomy despite the candle light of thenterns that had to be continually re-lit. Groups had already started to form in the basement: the handful of nurses with Dr. Brass and Dr. Waters, the few families who¡¯d been here with family members undergoing surgery around the time of the hospital¡¯s attack, and a number of people who had just been down here to seek refuge and find an out-of-the-way ce because the rest of the hospital had been too packed. This didn¡¯t include Riven, his demons or the two elves of course. These groups generally kept to themselves except when Dr. Brass came to talk to Riven or Ath about various things on magic or to take some of the food rations out to the others, but there was a definite sense of fear whenever other people looked Riven¡¯s way. It was the same fear that both elves had expressed when they¡¯d first set eyes on the duo before their lives had been saved.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t take it personally¡­¡± Senna bravely stated by the end of the day through a forced smile, speaking to Riven directly for the first time since waking up as the tattooed husband of the woman who¡¯d called Riven a monster walked by with a stout re Riven¡¯s way. ¡°You¡¯re just a threat to them, and your charisma¡­ it¡¯s a bit jarring to look at you. Even now. But charisma is always worst with first impressions, and the longer you know someone the less their charisma stat affects you...¡±Well that was good to know. Nevertheless Riven was standing, leaning against a wall with a dull look in his eyes. He didn¡¯t like the way people were looking at him. They were scared, almost all of them, and other than Dr. Brass and Dr. Waters none of them wanted anything to do with him.


    It probably hadn¡¯t helped that they¡¯d taken the corpse of the nurse who¡¯d died to feed on¡­ but Riven had been seriously hungry. He wouldn¡¯t havested much longer that day ¨C given the severe stomach cramps and bloodthirsty way he looked at the people around him until he gave in and sank his fangs into the dead woman¡¯s neck. They¡¯d tried to keep it on the down-low, but word had spread like wildfire anyways ¨C and Riven had determined that his silent experiment concerning how long he could go without feeding on blood had concluded that the time was rather short indeed.


    At least, it was short in terms of serious hunger cravings. He didn¡¯t know how long he¡¯dst in terms of insanity kicking in.


    Even the elves had been scared to death of him when they¡¯d firstid eyes on him, terrified of when he was going to eat them. So when Senna finally managed to muster the courage to finally talk that day, both eyebrows shot sky-high and he did a double-take to his right. ¡°Are you talking to me?¡±


    Senna¡¯s confident features faltered as his gaze shifted to her, but with an encouraging touch from Ath who sat on a metal chair next to the bed the elves were still recovering on ¨C she hardened her resolve. ¡°Yes. I also wanted to personally apologize for my rudeness. Our rudeness-¡±


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Senna corrected herself by motioning to her friend Ethel on her right, and her friend quickly nodded with wide, green eyes. ¡°We both wanted to apologize. You and your demons have been nothing but kind to us. We are sorry for ignoring you, it¡¯s just¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re intimidating.¡± Ethel stated bluntly, then she flushed a deep red and tried to cover her face with her hands ¨C only to sadly whimper when she realized she was still missing one of them. She dropped her head, long blonde hair falling over her face in a look of utter defeat while trying to push the image of her lost hand out of her mind.


    Riven gave them both a warm smile and slowly came over to stand beside the bed, looking down on them. ¡°Thank you both. It means more to me than you realize, I¡¯ve never been great at making friends. I was worried that bing what I am now would seriously damper my efforts.¡±


    He nced down at the stump of an arm that Ethel was tearfully staring at, sighing lightly as the beautiful elf never took her eyes off of it. The wound was bandaged up nicely, but it had to be changed out every day to keep it clean. Underneath there was exposed bone, muscle, and granr tissue starting to fill in. Even after Ath¡¯s original efforts to seal it up with her webbing.


    ¡°Are two you doing ok?¡±


    Ethel sniffed, wiped her eyes and nose on the nkets, and adjusted the scant fur top she¡¯d put on the day before. ¡°I¡¯ll be ok eventually. Probably not soon, but I know I can ovee this.¡±


    Senna gave her friend a sad smile. ¡°You¡¯ll be ok, Ethel. Thank you for asking Riven. As for me, my leg is recovering¡­ The infection is under control from what your Dr. Brass has told me. He said it might take a couple weeks to healpletely though¡­¡±


    She frowned, wringing her fingers together and suddenly lost in her thoughts.


    ¡°Worried about your family again?¡± Ath asked curiously. ¡°That¡¯s the look you get whenever you talk about them.¡±


    Senna immediately gave a dry chuckle and nodded. ¡°Yes. They likely think we¡¯re both dead. If they¡¯ve found the other bodies by now, then they think the goblins took us to eat.¡±


    ¡°Or worse¡­¡± mumbled Ethel ndly.


    Senna nodded and wiped at some of the dirt on her face. ¡°Or worse. My kind has been at war with goblins for as long as I can remember¡­ They are the mortal enemies of woond elves. They breed at rates far beyond my own people, so although one elf warrior may take down many before he or she dies ¨C they just keeping. They are stupid, greedy, ugly, evil little creatures that eat and kill everything they can. The world would be a better ce without them.¡±


    She grumbled, swinging her legs over the bed and gingerly putting weight on her good leg ¨C only to cringe and shrink back when she moved her upper body in a way that put pressure on her broken vicle. ¡°By the gods I am going to kill those little green men by the scores when I leave this ce.¡±


    ¡°As am I.¡± Ethel muttered under her breath.


    The obvious hate for goblins was only emphasized by the anger visibly showing upon both elves¡¯ features. They truly meant it when they said they were going to go kill the little green men, Riven had no doubt about that.


    He raised a hand to get their attention and posed a question. ¡°Do you have any means of regrowing that arm?¡±


    Both elves looked at him nkly, then Ethel burst into melodicughter as Senna sputtered.


    ¡°Magic to regrow limbs?¡± Senna repeated as if to make sure she¡¯d heard him right. ¡°Not in our vige.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t your people have magic before the apocalypse?¡± Riven pressed curiously despite the continuedughter.


    Ethel held up her remaining right hand, calming herself and wiping a tear away. Still smiling and genuinely amused even despite the partial loss of her left arm, she waved her stump around at him. ¡°The shamans have some basic nature magic in the vige, but nothing like what you¡¯re talking about. That was funny though, I needed theugh. Thanks for that. You know, for a vampire¡­ you¡¯re quite nice. Ath is great too, even if she tries toe off as uncaring!¡±


    She beamed up at him, a little shyly at first but growing more confident quite quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll get used to not having my hand, I¡¯m sure. I¡¯m just happy that I¡¯m alive. It¡¯s more than we can say for our friends, and I know our families will be happy beyond belief when they realize that Senna and I are still with them.¡±


    Riven felt himself flush at her beaming expression and cleared his throat when he caught himself staring ¨C averting his gaze to Ath who remained narrow-eyed and scowling his way. ¡°Right. I¡¯m d I made enough of a fool of myself to be amusing then!¡±


    Azmoth was sipping on a juice box with a poorly hidden smirk through obsidian daggers for teeth, which frankly looked ridiculous. But as Riven walked by to exit the room ¨C he nudged the vampiric man and whispered so Ath couldn¡¯t hear. ¡°Quite thedy killer.¡±


    Riven just flushed even harder, and Azmothughed as they both exited.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to give you the satisfaction of replying to that Azmoth, but I¡¯ve gotta admit your speech ising along nicely.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Riven, I¡¯ve learning fast after listening to all you interact. It¡¯s almost entirely what been focusing recently. I still make mistakes, but Ath always quick to correct me. She¡¯s good teacher.¡±


    Coming down the hall and then to the closet that Ath and Jake had showed him earlier, Riven opened the door and nodded approvingly at thetch in the center of the floor. It was made of steel, the padlock had already been ripped off, and was big enough for him to easily fit through.


    It was time to go exploring.


    ¡°This is entrance to sewer systems?¡± Azmoth asked curiously.


    Riven nodded. ¡°Indeed. Funny that a building like this would have it, but I don¡¯t think this was always a hospital.¡±


    He bent down, gripping the ledge and flinging it up to reveal a dark path into the ground. The tunnel was a straight shot down, measuring around 6 feet across in diameter. Rungs had been added on two sides, allowing two different people to go up and down at one time.


    Ath had followed along right behind the others, and with a nudge she prodded Riven down the hole. ¡°It¡¯s now or never, just like we talked about! Let¡¯s go find your sister!¡±


    Azmoth waved down at them, his armored limb slowly moving back and forth in the light of the cinders across his body. He was to stay behind and keep the others safe long enough for them to escape down into the sewers themselves if those dream creatures somehow found a way inside the hospital basement, and if Riven really needed him the vampire could always portal him to Riven¡¯s given location. ¡°Be safe.¡±


    Riven gave the demon a friendly grin and a thumbs up. ¡°Will do man! Make sure you look after Ethel and Senna, they¡¯ll need you to fetch their juice boxes like a good little peasant!¡±


    ¡°I am a B-ss demon, you runt! Not a peasant!¡± Azmoth said with augh.


    ¡°Yeah well I¡¯m still not sure what an B-ss is really, does that stand for ¡®sissy¡¯!?¡±


    Ath loudlyughed at Azmoth¡¯s expression and hiked a thumb Riven¡¯s way ¨C pausing her descent. ¡°If he gets us killed down here, just know that I died valiantly trying to save his useless ass as <em><strong>he</strong></em> screamed like a sissy!¡±


    Riven scowled back at her over his shoulder and Azmothughed even harder.


    ¡°You shut your dirty, whore mouth Ath!¡±


    ¡°I am a VIRGIN! I¡¯ve never had the opportunity to be a whore!¡±

 Chapter 79

    Chapter 79


    <strong>Chapter 79</strong>


    ¡°Oh shoot, hold that thought! I forgot I needed to check my status page after that fight with the dream creatures. I got some notifications, but was busy experiencing that dao vision¡­¡± Riven¡¯s words trailed off while he was halfway down thedder into the sewers, and his eyebrows rose in shock.


    He¡¯d killed goblins, men, and hundreds of dream creatures over the past two days. He¡¯d been thoroughly caught up in events - so much so that he¡¯d simply failed to check his notifications concerning said level ups. He hadn¡¯t known what to expect since thest time he checked his page, but this¡­ this was not it. He¡¯d grown by¡­ a lot, and had jumped from level 18 to level 27. He had a whopping amount of free stat points to use, and pre-applied improvements had already been ced.


    <strong>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 27</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty, Infernal, Shadow</strong></li><li><strong>Core of Original Sin - Gluttony:] (Under Construction)(???)</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] Race: Pureblooded Vampire (Extreme Darkness Regeneration)(Sunlight Decay)(Extreme Weakness to Silver weapons, Sun pir, and Light pir attacks), ss: Warlock Adept, Adrenaline Junky (Blood)(+15% to Agility)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood)(Tier 2), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal)</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 59 Strength, 116 Sturdiness, 224 Intelligence, 134 Agility, 1 Luck, -335 Charisma, 164 Vampiric Perception, 91 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li><strong>Free Stat Points: 63</strong></li><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 23 Arshakai [36 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 24 Hellscape Brutalisk [27 Willpower Requirement].</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), Vampire¡¯s Escort (104 dmg, 102% mana regen, shadow and blood dmg +22%, ck Lightning, Scorpion¡¯s Sting), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies (Guild Hall: Stone Manor), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Cloak of the Tundra (22 def, +56 bonus def vs frost), Breath of Valgeshia (48 def, +13 dmg & +9% mana output dmg for blood dmg, 6% mana regen)]</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°You¡¯re just now looking?¡± Ath teased with a grin while hanging on the oppositedder and waggling a finger his way. ¡°You need to be better about that after battles, you killed lots and lots of enemies. Azmoth actually gained a fire breath ability from his level ups, courtesy of the system. I didn¡¯t get any new abilities but the power boosts were definitely nice.¡±


    Riven blinked. ¡°Why do I not feel any different after all these stats were applied?¡±


    ¡°You underwent a dao vision, didn¡¯t you?¡± Ath stated with a polite smile. ¡°Often dao visions and inspiration will mask changes to your body. Or, better said, they sometimese as a result of many gains and help your body and soul integrate the new stats. That isn¡¯t always the case, but it certainly was here.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Riven mmed all 63 points into intelligence again, shuddering when he immediately got a killer headache - but he could literally feel his mana channels expanding and a new flux of power flood through his body as he went from 224 intelligence to 287 intelligence in an instant.


    He shuddered slightly and squeezed the bridge of his nose. It wasn¡¯t anything unbearable, but it definitely hurt and Athughed before continuing down thedder when he shook it off.They dropped to the bottom soon after,nding on the sewer¡¯s main pipeline floor with a set of squeaks from some nearby sewer rats. ¡°Man, that stat boost was a little rough. Ath, were you able to memorize theyout of this ce from Jake¡¯s maps?¡±


    ¡°Somewhat. I think we¡¯ll be fine, and I¡¯ll mark our path with webbing to keep ourselves on the right path when wee back.¡±


    Riven¡¯s feet hit tapped on the stone floor, and he turned ¨C easily adjusting to the dark without any problem as what would have appeared ck to normal people now appeared various shades of gray. The tunnel ahead split at a crossroads further off, and the tunnel behind curved around to the left when looking that way. It was a good thing he and Ath could see in dark ces, because otherwise this would have been a real nightmare trip to take.


    Riven watched as rats in the sewers ran ahead through the waste and trash that was scattered around the sewers. Whichever way Riven and Ath looked ¨C there wasn¡¯t anything of real interest to them.


    It also smelled rather terrible down in the tunnel, and Riven got a really good whiff of it when he walked ahead to a rail posted along the walkway he stood on. In the middle of the sewer was a small river of vile liquid that stood stagnant, rotting garbage and human feces apparent in the mix of swirling gunk. It likely had once been a moving, flowing river that carried the trash out before the sewer systems had been detached whenever thend had been rearranged with the three worlds merging ¨C but Riven couldn¡¯t be sure. He just couldn¡¯t see why anyone would let it all stay down here like that ¨C it could cause a serious disease problem if they did.


    Or he assumed so anyways.


    Ath¡¯s bare feet glided over the floor in silent grace, but she grimaced in disgust as the stench hit her nostrils full-force. ¡°By the hells, that¡¯s disgusting!¡±


    Riven nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes it certainly is. Now let¡¯s find a way out of here so we can start exploring the city ourselves without having to face any more of those dream beasts. I¡¯m all for leveling up, but who knows how many of those things are out there.¡±


    ¡°And so we can get the naysayers out of ourir!¡± Ath chimed in, extending one finger to produce a w and tapping Riven on the head with it.


    ¡°Ourir? No way. We¡¯re finding somewhere to set up that guild hall I got from Negrada.¡±


    Wanting to make the most of their time, they went forward down the tunnel towards the crossroads. Moving straight ahead instead of following the first rat as it took the path to the right, they continued in silence amidst the gloom of the dark underground.


    And then without warning, a new set of prompts appeared for both Ath and Riven to see.


    <strong>[You have been made a target by a regional quest: </strong><strong>Crusade Against the Undead</strong><strong> - Benjamin, otherwise known as ¡®Prophet¡¯ by many of his followers, has dered a holy war for the control of the city of Brightsville. Enacting a holy ritual and with his request being backed by a minor god, all humans within Brightsville will receive additional Elysium Coins, XP towards leveling, and other undisclosed prizes based on performance when culling the undead in this area.</strong>


    <strong>[You have been offered a </strong><strong>guiding system quest</strong><strong> from the administrator: </strong><strong>Covens</strong><strong> ¨C Either find a coven to join, or grow your own coven to a minimum number of 5 vampires including yourself. To create new vampires, you must inject vampiric essence into your target via your fangs. Be wary of doing this too fast, as if you do not recharge your vampiric essence inbetween attempts to turn others - you will be sick and in a worst case scenario: die. Rewards: 1 portal ticket for an attempt to acquire another piece of Valgeshia¡¯s Item Set.]</strong>


    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    <strong>[You have been offered a </strong><strong>guiding system quest</strong><strong> from the administrator: </strong><strong>Acquire Cattle and Create a Thrall</strong><strong> ¨C As a newly born vampire, you will need to acquire cattle, or in other terms - people to regrly feed on. It does not matter if you do this through persuasion or force. Then after this select one of these cattle to create a thrall. Thralls are mortals bent to a vampire¡¯s will and are essentially more subservient and powerful ¡®cattle¡¯ as many vampires like to say. Though they do retain their intelligence, personality, and to some extent their own free will - their desires are instinctively and heavily oriented to align with your own. This ces them in the minion category of your status page when acquired sessfully. Thralls also acquire some vampiric strengths, while they are able to retain their own pirs and abilities outside of the vampiric influence. However: retained pirs and abilities will be corrupted - sometimes modifying them slightly for better or worse. Lastly, thralls are able to provide greater amounts of nourishing blood than normal mortal cattle do; and their bloodlines may be modified over time to evolve to your liking. To create a thrall, you must feed on them regrly for an extended period of time and they must in turn feed on your blood numerous times throughout their initial evolutionary cycle. Reward upon acquiring thrall: 1bat level, a stable food source, and a new avenue to acquire minions.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have been offered a </strong><strong>guiding system quest</strong><strong> from the administrator: </strong><strong>Kill the Dream Creatures</strong><strong> ¨C Kill the dream creatures building a nest over the hospital¡¯s basement before they grow in power and be arger threat to the surrounding area. As the hive-mind dream creatures feed on souls, they will continue to grow in strength and numbers over time. Time limit: 30 days. Rewards: 1 Elysium Altar.]</strong>


    ¡°Huh?¡± Riven muttered, cocking his head to the side with his hands on his hips. Not a momentter and he felt Ath repeatedly jab him in the side excitedly.


    ¡°Ooooh!!! OOOHHHH OOOOOOHHHHH!!! Look at THESE!!!¡± Ath crowed, continuing to excitedly jab her master¡¯s rib cage until he swat her along the back of her head. Scowling up at him, she flipped him off. ¡°Jerk.¡±


    ¡°Is it normal to get system quests like this?¡±


    ¡°Early into integrations it is. After that they¡¯re harder toe by, when the world has been settled down and trials have beenpleted for failure or sess.¡±


    ¡°So other people across the are also getting quests like these?¡±


    ¡°To greater or lesser extents, yes. It¡¯s usually all individualized.¡±


    A bubble rose up out of the sewage, causing both of them to look over to their right with tensed muscles - but they rxed when they saw it was just another rat making its way out of the disgusting mess that¡¯d been left down here.


    Ath waved a dismissive hand in front of them as they started to walk down the sewers again. ¡°Meh. Let¡¯s get a move on and worry about the questster. We need to find your sister, and being underground when the system pings her location again won¡¯t be any help to us.¡±


    Riven had to agree. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true. However I¡¯m not exactly overly enthusiastic about these other quests either. Creating a coven is one thing, but creating a thrall sounds rather awful. Semi-evil, even.¡±


    Ath let out a snickeringugh. ¡°Oh you¡¯re so soft. Look, it¡¯s either create a thrall or two - or go around and hunt people down. Even if you let them go after feeding, do you really think their families and friends or themunities you¡¯re preying on won¡¯te for you?¡±


    She gave him a wry smile. ¡°Let¡¯s be realistic here. Thralls are an evolution and adaptation that vampires perfected over countless millennia in order to keep and maintain willing participants that they feed on. There is always the other option of actually ving people, which is anothermon method many of the vampiric societies throughout the multiverse work with, but I don¡¯t see you being that kind of person.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a thin line between very and making thralls, or at least that¡¯s how it appears to me.¡±


    ¡°True, but many people will willingly give themselves up to a vampire in order to acquire power. Being a thrall isn¡¯t all bad, as long as you have a good vampiric master. Think of it like a demonic contract, only that the strict set of rules have been reced with urges to further the agenda of whatever vampire created them.¡±


    Riven blinked. ¡°Will thralls require Willpower stat points as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It even said that doing so is another avenue to creating minions, right?¡±


    ¡°Well you can add needing more willpower to the list of reasons why I won¡¯t do it. I¡¯m already going to be investing in all of my demonic contracts and each demon will need more and more willpower with every evolution, too many minions will mean I¡¯ll stifle my own growth.¡±


    ¡°Oh, just think about it. ss upgrades will also increase the amount of willpower you get if you choose the right ones. Your thrall¡¯s bloodline evolutions will also upgrade with your personal Willpower, a lot like how my evolution required additional willpower. However, when a thrall dies they¡¯re dead-dead. Not banished-to-theher-realms-dead. That¡¯s the big difference between us demons and a thrall when using them to fight. Got it?¡±


    ¡°I get it, but I still don¡¯t like it. I¡¯ll think about it though, and if there is a unique situation where someone actively wants to be my thrall I guess it wouldn¡¯t be too bad. But there won¡¯t be any very or forcing them to do it against their will, I refuse to do that. What I don¡¯t get is the other quest concerning creating new vampires - it says I have to inject my vampiric essence into my target and not to do it too fast or I¡¯ll die.¡±


    ¡°That one I can¡¯t help you with, sorry. I have no idea how to inject vampiric essence into anything.¡±


    Riven pulled up his status sheet and then reviewed the quest log attached to his status page again. ¡°I guess it¡¯ll have to wait then, I¡¯ll figure it out. The problem is finding people who we trust enough to create vampires out of¡­ and honestly, I¡¯m not even sure being a vampire is all that great. It¡¯s definitely a power boost, but at what cost? Each additional vampire will also mean finding ways to feed them too, and we would all need to be sustained on the blood of mortals.¡±


    Having a rather surreal feeling about being contacted by the administrator about this, Riven shook his head and continued ahead while motioning for Ath to follow. He wondered how many other people had been contacted about such outrageous things. How many billions of people were struggling to survive right now? How many other unique scenarios or quests had been given out, like the Chalgathi trials? What were the other people who escaped Chalgathi¡¯s starter event doing now? Why¡¯d they been chosen to participate? He still had so many questions and so few answers it made his head hurt.


    They continued on another fifteen minutes and took another righting to an immediate stop as both of them saw a blur of movement at the far end of the next passage. Dim moonlight illuminated the far end of the tunnel through an open manhole ¨C easily discernible to both Riven and Ath.


    Ath nudged him with narrowed eyes, and all six of her arachnoid legs came out to stand poised for a strike. She was still working on regaining her arachnid form via shapeshifting and likely would have transitioned here due to the small enclosure of the tunnels around them, but she¡¯d been struggling with shapeshifting beyond what¡¯d been expected and could only stay in her demonic humanoid form even with the tight corridor restrictions.


    ¡°Did you see that?


    Riven silently stared into the dark from underneath his hood, crimson irises scanning the area intensely and gripping his ck staff more firmly. For the second time sinceing down into the sewers, the filthy waters of trash and sewage in the middle of the tunnel wasn¡¯t stagnant. Ripples in the dark waters originating from further up passed them by.


    ¡°Yes, I did see that¡­¡±


    He looked over the railing, not noting anything else or anything that was an obvious threat. He pushed ahead a little bit more, again seeing nothing new, and overhead Ath began crawling up the tunnel¡¯s wall and onto the ceiling in absolute silence to scout out the area. He scratched the back of his neck, blood vapor blowing out of the holes in his runic mask, and was about to take another step forward when he began to hear the faint sounds of a heartbeat only a few feet from him.


    Then the tunnel exploded into motion.

 Chapter 80

    Chapter 80


    <strong>Chapter 80</strong>


    A lithe, snake-like figure measuring at the very least a couple dozen feet tore up through the trash and scummy water at insane speed ¨C roaring an earth-trembling screech. The creature was covered in armored, spiked chitin, with a round mouth full of rows of teeth. It had no eyes, and tworge pincers in the front of its maw with no legs.


    <strong>[Infantile Spiked Wyrm, Great Beast]</strong>


    Riven didn¡¯t have time to take in the rest of the creature, not entirely sure of just how big it was considering part of its body was still submerged as he screamed at a pitch unbing of a fully grown man and he instantly activated Riftwalk.


    A ck fissure in space erupted directly behind him and swallowed him whole, ripping him inside and sending him teleporting backwards out the other end of the fissure as he barely managed to avoid a stone-crunching body m.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    Riven instantaneously exited the spacial fissure in a burst of shadows ten yards down the tunnel, grinning with excitement due to the utter shock he experienced from almost dying. The pincers tore through the stone floor where the opposite end of the portal had been just a moment ago, making Riven¡¯s heart beat fast as he realized how close to death they¡¯d juste, and his staff lit up with crackling power with the mana he began to channel into it.


    ¡°MOTHERFUCKER!¡± Riven¡¯s excitement and simultaneous rage boiled over, and with an outstretched hand he unleashed a piercing bloodnce. The red projectile rocketed towards the armored creature as it squealed and screeched, ripping into the long body while it struggled to dislodge its pincers from the stone floor.


    If only he had more bodies and blood to utilize. Unlike thest battlefield, he didn¡¯t have the luxury of free resources - so he¡¯d have to make due with his own innate mana.Snarling with bloodlust focused on the thing that would dare attack them, Riven re-engaged with a burst of ck lightning out of his staff that shredded and cooked one side of the creature. His outstretched weapon radiated an aura of malice and tore thick tes of chitinpletely off, entering the creature¡¯s head right above where the right pincer was. Immediately after that: six red ribbons of hardened webbing flew through the air up above and mmed into the creature¡¯s side ¨C sending bits of the snake-like insectoid¡¯s body airborne while it screeched even louder.


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    Ath catapulted off the ceiling with her bare shin colliding hard against the beast, cracking more chitin tes while her ded spider legs pierced deep into the squealing creature to hold her down and her ws blurred. Each strike applied necrotic venom, and her deeply entrenched spider legs pumped it in continuously. Digging into the beast ferociously, her tongue ripped out of her abnormally widened mouth and began digging in the creature¡¯s side - sucking it dry while it was still alive in a horrific disy of carnage.


    But the creature was an absolute tank, and with a screech it ripped out of the floor and yanked its head back so fast that it nearly crushed Ath up against the top of the tunnel¡¯s ceiling. Ath barely managed to yank herself out of the beast and flip off its back, but she was caught mid air by a side-swipe of one of the pincers. She was sent sprawling head over heels down the sewer, sshing into the muck amidst a writhing, forty-foot long body that sought out its prey with avid conviction.


    A rapid series of strikes tried to catch Riven off guard, each one of them tearing stone out of the sewer¡¯s walkway with bites that¡¯d easily cleave him in half. He jumped, dodged and rolled while desperately batting away the few strikes he couldn¡¯t avoid with his staff. Each time his staff made contact a burst of shadows and a knockback effect would counter the monster¡¯s massive strength, but it¡¯d also send Riven reeling backwards because he didn¡¯t have the sturdiness to take these hits without being thrown off his feet.


    ¡°SHIT!¡±


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    Stone shrapnel scattered in all directions and a deep gash quickly disyed itself on Riven¡¯s stomach from where he¡¯d almost been eviscerated.


    He snarled and shed with the monster again, using his staff like a baseball bat and smacking the creature in the side of the face with all his strength and a little bit of mana-infusion for an extra effect of ck lightning. Thebination of the knock-back effect with the shadow explosion and the ck-lightning being channeled into it was doubly effective and would have taken out any normal human like a bug under a boot.


    <strong>*WHAM-CRACK-ZAP*</strong>


    The ck lightning channeled from his body into the staff set the creature into a brief spasm and it iled about, causing the walls to shake in a violent temper tantrum before it let out a hiss of anger. Zeroing in on him again, made a choking sound - opened its throat - and shot out an enormous glob of acidic mucus.


    Riven riftwalked again, this time teleporting behind the creature with steady footing topletely avoid the attack altogether. Where he¡¯d been just a moment before was now being eaten away, smoke rising from the point of impact that the acid hadnded in on the walkway.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    The tunnel shook.


    <strong>*SMASH-THUD*</strong>


    He felt himself gasp as the air left his body just as the creature¡¯s tail whipped out of the muck and pped him hard across the side -unching him right into the tunnel wall like a bruised pancake. If he hadn¡¯t been turned into a vampire with the sturdiness he now currently had, he¡¯d have definitely been dead.


    ¡°RRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!¡± Ath¡¯s scream of rage was quickly followed up by a blur of ck, red and white. She blurred forward, easily out pacing any movement Riven had ever seen her perform before when she made a mad dash to get to him before the pincers of the monster did.


    Ath¡¯s ws shed with the huge pincers right before they closed around his body, and the demoness snarled something at the monster in anguage Riven didn¡¯t understand before her long, slender, pitch-ck tongue snaked out of her mouth again and shed into the insides of the monster¡¯s gaping throat


    The creature reeled backwards and twisted, but Ath followed.


    Snorting and trying to clear his head, he re-oriented his surroundings and watched Ath grip onto a chitin spike while riding the wyrm.


    She spun around the creature¡¯s body lightning fast, using her webs tounch herself to and from the ceiling or sides of the tunnel with in-and-out dash attacks that left him almost speechless while inflicting incredible amounts of necrotic venom buildup. Even now, ck patches were forming across the exposed fleshy bits where the chitin had been ripped off or damaged.


    Unfortunately for Ath, she got a little too carried away with it and failed to check a blind spot despite Riven¡¯s shout of warning.


    <strong>*SNAP*</strong>


    Ath screamed in pain and one of her arachnid legs went flying through the air,pletely torn off when the creature had properly identified her path of attack and countered.


    It head-bashed Ath into the murky ground after that, following up her stunned state with repeated head-bashes as she screamed and cried out.


    Though she may be able toe back with a blood price, hearing her whimpering cries made Riven absolutely furious. A hot rage unlike anything he¡¯d experienced before began to seeth underneath in the very depths of his soul, and a violent, silent roar echoed within his mind.


    He was on the precipice of a breakthrough, and he¡¯d been in a constant state of enlightenment since hisst vision. Here, in this moment, spurred on by his rage, the insights began to reform. Riven¡¯s thoughts shed with a vision of his recent dream. A blood moon, the storm, a mountain of corpses rising up out of a red ocean, the three thralls that surrounded him as they called a self proimed king back home, and the nova explosion to announce the king¡¯s return. His hands blurred instinctively, without thought, rhyme, reason or practice. It was as if he¡¯d always known how to do it, and his body just reacted. Immacte hand gestures were intertwined with the proper intent, meaning, visualization, and a perfect understanding of what was about to happen without knowing why he knew. He tossed his staff to his left, letting it hover there of its own ord next to him. His fingers twisted and incorporatedplex two-hand patterns, unlocking the seals that would allow him backdoor ess to the spell he wanted to perform.


    And then he had it. It was just a whisper, a voice of some long lost ancestor gently pushing thoughts into his mind, but it was certain. With all the other parts performed, he uttered the chant that would seal this monster¡¯s fate. ¡°NEFAJIA CRECUS BLOOD NOVA!¡±


    <strong>[Tier 3 Blood Spell: Blood Nova, has been discovered and added to your status page.]</strong>


    <strong>[Blood Nova¡¯s mandatory 8 hour cooldown has been triggered.]</strong>


    The creature lunged for him, huge pincers each the size of one of his legs open wide with rows of spiny teeth right behind them.


    But it was not fast enough.


    A sphere of bright crimson blood quickly began forming between Riven¡¯s cupped hands, quicky rotating and picking up speed as a bright red glow illuminated the passageway. The sphere grew in equal stride with the rate of spinning and the brightness of the red glow until it reached the size of a bowling ball. Thrusting his hands forward to release the energy was like trying to push back a freight train, but he managed to do it - and in that instant, space shattered.


    First the area immediately around him was ripped apart, sending a shockwave of crimson energy in an area-of-effect explosion centered right on top of his head. Stone melted away and the iing monster was blown back, shattering its skull and pincers in an instant. Then the glowing, spherical crimson torpedo tore through the hallway with an aftershock as it grew to nearly the size of the entire tunnel and then broke the sound barrier. Ripples of power scattered the ambient mana in the air and left a vacuum in the passage behind it as it expanded and burst like a missile from hell.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The entire tunnel shook and Riven was thrown backwards down the passage by the secondary part of the spell as the creature¡¯s huge body just burst open like a shaken can of soda-pop that¡¯d had a couple dozen mentos dropped into it. The huge monster just simply ceased to exist, and its remains were scattered to all sides of the tunnel - top, bottom, left and right for dozens of yards. At the end of the tunnel there was arge, gaping hole in the side of the wall where exposed earth was trickling in, and a cloud of dust quickly filled the air that caused Riven to cough.


    His ears rang from the sound of the impact and his body felt incredibly weak as if he¡¯d just sprinted five miles without a break. His head was killing him, having a headache that felt like a jackhammer had been tapping against his skull for the past week. But he remained in control, and his red eyes simmered with remnants of the power he¡¯d just unleashed - apanied by a confident grin underneath his runic mask.


    <strong>[You have gained 1bat level. Please visit your status page to assign stat points.]</strong>


    A sack of coins dropped somewhere within the canal, sshing in the muck that hadn¡¯t been sent flying by his spell while he continued to vomit. His world began to spin slightly, but he rested with one hand on the wall to stabilize himself for a few seconds until the dizzy spell passed.


    Unfortunately the fight wasn¡¯t over yet.


    Three much smaller versions of the creature he¡¯d just killed surfaced and lunged for him out of the murky, disgusting sewage waste like bullets out of a gun. One skewered his right shoulder, causing him to scream in anger and roll left to grapple with it as the other two overshot their mark due to the premature attack of the first.


    Feeling the pincers of the three-foot-long monster sink deep into his ligaments and muscle, he snarled and grabbed it by the base of its neck. He channeled his rage, feeling mana flood his infernal pir inside the depths of his soul and he activated Hell¡¯s Armor. Power ripped through his mana channels with brilliant mes, exploding across the tunnel in all directions to roast the little bastards with incinerating heat.


    The creatures abruptly died, withering under a torrent of hellfire that roasted them alive, but his attention was quickly diverted again with another noise just as he deactivated hell¡¯s armor and the inferno died down.

 Chapter 81

    Chapter 81


    <strong>Chapter 81</strong>


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The tunnel echoed as yet another one of therger creatures had made itself known. A good thirty feet in length anding down from a side-passage, it ripped around the corner at breakneck speed with pincers gnashing and chitin tes scraping loudly along the stone walls. Gunk and sewage sshed like it was in the middle of a tsunami, and a horde of the smaller wyrms followed in its path - some of them even being crushed under the mad rush of the bigger one.


    But that supplied Riven with the environmental resources he needed to excel.


    Riven¡¯s hand shot out and the crushed corpses of the smaller wyrms went up in a light show, bathing the entire underground tunnel system in an ominous red glow as crimson ice ripped from their bodies and rocked the huge creature with dozens of spikes; right before Ath¡¯s figure blurred forward. Leaving hugecerations along the underbelly of the monster, Ath swung around the beast with one of her webs and pulled to vault back down. With an audible crunch, all three of her remaining arachnoid legs buried deep in the beast''s skull like spears. It twitched a couple times, causing the muck to ssh about it, but eventually settled down in death while Ath dodged goblets of acidic bile being spat at her from further down the tunnel.


    Dozens of coin pouches dropped into the water just secondster, each of them marking the site of death of the beasts they¡¯d killed, yet the fight was still not yet won.


    Earlier he hadn¡¯t been able to pick up the heartbeats of these creatures until they were very close by. Perhaps they had much smaller hearts than what most creatures did, but something behind him from beyond the battle was quickly picking up tempo and approaching him with its heartbeat ticking up in speed as it closed the distance.


    This was something new.


    Riven turned to see what was rushing him, temporarily leaving Ath to deal with the wyrms, and cursed when he saw a gigantic rat-like ogre barreling down on him with the speed of a freight train.The brown-furred creature was semi-humanoid, hadrge yellow eyes, a scar running down its face, andrge, sharpened front teeth. It wore spiked metal knuckles almost akin to gauntlet, and wore a leather armor chest piece with a belt and pack strapped at its side. Its huge, muscr arms reminded him of a gori, and the beast roared in excitement about twenty yards out.


    To Riven¡¯s confusion though, itsrge ears perked up upon seeing him and it actually hopped to the other side of the tunnel to avoid running him over. It clearly gave him a quizzical look, even stopping in its tracks and started participating in a short staring contest, then rushed further in to begin helping Ath kill the swarms of wyrms that she was battling not far off.


    Riven blinked. This was a friendly monster? He quickly tried to identify it, and raised his eyebrows in surprise.


    <strong>[Rat Man]</strong>


    Huh. How interesting.


    Getting up onto his feet, he flung another spiraling arc of ck lightning that sted through a number of the swarming wyrms. Then summoning a batch of bloody razors that bloomed in the air about him, he sent over a dozen of the des spinning through the air - utilizing their minor lock on features to twist around Ath and their new ally before ripping through a number of the still iing swarm.


    Therge rat man and Ath were going ballistic, tearing through one after another of the endless tide of these creatures while Riven supported them with a barrage of magic. Ath was quick and nimble, easily dodging most of the acidic goblets the smaller creatures aimed at her and using her ws, des and sharp elongating tongue to rip wyrms apart. Meanwhile the rat man smashed everything in sight and just took the acidic goblets head on without any real effect.


    Riven was curious just what the rat man was made out of if that acid that¡¯d eaten through stone didn¡¯t put any damage on him, but he was just d it wasn¡¯t another enemy to contend with.


    It had be an all out battlezone.


    Spike wyrmlings died by the dozens as they shed with Ath and the rat man. Even more died as wave after wave of bloody razors flew threw the tunnel over the heads of Riven¡¯s allies to crash into the oing waves of enemies - though Riven asionally had to wait inbetween casting times to let his mana recharge with the help of his staff and he found himself asionally smashing his weapon into some of the wyrms who¡¯d made it past the two frontline fighters with explosions of on-hit shadow magic. More of therger spiked wyrmlings joined the fight as well over the course of the battle, and Riven quickly found himself yearning for his new tier 3 Blood Nova spell - but the mandatory 8 hour cooldown was kind of a bummer. Just one of those spells would have torn through the entire tunnel and wiped out the swarm in a single go. asionally he was able to use environmental blood for a cascade of ice spikes and take out anotherrge section of enemies, but corpses and their fluids could only be drained once before the blood magic started to dissipate into something less energy dense.


    However he couldn¡¯t really me himself for using blood nova prematurely. He didn¡¯t even know he could use the spell until now and had no real exnation for how he¡¯d learned it. Had that dream been a dao vision? Or had it been some kind of vampiric lineage thing where he¡¯de up with the memories of an ancestor? He had no idea.


    Regardless, he was just happy this unknown rat man had arrived - as he was quite the fighter himself and was keeping up with Ath in kills. The rat man¡¯s arms or gauntleted fists would asionally light up in a dull green, empowering his physical strikes and his skin often found itself coated in a simrly colored light to deflect attacks or repair wounds. Riven briefly thought about summoning Azmoth down here, but thought better of it when he was more certain they had a handle on things.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    <strong>[You have gained 1bat level. Please visit your status page to assign stat points.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have gained 1bat level. Please visit your status page to assign stat points.]</strong>


    Twenty minutester the tunnel was littered with corpses. The huge rat man was covered in small wounds, huffing in pain and pulling himself to sit up next to one of the walls. Meanwhile Ath was sprawled out atop a pile of the small corpses.


    Riven likely would have been able to handle the battle between himself and Ath, but he was still appreciative that this creature hade to his aid. He gave the unknown rat man a thumbs up and a headnod of thanks from a wary distance. ¡°Appreciate the help.¡±


    The muscr ratman just nodded in silence, remaining panting along one side of the wall to catch his breath.


    The next few minutes were spent collecting the pouches of coins that¡¯d dropped into the muck of the sewer or what he could find anyways. The pouches always disappeared shortly after obtaining the coins, leaving him with mostly clean elysium coins of bronze, silver and gold to add to his backpack¡¯s collection. Reviewing his status sheet he also saw that he had collected over 3000 of the coins just from this one fight alone, and on top of that he¡¯d also grown 2 levels. It was likely the best single haul for a fight other than the prize he¡¯d gotten from Dungeon Negrada¡¯s bet with Chalgathi.


    Riven applied his remaining stat points and focused more than he¡¯d normally do into Willpower upon reviewing his status page as he¡¯d been ignoring that statpared to intelligence. Azmoth and Ath needed them for future evolutions, and he would likely be obtaining a third minion soon. That, and he applied a couple points to luck. He wasn¡¯t sure what luck did exactly, other than brief exnations from the system or Ath on how it was able to sway events in marginally small degrees, but 1 luck was the bare minimum. It certainly wouldn¡¯t hurt to asionally dump a point into it here or there considering it was his second lowest stat.


    <strong>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 30</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty, Infernal, Shadow</strong></li><li><strong>Core of Original Sin - Gluttony:] (Under Construction)(???)</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] Race: Pureblooded Vampire (Extreme Darkness Regeneration)(Sunlight Decay)(Extreme Weakness to Silver weapons, Sun pir, and Light pir attacks), ss: Warlock Adept, Adrenaline Junky (Blood)(+15% to Agility)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood)(Tier 2), Blood Nova (Blood)(Tier 3), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal)</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 61 Strength, 120 Sturdiness, 295 Intelligence, 142 Agility, 5 Luck, -341 Charisma, 166 Vampiric Perception, 105 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 25 Arshakai [36 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 24 Hellscape Brutalisk [27 Willpower Requirement].</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), Vampire¡¯s Escort (104 dmg, 102% mana regen, shadow and blood dmg +22%, ck Lightning, Scorpion¡¯s Sting), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies (Guild Hall: Stone Manor), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Cloak of the Tundra (22 def, +56 bonus def vs frost), Breath of Valgeshia (48 def, +13 dmg & +9% mana output dmg for blood dmg, 6% mana regen)]</strong></li></ul>


    Other than needing the Willpower for Ath and Azmoth, he wasn¡¯t entirely throwing out the idea of acquiring a thrall either. Honestly he hated the idea of very, but if he could find someone able to do it of their own free will then he¡¯d be all for the idea. Ath said some people did it for the power boost they got by being a thrall, so he was holding out hope. He was already working on ways of selling the idea off to potential ¡®mortals¡¯ that he could use as a frequent food source, as he was deathly afraid of going berserk and killing someone else like he¡¯d done to that poor sod in dungeon Negrada when he first turned. His vampiric body back then had beenpletely devoid of mortal blood, and it¡¯d ended up getting someone killed without Riven even realizing what he was doing until after the fact.


    Coming out of this thoughtful trance, Riven couldn¡¯t help but give a strainedugh upon seeing how filthy both he and Ath were. His body ached everywhere after pushing so much magic through it, but his new intelligence stat points due to recent gains had enabled him to pour out power far beyond what he¡¯d have normally been able to do. He also had numerous small wounds and onergeceration along his right shoulder, but it was healing rather fast - even to the naked eye. He looked down to evaluate the mending body, seeing his flesh heal so rapidly that he could witness the skin grow over just a minuteter after having taken a pincer entirely through that shoulder.


    So this is what vampiric regeneration was like. Given he was inside a dark tunnel, and wasn¡¯t so sure it¡¯d work like this out in broad daylight given the key words ¡®in dark ces¡¯ concerning his regeneration listed on his status page.


    Ath on the other hand was in worse shape. She was panting, grimacing and there was arge wound along her thigh along with the spot on her back where her spider leg had been ripped off. That first monster they¡¯d fought had been the biggest of the bunch though, evenpared to the otherrger wyrms, so thankfully she hadn¡¯t lost any more limbs after that. She gave him a weak smile and limped over to him to meet him halfway as he waded through the muck towards her, ankle deep in sewage. Putting her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around him, she gave him a weak hug. ¡°You made me worried there, Riven. d you¡¯re ok.¡±


    Riven grinned, hugging her back and examining her for any other serious wounds he hadn¡¯t seen initially. ¡°Just d you¡¯re ok. Are you needing to go back to theher realms for a bit? You look rough.¡±


    She nodded solemnly, then let go and gave a backwards nce at the rat man. ¡°I¡¯ll go recover, but if you need me I¡¯ll be ready to hop right back here. Or you can take Azmoth with you. Talk to youter.¡±


    A portal appeared in the tunnel to swallow Ath whole, leaving Riven and the rat man staring at each other in silence for almost an entire minute before Riven made a move to get closer to therge creature. It was still heaving from the exertion of fighting so much, asionally ncing over at the mountain of corpses they¡¯d made. However, as Riven got back up onto the walkway along the tunnel¡¯s side - he definitely recognized intelligence in the rat man¡¯s eyes and the creature¡¯s ears perked up when Riven sat down a couple feet away.


    ¡°Again, thanks for the help.¡± Riven stated, removing his mask to reveal his face and cing it on the blood covered stone next to him. His staff was leaned up against the wall while he crossed his legs forfort¡¯s sake. ¡°Can you understand me?¡±


    The rat man blinked twice, then coughed and spat out something like a hairball. Its scarred features quickly turned back to Riven however, and its hairless tail flitted back and forth while it removed its bloodied, spiked gauntlets. ¡°I can-can.¡±

 Announcement: Discord, Book 2 is finished on Patreon, and an increase to posting is coming

    Announcement: Discord, Book 2 is finished on Patreon, and an increase to posting ising


    Hello chaps.


    So a couple things with the announcement today outside of posting 2 chapters just now:


    <strong>1st - I''ll be creating a discord.</strong> I''ve had a few of you already ask me about it and one of you even gave me a few examples to go off of (thanks!), so it''s about time I set one up. I''ll probably be doing that very soon, and I''ll make another post about it when I feel like it''s ready to go.


    <strong>Edit - Discord has been created. I''ll post about it on the front page as well as in the next couple chatpers under the pre author note. Here it is:</strong> https://discord.gg/MN7vgPDWy4


    <strong>2nd - Book 2 (Chapter 111) was just finished on Patreon :)</strong> Now I do want to say that this 2nd half of the 2nd book focuses a lot on Riven''s character development, with a very big change via a perspective-warping event at the end of book 2 that will carve him and identify him as a person for the rest of the series. It may seem like he''s going one way until the climax, but I promise it''ll be worth it if you stay to the end. Here''s the link to Patreon if you want to check it out: /user?u=92373579


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    <strong>3rd - My rate of posting chapters to Patreon will be picking up.</strong> I won''t say exactly how many as I don''t want to make promises I can''t keep, so the official numbers will still be "3-5" per week. However the past little while it''s been a lot more than that and I hope to keep up the pace indefinitely barring any weeks that I am extremely busy at work. Some weeks it''ll still only be 3, but I posted 9 chapters just this week and hope to repeat it on asion. <strong>This asionally will trickle over into Royal Road, like recently with my double posts here on RR, but not always.</strong>


    As for those wondering / asking when Allie will meet Riven, it''ll be very soon ;)

 Chapter 82

    Chapter 82


    <strong>Chapter 82</strong>


    The rat man¡¯s voice was definitely a little on the rough side of raspy, and it was only moderately deep. Not nearly as deep as was expected. It also sounded like he¡¯d been hacking furballs all day. ¡°Why do youe-walk here in upper-top of the dark-ck of the tunnel-ground?¡±


    Well. This rat man certainly had an odd way of speaking, but Riven could deal with it. ¡°I was trapped and had to get out using this sewer system.¡±


    ¡°Trapped-stuck? Have you been-visited here much-alot in your time since the integration-fall?¡±


    ¡°No, this is actually my first time. Are there more of you?¡±


    ¡°Of me-me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, more of you rat people.¡±


    ¡°Oh. You humans-apes not know-see us down here. We try not to visit-see your people-humans if we can avoid-hide. But yes, many-lots of us-we are down in the tunnels-ground. The underdark has lots-many species, with us-we being just one. Many caves-pits down here, a new world in the dark-ck that is not for human-apes to see. But you are vampire-bat, you are not normal human-ape. Not drow-elf either, but still home to dark-ck. As a member-rat of my nest-brood, I wee you to our part-home of the underdark.¡±


    The rat man gave his best version of a smile, which was a little bit freaky truth be told - but Riven smiled back - subconsciously flexing his fangs and quickly retracting them a second after. The words the rat man had used¡­ drow-elf, dark-ck, and underdark all pointed to one thing he¡¯d previously read about in fantasy novels.¡°The underdark? A second world in the dark-ck? You¡¯re saying there are lots of different species down here in cave systems?¡±


    The rat man seemed confused by the question. ¡°Yes-yes, lots-many.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. So what¡¯s your name?¡± Riven held out his hand to shake. ¡°Mine is Riven. Nice to meet you.¡±


    The rat man curiously looked down at the extended hand, then back out at Riven. ¡°What is this-this? Do you want-need something from me-I?¡±


    Riven chuckled. ¡°No, we shake hands to greet one another where I¡¯m from.¡±


    The rat man looked back down, then his huge gnarled fingers reached out to grip Riven¡¯s own. They shook, the rat man being intentionally gentle so as to not crush Riven¡¯s fingers, which Riven appreciated immensely.


    ¡°My name-sign is Snagger, me-me is warrior-killer.¡±


    ¡°Snagger? Good name. Are all rat men as big as you?¡±


    The rat looked startled for a moment, then gave out a squeakyugh that was actually kinda cute. ¡°I was born-made for fighting-killing with ws-teeth and strength-body. I am a fighter-killer for my nest. Most rat-kin are small-short whenpared to me-me.¡±


    ¡°Gotchya. Well how often have you been around humans or vampires before? You looked rather surprised to see me down here.¡±


    Snagger and Riven talked for a few hours after that as the rat man recovered. Riven on one hand wanted to leave to find his sister, but on the other hand didn¡¯t want to leave Snagger alone after the rat man had helped him fight off the wyrms. He didn¡¯t know how many other wyrms were down here, and wouldn¡¯t just let Snagger fend for himself when he¡¯d so selflessly defended Riven and Ath.


    And because of that, Riven got to know a lot more about Snagger¡¯s people as well as the so-called Underdark while he waited for the rat man to recover. It was absolutely fascinating, and some of it pertained directly to Riven.


    The underdark was a vast,plexwork of cave systems that¡¯d been native to the Zazir prior to integration and merging of the three worlds. It in the truest sense of the word was another world. If Snagger wasn¡¯t exaggerating, there were thousands of kingdoms, countries, and nests of creatures down here - and as a forward scout, Snagger said these tunnels led directly to where his nest was located on the fringe of the underdark.


    Most of the species living down here were obviously able to see in the dark. This included certain types of dwarves, rat-kin, gnomes, dark elves or drow, trolls, certain types of goblins, and a muchrger variety of not-so-intelligent species. What was most interesting to Riven though was that there were actually certain types of demons that lived down in the underdark too, and beyond that - Snagger imed there were actually vampiremunes as well. Snagger hadn¡¯t been overly surprised to see Riven upon identifying him as a vampire because of that, though he had been surprised about the eyes.


    ¡°Most eyes don¡¯t glow-shine like you-yours.¡± Snagger said confidently while stretching an injured arm out. ¡°I not-no talk to vampire-bat people often-much, they think they better-good than we-we. But I never see-watch them have bright-glow eyes like you-you.¡±


    ¡°The red glowing eyes aren¡¯t normal for vampires?¡±


    ¡°No-no. They are red-dull, not red-bright. I not know why-how, but you are different.¡±


    Well that was curious. Riven thoughtfully scratched his chin and slowly nodded. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know, I just recently changed into one. Anyways, I have to go find my sister and my demonpanion is likely healed by now. Would it be alright if we met up sometime? I¡¯m very interested in seeing what your people are like, and maybe visiting the nest if you will allow it.¡±


    Snagger gave Riven the most joyful, teeth-filled smile he¡¯d seen in a very long time. ¡°Yes yes! n mother will be happy-joy to have vampire-bat friends! We are looking for ally-friends in new world-dark, since we have been stranded-lost down here. The underdark twisted-shifted and other colonies-nests no longer present-here.¡±


    So the underdark had been rearranged too then.


    Riven gave Snagger another handshake, noting that he was good to go again and not as exhausted as he¡¯d initially been post-fight earlier that day. ¡°Good, the same can be said for me. I¡¯m very much looking forward to meeting you, do you want to set up a spot for sometime in maybe a week or two?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Follow me-me, I will show you to spot-area where we meet-arrive!¡±


    ***


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Ath was summoned back after that and her wounds hadpletely healed. Something about being in theher realms for periods of time let the demons he¡¯d contracted with heal up quite quickly, though not as fast as his extreme regeneration was. Thankfully they also didn¡¯t bump into anymore monsters, and safely found a way out of the sewers not long after resummoning his minion.


    The manhole exited out of the sewers led them into a fenced-off area meant for city maintenance people back on Earth. The cover had been thrown to the side, and there was a man¡¯s stripped corpse not far off that was beginning to attract flies in the dead of night. There was also an open shed that had probably once contained tools, but now only held a desk and a broken chair with empty racks. Beyond the chain-link fence and through an open gate where a broken padlock hung was an apartmentplex ¨C and then the rest of the small city was sprawled out beyond it.


    They were still on the city¡¯s western edge, though a little further into the northeast than the hospital had been. Moonlight dimly illuminated thendscape along with a myriad of stars, and without any light pollution that Riven had been so used to he was able to make out extraordinary sights amidst the cosmos. Beautiful nebs, aet shooting overhead, and what was probably a distant due to the size and orange color were obvious in the clear sky above. Though he knew it probably wasn¡¯t the Milky Way anymore. In the distance across the city, fires still burned and the asional gunshot was heard. Once while pondering the sights they even heard a far-off scream, and he hoped that his friend and sister weren''t some of the victims of whatever violence was happening right then.


    Riven shook off his cloak, half tempted to leave the disgusting thing beside the manhole. Hopefully the stench would somewhat alleviate itself after it had time to dry, but stat bonuses were stat bonuses. So he kept it on.


    Not that he had anything else to wear aside from the clothes currently on his back anyways.


    ¡°That motherfucking¡­¡± Riven trailed off, angrily mumbling to himself about the monster swarm attack and ringing out his other smelly clothes before strapping his bag to his back again.


    Ath suppressed augh.


    ¡°Maybe we can stop by a clothing store?¡± Ath suggested a minuteter, covering her nose when he stood up and groaned. ¡°You still smell terrible.¡±


    He red her way. ¡°That¡¯s probably a good idea. If we see any then we will, but by now they¡¯re probably all looted.¡±


    ¡°For clothes? Really?¡±


    Riven shrugged. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t put it past people. Thest pandemic on Earth had everyone scrounging for <em>toilet paper.</em> People are fucking animals, ANIMALS I say! Clothes definitely wouldn¡¯t be off the list, and they¡¯ll get even more valuable as time goes on.¡±


    She smirked, her red eyes narrowing, then she shrugged and leaned against the chain link fence while looking over at the apartmentplex. ¡°Alright. So now that we¡¯ve found an exit, what¡¯s the n?¡±


    She waved across thendscape around them. ¡°Mass murder everyone until we find Jose and your sister Allie?¡±


    Riven snorted with amusement. ¡°No mass murder. Sorry.¡±


    Ath put on a pouty face and crossed her arms as crickets started chirping nearby. ¡°Well what do we do?¡±


    ¡°We explore a bit, and in the meantime we wait for the quest pings to light up their locations. We weren¡¯t able to see what area of the city they were in because we were underground in a basement, but now that we¡¯re outside we¡¯ll be able to get a good idea.¡±


    ¡°Ugghh!!! Nooo!!! Let¡¯s go kill stuff!!! Thatst fight was fun!¡± Ath stamped her foot angrily in the dirt and was about to retort when a gunshot rang out from the apartmentplex at their backs. They turned as one, and a flurry of gunfire followed the initial shot with resounding screams and shes of light on the third floor.


    Then the apartment building¡¯s top blew off in a sh of white light, which was quickly followed up with subsequent sts of teal and ck fire that took out a nearby wall. One of the buildings began to copse, and people started running from where they¡¯d apparently been packed inside like rats.


    Somewhat startled at the not so far off eruption of fighting, cursing, and screams, Riven and Ath quickly focused their attention on the nearbyplex where dozens of humans wearing varieties of makeshift armor red up with golden and white fires, forming a line and yelling at one another before a wave of undead scrambled out from the other side of the copsing building and through an alley. Skeletons wielding hatchets, swords, shields or just their ws came barreling ahead in a wave that crashed into the terrified defenders.


    Meanwhile, crying women and children were trying to flee the scene where their husbands and brothers held the line against the oing horde of unholy creatures - running right on past the spot where Riven and Ath stood gawking at the scene unfold.


    The holy caster threw up arge barrier between their group and the oing tide of death, only for it to shatter when a powerful surge of death magic mmed into it - sending some of those at the front line smoking and dead onto the cement and causing the screaming caster to reel with bacsh damage from his failed spell.


    ¡°SHE¡¯S COMING!¡± One of the soldiers screamed with fear causing his voice to shake. Sweat beaded down his forehead and his shoddy club red with purifying light. ¡°IT¡¯S HER! THIS IS NOT A FIGHT WE CAN WIN!¡±


    Yet the rest of the line held, and with stoic expressions they met what they knew to be their end at the ws and weapons of the skeletal horde with screams of rage - all in order to buy their loved ones time to escape. No one bothered replying to the man, for in their hearts they knew he was right.


    *CRUNCH-SNAP-WRENCH*


    The warriors entered melee and were quickly being overtaken due to sheer numbers over mere seconds. The lone caster in the backline regained his senses and sent holy fires sting into the oing enemies, but a palpable aura that made the air quiver with cold and relentless rage caused him to abruptly stop in his tracks.


    For a brief moment, all eyes turned to the outline of a shrouded woman wearing a skull mask who stood along the edge of a nearby rooftop. She looked down at the humans with a disgusted snort and her body red with neon-teal light while raising a ck wand that screamed a high pitched wail - condensing a magical attack meant to end them.


    But to everyone¡¯s surprise, a re of red pulsed and bloomed skywards just as the woman released the attack, and two slender but highly condensednces of blurring crimson magic intercepted the strike.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    The shockwave sent both skeletons and humans sprawling from the sh directly overhead, knocking many of thempletely head over heels as a whip of flesh skyrocketed and swerved mid-air from one of two figures farther back maybe 40 yards away. Crimson ice began spiraling up the red leash and the tipped de whipped forward directly for the woman on the roof.


    The woman¡¯s eyes narrowed from underneath her skull mask and she blurred in turn, dashing across to the opposite rooftop right before the one she¡¯d been on was splint apart from third to first floor in a single strike that blew away part of the building in an instant.


    ck lightning followed up in an audible p of destruction, obliterating dozens of the skeletons from the side as they tried to recover and sending bone splinters in all directions.


    The humans all gawked, many of them scrambling to their feet to chase after loved ones or helping fallen injuredrades up from where the residual st had thrown them. Yet even more justy there, stunned at the power disyed from this new participant in the battle.


    Riven stepped forward, easily smashing one of the skeleton¡¯s who¡¯d managed to break away to lunge at him with a downward swing of his staff. He stepped over the remnants of the undead with a crunch underfoot, then his eyes went wide when three ming skulls bloomed around the woman and roared towards him. The attacks split the sound barrier and let off a sonic boom.


    Within a split second his body lit up with hellfire as an explosion of mes radiated out from his very soul - sting the surrounding area and eradicating the oing projectiles while simultaneously being blown back. He skidded across the ground, shrapnel from the concrete spraying as his heels, which were gluing him to the ground with crystalized blood magic, tore through the earth. He slid to a stop in a cloud of debris, ring up at the woman who stared down at him with equal measure.


    The crowd of skeletons, remaining humans, and the two mages stood very still and quiet while they evaluated the situation. The wide eyed humans nced from the woman on the roof to the man on the ground, and then to the demoness that stepped forward with de-like arachnoid legs shimmering in the dim starlight.


    ¡°Ath.¡± Riven slowly pointed up at the woman above them, clicking his tongue in annoyance. ¡°Deal with her.¡±


    Ath let out a terrifying, unearthly scream of malicious glee. Her ws extended, her ck razor-sharp tongue whipped out of her mouth, and she blurred ahead as a torrent of death mana began to surge around the caster above in a whirling storm.

 Chapter 83

    Chapter 83


    <strong>Chapter 83</strong>


    Allie¡¯s eyes went wide when the demoness lunged for her and quickly erupted with power, epassing the area around her and demolishing the rooftop she stood on to st the creature backwards. However the demon was far faster than Allie had anticipated, and it used strings of red webbing to adjust her trajectory and avoid the st entirely before catapulting underneath the roaring death mana to clip Allie¡¯s right leg with one of her elongated arachnoid des.


    Crimson liquid flew through the air and a searing pain ached through Allie¡¯s calf, but the majority of the blow was blocked by her bone armor that covered her shins. Only a small area of unarmored flesh was truly hit, but her body quivered in recognition as a venom began seeping into her body from the wound.


    She¡¯d been poisoned? With such a ncing blow?


    Though that poison quickly disappeared due to her vampiric blood, which nullified most toxins almost immediately.


    Half of Allie¡¯s bone minions rushed ahead, spreading out to avoid spinning discs of crimson des while the other half exploded and flew skywards. Allie whirled and mmed a foot into the demoness who spun backwards under the blow ¨C surprised herself at Allie¡¯s own speed before redirecting her attack using numerous shards of red webbing.


    But Allie jumped off the devastated building to avoid the flurry of small needles, cursing under her breath while her heartbeat picked up to levels of simultaneous anxiety and excitement that she hadn¡¯t felt in quite some time now. Bones flew through the air from the minions she¡¯d sacrificed and collided with her body fifty feet off the floors crumbling below her, forming a monument of bone armor around her with protective ivoryyers and spikes.


    First came the legs, then the torso, then the arms and helmet ¨C almost doubling her normal size and making her look like a linebacker. She was somewhat slower in this form, but her defenses skyrocketed when green runes began glowing along the newly constructed bone armor. Layered barriers of death mana also radiated out from her construct, rebuffing the shing and projectile attacks of the infuriated demon that screamed in rage Allie¡¯s way.


    ¡°You little bitch!¡± Ath screeched, her ck tongue whipping forward like a lightning strike and bouncing off the ring ck and teal bubble surrounding Allie. But the bubble did shimmer, and Allie had to pour more mana into it in order to keep it intact from another crazed flurry of strikes.Allie then summoned her obelisk ¨C a towering ghostly visage that bloomed over the battlefield and began empowering her, while simultaneously weakening¡­


    She stopped dead when she realized that although the humans she¡¯d originally been tracking were quickly weakening under the aura effect of her obelisk, the unholy caster¡¯s attacks were seemingly empowered. The red flurry of discs continued toe, cutting down her hoard of skeletons with more and more power behind the attacks. And when she identified him, she was both startled and confused with the result.


    <strong>[Vampire]</strong>


    That¡¯s all she got. Well no wonder the obelisk wasn¡¯t weakening him, it was very likely they were both being empowered by the obelisk ¨C not just her.


    But why would a vampire be protecting humans?


    She had so many questions. She was somewhat excited to meet another of her kind. He probably knew the secrets of her race that she¡¯d been so clueless about since unearthing her old heritage, but she was also mid-battle with him and he obviously had a motive to defend the people below. Again, that posed the question ¨C why? These people were hunting her and all the other undead down in this area, they¡¯d even spawned a system quest in this city to y all the local undead through that damnable holy book Prophet had found.


    She didn¡¯t have time to dwell on it for too long though, and kicked off the building tounch herself towards the street while avoiding two more blurring bloodnces that shredded her barrier and nearly ripped her left arm off. She could feel the power behind those strikes, and they¡¯d left her barriers absolutely decimated.


    Quickly dismissing the bone armor after realizing speed would be more valuable than defense in this fight, her bone armor shredded itself and flew forward in a hail of bone shrapnel that took the enemy caster by surprise.


    A wall of crimson ice flew up in front of him in an instant, catching the bone fragments topletely block the blow while Allie flipped up into the air to avoid another sh at her back from the demon.


    What an irritatingly fast minion to deal with. Allie was used to being the fastest one in any given fight, but this creature was even faster than she was ¨C if only barely.


    Cursing and turning her wand on the arachnid-humanoid hybrid, Allieunched a st of ck power from her weapon. The wand screeched and howled during its strike, briefly paralyzing the demon mid-lunge and giving Allie¡¯s attack just enough time to connect.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    Ath¡¯s right breast and arm were ripped off entirely, but Allie¡¯s mind raced with panic when she realized the grinning demon just shrugged off the momentum of the blow meant to send her backwards by turning her body sideways. Instead she used that momentum to spin and kepting forward like a tornado of des and ws.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Allie screamed when a flurry of attacks hit her all at once ¨C most of them ncing off the soul-woven bone armor she wore but many of themnding on weak spots where her armor didn¡¯t cover. She had to act quickly, and in turn she mentally grasped at a nearby skeleton to fling it at the demon.


    The skeleton cracked and reformed, rapidly morphing into a spear of ivory and impaling the demon through the left thigh. The demon screeched when the spear ripped through her leg, and she wasunched across the parking lot.


    One of Allie¡¯s minions crashed into her, knocking her out of the way of a st of ck lightning that scorched the ground and ripped up cement where she¡¯d been only a moment before. She sneered, her wounds quickly healing under the dark night sky and her red eyes glistening behind her bone mask.


    In front of her about twenty yards away, dozens of spinning red des appeared amidst a swirling vortex of red ice. An aura of malice, almost physical in nature radiated out from the enemy vampire and caused her to stagger under its weight ¨C his brilliant crimson eyes glowing with power while his staff of flesh and wood crackled with ck lightning.


    How did he have such a palpable aura this early after the system set in? Did he have background knowledge on the inner system workings before the worlds merged?


    She needed to either finish him or subdue him before the others got back into the fight. She could see the humans were positioning themselves to attack at her back, and the demon was yanking the bone spear she¡¯d impaled it with while cursing loudly in an infernalnguage Allie didn¡¯t recognize. Most of her skeletons were out for the count, though she still had about two dozen of them left.


    She sent her remaining skeletons after the humans to buy her time and decided on the demon first. To the other vampire¡¯s surprise, she vaulted left and ignored the caster ¨C going straight for the demon to finish it off instead. Three ming skulls came into being, encircling Allie before she fired them off with another sonic boom as they broke the sound barrier again.


    The target hit true and the demon¡¯s shocked expression was locked onto Ath¡¯s face right before she was sent crashing into the parking lot again, creating a crater that left her body mangled and twitching.


    But the decision to focus the downed minion also cost Allie. To her right, the other vampire¡¯s power built and exploded. Crimson ice immediately sted across the cement, covering the parking lot and hundreds of red spikes climbed up from the frozen grounds to shoot Allie¡¯s way. ck lightning burst from the staff with imbued shadow energy. Dozens of homing des sliced through the air and matched her trajectory despite her attempt to dodge, and over half of them made impact.


    The blinding pain Allie felt after that was¡­ immense.


    Her bones broke and shattered, the ck cloth armor she wore was absolutely shredded, and without her vampiric healing and endurance or the soul-woven equipment she wore ¨C well, she¡¯d be dead.


    Allie¡¯s body crashed through a burning apartment wall and out the other side. Her body skipped across the ground like a stone on ake, crunching and breaking with each impact until she came to an abrupt stop against a car. The car¡¯s metal bent under the impact and skidded across the ground for a dozen yards with Allie wedged into it.


    Nevertheless she got up, pulling herself out of the twisted metal with a groan and cracking her neck as she felt her bones and muscles reconfiguring themselves under the massive amount of regeneration her body produced.


    She grimaced. ¡°Fuck that hurt¡­ Looks like I¡¯m going to have to get serious.¡±


    ***


    Riven cast a worried nce Ath¡¯s way and rushed over after sending the enemy necromancer sting through the apartmentplex. He didn¡¯t get any XP notification so he was sure she wasn¡¯t dead, and when he reached Ath he could only grimace. Ath was still alive, but her body was absolutely wrecked. Her jaw hung off by threads of flesh and she looked like she was in severe pain.


    He bent down to one knee, putting a hand on Ath¡¯s cheek and pushed the bloodied, matted hair out of her eyes. ¡°You did well. Go home, I¡¯ll call you back after it¡¯s done. And don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll summon Azmoth if things get bad enough.¡±


    Without another word he banished her back to theher realms before she bled out. Hopefully that¡¯d be enough to heal her wounds, and he was pretty certain it would be. But he was without help now, facing down an opponent that was far beyond anything else he¡¯d faced so far. She even surpassed the satyr warlord he¡¯d in in Dungeon Negrada, but at the same time - he¡¯d also gained significantly in terms of power since then.


    He was not the same man as he had been back in the hellscape.


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    The sky overhead broke apart, almost literally, as another realm presented itself before Riven¡¯s very eyes. It was only for a brief moment that the enemy caster held this spell intact, but that was more than enough to cause Riven¡¯s jaw to drop.


    Out from rifts in the void, an enormous ck and teal eyeball wreathed in death mana focused on his position. The rift wasn¡¯t entirelyplete, nor was it able tost more than a second, but that gaze from some other world bore down on him with all the weight of a malicious god.


    His body shattered and the ground cracked and splintered - erupting all around him in a split second for dozens of yards around him. His clothes were left in tatters. He felt his skull, ribs, arms and legs all break at the same moment, and internal organs ripped apart in sprays of viscera that left him reeling in pain while he screamed.


    Out of the burning wreckage between two copsing buildings, Allie¡¯s figure walked through the smoke. She limped slightly, her red eyes ring at the man who¡¯d managed to push her this far, and she breathed heavily after exerting so much force.


    On her way forward she stumbled twice, but picked herself up and became more sure-footed as her regeneration continued to heal her broken figure. She stopped twenty yards away from the other vampire, heaving and taking a hesitant step back when Riven pulled himself from the wreckage of the shattered cement.


    She saw an arm snap back into ce, the torn flesh rapidly mending itself to the naked eye while muscle regenerated at astonishing levels. Hiscerated right foot quickly grew back bones, new pale skin covering his body just as quickly as her own did. He too was obviously injured though, and the two siblings stared one another down.


    It was only when Riven coughed up blood and removed his mask to let the fluids drain that Allie¡¯s eyes opened wide in astonishment - and in that second, all the fight left her body instantaneously. Her right hand dropped the wand she¡¯d been holding, and she took an involuntary step forward while Riven eyed her and began to conjure new des.


    ¡°... Riven?¡± Her voice quivered when she spoke, and her body visibly began to shake while her arms wrapped around her shoulders in an attempt to contain her roiling emotions.


    Riven abruptly stopped the formation of his spells, recognizing that voice just as fast as she¡¯d recognized his features. His sneer of defiance became a shocked look of panic, then dismay, and then confusion. Then he looked horrified after realizing what they''d almost done.


    ¡°Allie? Fuck, Allie is that you?¡±

 Chapter 84

    Chapter 84


    <strong>Chapter 84</strong>


    The girl removed her mask, allowing Riven to confirm that it truly was her.


    It was Allie.


    His little sister broke down into violent sobs and rushed towards him and he met her in the middle, sweeping her up off her feet and crying along with her as he hugged her to his chest in a death grip.


    They just stood like that, neither one of them saying anything as they shook and held one another for well over a minute. Riven¡¯s breathing was ragged, and he was experiencing a flood of mixed emotions that included relief, horror, confusion, and worry. Eventually he let go of her, looking down and wiping tears out of his eyes while smiling at the sister he¡¯d grown up with all his life.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re alive.¡± Riven said shakily,ughing when Allie grunted something intangible and refused to peel off of him - keeping her arms wrapped around his chest with her face buried there. ¡°I¡­ Uhm, I¡¯m d we didn¡¯t kill each other.¡±


    There was a pause, and then the two of them erupted intoughter intermixed with Allie¡¯s continued sobs. She eventually snorted, pushed off of him, wiped her own eyes and red up from her shorter stature. ¡°I was kicking your ass.¡±


    ¡°Was not!¡±


    ¡°Was too!¡±Riven let out a sigh and grinned, ruffling her hair when his smile began to fade. ¡°Allie¡­ Why were you killing those people?¡±


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    White light exploded from behind Riven¡¯s back, but it was met with an unholy barrier that crackled to life when Allie¡¯s body shelled itself in bone over the course of an instant. The bone armor she¡¯d previously dismissed was now back in full force, and the runes lit up again to produceyers of these shields while battle cries and shouts from beyond the magical sh went skywards.


    ¡°They¡¯ve killed my remaining minions, it¡¯s just us.¡± Allie stated curtly, ignoring Riven¡¯s question for the time being and ring out beyond the explosion when the magic began to fade.


    Riven¡¯s face soured, but he slowly nodded while evaluating her - then turned around. All of the men who he¡¯d saved were now barreling towards them with glowing white weapons under some kind of buff, while the lone caster behind them prepared another magical attack. Some of the charging melee fighters drew out guns and started sting, others blurred right or left to nk the vampires using movement abilities, and the bigger, tankier guys just went charging full speed ahead. They had a variety of weapons and makeshift armor on them, and looked more like a street gang than anything else.


    A cold sensation crept over Riven¡¯s body. Perhaps they were attacking after seeing him embracing the girl who¡¯d been chasing them. Perhaps they¡¯d seen he was a vampire and thought Riven would turn on them too. But they¡¯d had the chance to run, and they¡¯d had the chance to try and broker peace. Instead they¡¯d not given Riven a single chance, immediately turning on him in a sneak attack and attempted assassination.


    He couldn¡¯t help but feel like this had to do with his negative charisma, and his mood darkened even further. Was this truly what his life was going to be? First the elves and their reaction to him. Then thements from the people at the hospital about how he felt ¡®creepy¡¯. Now this.


    A wall of crimson ice shot up to block iing bullets after a couple pierced Riven¡¯s shoulder and gut, though he didn¡¯t think much of it as his vampiric body started pushing the small caliber bullets out over the course of seconds here in the dark. Looking over at the women and children who were watching their brothers and fathers rush the two vampires, Riven couldn¡¯t help but feel disgusted at what he was about to do.


    He turned to Allie, nodded once, and began to summon crimson power along his arms.


    ***


    Riven¡¯s gut twisted into knots after paving the ruined ground with the bodies of the charging men. They hadn¡¯t stood a chance, but some kind of strange conviction had led all of them to fight to the veryst - even though it was futile. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    Allie snorted in disgust and finished raising another corpse - the flesh melting off its bones while the skeleton stood erect with pale glowing eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t understand what? Why these fuckers attacked us?¡±


    Riven blinked, a little bit disturbed at how brutal his little sister had be. He turned his gaze to her, seeing no remorse whatsoever for the way they¡¯d ughtered these people or for the sobbing, fleeing families of those who they¡¯d killed. Then he noted how the system identified her armor as ¡®soul-woven¡¯.


    Realization struck him then. All unholy bloodlines had been present in Chalgathi¡¯s trials, that would include his sister since they were rted - and he obviously had been there. So she would have been too. Not only that, but she¡¯d chosen to sacrifice her tutorial group for legendary tier items?


    Just what the fuck had happened to the timid, happy girl he¡¯d known before? It¡¯d only been a month or two, but the system had already shown its hand in terms of time warping so perhaps it¡¯d been longer for her. Regardless, it bothered him. He¡¯d need to address these things, but not now. Not after he¡¯d just found her.


    ¡°... Yes. Why would they attack us when they knew they¡¯d lose? They saw what we did fighting one another. There was no way people this weak could take us individually, let alone both of us.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re religious fanatics, that¡¯s why. They think they¡¯re fighting for some higher purpose. That, and they thought we were weakened after beating the shit out of each other.¡± Allie spat at a dead man who she hadn¡¯t raised yet, then nted a bone-covered boot on his face while grinding it into the ground in an act of overt disrespect. Suddenly though her features fell into a hard grimace, and then one of sadness. She sped her hands together, the bone gauntlets partially covering her hands grating against one another. ¡°Uhm¡­ Riven, there¡¯s something you have to know before anything else.¡±


    The seriousness of her tone caught him by surprise considering she¡¯d treated the killing of all these people as a trivial act. And when she looked up to hold his gaze, his heart suddenly clenched. Unspoken words were traded in those moments, and Riven felt his blood run cold. He looked around, not seeing Jose anywhere, and a lump started to form in his throat.


    She merely nodded, and tears began to collect under his eyes.


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    Beginning to tremble, Riven silently stared at the ground where a pool of blood had collected from a recent victim. Allie didn¡¯t move.


    ¡°How did it happen?¡± Riven eventually asked in nothing more than a whisper. ¡°Did you bury him?¡±


    Allie slowly nodded. ¡°I buried him. It was the same group of people we just fought. They¡¯re led by a man called Prophet, who found some sort of holy book - a relic delivered to this world by the system. They think he¡¯s the seconding or something like that¡­ and his followers are real nutjobs. When Jose and I first came out of the tutorial, they demanded he join their group. When I appeared and they realized what I was and who he was with, and after he¡¯d told them that he wasn¡¯t going to join some religious cult, they called him a race traitor and¡­ they killed him before I could do anything.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t leave the ground, and Allie eventually continued.


    ¡°One bullet to the skull was all it took. They tried to kill me too after that, calling me a monster.¡± Allie¡¯s voice began to tremble slightly, but herposure remained solid after a few deep breaths. Her long brown hair whipped about in the night breeze, and a p of thunder in the distance echoed out across the ruined city. ¡°I¡­ I am responsible for his death. Because he wouldn¡¯t have-¡±


    ¡°You were not responsible. Don¡¯t ever think that.¡± Riven said in a low whisper, feeling hollow inside and clenching his fists. He looked up again, walked over to her, and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t want you to ever think that Allie. He was essentially a brother to us, we grew up with him, and he would never me you for what happened. Do you understand?¡±


    They were the words that Allie had been needing to hear, and with trembling lips she mumbled a half-hearted ¡®yes¡¯ before being wrapped up in another hug.


    ¡°Is that why you were hunting them?¡± Riven eventually asked after a few minutes of standing there in the decimated parking lot.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    He nodded once and brushed his fingers through her hair before kissing the top of her head. ¡°I see, and I think I understand.¡±


    <strong>[Quest Update: Finding Your Friends - You have sessfully found Allie. Congrattions! This quest isplete. Pings will now be deactivated.]</strong>


    Riven nearly scoffed in disgust at the pop up notification. Yeah, some help the system had been with that one.


    ¡°You <em>think</em> you understand?¡± Allie pushed herself off of him and sniffled, a confused re holding him almost contemptuously.


    He didn¡¯t waver, but shoved his hands into the pockets of his ruined cloak. ¡°This ¡®Prophet¡¯ person¡­ he¡¯s going to die for this. The followers of his who actually did the deed should die too, but I assume you already killed them. However, ughtering his followers like this tonight¡­ Especially when they¡¯re so much weaker than you? They were terrified of you. They had families and friends dying in front of them. You made them experience what you went through a dozen times over just tonight, let alone any other times you may have acted simrly. Allie, that isn¡¯t who you are. Just how many people have you killed because of this?¡±


    Anger red across her features and she quickly bit her lip to bite back a cutting reply, then she swallowed and closed her eyes. ¡°Lots of them. Hundreds. Maybe a thousand. Maybe two thousand, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Riven frowned. ¡°How many of them do you truly think deserved it?¡±


    Allie¡¯s mouth opened to reply, but then it quickly shut. Thinking the question over seriously for a time, that tight-lipped smile turned into a full on grin of pride. Confidently she straightened her posture, and took a step towards him with fangs exposed in a blindingly white smile. ¡°All of them.¡±


    ***


    Riven had a lot on his mind to think about concerning the changes his sister had undergone, the loss of his best friend, and this new Prophet character he¡¯d heard about. Regardless, Allie was family - and although he didn¡¯t necessarily agree with her choices he did understand them. In some ways, he felt like they were even justified - but not to the extent she¡¯d taken it after the stories she¡¯d told him. He¡¯d seen the looks of shock, anger, denial and extreme grief of the families who¡¯d fled after he and his sister had cut down Prophet¡¯s men tonight. There had been emotional agony written all over those people, and he couldn¡¯t help feeling guilty even despite his own emotions over a friend who¡¯d been in his life since he was little.


    But he also felt angry. Angry that this vampiric curse of theirs had in some ways been responsible for Jose¡¯s death. Angry that it was now responsible for a pseudo-war between this apparent undead faction Allie was creating in downtown Brightsville, and the outskirts of the northern city where groups of humans were banding together to purge the undead.


    She¡¯d told him all about it. About her friends Nin, Vin, and Mara. About the bone garden at the top of a skyscraper she was now using as a home base and terraforming with death mana to better suit undead. She¡¯d told him about their battles, won and lost, and how she¡¯d experienced far worse than he had when trying to contact other groups of humans in earlier days.


    She¡¯d apparently even begged others to take her and her three undead friends in after Jose¡¯s murder. It¡¯d been another, separate group from the holy new-age crusaders gathering in the north, but even they¡¯d looked at her with both fear and hatred. They too had called her a monster, and they¡¯d also tried to kill her without any real reason. They¡¯d just seen she was a vampire, and they¡¯d attacked.


    No doubt this was likely due to them thinking she was another system-spawned monster, a vampire trying to trick them into trusting her. Or perhaps it¡¯d been the negative charisma at y again, perhaps it was both. But it was hard to tell whether or not those people had just been skittish, or if this vampiric curse had really been the cause of their choice to strike out.


    Regardless, those people were all dead too now, fuel for the bone garden Allie had built where new undead - mostly a humanoid variant of ghoul, were being created as independent and sentient creatures. They were being reborn from the void, from the fragments of souls that¡¯d once been the people whose bodies they inhabited. But they were not the same.


    It was all very concerning¡­ Especially given that Riven had two elves and a bunch of refugees holed up underneath a hospital right now with Azmoth. Were they all going to turn on him too?


    His vision snapped up and he focused when a light touch of Allie¡¯s fingertips brought him back to this world. He¡¯d been internally pondering all of these things without really looking where he was going, too deep in thought to care, but her soft touch and warm smile reminded him that this was still his sister - regardless of how much she¡¯d changed or the choices she¡¯d made.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost to the perimeter.¡± Allie stated, gripping her older brother by the hand and walking beside him to pull him along. Their footsteps echoed through a dark alley, and they came out the other side between buildings to gaze upon the remnants of downtown.


    Riven¡¯s eyes widened slightly and he took in the sight that¡¯d obviously been a warzone for quite some time now.


    Buildings had been demolished for blocks. Fires burned in scattered piles of debris or from smoking ruins, and crumpled vehiclesy smashed and destroyed. Light Poles had been knocked down, bloodstains were asionally seen in patches, but there were no bodies - likely due to harvesting them for the fledgling undead faction.


    Beyond all of this destion was downtown. A couple skyscrapers still stood rtively intact, with scattered office buildings inbetween. But one stood out above them all - towering overhead and radiating power. Teal and ck flickers asionally trickled along the sides of thisrge structure, the tower showing spots of ivory bone where metal beams had once been, and even from here Riven could see undead patrolls hidden in ambush along various nooks or crannies.


    From the shadows of one of these crevices between rocky debris, a woman stepped out - only to be followed by four skeletal warriors that were heavily armored; carryingrge shields and swords.


    The cloaked woman sped her hands in front of her and bowed her head slightly, her raven hair drifting out from the hood she wore and her pale white eyes giving her a very gothic appearance. She was beautiful, but her body was stitched together in patches that she¡¯d likely carved off other bodies in the past - and an aura of calm, submissive power radiated out from her when she addressed the two vampires.


    ¡°Mydy.¡± The ghoul said with a sweet smile directed at Allie. Then her dead eyes flickered and she evaluated Riven with a curious cock of her head. Her gaze shifted to the way these two were holding hands, and her eyebrows raised instantly. ¡°Allie, who is this?¡±


    Allie¡¯s hand clenched more firmly around Riven¡¯s fingers, and she gave her friend an eyeroll. ¡°It¡¯s not what you think.¡±


    Another p of thunder echoed out from the storm rapidly closing in on their location, and the pitter patter of raindrops began to stter across the stone.


    She stepped forward, letting go of Riven and putting a hand on the ghoul woman¡¯s shoulder. Turning back, she softly smiled in the dim light of the stars and embers around them. ¡°This is my brother, Riven. Riven, this is my new best friend Mara. Get to know one another as we walk, I want to show Riven all that we¡¯ve built in the time that he¡¯s been gone.¡±

 Chapter 85

    Chapter 85


    <strong>Chapter 85</strong>


    Riven couldn¡¯t help but be impressed with what Allie had built here.


    Hundreds of sentient undead walked, talked, bartered, built andughed with one another as Allie and Mara took him on a grand tour of the tower. The skyscraper¡¯s walls had been knocked down in some areas, terraformed in others, and in some ces had been kept up. A mix and mash of steel, bone, death mana, and even sometimes sinewy muscle created various parts of the structure with a huge spiral staircase in the center leading up and down that¡¯d obviously not been there to begin with. Shops selling various wares were set up, living quarters had been spaced out, and training areas or food courts were avable. It was all quite homey with a friendly feel to the environment.


    Most of the undead were ghouls, more humanoid and put together than the mutated ones Riven had seen in hell. Then again there were also more bone-type or skeletal undead too, like the ¡®Skresh¡¯ friends Vin and Nin Allie had described earlier. There was even one enormous and sentient flesh golem,cking any skin, with huge rippling muscles applying metal armor directly into his body,. They mostly bowed or waved or even had a word of praise thrown Allie¡¯s way whenever she and Mara passed them by with the escort of four heavily armored death knights following. asionally the tower''s upants would give Riven a curious look, but no one said much about it otherwise.


    ¡°You created all this? It¡¯s like an undead city!¡± Riven said with awe while staring around, smiling slightly when he saw a ghoul man flirtatiously bragging about exploits he obviously hadn¡¯t achieved with a ghoul woman in a dark corner, while they drank some kind of¡­ slime?


    ¡°Mara, Nin and Vin all helped. I couldn¡¯t have ever done it without them.¡± Allie beamed back, a wide smile on her face as she sped her hands together behind her back. She motioned over to the enormous spiral staircase made of bone and made a gesture to proceed up to the next level, letting a group of five robed skresh talking about magical theory bypass her on their way down to the first floor. ¡°And to be fair, the bone garden does a lot of the work for us. Once we set it up, which was a hard feat mind you, all we have to do is supply it with the proper materials and it¡¯ll create new undead.¡±


    ¡°Yeah you¡¯ve mentioned the bone garden before, but how exactly does it work?¡±


    Allie opened her mouth to reply, but thought better of it and nudged Mara who came to stand next to her. ¡°You¡¯re the real mastermind behind that one. Go ahead and tell him.¡±


    The stitched beauty grinned, and if she could have blushed Riven thought she would have just by the way her posture shifted to an ufortable pride or bashfulness. ¡°Well, it took a lot of time - but my master in my old life told me how to make them before I¡­¡±There was a pause, and Riven¡¯s right eyebrow raised in confusion. ¡°Is something the matter?¡±


    Mara seemed to stumble over her words while she muttered, and then she shook her head - pushing her raven hair out to the side while her pale eyes shifted back to him. ¡°I just can¡¯t remember exactly how it happened. One day I was with my old master, a necromancer on another world, and then something¡­ a long time ago, something happened to him. To me. Then I remember waking up in Chalgathi¡¯s trials and Allie was pulling me out of a crypt.¡±


    Riven¡¯s features turned grim. Allie and he had spoken a small amount of the time they had experienced in their versions of Chalgathi¡¯s rites and the tutorials afterwards. It hadn¡¯t taken much of a genius to figure that one out after he¡¯d seen the soul-stitched items she had, but they still hadn¡¯t gone into details with so much already buzzing about their heads due to their reunion. Either way it had initiallye as a real surprise that both of them had been in the same starter trials and not even known about it until now.


    Quickly he wiped the grim look off his face and proceeded with a polite smile, pushing thoughts of Chalgathi out of his head. ¡°Well I don¡¯t mean to dig into your past if that makes you ufortable, you can skip that part.¡±


    Mara slowly nodded, seeming troubled, but blinked rapidly and returned to the issue of the bone garden. ¡°Well, I learned how to create one from my old master a long time ago. I didn¡¯t have the proper amount of mana to do it by myself, but Allie is quite the font of power and we were able to use her as a conduit to create the structure. Bone gardens can systematically raise up new undead by drawing in souls from the void, or the shadow realms, or really any of the outer realms that have free-floating souls that want a body. Or they can use fragments of an old soul to create new ones if the soul shards are iplete. Souls instinctively look for bodies, so the bone garden acts like a beacon and is able to fuse the soul with the material if there is enoughpatibility. Most people here are ghouls because the bone garden was able to identify those forms as the mostpatible with the settings Iid out-¡±


    ¡°You can create ¡®settings¡¯ with a bone garden?¡± Riven cut in curiously, folding his arms in confusion.


    Mara brightened, obviously eager to talk on the subject and her excitement on the ¡®science¡¯ behind it began to show through. ¡°Oh yes! For example, I could set the bone garden to spawn less sentient undead - like the types we use for minions. We can draw in more powerful souls or souls with different affinities, souls that have¡­ Ah, that can get a bit boring. But the short version is yes, you can essentially tell the bone garden what to look for and what types of bodies to create. As long as you have the proper materials, proper know-how, and proper soul affinity, you can create all sorts of undead.¡±


    ¡°Why not just create really strong minion types and be done with this war then?¡±


    ¡°Well, in theory you could under the right conditions. But there are a couple problems with that. First, stronger undead require stronger, rarer souls with higher affinities for that body. Second, those kinds of souls take longer to find and in the meantime the bone garden isn¡¯t harvesting any other souls. Third, you still have to subjugate the created creature. If you set the bone garden to create a monstrosity you can¡¯t control, it may destroy the bone garden and simply eat you because most of the non-sentient undead are ravenous by instinct. Fourth, we would still need materials and materials are in high demand. There¡¯s even a market upstairs that focuses on selling or buying body modifications like the flesh golem you saw earlier was doing, but most body modifications aren¡¯t metal. Instead, they¡¯re usually body parts stripped off of other creatures or even other undead.¡±


    ¡°Or nts.¡± Allie cut in.


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    Mara rolled her pale, dead eyes. ¡°That has only happened once, and I have no idea how he did it. Anyways, there¡¯s an entire list of reasons why that isn¡¯t really possible right now due to practical purposes. Those were only 4 reasons, but there are many more. The bone garden can definitely supply us with sentient undead, or feral ones using soul shards we can use as minions, but everythinges at a cost and we can¡¯t just snap our fingers to say ¡®hey create a giant bone dragon that I get to use as a pet¡¯ or something to that effect. It just doesn¡¯t work that way. Our queen also asked me about this the first time I offered to create the bone garden.¡±


    ¡°Queen?¡±


    Mara shot Allie a look, and Riven¡¯s little sister DID go bright red with a flush. Apparently vampires still had that ability, whereas ghouls - or at least Mara, probably did not.


    Riven¡¯s grin was slightly mocking as he stared at the silently brooding girl in front of him. ¡°Queen?¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up!¡± Allie said with a humph, stomping up the stairs while Mara began tough. ¡°I was NOT the one toe up with that title! That¡¯s just what everyone is calling me, ok!?¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Riven gave an amused chuckle and followed Allie up the stairs with Mara beside him. He shot the ghoul a sideways nce. ¡°So¡­ all of these undead really are newborns then? Does thate with any problems, like orienting them to their new lives or dealing with repressed memories of their past lives? Or are they like little kids?¡±


    ¡°Not all of them have past lives.¡± Mara corrected with a hum and a raised pointer finger while they walked. ¡°Those are¡­ the most problematic. Yes, they are essentially children and yes, it¡¯s a burden on the rest of us in the immediate timeline - but they''ll be of use when they grow older. We actually have a kind of daycare for those ones, it¡¯s on floor 5, and we basically have to treat them like toddlers while educating them with teachers we¡¯ve assigned. Most however are either brought in from the void or are created from fragments of old and splintered souls, these ones do often have glimpses of their past life from time to time - but aren¡¯t nearly as ipetent. They still feel like they¡¯re new people, but many describe it like asionally experiencing a dream or fragments of a dream. They usually don¡¯t feel connected to these old memories or emotions, rather like they¡¯re watching a theater performance.¡±


    ¡°There are also a couple others who the system allows to traverse worlds, but only in select circumstances.¡± Allie butt in again, ncing over her shoulder and slowing down to keep pace with the other two behind her. ¡°Very specific criteria have to be met.¡±


    At this, Riven blinked and gazed up through the hole in the middle of the tower that the skyscraper¡¯s main staircase was centered around. Far, far above them was the roof, and it¡¯d take a while to get there no doubt. ¡°Two questions, first - how tall is this tower? And second, what the hell do you mean other undead are traveling here from other worlds?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t remember how tall the tower originally was, but it¡¯s rapidly grown in both height and width. We¡¯ve added a couple floors and it¡¯s still adding new ones, I think we have 42 now?¡± Mara murmured with a scrunched nose.


    ¡°43 as of yesterday.¡± Allie stated proudly. ¡°It¡¯s not a living building, but it has the potential to be one eventually. Right now the bone garden is continuing to terraform and that¡¯s why there¡¯s such a transition.¡±


    Mara nodded. ¡°Yes, well anyways - what Allie is talking about concerning other worlds is that undead under abat level of 4 without any advanced skill sets or ties to what Elysium considers ¡®major factions¡¯ across the multiverse cane here through a 1 way pilgrimage. Did you see that system notification concerning a holy crusade against the undead? It should have been city-wide.¡±


    Riven slowly nodded. ¡°Yeah I saw it, I was a target.¡±


    ¡°As we all were.¡± Mara motioned at the dozens of undead ying cards on the floor they were passing now. ¡°The crusade was enabled because of two things. The first was our bone garden, the second was the holy book Prophet found. It gives the system a scenario to work with and oh does the system love its scenarios¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why would these things cause a system quest to target us?¡±


    Mara raised an eyebrow. ¡°Because the system drives conflict in order to fuel growth. The system is designed to create stronger, talented individuals by fueling them with the deaths of weaker individuals. Some think this is a system with the goal to create gods or god-like immortals, while others believe it is for the system¡¯s own amusement. Other theories from my old world state there is no real rhyme or reason and it just exists as a fundamentalw, like gravity. Regardless, there are certain scenarios that the system often focuses on and uses to further its agenda of conflict - and sometimes, though certainly not always, these scenarios are focused around the charisma stat.¡±


    Now Mara had Riven¡¯s attention, but she didn¡¯t seem to notice when he perked up. He¡¯d been wondering how he¡¯d go about life with a slowly building negative charisma, and it appeared she as about to give him some much needed insight on the matter.


    She held up her hands and motioned about her. ¡°All of us, we are oriented towards negative charisma. About half of the undead races as a general rule of thumb acquire negative charisma for each level gained. Some races don¡¯t gain negative charisma as a rule of thumb, but feel more attracted towards those with negative charisma and repulsed by those with positive charisma. Most demons, blood elves, drow, vampires, certain species of orc, and a couple other races are oriented towards negative charisma, so the more negative charisma you have the more these types of races will like you. Meanwhile the humans, high elves, dwarves, gnomes, fairy folk, angels, and others are focused on positive charisma. These races will be able to go into the negative charisma, but doing so will cause others of their kind to instinctively dislike them - especially upon first impressions. So why would they? And some naturally acquire positive charisma per level gain - namely angels. Negative and positive charismas reject one another when races meet, those with negative charisma feel uneasy, afraid, or disgusted around those with positive charisma and vice versa. This leads to distrust, and eventually it leads to natural conflict between races with negative and positive charisma orientations on a far greater scale than what is normal otherwise. That is why demons and undead are often hated by humans and angels, almost as a universal rule of thumb across the cosmos, even though realistically there are friendships between angels and demons in some corners of the multiverse. That¡¯s just very rare, and in order for this to happen it takes unique situations where those individuals make an effort to throw aside their differences and work very hard to ovee the stigma their charismas set.¡±


    Mara let out a huff, taking a breather from the exnation while continuing to pump her legs. ¡°Long story short, as soon as we started building an undead faction here in close proximity to a holy oriented human faction, it meant an easy opportunity for conflict. Prophet was likely given the choice on whether or not to pursue this quest for war and extermination when we started building our forces, with bonuses given to the crusaders by the system for our deaths. When he epted the quest - we in turn got our own leveraging. We got the unique function ¡®Pilgrimage¡¯ added to our bone garden, allowing our small bone garden to allow weaker, unaffiliated other-world undead travelers to join us for a new start at life using 1-way tickets to this world of Panu. It is unlikely Prophet knew this would happen though, otherwise I''m not sure he''d have taken the offer. Regardless, the holy crusaders outnumber us by a lot and are absorbing dozens of other human groups in the northern end of the city even despite our victories. They¡¯re likely going to make a push to reim territory soon.¡±


    ¡°We also got a quest to ¡®survive¡¯ for the next 6 months, which doesn¡¯t seem promising.¡± Allie grumbled in irritation. ¡°It¡¯s like the system is expecting us to lose even though we¡¯re currently winning this war.¡±


    ¡°I never received those ones, I only got the quest saying I was a target.¡± Riven stated tly.


    ¡°Likely because you hadn¡¯t joined our faction yet.¡± Allie shot back with a shrug. ¡°No idea honestly, but that¡¯s the only thing that makes sense. Everyone else here got it.¡±

 Chapter 86

    Chapter 86


    <strong>Chapter 86</strong>


    The storm had died down to a low drizzle, but was still shing lightning overhead when Riven stepped foot outside.


    The bone garden was open to the air on the wide tower rooftop and heavily guarded. A door from therge staircase with an arch made of bone led into it, where over a dozen armed warriors and an equal number of robed mages stood watch. There was even one bone giant, standing three times the height of Riven who wielded an absolutely gargantuan bow with arrows the size of Riven¡¯s thighs, and another ghoul man with a sniper rifle of all things peering out a scope while looking down onto the city below.


    The garden itself was¡­ beautiful, forck of better words. It wasn¡¯t the type of beauty one would expect out of a normal garden, but Riven could see why they called it that. Intricate ornamental bone structures hovered and floated about the air in a palpable wave of death mana and little orbs of light that slowly churned around a central spire. The spire itself was very tall, very thick and made mostly from cords of interwoven spines or vertebrae; but there were also various skulls and sinewy strings of flesh to create the bone garden¡¯s spire.


    The palpable cloud of ck and teal death mana was cool to the touch and felt a little bit like a swimming pool when Riven followed his sister into the dense mist; and the droplets of rainwater falling from the heavens slowed down to a crawl whenever they entered the sphere of power. The tiny lights in the area bounced,ughed or even sung while they danced about in the air - and many of them brushed by Riven¡¯s skin or even went through his body to give him sensations or shes of memories or emotions that were never his. The general feel he got from these glowing lights was that they were actually spirits, and they seemed¡­ happy. Happy to be here, from what he could tell from the thoughts they transferred on contact.


    ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Mara said while smiling at a pair of souls chasing one another around her legs. She giggled when they brushed by her to impart another set of emotions, and she rolled her eyes at what was certainly a thought that¡¯d been shared with her.


    Of the dozens of rotating bone structures softly orbiting the pir, they were in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Riven could feel the connections of mana between them though, and upon focusing further - he could almost see the intricate webbing where each floating piece of carved bone held meaning and purpose in this setup. Some of them were star-shaped, others were rectangr and could fit into the palm of your hand, yet others were odd shapes that didn¡¯t really fit the norm - yet they all had tiny runic sigils on each of them that glowed a soft teal color.


    ¡°It is beautiful¡­¡± Riven said quietly, almost a whisper while he reached out and touched another passing soul - getting a brief sense of happiness from its passing before it joined its brothers and sisters in the slowly churning vortex of power around them.


    Allie absentmindedly pushed one of therger bone structures rotating directly into where she stood, watching it float away into the dense mana and through hundreds of slowed raindrops with a small smile. Then she turned with crimson eyes to stare upon her brother. She let out a sigh, and came over to hug him again. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re ok. So¡­ what do you think about all this?¡±Riven blinked as she let go to the sound of rumbling thunder, and gave an approving nod. ¡°I think I¡¯m very impressed.¡±


    He didn¡¯t mention his misgivings about how she was handling some of the humans in the city, because honestly after his talks with Mara and Allie he wasn¡¯t sure if conflict was avoidable at this point. And who knew, if he¡¯d seen Jose get killed like that in front of his own eyes maybe he¡¯d have been thrown into a rage too. In fact, he certainly would have gone into a rage.


    His features fell, and he let out a sigh. ¡°Where¡¯s he buried?¡±


    Allie¡¯s smile faded, and her eyes hit the ground. She then gestured over to the edge of the rooftop where the wet, glistening bone giant stood watch, then pointed to the horizon along the southern city¡¯s edge. ¡°Under an oak tree on the outskirts of the city. It seemed appropriate at the time, there wasn¡¯t really anywhere else¡­¡±


    ¡°I see. Do you mind taking me to it sometime?¡±


    ¡°Of course I can.¡±


    Riven nodded in appreciation and set the butt of his staff down onto the rooftop to better support himself, and his shoulders silently slumped.


    Allie however had been giving his staff curious nces every now and then, and it was here that she decided to address it. Likely to take Riven¡¯s mind off their dead friend. ¡°I know you said you went to hell and came back, is that where you got that staff? It¡¯s very neat. Crystalized blood spikes with flesh and flowing blood, set into ck wood. Even the name, ¡®Vampire¡¯s Escort¡¯, is pretty neat. Suitable, considering what we are.¡±


    <strong>[Vampire¡¯s Escort (Vampiric)(Unique Soul-Fused Weapon, Sorcerer¡¯s Staff): 104 average damage on strike with each physical strike dealing minor shadow-explosion knockback. Mana regeneration is increased by 102%. All Shadow and Blood spells cost 9% less mana while dealing 22% additional damage. This item has an abnormally high endurance and is hard to destroy. Requires Vampiric Heritage to wield.</strong><ul><li><strong>Sacrificial Kill:</strong><strong> Killing strong opponents has a chance to imbue this weapon with additional attributes, stats, or bonuses.</strong></li><li><strong>Scorpion¡¯s Sting:</strong><strong> The de at the tip of this staff can extend through flesh molding to cut down enemies. Enemies hit with the de portion of this weapon do not experience shadow-explosion knockback like the rest of this staff, rather the de portion of this weapon will imbue stacking bleeding damage to all biological enemies.</strong></li><li><strong>ck Lightning:</strong><strong> This staff can passively build up charges of ck lightning. Power of ck lightning depends on the amount of charge emitted.</strong></li><li><strong>Portal Master:</strong><strong> This weapon can sync to any stabilized portal you permission to use by the maker and master. Current locations avable for ess: Dungeon Negrada.]</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°I got the pieces in Hell, then put them together here on Panu.¡± Riven stood stalk still and shifted the status information he¡¯d already acquired to Allie so she could take a look. Then he went back to taking in the view of the city from such a high vantage point. It was pretty from so high up, and somewhat breathtaking. This was the highest point in the city and the surrounding area until reaching the mountain range to the west.


    ¡°You created this then?¡± Allie said with surprise. ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    Riven nodded, still staring out across thendscape while rainwater dripped off his hood. ¡°A surge of inspiration. The blood subpir¡­ it almost speaks to me sometimes. It¡¯s even my specialty pir now, after I had an epiphany of some kind with the dao.¡±


    Allie nodded then dismissed the information screen he¡¯d pushed to her. ¡°Ah. I¡¯ve had some insights, but only two and they¡¯ve both been rted to the Death subpir. Question¡­ Do you think mom and dad knew?¡±


    ¡°Knew about what?¡±


    ¡°Knew that we were vampires? Do you think they were vampires like us?¡±


    This was the first time many of the guards had ever seen Riven, but upon her words some of them outright stared. They hadn¡¯t known who Riven was, but to see that their leader¡¯s brother was now amongst them made some of them all the more curious.


    Riven shrugged. ¡°I have no idea. But if we both have it, there¡¯s a good chance they did too. I wish they were here.¡±


    There was a long pause.


    ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± Allie fidgeted ufortably, then cleared her throat and asked the question she¡¯d been wanting to ask since she¡¯d brought him here. ¡°So what now? Do I get to meet your demons without them killing me? Ath and Azmoth both seem very nice from the stories you¡¯ve told me, and that Ath is very fast by the way! I was impressed with her fighting capabilities. When are you going to move in? I have a spare room next to mine down below, and I can get you furniture! Oh I could even decorate for you! The girls here will be all over you by the way, be careful who you pick to date. There are some very pretty ghouls here. Hey, Mara is single!¡±


    Mara pped a hand over her face in embarrassment and she outwardly cringed.


    Riven¡¯s red eyes met Allie¡¯s own, and a chuckle escaped his lips. ¡°Yes you¡¯ll meet my minions soon enough. However, I have a problem I need to take care of first before I move in.¡±


    ¡°Problem?¡± Allie repeated with narrowed eyes. ¡°What kind of problem?¡±


    Riven gestured over to the hospital on the western edge of Brightsville, only barely visible due to the rain. ¡°Remember how I told you about the elves and those people in the basement?¡±


    Allie frowned and reached out to touch Riven¡¯s arm. ¡°They¡¯ll just try to kill you in the end. Just leave them, stay here - with me.¡±


    Riven shook his head, tapping a finger on the wand at her waist and then the bone soul-woven armor she currently wore. ¡°I¡¯lle back, but unlike you I still seem to have some of my humanity remaining.¡±


    He gave her a sour grin, and thement obviously stung. She looked at her soul-woven pieces of equipment and grimaced, knowing he wasmenting on what he deemed to be hical decision making, but she didn¡¯t give any snappy reply. He hadn¡¯t been there to see what she¡¯d been through, and she knew that he knew this as well.


    So instead she merely epted his decision while ignoring the jab. ¡°I have to stay to run things. Though honestly after fighting you I don¡¯t feel as worried about your odds of survival like I once did. We¡¯re probably some of the most powerful people in this city. When you get back¡­ are you going to help us with the war?¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    The question was hesitant, and Riven¡¯s response was even more-so. But he gave a solemn, slow nod. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll help, but I don¡¯t want to mindlessly ughter everyone. I hope you haven¡¯t done that already, Allie. If you have, I forgive you, but it¡¯s not something I¡¯ll just stand by and tolerate either now that I¡¯m here.¡±


    Allie pursed her lips, looking back down at the city beneath them. ¡°Ok.¡±


    Riven noticed how she hadn¡¯t denied or confirmed anything concerning the open-ended question, and he inwardly grimaced. Honestly though, she could have murdered a whole damned continent and he¡¯d still love her - because he knew who she was on the inside. She might have changed somewhat due to recent circumstances, but she was still the kind person she¡¯d always been. Perhaps it may take a bit for her to get back to where she¡¯d been earlier after the trials and loss she¡¯d experienced since the system took hold, but she wasn¡¯t evil.


    She was still Allie.


    ¡°How long do you think you¡¯ll be?¡± Allie asked, gesturing over to Mara who came over to stand beside them.


    ¡°Hopefully just long enough to deal with the remaining dream creatures, and I need to figure out what to do with the survivors¡­¡± Riven rubbed his forehead and could feel a headacheing on. ¡°God damn it, and I need to escort those elves home too. They¡¯re sick and injured, and I can¡¯t have them justying around by themselves. Azmoth is there now, but I need them out of my hands.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re helping them at all.¡± Mara stated tly. ¡°Most elves would kill you for being a vampire back in my old world. They¡¯re high elves, right? That¡¯s the mostmon type.¡±


    ¡°How do you tell?¡±


    ¡°What color is their skin?¡±


    ¡°White.¡±


    ¡°Well they¡¯re either blood elves or high elves then. What about their eyes and hair?¡±


    ¡°Blonde hair and green eyes, silver hair and blue eyes.¡±


    Mara nodded in conformation and began to dig around in a bag at her waist. ¡°They¡¯re high elves. They were terrified of you when they first saw you, weren¡¯t they? You¡¯re going to be attacked by their kin on sight if they see you hauling two unconscious or sick elves around.¡±


    Riven outwardly groaned and began to rub his forehead more furiously. ¡°Grreeaaaattttt.¡±


    Mara and Allie both chuckled, with Mara pulling out a bauble made of obsidian. ¡°Here, take this. It¡¯ll allow us tomunicate with you while you¡¯re gone. Allie and I both have one, as do Nin and Vin¡­ Where are they by the way?¡±


    Allie shrugged as Riven took the bauble. ¡°Probably downstairs somewhere working on their mad scientist projects.¡±


    The women bothughed, obviously having some kind of inside joke about the two skresh.


    Meanwhile, Riven examined the bauble in his hands and pulled up a status screen.


    <strong>[Communication Orb: This orb is part of a 15-orb set, and has an effectivemunication radius of 203 miles. After that range, you will be able to sense location but not activelymunicate with other holders of these linked orbs.]</strong>


    ¡°Interesting.¡± Riven pocketed the bauble and gave a nod of thanks. ¡°That makes things a lot easier.¡±


    ¡°You could always turn them into thralls instead.¡± Mara stated with a shrug. ¡°It¡¯d make things easier, for you and them. It¡¯d heal them, and would give you two sources of sustained feeding to use.¡±


    Riven¡¯s lip curled in disgust, but then he thought about it. Perhaps that wasn¡¯t a bad idea, in terms of obtaining a thrall, but he wouldn¡¯t do it to someone who was unwilling. ¡°I only intend to create thralls from people who want that done to them.¡±


    Allie snorted. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any thralls?¡± Riven asked curiously, turning his gaze on her amidst the drizzle.


    ¡°Uhm¡­¡± Allie¡¯s face flushed slightly and she shrugged.


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s aplicated story¡­¡± Mara eventually said in the awkward silence that followed, receiving an appreciative nce from Allie while she fidgeted with her wand. ¡°One that will likely take time to exin. Either way, thralls are an easy solution to what is otherwise a life of hunting down victims to eat. Right?¡±


    Riven gave them both skeptical looks, but eventually shook his head. ¡°Alright, this is a conversation for another time. I¡¯m off for now. Allie, I love you. Be safe. Mara, it was nice meeting you.¡±


    He extended a hand to Mara, who declined it and instead bowed to him while taking a knee. Riven was a bit surprised by the act of submission but didn¡¯tment on it and withdrew his hand, before Allie came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.


    ¡°Be careful. I love you too.¡± Allie replied with a wide smile. ¡°And don¡¯t get into any fights that are serious while you¡¯re away. Just run if you need to. I feel safer knowing you have the same bloodline I do, and we might be superhuman in some ways, but still¡­ we¡¯re not immortal. I¡¯ve almost died more than once, even with my regeneration.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± He roughed up her hair and got a scowl, to which heughed and waved. ¡°Alright, bye now.¡±


    Allie gave him a confused stare when he stepped towards the edge. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Coming up to the precipice, he took onest look back at his sister and the ghoul Mara who was now getting to her feet. He grinned, then let himself begin to fall. ¡°Taking the shortcut!¡±


    <strong>*WHOOSH*</strong>


    Seeing the shocked faces of the two women be smaller while he fell, he waved to them amidst the pping of his tattered cloak andughed. Whirling around in the air to face downwards he cast two wretched snares from either hand, reinforced them, and then gripped each one before slinging them at the side of the tower three-fourths of the way down. Then he yanked. Angling his body to use momentum properly, he swung himself around andunched at another office building two streets away. Hurling through the drizzle and crashing through a ss window like ament, he rolled across the floor - through a wooden door and into an adjacent hallway with a cackle. Brushing himself off and standing up, he wondered just what kind of impression he¡¯d given Mara with that kind of stunt.


    Then he started walking. It couldn¡¯t be all fun and games, and he had a few responsibilities to attend to.


    ***


    Night turned into day.


    Their first stop was a clothes department store wedged between a heavily looted shopping center and a four-way intersection. It was called Annabelle¡¯s, and Ath had seen it while exploring the city on the first day after the merging of worlds. It was a red-brick building with the white and yellow sign overhead, and the ss windows that¡¯d been set up to disy wares were shattered. The sliding doors to the front hadrgely been ignored in favor of the broken windows as there was no electricity anymore, and there were a couple of looters going in and out even now.


    As Riven and Ath approached, many gave them wary nces and a woman pushing a stroller even screamed and turned around to rush away with her baby when she¡¯d seen one of Ath¡¯s arachnoid legs loop around to scratch an itch.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you let me meet her!?¡± Ath said with a groan, posing the question yet again for the tenth time that morning. ¡°I had so much I wanted to say! So much I wanted to ask! Like¡­ what kind of BLACKMAIL she has on you! All the nitty gritty secrets she knows - oh I can¡¯t wait!¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes and ignored the screaming woman, stepping over the ledge and shattered ss to make his way inside. ¡°I told you, I wanted you to heal uppletely before calling you back. You¡¯re important, and I want you to be healthy while you¡¯re here. You¡¯ll have all the time in the world to talk to Allie about the dark secrets of my mysterious past!¡±


    He let out a snort of amusement when Ath yfully shoved him with a grin.


    One middle-aged man wearing a scarf around his face and a leather jacket looked up from where he was trying to hush his two little boys. His eyes went wide upon seeing Riven¡¯s system description, and he slowly backed away against the wall while holding the children¡¯s hands. ¡°I don¡¯t want any trouble.¡±


    Riven nced over and smiled, gesturing to the tattered garments he wore. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us. We¡¯re just here for some new clothes.¡±


    There were a couple other people inside as it was a ratherrge store ¨C almost a warehouse of sorts with thousands of racks and about half of them still being loaded with clothes. Piles of discarded garments that people had been rifting through also littered the floors, and skylights illuminated the building at intervals.


    They went through the isles of turned-over shelves and racks, picking out various articles of clothing each of them wanted. Surprisingly enough Ath was even open to the idea of wearing clothes from time to time now, though she made it very clear that she¡¯d only do so in special circumstances. What she meant by ¡®special circumstances¡¯ was still up in the air for debate though.


    There was arge variety of stuff, and the two of them avoided other people just as much as those other people avoided them. Within minutes the other small groups of friends and families in the room continued their looting with minimal fear, seeing that the neers weren¡¯t hostile despite the oddity of their appearances or system descriptions. By now everyone had seen varieties of monsters and how their city had been meshed into a newndscape, they¡¯d seen the messages that the administrator had sent to the entire popce of the three merged worlds, so this particr group of people just chalked it up to one of the other oddities and kept hands on their weapons if they had any.


    Riven bent down, picked up a ck trench coat, and grinned Ath¡¯s way ¨C throwing it into a nearby cart he¡¯d scavenged before taking his demon¡¯s growing pile of clothes and putting it in the cart as well. ¡°This must be like a dreame true for you ¨C being able to finally shop to your heart¡¯s content. Be sure to pick some stuff for formal wear too, and not just¡­ whatever this is.¡±


    Riven held up some pink lingerie with a quizzical side-eye.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you question my choices!¡± Ath humphed, folding her arms with a ring expression and posing defiantly with her pitch-ck legs nted firmly apart. ¡°You said you wanted me to wear clothes, so I¡¯m wearing clothes. Deal with the choices I make, plebian!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just sayin-¡±


    ¡°Nope! Enough!¡± She smacked him upside the back of his head, and abruptly turned into a spider in a whoosh of motion.


    Riven startled in surprise and stepped back, but thenughed when he saw it was her original form. ¡°You¡¯ve mastered the shapeshifting now!? Very cool.¡±


    Ath¡¯s ck and red spider body turned abruptly and pointed a quivering spider foot up at his face, eyes narrowed. ¡°Anymore of that backtalk and I stay in this body forever! Got it!?¡±


    Riven¡¯s grin only widened. ¡°That¡¯s your choice, Ath. I like you just the way you are, no matter what body you take.¡±


    ¡°Shut it! I don¡¯t need your sarcasm!¡± Ath dramatically rolled over onto her back, covered up her mandibles and arachnid face with a couple of legs and got another chuckle from her master.


    Another scream from a little girl nearby caused Ath to quickly shape-shift back into her humanoid form though, and she gave the kid a scathing re. ¡°Ohe on! I¡¯m not THAT scary!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty damn scary looking, Ath.¡±


    ¡°Shut it, twirp! Unless you want more mustaches drawn on your face when you sleep!¡±


    That¡¯s when Ath¡¯s bright, red eyes lit up in excitement as she picked up a long, white dress and spun around ¨C keeping it close to her body to mimic what it¡¯d look like. ¡°What do you think about the dress!?¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes softened, and he put his hands on his hips. ¡°You¡¯d look beautiful in it.¡±


    There was a pause in the conversation, and the quirky demeanor faded from her face along with her grin as her eyes slowly fell to the ground; avoiding his gaze. Ath blushed, rolled up the dress, then slowly walked up to him and gave him a firm hug. ¡°Thanks Riven. You know, you¡¯re not a bad master to have for a demon.¡±


    She gut punched him and peeled off with a smile while avoiding a retaliatory kick, then stuck her ck tongue out with a wink and continued surfing the wares.


    Riven thoughtfully stood there under the skylights of the spacious, dim room for a long, long time, waiting for her to be done. All of this was fascinating to Ath, who¡¯d never been outside theher realms until she¡¯d met him, and the demonic entity was a whole lot less demonic in scenarios like this one. She was smiling a lot, spunky, full of energy and enthusiasm, and was basically having the time of her life on this new adventure. It¡¯d only been a few months, but he¡¯d grown a very strong bond with her in that short amount of time. He was very d that when given the choice in Chalgathi¡¯s trials, it was her that he¡¯d chosen.


    He wished that he¡¯d been able to introduce her to Jose too, but that was something that would now nevere to pass. His heart sank at the thought, they¡¯d have liked each other. And he knew that she¡¯d get along with Allie.


    His thoughts on the matter came to an abrupt halt when the voice of that teenage kid Jake rang clear through his mind. It had beenpletely unexpected, and Riven had no clue the kid could pull off that kind of skill - but the feel and the sound were both on point with the mapper he¡¯d barelye to know. ¡°Riven, can you hear me? This is Jake, the blonde curly-haired guy you met at the hospital. I¡¯m using a telepathy skill I have, it¡¯splicated and came from my tutorial. Can you hear me? Ok, good. Anyways¡­ you may want toe back to the hospital. We¡¯ve had some problems in your absence.¡±

 Chapter 87

    Chapter 87


    <strong>Chapter 87</strong>


    Riven stormed through the sewers to where the rungs leading up the tunnel were within reach. Grabbing onto them: Ath followed closely behind. The clothes they¡¯d gathered were strung up inrge sturdy bags they¡¯d procured from a back room in the clothing store, and they were dragged up along the tunnel¡¯s side too.


    The hatch unlocked and swung open to let in the firelight of thenterns. Riven continued up and out of the tunnel ¨C not bothering to wait for the others and furiously whipped out of the room to see what Jake had told him about.


    There in the hallway was one of the male nurses, an african-american young man who¡¯d been severely injured with a clearly broken leg that Dr. Brass was wrapping up with the help of another female nurse and Dr. Waters. Senna and Ethel, the elves, were crying on the floor outside of room 7 ¨C obviously still injured themselves but with a few new bruises that hadn¡¯t been there before. There was another shirtless bald man on the floor who was obviously dead, having a huge set of w marks gouged out of his chest, and there was a screaming family throwing out profanities at everyone else as they sat back in the far corner of the waiting room. They were being backed into that corner by Azmoth, who was obviously not having any of their shit and bored out of his mind as he stood there with folded arms waiting for Riven to arrive.


    The dead man on the floor was none other than the guy who¡¯d been with thetina woman¡¯s family - the sametina woman that¡¯d called Riven a monster when he¡¯d first arrived and had wanted to get out as soon as they could. The guy had been wearing no shirt then and carrying a baseball bat, looking rather thuggish at the time. Now hisck of a shirt did very little to hide his innards from the rest of the room. The screaming woman¡¯s husband, a heavily tattooed man whose friend was dead on the floor, was waving that same baseball bat around trying to intimidate therge, simmering, armored demon ahead of him. ¡°YOU FUCKER! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!¡±


    The man¡¯s son, a little boy around the age of 6, screamed and cried at the top of his lungs while clinging to his mother who was throwing whatever she could get her hands on at the demon as each item bounced harmlessly off the bored creature. The other small families, nurses, and other randoms who were present just watched on in silence or muttering ¨C though none of them seemed to be at all afraid of Azmoth. Rather they cast judgmental looks at the small family of three instead.


    Riven glowered at them a moment, then knelt down next to the male nurse and pped him on the shoulder. ¡°You ok man? Looks like you¡¯ve got a gimp leg now.¡±


    Dr. Brass snorted and adjusted his sses. ¡°He¡¯ll live.¡±The nurse scowled at the old man, causing the middle-aged brte woman: Dr. Waters, to chuckle. ¡°No! I¡¯m dying god damn it! DYING! I¡¯m not meant for this kind of abuse!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s certainly not dying.¡± Dr. Waters said with a grin Riven¡¯s way, gripping onto the young man¡¯s leg to hold it down. ¡°Tyson is just¡­ over exaggerating. He loves drama.¡±


    ¡°I DO NOT!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll put a splint on it soon, we just did an evacuation of the hematoma. He¡¯ll walk with a limp for a while and should walk normally as long as the break heals properly.¡±


    ¡°DYING!¡± The young man named Tyson insisted, running his good hand across his dreadlocks and groaning in pain, leaning back into the floor and closing his eyes when Dr. Brass was a little too rough in his handling of the younger man¡¯s leg.


    Riven nodded once, upon further inspection noting a huge swelling bruise right under Tyson¡¯s hairline, then let out a sigh over the yelling and ruckus of the family. ¡°I heard you were rather heroic. ording to Jake over there, you stopped that guy from assaulting the elves.¡±


    Riven hiked a thumb in the direction of the blonde teenage boy, who gave them all a wave from where he sat next to his equally blonde mom and dad on the couch again.


    ¡°And his brother!¡± Jake called out over the yelling. ¡°The man with the bat was trying to strip them down before Tyson intervened. Your demon Azmoth only left him alive because he backed off, and they¡¯ve tried to escape a couple times now.¡±


    Riven nodded to Azmoth in approval when he caught a nce. He got up, passing the nurse with the broken leg while he red daggers at the dead man on the floor and then over to the still enraged and screaming family in the corner.


    He came to a stop next to the elf Ethel, kneeling next to her as she remained slumped against a wall and cried ¨C trying to hide her face from him with her bandaged bicep that was missing half her arm. She had bruise marks around her neck, a ck eye, and scratches along her torso.


    Meanwhile the other elf Senna had numerous bruises along her rib cage, left cheek, and a swollen lip. She too was tearing up, some of her clothes were ripped, though unlike Ethel she was able to look him in the eye and brushed her silver hair out of her face to get a better look at him. ¡°We want to go home.¡±


    Riven took a look at their still-festering wounds, frowned, but then nodded his agreement. ¡°Alright. Where is your home?¡±


    Senna¡¯s lips trembled as she nced over at the bloodied, torn corpse of the man who¡¯d tried to assault her. ¡°Maybe 40 miles south from here further into the forest at the base of the mountains.¡±


    He nodded again, inwardly raging about the situation but keeping hisposure outwardly. ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll escort you back home tomorrow.¡±


    Senna sniffled and wiped away a tear. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    She went back toforting Ethel, and Riven stood up. Inhaling deeply, he whirled and quietly walked with intent towards the muscr, tattooed man with the baseball bat.


    ¡°YOU FUCKERS!¡± the muscr, tattooed man screamed as he swung again at the demon with the bat easily bouncing off Azmoth¡¯s armored torso. His eyes narrowed upon Riven¡¯s approach, and with a roar he stepped up to swing at Riven ¨C focusing all of his rage at losing his kin into that strike.


    The wooden batnded right on target ¨C or it would have, but Riven¡¯s left hand shot left and caught the weapon as it struck.


    The man¡¯s eyes widened at the speed and strength Riven possessed, then stumbled back as the wood splintered and shattered in Riven¡¯s grasp.


    The vampire sneered, and drawing one hand up to his right ¨C he formed a single,rge disc of blood magic over an open palm.


    Riven¡¯s fingers snapped and the projectile blurred forward, cutting cleanly through the entirety of the man¡¯s right arm. The man screamed and panicked, stumbling back just as Riven¡¯s foot nailed the side of the man¡¯s left knee ¨C felling him to the ground with the loss of stability.


    The man¡¯s screams of anger immediately turned into those of horror and pain. And as Riven stood over him, anger and bloodlust flushed through his mind. He raised his free left hand, red magic rippling across his skin to condense ahead of his outstretched hand as a slender, crimson spike. ¡°Say goodbye.¡±


    He abruptly grimaced in surprise when he felt a sharp pain in his side, and slowly turning his gaze downwards he saw that the man¡¯s wife had stabbed him with a small de. It was a minor wound considering his enhanced body, and he¡¯d taken far worse over his time in Negrada, but it was still painful. She was screaming at him in Spanish, and he had no idea what she was saying, but the look of revulsion and terror on her face was unmistakable. Her child in the background was sobbing on the floor, hiding his face as he rocked back and forth, and even despite the things this man had done¡­ Riven suddenly couldn¡¯t bring himself to kill the would-be rapist.


    His mind briefly went nk with iprehension. Why was it that withoutw and order, people who had once been civil became absolute animals? Why was this such amon theme ever since the system ended? This was not the first time he¡¯d seen this scenario y out. He¡¯d also seen vers, looters, his best friend had been murdered, the entire city had gone up in mes with infighting even despite monsters roaming the streets¡­ it was all so infuriating.


    Gritting his teeth and sneering, Riven knocked the woman backwards. She tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground as he drew the knife out of his side and casually tossed it away, and he went back to staring down the man on the ground.


    Taking in a deep sigh, he clenched and unclenched his free hand repeatedly while trying to calm his nerves as the entirety of the basement¡¯s upants had eyes on him. ¡°You¡¯re banished from this side of the city. Go North to the holy crusaders, you¡¯ll fit right in. Or perhaps the city prison, that group of vers seems to think a lot like you and you should get along. I¡¯ll have one of the docs save your pathetic life because you have a family, but if I ever see you around here again I¡¯ll assume you¡¯re trying to take revenge and kill you on the spot. Remember that.¡±


    Without warning or waiting for a reply, Riven mmed his foot into the man¡¯s face ¨C breaking his nose with a crunch and knocking him out cold. ¡°Dumb son of a bitch.¡±


    Everyone in the room was silent now, save Ath ¨C who was chuckling loudly in the background. ¡°Riven, you ruthless bastard!¡±


    Riven ignored the looks he was getting from the small crowd and walked back over to Dr. Brass. ¡°Sorry to inconvenience you, but do you mind patching that guy¡¯s arm up with a basic bandage? We¡¯re kicking him out as soon as he wakes up.¡±


    Dr. Brass huffed in irritation, brushed off his white coat, and stood up. ¡°God damn it, I really didn¡¯t sign up for this. Fine, but you owe me.¡±


    The vampire smiled slightly.


    ¡°I already do.¡± Riven replied, giving the old man a pat on the back and heading back towards the elves. ¡°Come ondies, let¡¯s get you back in bed. I¡¯ll dim the lights so you can get some rest before the return home tomorrow.¡±


    ***


    Riven finished updating his sister through themunication bauble about his decision to escort the elves home, and that he¡¯d be leaving the city in the morning. Allie hadn¡¯t liked it, but she¡¯d expected something like this and just told him to keep her updated as he progressed. The crusaders were continuing to gather their forces, cannibalizing other human groups while using a carrot and stick method. They were giving holy powers away through the relic Prophet had to their new followers, and using the threat of the undead as amon enemy. People were terrified that the undead were real, and the slowly morphing tower in the center of the city was very ominous. This in turn meant Allie¡¯s forces were fortifying their home base, setting up traps or ambushes, and attempting to assassinate higher ranking enemies to wreak havoc; but they didn¡¯t expect a full blown attack for at least another month or two due to sheerck of organization on Prophet¡¯s part. The current n was to let the enemiese to them, so that the undead could fight on their own terms and in their own territory.


    Riven closed themunication and let out a frustrated sigh, leaning back against the stone wall and mulling over the many things swirling about his mind. This ¡®war¡¯ between the humans and undead was a really sad oue in his opinion.


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    He took a look at the corpse of the dead man Azmoth had killed, now drained of blood to satiate his appetite. That was another thing that needed to be addressed, he needed a more permanent source of blood. He couldn¡¯t keep finding or creating corpses to feed on¡­ well, he could, but that¡¯s not how he wanted to go about it. He needed something reliable.


    Then there were the elves he needed to escort home when morning came. And he needed to figure out what to do with all these people who - although they were scared of him - looked to him for protection. They¡¯d stayed here this entire time, in the basement of the hospital, waiting for his return because they were more afraid of the monsters outside than they were of him. Jake had kept them all updated on the mulling activities of the dream creatures still above, and they¡¯d set up a god damned nest in the building overhead while feeding on local wildlife, other monsters, or people.


    And that was yet ANOTHER problem, he couldn¡¯t just let a swarm of hive-mind dream creatures continue to popte in the middle of Brightsville to devour everyone on this side of the city. He needed to annihte those fuckers to thest one.


    After all that, there was the rat-man Snagger who he¡¯d met in the cers. He had a scheduled appointment with him so he could venture into the underdark and explore. There was the guild hall he needed to find a ce for too, and figuring out who Chalgathi was or what his god damned amulet did, the list just kept going.


    ¡°You look stressed.¡± Azmoth muttered in a deep grunt, mming down onto the floor beside him and shaking the room slightly under his weight. His tail flipped back and forth, drawing Riven¡¯s eyes while the vampire leaned his head back against the stone wall.


    ¡°He¡¯s had a rough couple days.¡± Ath said,ing to sit on the opposite side of Riven and leaning into him, resting her head on his shoulder. Then she began peeling off the stic wrapping of a straw, inserted it into a juicebox, and began to suck the sugary liquid out with loud slurping sounds that were definitely intentional.


    Riven nced her way, then chuckled at the obnoxious demoness while running his hands through his hair. ¡°It¡¯s just a lot. I wish things were simpler.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ me too.¡± Senna stated softly while sitting on her hospital bed across the room from them. She lowered her eyes when she noticed Riven had heard, but then shrugged and began to examine her injuries in more thorough detail. ¡°I miss my old world.¡±


    The other elf, Ethel, nodded in silent agreement and continued to stare at her missing limb - cut off at the forearm where a goblin had chopped it off.


    <strong>*SLUUURRRRPPP*</strong>


    Riven¡¯s crimson eyes slowly shifted over to Ath who was making an overly dramatic attempt to garner his attention, and he swat the empty juicebox out from her grasp with an amused smile. ¡°You don¡¯t need those, save those for the humans here.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Ath protested, shifting back into her spider form and jabbing his thigh with one foot. ¡°Don¡¯t be a jerk!¡±


    ¡°Your mother is a jerk.¡±


    ¡°DON¡¯T YOU TALK ABOUT MY MAMA, YOU PLEBIAN DOG!¡±


    ¡°I do what I want, you can¡¯t tell me how to live my life.¡±


    Ath¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously. ¡°I am a PRINCESS! You will do what I say, OR YOU SHALL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!!!¡±


    She lunged, screeching and barreling into Riven to knock him over onto Azmoth while rapidly swatting at him with all twelve of her legs at intervals. Laughing and wrestling the spider to the ground with rapid swats of his own to the top of her head (which only egged her on even more), Riven and the spider battled on the floor for supremacy.


    ¡°TAKE THAT! AND THAT!¡±


    ¡°You little shit! Hey-HEY! DON¡¯T YOU-¡±


    ¡°AND THAT!¡±


    ¡°DON¡¯T SPRAY THE FACE, THAT¡¯S CHEATING!¡±


    ¡°CALL ME KUNG-FU SPIDER BITCH!¡±


    <strong>*SMACK-SWAT-SLAP*</strong>


    <em>¡°Ow!¡±</em>


    The two elves stared at the battling duo for a solid ten seconds before bursting intoughter, and Ath¡¯s screeching drew the attention of Dr. Brass and a few other curious onlookers. Seeing that Riven was cackling while he duked it out with his minion, the humans quickly lost interest and returned to discussing their potential options with one another. They knew of Riven¡¯s departure in the morning, and he¡¯d asked them to brainstorm amongst themselves while he did the same. They couldn¡¯t just stay here, they had to leave, but what options did they have?


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    Riven pinned Ath to the floor, using his vampiric strength and superior body weight to weigh her down while she flopped like a fish underneath him. ¡°Well, well, well¡­ Looks like I have to put you in spider time out!¡±


    ¡°THERE¡¯S NO SUCH THING! SPIDER TIME OUT IS A MYTH!¡±


    ¡°Spider-princess time out?!¡±


    ¡°EVEN LESS OF A THING!¡±


    Riven¡¯s chuckle and the banter between the two caused the wary elves to smile, and they outrightughed again when Riven¡¯s blood magic quickly condensed and formed a half-block of crimson ice around the majority of Ath¡¯s body. Her twelve legs stuck out straight where they¡¯d been frozen in ce, and only her head was left out of the block when Riven sat the ridiculous, snarling spider down in her new time-out container with a thud.


    ¡°LET ME GO PLEBIAN!¡±


    Riven smacked his hands together as if to dust them off, and nodded to himself while wickedly smiling at his demonic spider minion as Azmothughed. ¡°No, no - this is spider-princess time out. Just like I said.¡±


    Ath¡¯s red eyes bulged, and she raised her mandibles into the air with an ear-piercing, rather dramatic wail. ¡°AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!¡±


    ¡°Oh shut your tantrum down and be a good girl. You WERE the one to start this after all. Tut-tut.¡± Riven patted the screaming spider¡¯s head like he would a dog. ¡°Good girl.¡±


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!¡±


    Azmoth was finding this absolutely hrious and hisughter was rising in pitch to join the elves. He then pointed to the iced spider with one of his four arms. ¡°Obnoxious spider girl looks like brick.¡±


    ¡°She does look like a brick. Doesn¡¯t she? A rectangr, red brick of spider-ice.¡±


    ¡°CURSED, FOUL-SMELLING PEASANTS! UNLEEEEEASH ME SO I MAY UNVEIL MY TRUE FORM AND WRATH!¡± Ath tried wriggling her legs, but they were frozen absolutely still and it only made her arachnid features tense in concentration like she was trying to figure out a hard math problem.


    Riven blinked, then turned to the elves who were the only other upants in the room. ¡°Sorry for how ridiculous she can be. But may I ask, why are you two still up? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be getting sleep for tomorrow¡¯s journey? You¡¯re both still rather sick and injured.¡±


    Ethel let on a slight chuckle, then gestured to the wailing spider in the middle of the room. ¡°I doubt we¡¯d be able to sleep with that dramatic creature causing such a ruckus. That aside, we tried¡­ Or at least I tried. I can feel the exhaustion beginning to overtake me, but it¡¯ll probably be some time before I find the willpower to rest again. What happened earlier today¡­ it was traumatizing.¡±


    Riven solemnly acknowledged her words. ¡°Understandable.¡±


    ¡°AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, unleashing his arachnid partner and shattered the crimson ice that shimmered and disappeared.


    Ath shook herself off, ring up at the vampire with a dramatic humph, then strut out of the dimly lit operating room with her head held high. She only stopped briefly to give him the stink-eye before departing, and called back over her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m off to get another juicebox, as my previous one was so rudely thrown away."


    ¡°Ridiculous. Truly, that spider has a knack for melodrama.¡± Riven stated, unable to wipe the amused smile from his face despite trying, and watching Ath leave out the O.R. window to go on her treasure hunt. Then he went back to his original position next to Azmoth, but kicked his legs out andid down instead of sitting. ¡°Alright, well I¡¯m off to sleep. Goodnightdies, goodnight Azmoth. And tell Ath not to fuck with me this time, if I have any mustaches on my face I¡¯m going to throw a hissy fit.¡±


    ¡°That will encourage Ath more.¡± Azmoth stated ndly.


    ¡°Then smack her if she tries. You don¡¯t sleep, right? Guard me.¡±


    ¡°What I get?¡±


    ¡°What do you MEAN what do you get!? You¡¯re my minion, damn it! Do what I say!¡±


    The demon looked skeptical, but managed to mutter a response. "Fine."


    ***


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    Riven jolted from his slumber, bolting upright with a huge red mustache drawn onto his face when the basement shook. ¡°The fuck was that!?¡±


    Screams echoed from beyond the operating room he¡¯d set up in, and both injured elves were wide eyed in rm when Dr. Brass burst through the door. The doctor was a disheveled mess, and he shakily pointed back out of the room towards the waiting area. ¡°There¡¯s a crack in the ceiling over the waiting area! Something¡¯s trying to break in!¡±


    People were rushing through the hallway, trying to get into the empty OR rooms that were further away from the crack in the ceiling. Jake quickly pulled up his 3D map too, and it showed that an absolutely enormous dream creature was furiously wing out chunks of pipe now, right over the waiting room where it¡¯d been pinned down in a of red webbing. Other dream creatures waited behind it by the dozens, hundreds even, and Riven had to rub the sleepiness from his eyes with clenched fists.


    Ugh.


    ¡°Alright I guess we¡¯re going all out. Ath, Azmoth, get ready.¡±


    Both demons were already up and waiting for orders. Ath had taken her humanoid form with all six of her de-like arachnid limbs at the ready, and Azmoth was beginning to burn hot with embers as arge, obsidian smile with rows of teeth devoured the front of his face in anticipation.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take care of it, and if we don¡¯t ¨C you can all take the tunnel out¡± Riven said to the old man Dr. Brass, pushing him aside as he, Ath and Azmoth walked out to the front.


    Riven stretched and yawned. The unconscious man whose arm Riven had cut off had been bandaged, a tourniquet was applied, and he was being dragged by his sobbing wife off to the side. Everyone else had already run from the waiting room to hide elsewhere.


    Riven felt a little guilty in that moment, seeing how distraught she was, but then thought about how Ethel and Senna had been beaten and nearly assaulted. The pity for the man immediately disappeared.


    He felt a nudge at his shoulder, paused, and turned to see Dr. Brass.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± The old man muttered under his breath while screams and the crying of children became louder with every sessive crunch from the ceiling above. He looked down at a his pistol in his left hand. ¡°I¡¯ve never fought a monster before. But can I help?¡±


    Riven eyed the man and his gun, setting the butt of his staff onto the tiled floor. ¡°Just st through your bullets as fast as you can. Maybe you¡¯ll even get some levels for helping kill these things. Have you ever killed a monster yet since the system arrived?¡±


    Slowly, Dr. Brass shook his head no.


    ¡°Well here¡¯s your first chance. Grow some levels, it¡¯s going to be a good opportunity for experience.¡±


    The old man hesitantly nodded, adjusting the sses on his face and shaking only slightly. ¡°Yeah¡­ will do.¡±


    The old man didn¡¯t look too confident, but he held his ground anyway and stood with Riven in the waiting area along with the two demons on either side. He was the only one to do so, everyone else was clustered together in the hall or operating rooms further back.


    The ceiling shook, rattling with every strike as the tiles overhead cracked further down the center. Already there was arge fissure in the ceiling about five yards across and half a foot wide, though dust, tile and pieces of metal pipe wereing out of it and there wasn¡¯t any sight of the monster just yet.


    Riven yawned again, covering his mouth and grumbling to himself. ¡°And just when I was getting some good sleep¡­¡±


    Out of all of them, Azmoth was the only one who was excited. mes began to flicker and rise off of the monstrous creature, and it began to utter a deep growl in anticipation of the fight toe with ws flexed on all four of his arms.


    Ath meanwhile scrambled up the wall, onto the ceiling, and paused overhead - watching the fissure widen with every earth-shaking strike from above. ¡°Let¡¯s give it hell,dies!¡±


    *Thud.


    *THUD.


    <strong>*THUD.</strong>


    The continued battering of the ceiling gave Riven a building headache, and he briefly asked himself whether or not the people behind him should just make a run for it through the sewers. But there was no way the others would get out in time with a single exit and so many people, and it was probably safer to barricade themselves in the rooms anyways while Riven used the hall as a chokepoint. Because knowing what creatures lived down there in the sewers, these people would likely die down there without an escort. He¡¯d already spoken of this to them, and some of them had even watched his first battle through Jake¡¯s mapping skill. They were all very aware that they were caught between a rock and a hard ce right now.


    ¡°I¡¯ll engage first. Azmoth, Ath, wait for my initial barrage before you head in. Azmoth tanks, Ath you¡¯re on crowd control making sure they don¡¯t get near me or past me. We hold the choke point here.¡± Riven said groggily, listening to the overhead beating continue. ¡°Dr. Brass, once you¡¯re out of bullets you need to go back with the others. That magazine should gain you at least a few levels after I take out the big bastard we saw in Jake¡¯s video feed.¡±


    His talking came to an abrupt end when an unearthly screech echoed from above. It was harsh, guttural, and filled with rage; and a final blow against the ceiling from above sent a creature falling through with a wave of dust and debris. mming hard into the floor below with a flow of old electrical wires, metal pipes and rock, the creature was momentarily stunned. That didn¡¯t take away from its ominous aura though, and fear began to flow through the braver onlookers behind Riven that hadn¡¯t hidden in the rooms the moment this creature hit the ground.


    It was about fifteen feet tall if Riven had to guess. The clown face wore a wide-set grin that literally split the head from ear to ear with rows of crooked, sharp teeth. Swaths of writhing appendages from its back, ending in mouths, screeched and grasped at the air with gnashing teeth. Large bloodshot eyes flicked back and forth in different directions, not in conjunction with one another ¨C but rather as if they had minds of their own. Maggots riddled its muscr, stitched-together body from the head down to itsrge wed feet. Its gray skin flexed and ripped with each movement it made while it tried to push itself up out of the rubble, but the gaze swerved right and locked onto Dr. Brass immediately as it saw the man.


    Cold, humid air escaped its mouth as it opened up its jaws to outwardly gasp in excitement. The words it spoke next were predatory, hungry, and wet with salivation as it started to drool. ¡°Precious little meatling! I am d you stayed to y!!!¡±

 Chapter 88

    Chapter 88


    <strong>Chapter 88</strong>


    Frankly, none of them had expected the creature to talk - but as surprised as they were upon the creature speaking, it was equally as surprised when it saw Azmoth.


    ¡°Demon? What is a demon doing here?¡±


    The hellscape brutalisk roared in challenge, pping its spiked tail against the ground and bloomed into mes. Azmoth took one step forward, heaved back, and then let loose a cannon of fire from his throat.


    Had Azmoth always been able to do that? Riven didn¡¯t think so.


    The creature screamed as it was bathed in the fires of hell, the smaller dream creatures above shrieked in unison, and the battle was instantaneously on the move.


    Waves of spinning razorsunched themselves into a horde of gray-skinned monsters that poured through the hole in the ceiling and into the basement, and a st of ck lightning erupted into a crowd while Azmoth closed with the big guy who¡¯d begun to charge Riven.


    The two titanic creatures smashed into each other while dozens of muscr, gray-skinned humanoids continued tounch themselves Riven¡¯s way - dying like flies in sprays of viscera and blood. Combined with Azmoth¡¯s mes, Ath¡¯s needles, and therger dream creature¡¯s writhing appendages that regrew with each one torn off - it was like a violent fireworks show.


    A gray, wed hand whipped towards Riven¡¯s head when one of the monsters got underneath the barrage, but was sent flying along with the monster¡¯s head as Ath intercepted the beast. The ovoid mouth full of teeth screeched in rage along with all the others at having been so close to striking the mage, but Riven paid it no mind. He had confidence in Ath to keep him safe while he dished out damage from the backline, and his confidence was well founded. Ath whisked back and forth like a bullet, catching one here, two there,unching herself between the floor and ceiling to get better vantage points while on protect-Riven-duty.The two brutes in front of him were an even match. Azmoth¡¯s ming ws would collide and rip at the fleshy, maggot-ridden clown while therger beast would try to throw Azmoth aside to get at Riven. Eel-like appendages with toothy maws tried to bite down on Azmoth¡¯s armored body, only to be burned away in the hellfire coating the demon before they¡¯d regrow momentster. Their shes and the brute force of their strikes caused the room to vibrate amidst a cacophony of battle, with body parts spraying along the ground with each new dream creature that entered the meat grinder.


    But the numbers of the iing swarm were too great, and though Riven was using a chokepoint and environmental blood from the bodies of those in tounch more razors - he and his minions let one of the enemies get through.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    Riven¡¯s arm was torn into with rows of sharp teeth. He grimaced and was tackled to the ground, but rolled and mmed his afflicted forearm into the nearby wall. Repeatedly mming the creature that¡¯dtched onto him into hard stone, he felt its body give when he heard a loud crack - and the monster fell limp to the ground.


    But that was all the time these monsters needed to overrun his current position.


    <strong>*ZIP*</strong>


    A rift in space tore open and Riven jumped through, yanking an absolutely stunned doctor with him and teleporting further down the long hallway before spinning. Throwing Dr. Brass to the ground and grimacing at the lost ground, Riven watched the screaming horde barrel past where Azmoth and the clown were battling towards him and the barricaded civilians.


    Shrouds of unholy mana bloomed in front of his position, ck snares attaching themselves to either side of the hallway in a blockade that was further reinforced with a wall of crimson ice. The horde mmed into the barricade and the ice cracked, and more of the crimson magic surged from nearby bodies - flowing overhead along the ceiling and walls. The power rapidly condensed, formingyers of jagged spikes the size of his leg coating the path in front of him while he heard his demons continuing to battle it out on the other side of the barrier.


    ¡°THEY¡¯RE BREAKING THROUGH!¡± Dr. Brass screamed in horror, still not having fired a single shot and shaking terribly. His skin had a thin film of sweat on it, and his hand gripping the pistol had gone pale white due to how hard he held the object.


    Riven ignored the man, finishing his long passage of spikes while rapidly making curving motions with his hands. Blood magic began surging up his arms, charging bloodnces one after the other before depositing them to the side where they floated - radiating in the air. Four. Six. Eight.


    He got to ten before the reinforced barrier broke down. Ath had been cutting down many of the monsters at the front line, but this hive mind was intelligent. They knew taking Riven out was the key to victory and would rid them of the demons too, so they for the mostpart ignored his demons and shattered the wall to keep oning.


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    Like a tidal wave the monsters poured through, mbering over one another in a mad rush with elongated tongues, toothy maws and sharp ws making a beeline for Riven.


    Riven calmly held back and gave Ath a signal to make way of friendly fire, waiting for them to get halfway to him while they impaled themselves on the spikes for their brethren to mber over. More snares appeared around him, pulling tight and elongating while he attached each to one the ten bloodnces.


    Almost there.


    Riven let loose and used the snares to give his bloodnces an extra boost. Bloodnce was already a high-velocity and long rage spell, able to pierce through most things like an absolute missile. It was by far his fastest projectile whenpared to the snares, spinning des, or even his new tier 3 spell blood nova. But when he was able to line up his targets like this in a narrow hallway and used tennces at once while boosting their speed with sling-shots created from wretched snares - the effect was devastating.


    Ten red and ck torpedoes sted forward in a straight line, decimating the enemy ranks literally in an instant and clearing the hallway all the way down to the waiting room where Azmoth, Ath and the clown were still battling it out. In an instant, nearly a hundred of the monsters had been wiped off the face of the in an attack so fast that a sonic boom rocked the basement. ss windows along the operating rooms shattered and people behind him screamed as their eardrums took a hit, with Dr. Brass reeling on the floor in pain while clutching his head.


    The attack had been much better than Riven could have hoped for, and he made a mental note to use thisbination again in the future given that he had time to prepare.


    ¡°Line em up¡­¡± Riven said with gritted teeth, and he suddenly felt his decreasing mana stores starting to weigh down on him. He¡¯d used a lot of mana in a very short amount of time, his blood pir was beginning to be rigid from overuse, and he could even feel cooldowns starting to umte should he continue at this pace.


    And that was even if his mana stores held out long enough.


    Still, the blood from his fallen enemies was great material and fueled his magical reserves shortly afterwards. With a raised hand, his blood pir reacted - with blood all around the hallway ripping from bodies and flowing towards Riven¡¯s position to circte around him like the eye of a small storm.


    A primal wave of hunger hit him then. He could feel the razor¡¯s edge of intent flooding through him, permeating his already thick aura with an even greater bloodlust as the shard of gluttony inside his soul resonated with his will to kill.


    Crimson eyes grew brighter, and a wide smile lit up his face to rece the calm. The shard urged him onwards, awning him to kill more, to¡­ to eat more. He began to salivate, the swirling storm of blood energy whirling around him and crashing against the stone walls - causing Dr. Brass to run back to avoid being ripped apart from the sheer force of the fluctuating power.


    ¡°THERE ARE MORE COMING! WE¡¯LL KEEP THE BIG GUY HERE!¡± Ath screamed over the ruckus, vanishing a secondter and mming six of her arachnid des into the back of the shrieking clown while it tussled with Azmoth and barreled out of sight into the surgery waiting area. It was still trying to get at Riven, and unlike the other weaker members of its hive mind - that one was certainly able to take a hit.


    On cue, another roar of shrill screams pierced the air and another wave of gray, fleshy, muscr bodies barreled down the hall again - this time with even greater fervor. Piles of bodies were climbed over and stomped on in their quest for Riven¡¯s head, uncaring of all that they¡¯d lost, andpletely lost in rage.


    Gluttony simmered and snarled, rejoicing in the violence toe, and his body began to drink in the surrounding blood at a rapid pace. The storm poured into his body, flooding his mana channels and flesh before it was transformed into a more viable source of power. His blood pir screamed at him, nearly at its breaking point, but Riven continued to maneuver the energy with the shard of gluttony spurring him onwards.


    Intricate hand gestures began racing across his fingertips,bining both hands as he let go of the staff to conjure his newest spell. Magical seals to the power he craved unlocked with every hand motion he performed, and the blood pir inside his soul began to vibrate. Though his body radiated and his aura pulsed a sinister, tangible breath of malice, the words he spoke were soft. ¡°Nefajia crecus blood nova.¡±


    <strong>*KABOOM*</strong>


    A shockwave radiated out from his body in all directions, though he was able to focus most of it forward to avoid seriously hurting anyone behind him. Immediately after that and an orb of crimson rapidly expanded to the size of the entire hallway. Everything it touched evaporated, and another sonic boom tore through the hallway and through dozens more of the creatures to leave nothing but red mist and debris in its wake.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The entire building shook. An explosion of red light blinded Riven for a moment after that, and a round tunnel smoldering with crimson cracks was left in the wake of his attack after the st calmed down. What had once been a hallway was now gone, with the ceiling, walls and floor beingpletely ripped out and eaten by the mana he¡¯d unleashed for well over a hundred yards in a straight line.


    <strong>[Blood Nova¡¯s mandatory 8 hour cooldown has been triggered.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your blood pir has bepletely rigid. All blood spells have a mandatory cooldown for the next 24 hours.]</strong>


    His soul clenched and Riven winced due to the pain. He¡¯d never had a pir gopletely rigid before, but pushing himself to the absolute limit had finally done it. His connection to the blood mana around him was gone, and attempting to draw on it at all resulted in an even greater spike of pain that pierced his skull like a migraine. ¡°Fuck that hurts.¡±


    Leaning against the wall next to him right before a drop off in the floor where he¡¯d created the simmering tunnel, he looked forward and saw that most of the dream creatures were now dead. Further ahead and to the left where the waiting room was still partially intact, Riven could see swaths of me and red needlesunch across his line of sight and smaller versions of the dream monsters being flung this way or that way.


    Fortunately though he still had ess to his spells that weren¡¯t blood rted. Wretched snare still worked, his staff had acquired another charge of ck lightning, riftwalk was avable, hell¡¯s armor hadn¡¯t even been used yet, and blessing of the crow was on standby.


    Despite the killer headache andck of sleep, Riven hopped on down into the trench he¡¯d created in the floor and started moving towards the remaining battle to be had. The edge of gluttony had receded, his mind was clearer, and he wasn¡¯t even close to being out of the game just yet.


    He had a clown to kill.

 Chapter 89

    Chapter 89


    <strong>Chapter 89</strong>


    He turned the corner just when Ath was thrown across the room - face nting against the wall but recovering quickly to turn on the giant, grotesque clown. His demons were in the process of winning this fight already, but the monster had incredible regeneration and was battling back fiercely. Maggots wriggled and sightless, eel-like appendages with sharp teeth grappled the other titanicbatant while Azmoth¡¯s fire-imbued armor mmed into the beast.


    Riven drew up his staff and pointed it at the creature¡¯s face, pouring his mana into the weapon, and put on his mask to feel the item¡¯s effects empower him in the same instant. ¡°Mind if I help out!?¡±


    ck lightning blew open a hole the size of a dinner te through the writhing, squealing creature¡¯s rotting flesh.


    <strong>[You havended a critical hit. Max Damage x4.]</strong>


    The dream creature shrieked in surprise and fury, having already been pressed to its limits by Ath and Azmoth. It stumbled back and not even knowing what had happened to it after being blinded by the torrent of mes out of Azmoth¡¯s mouth, still screaming. That scream then turned into a roar when a wave of rapidly fired bullets mmed into its head, with none other than Dr. Brass having followed Riven in order to finally help.


    Riven nced back at the doc, gave a head nod while the old man fumbled for a reload, then snapped his attention back to the mainfight. The bullets wouldn¡¯t do much to a monster like this, but it¡¯d certainly help the old man get some levels after Riven and crew finished it off. Hopefully, anyways.


    Azmoth¡¯s fire breath soon began to fade while Ath repositioned herself along the ceiling, and it was apparent that the hellscape brutalisk could only keep up the fire breathing for so long. Still, it numbed the effect of the monster¡¯s regeneration and pieces of its body were beginning to fall off.


    ¡°YOUR RESISTANCE IS FUTILE, LITTLE MEATLINGS!¡±The monster¡¯s defiant challenge was heard through the gunfire and small explosions, echoing out hatred as it surged out of the rubble and fire - taking a straight rush at Riven now that the warlock had finally exposed himself.


    Though it didn¡¯t get far when Ath mmed her six arachnid des into its side, causing the creature to topple over due to the speed of her strike. ws began rapid-firing strikes into the smoldering monster, trying to dig into the chest to find its heart.


    Azmoth¡¯s tail whipped around andnded a devastating strike to the monster¡¯s knee when it stumbled under the arshakai demon¡¯s attack, and Ath immediately capitalized. She made for its exposed weak spots - skewering it entirely through the neck with a shrill squeal of delight as her hands morphed into ws, and yanking on the creature¡¯s spine she began ripping savagely away to try and dig out its bones.


    Azmoth did not remain idle either, charging like a linebacker to connect head-on with a roar. His huge obsidian ws and teeth tore into the enormous monster and nearly knocked it off its feet while it let out a surprised shriek of anger.


    The nightmare creature was absolutely dominated, rolling on the ground and fighting off the two demons to the point that Riven almost felt bad for it. Blows that would have crippled normal men such as mming Azmoth¡¯s armored head into the floor with the power of a pickup truck had little effect on the armored creature. Meanwhile Ath was simply too fast for the nightmare creature tond a hit. Despite this, it wasn¡¯t what the nightmare had been expecting, and its many jawed appendages began iling about trying to catch Ath since it couldn¡¯t make it to Riven. Though the beast certainly tried, every time it attempted to rush Riven¡¯s position on the sideline it was met with devastating attacks for having turned its attention away from the more immediate threat.


    ¡°Your demons are¡­ very good at what they do.¡± Dr. Brass stated numbly, pistol held limply at his side. ¡°My ears are still ringing.¡±


    Riven grinned. ¡°Sorry about that.¡±


    The ming brutalisk was putting in serious damage, ying tug-of-war with the mawed appendages to rip them off whenever they got too close. The nightmare creature had to resort to itsrger front limbs instead of the myriad of lithe jaws protruding from its back - and it sneered through its creepy clown-like face while trying to bite back at Azmoth with everything it had. This resulted in Ath ying on hit-and-run tactics to induce necrotic venom with her tongue strikes.


    ¡°Wow. That thing¡¯s regeneration is amazing, it¡¯s even better than mine.¡± Riven muttered under his breath, charging up another ck lightning bolt and waiting until an opportune moment before he sted the clown with another brutal shock.


    He scored a perfect hit to the head. It hadn¡¯t been where Riven had intended to shoot, but the creature had jerked in an odd angle to cover the pelvis. Though Riven¡¯s eyes went wide as his attackpletely obliterated the monster¡¯s skull, only to have it reform secondster in a smattering of gray flesh that re-formed the missing body part only a couple secondster.


    The nightmare creatureughed, ring in his direction with that bloodied, sickening clown face snarling amidst the chuckles. ¡°YOU WILL MAKE A FINE MEAL!¡±


    But the clown¡¯sughing snarl was quickly reduced to a bruised mess of flesh before having to regenerate again.


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    <strong>*THUD*</strong>


    <strong>*RIP*</strong>


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    ¡°RRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!¡±


    It barely had time to respond due to the constant barrage of attacks.


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    Minutester, the fight was over.


    ¡°That is one ugly motherfucker.¡± Riven stated calmly while looking down at the husk of the creature that slowly tried to drag itself towards a nearby wall. It red back at him, its regeneration finally havinge to a grim end. It only had a single arm left, half of its face, and a hole in its chest.


    The beast screamed in a furious denial of its situation, spit flying out of its mouth while pieces of it dropped off over the ticking seconds. ¡°YOU WILL DIE, LITTLE MEATLING!¡±


    Riven blinked, folded his arms, then nodded to Azmoth who stood over the monster like a ming executionere to collect souls for the lords of hell. ¡°Do it.¡±


    Azmoth¡¯s wed hand crashed down.


    There was a moment of silence as the nightmare¡¯s tormented screeching came to an abrupt stop. Its body twitched three times, and theny forever still. Then to everyone¡¯s surprise, something odd happened. Slowly illuminating the dim light of the room: a long, red rectangr box began to form over the corpse ¨C hovering over the body, only to be joined by yet another container ¨C this one being a wooden chest that slowly drifted down to settle on the nightmare¡¯s body.


    <strong>[You havepleted the </strong><strong>guiding system quest</strong><strong> from the administrator: </strong><strong>Kill the Dream Creatures</strong><strong> ¨C You have sessfully killed the dream creatures building a nest over the hospital¡¯s basement before they grew in power and became arger threat to the surrounding area. Congrattions! Rewards: 1 Elysium Altar. An additional reward has been given due to oveing heavy odds stacked against you. An additional amount of gifted stat points have been randomly distributed to you due to your performance in this quest.]</strong>


    Huh. Riven hadpletely forgotten about this particr quest. He¡¯d been more caught up in other events, but it was nice to see that he was going to get a reward¡­


    And a good one at that. An Elysium Altar would finally allow him to spend all the money he¡¯d earned by killing-


    As if on cue, all of the creatures he¡¯d ughtered immediately dropped bags of money over their corpses. The sound of many thousands of coins clinking against one another when they hit the ground over the death marked ces he¡¯d vanquished his foes. In turn, two boxes appeared in blips of white light - hovering in the air in front of him to reach out and take. One was red, thin and long, while the other was a smaller brown chest.


    <strong>[You have gained 6 levels. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your minions have both acquired new skills from the system after leveling up multiple times. Congrattions!]</strong>


    <strong>[You have reachedbat level 36. Congrattions! Your ss allows you to create one additional demonic contract at level 35. When ready, please select the option at the minions tab to interview potential partners.]</strong>


    Alongside levels he¡¯d gained from killing Allie¡¯s skeletons and then the new age crusaders, he¡¯d recently gained 9 levels in total. He shot a look to his demons, and his grin grew wider. ¡°Good job Ath, good job Azmoth. Couldn¡¯t have done it without you.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t until twenty seconds of heavy breathing had passed that Riven turned and saw Dr. Brass, Senna, and Ethel all watching wide-eyed and silently from therge tunnel behind them.


    <strong>[New update: You have reachedbat level 36. Congrattions! Your Warlock Adept ss allows you to create one additional demonic contract atbat level 35. When ready, please select the option at the minions tab to interview potential partners.]</strong>


    ***


    <strong>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 36</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty, Infernal, Shadow</strong></li><li><strong>Core of Original Sin - Gluttony:] (Under Construction)(???)</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] Race: Pureblooded Vampire (Extreme Darkness Regeneration)(Sunlight Decay)(Extreme Weakness to Silver weapons, Sun pir, and Light pir attacks), ss: Warlock Adept, Adrenaline Junky (Blood)(+15% to Agility)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood)(Tier 2), Blood Nova (Blood)(Tier 3), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal), Riftwalk (Shadow)</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 68 Strength, 147 Sturdiness, 366 Intelligence, 170 Agility, 10 Luck, -362 Charisma, 182 Vampiric Perception, 112 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li><strong>Free Stat Points: 0</strong></li><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 29 Arshakai [36 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 30 Hellscape Brutalisk [27 Willpower Requirement].</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), ck Redemption (74 shadow dmg, 68% mana regen, shadow dmg +27%, ck Lightning), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies (Guild Hall: Stone Manor), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Cloak of the Tundra (22 def, +56 bonus def vs frost), Breath of Valgeshia (48 def, +13 dmg & +9% mana output dmg for blood dmg, 6% mana regen)]</strong></li></ul>


    Everyone else had left in a mad rush to escape during the fight. Jake and his parents had gone, Tyson the male nurse had left. All of the families with kids had left. Even the man who Riven maimed had woken up and followed his wife groggily down into the sewers, ording to Dr. Brass. Many of them had carried awaynterns they¡¯d taken from the ceilings and food supplies from room 7 when Riven and his minions were preupied, and Riven hade back to a significantly reduced amount of food left over from the plundering.


    That, however, would hardly damper his good mood over the next few minutes as the team explored their spoils of battle. <em><strong>Money, levels, stat boosts, minion abilities, a new demonic partner, an Elysium Altar, and some other unknown prize</strong></em> were all more than enough to keep him in good spirits.


    He gave both his demons a hug and a huge amount ofpliments before offering to send them back to theher realms for healing - but both demons declined as they were curious about what additional reward he¡¯d gotten and wanted to watch before going back. It was also obvious they were excited for their own power gains, having pulled up their own status screens to go over whatever new abilities they¡¯d been granted due to the level gains. It was the first time Riven had seen a straight up ability gained purely by leveling, even though Ath had mentioned it could happen in past conversations.


    So after Riven plopped down next to Dr. Brass with a groan; Ath distributed what little crackers, gran bars and juice they had left as a celebratory gesture.


    He held the long, red, rectangr box in hisp. The coins had all been collected, though there were thousands of them and the bags they¡¯de in all disappeared after ten minutes - so theyy in a pile off to one side. Azmoth had also carried in the second box, a small brown chest and he put it on the floor with a grunt. Riven hadn¡¯t wanted to stay in that main room due to the mess and smell, so they¡¯d gone back to operating room 7 along with everyone that¡¯d stayed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you won¡­¡± Dr. Brass stated giddily at Riven¡¯s side - smiling widely and showing Riven that he too had gained quite a few levels just from firing bullets at the in clown. It was apparent that whatever level that clown had been, it¡¯d been quite high. So for someone like Dr. Brass at level 0 to help kill such a beast meant that the gains were far higher for much less effort.


    Riven let out another groan of relief and rested his head back against the cold stone wall. ¡°Wana see what¡¯s in these boxes?¡±


    ¡°Definitely!¡± Ath chimed in happily, nudging Azmoth along an almost shattered arm and causing him to yelp. ¡°Oh don¡¯t be such a wuss, Azmoth! You¡¯re a big boy now, you gotta act tough!¡±


    Azmoth just growled back, coddling his injured limb with a side re.


    The others remained quiet, watching wordlessly while Riven opened the long red box in hisp. It had a lid on it, like one would see from a jeweler¡¯s store ¨C only farrger than any jewelry Riven had ever seen. It popped off rather easily, and Riven gentlyid the lid to the side as his eyes gleamed with excitement.

 Chapter 90

    Chapter 90


    <strong>Chapter 90</strong>


    Captain Vros Kinal stood on arge hovering tform that loomed above his marching legions. Their heavy armor gleamed in the bright rays of sunshine illuminating their glorious. The soldiers chanted, mming their spears into the ground in unison time after time - an act that caused the very city around them to quake due to their numbers.


    Meanwhile the crowds in the stadiums on either side of the military parade were going wild. They screamed, cheered, and roared their approval for the invasion toe, for they - the glorious Empire of Dying Suns - had been granted an invasion token by the system.


    Kinal¡¯s gaze shifted under his helm to his right, where the emperor and three generals that oversaw different areas of their intergctic territories stood side to side chatting idly while they watched the oing soldiers march happily to their deaths. Those deaths would be worth the blood they paid though, as long as they were sessful in overthrowing the other invaders and securing Panu for the glory of Dying Suns. Panu was on the other side of this sector, and would give their empire a much needed foothold for expansion on the rim that wasn¡¯t so boxed in bypetitors.


    ¡°Captain Kinal.¡± one of the generals stated absentmindedly, turning from his talks with the emperor and putting the spotlight on the one who would be leading the invasion on Panu. ¡°Are you excited for your first expedition into the ounds?¡±


    Kinal did not hesitate, and his blue cape shifted with the winds as he gave a quick salute. ¡°Sir, I am honored to be chosen to lead this expedition. I will do the empire justice and bring this under our control without fail.¡±


    The general smiled, and even the emperor seemed pleased with his response. Kinal was only level 80, which was the cut off for any invading armies that set their sights on the integration trials. Every newly integrating had a number inbetween 1 and 10 world-wide integration trials, and this - Panu - had dice rolled ¡°Invasion¡± as one of theirs. ¡°Invasion¡± was a ssic of the multiverse for integratings, but it didn¡¯t always show up. When it did, the system offered bidding wars to various nearby factions in the sector and sometimes even more distant ones depending on circumstances. Invaders, this time numbering just 5, could bring in a certain amount of soldiers with a max level of 80. Kinal was what the empire considered their mostpetent leader that fit this description, and thus he¡¯d been chosen as the one to lead their invasion.


    This could only be done after the designated tutorials were over and an orientation period wasplete, but the time for the invasion of Panu was nearing. Captain Kinal didn¡¯t know what other integration trials the Empire of Dying Suns would encounter there, or what the locals were like, but he did know of the other 4 invading groups. All of these would be hostile factors he would have to crush, but he did have faith that their legions would prevail.


    ¡°I remember when I led my first expedition.¡± The emperor stated, fondly gazing into distant memories with a wide smile on his face as he stroked his long gray beard. ¡°Had to ughter entire cities by the dozens until the locals finally gave up. That was back when my father was still emperor, rest his soul. How I do wish for the youth of my younger days¡­ But I am sure you¡¯ll be fine, Captain Kinal. I have faith in your abilities, and your superior officers all have nothing but praise for your past performances.¡±¡°Thank you my liege.¡± Kinal bowed low. ¡°Your words humble this poor servant, I will perform to the best of my abilities.¡±


    The emperor nodded, and ced a hand on Kinal¡¯s metal pauldron. ¡°I pray you are right. This is a big opportunity for our empire, and your name will go down in the history books once you seed. Hopefully Elysium opens up the gates sooner rather thanter, for I can tell that the bloodlust of our soldiers is growing. Heroes will be born here, Kinal, so make sure that you are one of them.¡±


    In the abyss, the vision of these future enemies flickered and began to fade.


    From beyond their ne of existence and in an entirely other dimension, Chalgathi remained caged by Elysium¡¯s Administrator. Yet he still saw the preparations of the Empire of Dying Suns, and he heard the words this ambitious emperor spoke.


    Thus Chalgathi cackled wickedly in the abyssal ck of his temporary prison. <em>¡°We will see, humans, just how many of your </em><em><strong>heroes</strong></em><em> are left when I am done.¡±</em>


    Closing the scrying image entirely and refocusing on another, Chalgathi set his gaze upon his chosen few. In particr, there were three that interested him most. The two vampires, Riven and Allie Thane, and another man who was rapidly gaining power beyond even Chalgathi¡¯s expectations.


    Chalgathi¡¯s grin grew wider. <em>¡°We will see just how many of your soldiers remain on Panu when I am finally set free, invaders from beyond. For this new fledgling world is not yours to conquer. It is already spoken for. It is already imed. </em><em><strong>It is mine</strong></em><em>.¡±</em>


    ***


    Riven opened the long rectangr box in the basement of the hospital without much effort, and there in the bottom of the box was a single item. It was a rod, beautifully crafted with golden trimmings along a porcin shaft. A mesmerizing white jewel was also fitted into the top.


    <strong>[Elysium Altar nting rod: nt this rod into the ground to begin creating an Elysium Altar. An altar requires at least 3 square miles of space in all dimensions in order to ce it.]</strong>


    Huh. That was neat. It appeared the altar was actually not fully formed yet, rather that this rod would create it when nted. But 3 square miles? Just how big was this thing supposed to be?


    He took the rod out and examined it in detail, feeling the warmth of the item underneath his fingertips.


    <strong>[Please select the nting area and insert the rod.]</strong>


    He ignored the prompt and put it back in the box, closing the lid and passing it over to Azmoth for the moment. ¡°Looks like we get to choose where we nt this thing. It¡¯ll be nice to finally have ess to Elysium¡¯s system stores.¡±


    ¡°And others!¡± Ath chimed in happily.


    Riven and the others all looked her way with confused expression. ¡°What do you mean, others?¡±


    ¡°Other factions across the multiverse.¡±


    ¡°They have stores essible via Elysium altars?¡±


    Ath vigorously nodded her head. ¡°Oh yes! Though you have to unlock them first. That usually includes a sum of money, a trade, or an alliance of some sort. There¡¯ll be some smaller and weaker factions that allow anyone to use their system registered stores, but they¡¯re usually desperate and don¡¯t have much to trade with. The Elysium Administrator¡¯s basic store is more expensive than other ones most of the time, and it also doesn¡¯t have any exotic stuff, so it¡¯s in your best interest to acquire ess to other stores too.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of not allowing other people ess to your store if you want to sell it?¡±


    ¡°To prevent monopolies and make sure you have materials for friendly factions mostly. There¡¯ve been circumstances whererger factions willpletely buy out everything and skyrocket prices across the board, making it harder for all the smaller factions in a gxy or sector.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Ath cleared her throat and rattled the medium-sized wooden chest in herp. ¡°So¡­ if that was the original quest prize, what¡¯s this?¡±


    Riven nodded her way. ¡°Why don¡¯t you open it and find out?¡±


    She grunted, then tried to open thetch. ¡°This is my third attempt. It isn¡¯t budging.¡±


    Frowning, Riven took the chest from her and inspected it. It seemed like an ordinary treasure chest out of the medieval ages, but was rather heavy. Clinking of ss or metal could be heard inside, making him wonder what exactly was contained. He gripped the handles on either side of the lid and pulled, but just like Ath he had no sess.


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    ¡°You can probably bash the lock open.¡± Ath muttered after a while of frowning. ¡°It¡¯s likely just a monster drop.¡±


    Monster drop? Riven only ever seen monsters drop sacks of coins. Those were probably considered monster drops too, and the system probably gave more due to the way this monster had been particrly hard to kill. Shrugging and peering into the front lock, he didn¡¯t see anything that looked out of the ordinary.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just pick the lock, I don¡¯t want to potentially damage whatever is inside.¡± Riven made a helicopter motion around the room. ¡°Anyone have anything I can use as a lockpick?¡±


    Luckily they found a small piece of metal that did the trick. A minuteter the lock swung open, revealing hundreds of Elysium coins. They were about the size of a quarter, and were a mixture of tinum, gold, and silver.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Even more money.¡± Riven picked up one of the tinum coins, examining it thoroughly.


    <strong>[1 tinum Elysium Coin (Equivalent of 1000 Bronze Coins)]</strong>


    He picked through the small chest, suddenly realizing just how much money he really had now. There were hundreds of coins in here, about half of them were tinum and the other half gold. 1 tinum equaled 10 Gold, 100 Silver or 1000 Bronze. After killing hundreds of dream creatures that dropped smaller bags of money, he probably had just earned somewhere in the realm of a couple hundred thousand elysium coins in t bronze value. The excitement at seeing so much of them was somewhat amplified by the fact that he would soon have ess to goods via the altar.


    But he stopped short as he rummaged around and noticed yet another item. It was a card of some sort, colored ck, green, and yellow with various scribbles that he could describe only as the equivalent of a child¡¯s unruly drawing. The edges were hard and firm though, and it glowed when he held it up in the light. Turning it around he squinted, and then read the description aloud.


    <strong>[Ascension Card: The Carnivorous Maw, TRAIT ¨C acquire the curse of the carnivorous maw. Grow appendages that can extend and retract (evenpletely), and whatever they eat rejuvenates your health - healing you from any wounds at elerated rates.]</strong>


    Oh. This brought up an entirely new area of exploration. He¡¯d never heard of Ascension Cards before, and he¡¯d had no idea that one could use a thing like this in order to evolve a trait of all things. Thus far his traits had been his vampiric race, his vampiric bloodline, and his ss. So realizing now that he could actually get more of them was a bit of a shock.


    ¡°The carnivorous maw¡­¡± Riven chuckled slightly, imagining those things growing out of the nightmare¡¯s back on his own body ¨C then he shuddered. ¡°Well, do either of you want this thing?¡±


    He was addressing his minions.


    Ath shook her head. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t work for me, it counts as a back modification and would likely rece the des I have. Azmoth might want it though.¡±


    Riven¡¯s head swiveled, and Azmoth was curiously looking the card up and down. Therge demon gestured for it, and Riven handed it over without a word.


    Scrutinizing it some more, Azmoth slowly nodded and looked back up with his sightless, armored head. ¡°It will cost more Willpower.¡±


    ¡°How much?¡±


    Azmoth looked back down. ¡°17 more points.¡±


    Riven did a quick check concerning his willpower cap and the minion stat demands.<ul><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 29 Arshakai [36 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 30 Hellscape Brutalisk [27 Willpower Requirement].</strong></li></ul>


    It was a little more than Riven had thought, but it was still very doable after growing so many levels. He currently 112 Willpower, and if he let Azmoth take this upgrade it would boost the demon¡¯s willpower requirement to 44. Combined that would mean 80 willpower was needed for the contracts of Azmoth and Athbined, leaving 32 willpower left over for his final contract. If need be, he could even go and grind some more levels to put more points into the stat - but it was still enough for at least some contracts based on their original costs before evolutions.


    ¡°That¡¯s not bad at all. If you want it, go ahead and use it! Having maws that can eat enemies during batle to regenerate your health will only better your tanking abilities.¡±


    Azmoth grunted his acknowledgement with a smile and abruptly snapped the card in half - and the card vanished into dust. Immediately he began to absorb the particles, and secondster the armored demon began to shudder. He leaned forward and looked like he was going to vomit, letting out a gasp as he clutched his sides with thick obsidian ws.


    ¡°You alright?¡± Riven asked with a little bit of concern in his voice.


    Azmoth didn¡¯t reply ¨C but instead puked and then gasped again. Bubbling masses of flesh began to flex and pulse along Azmoth¡¯s back with disgusting popping noises, and everyone slowly backed up when it began to look like it was going to explode like two grotesque pimples.


    Then the demon¡¯s back exploded ¨C revealing two long, eyeless, snake-like appendages with toothy maws a lot like the nightmare creature had sported. Again, it was only two ¨C unlike the numerous ones that the nightmare had borne, and these ones were made of dense red muscle instead of the sickly gray that the clown had. They were also slightlyrger than the multitude of smaller ones present on the dream creature, but they were exactly the same otherwise.


    Azmoth took a minute to adjust to the new appendages, looking them over curiously as they looped around to the front. He opened them, closed them, felt how sharp the razor-like teeth were, and opened up the throats to examine the inner tubing. ¡°I like these.¡±


    ¡°A man of few words.¡± Ath stated with an eye roll while tapping her foot against the ground. ¡°Azmoth, what new ability did you get?¡±


    The titanic creature shifted his attention from the new appendages when they resorbed into his back. ¡°Shockwave.¡±


    ¡°Shockwave?¡±


    Azmoth nodded. ¡°Remember goat man we fought in hell? I take his ability, new martial art. I learn shockwave when stomping!¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes widened. That was actually a really damn good ability to have! It¡¯d torn up his crimson ice in the mini-boss fight and send both him and Ath flying with each detonation. ¡°Wow, congrattions man! Happy for you! Is it normal for the system to hand out abilities that you¡¯ve alreadye across, or is it just coincidence?¡±


    Ath paused, then hesitantly nodded. ¡°It isn¡¯t necessarily about things we¡¯vee across, rather than what you¡¯ve aplished. Azmoth probably got the option for that upgrade because he was able to help kill the satyr, and the system deemed it an appropriate prize because of this. Just like how we got the ascension card from this dream creature.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Riven steepled his fingers thoughtfully and leaned over his legs - elbows on his knees. Meanwhile the elves and Dr. Brass just remained silently by, watching the warlock and his two minions discuss their winnings. ¡°I see. What¡¯d you get then?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to guess?¡± Ath replied with a wink.


    Riven thought about it a moment. They¡¯d fought a necromancer in the Chalgathi trials, his zombie wolf, a bunch of undead and demons in the Negrada hellscape dungeon, wargs, goblins, vers, Allie and her skeletons, the crusaders¡­


    No, wait. Ath had been sent back to theher realm when he¡¯d killed the new-world crusaders.


    He shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ve killed a lot of creatures, but I can¡¯t think of anything that stands out in terms of abilities. Unless you¡¯re going to be shooting blue fireballs or ck orbs of destruction like the jabob demons and their lurker demon master. But I doubt the system would give you those as options, because you use stamina and martial arts instead of magic and mana. Right?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be correct.¡± Ath nodded with an amused smile. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you foring to that conclusion all on your own, you¡¯re taking my lessons seriously. I ended up getting an ability called ¡®Flurry.¡¯¡±


    Flurry. He¡¯d heard that somewhere before¡­


    ¡°That was an ability offered to me with the Reaper ss, a ss I turned down in favor of being a warlock adept.¡± Riven eventually stated after seconds of thinking. ¡°Is that right?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Ath shrugged. ¡°No idea, I don¡¯t remember. But yes, my new ability is ¡®Flurry.¡¯ It¡¯s a prettymon one but it¡¯s very useful, it gives me a burst of damage and speed - empowering my attacks and negating damage to my limbs when I strike during the attack. I can use it to block attacks that¡¯d otherwise be far too strong to block, or I can use it offensively to barrage a single target. The problem with it is I don¡¯t actually control my limbs when I use Flurry, I have to pre-program the ability to attack a certain way. I can change up the pre-programmed motions, but the motions are otherwise always the same.¡±


    Riven pooched his lips with another nod. ¡°That¡¯s actually pretty interesting. Do I get to see it in motion?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t programmed it yet. I¡¯ll let you know when I do, but I have to think of abination attack that will hit all angles and give me the best chance for a sessful hit.¡±


    That made sense to him.


    Meanwhile Azmoth was extending his carnivorous maws again - reaching up above to about a twelve-yards reach beyond his back, maxing them out and stretching them before retracting thempletely into his skin ¨C burying them away within his back as if they¡¯d never been there to begin with.


    Decent range, definitely not bad. They¡¯d almost function like scorpion stingers.


    Riven put all of the Elysium coins from the chest on their pile of money, then threw a pondered a bit on what they were going to do in terms of carrying all that cash. They couldn¡¯t just leave it here, but they didn¡¯t have any real containers.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s time to take a look at the potential new partners we have avable¡­¡± Riven eventually said, motioning for Ath toe sit next to him before the demoness plopped down beside her master. ¡°Any advice on what to expect?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re contracting your third demon right now? Azmoth, get over here!¡± Ath chuckled with a hand motion towards the hellscape brutalisk She rubbed her hands together and let on a seriously sinister smile. ¡°Oooohhh boy I can¡¯t wait to see that list. As for advice, certainly. The big points are these: Number 1 don¡¯t sign any contracts until Azmoth and I read them over. Number 2 is don¡¯t sign any contracts until Azmoth and I look them over. Number 3 is definitely DO NOT SIGN any contracts until we look them over. I encourage you to go to these interviews on your own at first as a courtesy to them, but we can look at the contracts and talk to them afterwards; and you do NOT have to say yes or sign anything in any timely manner regardless of what those stupid bastards tell you. This is your first time signing a contract the normal way, so be careful. My kind are ruthless suckers and they¡¯ll try to steal your soul away without you even knowing it usingplex verbage or loopholes, and you¡¯re not going to be manipted by some dumb twat if I have anything to say about it. Go on, pull up the list, and we can start looking it over together!¡±

 Chapter 91

    Chapter 91


    <strong>Chapter 91</strong>


    <strong>[These 4 demons have been following your progress and are interested in obtaining you as a partner. Click on each for further details concerning the potential minion and their contracts.</strong><ul><li><strong>Beholder, Unholy, Level 27 - a buffer and siege type demon predominantly with high cooldown long range attacks, and shielding abilities. This particr beholder is very good with identifying enemies or objects. [25 Willpower required]</strong></li><li><strong>Blood Fiend, Blood, Level 3 - a close-range brawler with passive regeneration, this demon often uses its teeth, ws, and stinger to inflict stacking ¡®Bloodbite¡¯ afflictions that do damage over time. [11 Willpower Required]</strong></li><li><strong>Subus, Unholy / Depravity, Level 21 - caster demon, good crowd control and debuffs, moderate damage. This particr subus specializes in curses. [29 Willpower required]</strong></li><li><strong>Abyssal Wyrm, Chaos, Level 12 - a massive tanking type demon, very stupid, prone to experiencing uncontroble rampages. Feels little to no pain or fear. [30 Willpower required]]</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°Is 4 demons a good number?¡± Riven asked as he shared the screen with his two demonic familiars when Ath climbed up Azmoth¡¯s back to sit on his shoulder again.


    ¡°I not sure.¡± Azmoth stated.


    But Ath was more happy about it. ¡°Definitely! You did GREAT! The variety is rather good as well, most contract applications onlye in 1 or 2 at a time. Let¡¯s take a little bit to go through the list. Something to keep in mind is that the levels matter, but they don¡¯t matter nearly as much as the traits they give you and the contracts that they try to throw at you. We can always power level them by killing random monsters in the wild. Some demons will try to trick you into giving them various benefits or loopholes without you noticing, such as time off to do whatever they want or an easy out of the contract if you say a certain word. Doesn¡¯t happen often, but it definitely happens so watch for it.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow, folding his arms thoughtfully. ¡°So¡­ Why does this Subus have Unholy and Depravity pirs listed? When I saw the subus offered as an option previously - back when I ended up choosing you in Chalgathi¡¯s Trials, it had only been listed as Unholy. The description here is also a bit different than the first¡­ Does this mean that this subus is special, somehow?¡±


    ¡°No. It just means that this subus has acquired both those pirs and is probably transitioning to create her own specialty pir with Depravity. Depravity is prettymon with Subi, an easy-to-acquire pir for them for obvious reasons. As for why there¡¯s a unique description, that¡¯s because they¡¯ve acquired levels and the system is evaluating them at a more in-depth level than the level 1 demons who¡¯ve never been inbat.¡± Ath clicked the first item on the list and started reading, and Riven began to do the same.<ul><li><strong>Beholder, Unholy, Level 27 - a buffer and siege type demon predominantly with high cooldown long range attacks, and shielding abilities. This particr beholder is very good with identifying enemies or objects. [25 Willpower required]</strong></li></ul>


    The level 27 beholder was a giant, floating, central eye above arge maw of sharp teeth. It had purple skin and multiple other eyes at the ends of long tendril-like appendages. The details were described in further detail with a click of the option. The trait it gave was called <strong>¡®Observer,¡¯ </strong>which allowed itself and the bonded warlock to see stealthed opponents at a much farther range and far quicker. It also came with a description concerning identifying enemies or objects, which Riven desperately needed in his opinion as this creature would fill a massive hole in the party he was building between himself and his minions. Not being able to see enemy identification information was a serious problem, and he remembered how nice it was to get that information back in Negrada when he was still under system tutorial parameters.<ul><li><strong>Blood Fiend, Blood, Level 3 - a close-range brawler with passive regeneration, this demon often uses its teeth, ws, and stinger to inflict stacking ¡®Bloodbite¡¯ afflictions that do damage over time. [11 Willpower Required]</strong></li></ul>


    Next was the level 3 Blood fiend. This creature¡¯s body was unsurprisingly created from bright red flesh. It had two thin, abnormally long arms with simr but shorter legs across a white, spiked torso - while all of its extremities were wed and covered in sharp jagged spikes. A long tail twice the length of its body with a stinger attached to the end. Its face was that of a crocodilian nature, and it had two pale white eyes on either side of its face before a long snout full of teeth. The trait it gave was called <strong>¡®Marine¡¯,</strong> and it would have allowed Riven to swim at high speed and breath underwater at a very, very small cost of mana over time. Other than also calling the creature a ¡®newborn¡¯ in expanded details when the option was clicked there wasn¡¯t much said about it.<ul><li><strong>Subus, Unholy / Depravity, Level 21 - caster demon, good crowd control and debuffs, moderate damage. This particr subus specializes in curses. [29 Willpower required]</strong></li></ul>Then there was the level 21 subi. The description of these demons was the same as it¡¯d been before when he¡¯d first entered Chalgathi¡¯s pre-tutorial starting quest, describing them as ¡®caster demons, good crowd control and debuffs, moderate damage¡¯ - but this time it had a little bit more detail as well concerning the ¡®specializing in curses¡¯ part. When clicking the option it gave even more details and talked about their ability to fly. The system even talked about how they were often used as nothing more than sexual ythings for their masters, and had a historical habit of being abused or pimped out to wealthy men over the centuries due to their natural beauty.


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    Riven felt a little bit bad about reading that, thinking it was something of a shame that they¡¯d been treated so poorly¡­ and he determined that IF he was going to choose the subus that he was going to make an extra effort not to let her feel like an object, but rather like a person. Unsurprisingly she was also incredibly pretty when the picture was disyed. Her skin was a light-blueplexion. She had ck bat-like wings attached to her back, a long and slender ck tail, white hair that came down to her back, ck eyes, and short ck horns sticking out of her forehead. The trait the subus came with was called <strong>¡®Silvertongue</strong>¡¯, a very high mana cost trait that was able to increase her persuasion abilities drastically. This trait only worked on people with significantly less Willpower than the user, would transfer to Riven as an ¡®Unholy¡¯ spell simr to what had happened with Azmoth, and it only worked for a short period of time depending on the amount of mana spent. Considering he had negative charisma this could be utilized well when interacting with humans.<ul><li><strong>Abyssal Wyrm, Chaos, Level 12 - a massive tanking type demon, very stupid, prone to experiencing uncontroble rampages. Feels little to no pain or fear. [30 Willpower required]</strong></li></ul>


    Lastly there was the level 12 Abyssal Wyrm. This chaos-type demon was essentially an armored, titanic tank of a demon that looked very simr to the wyrms he was familiar with in fantasy lore back on Earth. As a low leveled youngster, this one was only the size of a small school bus - but Ath promised they could get much bigger. It was ck, red and gray, and covered in jagged te armor all around its body before the circr, toothy maw at the front end. The in-depth description talked about how it could burrow into the ground or break through walls with minimal effort, and was used for ¡®siege breaking¡¯ in many of the histories across the multiverse. The system talked about how these creatures were basically mindless killing machines and were rather hard to control even under contract, but if one did manage to control it well enough - that it¡¯d be a great asset as a front line disaster to enemy forces. The trait was pretty good considering it stacked onto his defense, as it was called <strong>¡®Sturdy¡¯</strong> ¨C and applied a t +40 to the sturdiness stat, along with an additional passive effect that would negate 2% of all damage taken.


    Frankly, each of the traits was pretty damn good. The only problem was that none of them were based in healing¡­ Though the beholder and subus were technically more support type demons than the other two front liners. It was a little disappointing not having an option for a healer, as that¡¯d been what he was really looking for when building up his team. He could still definitely work with these options though, and given that he had massive amounts of passive regeneration in the dark it wasn¡¯t something he needed to worry about immediately. More than anything, he was concerned about the day he ran up against enemies with silver-imbued weapons or sun and light affinities. Those¡­ would be a real pain in the ass to deal with. A potentially deadly pain in the ass for a vampire like him.


    <strong>[Would you like to interview your contract applicants? Yes? No?]</strong>


    Riven looked around the room at his two minions, Dr. Brass, and the elves. They didn¡¯t say much but merely watched him in silence, and he selected yes. Time seemed to slow before he abruptly found himself standing in an ethereal room seemingly created from purple mists. Azmoth and Ath were standing to his right and left, and in front of him were the four demons that¡¯d applied to receive his level 35 contract. All of them were in the same state of an ethereal, semi-translucent state just as he was too.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Ath said as she turned around to look at the vast expanse of purple mists. ¡°Back to theher realms I see.¡±


    Azmoth gave a nod, but kept his gaze fixed on the four demons present in front of them.


    The pictures had been rather skewed in terms of the size of Riven¡¯s applicants. The Subus was the size of a regr woman - but taller than average, probably about 5¡¯10 and shorter than he was. The beholder was a little bit smaller than her, maybe 3 feet in diameter for its main body with numerous eyeball appendages making it seem a littlerger than it actually was. The blood fiend however was significantlyrger than its picture ¨C being about twice the size of the subus, and the abyssal wyrm was about the size of a small bus at this point in its life cycle.


    Still, each of the demons ¨C though they were moving about restlessly, did not appear to see him.


    <strong>[Touch each of the demons individually for your designated interview time. Your own perceived notion of time has been sped up drastically while youplete your transaction. The hells andher realms send their regards, and hope that you find your new partner up to satisfaction.]</strong>


    Riven scratched his head as Azmoth and Ath just waited patiently for him to continue, and he approached therge wyrm first. Moving closer was the equivalent to shifting his body¡¯s position at a though when he blipped ahead, disorienting himself momentarily while he adjusted to this realm¡¯s odd set of rules, and reached out a translucent hand to touch the abyssal wyrm.


    Immediately all of the other demons disappeared, including Ath and Azmoth, and he stood alone underneath the creature¡¯s towering figure on a vastndscape of ice and snow. A blizzard encircled them, crashing down onto Riven¡¯s head¡­ but he did not feel cold as the snowkes pelted his skin. He subconsciously knew, somehow, that this was a visage given to him by the wyrm itself¡­ and that this was its ideal habitat that it conjured while remaining here in theher realms.


    In person the monster was even more intimidating than he¡¯d originally anticipated. It coiled up around itself like a snake, deep rumbling sounds vibrating the ground underneath his feet, and it sparked with crimson lightning simr to how Riven¡¯s own ¡®Blessing of the Crow¡¯ worked.


    Riven backed up to get a better look at the monster as the wyrm uncoiled, and it silently watched him silently move.


    Neither spoke.


    Frowning slightly, Riven raised a hand. ¡°Nice to meet you¡­ do you talk?¡±

 Chapter 92

    Chapter 92


    <strong>Chapter 92</strong>


    The wyrm continued to stare nkly back at him, its imposing figure raising its neck and rearing back like a cobra.


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised and cleared his throat. ¡°Do you understand anything I¡¯m saying?¡±


    The wyrm¡¯s mouth slowly began to open, and it disyed rows upon rows upon rows of jagged ck teeth all around its circr maw. Dark light emitting a pale purple-gray color intermixed with sparks of red umted inside the beast, and the power began to form arge sphere of almost palpable energy. In the next instant it roared, striking at him with the ball of furious mana that dissolved his apparitional body as the vision faded and the wyrm disappeared.


    <strong>[Tundra Wyrm has declined the contract.]</strong>


    Riven blinked with a confused scratch of his head. He was now back with his already contracted familiars, puzzled and not sure what he¡¯d done wrong as he watched the wyrm¡¯s huge body begin to fade away until there was nothing left of it. ¡°Well¡­ that wasn¡¯t expected. Definitely a little discouraging.¡±


    Ath sighed, holding up her hands to either side with a bemused expression. ¡°We saw the whole thing. They¡¯re truly stupid creatures and it likely just couldn¡¯t understand what was going on. Tragic, but there are better options here anyways.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be your primary tank, no need for stupid worm.¡± Azmoth stated with a grin and a low, demonicugh - using his primary jaws as well as the two eel-like appendages extending out either side of his back. ¡°When I get bigger, older, I stomp that parasite into the ground. Do not fret.¡±


    Riven smirked back at them and nodded in appreciation at their words of encouragement before moving on to the beholder demon next. Upon touching therge floating eye demon, he was instantly transported to another visage in theher realm¡¯s ne of existence ¨C showing a vast expanse of swirling, bright balls of light that scattered in various directions upon his arrival amidst innumerable floating inds of various sizes in the depth of space.¡°Hello¡­¡± came a sophisticated and confident male voice from the demon in front of Riven, almost with a British ent, and the eyeballs surrounding the central body and maw began to pulse with various lights simr to the ones floating about them. ¡°It is good to meet you, Riven thane. I was hoping for an introduction and am pleased to see that you made the effort to contact me.¡±


    Riven blinked, smiled and nodded in affirmation while crossing his arms. ¡°I¡¯m happy that you applied. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Jarmosh.¡± The beholder said without missing a beat as his floating body circled Riven ¨C examining him with all of its eyeballs. ¡°Shall we begin? Feel free to ask me anything you¡¯d like.¡±


    Riven nodded, taking in his surroundings again with a slow nod. ¡°Yes of course. I¡¯m currently on a newly integrated in the early stages, and am now just getting used to this new system. Are you aware of the other demons I already have under contract?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± Jarmosh stated with a bob of its floating eyeball-head, smiling widely through a toothy maw as his other numerous eyeballs connected to stalks hovered about him. ¡°I am very excited for the potential to be part of that team.¡±


    ¡°Then tell me what you can offer, and why you¡¯d even want to join in the first ce.¡±


    The beholder paused, giving him a curious look. If it could have scratched its head, it likely would have. ¡°Are you not aware of the benefits we receive by taking on a summoning contract?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead and enlighten me as if I didn¡¯t know.¡±


    Jarmosh nodded. ¡°Very well. We gain a form of immortality outside the boundary of theher realms by taking on a contract and can move straight from theher realms into the mortal realms of Elysium, instead of endangering ourselves by moving into and through Hell to get there. Many demons of hell prey on one another to level up and grow stronger, devouring the souls of their brethren. I have remained here in theher realms for some time now and do not intend to put my life at risk by entering Hell just yet¡­ I believe it would be wise to find a quality partner to bring me to Elysium instead. You have not only shown yourself to bepetent, but have the ability to formte prophecies of unique origin. Beyond that you also have shown yourself to be quite capable and unlikely to die whenpared to your peers. As with your other demons, I too wish to develop by serving someonepetent enough to keep me there a long time¡­ new contracts always take a toll on us demons, and we are not always able to reform them with new patterns immediately after a summoner¡¯s death. So having a contract with one like you that willst would benefit me. Otherwise bonding to a self-serving partner who is uninterested in my personal growth would also be folly, and you do not seem to be that type of person - which is unusual concerning your ss choice. That is why I wish to join you.¡±


    Riven shifted his weight, looking the floating creature up and down thoughtfully. ¡°You haven¡¯t answered my question about what you can bring to the team. And I mean long term by that¡­ What will you be able to do in the future if I develop you? What kind of contract would you want?¡±


    Jarmosh narrowed hisrge central eye and gave another sickly smile. ¡°It is good that you ask such questions. I have been watching you¡­ that time that you were nearly killed by the satyr in hell? That wouldn¡¯t have happened if I¡¯d been there. The creature snuck up on you without you having noticed their presence until it was almost toote¡­ so my trait would benefit you greatly there. Stealthed opponents count as those nearby who you are simply not aware of but are still hostile, not just those who are using stealth abilities.¡±


    ¡°Fair point.¡± Riven waved a hand. ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°Other than that, my kind specializes in buffs and long range attacks as the system decreed ¨C but it failed to mention my kind¡¯s ability to be used as a scout. My kind has a natural ability to see into and through close objects or barriers, we can scry and visualize things at a great distance if I be developed enough, and our identification abilities are far above normal. My kind usually generate new abilities every 18 or so levels during the early stages, but it is random like all the others kinds of demons you may get. The current buff I have is a shielding ability, a basic barrier that epasses a target. My ranged attacks are twofold. The first is a high powered mana beam, and though it is a very high-range attack ¨C it lessens in damage output the farther way the target is. The second attack I currently possess is a pulse detonation surrounding the area around me, it silences all but myself and the one I am bound to and prevents nearby enemies from using abilities for a short time if they don¡¯t resist the effect.¡±


    <strong>[ck Barrier (Unholy) ¨C Create an unholy barrier of energy to counter enemy attacks. Your own attacks cannot pass through this barrier either unless broken through, and can form many different shapes depending on your vision of this spell. Short Cooldown.]</strong>


    <strong>[Sin¡¯s Cannon (Unholy)(Tier 2) ¨C Create a very long ranged beam of unholy energy with high speed and piercing potential. Very high damage. High cooldown.]</strong>


    <strong>[Fool¡¯s Silencing Act (Unholy) ¨C Detonate the area around you, with damaging effects ignoring yourself or bound allies. This detonation has a high chance to silence enemy abilities for a moderate amount of time. Very high cooldown.]</strong>


    Riven proceeded with numerous other questions after that. Some personal questions about the life here in theher realms, whatbat experience the beholder had, and various other small talk. The contract Jarmosh wanted wasn''t a simple one, and it was very long. It overall stated that Riven would give it opportunities in equal measure to the ones he¡¯d given Azmoth or Ath every once in a while and would not regrly keep Jarmosh from seeking out his own opportunities for growth, lest the contract be null and void. There was a use in there talking about how Jarmosh also wanted to set aside time for ¡®experiments concerning the anatomy of mortals¡¯ as well, though the way it was worded made it sound like the demon would be dissecting creatures alive ¨C and if Riven took this contract he¡¯d be sure to scratch that before epting.


    ¡°It was good to meet you Jarmosh, I¡¯ll get back to you soon.¡± Riven said with a smile as he epted a handshake from one of the fleshy tendrils snaking out from the main eye. ¡°I think you¡¯d be a great asset to have.¡±


    The beholder grinned evilly back at him, though Riven was rather certain that¡¯s just how the smiling beholder looked every time he grinned. ¡°The pleasure is mine.¡±


    He vanished out of the beholder¡¯s personal realm with a thoughtful downwards gaze. Jarmosh hadn¡¯t been all that bad, an identifier would be nice, and the abilities were alright. He gave a thumbs up to Ath when she gave him a questioning stare, then silently approached the subus next.


    She was likely about his age, maybe a couple years younger¡­ though this may just be how all subi looked. He couldn¡¯t be sure and would have to ask Ath about itter. The girl was a unique blend of three colors. There were the ck eyes, ck horns, ck tail, ck wings, the long white hair, and the light blue skin. She was easily one of the most attractive women he¡¯d ever seen, but he had to remind himself that this species ¨C ording to the system ¨C had a very sad history concerning their treatment. They¡¯d historically been abused and used, and he was hesitant about how to approach this contract because of it. He didn¡¯t intend anything of the sort whatsoever, and was rather focused on her potential for the team he was building, but the implications of even considering a subus were certainly there.


    He touched her shoulder, and in a whirling of colors he found himself sitting in a beautiful garden on awn of brilliant green grass. They were sitting underneath arge oak tree¡¯s canopy, and rays of sunshine filtered through the leaves above to shine onto the subus¡¯ bare body in patches as she stared back at him with a hesitant yet excited smile.


    His eyebrows raised as he looked around, and then met her gaze with a smile to match her own. ¡°Hey.¡±


    The subus gave him an even nod and a soft smile, then stood up and dusted off her thighs before cupping her hands in front of her.. ¡°Hi Riven. How¡¯s your day going?¡±


    There was a pause as he thought it over.


    ¡°Honestly? Not terribly. Could be better. I was just swarmed by a hive mind creature and that got in the way of my schedule, but it paid off now that I hit level 36 and am here. I¡¯m assuming you¡¯ve been watching my progress just like the beholder demon said he¡¯d been doing?¡±


    She nodded, shifting her ck eyes to nce over his body and ending at amulet of the dragon on Riven¡¯s chest, Chalgathi¡¯s cultist amulet - and her eyes narrowed. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been watching you for a while now. We demons that don¡¯t want to enter the hells¡­ which is probably about half of us, work very hard to findpatible and suitable summoners to find and bond to.¡±


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    ¡°You say the word ¡®summoners¡¯ like it¡¯s different than just Warlocks and cultists. How many other summoner types are there?¡±


    Again she nodded, crossing her long bare legs and stretching out her wings while her tail flipped from side to side in anticipation. ¡°Those with the ss title of Cultist, Warlock, Lich, ck Magic Practitioner, Soul-Scarred, and more. There are a handful of different sses that can summon us. I¡¯m d I found you when I did, because you¡¯re quite the catch.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Riven rubbed his forehead and squinted to clear his thoughts, intentionally avoiding looking anywhere except her face to be respectful. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Oh! I¡¯m sorry, that was rude.¡± The young woman abruptly gave a sheepish smile of perfect white teeth, reached out a hand to shake, and awkwardlyughed with her head tilted to the side. ¡°My name is Fay. It¡¯s very nice to meet you in person, Riven! I¡¯ve been very excited for this moment.¡±


    They shook hands, though Riven could only faintly feel her touch in this ethereal form of his.


    ¡°Can you tell me why you¡¯ve been excited?¡± Riven asked warmly as he took his hand back. ¡°What makes you want to join me? And what can you provide for the team if I choose you instead of the others?¡±


    Fay hummed, the sound equivalent to wind blowing through chimes on a mid-summer¡¯s breeze while she smiled mischievously his way. Then she winked at him. ¡°Other than satisfy your carnal desires?¡±


    He immediately went a bright red, which was very obvious with his pale skin, to which she threw her head back andughed.


    ¡°Uh¡­ That¡¯s not really what I¡¯m looking for.¡± Riven stated bluntly, if a bit awkwardly while he shuffled his feet.


    ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you¡­¡± She said after another fit of giggling with her hand covering her mouth with genuine amusement. ¡°I actually picked you because you seem like a kind person, which is very rare in your line of work. You wouldn¡¯t believe how many summoners¡­ Ugh, never mind. That¡¯s a story for another time. I thought I¡¯d be a good fit because of your inability to blend in concerning human societies without arge social stigma attached to you. My Silvertongue trait would allow both you and I to speak with the humans you desire so much to be a part of. That in itself fascinates me¡­ and perhaps we may even walk amongst the mortals of your old world for short periods of time without much problem if you expend enough mana. By the way, if you do choose me - I just want to point out that I have a use in my contract regarding how I¡¯m treated. Myst and only master until this point was¡­ violent. I don¡¯t want to have a repeat of that situation again.¡±


    Riven¡¯s mouth opened and shut as he mulled over how to reply to thatst snippet of information, but he failed when she started up before he managed a proper sentence


    ¡°I have three Unholy abilities and one Depravity ability. I am able to create awork of cursed sigils in the air, invisible to enemies without mana detection, creating awork of trapped explosive mana mines. I can set down a cursed mana zone that causes enemies to hallucinate while inside, and this goes very well with the first ability I mentioned. I can afflict enemies with curses that deal rot damage over time, building up a slowing effect that starts off small but increases exponentially. Andstly I may charm or seduce a single enemy into a stupor if their willpower is low enough, but this is channeling ability and I can¡¯t outright control them. Here, take a look.¡±


    <strong>[Curse Trap (Unholy) ¨C ce invisible sigils of unholy mana in the air or on objects around you. The act of cing a sigil emits cursed light for a brief moment before turning invisible, and these sigils will retain a mana signature that can be sensed by appropriate means. If enemiese within the sigil¡¯s radius of effect, the sphere detonates with unholy damage. Radius of effect depends on Intelligence stat and amount of spent mana. Sigils lose energy over time and disappear if not activated. You may connect different sigils to create tripwires and chain reactions. Low cooldown.]</strong>


    <strong>[Curse of the Dreamwalker (Unholy) ¨C Create an unholy mana zone that afflicts all the user deems as enemies. Causes enemies to hallucinate while in the zone. The more mana used to create the zone, and the smaller the zone is, the higher the potency of the hallucination effects. High cooldown.]</strong>


    <strong>[Curse of Rot (Unholy) ¨C Spray a cloud of unholy miasma to afflict targets with a single ¡®Rot¡¯ debuff before the cloud dissipates. A single cloud can disperse across multiple enemies. ¡®Rot¡¯ debuff applies unholy damage, slows the enemy, and can stack with other ¡®Rot¡¯ debuffs. This curse starts out weak but scales over time in both damage and slowing effect. Low cooldown.]</strong>


    <strong>[Charm (Depravity) ¨C Infatuate any enemies within range of sight that look upon you when activating this ability, causing them to lose focus. The farther away they are from you, the less effect this ability will have. The more willpower the enemy has, the less effect this ability will have. Channeling ability that costs increasing amounts of mana over time.]</strong>


    ¡°Well thank you for your honesty. Does your kind acquire any healing abilitiester on?¡± Riven asked curiously.


    Fay shrugged. ¡°It is possible. The administrator works in strange ways¡­ and within categories. Subi certainly have been known to acquire healing abilities, so it is within our natural affinities to do such a thing, but it doesn¡¯t happen often. I saw you speaking to your other minions about this actually¡­ and you were saying how you wanted a healing minion? This is a rare thing indeed for a demon. The Unholy Foundational Pir and the magic of its sub pirs often don¡¯t focus on healing, but your best bets of healing magics within these branches are found within the ¡®Blood¡¯ subset of Unholy magic. Because of your vampiric heritage, you are much more likely than most of us to acquire healing abilities in the realm of blood magic. There are species of blood-type unholy demons that do it and focus on the area of healing, but most other demons don¡¯t. If you wish to have a demon that focuses on that roll, you are better off finding spell tomes or scrolls and teaching the spells you want them to learn ¨C but again, finding those types of spells within your set of attributes will be hard. I could eventually acquire a ss title if I yed my cards right and it COULD be one that focuses on healing¡­ That way I would continue to have much higher odds at learning new abilities that revolve around what you want, though to get such a ss would likely require I learn at least one healing spell of some sort and then I¡¯d be required to use it a lot first.¡±


    Riven snorted his understanding. ¡°Gotchya. Do you have any questions for me, Fay?¡±


    Fay paused, then shook her head. ¡°No. My contract should be to your liking. It merely states that as long as I am not physically tortured by you, and as long as there are opportunities for me to progress and grow, the contract will remain in ce. There are no other requirements.¡±


    Riven looked back at her, concerned. ¡°Did you think I was really going to torture you?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± She replied happily with a p of her hands as she wrapped her arms around her waist - drawing in her bat-like wings behind her. ¡°But it did happen to me with myst contractor. One of my sisters is still under contract with a cultist who does exactly that, regrly carving pieces of my sister off to use for his alchemy before her body regenerates. She¡¯s also used in blood orgies quite often, and that never ends well. She doesn¡¯t die, but she desperately wants to be free of him and keepsing up with schemes to get him killed ¨C all of which have failed thus far. I feel badly for her.¡±


    Riven¡¯s jaw almost dropped. ¡°How fucked.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    The two of them stood up, and Riven extended his hand again with a drawn out sigh ¨C still keeping his gaze focused on her face. ¡°Hey. It was genuinely nice meeting you Fay. You¡¯re not what I expected, and I¡¯m d we got to talk.¡±


    She nodded politely, hand still sped in front of her, and then she gave a small bow. ¡°It was great meeting you too. How many other interviews do you have left?¡±


    Riven paused as another hologram prompt for him to end the interview appeared in front of his face, his finger hovering over the prompt. ¡°Just one more. It¡¯s with the Blood fiend.¡±


    She made a grossed out expression and stuck out her tongue. ¡°A Blood fiend? Disgusting alligators, those ones. Any chance I can get you to just ept my contract now and be done with it? I promise I will make a good teammate. I¡¯m very low maintenance.¡±


    She winked, but He ignored her obvious attempt at flirting and shook his head with a polite smile. ¡°You¡¯re definitely great, and you seem promising, but no. I want to finish all of these interviews before deciding.¡±


    She let out an exaggerated sigh of disappointment, thenughed heartily at his look of difort. ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you, Riven. Learn to rx. Go get the interview over with and thene back to me when you realize that I¡¯m the best option.¡±


    Riven rubbed his forehead, gave her a final wave that she returned, then he disappeared out of the garden and back into the swirling purple mists.


    ¡°Typical subus.¡± Ath stated tly when he reappeared next to his two already contracted familiars. ¡°Always the flirtatious ones.¡±


    ¡°I liked her.¡± Azmoth stated in an even tone with his four arms crossed. ¡°Her trait woulde in handy for our master too.¡±


    Ath bobbed her head left, and then right. ¡°Can¡¯t say I disagree. The trait is valuable to someone like Riven¡­ She probably knows this. I¡¯m surprised her contract wasn¡¯t more demanding. I actually looked it over while you two were talking, Riven. She wasn¡¯t lying, there are no hidden red gs to be wary of and it¡¯s a good deal. Better than the one with the beholder, certainly.¡±


    Azmoth nodded. ¡°The beholder wrote contract so that terms are vague. There are loopholes so can im negligence on Riven¡¯s part and break it at any time. If you choose beholder, Riven, you need him to rewrite contract ¨C or you need to decline.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Ath nodded at the brutalisk in affirmation.


    This was news to Riven. He¡¯d not had time to look at the contracts in detail just yet, but he trusted both Azmoth and Ath with his life and would take their words at face value before diving deeper into the subject himselfter on. ¡°I liked them both, but I was definitely a little wary of how Jarmosh the beholder wanted to experiment on animals or people. A little weird if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably for a craft he has.¡± Ath replied as she tapped her eight Blooded spider legs thoughtfully. ¡°Now that I think about it¡­ you should ask the Subus whether or not she is into enchanting. Curses are a subcategory of unholy-rted enchanting and can be applied to items a lot like how she¡¯d use them whatever her targets she had inbat. Makes for useful items if done right, but I don¡¯t know enough about it to tell you more than that.¡±


    Riven hummed, thinking back to his briefly lived totem-making adventures when he¡¯d read the manuscript briefly touching on the topic of enchanting. He¡¯d have to pick that craft up again, eventually, when things settled down.


    Coming up to the Blood fiend next, Riven reached out a hand and touched the ethereal image of the crocodilian blood demon. In a swirl of light, Riven then found himself on a floating pile of driftwood far out at sea from the closestnd mass. Chunks of sea creaturesy half-eaten all around him, and he found the creaturezily basking in the dull light of the sun as it watched him from afar.


    It was certainlyrge, about the height of Azmoth, though didn¡¯t have as solid or thick of a frame and was rather thin inparison. Its long stinger at the end of its tail flipped back and forthzily as its long snout lifted into the air, and it began to sniff in his direction.


    ¡°Greetings¡­¡± The serpentine, hissing voice came out as it opened its mouth to produce the sound from a voice box far in the back of its throat. It sounded like it was straining to speak at all, but still managed to get the words out to a level that Riven could understand it. ¡°Have youe to beg of my assistance¡­?¡±


    Riven cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Isn¡¯t this supposed to be an interview concerning your abilities, not mine?¡±


    The demon snickered, making raspy gasping sounds when itughed condescendingly his way. ¡°No. I am a perfect hunter¡­ You need to convince me that you are worth my time¡­ otherwise I will not-¡°


    Riven immediately clicked the prompt and he willed the creature to appear - ending the interview in an instant. He found himself back in the purple fogs of theher realm a split secondter. Orienting himself to the surroundings again, he quickly saw that the Blood demon was beginning to fade away from the remaining three visages of interviewees while yet another prompt lit up in front of his vision.


    <strong>[Blood Fiend has declined the contract.]</strong>


    He snorted. ¡°Good fucking riddance. Isted three seconds before he got high and mighty on me.¡±


    Azmoth gave an amused sneer in the direction of the fiend as thest remnants of the blood demon vanished with a hiss. ¡°The puny alligator did not deserve the opportunity. I am d you reacted that way. Let him find more desperate mortal to level off.¡±


    Ath let out augh and leaned onto Azmoth¡¯s shoulder with an elbow of her own. ¡°The fiend likely didn¡¯t realize you had multiple offers, meaning he wasn¡¯t paying attention to our talks before we started this interview process in the first ce. Many summoners only get one or two offers in a single round unless they wait a long time, so it likely surprised him that you reacted the way you did.¡±


    Riven shrugged indifferently. ¡°He can kiss my pale white ass. Now, which of these two to choose¡­¡±


    At this point, there was only Fay the subus and Jarmosh the beholder left. He liked both of them a lot, and would have been happy to choose either of them.


    Thus he was at a crossroads.

 Chapter 93

    Chapter 93


    <strong>Chapter 93</strong>


    On one hand, Jarmosh seemed a little less trustworthy given that he¡¯d put loopholes in his contract. Ath had outright told him he couldn¡¯t ept the contract in the way the beholder had worded it, so he¡¯d have to get Jarmosh to agree to rewrite it the way Riven wanted it done or he¡¯d have to decline no matter what. He also didn¡¯t like the idea of Jarmosh experimenting with live and innocent creatures, though he could have some leeway if it came to people or monsters that had attacked them or posed a threat. Perhaps the experiments Jarmosh was nning coulde in handy somehow? Especially if they really were rted to a craft. His shielding ability, spotting abilities, identifying abilities and long range attacks would be great inbination with Riven¡¯s ranged fighting too.


    On the other hand, there was the subus with her Silvertongue trait that would transfer to Riven as a spell. It would give him some leeway when interacting with other races that didn¡¯t have negative charisma orientation, especially as he grew more levels and umted more and more negative charisma. It may be noticeable from time to time now, but what would it look like if he reached over 2000 negative points? Or 4000? Would they run screaming from him, copse in fear, or would they outright hate him and attack on sight?


    Otherwise Fay¡¯s abilities were orientated towards crowd control with hidden mana mines, a hallucination field, a charm ability, and a damage-over-time curse that slowed enemies too. The entire package would be great for keeping enemies off of him while he could sit back and let loose from rtive safety, or at least that¡¯d be the hope.


    But what if Riven was ever going to date someone else? How could he exin having a subus with him?


    They¡¯d immediately think he was a dirty pervert.


    That was certainly a concern, though one far off and not relevant to his current situation. Regardless, he was leaning more towards the beholder demon. They were both great options, but the identifying of enemies and spotting potential assassins alone was something that swayed things in favor of the demonic eyeball collection.


    So with a minor amount of guilt concerning the fond interact he had with Fay, he bypassed the subus and mentally bade her farewell as he went back to talk to the beholder. He¡¯d have to speak to Jarmosh about the loopholes in his contract and aplete rewrite of it before he¡¯d agree though, that was non-negotiable. ¡°Ath? Azmoth? Minding along and pointing out his loopholes so we can rewrite it? I¡¯d like you in on this discussion when we talk.¡±


    ¡°Oh! So you¡¯re choosing Jarmosh?¡± Ath said curiously as Azmoth gave him an affirmative nod. ¡°Wow! You really AREN¡¯T a simp!¡±He rolled his eyes and gestured to the figure of the beholder demon. ¡°Oh shut up. Fay was really nice too but I think the beholder is likely a better pick in helping me survive.¡±


    ¡°That silvertongue trait though!¡±


    ¡°Can only be used for short periods of time. Yes, otherwise it is amazing. Don¡¯t rub it in my face when I may be regretting this choiceter, now hurry it up. We have work to do.¡±


    ***


    Unfortunately, the following talk between Riven and Jarmosh did not go well. In fact, it was mostly Ath and Jarmosh going at it - with the arachnoid woman using him of manipting the contract and pointing out said loopholes while Jarmosh, in his sophisticated British ent, denying all counts and refusing to give up the contract for another one.


    ¡°I refuse!¡± Jarmosh snarled as hisrge central eye and all the other ones surrounding him red daggers at the arachnid as she hissed. ¡°These are nothing but mere coincidences that line up with verbiage explicitly set there to protect myself from exploitation!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a damned liar!¡± Ath spat as her right-forward spider leg shook with anger. ¡°You filthy little eyeball!¡±


    ¡°HOW DARE YOU CALL ME AN EYEBALL!¡±


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE A PUTRID, VENEMOUS, UGLY EYEBALL AT THAT!¡±


    Azmoth stared at the two bickering demons alongside Riven on the right side, folding his four armored, cindering arms with a grunt of disgust and scratching the back of his neck with one of his extra eel-like maws. The brutalisk then withdrew the two maws into his back, exchanged a nce with Riven, and sighed.


    Riven in the meantime didn¡¯t know what to make of it, and began to whisper over at Azmoth as the other two other demons engaged one another. ¡°So¡­ Is Ath taking this out of context and being overprotective of me? Or is the observer demon really trying to pull one over on us?¡±


    Azmoth turned his armored, eyeless head towards Riven. ¡°Have you not read contract?¡±


    ¡°I did, but it¡¯s over 60 pages long if you¡¯dpare it to a paperback novel.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ is true. Beholder likely did it on purpose to hide what Ath found. Anyways, yes, Ath correct. It obvious the loopholes are there. Two big ones that he¡¯s trying. The first would allow him break the contract without excuse or if he unhappy, and he could be unhappy for any reason to leave you in moment of need. Second loophole would allow him to force you to give up items that benefit him, even if you rather sell it or use it yourself.¡±


    Riven blinked, then turned his gaze back onto the beholder with a new perspective. ¡°Is it normal for demons to try and pull this stuff?¡±


    ¡°Depends.¡±


    The screeching and screaming at one another was reaching new heights as Ath acted as Riven¡¯swyer would in a court case.


    ¡°I BET YOU GET PINK EYE!!! YOU DIRTY, ASS SNIFFING, FLOATING VAGABOND!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯VE NEVER HAD PINK EYE ONCE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE, YOU OVERGROWN INSECT!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯M A SPIDER! I EAT INSECTS FOR BREAKFAST, YOU UTTERLY HORRIFIC ABSCESS! I¡¯D STOMP YOU LIKE A BABY IF WE WEREN¡¯T IN THE NETHER REALMS!¡±


    ¡°YOU!? HA!!! YOUR KIND IS AS USELESS AS THE IMPS AND WOULDN¡¯T EVEN BE ABLE TO TOUCH ME FROM DOWN ON THE GROUND!¡±


    ¡°YOU TAKE THAT BACK! I AM NOT COMPARABLE TO AN IMP! THEY¡¯RE MERELY TINY FIRE-BELCHING MONKEYS, AND I HAVE PIZZAZ!¡±


    At this point, it was just bing a ridiculous case of insulting one another. It wasn¡¯t getting anywhere at all, and despite Riven¡¯s original impression that Jarmosh would have likely been a slightly better asset to the team - he was now having second thoughts. Especially if the team-mascot, Ath, wouldn¡¯t get along with him.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°You should choose Fay.¡± Azmoth stated abruptly as he let out another exhausted sigh. ¡°This getting nowhere. Subus wouldn¡¯t be bad asset to have, but I warn you not to get involved with her.¡±


    ¡°Involved? Do you mean romantically?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t do it if you do choose her. Subi crazy.¡±


    Riven chuckled and folded his arms. ¡°I¡¯d had no intention of doing that if I did pick Fay. But yeah, she wouldn¡¯t be a bad choice either.¡±


    Their conversation was interrupted as Jarmosh the observer demon huffed in anger and flew over to where Riven stood with a glowering expression at the arachnid behind him. ¡°I refuse to change the contract, and I will not listen to anymore of this spider-woman¡¯s absurd ideas! Sign it and be done with it or leave me to find another!¡±


    Ath was literally quivering with rage at this point, but she did not approach the eyeball demon again. Instead she folded her arms in front of her, snarled, and turned her back on the demon without another nce.


    Riven cast a genuinely caring look over at the arshakai. Ath didn¡¯t have to fight for him like this and it wouldn¡¯t have hurt her cause much if another demon had gotten the better of Riven, but instead she was seriously angry.


    For him.


    <strong>[You have declined the contract.]</strong>


    With a look of surprise, Jarmosh the beholder demon began to fizzle out of existence as Riven and his two minions returned to theher realms - only one of the four demons who¡¯d initially contacted him remaining.


    ¡°You made the right choice.¡± Ath confirmed with a satisfied sneer towards thest of Jarmosh¡¯s image before he fizzled out. ¡°Stupid eyeball. The subus had a much better contract with absolutely nothing to worry about, pick her.¡±


    Riven smiled slightly but didn¡¯t say another word. Team cohesiveness and trustworthiness were more important than whatever else the beholder demon could have brought to their group. After the negotiations were through, that demon had neither.


    ¡°Come on Ath, Azmoth. Let¡¯s go talk to Fay.¡±


    ***


    <strong>[Your pact with Fay has been sealed under the watchful eye of the Administrator. The demonic seal representing Fay will be etched into your flesh, and your body has been restored to perfect health. Congrattions on obtaining your new demonic minion.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have inherited Fay''s Unholy Trait: Silvertongue, as a spell.]</strong>


    <strong>[Silvertongue (Unholy): Soak your words with unholy mana to briefly capture the minds of lesser beings, allowing only those with a less Willpower than you to be affected and enabling you to persuade them more easily. This spell scales with both Willpower and Negative Charisma, as well as the amount of mana you put into it. This spell may be developed into a better version of itself by acquiring the ''Depravity'' subpir. Extremely high mana cost, low cooldown.]</strong>


    In a sh he was standing back in the basement of the hospital, another red pentagram being drawn next to the ones containing the symbol of jaws for Azmoth or a spider for Ath. This one, however, was a set of subi wings.


    Riven took off his tattered cloak and draped it around Fay¡¯s shoulders, meeting her ck eyes for a moment before stepping back. ¡°Ath, go get some clothes for Fay. Some of the ones we picked out for you should fit her alright, you¡¯re about the same size.¡±


    ¡°Clothes are stupid and should only be worn on special asions.¡± Ath stated tly, folding her arms. ¡°We¡¯re demons, and our bodies are great. Why hide them?¡±


    Riven opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it and rubbed the bridge of his nose. ¡°I¡¯ll let her decide, not going to have this conversation with you again.¡±


    Fay was hesitantly looking around the small basement where the two elves, Senna and Ethel, as well as Dr. Brass remained motionless with raised eyebrows. Drawing her wings into her back and letting out a deep, rxed sigh of contentment, Fay knelt down on one knee and bowed.


    ¡°Thank you for choosing me, master. You will not regret this decision.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re a team now, you don¡¯t need to do that.¡± Riven smiled, motioning for her to get up as she brushed her long white hair behind one ear and took his hand to stand. ¡°d to have you.¡±


    Fay stood up and gave a nod to the others, ignoring Dr. Brass¡¯s tant staring. ¡°Hello.¡±


    She turned back to Riven. ¡°If it makes youfortable, I¡¯ll take your offer on clothes. It does not bother me either way, and it would probably draw less attention if I did wear something.¡±


    Riven nodded, intentionally keeping his eyes on her face. ¡°Yup. Agreed, and thanks.¡±


    If he had to continue to try and look away for all eternity, that would have been a real problem. Clothes would certainly help.


    Ath on the other hand threw up her hands and turned, muttering under her breath about stupid mortal customs before she fetched a crop top and short shorts from the bag of stuff they¡¯d raided at the clothing warehouse.


    A pulsing sensation began to emanate from his bag, and Riven raised an eyebrow before reaching inside and pulling out themunication orb he¡¯d been gifted by Mara and Allie. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Allie¡¯s voice cut through the air like she was standing right next to him. ¡°Have you started your trip yet?¡±


    Riven nced past the changing subus and over to the elves along the wall. ¡°Unfortunately not. Hey, I know we talked about this a couple times already but are you really sure you¡¯re ok with me going? With Prophet building up forces and what I¡¯ve been rethinking things. Perhaps I should stay behind until that¡¯s settled.¡±


    ¡°We have spies watching them, and we even have two in their own ranks. Human spies that want necromancer sses or a chance to join our faction. Jose wasn¡¯t the only one these new age crusaders wronged¡­¡± Allie¡¯s voice trailed off, but she quickly cleared her throat and continued talking through the pulsing ck orb. ¡°The point is, we¡¯ll know when they¡¯reing ahead of time. We have tough fortifications, and I¡¯m stronger than anyone they have on their side. The problem is that relic Prophet keeps, the book, but in order for it to use its defensive capabilities he has to set up a zone of influence. That¡¯s why this small war has dragged on for so long, it¡¯s harder fighting them on their own turf. Meanwhile, they lose advantage while leaving their own consecrated grounds.¡±


    ¡°Consecrated? You didn¡¯t mention that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, the relic they have is able to bless the areas they control, it severely weakens undead like us and does a whole lot of other things I¡¯m not quite sure of yet. All I know is the rumors being pitched to me from the two insiders we have. Regardless, as long as we¡¯re not on their consecrated grounds it¡¯ll be fine; and I have an army of my own in both minions and other sentient undead. You saw how tightly locked this ce is, and we¡¯re only sending out assassination groups for now until we get a better picture of what their leadership is up to. I¡¯m not taking risks.¡±


    Riven remembered the flesh golems, bone giant, and hundreds of ghouls, skeletons or skresh walking around the skyscraper Allie was terraforming. He also remembered just how close Allie hade to kicking his ass in a one on one fight, and he felt confident she¡¯d be ok while he was gone. ¡°Well I¡¯d have to agree that it¡¯d almost be suicide attacking that tower of yours, it is pretty much a fortress. Senna? Ethel? How long will this trip take again?¡±


    Senna stuttered a response while Ethel¡¯s eyes hit the floor, massaging her stump arm. ¡°I-I think it¡¯ll only take a few days¡­ Maybe¡­ but Ethel and I are injured so it could take longer.¡±


    Riven nodded, giving Fay a polite smile and making room for her to pass as she and the other demoness Ath walked out of the room to start exploring the area outside. The two demonic women were already hitting it off nicely, speaking in hushed tones andughing with one another mischievously before leaving. That was a good sign in Riven¡¯s book.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± Riven asked the bauble in his hands.


    ¡°I did.¡± Allie replied. ¡°Just be safe, Riven. No hero acts, ok? I¡¯m going to be really, really mad at you if I have toe save you while you do a drop off. You¡¯re not invincible, remember that.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know.¡±


    ¡°Promise me you won¡¯t do anything heroic and stupid? Even if it means other people get hurt?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll only take fights I know I can win.¡±


    ¡°You have to promise.¡±


    Riven smirked. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll try my best to do that.¡±


    ¡°RIVEN! I fucking MEAN IT! You ALWAYS get hurt trying to help other people out, even when we were kids! Remember those bullies that dressed up in ninja suits and shoved your head in a toilet because you-¡±


    ¡°Fine! Fine. No embarrassing stories when other people are around.¡± Riven grimaced at the memory and shook his head. ¡°Hope I find those little bastards now that we¡¯re older. Anyways, I love you Allie. I¡¯ll talk to youter, ok? And if you really need me, let me know. I¡¯ll drop everything and sprint back, I move pretty damn fast now.¡±


    She gave an amused grunt. ¡°Ok. I¡¯ll have this orb on me at all times, call me if anything happens and I¡¯ll do the same. Love you Riven.¡±


    The pulsing sensation cut off when themunication did, and he tucked the ck bauble into the backpack again.


    A wave of exhaustion hit him shortly after, and Azmoth caught him when Riven took a shaky step forward. He¡¯d not realized he was this tired. Blinking a couplei times and yawning, he told the others he was going to take a nap. After all that fighting, it was finally time to get some rest before they headed out.

 Chapter 94

    Chapter 94


    <strong>Chapter 94</strong>


    When he woke up, he was filled in by Dr. Brass on what had happened with the other humans during the fight while Senna snored softly as she curled up next to Ethel under a nket.


    Dr. Waters had been adamant that Dr. Brass leave with her, calling him a fool when she and all of the nurses had taken the long hike down the underground sewers to find a way out. When asked why Dr. Brass hadn¡¯t left to begin with, he¡¯d just said that he¡¯d taken a liking to Riven and Ath in the short time he¡¯d known them. He didn¡¯t have any family and was too old to be scared of dying, so he¡¯d bet his chips on their sess in the fight with the dream creatures as the others had fled.


    Senna and Ethel hadn¡¯t had much of a choice of whether or not to stay given their injuries inhibiting them from traveling far, though it was obvious that they were incredibly relieved that their side had won. Both elves had watched the entire fight from start to finish, and they were often caught staring at Riven and the demons who¡¯d fought the monster with curious, fixated gazes.


    As for nting the rod? He was likely going to use it near Allie¡¯s tower as a gift, and that was also likely where he¡¯d be putting his guild hall too. Though those things would have to wait untilter.


    They took turns sleeping with the exception of Azmoth who didn¡¯t sleep at all. Ath and Fay ended uping back shortly after that with a giddy look on Fay¡¯s face after she¡¯d been allowed out of theher realms for so long, and the subus was incredibly polite in her interactions with everyone thus far. Even the elves, who Ath had been very hot or cold with ever since meeting them. Even Dr. Brass, who ogled the subus regrly despite his poor attempts to hide it, was treated with a kind and brilliant smile whenever he spoke to Fay - which was often.


    So all in all: Riven, Fay, Ath, Azmoth, Dr. Brass, Senna, and Ethel made for a total of 7 that joked andughed with one another through the remainder of the night between naps. With the promise Riven had made to Senna and Ethel to take them home that morning. The dream creatures were dead, Riven had found Allie safe and sound with an army surrounding her to keep her safe, and all seemed right with the world now that no immediate threats were present.


    In fact the mood was so good that most of them didn¡¯t get much sleep at all despite that being the goal.


    Riven was actually taking a break from all the banter, relieving himself in a bucket within an adjacent room when Ath whipped around the corner in spider-form and swatted him on the head a couple times with one hand.¡°Ello chap!¡±


    Riven red at the demoness and grumbled something about privacy being ignored, pulled up his pants, and adjusted the new belt he¡¯d taken from that clothing store. ¡°What is it? And isn¡¯t your leg broken? You never rested in theher realms after that fight, you shouldn¡¯t be walking around on it like that. I can¡¯t believe you went exploring alongside Fay without healing first.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, see!?¡± Ath flexed and extended her knee, but failed to hide her grimace when an audible snap was heard. ¡°Bleh. I¡¯ll be fine for now, and I was able to get around using my arachnid limbs. I¡¯ll head back to theher realm soon. Are you excited about your elysium altar rod!? It looks so neat!¡±


    Riven nodded, picked up the bucket, and took it over to the room¡¯s corner to set it down under a tarp of sorts. It wasn¡¯t like they were going to stay much longer anyways, with only Ethel capitalizing on the rest they likely all needed. Her stump forearm was bothering her a lot, and sleep helped the pain. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty cool that we¡¯ll be able to utilize the system store. Now we just have to find a ce to set camp, so to speak. Somewhere safer if possible.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    He nced over his shoulder. ¡°So, how¡¯s Fay doing? Did you get a chance to talk to her much?¡±


    Ath¡¯s smile widened, and she knocked her knuckles against the door absentmindedly while leaning against the wall. ¡°I really, really like her¡­ She¡¯s very nice. Very different from most of the subi I¡¯ve met in theher realms, but in a good way. I think you¡¯re going to like her too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great to hear. In the meantime¡­¡± Riven paused, folding his arms and tapping his foot thoughtfully. ¡°How big is that Elysium Altar going to be when we set it up? It needed 3 square miles designated to nt the rod, didn¡¯t it?¡±


    Ath held up hands out to either side, supporting most of her weight on her arachnid limbsing out of her back to relieve some of the stress on her broken human leg. ¡°Elysium altars are usually ced at random along the span of the newly integrated worlds. They¡¯ll be difficult to find at first, but as you¡¯ll find out when you nt that rod - they¡¯re usually prettyrge and hard to hide. They¡¯re built like huge open-air temples actually, orrge monoliths. Once you know a general location, it¡¯ll be easy to see it and that¡¯s also why you need 3 square miles of space. It¡¯s pretty big and will gain a lot of attention when you put it down.¡±


    The sound of a heartbeat growing closer and then a knock at the door alerted Riven to someone¡¯s presence. Removing himself from the room anding out into the hallway, he saw Dr. Brass waiting for him on the other side.


    ¡°Hey. What¡¯s up?¡±


    The old graying man stood leaning against the wall cleaning his sses, and adjusted them to put them back on hurriedly when Riven walked out of the room. ¡°Oh, hey there. Are you busy? May we talk?¡±


    ¡°Does it look like I¡¯m busy?¡± Riven replied with amusement as a small upturn at the corners of his lips began to curl. ¡°Can I help you with something?¡±


    The old man mulled over his thoughts while staring at the ground, then noticed the blood stains on his white coat and grimaced. ¡°Well¡­ How do I approach this.¡±


    The doctor clicked his tongue, then motioned to his body and tugged at his wrinkling skin. ¡°I¡¯m pretty old.¡±


    Riven stared nkly back at him with Athing around to take a look too, andughed as he didn¡¯t know what the doctor was getting at. ¡°Yeah, I suppose it¡¯s kinda obvious.¡±


    ¡°Do vampires age?¡±


    Oh.


    So that¡¯s what this was about.


    This is probably why Dr. Brass had stayed to begin with.


    Riven shoved his hands into his pockets and thought about the prospect for a moment, then shook his head. ¡°At the very least, my status page says I won¡¯t die of old age. So I¡¯m assuming the body kinda resets to a certain stage of adulthood.¡±


    ¡°I see. And¡­ Would you be willing to turn me? I heard you had a quest to grow and form a coven. I¡¯d like to be part of it. This new world¡­ It''s brutal, but it¡¯s also magical. There¡¯s so much out there to explore, like an entirely new frontier. Like Star Trek! Go where no man has gone before kinda thing¡­ And I want to be at the forefront of that exploration. The problem is, I won¡¯tst another two decades. I might notst even one more decade.¡±


    It¡¯d been a while since Riven looked at his quests. He still had 3 active at the bottom of his status page, one being a notification that he¡¯d actually been targeted by said quest and two of them being guiding quests from the administrator.


    <strong>[You have been made a target by a regional quest: </strong><strong>Crusade Against the Undead</strong><strong> - Benjamin, otherwise known as ¡®Prophet¡¯ by many of his followers, has dered a holy war for the control of the city of Brightsville. Enacting a holy ritual and with his request being backed by a minor god, all humans within Brightsville will receive additional Elysium Coins, XP towards leveling, and other undisclosed prizes based on performance when culling the undead in this area.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have been offered a </strong><strong>guiding system quest</strong><strong> from the administrator: </strong><strong>Covens</strong><strong> ¨C Either find a coven to join, or grow your own coven to a minimum number of 5 vampires including yourself. To create new vampires, you must inject vampiric essence into your target via your fangs. Be wary of doing this too fast, as if you do not recharge your vampiric essence inbetween attempts to turn others - you will be sick and in a worst case scenario: die. Rewards: 1 portal ticket for an attempt to acquire another piece of Valgeshia¡¯s Item Set.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have been offered a </strong><strong>guiding system quest</strong><strong> from the administrator: </strong><strong>Acquire Cattle and Create a Thrall</strong><strong> ¨C As a newly born vampire, you will need to acquire cattle, or in other terms - people to regrly feed on. It does not matter if you do this through persuasion or force. Then after this select one of these cattle to create a thrall. Thralls are mortals bent to a vampire¡¯s will and are essentially more subservient and powerful ¡®cattle¡¯ as many vampires like to say. Though they do retain their intelligence, personality, and to some extent their own free will - their desires are instinctively and heavily oriented to align with your own. This ces them in the minion category of your status page when acquired sessfully. Thralls also acquire some vampiric strengths, while they are able to retain their own pirs and abilities outside of the vampiric influence. However: retained pirs and abilities will be corrupted - sometimes modifying them slightly for better or worse. Lastly, thralls are able to provide greater amounts of nourishing blood than normal mortal cattle do; and their bloodlines may be modified over time to evolve to your liking. To create a thrall, you must feed on them regrly for an extended period of time and they must in turn feed on your blood numerous times throughout their initial evolutionary cycle. Reward upon acquiring thrall: 1bat level, a stable food source, and a new avenue to acquire minions.]</strong>


    Riven frowned at thatst quest. He¡¯d been feeding off the corpse of a dead nurse for the past day now, but he still needed a solid source of blood so he wouldn¡¯t go crazy. He looked up and met the man¡¯s hopeful eyes, and could see that Dr. Brass was nervously fidgeting with a pen between his hands. His gaze softened and he put a hand on the doctor¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°I have no reason to say no. But let¡¯s wait a while, I still need to figure out the feeding situation for myself. Having another vampire around would only amplify that problem. Just so you know, the transformation can be painful and the notification talks about how some people may die in the process. I doubt that¡¯s amon phenomenon from what Ath has told me in our discussions on the subject, but she¡¯s a demon - not a vampire. She doesn¡¯t quite know for sure herself.¡±


    The doctor let out an audible sigh of relief and his features brightened immediately. He stopped his nervous fidgeting, and put his pen into a side pocket on his stained white coat. The man even looked happy. ¡°Thank you, son. It quite literally means the world to me. I¡¯ll take the risk¡­ and I¡¯ll leave the two of you to talk.¡±


    ***


    The elves were eager to get back home, and their excitement grew as the time approached. Neither of them got much sleep that night and stayed upte animatedly talking to Fay and Ath after Ath made it back from a break in theher realms to heal. They talked about the merging of worlds, the Elysium system, Riven¡¯s sister and her horde of undead, as well as various backstories on their lives.


    Ethel¡¯s left arm wound where it¡¯s been cut off a couple inches above the wrist hadn¡¯t entirely healed yet and one of her ankles was ck and blue from a sprain, but the arm was doing far better and the infection was gone. Senna¡¯s corbone was still touchy and likely would be for some time after this, and her infection was still present in the leg where that goblin had bitten her, but they were both doing significantly better and Dr. Brass had given the elf some oral antibiotics to take with her in a little bottle along with verbal instructions on how often to take them.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Regardless, the girls were happy to actually be going home and were excited to see their families again. Riven and the other men, Azmoth and Dr. Brass, eventually let them have their privacy through the end of that night and got to sleeping; and in the morning light of sunrise they set off.


    Azmoth was tasked with carrying therge tub of coins and supplies they took with them, the tub had wheels though and was really an old hospitalundry bin - so it was able to be pushed around with minimal effort whenever they were on t ground. They had an especially easy time hauling it on the roads leading out of the decimated city, and though they saw a few groups of other survivors - the humans inrge part either ran or hid from the intimidating party at a moment''s nce. Riven didn¡¯t dare leave the stash behind in case someone stole it while they were gone, and soon enough they reached the edge of the city and took to the ins. When they reached the forests not long after that, the trek became a bit harder.


    Their pace was a bit slower than Riven would have liked and he had to keep his hood pulled down so the sun didn¡¯t bother him. The two elves couldn¡¯t walk properly, having been wounded by the goblins and in the assault by the men in the hospital basement. Fortunately for the two elves they were either carried by Riven or sat in the bin Azmoth pushed and carried. Currently Riven was designated to carrying Ethel while his unique weapon floated along behind him with asional twists or turns as if it was curiously observing their environment. Which¡­ it was, Riven came to find out. His newly staff still had ¡®memories¡¯ of some sort rting to the old items he¡¯d created it from. Both halves, the dagger and the staff, had essentially been locked in Dungeon Negrada¡¯s hellscape for millenia - making the experience of walking across the fields west of the city and into the forests in the foothills beneath the mountain a rather scenic thing even for a semi-sentient weapon. He could literally feel the intent of the staff, and its eagerness to explore was palpable. The flickering shadows red once in a while along its ck wood, the blood and flesh integrated into the wood pulsed whenever it got excited, and asionally the de at the tip would whip out to examine a flower or beetle as if it had eyes there.


    Very curious.


    <strong>[Vampire¡¯s Escort (Vampiric)(Unique Soul-Fused Weapon, Sorcerer¡¯s Staff): 104 average damage on strike with each physical strike dealing minor shadow-explosion knockback. Mana regeneration is increased by 102%. All Shadow and Blood spells cost 9% less mana while dealing 22% additional damage. This item has an abnormally high endurance and is hard to destroy. Requires Vampiric Heritage to wield.</strong><ul><li><strong>Sacrificial Kill:</strong><strong> Killing strong opponents has a chance to imbue this weapon with additional attributes, stats, or bonuses.</strong></li><li><strong>Scorpion¡¯s Sting:</strong><strong> The de at the tip of this staff can extend through flesh molding to cut down enemies. Enemies hit with the de portion of this weapon do not experience shadow-explosion knockback like the rest of this staff, rather the de portion of this weapon will imbue stacking bleeding damage to all biological enemies.</strong></li><li><strong>ck Lightning:</strong><strong> This staff can passively build up charges of ck lightning. Power of ck lightning depends on the amount of charge emitted.</strong></li><li><strong>Portal Master:</strong><strong> This weapon can sync to any stabilized portal you permission to use by the maker and master. Current locations avable for ess: Dungeon Negrada.]</strong></li></ul>


    Dr. Brass was also a lot slower than the others due to his age, and his mortal body still held him back. So it was something of a stroll, with Riven wondering if he should be nocturnal from time to time. He was continually adjusting his clothes, keeping himself cloaked and hooded to avoid the sun - while Fay flew overhead to spread her wings with chimingughter due to the freedom she finally had. The subus seemed genuinely happy, and this in turn solidified the mood of their trip even further despite the slow pace.


    Hours passed, and Riven found that the closer they got to their destination - the more animated Ethel and Senna became. They began tough more, tell stories of their homes or families, make jokes and interacted with everyone else in good spirits. Leaves crunched underfoot and the oak trees of the forest grew in number, their shade giving Riven relief from the sunlight as the hours crept into afternoon.


    ¡°My mother always said I should practice alchemy and herbology, but I¡¯d always wanted to be a hunter or scout instead.¡± Ethel held up her bandaged stumpy arm and wiggled it, trying to make the best out of a bad situation as she heartilyughed at her own misfortune. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll be going back to alchemy after all!¡±


    Senna snorted augh of her own from her position in the loot bin that Azmoth was carrying. ¡°You could always get married to have some strappingd take care of you! Elder Preen wants your hand in marriage, you¡¯ll just have to make sure it¡¯s your RIGHT hand he wants and not your left!¡±


    ¡°HEY! That guy is gross!¡± Ethel shot her friend a re amidst the surroundingughter, then grumpily scowled at the ground as Riven princess-carried her across the forest. ¡°Well atst I can say that I¡¯m alive. Thank you Riven, for saving us that day.¡±


    Riven silently nodded, continuing to trot alongside Azmoth in front of the others while Ath still scouted ahead for potential dangers. Dr. Brass took up the rear, injecting their ownments or questions about elvish culture along the way.


    ¡°There are many different cultures for elves, just like there are with humans.¡± Ethel replied to a question from Dr. Brass. ¡°There are a few dominant ones though. There are the high elves, like my people. We stay in touch with nature and try to grow the forests, we worship the Forest Pir - a subpir of the Fae Foundational Pir - and some of the rted gods or greater spirits. Before the integration, we still knew of the pirs - we just didn¡¯t have a leveling system yet. It was impossible to level up until now actually. Aside from the woond variant of high elves, there are other high elves from our old world which often are distinguished by their mindset rather than by race. They believe themselves to be the ¡®true¡¯ high elves, which is why they¡¯re usually what we refer to when speaking of ¡®high elves¡¯ rather than us ¡®woond elves.¡¯ They have abandoned the old ways and think themselves better than us woond elves, usually worshiping the arcane powers due to their lineages granting many of their people affinity for such things. They think of themselves as¡­¡±


    ¡°As overly sophisticated.¡± Senna called out from where she was being cradled by Azmoth.


    Ethel nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, they think they¡¯re sophisticated. We don¡¯t get along most of the time because, well, our people can be rather pompous too!¡±


    Senna giggled in agreement.


    From overhead, Faynded gracefully beside Riven and kept pace while observing the small rodents and other wildlife around them. ¡°This is all so pretty¡­ I¡¯m d you chose me Riven. I know I said it before, but thank you.¡±


    She nced over at him, folding her wings behind her back, and used her tail to tap the amulet of the dragon around his neck. ¡°I can¡¯t get a read on that ne you have, but I can tell it is cursed. What does it do?¡±


    Riven blinked, shooting a look down at the one piece of jewelry he wore, and looked back up. ¡°Cursed? Seriously?¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s a bad thing!¡± The blue-skinned subus quickly stated, raising her hands to keep him from worrying. ¡°Curses are a subset of enchanting and can be very good for the wearer. They¡¯re just a specific type of magic. Enchantments are rather straight and narrow in their amplifications, while curses are more¡­plex. Usually there¡¯s a drawback to them when applied to items, but this can bring in better bonuses.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow while continuing to carry the blonde young woman in his arms. ¡°Really. So, does using your curses outside of applying them to items cause any drawbacks? You use three curses, don¡¯t you?¡±


    The subus quickly nodded, stepping over arge tree root in the process and withdrawing her tail from where it¡¯d been toying with the dragon amulet. ¡°Oh, definitely. Every time I use my curses I experience pain. That¡¯s how most curses work actually, the caster has to set down a sacrifice in order to use them. It¡¯s intrinsic to anything the system calls a curse, but what is paid depends on the caster. I could sacrifice many other things to use them instead, but pain is the one I choose regrly.¡±


    Riven nearly tripped. ¡°Uh¡­ and that¡¯s ok with you? Didn¡¯t youin to me about how yourst master tortured you? Seems kind of¡­ rough, to have abilities like that.¡±


    Fay shrugged with a small grin. ¡°A little bit of pain is actually pleasurable to me, believe it or not. The kind of pain that my old master dished out? That was another level entirely, that was torture. I can handle the abilities without any problems the way they are.¡±


    Riven took a moment to mull over this. ¡°So what do you think the drawbacks of this amulet would be? How would I find out?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d need an identifier for that, or someone who is more in tune with curses than I am. I¡¯m starting to specialize with curses now, but I have a long ways to go. I¡¯m still only a beginner. All I can tell you is that whatever the curse is, its origin is the Unholy Foundational Pir.¡±


    He internally cursed.


    Fayughed at the irritation stered across Riven¡¯s features. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, if you¡¯ve been wearing it for a sustained amount of time I¡¯m sure the curse can¡¯t be that bad. If it was, you¡¯d likely have noticed already. Keep wearing it, the bonuses you get are likely better than the drawbacks. That¡¯s how they usually work.¡±


    The singsong ring of birds chirping in the canopy intermixed with a slow-moving river to their right, and Riven fell back a bit to let Azmoth¡¯srger frame push through the underbrush to create a path for him and the others while he began to use his two additional maws to carry the bin on his back. For a long while they trudged on in silence, enjoying the scenery around them and keeping it slow so that Dr. Brass was able to keep up. There was still no sign of Athing back to warn them of potential monsters, but they did asionally pass by warg carcasses and even a warped version of a grizzly bear with two heads that''d been mutted by the demoness. Fay was content humming to herself while she walked beside him, his staff asionally whipped from ce to ce as it inspected mushrooms or leaves, and Senna was beginning to fall asleep in her position in the bin.


    Riven eventually cleared his throat to break the silence shortly after crossing a small stream. ¡°So what are the other types of elvish cultures?¡±


    Ethel yawned, having temporarily forgotten she¡¯d been telling a story, but jumped at the opportunity to make conversation again. She still seemed slightly uneasy around Riven or the demons, but talking certainly helped her alleviate those remnant fears and she was quickly warming up to them. ¡°Oh yes, sorry. I got caught up in what Fay was saying. There are also blood elves, who originally started out as high elves but devoted themselves to the Unholy Foundational Pir. The pir warped their souls over the course of centuries, and they¡¯re often marked with unholy blood sigils that naturally grow on their bodies. They looked like red enchantments, and different bloodlines have different inherent blood sigils that give the elves who own them power. They also have ck eyes like Fay does, and they¡¯re shunned by the rest of the high elves that used to be their brethren many generations ago. Lastly there are the drow, but we don¡¯t really associate with them at all. The dark elves abandoned the surface elves long, long ago and are almost an entirely separate species now - they are also incredibly bloodthirsty, and they tend to lean towards the Unholy Foundational Pir like the blood elves do and live in the underdark.¡±


    ¡°And what exactly does your culture as a woond elf entail? Do you have holidays you celebrate? What kinds of foods do you eat? Are there any weird customs that you have?¡±


    Ethel let out a pure and sing-songugh with a smile that reached her ears. ¡°Well there¡¯s definitely one weird custom that even I think is ratherme! It¡¯s actually not a woond elf tradition though, rather it is a tradition to our vige. Every year at the summer solstice we dress up the two most troublesome elders and have them race one another. The one who loses gets pelted with food by the children while doing a ridiculous dance. Don¡¯t ask me how it got started, I don¡¯t really know.¡±


    Senna¡¯s voice carried over from where she was in the lead with Azmoth. ¡°We celebrate a couple holidays! The most important one is the Ceremonies of Life, and it¡¯s my favorite. It¡¯s where we give thanks for ten days to the Fae Mothers for creating their pir, as well as have light shows from elemental mages and parades or games revolving around nature. Lots of us get engaged during this time, it¡¯s kind of expected for at least a couple every year. We have lots of food too! We do eat meat, but not a lot of it. We consider life sacred and only take it if needed to feed ourselves, otherwise we are primarily vegetarian.¡±


    ¡°The opposite of you.¡± Ethel said with a crooked smile.


    Riven snorted in difort at the truth of that and then caught Ethel¡¯s expression next. Was she smirking at him? He felt a small smileing on as he began to realize that Ethel was actually trying to tease him.


    ¡°I¡¯m a sensitive new age vampire, I only suck juice out of carrots now.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°It is. I¡¯m a trend-setter.¡±


    She rolled her eyes with a silentlyughing expression and gave him a ¡®tisk tisk¡¯, along with a waggle of her fingers on her remaining right hand. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it.¡±


    He opened his mouth to reject her statement, but didn¡¯t get to start the sentence as he heard an uptick in a nearby heartbeat. He turned, barely looking in time to see a shadow passing through his peripheral vision. It immediately made him duck and whirl, and it was a very good thing he had.. An enormous axe connected to an arm nearly as thick as his waist blurred past, barely missing him and making the forest floor shudder in a spray of dirt as Riven stumbled back amidst Ethel¡¯s shriek of fright.


    ¡°AZMOTH!¡± Senna screamed just while she was thrown from the bin that therge demon had been carrying. Coins sprayed all over the forest floor. The injured elf bounced off the ground with a shriek, and watched as the demon who¡¯d been carrying her fall to the ground with his headpletely cleaved off his body at a point where his natural armor had been weakest. The others looked on, dumbfounded at the sight of one of their best fighters dead so instantaneously and without warning.


    <strong>[Your minion Azmoth has died. He will be returned to you 24 hours after you pay the blood price for your minion. To resurrect your level 30 infant hellscape brutalisk, you will be required to pay Elysium directly with a sum of 30,000 Elysium coins. Simply will this transaction to happen and make sure you have the required payment to further this agenda.]</strong>

 Chapter 95: (Marked for Editing)

    Chapter 95: (Marked for Editing)


    <strong>Chapter 95</strong>


    Senna tried to get up on her injured leg and tripped backwards, hobbling towards the tree line to get away from the monster that¡¯d made its presence known to the pale-faced and jittery party members not far off.


    Riven was now staring at a huge, rotund cyclops. It was nearly as tall as some of trees nearby, with a brown horn protruding above its single yellow eye. Each of its two hands had three sausage-like fingers, its nose looked like it¡¯d only partially grown out withrge slits in ce of nostrils, and its ugly, toothy grin disyed many sharpened and crooked teeth.


    It didn¡¯t wear any clothes, and was about half as wide as it was tall - with rolls of fat that jiggled with the step it took forward as it leaned in and grinned at Riven and Ethel like it¡¯d just found its next meal. Huge muscles rippled underneath its fat, and it¡¯d obviously been waiting in hiding for them in order to get the drop on them. ¡°SNACK!¡±


    <strong>[Cyclops]</strong>


    ¡°NEFAJIA CRECUS BLOOD NOVA!¡±


    <strong>*SNAP-CRACK-BOOM*</strong>


    Riven dropped the elf and the area of the forest around Riven exploded in all directions due to the initial shockwave, tearing up rock, dirt and tree alike in a boom of crimson power that lit up the forest in an eerie glow and could be heard for miles. It rocked the very earth they stood upon, and the cyclops was thrown backwards from the st going head over heels only to meet an enormous orb of condensed blood magic that expanded and tore out from Riven¡¯s cupped hands. The orb from Blood Nova broke the sound barrier with a sonic boom and ripped into the monster like an atomic bomb, emitting a secondary thunderp of power that shook the very ground Riven stood on. Fortunately the blood mana itself bypassed the bin of his loot and the members of Riven¡¯s party onmand, leaving them utterly unharmed other than wobbling slightly amidst the st of power despite a radiating shockwave that tore through the ground underneath them. A swarm of sharp crimson discsunched simultaneously along with a torrent of ck lightning from his staff which was floating in the air behind him and acting of its own ord. Thebination blow was utterly devastating, tearing through dirt and thick foliage along its path to m into the cyclops head on with brutal effect.


    The ground was shaken and ripped from where the giant cyclops knelt and flung debris into the air; intermixing with pieces of therge cyclops body when the magic ruptured its internal organs and tore through its limbs, spine and head with deadly force in a spray of blood that looked like an enormous popping water balloon. The effect was only heightened by each of the embedded discs as the power he¡¯d stabilized them with erupted, sending explosive shrapnel tearing through the body and across the nearby forest like a grenade to follow up the initial torrent of overwhelming power while ck lightning ripped the remnant muscles right off sets of charred bone.<strong>[Blood Nova¡¯s mandatory 8 hour cooldown has been triggered.]</strong>


    It was certainly overkill, but Riven didn¡¯t take any chances after seeing Azmoth so easily killed like that. Pausing and evaluating the wreckage, pieces of the cyclops were scattered across the scorched earth for over a hundred yards. A handy there, a portion of its skull further ahead, a charred femur off to his right.


    But the majority of the corpsey as a disassembled and shattered skeleton: smoking in the sunlight where the trees had been uprooted or torn away not far off.


    He coughed, grimacing due to the sunlight that was now hitting him full on after the shockwave had blown his hood back. He promptly pulled his hood back down, then made sure the others were ok.


    They were in shock, but they were all fine.


    A sack of coins appeared out of thin air,nding on the beast, but he didn¡¯t pay it much attention due to the severe headache he suddenly had after expending so much mana at once.


    He walked ahead, came to a stop next to the fried cyclops and kicked it once for his own satisfaction - only to notice that its yellow eye had not been entirely destroyed. In its ce, within the majority of the skull that still remained after the attack, there was a small green orb that¡¯d been left there.


    He reached over, feeling the residual heat from his attack - and grasped the orb to pull it closer for examination.


    <strong>[Cyclops Eye Stone: Ingredient for various crafts. Potential Effects: ???, ???, ???]</strong>


    Huh. Interesting.


    He tossed the green eye stone over Senna, who was gaping at him in bewilderment, and itnded in the bin of loot not far off.


    ¡°Everyone ok?¡±


    He looked around again. Even Fay was somewhat awestruck at the disy of power, and she began to smile when she more thoroughly evaluated the devastation around them.


    ¡°Wow. You¡¯re improving really fast.¡± the subus muttered slowly. ¡°The time I spent watching you from theher realms¡­ I thought you were a fast learner, but this? This is an insane amount of growth in such a short time. I didn¡¯t even have a chance to do anything.¡±


    Ethel, Dr. Brass, and Senna were still just open-mouthed and gawking. It only took a secondter and Ath rushed into the clearing at blinding speed, swiftly stopped in front of the destruction with chest heaving up and down frantically. The demoness quickly caught sight of his injuries and ran over to him, inspecting his body for anything serious andughing. ¡°Sorry I¡¯mte! Did Azmoth die?! Damn it! Resurrections are expensive!¡±


    Riven sighed and scratched the back of his head, looking at the bin of shit he¡¯d now have to lug around. ¡°Yeah. And now we¡¯re going to need to wait for him to respawn so we can haul our stuff again. Even with my increased strength, that thing is too heavy for me to carry around all over the ce. Those coins weigh a lot.¡±


    ***


    They had to make camp that night in the forest at the base of the mountains. After realizing the extent of Riven¡¯s exhaustion from that mana expenditure, and not having fully recovered from his previous fights with the dream creatures, it¡¯d been a no brainer. Ethel even came to check on him once, hobbling over and clutching at her bandaged stump arm with a look of concern.


    ¡°Is he going to be alright?¡± the elf asked Ath and Fay,ing back from relieving herself in the forest and stepping over a log. Meanwhile Dr. Brass and Senna talked on the other side about varieties of elvish dishes native to Senna¡¯s home.


    Ath had Riven¡¯s head in herp, gently brushing her fingers through Riven¡¯s hair while he lightly let his chest rise and fall. He was so out of it that he was even drooling into her leg. She gave a soft smile, wiped the drool away without waking him and bent over further to adjust his shirt. ¡°Riven¡¯s going to be alright. He¡¯s tough.¡±


    Ethel sat herself down on a log they¡¯d dragged over, feelingfortable in the warmth of the night with Ath¡¯s webs encircling their encampment for dozens of yards in any direction to alert the demoness if enemies were approaching. In this new world there were far more monsters than her old one, and that wasn¡¯t even counting the goblins that¡¯d been dropped into their immediate area.


    The young woman crossed her ankles and let her feet warm up next to the fire, wincing slightly when her stump on the left arm brushed a little too hard against the ground while trying to adjust her sitting position. Her ankle still hurt from when she sprained it recently, but it could be worse. She could be dead, being destined to be chopped liver for some disgusting goblin tribe to feed on. ¡°You said there wasn¡¯t magic in Riven¡¯s world, right Ath?¡±


    The arshakai demoness nodded absentmindedly, still ying with Riven¡¯s hair as he slept. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    There was a long pause.


    ¡°Because that magic Riven demonstrated today, and back in the hospital: it was very powerful. The leveling system is new to me, to my people, but magic is not. I know it takes a very long time to develop that kind of power and cultivation of one¡¯s magical prowess.¡±


    Another long pause ensued, with Ath curiously staring the blonde, slender elf down with a cool gaze as her red eyes locked onto her. The crackling of the fire continued to let plumes of smoke rise into the starry night sky, and Ethel adjusted ufortably again under the scrutiny of Riven¡¯s demon.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only been here since the integration. It¡¯s been a little over two months by my guess.¡±


    Ethel slowly nodded, shifting her gaze away from Ath to stare at the fire where it ate away at the branches and logs they¡¯d piled up in the middle of their camp. She gave a nce to Fay, who was loungingzily nearby and looking up at the stars, but the subus made noment even despite obviously listening in.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Ethel swallowed. ¡°I just wanted to hear it again. It just doesn¡¯t make sense to me, even with the leveling system. Some of our more aplished people went through tutorials or unique starter events of their own just like Riven did. Not many, but some. None of them came out like this¡­ If I may ask, do you know what Riven¡¯s affinities are?¡±


    Ath paused the brushing of Riven¡¯s hair and sped her hands in front of her on Riven¡¯s rising chest. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Ethel¡¯s blue-green eyes slowly shifted over to the arachnoid woman. Still slightly nervous in the demoness¡¯ presence, Ethel could tell that Ath likely knew exactly what she was talking. ¡°It must be high, and he must have at least two of them from what I¡¯ve seen. Blood and Unholy I think? Prettymon for a vampire.¡±


    A light and pure chuckle escaped Ath¡¯s lips with a brilliantly white smile that danced on the corners of her mouth amidst the firelight. She grabbed something to her left. Then in her hand, she held up some of the ash that Azmoth¡¯s body had turned into after his temporary death, and she let it flow out into the breeze when the winds picked up - carrying the ashes high up into the treetops. ¡°Fine. Oh I know what they are all right. It¡¯s why I originally presented myself to Riven in the first ce, during that odd little event he was a part of. I¡¯m still curious about who or what Chalgathi is, but regardless - I am d to have hit such a jackpot of a master.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Fay stated casually, clicking her tongue and swatting the ground with her long ck tail.


    Ath¡¯s smile grew wider at the looks of confusion or curiosity disyed not only on Ethel¡¯s countenance, but also on Senna, and Dr. Brass. ¡°And that was even before I realized he was a pureblood vampire.¡±


    Senna¡¯s eyes abruptly widened. ¡°Pureblood? I thought they were extinct?¡±


    Ath shot the silver-haired elf a disdainful look. The demoness was constantly shifting between showing the two elves kindness and disgust - an internal battle waging between how she¡¯d been raised as a demon to despise mortals as lesser creatures, and the experiences she¡¯d witnessed in the short time with her first and new master. Internally willing herself to draw in the repulsion she felt for the girl across the firepit for being a fae creature of all things, she took in a deep breath and reminded herself that Riven had gone out of his way to save these pathetic women. ¡°Pureblooded vampires are certainly not extinct, they exist in rare quantities though. Usually you¡¯ll find them in ancient families of vampire royalty within the core worlds¡­ the worlds integrated earliest into Elysium¡¯s multiverse many millions of years ago.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s a pureblooded vampire doing here? Is that why his eyes are different from the other vampires I¡¯ve heard of?¡± Senna curiously nced at Fay when the subus snickered. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    The subus didn¡¯t answer.


    Ath let out a long burp, but covered her mouth when Riven started to stir. He didn¡¯t wake, and her body rxed a bit as she went back to ying with his hair. ¡°Anyways¡­ regarding your question, Ethel: I don¡¯t think it¡¯d hurt to let you know. It isn¡¯t damaging information, and I suppose Riven would probably tell you on his own¡­ but let me ask you this. What do your people have in terms of affinities?¡±


    ¡°What do we have?¡± Ethel queried.


    ¡°Yes. What types of magics and what do you think your average affinity would be as a percentage? In your vige, or tribe, or whatever it is you mortals call it.¡±


    Ethel blinked, then proudly smiled and puffed her chest out. ¡°Our n is known for Forest and Storm affinities. Of course, in order to get those major sub-pirs we have arge majority of our people having affinities to the Fae Foundational Pir. Senna, what do you think the average affinity would be? 32 or 33 percent?¡±


    Senna also swelled with pride. ¡°Yes, some people in our n have affinities in the Forest pir as high as 49%.¡±


    Dr. Brass curiously raised a hand. ¡°Is that high?¡±


    ¡°Very high!¡± Ethel replied excitedly. ¡°I myself have a Forest affinity of 28%, which is pretty good! Below average for our n, but overall suitable for apetent ranger, beast tamer, mage or shaman. Otherwise I have a 12% Fae pir affinity, which isn¡¯t great but it couldnd me an ability if I took a decade to study enough from our elders. I haven¡¯t selected my ss yet, but we did have sses back in our world too. Back then it just helped orient your studies and gave t bonuses, with the system guiding us in how we saw the world and experienced the dao insights we happened upon. sses seem to be more important now though, because leveling exists now and they give stat points for every level. Better sses means more progress for each level, therefore more power, so I¡¯m hoping to get a better ss option soon. Otherwise I might really be an alchemist like my mother has been telling me to do for years!¡±


    Senna snorted with amusement while picking at a piece of gran bar they¡¯d taken from the hospital - shoving it into her mouth and chewing in contemtion. ¡°That¡¯s certainly be something to see. You¡¯ve been a rebel all your life Ethel, I¡¯d pay good money to see you ditch the adventuring life.¡±


    <em>¡°Well it isn¡¯t like I¡¯ve got the odds on my side!¡±</em> Ethel snapped back irritably, waving her stump arm around before sagging her shoulders apologetically. ¡°Eh¡­ Sorry, didn¡¯t mean to yell at you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯d be upset too. So Ath, you never did say what Riven¡¯s affinities were. Does he have pirs for all of his affinities yet? I¡¯ve been curious myself, it¡¯s way too early to be that strong if he just started cultivating his magic. ¡±


    Ath shook her head and shared a look with the blue-skinned woman nearby, exchanging knowing smiles. ¡°He hasn¡¯t collected all of his pirs, not yet.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Just some of them then. How high are they?¡±


    Dr. Brass held up a hand to interject. ¡°Why does it matter and what do affinities mean?¡±


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    There was a sh of green light further into the forest and the sound of splintering wood. They all turned to look past theyers of webbing Ath had set up across the trees. Out there, beyond the perimeter, one of Fay¡¯s sigils had been triggered. Out of the darkness the front paw of a warg bounced along the ground, showing just what hade a little bit too close to the camp for its own good, and causing Fay to wordlessly get up and walk out of the camp to remake the sigil that¡¯d been undone.


    Ath raised an eyebrow at the departing blue subus - then turned to the old man, light from the fire dancing along her pitch ck skin. ¡°Affinites directly affect the chance to receive ability cooldowns, the power output you can reach for every point of given energy spent on an ability, the speed at which you can use enact those abilities, the maniption of abilities to do things other than the rigid outline the system sets for you, and the ability at which you learn things under the umbre of a given pir. Essentially having a higher affinity for a pir will allow you to control or learn magic, miracles or martial arts in that pir far better than if that affinity were lower. As for Riven¡¯s affinities¡­¡±


    Ath, being Riven¡¯s minion, had ess to his status page and scrolled down to where it described his pir percentages.<ul><li><strong>100% affinity to the Blood Pir, 96% Affinity to the Shadow Pir, and 95% Affinity to the Death Pir. The Unholy Pir is unaffected by this change and remains at its original state of 80%. The Infernal Pir is unaffected by this change and remains at its original state of 82%.</strong></li></ul>


    Funnily enough, the subpirs of Chaos and Depravity were not listed to tell Ath what their affinity levels were. That was alright though, perhaps he just didn¡¯t have them, but she doubted that was the case. His affinity for the foundational Unholy pir was too high not to have them. Perhaps there was some other reason that she was missing, but in the end they¡¯d find out regardless. Usually a status page didn¡¯t do this at all, and someone had to get an identifier to read off a percentage for them, but for some reason Riven¡¯s vampiric lineage actually informed them what these percentages were.


    A smug smirk crept back over Ath¡¯s lips and she just shook her head slightly. ¡°Natural born vampires usually have affinities for the Unholy, Death, Blood and Shadow pirs. It is intrinsically part of what they are. Changed vampires though, they can oftentimesck the Unholy foundational pir as the vampiric transition only passes down the other three. Kind of an enigma that one.¡±


    ¡°So which ones does Riven have then? Obviously he has the Unholy pir, everyone has at least one affinity, but does he have any of the sub-pirs?¡±


    ¡°He has all four of the typical vampiric affinities plus the Infernal Pir. I also suspect he might have the Chaos and Depravity subpirs as well, though that is not confirmed yet.¡±


    Ethel raised her eyebrows in avid surprise. ¡°Oh! Oh wow. He seriously has five affinities? I¡¯ve never even heard of that happening before¡­ I don¡¯t think ever. I only have Fae and Forest.¡±


    ¡°What are his percentages?¡± Senna, asked, slightly more intrigued.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say they¡¯re all above 50%.¡±


    Both elves stared nkly at Ath, then turned to look at where Riven was still exhausted and sleeping from the expenditure of mana after the fight earlier that day. In an instant, both elves started berating Ath with questions and asking more about Riven¡¯s origins.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling us the truth?¡± Ethel questioned seriously, eyebrows furrowed and peering over half-skeptically and half in awe. ¡°That¡¯s incredible! That also exins why he¡¯s so strong after so little time¡­¡±


    ¡°He learned how to conjure those spinning discs of razor des within two days of study.¡± Ath chimed in, pride evident in the way she raised her chin. She held up 2 fingers. ¡°Two days to learn his very first spell.¡±


    Ethel narrowed her eyes. ¡°No, you¡¯re lying. That¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not lying, I watched it happen.¡± Fay¡¯s voice called out before the subus swayed her hips back and forth into the encampment again,ing to sit cross-legged next to Ath¡¯s position. She rested her head on her fists and leaned forward to better look at the fire. ¡°Riven is, simply put, a genius when ites to understanding magic. Perhaps not in other areas, but when it concerns mana he''s an absolute prodigy surpassing anything I''ve ever seen before. Couple that with his insanely high affinities and this is what you''ve got. I¡¯ve been watching him since the Chalgathi trials. What Ath says is true.¡±


    Dr. Brass scratched his chin, trying to make sense of all this new information. Meanwhile both elves exchanged nces with one another, not sure if they should believe the two demons, but it was Ath who spoke next.


    ¡°You¡¯re the subus that he could have picked in his trials.¡± She turned her head to meet Fay¡¯s gaze. ¡°Aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Fay remained silent for a time, but eventually nodded her confirmation. ¡°They were the best Earth had to offer.¡±


    ¡°You would have sacrificed all of your levels to acquire one?¡± Ath asked curiously.


    Fay nodded again. ¡°Obviously. Just look at how much you''ve grown already, and it''s been less than 3 months.¡±


    This very much confused Ethel, and the injured elf raised her stump arm and waved it around to get their attention. ¡°Hey, uhm, what are you talking about? What are these trials you¡¯re talking about, and who are you talking about when you say they were the ¡®best¡¯ Earth had to offer?¡±


    Fay let out a lightheartedugh, then repositioned herself and kicked her long, sky-blue legs to the side - adjusting her clothes and brushing off dirt from her exposed abdomen. ¡°The unique event we talked to you about earlier concerning Earth¡¯s integration¡­ Well there were many unique events. But the one that I was interested in was Chalgathi¡¯s Trials. They had all of the people on Earth who inherited unholy bloodlines present, and they were therefore the best candidates for acquiring new masters. I would have lost some of my abilities and all of my acquired levels to participate, but obtaining a master with an unholy bloodline would mean my potential for growth skyrocketed. Riven was one of the people I picked out Early as a good candidate, and back then when he chose Ath instead of me - I decided to wait. I waited to try and get the next opening. Then Azmoth came along and I had to wait some more, but demons have very long lives and I am patient. Thest and only master I had kept me as a ything for over 300 years. In that time I grew only 20 levels, but with Riven? I expect to far surpass that number in less than half a year¡­ as long as he survives.¡±


    "He''s going to survive." Ath stated tly.


    Fay could only smile. "That is my intended n as well."

 Chapter 96

    Chapter 96


    <strong>Chapter 96</strong>


    Riven¡¯s recovery was a little longer than any of them had expected. He slept far into the mid afternoon of the next day, and the others let him do it without interruption. Ath was able to hunt down and carry back a deer, and Fay went out to collect some berries and nuts. Meanwhile Dr. Brass stayed with the two elf girls. If something was to attack them they¡¯d be sure to wake Riven up, but otherwise the amount of power he¡¯d expended over the past few days was enormous. There was even a huge scar left in the forest that was still smoking trails of remnant crimson mana a ways off the next day from where he¡¯d sted that cyclops, with many of them agreeing it was overkill.


    Night was falling again in a brilliant array of orange hues on the horizon, and Riven finally woke up to the sound ofughter and joking amidst the others. Azmoth had reappeared as well after paying the blood price of 30,000 Elysium coins for a resummoning, with a chunk of the coins they¡¯d collected at the hospital disappearing into thin air, and the huge demon was being taught how to y rock paper scissors by Fay. The subus had to repeatedly correct him,ughing at his joyous outbursts whenever he falsely thought he¡¯d won. When Fay was asked where she¡¯d learned the game herself - she stated that she¡¯d had an opportunity to study Riven¡¯s culture upon integration just like Ath had. To an extent, anyway.


    Riven rubbed his eyes with a yawn, stomach growling while he rolled over to watch the pair. He then lifted himself up off the pile of small nkets they¡¯d taken from the hospital. He was beginning to get hungry again, not just for blood this time either. This didn¡¯t surprise him at all, considering he¡¯d likely been asleep a long time if he was seeing another sunset - but despite this he was still a little concerned about a constant food source concerning mortal blood. He didn¡¯t know where he was going to get it without basically kidnapping someone or creating a mind-ve thrall, and his appetite was voracious. Funnily enough it was the first thing he thought of while sitting up, and those thoughts immediately centered on the people at the prison they¡¯d scouted out with that teenager¡¯s mapping ability in the basement of the hospital. If there were truly some bad people there that he could pick off and put into a cage of some sort to feed off of regrly, that¡¯d be far more preferable than trying to suck the blood of random and innocent people for survival purposes.


    He¡¯d have to make this trip to the elf vige a fast one.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Ethel¡¯s voice brought him out of his thoughts on hunger, and he blinked with a friendly smile when the elf hobbled over to sit next to him. ¡°How are you feeling?!¡±


    Her brilliant grin caught him off guard and he couldn¡¯t help but stare for a second before rubbing his eyes and yawning. ¡°Great! How¡¯s your arm?¡±


    She flipped her long blonde hair over to one side and held up the bandaged stump. ¡°Not great, but I¡¯ll live. Thanks to you anyways. Are you hungry? You¡¯ve been sleeping for almost an entire day now.¡±


    She reached over to her side, producing a b of cooked venison wrapped in arge leaf akin to pine leaves, but with tiny ridges instead of a smooth edge.Riven¡¯s stomach audibly rumbled and he gave an apologetic nce over to Ethel before taking the b of venison, at which she just smiled. Biting into the meat without any reservations, he groaned - feeling the medium-well texture and vor of it coating his taste buds with warm deliciousness.


    ¡°My god. Thank you.¡±


    Ethel head-bobbed over to the arachnoid demoness who was lounging in a hammock made from webbing. ¡°Thank Ath! She¡¯s the one who caught it. I¡¯m d to see you¡¯re feeling better though!¡±


    ¡°As am I!¡± Fay called out from next to Dr. Brass - who was drawing pictures in the dirt with a stick he¡¯d found. She gave Riven a thumbs up and arge grin, spreading her bat-like wings out to either side. ¡°You ready to go soon!? The rest of us have been waiting FOREVER for you to get your beauty sleep!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Fay, well at least I don¡¯t snore like you do.¡±


    Fay¡¯s jaw dropped, and Ath burst intoughter. ¡°I DO NOT SNORE!¡±


    ¡°Ath, does Fay snore?¡±


    ¡°Like a big ol¡¯ hog squeal. Sounds a lot like HRREEEEEEE with each wheeze-snore she makes.¡±


    <strong>*SMACK*</strong>


    ¡°OWWW!! Hey, Hey-HEY! FAY, YOU PUT THAT DOWN RIGHT NOW!¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes in amusement and continued to eat the venison, ignoring the two demons as Fay chased Ath around with a stick whacking her repeatedly. Despite the shit-talking, they were obviously having a good time andughing about the whole ordeal. It was good to see Fay getting along with Ath so easily and so quickly, because in Riven¡¯s opinion - Ath could use some girl friends. Azmoth was great, but he wasn¡¯t much of a talker and he was still a lot younger than anyone else here despite his size.


    Ethel remained sitting nearby, asionally smirking at the two demons and otherwise shooting Riven hesitant nces while he ate. It was obvious she wanted to talk about something with him, but her awkwardness didn¡¯t help things and she was slowly starting to turn a shade of red while she fidgeted.


    Well, she may be nervous. She¡¯de a long ways since screaming in horror when first seeing him, and he knew his charisma stat certainly didn¡¯t help things either.


    Riven raised an eyebrow, swallowed another bite, and cleared his throat. ¡°Are you excited to get home soon?¡±


    Ethel shot Senna a look and gestured her way, happy to continue the conversation instead of mull around in silence. ¡°Senna is a bit more excited than I am, but yes. I¡¯ll be happy to be home too.¡±


    Her words were a little less than convincing, and Riven was more than just a bit confused by the way her facial expression and bodynguage changed. She was wrapping her good arm around her knees and resting her jaw on top, looking at the ground with a suddenly far-away gaze of uncertainty.


    He put the venison down, wrapping it up in the leaf to make sure it didn¡¯t get dirty. ¡°So¡­ is there something you want to talk about? You don¡¯t look convinced. Is everything ok?¡±


    She let out a snort in response. ¡°I love my family, I want to see them. It¡¯s just that since the transition and merging of worlds, the leadership of the n has been less than great to deal with.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ personal stuff. I¡¯d rather not talk about it.¡±


    It was obvious she wanted to talk about it.


    Riven paused, then nodded. ¡°Well if you end up changing your mind - let me know.¡±


    They waited another half hour and then began to collect their belongings, with Senna being especially anxious to get back. Riven took time to call Allie through themunication orb to update his sister, and the remnants of sunset fell below the horizon as nightpletely epassed the sky. Dr. Brass, Senna, and Ethel couldn¡¯t see very well in the dark shade of the oak trees at night, but the moonlight and starlight did help illuminate the forest for them somewhat. It also made the snow capped mountains to their right look rather majestic and made them all feel quite small from where they were walking. Meanwhile the demons and vampire in their group had no problem at all, navigating the darkness without missing a single step. Dr. Brass asionally stumbled, but the two elves were back to being carried like earlier due to their injuries.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Should be able to see the vige just over this next hill!¡± Senna eximed excitedly after seeing a wooden marking post and pointing to it. ¡°That marks the outer boundary of our patrols!¡±


    ¡°Patrols? Are they going to attack us if they see us?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll see Ethel and I too, it¡¯ll be fine!¡±


    Riven was skeptical. ¡°... I sure hope so. What¡¯s your home like?¡±


    Ethel was the one to answer, exaggeratedly moving her arms about while Riven princess-carried the injured girl through the forest. ¡°We set up next to ake! It¡¯s a bit different than our old vige, most of our belongings were lost in the merging but we kept some of them. The n is in the process of building a new home for ourselves again, and most of our people stuck together through the transition¡­ thankfully. Some people never showed up after their tutorials, but a lot of npleted their tutorials or didn¡¯t have tutorials at all and were paired together. We used our shamans to grow homes right out of the trees with magic, or at least we¡¯ve started the process¡­ but haven¡¯tpletely finished yet because our amount of shamans is limited. A lot of us are still in tents or small easy-to-make cabins.¡±


    Riven nodded thoughtfully without a reply. He only hoped they wouldn¡¯t attack on sight.


    They traveled up a long slope for a couple miles after that. There were thicker trees in this area and scattered boulders dotting the forest, and they finally crested the next hill after the wooden stake for a marker was passed. Finallying to the top, they looked out into the southeast where Senna had said her vige would be. However, as they all gathered, Senna let out a gasp¡­ and Ethel stifled a cry of her own.


    Maybe a mile from where they were now was more or less a clearing. The trees were still present, but were bothrger in size and thinned in number. A glisteningke surrounded by forest at the base of the mountain shimmered in the light of a burning vige, and even from here they could all see that there were figures moving about with magical sts of light exchanging betweenbatants.


    <em>¡°No!!!¡±</em> Ethel whispered in his arms, and Senna immediately began to cry.


    God fucking damn it. What a load of horse shit, could he not catch a break?!


    Riven didn¡¯t even think about it, turning to put Ethel down on the hilltop. ¡°Looks like this is a tale of never ending violence for me. You three wait here and hide, we don¡¯t know what¡¯s there and frankly none of you are fighting capable right now. My demons and I will handle this.¡±


    Azmoth pushed Senna into Dr. Brass¡¯s arms, who grunted at the exertion of holding the young woman.


    Dr. Brass then began to protest. ¡°I can help you! You might need me!¡±


    Fay stifled a snort.


    ¡°You have no training and no magic.¡± Ath stated simply with a flick of her hair out to the side, spear-like spider limbs ripping out of her back while she began to stretch. ¡°You¡¯re pretty worthless. You shouldn¡¯t be itching for a fight until Riven changes you and trains you.¡±


    Thement stung the old man, but he grimaced and didn¡¯t make an effort to reply.


    Azmoth grunted his agreement, cinders beginning to light up across his obsidian tes or exposed fibery muscles, and pointed a long armored and wed finger at the obviously anxious man. ¡°You will just get in way. Stay safe here, wee back. You fight when strong one day.¡±


    Ethel and Senna both looked up to him with obvious emotional turmoil, and Senna managed to get out a hoarse whisper of a request. ¡°Please help them. My family is there.¡±


    Riven put his runic mask on, nodded once with crimson eyes shing, and whirled around. Then with a final wave he sprinted off into the night - blurring ahead with speed none of the others except Ath could match. Fay took to the sky, blending in with the darkness above - but Riven could feel her presence there. He was curious about how she¡¯d fit in with theirbat style, and was even a bit eager to find out. He just wished it was under other circumstances. Unsummoning Azmoth, he stored hisrger demon in theher realms so he could re-summon him when closer when needed and picked up the pace.


    The underbrush rose to meet him and Riven plowed through it, taking out bushes or small trees that got in his way like they were nothing with a simple swing of his ck, fleshy staff. The weapon began to heat up in his hand and shimmered with shadow magic, sensing a battle at hand.


    His heart grew grim when he began to hear the sounds of battle in the distance. Part of him wondered why the vige was being attacked, what reason they had for doing so, and if he was wrong for throwing himself into a pitched battle without realizing the stakes. What if he was joining the wrong side? What if Senna and Ethel¡¯s people were in the wrong somehow? What if they were all elves, and he couldn¡¯t even tell the difference between the two groups?


    This was stupid. But he continued on anyway, with the images of the distraught elves he¡¯d left on the hillside shing through his mind. He didn¡¯t know them well, but he did know them now. They¡¯d asked for his help, and he was going to give it.


    The light of mes began to grow closer, and the screams of civilians andbatants alike echoed around him across the trees. Despite this, Ath began to cackle mischievously while the two of them rocketed forwards through the dark - and Riven couldn¡¯t help but feel a flood of adrenaline and excitement coursing through him when he saw her looking like that. His feelings of uncertainty waned and faded, and his mind became a clean-cut razor as his shard of gluttony began to howl within.


    Despite the horrors that certainly awaited, he couldn¡¯t deny the stimting emotions he got whenever he entered these life and death struggles. Not only that, but he was bing damn good at winning them too.


    It wasn¡¯t much longer until they reached the vige boundary. Thankfully when the two of them finally got there it was easy to tell who was an enemy, versus those who were defending their home.


    They broke out of the forest¡¯s edge and into a clearing that onlysted for another forty yards before another thicket of trees, tents, and small cabins were clustered along the edge of argeke. Some of the unusuallyrge trees had buildings built right into them as if the wood itself was being grown to someone¡¯s specifications - creating small or evenrge abodes where families or stores would have been. Many were burning though, fires eating away at the wood or cloth of the tents and numerous peopley dead along the ground or in chains.


    The ones being dragged over to a central spot in the clearing were definitely elves, with heavy iron manacles around their ankles and wrists with chains connecting them at iron cors. Many of them were bruised, bloodied and had various colors of silver, blonde, blue, and red hair with pointed ears and fair, symmetrical features. The elves wore animal skins, furs, and clothes made of interwoven leaves with much of their skin being exposed even on the males. Many also had the same blue tribal paints that he¡¯d first found on Senna and Ethel. The remaining defenders not in chains mostly wielded longbows, daggers and thin swords that looked like a cross between a longsword and a scimitar with a curve at the end. Some of them even wielded abilities usually in the form of radiant green light that healed their allies, vines ripping out of the ground to entangle enemies, gusts of wind that billowed around their melee fighters to divert enemy attacks, or yellow elemental lightning that tore through numerous enemies at once. The defenders were desperately outnumbered though, and a lot of those already captured were in obvious distress. They couldn¡¯t do much in the conditions they were in either, resorting to sobbing or crying out to loved ones and begging them to win as the remaining fighters fought back against green-skinned intruders that came in two variants.


    The first of these variants were the goblins Riven was already familiar with. There were hundreds of them, probably about three hundred of them left. They were short, sniveling little creatures with sharp teeth and ws that stood about three or four feet tall at most. They held little regard for their own lives, with many of them already sprawled in death across the vige and the remaining ones throwing themselves ravenously at the elvish defenders. They could usually be seen carrying small daggers or hatches and would try to swarm their enemies with numbers, quickly proving this method effective to Riven¡¯s eyes but also ending up with many dead of their own.


    The second variant of green-skinned enemies were less numerous but farrger, evenrger than normal humans or the elves they were fighting. By way of identification, these were orcs. They were huge, muscr humanoids with bulging muscles and wore simr clothes to those of the elves in terms of the furs they wore - though they didn¡¯t have any clothes made of leaves and substituted it for hardened leather much of the time. They mostly had axes, broader short swords akin to a dius, thick wooden buckler shields and shortbows that they¡¯d use for ranged weapons. The bigger or older the orc warrior, the more often they presented themselves with tusks - and many of them had either braided ck hair that came down the back of their heads or they didn¡¯t have any hair at all. Of note, there were also a trio of three casters in their raiding party - shamans most likely by the way they dressed with wooden, painted face masks adorned with feathers and the gnarled staffs they used. They too channeled healing spells, but instead of vines and lightning bolts they focused on keeping their dozens of warriors safe with buffs. Their magics shielded their front-liners with auras of earthy brown and orange hues, deflecting many of the lightning bolts or arrows thrown at the orc attackers.


    Riven only stopped a half-second to take all of this in, his mind easily sorting through it all in an instant - a feat he wouldn¡¯t have been able to do as a normal human before the integration. Perhaps this was because his intelligence stat had increased, or perhaps it had something to do with his vampiric evolution. Possibly even both. Regardless, he immediately set a n with a wide and bloodthirsty smile on his lips underneath his runic ck and red mask. Despite helping the elves he¡¯d semi-befriended since arriving in Panu, this was also an excuse to kill. It was an excuse to gain levels.


    But most of all it was an excuse to feed.

 Chapter 97

    Chapter 97


    <strong>Chapter 97</strong>


    The predator inside screamed with excitement alongside gluttony¡¯s core, but he kept his sanity and mentally tugged at Fay¡¯s contract. The subusnded beside him within seconds, eagerly standing with sped hands in front of her.


    ¡°Azmoth will be the focal point. Ath, do your thing as soon as I start. Assassinate on the bigger threats first if you can. Fay, we¡¯re sticking to the shadows for a while. They can¡¯t see us as well as we can see them, and we¡¯re using that to our advantage due to the numbers difference. I want you to set up perimeters around me while I work, keep them quarantined with your explosive sigils.¡±


    Ath vanished in an instant, and Rivenunched himself upwards into the branches of a very tall tree nearby. Hended lightly on his feet, the subus beside him already starting to create a pattern of explosive unholy mana traps below where they now stood overlooking the battle. Five, then ten, then twenty, and then dozens of sigils shed below them - drawing some attention from the battlefield but not enough to create any shift in the enemy movements just yet. Fay¡¯s hands were held up in front of her, pointing to spots she wanted the traps to be ced, until she gave Riven a nod.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± Fay stated with a gulp and slight fidgeting of her hands. ¡°Do you want me to set up a dreamwalker zone?¡±


    Curse of the Dreamwalker was the ability she had to cause hallucinations for anyone Fay deemed as an enemy. Riven nodded once, then nced over his shoulder onest time as screams and the sh of battle continued to echo out across the vige. ¡°Can you make it look like my magical attacks areing from other angles?¡±


    Fay cocked her head to the side, then nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good. Do that then and make it as big as possible. Don¡¯t be nervous, here we go.¡±


    He raised his staff, and the weapon shivered with excitement before exploding with a torrent of dark energy.<strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    The ck lightning strike obliterated the two of the unaware backline orc shamans in a single go - shredding their bodies and peeling flesh off bone before they even had time to scream. The ground around them exploded, and Fay¡¯s magic sprang to life with a huge, expanding globe of green and ck light. Suddenly the entire rear of the orc unit started scrambling and screaming, numbers of them dying as blood was ripped off the corpses of the battlefield - solidifying to form razors that tore through their ranks.


    It was like all hell had suddenly broken loose. Fake magical attacks simting Riven¡¯s own came out from all over, covering Riven¡¯s true location all along the outer vige perimeter with hallucinations of ck lightning, crimson ice, and bloody razors while the globe of Fay¡¯s magic grew to epass the entire northern vige edge before stopping. Ath was quick on the uptake too, zipping in and out through the scrambling orcs and ripping through throats or stabbing hearts at rapid pace while focusing the orc archers first. Whenever she was spotted, she¡¯d disappear again only to reappear elsewhere - using the prisoners, trees or nearby buildings to fade in and out of enemy lines with her superior speed.


    One of the orc shamans had barely managed to erect a defensive aura of brown and orange light around himself right before Riven¡¯s initial attack had hit though. His tworades, the other shamans, went up in clouds of red mist amidst the destructive torrent of obsidian energy - but he¡¯d been thrown back through a small crowd of the orcs chaining prisoners to one another in a line.


    ¡°RRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!¡±


    Riven wasn¡¯t pulling any punches and a good portion of the greenskins turned in shock, confusion or anger to look towards the treeline where most of the attacks wereing from.


    Some of them started paling outright even despite the tone of their skin when they saw Azmoth erupt roaring from a portal of mes to rip an orc warrior¡¯s head right off with two wed hands. Breathing a vortex of mes into a crowd of goblins that¡¯d rushed over to help, the little green men withered in shrieking agony and the absolute tank of a hellscape demon beat his chest with another earthshattering roar. He dwarfed even thergest of the orc warriors and rushed like a freight train into the midst of battle, ignoring Riven¡¯s strikes and Fay¡¯s hallucinations while barreling into a small crowd of green-skinned warriors. His extra maws writhed up over his back like snakes and started snatching up goblins to eat them alive, while he continued tearing and stomping on other unfortunate victims that failed to get out of the way.


    The shaman was visibly shaken as he stood up from where he was thrown, looked around to gain his bearings, and pointed his staff towards the treeline beyond the vige when he saw the demon.


    The shaman barely pulled up another barrier in time, only just avoiding a strike from Ath that would have taken off his head before sting the demoness back - causing her to backpedal and dash into the shadows again. His voice was deep, gruff, and strained - but nevertheless had amanding tone to it. ¡°HE¡¯S IN THE TREES SOMEWHERE! FIND THE SUMMONER! KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW BEFORE THOSE DEMONS ARE UNLEASHED UPON US FURTHER!!!¡±


    Instantly Ath moved to intercept a group of braver enemies that¡¯d responded to the shaman¡¯s call to charge the forest, cleaving through three of them in half a second with spear-like movements of her arachnid limbs and wing out a fourth warrior¡¯s neck while Riven remained hidden in the treetops above.


    He motioned to the right, and then to the left - conjuring dozens more of the spinning crimson blood des frombinations of his own mana and the bodies on the battlefield. The projectiles then sted through an oing rush of orc and goblin warriors, spiraling into the mess of bodies all around the demoness like a meat grinder. She shrieked with gleefulughter as they died, acrobatically ducking under a swing and flipping over another orc¡¯s axe before her shin mmed into arge warrior¡¯s tusk and broke it offpletely - catapulting the poor orc into the ground as if she¡¯d hit him with a warhammer rather than just kicked him.


    The greenskin soldiers who¡¯d been chaining up prisoners were closest to the forest when the shaman¡¯smand echoed through their ranks. Orc and goblin alike had taken up arms and charged recklessly ahead, confident in their numbers only to be met with two obstacles.


    The first were more hallucinations: causing them to be disoriented by losing a sense of direction, falling over one another when they tried to dodge imaginary magic projectiles, or making them swing at the shadows of enemies that weren¡¯t actually there.


    The second obstacle were theyers of invisible, explosive traps that Fay hadid out below Riven¡¯s position all along the northern edge of the vige.


    <strong>*BOOM-BOOM-SPLAT-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM¨CSPLAT-SPLAT-BOOM*</strong>


    It was like Riven had front row tickets to a carpet bombing show, with dozens of small, crooked-looking goblins go up in explosions of green mana that ripped apart their little bodies and flung them away. The orcs faired a bit better, usually being able to take two or three of the traps before being killed, but even they were often maimed or severely injured on the first mana-made tripwire they came across.


    ¡°Fay¡­¡± Riven muttered, casting a red sheet of ice across the ground in front of their position with her hallucinations following suit across their left and right sides. ¡°You never told me you were god-level valuable back in that interview. This is a god damn ughterhouse.¡±


    Wretched snares bloomed around him on the treetops and were loaded with bloodnces that he created one after the other, adding extra power and speed behind the projectiles when the snares sling-shotted them away.


    Fay smiled widely at the praise and continued to create new tripwires, connecting her invisible traps one after the other as they were triggered over and over again. ¡°Thank you, master. I told you that you would not be disappointed!¡±


    Though there were well over 80 of themying dead on the ground, with more of them dying by the second due to Ath¡¯s assassinations, Azmoth¡¯s rampaging, or Riven¡¯s magical barrage - they quickly stopped trying to push their luck against the invisible traps and mind-numbing hallucinations. Down below, more orc mages starteding from the front where they¡¯d been battling elves. They cast illuminating barriers of orange light to block Riven¡¯s strikes, two of them started to try and suppress Azmoth by creating a stone cage around the demon that was quickly ripped apart, and one of them threw out a spell that caused an eerie yellow mist to blow through the greenskin ranks.


    The masked shaman was still screaming orders, trying to organize everyone else and setting up defensive lines of tusked warriors around the mages and ordering the more stupid goblins to charge the treeline again as cannon fodder. The goblins that hesitated were killed by therger orcs, who were growing uneasy due to being pinched on two sides from this unknown assant and the elves - but things soon changed. Yellow mist from the orc mage finally reached the vige perimeter, and with it - all of Fay¡¯s traps started lighting up one after another. So too did the tripwires of mana connecting them, and the shaman barked anothermand to charge.


    This time, the goblins were able to avoid her spells and many of the sigils were outright destroyed by fireballs that set off chain reactions. The fireworks show was lit up even further with explosions from Riven¡¯s ck lightning and spiked walls of red ice that acted as a barrier to their progress.


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    Meanwhile Fay started cursing the orc mages while grunting in frustration as her globe of unholy mana took direct damage from some kind of light bursting out of the greenskin ranks. Fay¡¯s hallucination shattered from an enemy spell a momentter, and she yelled out to warn her master. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to set up the dreamwalker field for a while! The hallucinations are down!¡±


    Then Riven heard a quickening heartbeat behind him.


    His body erupted with red sparks, sending his muscles into a spasm and he immediately ducked as an empowered arrow broke the sound barrier and whizzed by his head - grazing his ear and nearly taking his skull off his spine in the process.


    ¡°It looks like they¡¯ve finally found our true location.¡± He chuckled humorously, and having arced his fingers in the way to charge up a bloodnce he sent it torpedoing into the orc archer in a tree not far off.


    The torpedo sted the archer¡¯s head right off in a movement so fast that the orc simply couldn¡¯t react even at such a distance, and the body slumped - falling off the branch he¡¯d been positioned in to thud on the forest floor twenty feet below.


    ¡°Move.¡±


    Fay jumped at hismand, pping her wings and soaring into the night sky above them while spraying a ck, cursed cloud of rot over the greenskin ranks.


    <strong>[Curse of Rot (Unholy) ¨C Spray a cloud of unholy miasma to afflict targets with a single ¡®Rot¡¯ debuff before the cloud dissipates. A single cloud can disperse across multiple enemies. ¡®Rot¡¯ debuff applies unholy damage, slows the enemy, and can stack with other ¡®Rot¡¯ debuffs. This curse starts out weak but scales over time in both damage and slowing effect. Low cooldown.]</strong>


    The orc raiding party erupted with a hail of arrows and fireballs in turn now that the vampire was within reach, and Rivenunched himself off the side of his tree while barely avoiding iing fire. The tree exploded behind him with splintered wooden shrapnel, starting to burn, while throwing knives or tomahawks from the iing orcs came to intercept him.


    His staff blurred with his empowered movement, the fleshy string connecting his de whipping out and deflecting many of the oing projectiles in a single strike - but some of them hit true. He felt and heard the thuds of three daggersnd, mming into his chest and causing him to grunt before he dashed and rolled behind anotherrge tree to avoid two more arrows.


    The horrified screams from people around the vige continued toe, with men, women and children all dying around him in senseless violence that they¡¯d no doubt never expected this night. But he had to push that out of his mind¡­ because he couldn¡¯t save all of them. Instead he would focus on the fun he was having¡­ that way he wouldn¡¯t get distracted and do something stupid that could get himself killed.


    He yanked the daggers out of his chest, feeling his regeneration kick in, and snarled before kicking off and exposing himself to the carnage at a distance. ¡°COME ON THEN!¡±


    A red torpedo blew through four goblins and smashed into an oing orc mage, discharging the fireball that the man had been summoning and causing the area to light up in mes. Azmoth then crashed into another group that¡¯de to charge Riven, while others started to slow and wither under Fay¡¯s ck cloud of curse magic - wing at their faces while their bodies began to gradually rot away. The shaman and other orc healers desperately tried to contain the demons, with four rogues using movement abilities sessfully keeping Ath at bay for the moment, but Riven¡¯s impact was more than just a little noticeable.


    The scene was a shitshow, and the attackers began toe after him in force when they saw how devastating his attacks had been in such a short time. The shaman exchanged a couple of earth-based projectiles with Riven¡¯s own bloody razors while Riven dodged using his improved agility, and the shaman or other orc mages used orange mana barriers to block the iing attacks directed their way. The orcs were obviously confused as to why he was here after noticing he was a vampire, with the shouts and exmations directed at one another - ordering them to engage the warlock. Given their expressions, the imprisoned elves nearby obviously didn¡¯t know what to think about it either by the way they shot him fearful looks or screamed out warnings to the defenders that a new enemy had presented itself.


    Perhaps the elves thought that since he was what he was, that he was here to eat them?


    That was utterly stupid in his opinion, for obvious and numerous reasons. He had no back up and was here to help, but he¡¯d deal with that when the time came<strong> if </strong>the elvish defenders actually did end up attacking him.


    He pedaled backwards, further into the dark of the trees and drawing his pursuers into a more favorable battleground. Riven ducked another arrow in the dark with his improved reflexes and created another bloody razor, vaulting over the head of an iing tomahawk swing when a stealthed rogue got too close. Simultaneously while in the air he let loose the bloody disc of magic - sending it flying out towards the archer.


    Hended behind the rogue who¡¯d tried to take him out and spun - mming his staff full on into the side of the tusked man with a crunch. The tusked man¡¯s head was torn entirely off by the brutal trauma, exploding shadow magic emitted from the staff flinging bloody debris across the battlefield directly in front of him. He also heard the archer who¡¯d nearly hit Riven a second ago yelp in agony and drop his bow when the razor, crimson disc mmed into him.


    Feeling the connection to that disc, Riven imbued it with even more energy and caused it to burst - blowing a hole in the hooded orc¡¯s body and leaving entrails far behind the orc¡¯s hunkered position next to a charred cabin on the outer vige edge. Immediately the man¡¯s blood condensed and rocketed towards three goblins who were screaming insults and charging his way - decapitating them in a fluid motion when the blood formed more projectiles.


    Two other archers d in leathers behind the first went down as well when Azmoth let loose another cone of fire breath, burning them alive with guttural shrieks of pain. A thrilling sense of satisfaction immediately overcame Riven and he charged forward, forcing more mana into blessing of the crow to increase his speed boost with sparks of lightning fluctuating across his body more prominently - just as a cold arrow struck him in the chest.


    <strong>*WHUMPH*</strong>


    Screams of horror or rage continued to berate his ears, battle cries from the iing enemies and the sound of airborne projectiles centered on Riven¡¯s position tore through what should have been a peaceful and quiet night. The first projectile lodged itself in Riven¡¯s chest, and it was imbued with some kind of ice mana. Ice started to freeze his right pectoral muscle and he gasped, ripping it out only to have two more arrows m into his left shoulder as he stumbled forward onto one knee. Pain and another deep cold sensation radiated across his body, and he let out an involuntary groan when his muscles began to freeze over, but that groan soon turned into amusedughter. His body¡¯s regeneration was incredible even during the daytime, but here in the dark? At night? The regeneration was just unfair and utterly absurd.


    It hurt, yes. The cold certainly affected his regeneration a little bit, and the ice on his body remained despite sealing wounds, but it wasn¡¯t enough. They¡¯d have to hit him a whole lot more than that to get anywhere in terms of killing him.


    Riven ripped the arrows right out of his shoulder, and he snarled at the orcs. Glowing red eyes glinting maniacally from underneath his hood as he threw the frozen arrows onto the ground, and explosions from more of Fay¡¯s unholy traps sted with green light - eliminating a group of goblins that¡¯d tried to nk him.


    Riven¡¯s staff blurred left, smacking a fireball straight out of the air with a collision of shadow that sent the st into a nearby tree. The trunk exploded with mes, lighting up his position and revealing the wounds along his body in the otherwise dark surroundings of the forest at night.


    Wide-eyed elves and orcs alike watched with mixed emotions of confusion, horror and awe while his wounds sealed up in real time - the holes of his clothes openly showing them how easily he could shrug off their attacks without any real damage. Even the arrowheads he¡¯d snapped off and left in his body were pushed out and expelled by flesh that quickly sealed over; creating scabs and then new skin within less than ten seconds after having removed the arrows by force.


    More fireballs mmed into Azmoth''s huge frame when the tanky demon leapt to cover Riven¡¯s body in a renewed attack, with orc warriors bringing uprge clubs and axes to beat back the huge demon in an attempt to protect the mages.


    ¡°KILL THAT GODS-DAMNED SUMMONER!¡± the shaman shrieked, infusing the nearby warriors battling Azmoth with buff after buff as their bodies glowed - enabling them to take hits that would have otherwise killed them on the spot.


    <strong>*WHUMPH*</strong>


    Ath¡¯s des dug through the heart of an orc mage nearby, drawing the shaman¡¯s attention as he flung another molten ball of metal her way. Fay flew overhead: dispensing clouds of ck mist with each flyby that continued to settle down on the packed horde of greenskin enemies battling the elves on the other end of the vige. Many of the goblins were already withered away because of the dark magic, piling up as rotting carcasses for their brethren to step over. Orc healers were simultaneously dispelling the rot afflictions, but most of them were single-target healing spells while Fay¡¯s mist could target entire swaths of enemies.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    A huge bolt of elemental lightning crashed into Azmoth, bowling him over and briefly stunning the demon. The fiery monstrosity twitched on the ground, with orc warriors jumping at the chance to hack away before Riven¡¯s own blood magic crashed into them in a wave of carnage. Riven looked up above with a frown, focusing on red-robed orc mage that Riven hadn¡¯t noticed before now. The caster was positioned on the roof of a tree-house in the center of the vige, and was beginning to conjure up yet another lightning bolt that condensed every couple seconds to empower the attack.


    Riven pointed towards the caster, an obvious threat above most of the others while Azmoth picked himself up on shaky legs. ¡°Ath, kill him!¡±


    The screeching obsidian woman blurred forward, easily dragging a lightly armored fighter twice her size by his ankles - using a tightened line of red silk. She jumped over the heads of a pack of goblins, whirling and flinging the warrior into the side of the building the red-robed mage was standing on with an audible crunch of bones even from where Riven stood.


    The treehouse shook violently in a small explosion of debris and the tusked mage canceled his uing lightning bolt, frantically propelling himself backwards with a p of his hands that sent a short-range st of storm energy Ath¡¯s way - barely saving him from Ath¡¯s wicked ws and even shocking her to deal moderate damage. But that didn¡¯t stop her there, and she whipped out her long sharp tongue that snaked its way like a ck ribbon to pursue the mage. When that failed and he teleported further into the vige - she pursued with an eager scream andunched herself into the treetops high above like a true apex predator.


    ¡°I WILL FEAST ON YOUR BONES, LITTLE ORC!!!¡±


    By now the orcs had thoroughly recognized Riven and his demons as the primary threats in the battle, even with a couple dozen of the elf defenders still remaining - and they began to focus on taking Riven down in growing numbers while keeping the elves preupied with the swarming smaller goblins.


    Red crystalized ice rapidly spread along the ground in the direction of the iing greenskins to slow their progress and Riven dashed right into the crevice between a treehouse and a cabin where one of the orcs who¡¯d shot him earlier with an arrow was gurgling in a pool of his own blood. Riven leaped ahead, mming his boot into the orc¡¯s neck with a sickening snapping sound and a gleeful cackle. ¡°Like me now bitch? DO YOU LIKE ME NOW!?¡±


    The unknown assant died there on the ground - forever ending his story.

 Chapter 98

    Chapter 98


    <strong>Chapter 98</strong>


    Azmoth¡¯s bellowing roar and the gleeful screeches of Ath intertwined with one another as sounds of battle climbed higher, and Riven teleported through a ck rift in space as an axe from another charging enemy rounding the corner sliced across his robe and nicked his shin.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    The back end of Riven¡¯s staff crushed the orc¡¯s skull inpletely with an explosion of shadow that radiated out upon impact - a rtively cost-free enchantment of the weapon whenever he struck a physical blow. The ice hadn¡¯t slowed the others down as much as he¡¯d though it would though, and he was growing irritated because of the amount of mana expenditure he had and theck of time he was given to rejuvenate it. However he also couldn¡¯t count on closebat to relieve his mana expenditure for too long, as he honestly knew very little about handling a staff of this size other than the utter basics of swing-for-the-hills.


    But why was this so much different from back at the hospital? With this many bodies, he shouldn¡¯t be having mana concerns¡­ there was plenty of blood to fuel his spells with a reduced cost. Yet here he was, resorting to physicalbat and notably having sluggish mana regeneration.


    That¡¯s when he noticed a little shing icon in his peripheral vision. Focusing on it, he saw that he¡¯d been hit with a debuff - likely from those frozen arrows that¡¯d hit him in the chest and shoulder earlier.


    <strong>[You have been afflicted with Frostbite. Mana, Health, and Stamina regeneration are all reduced by half for the next 29 minutes.]</strong>


    By half?


    Jesus. Well, Riven didn¡¯t really use much stamina, and his health regeneration was insane. So it made sense in some regards that his mana loss would be most noticeable.He whirled upon hearing a heartbeat turn the corner he¡¯d just passed by, blocking a strike from a sword with the shaft of his weapon and knocking the man back with an on-contact explosion of shadow. Cursing and sending another spinning disc at the man that ripped through his ankle, Riven¡¯s eyebrows shot up in surprise when his target¡¯s body glowed green for a split second before the orc wasunched to safety in a blur of motion even despite minor injury. The orc looked back, flinging his dius to the ground in a panic and turned to hop as fast as he could in the opposite direction despite the useless right ankle just as another roar of challenge echoed from within the cabin.


    Riven barely had time to dodge when a huge battle axe tore through a wooden support beam of the cabin wall. Frantically conjuring a series of acidic snares around him and attaching them from wall to wall of the short alley inyers, Riven watched the new warrior bulldozing through the shoddy constructe to a standstill and re his way.


    ¡°Vampire scum!¡± The tusked, heavily muscled orc brute spat as he hoisted his battle axe with hatred in his eyes. ¡°A GENOCIDE AGAINST YOUR KIND, UNHOLY CREATURE! I DO NOT KNOW WHY YOU ARE HERE FIGHTING TO HELP THE ELVES, BUT TODAY WILL BE YOUR LAST DAY IN THIS REALM!¡±


    The enraged man roared, his battle axe shifting to a bright red color as he brought it down and sent an arc of energy tearing through the snares and rupturing another piece of the opposite wall of the tree-house in a spray of debris.


    Riven shifted left to avoid the attack whileughing loudly at the attempt, enhanced by his electrified movement buff; and he began pouring mana into Crimson Ice. The red crystals of ice around his feet began rapidly spreading again, covering the entire alley, walls, barrels and rooftops around him as the warrior roared and charged ahead - but was quickly set upon by concentrated flurries of red snowkes that bloomed all around in the air to blind the orc.


    It was instinctive and a very first. The blood magic had responded to Riven¡¯s will just as the idea popped into his mind, and as Riven focused the spell on a singr area in a way that he hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d be able to do before now - the magic obeyed. Themand had just felt right¡­ and his mana had reacted without second guessing him at all. It wasn¡¯t a new spell, it was the same as the normal Crimson Ice he¡¯d already acquired, but utilized in a new way - and his chest swelled with pride in that instant at having found a unique use for it.


    He could create snow with Crimson Ice too, and could partially blind his opponents with it. That was something he¡¯d have to continue utilizing if he made it through this fight.


    Riven¡¯s opponent swore and cursed, waving his axe around and battering aside an iced-over barrel before slipping and screaming in rage when the de of his own axe made a shallow cut into his right hand upon hitting the ground.


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    The warrior¡¯s head was rocked back with a spartan kick to the face as the snow briefly cleared - stunning the man just as a Riven¡¯s staff came crashing into him with a brutal horizontal swing that sent additional explosive shadow magic up through his weapon on contact.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    The orc''s brains were immediately stered against the side of the house, the entire front side of the orc¡¯s head gored and caved in with nothing but his lower jaw remaining of his face. This was pretty brutal. Even since he¡¯d been engaged in closebat and needed to watch his mana reserves, even then - when his ability to kill mass amounts of people dwindled to only a few at a time so he could regenerate, it was still a ughter. Fay¡¯s ck mists continued to soak into orc and goblin alike from somewhere in the sky above, many of their withered bodies rotting with silent screams on their faces. Ath and Azmoth were still putting in work too. Other bodies were cut in half, blown up, burned to death, heads lopped off, body parts strewn across the ground in mounds, the list went on.


    Riven then looked around to all the dead elves, children and women alike. His heart grew cold, and his determination solidified. There was no excuse for killing people who couldn¡¯t fight back. What he was doing was right and just.


    ¡°ORC MAKES GOOD PUNCHING BAG!!!!¡±


    Azmoth barreled through the adjacent building, sending it crumbling as he crushed two enemy fighters into the ground simultaneously - two hands apiece. ming ws ripped and tore pieces of the ttened orcs out even as their broken bodiesy sttered against the ground, and the building fell around them to reveal Ath blurring across the ice with hit and run tactics; dancing up walls or trees, over rooftops and inbetween archers to leave headless corpses, venomous wounds afflicted with necrotic poison, or needles of hardened blood webbing that she was shooting from her fingers protruding from her targets. The red-robed orc mage she¡¯d been sent after was also very dead, having been left limp and impaled on arge broken tree branch far above them for all to see.


    ¡°KILL THE VAMPIRE, AND THE DEMONS WILL BE BANISHED!!¡± The remaining shaman screeched his encouragement over the tter of battle while he umted arge ball of elementalva overhead. He snarled and unleashed it a secondter, tearing into Riven¡¯s position - but the shaman¡¯s hands were jerked left at thest moment.


    Riven¡¯s body took the hit - sending him through the other adjacent building and tearing it down as well with a loud crash and explosion of wood when the condensed ball of molten metal struck. He was flung through the near wall, through a support beam, into a bed and out the next wall beforeing to a rolling stop as he slightly twitched from the attack. Broken bones quickly began to mend, and he let out a gasp when his crushed, burned lungs reorganized themselves - but although he was healing from the attack, he could tell that his regeneration had taken a big hit. He was healing more slowly now even despite the darkness, still had the frostbite debuff guing him, and he seemed more prone to damage from that type of magic than any other attack he¡¯d ever been hurt with before. If he had to guess, the shaman was using magic from the Volcano sub-pir of Fae, though he didn¡¯t know why it would do extra damage to him whenpared to other varieties he¡¯d been hit with before. His status page concerning his vampiric bloodline had never mentioned a weakness to volcanic-type spells or abilities, but it may just be that the spell he¡¯d been hit with had some intrinsic properties itself that caused his healing to slow and wasn¡¯t an actual weakness concerning his race.


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    In fact he was pretty sure he may not have survived at all if he¡¯d been hit a little higher up in the neck or head. Thankfully Ath had managed to throw the mage off with strings of webbing from her fingers - pulling the shaman¡¯s hands to the side at thest second and keeping his aim lower than it had been. Whatever that magic was, it was powerful.


    He dismissed the pain from his mind and pushed himself up to a staggering stand, cursing as he saw a smaller orc rogue wielding daggers try to get the drop on him from behind. He responded in a split second, conjuring yet another twos of ck, acidic needles.


    The wiry rogue was sprinting ahead and threw a spinning dagger that embedded itself in Riven¡¯s right arm when he raised it to block, causing Riven to stagger back again just as thes of wretched snare finished conjuring right in front of the rogue¡¯s trajectory.


    The hooded orc, who was likely a little older than Riven without any tusks and a well-trimmed crew cut, evaded the first conjured by blurring three feet to the left with some kind of ability Riven was unfamiliar with.


    Fortunately Riven¡¯s second had manifested itself slightly behind the first one and the Rogue¡¯s momentum took him tumbling face-first into the acidic ck magic. It wrapped around the dagger-wielding man, puncturing his skin with innumerable, tiny, shifting needles as the snare dug in and began eating away at his flesh.


    The rogue yelped and then began to scream and fall, begging for mercy while the ck magic wrapped him up before finding his own dagger - the dagger he¡¯d thrown at Riven¡¯s arm - brutally cutting across his neck.


    Riven red down at the orc, pushing the de up further into the carotid artery and then into the esophagus as sputtering and coughing reced the screams with wide eyed iling.


    ¡°Nighty night!¡±


    Riven sneered, yanking the dagger back out and plunging it into the rogue¡¯s left eye. He panted for just a moment, collecting the snare up in his hand.


    The ck of unholy magic was easily ripped off of the dead rogue with his fingers - as easily as picking up a pebble off the ground - and Riven whipped it back over his head to send the snare crashing onto yet another lightly armored fighter in studded leather that appeared on the other side of the ruined building. He watched the next man hit the ground in a panic while trying to tear the acidic ck magic off of him. It burned and sizzled, peeling away his skin rapidly as the needles dug into his flesh and finding the man¡¯s muscles next.


    The orc dropped his short sword as well with a pained grunt, fumbled for something in his pouch and mmed whatever he had in his hand down on the ground right before Riven got to him with the gnarled head of his sharpened staff. Smoke billowed out from the scout¡¯s position, obscuring Riven¡¯s sight as he coughed and wheezed before retreating to a safe distance and sending a torrent of ck lightning out of his weapon into the gray cloud.


    When Riven got another, higher pitched grunt of pain - he smiled to himself and sent out a single bloody razor that ended its trajectory with a wet thud and a scream of agony. He then imbued the embedded shard with more magic. He may not be able to see the man he¡¯d hit in the thick haze of the smoke bomb, but he could still sense the magic he¡¯d thrown out.


    The disc erupted in bloody shrapnel, turning the scream into an abrupt silence as pieces of the man in the smoke field flew out and about around where Riven stood.


    Azmoth was having a rather easy time with the melee fighters and archers, though not so much against the mages. He¡¯d taken it upon himself to kill the shaman, which was one of the few casters Ath hadn¡¯t already assassinated, and was continually thrown back with st after st of molten metal. The heat certainly didn¡¯t hurt the hellscape brutalisk, but each impact was like a god-damned cannon ball and hit just as hard. The demon was exhibiting wounds underneath the mes and dents in his armor, but he would still shake off the brutal attacks and charge in time after time. He was even slowly healing his own wounds to an extent due to the passive trait his hellfire gave him, though not nearly as fast as Riven¡¯s own vampiric regeneration could muster under a night sky.


    Riven watched Azmoth get blown back three more times, admiring his defensive capabilities. Even despite not getting close enough to take the caster out, the shaman was still panicking due to the constant pressure and was likely expending tons of mana trying to keep Azmoth at bay.


    ¡°KEEP YOUR MIND ON THE BATTLE, BOY!¡±


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    Riven felt the front of his face take a heavy impact as a blurring object mmed into him, again sending him sprawling onto the ground and causing the world to spin. If the mask hadn¡¯t been there to take the hit - he would have had a much worse injury. He dizzily iled back to his knees and gaped up at therge two-handed mace being wielded by a shirtless, bald hulk of an orc that grinned down at him from a short distance.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you survived that, vampire! The stories about your kind are truly urate, though I hadn¡¯t believed them until now!¡± The hulking orc warrior said as he brought up his mace again while another shirtless warrior with a braided ponytail wielding arge hatchet walked up beside him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss, boy, but don¡¯t take it personally! It¡¯s just part of the job!¡±


    The mace swung down, crushing the spot Riven had just been in with an aftershock of martial power right after Fay yanked him out of the way to the enraged bellows of Riven¡¯s two pursuers. She rapidly pped her wings and swung Riven around the side of another cabin, gliding through air between two burning tents, pulling him at breakneck speed up the side of a tree-house like he was on a brutal roller coaster ride untiling to an abrupt stop on top of a roof jutting from a tree.


    The demoness dropped him, quickly inspecting his bleeding body and the wounds he¡¯d umted that still hadn¡¯t healedpletely yet due to his regeneration slowing down. Her nervous expression soon changed to that of relief though when she saw he was ok.


    Riven picked himself up, dusted his shoulders off, and gave Fay a head nod. ¡°Thanks. Your hallucinations are still on cooldown, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I usually am able to use that ability once per battle, unless the battle goes on for more than a half hour.¡± The subus nodded, gesturing to the battle below them where Ath was continuing to assassinate people at random while rapidly dashing in and out of the vige terrain for cover.


    ¡°Ok. Stay with me and set up some defensive traps until I regain more mana and the ability to cast. My mana regeneration is being slowed down significantly.¡± Riven nced down at the ice still coating his chest and shoulder, grimacing when he touched the mana infused wounds. His regeneration hadn¡¯tpletely rid himself of it, and the frostbite debuff was still in effect. ¡°Who¡¯d have thought those pain in the ass arrows would be what cripples me this battle. Never would have guessed.¡±


    Fay nodded eagerly and her muscles rxed, simultaneously withdrawing her long ck wings to fold them behind her. ¡°As you say, master!¡±


    She raised her hands and began to point. Unholy green runes shed in the air around them and along the tree before bing invisible again, with Fay¡¯s sky-blue hands twisting in front of her - starting to cover arge area before connecting different groups of them with mana-made tripwires for more of a punishing effect.


    Meanwhile the screams and roars of the battle a couple cabins down echoed across the vige as Azmoth continued to tear through poor souls stupid enough to get close. The brutalisk was an absolute beast of a creature, and he was now keeping well over half of the enemy party upied as he rampaged through their midst while breathing fire or tearing greenskins apart in a masterful disy of violence. He¡¯d moved on to chewing on goblins midfight now, swallowing bites off the rtively smaller creatures while they gave out terrified shrieks and tried to get away and attack at range. The elves were still fighting on their own front too, though they were regaining a foothold in the fight and were pushing the greenskins back - simultaneously trying to make their way across the forest clearing towards their imprisoned loved ones.


    ¡°Fay¡­¡± Riven muttered under his breath, letting the seconds tick by and studying at the absolute carnage of Azmoth¡¯s doing. ¡°Is it normal for all hellscape brutalisk infants to be this kill-hungry?¡±


    Fay let out augh and came to stand beside him, finishing herwork of defensive traps. ¡°Yes¡­ it is. Just wait until he gets bigger though, those creatures get ratherrge. Ath has already been talking about how she¡¯s going to make Azmoth her battle-steed.¡±


    Riven snorted augh, shooting the grinning subus a smirk and let out a long sigh. ¡°Well, that sounds a lot like something Ath would say. Does Azmoth know of her master n?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°Figures. Can¡¯t wait until the day she tries, I¡¯d pay money to watch that episode unfold.¡±


    The sound of multiple nearby heartbeats and rushing footsteps interrupted their idle chat mid-battle and alerted Riven to an advancing enemy at the back. Before he could even turn though, a series of explosions sent shockwaves and debris from along the treehouse roof. Branches, body parts and tiles sted apart as two orc bodies were sent spiraling outwards onto the ground dozens of feet down, but he noticed the third attacker almost toote.


    It was a rogue, a young orc woman with flowing raven hair that¡¯d managed to avoid the traps. She had been stealthed somehow, making herselfpletely invisible until she¡¯d gotten too close and the ability¡¯s influence broke. Her fur-d body and tusked, sneering face shimmered into existence only a couple feet away mid-sprint.


    Riven was surprised, but startled even further when a ss vial of purple liquid was thrown at his feet. It didn¡¯t hit him, but exploded on impact to release a cloud of purple mist.


    <strong>*SPLASH*</strong>


    The potion quickly started absorbing into his skin, and his mana channels felt like they were on fire as he screamed and dropped to his knees. His veins felt like they had sludge moving through them, and he tried to summon magic to kill this new opponent with a rage - but quickly found out that he couldn¡¯t use the mana at all.


    <strong>[You have been afflicted with Gulsh Lilly Toxin. Your mana and stamina channels are now blockedpletely for the next three hours.]</strong>


    Oh. Oh fuck.


    He looked up, wide eyed, and brought his staff to bear. ¡°THESE FUCKING ROGUES!¡±


    With a snarl and only a momentter she leaped forward for his throat with a dagger pointed directly at it. ¡°FOR ANTHAS!¡±

 Chapter 99

    Chapter 99


    <strong>Chapter 99</strong>


    Fay tried to intercept with a hissing lunge of her own, but she was in no way a melee fighter and was easily mmed aside with a shoulder charge that left her gasping. The rogue vanished and reappeared two feet in front of her original position the same way the other rogues earlier that fight had sidestepped one of his snares.


    He stumbled and lifted up an arm to block the iing attack, unable to summon magic to aid him, and shouted a curse as the dagger intended for his throat impaled his left shoulder instead.


    The two of them tumbled to the roof and struggled with one another, rolling off of the multi-story building andnding with a thud on the dirt far below. She was surprisingly strong despite having a smaller body and being a woman. In terms of strength and speed, she was even giving him a run for his money and he was dead certain that whatever level she was - it was far higher than the average of her group.


    Riven headedbutted the orc girl and grappled with her. She snarled, trying to knee him in the gut and trying to get him off of her with her free hand as his slightly superior strength and weight kept her pinned. He was quickly reaffirming the idea that although his abilities concerning magic were incredible, his physicalbat prowess was sub-par.


    Fleshy strands shot out from his staff up above, connecting with Riven¡¯s hand and whipped downwards to pierce the orc through her back.


    She let out a pained gasp, but managed to yank out yet another dagger strapped along her thigh. Not being able to bring it up further because of how she was pinned - she let out a yell and sunk it deep into the side of Riven¡¯s right lung. Ice began to spread through the lung immediately, causing his ability to breath to drastically lower to the point that he was almost suffocating.


    ¡°See you in hell, blood sucker!¡± She coughed up blood and grimaced when he twisted the staff impaled in her back, and then grunted in pain when he defiantly mmed his head into her own again.


    ¡°SHREEEEE!!!!¡±Ath¡¯s screech was ear piercing and the arshakai vaulted forward, using some of her limbs to tear Riven away and using her other limbs to push off the rogue at the same time.


    As Riven came to a stop from rolling and he continued to hyperventte, feeling his lung fill up with blood, he watched the demoness and orc rogue face off while they went at it with everything they had.


    The injured woman was definitely far more skilled than any of the other orcs he¡¯d seen, aside from maybe that shaman still fighting Azmoth. She was nimble, quick, and could reactivate movement abilities over and over again to great effect while also being quick with the numerous poisoned knives she had along her thighs and belt.


    Ath was just as quick though, blurring forward and side to side to match the rogue just off her base agility even despite not having any movement abilities.


    Ath did have that trait ¡®Naturally Agile¡¯ though, something the rogue probablycked.


    The demoness lunged forward, using her arachnid limbs and jabbing out with them in a way Riven had seen her do many times before. It was as if she¡¯d learned to turn her limbs into spears, pistoning them with lightning fast speed and using her sharp, poison coated tongue like a whip that shed forward in strikes that a normal human wouldn¡¯t have been able to follow but were still blocked or dodged by the rogue.


    The demon ducked and raced up a wall tounch herself at the rogue as the woman lunged left to avoid a spearing attack. The girl then counter attacked, flipping two knives on end and hurling them with tremendous speed at the spider - only to curse when Ath dodged them yet again.


    Ath snarled, her ws extended and cking together as she lifted her fingers and began firing needles of hardened blood from her spinnerets. ¡°I¡¯M GOING TO STOMP YOU, LITTLE GIRL! YOU¡¯RE GOING TO CRY AND BEG FOR MEEEE!!!¡±


    The needles caught the orc rogue off guard and many of them found their mark, puncturing the woman¡¯s leather and skin as she screamed and held up her arms to cover her face. She ducked behind a burning crate, throwing a smoke bomb as Ath rushed her - and then vanished in the cover while activating the stealth ability again.


    ¡°CURSES!¡± Ath screeched,nding on the rooftop of the nearby building and frantically looking around. ¡°YOU LITTLE BITCH!¡±


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    The glint of firelight from a throwing knife gave the rogue¡¯s position away, and Ath immediately reacted. Sheunched herself off the right side of the building with tremendous speed to avoid the de and simultaneously attached herself to a nearby oak tree with her webbing, letting her body glide through the air before abruptly tightening and reeling herself backwards while rotating over the ground.


    The maneuver acted like a slingshot,unching the spider back through the air directly at the stunned rogue like a missile. Ath¡¯s screech of victory intermixed with the woman¡¯s screams as four spear-like spider legs impaled the rogue¡¯s chest, skewering her heart and lungs just as Ath sank her tongue and then sharpening teeth into the woman''s right breast. Poison then began spreading into the rogue as a tidal wave of ck and necrosing venom.


    Panicking, the screaming woman fell over:nding in the grass and frantically struggling to get the demoness off. But she needn¡¯t have bothered as Ath had already dispensed fatal blows.


    The spider-woman hybrid kicked back off her target, chittering angrily at the quickly dying orc while her necrotic venom spread through deep wounds - and leaving the rogue to shudder into death soon after that before rushing over to Riven.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Riven muttered, gasping slightly while pushing himself to a standing position. His right lung was frozen solid, his frostbite debuffs were decreasing his regeneration, and the poison he¡¯d been afflicted with stopped his use of manapletely. He was not fine, but he wasn¡¯t dead either.


    Faynded beside him, embarrassed and wincing with an obviously broken cor bone from when she¡¯d been mmed into. ¡°Sorry, master.¡±


    The subus looked defeated and Riven spared her a nce now that most of the greenskins in their area of the vige were dead. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t sweat it. You got two of those rogues before they even reached me, you¡¯re just not a melee fighter. And neither am I, as is very obvious.¡±


    Fay let on a small, amused smile, and she nodded to readjust her posture.


    Ath on the other hand was rather angry, and she jabbed a finger into Fay¡¯s chest. ¡°First fight on the job, don¡¯t fuck up again. Keep him safe while he heals or I¡¯ll find you in theher realms.¡±


    Fay nched slightly, nodded, and Ath took off to chase down some orcs running into the woods about fifty yards away.


    Riven continued to gasp, took the remnants of his utterly ruined cloak off and threw it to the ground, then gestured for Fay to take them up again a secondter. She nodded wordlessly and grabbed him before pping her wings andunching them both upwards into the branches above,nding on a treehouse rooftop for a better viewpoint.


    They both nced back over to where Azmoth was still battling the another small group. Over three dozen green corpses were strewn around Azmoth¡¯s immediate vicinity, and the ming demon had five more enemies still alive. The shaman, who was utterly exhausted and sipping on a mana potion as he ran for his life through the wreckage of numerous buildings - was firing off more cannonballs of molten metal to keep Azmoth at bay and downing potions; likely to keep his mana up. Meanwhile there was an orc cleric who was using some kind of slowing ability with white rings of light encircling Riven¡¯s demon - what he could only assume to be a kind of holy-type spell or miracle. Then there were three archers, all of which were furiously firing at Azmoth as they kept their distance and would asionally score a hit inbetween the solid bs of obsidian armorcing the demon¡¯s body. Beyond that there were also a handful of goblins remaining - each of them throwing stones, debris or daggers at the monstrous demon while maintaining a healthy distance.


    The meleebatants that¡¯de to fight were all dead, but Riven could see that even though Azmoth was doing his best - he was starting to wind down. No longer was Azmoth able to breathe mes, and the regeneration properties could only do so much with so many open wounds and projectiles sticking out of his body. He looked like a pincushion with bolts, hatches, daggers and burning arrows all lodged across the more fleshy areas of his muscles.


    Then a man¡¯s voice called out. ¡°FIRE!¡±


    Both Fay and Riven turned, startled to see a group of the elves lined up with bows and arrows aimed in Azmoth¡¯s direction.


    Why were they aiming at Azmoth?


    Were Riven and his minions really going to be attacked by these elves after all he¡¯d done for them? A sneer of contempt was written onto the middle-aged man¡¯s handsome elvish features, and the bow in his hand was notched and pulled back just as he let out the order to the others.


    He¡¯d been betrayed again. Just like Jalel back in Negrada, he¡¯d tried to help someone and had received a dagger in the back for it.


    The arrows, over two dozen of them and many of them empowered with yellow lightning, simultaneously fired towards Azmoth¡¯s location like a cloud of speedy death. They zipped over the bloodied, icy grounds and over the ruins of their abandoned homes, past the burning buildings and trees - right into their intended targets.


    Riven¡¯s eyes opened wide as the arrows didn¡¯t hit Azmoth at all. Instead, the arrows that hit true allnded to impale the orc archers, shaman, cleric - and the remaining goblins. One of the archers and the cleric immediately dropped dead, being riddled with arrows as a second archer caught one in the knee and went down screaming and cursing.


    ¡°I¡¯VE TAKEN AN ARROW TO THE KNEE!!!¡±


    The shaman took one to the ankle, tripping him and causing him to misfire as the cleric¡¯s slowing holy divinity became undone as well. The immediate result was a quick death in the pounding form of azmoth¡¯s wed foot as it came crashing into the screaming shaman¡¯s skull - sttering his brains along the ground while the demon beat his chest and roared to the starlit heavens triumphantly.


    Thest of the archers still able to flee immediately took off, vaulting over a nearby fence meant for livestock as another arrow nearly caught his shoulder before turning a corner and racing out of sight.


    <strong>[You have gained 2 levels. Congrattions!]</strong>

 Chapter 100

    Chapter 100


    <strong>Chapter 100</strong>


    <strong>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 38</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty, Infernal, Shadow</strong></li><li><strong>Core of Original Sin - Gluttony:] (Under Construction)(???)</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] Race: Pureblooded Vampire (Extreme Darkness Regeneration)(Sunlight Decay)(Extreme Weakness to Silver weapons, Sun pir, and Light pir attacks), ss: Warlock Adept, Adrenaline Junky (Blood)(+15% to Agility)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Silvertongue (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood)(Tier 2), Blood Nova (Blood)(Tier 3), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal), Riftwalk (Shadow)</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 70 Strength, 151 Sturdiness, 388 Intelligence, 178 Agility, 10 Luck, -368 Charisma, 184 Vampiric Perception, 116 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li><strong>Free Stat Points: 0</strong></li><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 30 Arshakai [36 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 31 Hellscape Brutalisk [44 Willpower Requirement]. Fay, Level 23 Subus [29 Willpower Required]</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), Vampire¡¯s Escort (104 dmg, 102% mana regen, shadow and blood dmg +22%, ck Lightning, Scorpion¡¯s Sting), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies (Guild Hall: Stone Manor), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Breath of Valgeshia (48 def, +13 dmg & +9% mana output dmg for blood dmg, 6% mana regen)]</strong></li></ul>


    Every level Riven gained, he got an additional +1 Strength, +2 Sturdiness, +4 Intelligence, +2 Willpower, +4 Agility, +1 Perception, +7 Free Stat Points, and a whopping -3 Charisma. Smashing all the free stats into Willpower, Intelligence, and asionally Sturdiness had be a habit at this point and that''s exactly what he''d donest night before going to bed. Battles could be tough, but the rewards they had were always a pleasure to behold both by the way his body and mind felt afterwards - and by the power differential he saw whenever he cast spells the next time around.


    Riven awoke in a dark room, covered in thick nkets and yawning. He stretched and huddled back into the soft feather bed that feltfortable even despite how tired he felt. Blurry vision met him as he opened his eyes, but they eventually cleared away amidst the chirping of birds and low voices of men and women somewhere beyond the small square room he was enclosed in. His items and clothes were all piled in a corner opposite the bed just where he¡¯d left themst night. One of the windows had intentionally been covered up with a thick sheet, and a pitcher of water was set out to the side¡­


    No. It was blood.


    Riven¡¯s eyes widened as the smell hit him and his ever-growing hunger gnawed at him. Despite his exhausted state, he wed at the pitcher and sat up - putting the tin metal to his mouth and gulping it down like a man dying of thirst in the desert. He took it all, absolutely chugging it and let out a long gasp before identally dropping the pitcher out of weakness.


    He nearly fell out of his bed trying to get it back in his hands, and stubbornly he was able to grasp at it and ce it back on the small bedside table. Despite this he had made some noise, and soon the sound of footsteps and heartbeats approached his doorway before a light knock reached his ears.


    ¡°Riven?¡±


    The door creaked open and Fay stepped in with Ath.Senna was in the back peering over their shoulders, and waved when she saw Riven was up. ¡°Good morning!¡±


    He grunted his acknowledgement of the three women, noting Azmoth¡¯srge frame outside the adjacent room and near the front door, then turned his back to get some sleep again. ¡°Morning. Now leave me alone, I need to catch up on my beauty sleep. Guy¡¯s gotta keep hisplexion.¡±


    This earned him a snort of amusement from Fay, and an eye roll from Ath.


    ¡°Get up, the elves want to talk to you and you¡¯ve been sleeping for the past eight hours.¡± Ath came over and jabbed him ruthlessly in the side, and he swatted at her before hunkering down in the bedsheets even more.


    ¡°No! I refuse to leave this extrafy bed anytime soon!¡±


    Senna giggled and dashed out of sight, yelling out a name Riven did not recognize: ¡®Genua¡¯, and soon she came back with another, older elf who had a was blonde and looked very simr to Ethel. That was because she, in fact, was Ethel¡¯s mother - he¡¯d just never gotten her namest night when Ethel had volunteered their house. Riven had been quick to fall asleep too, so introductions inrge part had been put on hold.


    Just like all the other elves he¡¯d seen, this woman wore very little - just some fur shoes simr to masins and an outfit made of interwoven leaves that covered her breasts and lower region. She had simr blue paint adorning various parts on her as well, though not as much as he¡¯d seen on some of the others. The woman was slender, blonde and had familiar blue-green eyes with a gentle smile and pretty features. She pulled a chair in from the other, better-lit room where the windows were still open to the light and Riven could tell that it was likely midday based on how bright it was.


    ¡°Do you mind shutting that door?¡± Riven said, wincing. ¡°It¡¯s awfully bright.¡±


    She stood up, whispered something to Senna, and closed the door behind her with Senna leaving again.


    That¡¯s when Riven realized that Senna had lookedpletely fine. The break in her vicle was obviously gone, and the infected bite wound was cleared up entirely. He blinked and shot another look at the door before a wave of nausea overcame him and he vomited into the nearest open container - a bucket that¡¯d been ced at the edge of the bed.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be like that for quite a while.¡± The older woman said, holding up a hand to his forehead and nodding to herself with furrowed brows. ¡°You had quite a lot of poison I had to drain out of you, I¡¯m surprised you were able to survive it. Then again, you are undead¡­ so your body holds up a lot better to toxins than someone like me would.¡±


    He spit into the bucket again, wiped his lips, and looked up at the older woman. ¡°Ethel¡¯s mom, right?¡±


    The woman raised both eyebrows, then let out a melodicugh while politely cupping her hands in front of her. ¡°You are correct. My dear boy, you saved our vige from destruction. You saved us from very and a likely brutal ending where we¡¯d end up on dinner tes to those orcs and goblins. Not only that¡­ but you saved my daughter and her friend before that as well. I was hoping to have words with you, to thank you personally. Let me express my deepest thanks to you now.¡±


    The woman bowed her head with a very genuine smile. ¡°My name is Genua. I never thought those girls would be found alive again, much less traveling with a vampire and his three demons. Quite a positive turn of events, even if it does sadden me that my daughter lost her left hand. It also pains me to think the others of their hunting group died that day, but I cannot express my gratitude enough for the things you did. I must say that I¡¯m rather curious about the story she¡¯s told me. Perhaps when things settle down we can speak on those events in further detail.¡±


    Riven¡¯s glowing red eyes shifted upwards, scrutinizing her for a time. He rubbed his chin andid back in the softfort of the pillow. ¡°Ok I¡¯ve got to ask, since you¡¯re her mother you must be¡­ 40? just how old are you?¡±


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    She gave him a wink. ¡°That¡¯s a secret. Here, chew this and swallow it.¡±


    Genua held out one hand, in which was a small capsule made up of nt matter. It wasn¡¯t a pill necessarily, but very much looked like one and had obviously been put together from mashed up ingredients and was then firmly pressed to stabilize it.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Riven asked while taking the item.


    ¡°Antidote.¡±


    Riven popped the item into his mouth without further questioning and sank back into the covers, chewing the medicine and swallowing it before giving his two minions who protectively hovered nearby a smile. ¡°I¡¯m alright guys, it¡¯s pretty safe here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too trusting.¡± Ath stated tly. She gestured to the woman in front of her, who didn¡¯t turn to look back. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I already checked that antidote out, otherwise I would have pped it from your hands. Riven, be more proactive in keeping yourself alive. That regeneration of yours isn¡¯t something that can save you from everything.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Fay nodded sagely, cupping her hands in front of her with her long ck tail flicking back and forth. ¡°Much too trusting.¡±


    Riven scowled and was about to protest, but stopped himself when the door was flung open - mming against the wooden wall of the cabin to reveal Ethel and simrly dressed elf man who was middle-aged and had a long blonde ponytail in the back. The elvish girl was almost an exact replica of her mother now that he could evaluate both of them side by side, excluding the missing part of the arm and hand - but she did look a bit younger.


    Ethel quickly straightened up, caught her breath and calmed herself after a re from her mother Genua, then walked in with a genuine smile of relief. It was obvious that she was sweating from recent exertion, and been doing something outside in the hot sun up until just a moment ago.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to see you¡¯re ok.¡± Ethel stated, shutting the door behind her softly and apologetically ncing over to Genua. ¡°I got excited when I heard he¡¯d woken up, sorry.¡±


    Genua rolled her eyes, shot the man behind Ethel a nce, and regained her ownposure secondster. Turning back to Riven, she put a hand on his shoulder and firmly pressed. ¡°I¡¯ll be checking on you regrly while you recover. I¡¯m one of the healers and alchemists here in the vige, so anything you need - just let me know. I¡¯ll usually be here in the house. And don¡¯t worry about the blood, we¡¯ve kept a couple of the goblins alive for harvesting purposes.¡±


    Riven nodded in appreciation. He didn¡¯t necessarily need to be coddled like this, but it was nice to finally get some rx time after months of grinding. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The slender woman stood up, bowed slightly, and then exited the room while silently closing the door again to keep out the light.


    Ethel stood there awkwardly in the unknown man¡¯s shadow, rubbing the stump of her left arm that¡¯d nowpletely healed - likely by magical means - with her remaining right hand. She opened her mouth to speak, but found herself blushing slightly and turned her eyes to the ground.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s time for me to go.¡± Fay stated with a smirk. She grabbed Ath by the arm and began tugging the other demoness out of the room, despite Ath¡¯s protests. ¡°We¡¯ll be backter! Get some rest, and get better! The elves are very nice and they all want to meet you!¡±


    Yet again, the door was swung open and shut behind the departing girl - leaving only Ethel, the unknown man, and Riven in the room.


    Riven felt as awkward in this situation as Ethel looked. He was naked underneath the covers here, in the room with a girl he very much found attractive, a silent weirdo in the corner who was taking turns staring at either one of the two younger people, and Riven definitely smelled like vomit due to the nearby bucket. He looked terrible, disheveled, and waves of nausea repeatedly tried to undo his ability to see straight.


    ¡°I¡­ Did not expect such a warm wee.¡± Riven eventually said, letting himself fall further into the feather bed and rxing his muscles entirely. He was too weak to remain so tense for so long. ¡°I¡¯m very, very happy to realize I¡¯m not being treated like a monster like I thought I would be.¡±


    Ethel looked up from where she was staring at the ground between her feet, then took the liberty to sit in the chair her mother had upied until recently. ¡°Yes¡­ Well, of course they wouldn¡¯t treat you like a monster. Not after what you did. Ath had said you were concerned about that, and I even overheard you once in the hospital talking about your negative charisma. Charisma can heavily influence first impressions, auras, a general feel for the person and other less noticeable interactions with people. Though at this point, it wouldn¡¯t even matter if you were a dragon or an ogre. To us, or at least to most of us, you are a hero. What you did¡­ We are unable to ever repay you. I mean that, truly.¡±


    Riven let his gaze trail from the ceiling to rest on Ethel, who was shedding silent tears at the bedside and looking very vulnerable. He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Ethel, are you ok? I¡¯m not that scary, no need to cry.¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up!¡± Ethel pushed him teasingly and spread out a wide, bright smile. ¡°I¡¯m just happy.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Well that¡¯s a nice change from the mainstay of things. I¡¯m d that you¡¯re happy then.¡± Riven didn¡¯t break his gaze, but he really didn¡¯t know what to say after that. ¡°I am rather great, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up!¡± Ethel repeated with augh almost identical to her mother¡¯s, and her cheeks flushed. She paused in herughter when she caught the other man¡¯s nk stare though, as if thinking about something, and then hesitantly leaned forward and gently kissed Riven on the cheek. Flushing an even deeper red with embarrassment, she quickly stood up. ¡°Thank you for helping me. Thank you for helping all of us. I¡¯ll let you get some rest, but afterwards I¡¯d very much like to get to know you better¡­ if you have time to spare for me.¡±


    Riven, still confused as ever at this very quick change of events and attitude, nced curiously between the two other people in the room. ¡°Uh¡­ Sure?¡±


    That was all she¡¯d been wanting to hear, and beaming back at him she exited the room. But before shutting the door, she halfway turned in the doorway. ¡°Fay will be delivering your dinnerter¡­ Is it ok if Ie along?¡±


    Riven chuckled, a warm feeling growing in the pit of his otherwise cold stomach. This was kind of nice. ¡°Absolutely. I¡¯ll see youter, Ethel.¡±


    With a quick nod and wiping some of the sweat from her brow she turned to leave yet again, then slowly came to a stop near a window right outside the hallway. nts hung from the ceiling around her where the sunlight glinted off her bare shoulder still wet with perspiration, and turned around with her back to the wall - giving him a long, silent look he couldn¡¯t quite ce as if she wanted to say more before snapping out of it.


    Then after losing an internal battle against better judgement and with a final smile she was gone and the room had darkened once more. Sighing to himself after the door had shut and feeling rather smug even despite the god awful sickness he was experiencing, he began to daydream about the future. He¡¯d been absolutely terrified of the idea that he¡¯d get out into this new world and be shunned like some kind of outcast, but he was quickly proving himself wrong. Sure, he was a bit of a monster now, but that didn¡¯t define him. As long as he did good by the people around him, he could still carve out a little piece of happiness for himself after all.


    With that thought he bent over the side of the bed, puked again, and went back to curling up in the nkets before falling asleep.


    A deep voice rang out from behind Riven¡¯s back. ¡°I would have words with you.¡±


    ¡°FUCK MAN!¡± Riven whipped back up out of bed to meet the staring gaze of the weirdo in the corner again. He was still half asleep, and though he could register the heartbeats of the people in the vige around him - he had been getting used to phasing them out when he was rxed. ¡°JESUS! Who are you and why are you still here?¡±


    The older, handsome man gave him an unamused smile, and crossed his muscr arms in front of his bare chest. ¡°Mind if I have a short word with you?¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡± Riven looked the elf up and down. The blue warpaint was smeared in certain ces, and cuts had been bandaged along a forearm and calf. ¡°Sure¡­¡±


    The man nodded, sat down on the chair Genua had been on a minute ago, then steepled his fingers in thought. ¡°To answer your question, I am Ethel¡¯s father. I am Genua¡¯s husband. I am the head of this household. My name is Farrod.¡±


    Riven blinked a couple times, waiting for him to continue. ¡°Alrighty Farrod, nice to meet you then. To formally introduce myself, my name is Riven Thane.¡±


    Riven held out a hand, which Farrod only looked at and did not take.


    ¡°I just wanted to tell you that though you helped us, the price you are asking for is high. One that I barely epted.¡± Farrod leaned back in the chair, his nk expression growing cold. ¡°Only barely, and at the request of the rest of the vige. I find the entire idea¡­ disgusting, frankly. And you are pushing your luck by asking it. Be very careful how you tread from here on out, vampire. I will be watching you.¡±


    Riven¡¯s face contorted with confusion. ¡°Huh? What the bloody fuck are you talking about?¡±


    Farrod only grimaced at his words, then stood up to slowly walk away. ¡°We are past ying games with one another, Riven Thane. Far, far past that point.¡±


    A momentter the door shut behind Ethel¡¯s father with a click, and the room became dark again. Riven rubbed at his chin, cocked his head to the side, shook his head and shrugged. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, he could have at least told me what he was talking about. Ungrateful prick.¡±

 Chapter 101

    Chapter 101


    <strong>Chapter 101</strong>


    ¡°You let him leave intentionally? To buy yourself time?¡± Mara asked, confusion written all over her face with her hands behind her back. She stood beside Allie on a rooftop under the starlight, watching their army of undead - minions and sentient creatures alike - march northwards through the darkened streets.


    Allie solemnly nodded, red eyes glowing, watching Vin and Nin pile up bodies of the civilians they¡¯d just ughtered to add to their undead ranks. ¡°Riven¡­ is too kind. You even heard him say it yourself - he wouldn¡¯t have allowed me to do what needs to be done. He wouldn¡¯t have allowed us to continue this war the way it needs to be finished. He would stop me from butchering the animals that need to be butchered.¡±


    ¡°You know, I tend to agree with your brother on that one.¡±


    Allie shot her a re, but Mara held up a hand. ¡°No, don¡¯t give me that look Allie. You know I¡¯ll do whatever you tell me to do. Beyond being friends, I owe you a life debt. However, don¡¯t you think this is a little bit cruel? I mean, they¡¯re children Allie. Surely you¡¯re taking your revenge a bit far.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re being spared from a life of hardship and cruelty.¡± Allie cut back, an edge to her words while stiffening under Mara¡¯s scrutiny. Her right hand tightened around her bone brooch, and her eyes lingered on the bodies below while her people piled up the materials onto wagons for future use. ¡°Imagine what kind of life they¡¯d lead if they followed in their parent¡¯s footsteps.¡±


    ¡°That is not for you to decide, Allie.¡±


    ¡°It is though.¡± Allie turned her entire body, fully confronting her friend with a re. ¡°Let me pose a question, one of morals since you seem to be so keen on the subject this night. Do you think, for even a moment, that those children aren¡¯t going to grow up to hunt us down if we let them live?¡±


    Allie waved over the piles of the dead as her undead soldiers continued to march past the wagons being loaded up. ¡°After everything that has happened? After their family members have died, their memories scarred, their loved ones hammering the ideas into them that their mortal enemies are the undead who scour thisnd? They are indoctrinated now. Prophet makes it so - he forces them to worship that holy book like some kind of new bible. He force-feeds these children philosophical garbage so that one day they may be unquestioning soldiers like so many of the other religious fanatics of past generations have been. So tell me, Mara, do you really believe that if we let them live - that they¡¯d grow up to just leave us alone?¡±Mara frowned from underneath her hood. Her pale, dead eyes wandered over the carnage, and she winced at the gruesome sight.


    ¡°Well?¡± Allie pressed. ¡°Go on. Tell me that I¡¯m wrong. Tell me that they¡¯d grow up to be loving neighbors, ones that could forgive and forget all the things they¡¯ve been told or seen. Tell me that they would not grow into a new generation of hateful enemies that would breed even more of their kind. Tell me, Mara, that they would not cost us the lives of our own in future decades toe.¡±


    Mara¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°We could always bring them up ourselves. Allie, we could raise them as our own children-¡±


    ¡°HAH!¡± Allie barked a cruel, cuttingugh and waved her hand across her front to wipe away the idea. ¡°MARA! Listen to yourself! Bring them in? Raise them as our own? Us? The people who killed their families?¡±


    Allie gave the other woman a grudging side-eye. ¡°Do not be so foolish.¡±


    There was a long pause after that. Mara continued to watch their army trudge along. She listened to the screams in the distance of people their forces encountered along the way. Her gut felt heavy, and her gaze was downcast. ¡°What if Riven finds out what you¡¯ve done?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll all be dead before he gets back. There will be no witnesses, and I will mold a story that is believable.¡± Allie stated with a shake of her head. Her long brown hair flowed about in a midnight gust of wind when she pushed her fingers through it and downed her hood. She took in a deep breath, then exhaled, and smiled underneath the bone mask she wore. ¡°I love my brother. I love him enough to do the things that need to be done that I know he could never do. I will save him from himself, I will make the hard decisions that would break him, and I will carve a piece of this world out for ourselves. I hope you do not think me cruel, Mara, because I am doing this for us. For you, for me. For Vin and Nin. But especially for Riven. This may have started as a revenge story, but now it is something more. The rest of the world may not ept us unless we force them to do so¡­ and I will be the hammer that drives that nail in.¡±


    ***


    The sound of singing woke Riven up again a dayter, and despite having a rather sore body he was already feeling a lot better than he had even earlier that week. Ethel and Fay hade to try and wake him up multiple times, but they only seeded once. Waking up had left his mind a little groggy, but the recovery from the poison had gone very well and he drank another cup of blood that¡¯d been left for him on the little nightstand next to the bed.


    He went to dress himself with his hunger still mulling, pulling up his worn out pants and the bloodstained shirt that now had holes riddled all over it. His cloak had been utterly destroyed, though he¡¯d been supplied with a new cloak of lesser quality by¡­ someone. Nevertheless he put on the clothes and rummaged through his backpack and the bin of stuff Azmoth had carried to see if everything was still there.


    None of it was missing. He still had all the coins he¡¯d umted up until now, he had the strange ivory amulet with those emerald eyes that he still didn¡¯t know the value of. He had the altar¡¯s nting rod, then he found the guild core. His mask was there too, as was his staff.


    Despite this weapon having the ability to move around and act on its own ord to a very small extent, it hadn¡¯t talked yet. Could it talk? It had part of his soul inside it, and that piece of him had merged with some weird-ass self-aware enchantments and another soul fragment to create it. 50 bucks said this thing could talk. Unfortunately the staff usually just gave himpulsions, such as thoughts or feelings, and thus outright words weren¡¯t necessarily needed most of the time.


    Riven reached for his weapon, but then hesitated. Withdrawing his hand and standing up, he sent the staff a mental image through their bond exining why he was going to leave it here. He didn¡¯t want to look hostile or threatening anymore than he already did, and after the way he¡¯d been treated there was no reason to bring it along while he was within this vige. The gnarled object shuddered in response and Riven got a confirmatory response back with a feeling of understanding.


    Unfortunately the peaceful night was then interrupted by a new system notification.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    <strong>[System-Wide Panu Announcement: World Quests have been initiated.</strong>


    <strong>Hello all participants. As yourbined worlds have joined into one single world of Panu on the edge of integrated space, a new page is turned over in the history of the cosmos. All newly integrated beings chosen to undertake starter events and tutorials have finished their initiation events, thus the World Quests can finally begin.</strong>


    <strong>You have 5 years toplete all 6 World Quests as a. Failure toplete any of these World Quests will result in various catastrophes, each catastrophe being independent and different from the others. Regardless of whether or not these catastrophes are avoided, at the end of 50 years the integrated of Panu will then enter the Assimtion Phase - where others may interact directly with Panu without any restrictions. Currently, other factions within the multiverse are not allowed to visit Panu unless they have acquired invasion tokens or enter through other system-regted measures; and the Assimtion Phase ends this era of safety.</strong>


    <strong>Not participating in the World Quests is your prerogative, </strong><strong>but you will be rewarded by the system based on your participation in each of these world quests at hidden intervals</strong><strong>. These prizes are nothing to scoff at and will sometimes be listed beforehand, </strong><strong>with leaderboards</strong><strong> on every world quest being up for everyone to see. If you make the highlights section in your given leaderboard, video will be uploaded disying your actions and your reward will be drastically heightened. These leaderboards and prizes, along with forums regarding these quests, are heavily regted by the Elysium Administrator and will be avable to you through Elysium¡¯s Cortex.</strong>


    <strong>With these leaderboardses the ¡®Guild & Faction System¡¯ function. Up to 20 people may be in a guild at one time. Guilds may be created with the ¡®Create Guild¡¯mand, allowing you various options regarding the race towards these world quests. The usefulness of guilds extend far beyond World Quests, however, </strong><strong>with area quests or dungeons and raids</strong><strong> being heavily focused on guild registrations. Prize distribution is particrly concerned with guild membership, and it will remain this way even off-world for those of you who live long enough to make it that far. A step beyond Guilds is a ¡®Faction¡¯, which can incorporate any number of guilds for war coordination purposes but does not have the same unique benefits as a guild would have. Some examples of Guild Benefits that do not extend into the factions they belong to are: Blessings, Titles & Achievements, Raid Parties, Quest Rewards, Event Sharing, and XP Share.</strong>


    <strong>For those of you from Earth, the Panu Cortex is very simr to what your ¡®Inte¡¯ was. For those from the cybersword Drax faction, the Panu Cortex is very simr to what your ¡®Neuralink¡¯ was. This cortex is specifically set up so that you mayplete the world quests and invade against potential invaders by working together as aary society.</strong><strong> For those of you who are not from Earth, it may be wise to explore the ins and outs of this system in more rigorous detail. There will be </strong><strong>very limited</strong><strong> forums, requests for video uploading options,munication centers, and limited map sharing. Let it be known again: these sections are all very heavily monitored and regted by the administrator - and you will quickly find out what is and what is not allowed to be shared on the Cortex. It may be on a situational basis, and it may be a long-term rule, but experimentation with what you may post and what you cannot post is heavily encouraged. </strong><strong>You may create personalized forums for groups, countries, or guilds. Geographical areas are already set up and monitored by the administrator itself. You may also use the ¡®search¡¯, ¡®suggested¡¯ and ¡®browse¡¯ functions to see what you can find outside the system-given options.</strong>


    <strong>Please visit the World Quests tab on your status page to see more information concerning these quests.</strong>


    <strong>Please visit the Panu Cortex tab on your status page to observe and participate in the cortex, as well as view leaderboards and video footage.</strong>


    <strong>Please visit the Guild & Faction System tab on your status page in order to view your guild statistics.]</strong>


    <strong>[World Quests are now active.]</strong>


    <strong>[Panu Cortex is now active.]</strong>


    <strong>[Guild & Faction System is now active.]</strong>


    The somber singing outside abruptly stopped amidst a series of exmations, and soon it became a mild uproar as people beyond the cabin Riven was currently residing in began talking with mixed emotions about the worldwide message.


    Riven was equally as vexed, excited and a little bit intimidated while re-reading the prompts - and his feelings were exaggerated even further when he pulled up the world quests. There was not one, but two world quests that directly tied in to him¡­ and he really didn¡¯t know how to feel about it.


    <strong>[World Quests (6 of 6 remaining). You have 5 years toplete these quests as a worldwide team effort. Further details on each of these quests will be presented to you individually when youe into direct contact with the given quest. Only the basics are initially handed out otherwise. Current Threat level is an indication of threat concerning the world atrge, and not a direct representation of how it may or may not affect you individually. The World Quests are as follows:</strong><ul><li><strong>World Quest 1, The Lich King¡¯s gue:</strong>In the far reaches of the northern Chaos Wastnds, an ancient lich begins to stir. Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.</li><li><strong>World Quest 2, The Apocalypse Beasts:</strong> ***ADVANCED DETAILS HAVE BEEN UNLOCKED*** Ah, this is one of my personal favorites. I present to you the apocalypse beasts! Your world has been cursed with 3 tyrannical creatures of astronomical power that are currently being incubated and grown into their adult forms. Each of these absolute monstrosities is able to turn the world on its head, demolishing countries in their path and tearing the very fabric of reality apart. Know that if these creatures are allowed to awaken you will likely not live much longer than the 5 years¡¯ limit. Each of these monsters have cultist worshipers from your owns, given knowledge of these creatures before the integration even begun. They will try to awaken the monsters¡¯ adult forms to destroy your world entirely, leading to astronomical amounts of power as a reward for the cultists in their sess for when they leave the smoldering wreckage of Panu. Your goal is to stop and kill their cult worshipers, and find out where these creatures are being incubated so that you will have a world to live on when the 5 years of time runs out. Current Threat Level: Extremely high, death toll within the billions. Catastrophe upon failure ofpletion when 5 years has passed: Nekra, the Skeletal Devourer will be unleashed onto Panu. Chalgathi, the gue Dragon will be unleashed onto Panu. Chubin, the ss Kraken will be unleashed onto Panu. Other details: Uponpleting this quest and finding the incubation chambers of any given apocalypse beast, you may either kill them before they¡¯re born for an item of immense power or im their eggs for yourself. Killing them will bless you with a unique, currently unspecified item, while iming their egg for yourself will link them to you as a minion. iming them as a minion will not produce them in their adult form, but rather they will begin as an infant version of themselves and must be cultivated to higher grades of power over time beforeing into their true potential. You have already been in contact with Chalgathi¡¯s starter quests, thus you will soon receive an update on his particr questline now that the World Quests have been distributed.</li><li><strong>World Quest 3, Invaders from Beyond:</strong>Other gctic civilizations greedily watch your fledgling world, wanting thesends for their own. Invasion tokens have been distributed. Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.</li><li><strong>World Quest 4, Blood of the Fallen God:</strong>An unnamed vampiric elder god has fallen from grace after having sinned against the Elysium Administrator. The elder god has been trapped within a hidden, guardedbyrinth in the deepest levels of the underdark, and you must stop him from awakening. Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.</li><li><strong>World Quest 5, Realm of the Snow Giants:</strong>In the southern reaches of the cial inds in the Numenor Sea, on the opposite end of the world from where the Lich Kingys in wait, an ambitious king of the snow giants has united the warring tribes. Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.</li><li><strong>World Quest 6, Drums in the Deep:</strong>The mer-people and naga of this world have been given a choice¡­ Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.<strong>]</strong></li></ul>

 Chapter 102

    Chapter 102


    <strong>Chapter 102</strong>


    Despite the minor uproar that¡¯d urred because of the system-wide announcement, the elves went back to singing solemn hymns somewhere outside the cabin he was staying shortly afterwards. This was a to think about, and Riven sat there dwelling on it for a good amount of time before deciding to speak on this with Allie in detailter on. No doubt she''d have a lot to say about the whole ''Chalgathi is an apocalypse beast'' thing.


    The main room of therge cabin was moderately sized, having a small circr table with an alchemy set atop it. Chairs carved from oak were nestled up against the table and a basket of roots and fruit hanging from the ceiling. Oddly enough a lot of supplies were hung from the ceiling in baskets, along with various herbs to give the cabin a thick smell of something akin to vani - but sweeter. There was also a fur rug, a couple bows lined up against one wall, and one other half-open bedroom. The windows were all veryrge and open to the air without any ss, though they all had shutters that you couldtch closed to keep the elements out.


    ¡°Are you Riven?¡± a small, soft voice called up to him from the left.


    He¡¯d noticed the little figure watching him since he¡¯d entered and could hear her heart beating from the room over, but he¡¯d pretended not to know in order to see what she did upon his arrival.


    It was a tiny blonde girl, a child, wearing a dress made of reeds. She had two white flowers in her hair, which was braided back into pigtails, and she must have been somewhere between the ages of 6 and 9 years old. She wore no shoes but hopped down off a stool where she was looking out one of the windows where other elves had gathered in the center of the vige, circling a bonfire Riven couldn¡¯t make out very well from here as they sang, and she headed over to look up at the vampire.


    She squinted suspiciously, but nodded in affirmation only a secondter. ¡°Yep, yep! You¡¯re Riven! I¡¯ve been watching you sleep today. You snore.¡±


    He looked down at her, snorted in amusement and got down to one knee, being eye level with the girl to kindly smile back. ¡°I am indeed. Who might you be?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Len. I¡¯m Ethel¡¯s sister.¡± The little girl held out a hand fearlessly to shake, expectantly ring up at him with what he could only assume was a mischievous quirk to her lips. ¡°Nice to meet you! I was told by Ath that this is how you greet people in your world?¡±Raising an eyebrow at the fire in her eyes, Riven contained augh and took her hand in turn. He was surprised his charisma didn¡¯t seem to affect this little girl at all, though maybe being ustomed to his presence in her cabin for the day had done enough to let his presence go without concern. ¡°You¡¯d be right. It¡¯s nice to meet you as well. Ethel never told me she had a sister.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t!? What!?¡± Len threw up her hands in dismay and let out a very exaggerated sigh. ¡°It¡¯s probably because I¡¯m the favorite. Can¡¯t me her.¡±


    ¡°Oh-ho! Is that so!?¡±


    ¡°Yep! Don¡¯t tell her I said that though, she¡¯ll eat all my cookies.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯d you get cookies?!¡±


    ¡°I made them with mother.¡±


    ¡°Genua, right?¡±


    ¡°Yep, that''s my mother''s name.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me what¡¯s going on out there?¡± Riven hiked a thumb towards the crowds of adults that¡¯d gathered around maybe fifteen yards off through the window in the center of the vige. Firelight from the bonfire flickered across their poorly concealed bodies, men and women alike. Dirt and stone streets peeled off around bends between structures molded out of the trees themselves, many of therger two story buildings being of medieval design but growing flowers or vines straight of the building. Much of the vige had been destroyed, including most of the tents, but over half of it still stood tall and it had a very nature-esq feel to it underneath the night sky.


    Len¡¯s face fell, and her shoulders slumped slightly. ¡°They¡¯re singing the hymns for the dead while they burn the bodies of our fallen.¡±


    Riven nodded, standing up straighter and staring out the window with the little girl. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he continued to listen to the melodic songs of a flightless bird finding its way back to heaven. It was definitely a sad series of songs, but they delivered a message of hope and triumph at the end of each set of verses.


    Len pulled up her stool, and with all the strength she could muster - grunting all the while - she dragged one of therger chairs over from the table and set it next to the window so that her stool and the chair were next to each other.


    She got up on her stool, pigtails bobbing, and patted the chair while looking up expectantly at Riven. ¡°Whew! I¡¯m getting stronger! Come sit.¡±


    Jesus this kid was hriously cute. Snorting augh and being unable to keep it in this time, Riven shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve beenying down this entire time, I¡¯ll stand but thank you so much for the thought.¡±


    ¡°Nope! Mother says you¡¯re still weak from fighting off the bad orcs. You have to sit or I¡¯ll get in trouble for not letting mother know you woke up.¡±


    ¡°You were supposed to tell her?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to go back out there. It¡¯s sad, and they¡¯re making all the other kids sing. I hate singing.¡±


    ¡°I bet you¡¯re a great singer though.¡±


    ¡°I am but I hate it.¡±


    Riven¡¯s lips twisted with amusement, and then sadness before sitting down in the chair as Len had asked. He put his hands on his knees and leaned back onto the wood with a plop, watching the firelight flicker from the center of the gathering outside. There were hundreds of elves out there, all of which on this near side had their backs turned to him - though he saw no trace of his minions or Dr. Brass. Nevertheless the sound was soothing to his soul, even despite the sad undertones.


    ¡°My dad made that chair before Avan died.¡± Len abruptly stated out of nowhere, rubbing her hands together and staring out of therge window with a far-away gaze that told of visiting memories from long ago. ¡°I wish Avan was still here.¡±


    Riven remained silent for a long time after that, not knowing what to say at first. ¡°Who is Avan?¡±


    ¡°He was my brother.¡±


    Riven¡¯s heart sank, and his fists tightened. ¡°Did he pass away recently during the battle?¡±


    ¡°Last year.¡± Len said with a frown, looking up to meet his gaze again with her hair blowing about when a strong breeze filtered through. ¡°Before the worlds merged. He was killed protecting the vige from raiders, that¡¯s what mother says. Father and Ethel didn¡¯t take it well. I didn¡¯t either, but I''m better than they are.¡±


    Riven¡¯s gaze fell to the wooden floor beneath his feet. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ok. Father says he was a hero, and that there are far worse ways to be remembered.¡±


    There was a long pause as Riven considered Len¡¯s words. He sped his hands together in front of him, and nodded his agreement. ¡°I would certainly agree."


    ¡°I wish he was here now. He¡¯d beat up Elder Preen for us while father won¡¯t.¡±


    The surprised look Len got from Riven was more than enough to warrant further exnation from the little girl, and she pursued this topic rather aggressively without even being asked. ¡°Elder Preenes to hit mother and Ethel when father is away. He¡¯s hit me too sometimes.¡±


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The fuck?


    ¡°...I¡¯m not sure I follow. Could you exin what you mean?


    The little elf girl with pigtails gave him a knowing look. ¡°Because he was a man and he wants mother and Ethel of course.¡±


    Riven blinked. ¡°I don¡¯t think I understand what you¡¯re trying to tell me. Who is Elder Preen and why would he hit you while your father is away? Does your father know someone is hitting you?¡±


    Len¡¯s eyebrows rose, this time it was her turn to be surprised. ¡°He¡¯s hitting us because our family owes him debts we can¡¯t pay, he owns all this stuff, and Elder Preen ranks over father. He sends father away on dangerous hunts on purpose, is what mother says. Father can¡¯t say no or we¡¯ll be kicked out of the vige for not paying our debts, and while he¡¯s gone Elder Preenes to visit us to spend time with Ethel and my mother Genua. If they don''t spend time with him while father is gone, he''ll take everything we have for our debts or worse.¡±


    The actual fuck?


    ¡°But does your father, Farrod, know this?¡±


    Len shrugged. ¡°I think so. But he doesn¡¯t want to make it worse. That is what mother says, but I¡¯m not sure I believe her.¡±


    Riven¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Why are you telling me all of this?¡±


    Ethel shot him a suspicious sideways nce, then shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Reasons.¡±


    Riven nced around, looking at all the belongings here and then back over to the little girl. ¡°Isn¡¯t this house yours? Doesn¡¯t this chair belong to you, Ethel and your mother?¡±


    Len shook her head. ¡°No, it belongs to the vige elder Preen. It used to be ours but our debts weren¡¯t paid so he took it all and let us live here. He¡¯s trying to get father killed by monsters, to make mother and sister his next wives. But we can¡¯t leave, we wouldn¡¯t have had anywhere to go. It got worse since the worlds merged, because now we need the vige for protection. Father says we wouldn''t be able to make it on our own.¡±


    The involuntary facepalm hit Riven square in the center of his forehead, startling Len and causing her eyes to go wide as she simultaneously flinched.


    Riven apologetically dropped his hands immediately after that when he realized he¡¯d surprised the little girl. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡±


    The brief moment of fear passed over Len and she adjusted herself in her seat once again to lecture him with a wagging finger like her mother no doubt did to her. ¡°Why¡¯d you hit yourself? Are you a masochist? That¡¯s not good, Riven. Not good at all. That¡¯s how you get headaches.¡±


    There were many things Riven wanted to say to that. Amongst them were: How did she know what a masochist was? Why are people such scumbags? Why was he not surprised that some old guy would try to take advantage of their situation during a tumultuous time where Len¡¯s father was indebted and a transition of worlds had urred? Was this ¡®Elder Preen¡¯ trying to force Genua into an affair and have her daughter Ethel do something simr while Farrod was out? Farrod was a prick in the one interaction Riven had undertaken with the man, but if what Len was telling him was urate he genuinely felt bad for the guy - if not angry that he hadn¡¯t stood up to what was going on.


    This kind of exploitation of the weak was bing a trend now that the equivalent of an apocalypse had begun: with simr situations happening in his tutorial, the groups in Brightsville, and now here.


    Utterly ridiculous.


    So he took in a deep breath, still wondering why the little girl had brought this up to HIM of all people in the first ce, and he asked Len a follow up question. ¡°Does this ¡®Elder Preen¡¯ live here with all of you when Farrod is gone?¡±


    ¡°No. He visits a lot and spends the night sometimes with mother, but she doesn¡¯t like it much and tries to make excuses so he¡¯ll leave. Sometimes they even argue in front of us, especially about Ethel or Father. Or his wives try to make me do chores for them, or they say mean things to me. I hate it when that happens.¡±


    Len humphed loudly and crossed her arms with a sullen frown.


    ¡°Why would his other wives say mean things to you? You¡¯re just a kid.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a BIG kid!¡± Len red over at him with a humph full of venom and animatedly re-crossed her arms in anger. ¡°I can do lots of things for them, that¡¯s why! Because I¡¯m bigger now. They think I¡¯m not doing enough chores. They always try to get me to do their work and I hate them. I hate them lots. Mother will tell them that I¡¯m not their daughter and then they all yell at each other.¡±


    Boy oh boy. This all sounded like a Jerry Springer episode with a twist of fantasy.


    The little girl raised a finger. ¡°You were really cool by the way.¡±


    Huh?


    Riven pointed to his chest in genuine surprise. ¡°Me?¡±


    Len nodded eagerly and grinned, turned fully to face him as her stool rocked back and forth momentarily under the sudden movement. ¡°Yeah! Mother says I shouldn¡¯t like fighting but you and your minions were like, so fast! And evil looking! I thought orcs were scary, but you made them pee themselves!¡±


    Riven gave a frown of concern, not wanting to give off bad vibes after having just gotten here. ¡°Surely I wasn¡¯t that scary.¡±


    ¡°Yes you were! You were evenughing! I even saw the orc man pee himself right in front of me when I was chained up!¡±


    ¡°... Wait, I really made a guy piss his pants?¡±


    ¡°Yep! A big green musclehead! Then you beat him up and broke his teeth after that after you stopped firing magic. Don¡¯t you remember!?¡±


    There was a long pause, the palpable excitement from the little girl somewhat bothering him but also giving him a sense of strange pride. Should she really be that excited about what he¡¯d done? Then again¡­ why not?


    ¡°Alright, that''s actually a milestone for me, so I¡¯ll take it.¡± Riven gave the little girl a yful wink and she loudlyughed, drawing the attention of some of the other elvish adults who were about to scold her - but that changed when they saw Riven sitting next to her in the window.


    Their expressions varied between fear, relief, curiosity and surprise. Thankfully the fear portion was far less than the other range of emotions shown, but their nearbyrades turned to see what they were looking at when they¡¯d stopped singing.


    It was like a wave-effect, with one person after another all stopping the hymns until all eyes were on him.


    He stared back evenly in the awkward silence, meeting many of their gazes and finding Senna, Ethel and Genua in the crowd to his left waving his way- right before the crowd parted and two older elves stepped forward. They were both ancient, each of them graying with wrinkles with one shorter hunchback and the other being rather tall. They each had on ceremonial robes of vibrant greens and blues, distinguishing them from the rest of the scantily d men and women in nature-esque attire on the periphery of the central bonfire that was now in full view since the crowd had parted.


    One of the two old men stepped forward to greet Riven while leaning on a wooden staff, it was the hunchback and likely older man of the two elders. He fumbled with his hands to put them together in front of his chest, and bowed low a lot like a buddhist monk would do. ¡°You¡¯ve awakened. I hope you¡¯re feeling well, Riven Thane - The Hero of Greenstalk Vige. Do you mind stepping outside so that we can better see you?¡±


    Riven nkly stared, then caught a jab in the side from the little girl Len who encouraged him into action with a whisper, and he stood up to step out of the window onto the grass outside. Ake shimmered in the moonlight off to his left over a hundred yards away, silent ripples wavering back and forth where he could barely make out Azmoth lighting up the shoreline around one of the tree-built houses. The majority of the vige was still shaded from the night sky even here before the surrounding clearing in the near distance formed a vige perimeter - and then continued on into forest again into the base of the mountains.


    The hunchbacked elder extended a gnarled hand out in greeting, performing it uneasily as if it were the first time he¡¯d ever done so - and Riven took his hand to shake. ¡°I hope I am performing the greeting right young man, forgive me if I am not. We greet each other differently here.¡±


    Riven¡¯s red eyes traced the older man¡¯s wrinkled face for any signs of emotion and only found sincerity there. ¡°You are doing just fine. If you¡¯d be so kind as to teach me how to greet another with your own customs, I could adapt. I¡¯d also like to thank you for your hospitality since I fell sickst night.¡±


    ¡°Oh. So polite.¡± The other elder, a taller man with good posture and a slightly crooked nose said in a neutral expression. He sped his hands behind his back. Long braided locks of white hair trailed past his shoulders on either side in the front and back. ¡°Not verymon for¡­ <em>your</em> kind. In fact this is the first time I¡¯ve ever talked to a vampire face to face without wishing him or her an immediate and savage <em>death</em>.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± The hunchback agreed with a chuckle, letting go of Riven¡¯s hand and taking in a deep breath. ¡°This is truly an odd situation. Though let it be known that you will never again have to thank any of us. We are in your debt forever for the things you did those few nights past, and we are all d to see you have recovered. My name is Elder Bren. Ignore the jabs of Elder Preen, even though he does not like it - the vige has spoken. I have spoken. You will forever be a friend and wee here in our vige. Though many of us have died in the recent attack, none of us would be here in this vige today without you. As for our customs, we often greet each other by bowing with hands sped in front of us.¡±


    Elder Bren showed this by doing it himself, bowing low at the waist with sped hands in front of his chest - and to Riven¡¯s surprise many of the others in the crowd did the same as a sign of respect. Riven evaluated the taller old man who stared back at him with a forced smile that didn¡¯t even attempt to reach his ears. Based on the bodynguage as well as the words Elder Bren had just spoken, the hunchbacked elder was the more dominant power in the vige.


    Turning his gaze back to Elder Bren, Riven bowed slightly to repeat the gesture in turn. ¡°You have my deepest thanks.¡±


    Elder Bren nodded once, then motioned back to the bonfire. ¡°We are finishing our hymns for the dead. Afterwards though, now that you are up, I¡¯d like to have words with you. Have Ethel or Genua take you to my residence after the ceremony, and I will speak to you there. Or Farrod, though I believe he was sent out on patrol.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow at thatstment.


    With the backstory the little girl Len had given him, Riven without a doubt noticed the mild sneer on Elder Preen¡¯s countenance that shifted into a neutral stance just as fast as it¡¯de upon mention of Ethel and her mother. Making a mental note to watch this one, Riven watched the elders take their leave and position themselves in front of the bonfire - with the crowd closing back around them soon after.


    Though he did continue to get asional stares while he waited inside.

 Chapter 103

    Chapter 103


    <strong>Chapter 103</strong>


    Elder Bren¡¯s treehouse was thergest in the vige, being formed from what Ethel described as ¡®tree shaping¡¯ to create rooms, balconies and multiple floors all the way from the base of the trunk to about thirty feet up. The leaves, bark and roots were all still intact and the tree was actually still very much alive, unlike many of the smoking husks of the other buildings in the vige after the greenskins attacked, but it¡¯d been expanded and molded like y to fit the needs of the people living in it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting outside!¡± Ethel whispered, urging him in with her one remaining hand and waving enthusiastically while Ath sighed in irritation in the background. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you after!¡±


    The door to the first level closed behind him, leaving Riven staring at the hunchbacked old man and two redheaded women - one about his own age and the other being middle-aged.


    ¡°Riven, let me introduce you to my two wives.¡± Elder Bren gestured to the older woman first, an elf with a deep purple dye coloring the front of her woven leaf vest. ¡°This is Cherri.¡±


    The old man¡¯s staff moved to the younger, middle-aged woman next. ¡°This is Nil.¡±


    Both women bowed politely, remaining silent and standing in the background behind a couch molded out of the tree itself that was adorned with furs and pillows.


    The rest of the room was also a lot fancier than the house Ethel and her family lived in. It had a spiral staircase in the back leading to the next floor up, a long ovoid table and a kitchen to his right, a couple tapestries, a glowing yellow-orange stone in the ceiling that illuminated the main room, some open chests with various garments of clothing, and many open-aired windows simr to the ones he¡¯d seen across many of the cabins or treehouses here.


    Elder Bren smoothed out his vibrant blue and green robes, sitting down with a huff and motioned for Riven to join him on the opposite end of the couch. ¡°Do you drink tea? I¡¯ve never really asked a vampire whether or not they still enjoy¡­ normal food.¡±¡°Tea would be great.¡± Riven replied pleasantly, enjoying the smell from the herbs hanging from the ceiling in a simr manner to Ethel¡¯s home.


    Nil, the younger wife, quickly went off to the kitchen and brought back a wooden tray with wooden cups that were filled with a warm and soothing liquid that ran down Riven¡¯s throat like a breath of fresh air.


    He sipped casually in the warm light of Elder Bren¡¯s home, putting the drink down on the nearby equivalent to a coffee table and turned his attention back to the old man who was silently evaluating him - tea in hand.


    ¡°So what did you bring me here to talk about?¡±


    The old man took a sip of his own drink and ced it on the table next to Riven¡¯s. Hupping slightly and beating his chest with a gnarled fist, he cocked his head to one side and crossed his legs. A single pointed ear stuck out from the left side of his head that was angled up, and Riven could now distinguish a long scar leading down from the ear onto the old elf¡¯s neck that he¡¯d not seen before.


    The elder spoke. ¡°First of all I would like to reiterate that you are a wee friend here in the vige after the lives you saved. We were on the losing end of that battle until you arrived, and with the casualties you and your creatures inflicted I doubt the orcs or goblins will mount any attack on us any time soon. That being said, after seeing you fight, I have a proposal for you.¡±


    There was hesitation in the old man¡¯s words, and Riven raised an eyebrow. ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°Ahem, yes. I was hoping you¡¯d eradicate the rest of the greenskins for us.¡±


    The room became utterly silent and Elder Bren¡¯s two wives stared just as intently at Riven as the elder did. Riven was a little taken aback by the brazen call to arms, especially after not having known them for more than half an hour now.


    ¡°And why would I do that?¡± Riven asked slowly, concern in his voice as he leaned back against one of the pillows on the couch. ¡°Assuming there are a lot more of them than the group that attacked, what makes you think that I¡¯m even capable of that?¡±


    ¡°Most of the fighting force of the orcs and goblins are already dead due to your actions. The problem is that goblins breed like rats, and the orcs still have a chieftain as well as a small warparty of his elites that weren¡¯t here based on our scouting reports. We know where they are, if you are able to take advantage of that knowledge for an ambush or surprise strike you will certainly be able to kill them all.¡±


    Riven wasn¡¯t so convinced, but he didn¡¯t reply and motioned for the old man to continue the sale¡¯s pitch with a wave of his hand.


    ¡°As for why you would do so¡­¡± Elder Bran continued while clearing his throat awkwardly. ¡°They are a threat to the surrounding area as a whole. They would threaten you, as well as the people you care about.¡±


    Riven thought back to Allie, and he tried to hide his grin. ¡°I doubt they¡¯d be able to handle the people I care about.¡±


    ¡°You speak of the other vampires?¡±


    ¡°Vampires as in plural?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your sister and whatever others follow her in the city to the north. Correct?¡±


    ¡°Wait. How did you know about her?¡±


    To this, the old man looked confused. ¡°Ethel and Senna informed us of her. They said there were more, were Ethel and Senna mistaken to assume you have a coven there?¡±


    Riven opened his mouth to reply, but hesitated momentarily as he thought about how to reply. ¡°That is somewhat urate¡­ though not entirely. I wouldn¡¯t really call it a coven.¡±


    ¡°Then what would you call it?¡±


    Riven thoughtfully tapped his fingers against the wooden table in front of him. ¡°What would you call arge group of undead?"


    ¡°Undead that weren¡¯t just vampires?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Elder Bren furrowed his brows and crossed his hands. ¡°You would call that a necropolis¡­¡±


    There was an awkward silence between the two men, and then the older man cleared his throat with a dismissing wave of his right hand. ¡°Regardless, I was also under the impression that you cared for Ethel. That is what she has been telling us, Senna confirmed this. They were saying that¡¯s the only reason you came to help, and that you expected rpense by taking in her as a¡­ personal food source. As property.¡±


    Huh?


    Riven stared nkly back at the old elf, trying not to give away any of his internal emotions. Though he was definitely piecing things together now. Thements Senna had made about Elder Preen wanting Ethel¡¯s hand in marriage. Thements about how Ethel didn¡¯t like the leadership and her change in bodynguage when talking about it on the trip here. The speech Ethel¡¯s little sister had given him concerning the problems Ethel and her mother Genua were having with Elder Preen¡¯s more than forward attempts to force himself on them whenever Farrod wasn¡¯t around.


    Was Ethel using him as a scapegoat to get out of a forced marriage to some old guy? He didn¡¯t know whether or not to feel irritated about being tricked or not. Couldn¡¯t really me her for wanting out of a situation like she¡¯d been in, but she could have at the very least asked him first. She¡¯d outright lied to the vige elders too, but perhaps that was a necessary evil to conduct her n sessfully. Apparently even her friend Senna had gone along with it, and this also exined why her father Farrod had been so hostile towards him when Riven had briefly talked to the man not long ago.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Riven eventually said with an even, controlled tone despite the mild anger simmering up inside of him. ¡°What if I said she was right in saying so?¡±


    Riven lied through his teeth with that one, but the look of relief washing over Elder Bren made him even more confused.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°That would be good, very good.¡± The old man leaned forward, picked up his cup and took a long sip again. ¡°Then it makes sense. I couldn¡¯t for the life of me figure out why else you¡¯de help us, being a vampire, but this does make sense and it puts my mind at ease. You¡¯re wanting to turn her into your version of cattle, or a thrall then. Or as your wife to add alongside your female minions like so many other warlocks do. I do not care. Well I can tell you that Elder Preen is less than happy about this because he¡¯d wanted Ethel as his own third wife, but the vige as a whole - including myself - has decided against his wishes to obtain her for himself if what Ethel had said was true. You may have Ethel as your own, and you may live or visit here in Greenstalk as a member of ourmunity. We could even set up trade negotiations between your necropolis up north and this vige. There is a stiption though.¡±


    ¡°Being that I need to eradicate the remnants of the greenskins.¡±


    ¡°Correct. Or at the very least you need to drive them away from thesends. That was the concession that I made to Elder Preen, if you wish to live or travel openly amongst us you¡¯ll have to do us this favor. You¡¯re more than capable based on what we all witnessed already and it appears you have backing from more of your undead brethren too. You are far stronger than any of us, and many of our most experienced warriors are now lost to the earth and heavens.¡±


    Riven wanted to groan and rubbed his forehead with his fingers. This is not what he¡¯d been expecting nor what he wanted. He didn¡¯t have time to take responsibility for Ethel, because it was more than just that and she likely knew it. If he epted her as a thrall, he¡¯d bemitted to making sure she was safe - but he¡¯d also in some ways be obligated to help her family out too. Her mother, her father, and her little sister were also in a bad situation concerning this ¡®Elder Preen¡¯ prick, and she¡¯d likely try to drag him into the middle of it all. He also had a world quest oriented directly at him, specifically concerning the apocalypse beast Chalgathi, and he had no doubt Allie would have a lot to say on the matter because she¡¯d been in his trials as well.


    Speaking of which he still couldn¡¯t believe Chalgathi had turned out to be a god damned apocalypse beast of all things.


    Nor was Riven interested in creating any kind of harem, which apparently was a popr fad amongst the more prominent men of this vige. But based on Elder Bren¡¯sments on potentially taking Ethel as a wife along with his minions? Jesus, this guy had the wrong idea, and he could only imagine what kind of absolutely insane shenanigans having Ath as a wife would mean. Fay was attractive, he couldn''t deny that, but he''d already promised himself that he''d never pursue anything of the kind with her due to the master-minion rtionship they had. It felt gross to even think about those things.


    In Riven¡¯s experience even having a rtionship with one woman was enough to drive him batshit crazy. Women were essentially like aliens to him at times in the realm of the dating world, always talking about their horoscope zodiac sign bullshit and whatnot whenever he got into a rtionship long enough for them to getfortable. God his ex girlfriends had been truly stupid. Perhaps it¡¯d just been bad luck though, and he held hope that this would not be a continuing trend during his dating life in the future. But one thing was for certain: He didn¡¯t want to hear about scorpio, aquarius or even god damn asparagus even one more time so help him god.


    ¡°Having a warlock of your caliber in the vige would also be quite a protective boon against the local monsters¡­¡± Elder Bren stated after the thoughtful pause with a more upbeat and chipper demeanor now that he seemed to think Riven was on board. ¡°So we¡¯d be willing to overlook your more sinister attributes if you wished to move here. Perhaps even the rest of your undead counterparts could move in nearby? I do not think having them in direct proximity with our own people would be wise¡­ but having them as a close ally would be beneficial for us, given the frequent monster attacks.¡±


    Riven gave the old man a dubious look. It was very apparent that after this recent orc attack, the elves were very shaken. Perhaps they¡¯d lost most of their fighting potential and wouldn¡¯t be able to ward off the local enemies, and given that Riven had seen a cyclops alongside numerous wargs and now greenskin invaders?


    Riven was pretty sure Elder Bren, and the vige, was desperate for protection. ¡°You¡¯re willing to overlook my more sinister attributes huh¡­ I can see that. What makes you think that I can¡¯t just take Ethel right now? What¡¯s stopping me from doing it and keeping her as a thrall without your say-so?¡±


    The hunchbacked man paused mid-sip of his tea, and his paled slightly. Slowly he put the tea down, coughed, and folded his hands over his knees while looking at the floor. ¡°Ethel said you weren¡¯t that kind of person, and wouldn¡¯t take her unwillingly. Was she wrong?¡±


    Slowly, Riven let out a low groan and his head fell into his hands. ¡°She¡¯s not wrong.¡±


    The old man beamed. ¡°Very good.¡±


    ¡°What about the other elf tribes in the area? Weren¡¯t there other groups of your kind that could help with this?¡±


    Elder Bren¡¯s face fell almost immediately upon hearing the question, and he shook his head. ¡°They are all dealing with their own problems and are too far away from here to help. We are quite disced from the rest, and even attempting to travel there by ourselves would make us easy targets for local predators or the greenskins again. Let it be known that this is one of the less dangerous areas of the wilderness ording to scouting reports...¡±


    Riven pursed his lips while he thought this over. It was a lot to take in, and it¡¯d all been thrown at him out of the blue -pletely unexpected. Well, at the very least if he decided to go through with this¡­ it did solve his problem concerning finding a thrall and someone to feed on. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t a bad idea after all, though he doubted he¡¯d be moving here now that he¡¯d finally found Allie again. No doubt he¡¯d visit¡­


    But that defeated the purpose of this proposal. Elder Bren obviously wanted him to stay. If he left, to go back to his sister, where would that leave the elves? It would leave them defenseless, or close to it after most of their warriors had died. At least that¡¯s how it seemed. Perhaps they coulde back with him to Allie¡¯s tower instead of staying here? Or perhaps Allie could have a host of undead guard this vige as an outpost for their newly growing civilization, should the elves of Greenstalk swear loyalty?


    <strong>[System Quest (Triggered by Elder Bren), Eradicate the Greenskins: The orcs and goblins in this area have be a grave threat to the elves of Greenstalk Vige, having raided their hunting and scouting parties numerous times. Now they¡¯ve even gone as far as to attack the vige itself, nearly killing or capturing everyone there until your timely intervention. Elder Bren of Greenstalk Vige has offered the elf Ethel as private property in exchange for your help in killing or driving away the local orcs and goblins. You will also be given citizenship bypleting this quest, free of persecution due to your race with all the rights of a fully fledged vige member. You willstly be given an unspecified B-Ranked prize for your level by the Elysium Administrator uponpletion of this quest.]</strong>


    Riven re-read the description and rified a point. What was a B-Rank prize? He¡¯d never seen ranking on prizes before. ¡°You want me to kill all the orc children and women too?¡±


    ¡°They will grow up to be monsters just like the rest of them. So yes.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯ll be fine if I just drive them off?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ though this will be hard to do without killing at least most of them. We¡¯ll also be sending one of our scouts to confirm your actions if you decide to take us up on this offer. I can see you¡¯re still not entirely sure of yourself on this decision however, and the vige wishes to know what your decision will be. If you need time to think on this¡­¡±


    ¡°The entire vige knows about what you¡¯re pitching me?¡±


    ¡°Pitching?¡±


    ¡°Offering me.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Yes, the entire vige is aware. We discussed it publicly when Ethel and Senna revealed your original terms for helping us in the first ce. Ethel¡¯s mother and little sister are in agreement with the terms as well, much to Elder Preen¡¯s disliking. And to Farrod¡¯s disliking as well, though for obviously different reasons.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re all ok with having undead or vampires in your midst?¡±


    At this, the old man hesitated. ¡°... Yes, if it means that you offer us protection in return. You¡¯ll have Ethel to feed on. Along with some of the goblins we captured, it should be enough to sustain you. I would strongly advise against eating her though¡­ Even though Ethel would be your cattle, or a thrall to feed upon, she is still part of the vige.¡±


    Riven had to hold back a snort of half-disgust and half-amusement concerning thement. ¡°I had never intended to kill or eat any of you.¡±


    ¡°That is what Ethel told us. She and Senna had some very kind things to say about you, which did a lot in convincing the others in ourmunity. However¡­ there are definitely naysayers that don¡¯t agree with you being here even after what you¡¯ve done. Many of those same naysayers may have their doubts quelled by doing this great service for us.¡±


    Despite the obvious internal turmoil Riven was experiencing, he couldn¡¯t deny that having a constant food source was a very good thing to bargain with on the elves¡¯ parts. He¡¯d had hunger pains regrly when not feeding on blood and he¡¯d been terrified he¡¯d resort back to the way he¡¯d been back in Negrada when he¡¯d killed that poor man from Earth in a fit of extreme hunger. He¡¯d lost his sanity upon initial transition into a vampire, and his bloodline had informed him that vampires were very prone to this if they didn¡¯t stay fed, so he had to deal with the reality of it and find a consistent food source that Ethel and her mother could provide. The goblins would suffice too¡­ but having fed on them already he could safely say that they were a little less than tasty. Filling, but not good to the tongue.


    His more primal side hoped that Ethel was more fulfilling in terms of the taste of her blood, even despite his conscious desire to push those thoughts aside.


    In the end, a cooperation of his hunger and the want to help Ethel won out over his doubts and suspicions - even despite his anger at being somewhat blindsided and tricked by both her and Senna. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll do it. Let me know when and where, and I¡¯ll finish the job I started.¡±


    Elder Bren and his two wives were outwardly ted with Riven¡¯s words, and the old man stood up - brushing out his vibrant blue and green robes to p Riven on the shoulder. ¡°Very good young man! I will see to it that we have a feast in your honor when the deed is done, and I will let everyone know! The sooner you can do this the better, but we will not rush you out of the vige just yet. Rest up and be sure that you are prepared for the battle at hand, we want you to seed more than you know. If you fail, we will have to flee this part of the world in search of a new home¡­ and who knows what awaits beyond the borders of this forest.¡±


    In the distance a ruckus was building up. Angry shouts of men and women rose up in the dark of night, and the sound grew louder the closer the individuals got. Riven and the elves in the room became silent listening to it, and one of Elder Bren¡¯s wives began to rub her temple - losing her smile with a frustrated groan.


    Secondster a rapid, angry knock sounded at the front door and a man¡¯s angry voice called through. ¡°BREN! Bren get out here, we need to talk!¡±

 Chapter 104

    Chapter 104


    <strong>Chapter 104</strong>


    Elder Bren let out a deep sigh and one of his wives scurried over to the door, letting in a fuming Elder Preen. The old man was obviously disheveled from some kind of physical confrontation, with dirtied robes and a bleeding scratch along his right cheek. He stomped inside but quickly stopped upon seeing Riven sitting on the couch, flushing in anger and pointing an using finger Riven¡¯s way. ¡°His BITCH subus attacked me! That DEMON attacked me! We cannot have these MONSTERS living amongst us! I will not stand for it!¡±


    Behind him Ath¡¯s barkingugh echoed amongst the trees, and Riven could see Fay standing defensively in front of Genua, Ethel¡¯s mother. The subus had her wings spread out,yers of unholy mists radiating from her hands threateningly, shielding the elf woman from a trio of three men with Ethel holding her little sister Len¡¯s hand and yelling something at them in an obvious disy of anger.


    ¡°They¡¯ve got to go! NOW!¡± Elder preen raged, shaking there in the doorway while Elder Bren eyed him with exhaustion and disappointment.


    Elder Bren stood up, gripped his staff and walked forward to meet the other vige elder. He poked Elder Preen in the chest with the butt of his staff and frowned upwards. ¡°If the other elders were still alive to witness your pettiness, they¡¯d be sincerely concerned about your mental state and abuse of power - Elder Preen.¡±


    ¡°Abuse of power!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You only want them to leave because you wish to take Ethel and Genua for your own, given your unhealthy obsession with them recently I¡¯d even say you¡¯ve be rather unhinged in your attempts to force yourself on them. I can only imagine how Farrod feels about it, because he certainly knows.¡± Elder Bren nodded solemnly, putting the staff back down against the hardwood floor with a light thud. ¡°And don¡¯t try to deny it. I will not go into specifics about what it is you have or have not been doing, but I am senior to you and have more of a say. This is final, and I have the support of the entire vige in doing it. Not only do they support this vampire for what he did, but for what he is going to do.¡±


    Elder Preen snarled and wiped away a drop of blood that trickled down his cheek. ¡°I have every right to take them! They are living in my house and their patriarch owes me! I even paid them a dowry for their daughter!¡±


    ¡°A debt that has been paid many times over with the actions of this young man, or by the actions you so cruelly enforce on Genua because of her husband¡¯s gambling habits. It is true that they owe you a great deal, and that is the only reason I am allowing your behavior to continue as is.¡± Elder Bren stated coolly. ¡°As for their daughter, I will personally repay you for the dowry you ced on Ethel¡¯s behalf.¡±¡°You can¡¯t do that!¡±


    ¡°I can and I will. There will be no arguing about it further, unless you wish to go fight the greenskins yourself.¡± Elder Bren cocked his head to one side spectively. ¡°Do you wish to go kill them yourself? If you can, I will seriously reconsider handing Genua¡¯s daughter over to Riven as a thrall. By all means, you may try.¡±


    The taller elf snarled again, showing his teeth and taking an aggressive step forward. ¡°You are a traitor to our kind, Elder Bren, for allowing this to happen.¡±


    ¡°Strong words from one who never joined the great hunt. I mean truly, are you daft? This vampire could kill you in an instant and you sit here harassing his property-to-be, along with one of his minions? You¡¯ve lost your mind to jealousy. Bullying Farrod with your rank or followers is one thing, he cares little for the family he has even if you do greatly insult him by pursuing his wife and daughter. But what you¡¯re doing now is madness.¡±


    At this, Elder Preen grew an even brighter red with anger. Despite his quivering rage, he did take a step back with a hesitant re directed Riven¡¯s way. Then he shot a look over his shoulder at his three cronies that were still harassing Fay, Ethel and Genua - and took a moment to calm down. ¡°Alright, fine. If the vampire dies trying to exterminate the greenskins, I keep the woman for my own.¡±


    Elder Bren shrugged. ¡°That was the original n anyways. If the vampire cannot hold up his end of the bargain, you may have her and even her mother for yourself. Genua has no husband who is willing to stand up for his own kin, so he is not a man worthy of the woman he is bound to. If this vampire fails, we will banish Farrod and allow you to indulge yourself with your pursuits of his family. This is a fair deal, is it not enough to keep you calm?¡±


    Riven scratched his head in a state of shock, listening to the absurd exchange while these two old guys bargained in deals with women like they were trading cards or collectable items. They were another man¡¯s family for god¡¯s sake and they acted like Ethel or her family had no say in what would happen to them. It was disgusting. It didn¡¯t sit well with Riven at all.


    ¡°If I do this¡­¡± Riven cut in with a raised hand and a cleared throat. ¡°You¡¯ll be forgiving Ethel¡¯s family of their debts entirely.¡±


    Elder Bren blinked and stared back at the younger man, while Elder Preen¡¯s face fell into a glowering, angry frown.


    ¡°I will not take no for an answer.¡± Riven stated tly, rising up to his full height to challenge the simmering old pervert who looked like he wanted to lunge at Riven¡¯s throat.


    Riven could only wish he would.


    ¡°Done.¡± Elder Bren stated with an abrupt wave of his hand. ¡°I agree to your demand, if you do this I will pay off all of her family¡¯s debts too.¡±


    The standoff didn¡¯tst much longer. Elder Preen didn¡¯t even acknowledge Riven when he made his exit and called out to whoever it was that was harassing the women outside. The three men, all adult elves with blonde or silver hair, joined him momentster while making rude remarks about Genua on their way out.


    ¡°Elder Bren.¡± Riven calmly said while standing up to his full height and stretching.


    The old man turned warily back to him with an exhausted sigh. ¡°Yes, Riven?¡±


    Riven gestured after the other elder who was walking back through the vige under the starlight. ¡°I just wanted to say that I appreciate your hospitality, I truly do. I don¡¯t intend to cause any trouble and will do my very best to help you. However, I saw one of his henchmen almost strike my minion, Fay, while they argued out there. I don¡¯t know what was being said or why, but if that¡¯d happened I¡¯d haveid his guts out on the grass without thinking twice or losing any sleep over it. And that¡¯s only if Fay didn¡¯t melt them into a necrotic pile of goo first. I¡¯m surprised she didn¡¯t already, and it shows significant restraint on her part. Please ry that message to him and those buffoons so that there aren¡¯t any unfortunate deaths in the future. I may be calm now, but I wouldn¡¯t be if he or his people ever struck anyone I care about; and my familiars take a very keen liking to eating people.¡±


    Elder Bren paled slightly and gave a nervousugh. ¡°Of course!¡±


    From the shadows of the room above and up the stairs, Ath¡¯s slim, pitch-ck figure dropped down with absolute silence and trot over to the old elf - nearly giving the elder and his two wives a heart attack in the process when she made herself known.


    ¡°I¡¯d been hoping he¡¯d do something stupid.¡± Ath pouted, frowning and folding her arms in front of her. ¡°I was wanting to dismember something ever since our fight with the orcs. Oh well! Off we go Riven,e on!¡±


    Ath¡¯s lithe form evaporated in a blur of motion and she ran out the door. Riven was close on her heels, and soon Elder Bren was alone with his wives on the bottom floor of his house.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    ***


    Genua¡¯s face was bruised where she¡¯d been hit hard by Elder Preen¡¯s backhand p. She¡¯d been struck after finally telling him and his henchmen <em>¡®no,¡¯</em> and that¡¯d been all it¡¯d taken for him to fly into a rage. He¡¯d screamed at her and beaten her rather badly, leaving other bruises all over her body that were easy enough to see to anyone looking. Apparently he¡¯d been stopped by Fay when she¡¯de upon the scene. When she¡¯d then struck him back, he¡¯d almost tried to fight them when he realized the odds were significantly in Fay¡¯s favor. The subus may be utility oriented, but she could still kill. Azmoth had lost his temper and nearly ripped him apart right then, with Ath in the background watching silently at a distance to see whether or not she was needed.


    Nevertheless, Elder Preen had followed Genua when she¡¯d run off to find Ethel, harassing her the entire time while Fay followed too and requested that Azmoth stay behind to watch Len. Riven had literally just woken up earlier that night and despite his half joke about this reminding him of a Jerry Springer episode - he could safely say that it really was just as bad or maybe even worse.


    And what was all this talk about Farrod not standing up for his family? Riven had been under the impression that the man hadn¡¯t known. But he KNEW!? And he let it HAPPEN!? Riven was utterly baffled by the revtion. Just¡­ Just why? He had so many questions, and so few answers.


    Meanwhile Ethel was in an absolute rage, swearing under hushed words and cursing the old man while trying to simultaneously console her crying mother all the way to their house; where Len was curled up in a corner and whimpering after seeing her mother being savagely beaten by the elder.


    Fay opened the door for the two elf women, passed Azmoth, walking Ethel¡¯s family inside Genua¡¯s room and ushering in the little girl Len before shutting the door behind them all.


    Fay immediately whirled around, snarled and baring her fangs with rage evident in her expression. She clenched her fists and stomped over to Riven, ck wings ring, while pointing up a finger directly at his face as if to use him of something. ¡°If that man EVER touches them again, I want you to slit his throat. OK!?¡±


    ¡°That was the n.¡± Riven confirmed with a nod, shooting a concerned look at the door to Genua¡¯s room where Ethel¡¯s mother was still sobbing. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize what we were getting into here. Thanks for standing up for them by the way, I¡¯m proud of you for doing that.¡±


    Fay acknowledged his remark with a snort, but otherwise remained outwardly livid.


    ¡°And what¡¯s that, exactly? That you thought you were getting into?¡± Ath asked while sitting in an oaken chair to the side of the room, steepling her fingers in front of her. ¡°What¡¯s this all about? We just saw Genua get her ass beat by some old guy and that¡¯s all we know.¡±


    Fay was still fuming, literally shaking while stomping back and forth across the front room of the small cabin. ¡°We¡¯re gone for just a couple hours to explore and THIS happens! Utterly ridiculous! If I¡¯d been here earlier to see what she told me happened I¡¯d have fucking cut that guy¡¯s balls off! The prick and his friends were-¡±


    Riven cut her off with a wave of his hand, putting it gently onto her shoulders with a soft but firm squeeze. He was genuinely surprised Fay seemed to care this much about people she didn¡¯t know, which he was pretty sure was very uncharacteristic of demons. Thus he was bing more and more curious about her backstory.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°THEN-¡±


    ¡°The situation is under control. He won¡¯t do it again, or else we really will kill him.¡± Riven smiled softly and Fay¡¯s fuming rage began to decline.


    The blue subus nodded in agreement, then turned back to another of the chairs in the front room and sat down. Her wings folded in, ck eyes blinked rapidly, she pushed her hands up through her white locks of hair and let out a shuddering, angry groan. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s a deal then. So like Ath said - what exactly IS going on? What were you and Elder Bren talking about for so long?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to know too.¡± Dr. Brass stated firmly, adjusting his sses over the white coat he still wore.


    Riven gave them all a suspicious snort, then took a seat next to himself alongside Ath. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ an unexpected turn of events. How do I put this¡­¡±


    ¡°Master.¡± Azmoth¡¯s deep, demonic voice cut through theughter like a hot iron through sliced bread. ¡°I do not mean interrupt. But what we do now? World quests¡­ One pertain to you.¡±


    Immediately the room was filled with awkward silence at the abrupt change of subject, no one saying a word while Riven contemted this.


    Eventually Riven leaned forward to rest his chin on his hands. ¡°Yeah. Chalgathi is apparently one of the apocalypse beasts the world quest mentions, so that answers one of my curiosities. My log says I should be getting another quest update from it soon now that the world quests are active. As for the other ones¡­ who knows.¡±


    Riven thoughtfully pondered these new developments, then rested his hands on the table between Ath and himself. ¡°Alright sensei. You¡¯ve been my guiding light this entire time, what do you think I should do about it?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, what should you do about it? Idiot!¡± Ath karate chopped Riven on the dome of his head. ¡°Get out there and get a new dragon pet or sacrifice it to get a new supercharged weapon! Seems pretty simple to me! AND YOU BETTER NOT FAIL! I¡¯M NOT GOING BACK TO THE NETHER REALMS!¡±


    Ath gave him another trio of karate chops for emphasis, but leaned over with a cackle and blew into his ear. ¡°I have faith in you Riven. You¡¯ll be fine,and you have all of us to help you. Regardless, I think you should focus more on the quest to annihte the orcs and goblins before you worry about these world quests, those can wait for a bit. 5 years to be precise.¡±


    ¡°The goblins and orcs be good practice for subus too.¡± Azmoth said, his sentence structure bing slightly better as time went on. He gestured over at Fay with one of his wed, smoldering hands. ¡°She need the experience and levels. Perhaps you could try to teach her one of your abilities before end the greenskin menace?¡±


    Riven straightened his posture. Teach Fay one of his skills? He looked the subus over, silently evaluating his options. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ actually a really good idea Azmoth.¡±


    ¡°If it works.¡± Ath gave Azmoth a skeptical frowned and sat onto a nearby chair, crossing her long ck legs. ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll ever see anyone have as much sess as you did, though Fay probably could work at it a while and eventually get there. I have a hard time believing she or anyone else will actively teach themselves an ability without the help of the system as fast as you did, Riven.¡±


    To this, Riven frowned. ¡°Well we don¡¯t have an immediate time limit on this quest so I think I¡¯ll at least begin to try and teach her something. And¡­ oh, shit. Perhaps Fay should start teaching me her curse magic? That¡¯d be interesting. I¡¯ll think on it for now. Maybe I can teach Fay one of my abilities from the unholy pir. What about you Ath? Would you like to learn some spells? What about Riftwalk? It¡¯s a good movement ability to add to your already fast-paced fighting style.¡±


    The demoness frowned slightly and shook her head. She ced a hand on Riven¡¯s knee and gave a thank-filled squeeze. ¡°I appreciate it, but I likely cannot. My affinity for Shadow is very poor, but any Blood and Unholy I¡¯d be able to make use of. Demons are usually stuck in their assigned pirs from birth, unless we get racial evolutions or incredibly lucky. Just as Azmoth has the Infernal and Unholy pirs as his baseline, I have Blood and Unholy pirs for mine. I doubt I¡¯ll be able to learn any abilities besides Blood and Unholy ones.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Well let¡¯s go over some blood abilitiester then. Perhaps they¡¯ll be of use to you!¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but most of your blood abilities use mana. I am an assassin-type shapeshifter that hasn¡¯t even gotten ahold of her shapeshifting abilities yet. Shapeshifting requires stamina as well, as do my other abilities which are martial arts, and so my time would be better spent learning to perfect my shapeshifting instead of learning spells I wouldn¡¯t be able to use effectively because my intelligence stat is so low. I fully intend to invest in a speed and dexterity build too, so I don¡¯t intend to change it up just for a few skills. Thank you though, it means a lot that you¡¯d care enough to ask.¡±


    Ath gave him a blinding smile and leaned into his shoulder with a loud burp. ¡°I appreciate it. By the way, if you¡¯re feeling hungry the goblins are tethered in a makeshift cage on the opposite side of the vige. They¡¯ve had their hands and feet cut off with the stumps burned so they can¡¯t run. Just in case you need to feed.¡±


    Riven nodded in appreciation for the information, but then went back to thinking on his abilities. The only unholy spell he had was ¡®wretched snare¡¯. He already knew Azmoth wouldn¡¯t want it because of the same reasons Ath gave for not wanting to use spells, but he thought he¡¯d ask anyways. At the very least it was the polite thing to do, and he didn¡¯t want Azmoth thinking Riven wasn¡¯t considering him. ¡°Alright Azmoth, Ath might not want spells but do you? I have one that I could teach you, it¡¯s called ¡®Wretched Snare¡¯ and it¡¯s in the unholy pir category.¡±


    Therge armored demon flicked his tail to the right, apparently amused by the offer. ¡°I¡¯m alright. Magical aptitude is very low, even fire breath considered infernal martial art, part of my body. If you find unholy martial art instead, I take that. Thank you, Riven.¡±


    ¡°Just making sure!¡±


    The mood lifted over the next couple of minutes. Jokes andughter in small quantities were exchanged, and Riven was tossed a piece of cooked warg meat Azmoth had harvested from a body earlier that day while out on the hunt. Azmoth went outside to watch the perimeter of the house in case anyone by the name of Lord Preen came by to bother them again, and all was well with the world until Riven had an epiphany.


    ¡°Oh, I just realized.¡± Riven swallowed thest of his dried warg meat, stood to his feet and started for the wooden door where Genua¡¯s room was located. ¡°I never told them that I¡¯d agreed to Elder Bren¡¯s terms, or that I¡¯d changed them up. They¡¯re about to be debt free if I have a say in all this.¡±

 Chapter 105: (Edits 8/29/23 are in red)

    Chapter 105: (Edits 8/29/23 are in red)


    <strong>Chapter 105</strong>


    He left the others to their chatting and came up to the thick, solid wood with a few knocks on the door using his knuckles. He heard a muffled voice from inside telling him toe in, and opened the door to quickly shut it behind him.


    There on the bed, Genua was holding Ethel in her arms while Len was spooned between the two of them. They had the covers drawn halfway up and all three of them showed signs of recent crying, though they all looked his way when he made his appearance. Ethel¡¯s remnants of her missing left hand, a stump at the upper arm from where it¡¯d been cut off by a goblin, wasid over her small sister and the little girl¡¯s pigtails were obviously disheveled. Meanwhile Genua¡¯s bruised face had darkened and was just barely starting to swell.


    Rivens eyes softened at the sight, and he felt a mixture of sadness for them while a me of hatred sparked for Elder Preen. Riven still didn¡¯t know the situation revolving around Farrod in detail, but he was determined not to make any hasty judgments of the man - and he motioned to the nearby bedside. ¡°May I sit?¡±


    Genua sniffed, keeping the side of Ethel¡¯s face in one hand and Len¡¯s shoulder in the other - but nodded silently.


    Riven turned the corner and plopped onto the edge of the bed, looking at the floor between his feet while figuring out what to say before turning back to the three of them with as kind a smile as he could muster. ¡°Uhm, Elder Bren told me about your situation.¡±


    None of the three of them moved or replied, but merely stared back at him.


    ¡°So, Ethel¡­ I assume you were using me as a pawn to get out of marrying Elder Preen? Is that right?¡±


    Genua spoke up immediately with a shaky voice. ¡°That isn¡¯t true, she isn¡¯t using you, I-¡±¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Ethel stated unapologetically, fierce determination in her eyes and her hand mping down over her mother¡¯s mouth. The young woman gave him a challenging re. ¡°Elder Preen is a terrible man, and my father refuses to stand up for me. For us. His gambling problems got us here and now we are paying the price. Len told you the story, and although I did scheme some - none of what Len told you was a lie.¡±


    Genua shot her daughter a nervous nce, but Riven remained calm. The vampire rested his hands on his knees and nodded thoughtfully, looking out a small window at the top left-hand corner of the cabin room. ¡°So Farrod actually does know about what¡¯s going on?¡±


    There was an awkward silence.


    ¡°It depends on what you mean.¡± Ethel stated, still trying to remain brave in the face of his confrontation. ¡°My father knows about what Elder Preen is doing while he¡¯s sent out on these absurd scouting missions, but my father either doesn¡¯t care enough to act or he¡¯s letting it happen to buy time to repay the debt. Ever since¡­ Ever since my brother died he hasn¡¯t been the same. He started drinking, gambling, and making risky trips into the wilderness for profit. He sells what he can from his hunts to try and regain what we lost, but it is a far fetched n at best.¡±


    Genua cut in with ament of her own. ¡°Farrod isn¡¯t a bad man, Riven. He just¡­ has lost himself. He¡¯s a shadow of the person he once was¡­ and it pains me to see him like that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still no excuse.¡± Ethel cut in sharply, obviously angry and having had this conversation before. ¡°No husband would let another man do to you what Elder Preen is doing. Look at your swollen face, mother! Father should be here protecting you, confronting that bastard and keeping you safe! Where is he now though!? Where has he been the past twenty times!? What did he do when you finally admitted to him what was going on!? Absolutely nothing is what. You may ept what¡¯s happening, but I won¡¯t be subject to that old man¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°Stop it.¡± Genua said in a cold, enraged voice while ring at her daughter. Ethel cut her speech short, but rxed again when Genua took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.


    Riven shifted a curious gaze on Genua. ¡°Did you put Ethel up to this? To manipte me for her own benefit? Or was this her decision?¡±


    Ethel cleared her throat, and hesitantly looked back over to Riven while stroking Len¡¯s hair. ¡°My mother only found out that I was using you after Senna and I had already made up the story to tell our vige, so it isn¡¯t mother¡¯s fault. They were going to give Len away to another family and separate us if Farrod died on one of these trips, it is known in rumors around the vige, but if I¡¯m able to leave this family in name: I can take Len with me because the debt won¡¯t follow me. Please don¡¯t be mad at my mother, this is entirely my fault.¡±


    Riven¡¯s smile faltered slightly. ¡°So you were doing this for your little sister then¡­ but you were intentionally manipting me. Why didn¡¯t you just talk to me about this beforehand?¡±


    The resulting silence was palpable.


    He sighed and leaned back on his hands to stare up at the ceiling. ¡°Well, this is slightly more awkward than I thought it¡¯d be.¡±


    He didn¡¯t see it in their faces, but he could literally hear their heartbeats pick up like drums. Their pulses quickened, obviously anxious upon hearing his words.


    ¡°Awkward? You¡­ So you said no then.¡± Ethel murmured, choking up at thest word. She blinked rapidly, trying to contain her emotions, and pulled her little sister into her chest a little more fiercely. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m so s-sorry Riven, I didn¡¯t m-mean to make you h-hate me¡­ I was j-just trying to p-protect my f-family¡­¡±


    ¡°And you were protecting yourself.¡± Riven corrected with a backwards nce and a resigned expression. ¡°But it¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t judge you for it. I said yes, so no need to get upset.¡±


    Genua¡¯s face dropped for a moment, then she sat up as if startled. ¡°You said yes? You¡¯ll help my daughters leave the family name?¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Ethel said while quickly beginning to wipe her own tears away with her remaining hand. ¡°You said yes?! What was it that Elder Bren said to you?! Just, just to make sure we¡¯re thinking of the same thing¡­¡±


    Riven shifted ufortably on the bed, feeling a little odd with all three of them staring at him so anxiously. ¡°He basically said you told him and the other elves that I expected to be paid for my help. That I did what I did to acquire you as a thrall¡­¡±


    ¡°... And?¡±


    ¡°And that I expected him to wipe out your family¡¯s debt entirely if I do this.¡±


    Genua¡¯s voice caught in her throat, and the middle-aged woman almost sobbed when she finally spoke the words. She repeated what she''d heard: ¡°All of our debts, gone? You would expressly change Ethel¡¯s original terms just to help us?¡±


    Riven slowly nodded. ¡°I said I¡¯d do it. Honestly I don¡¯t like being tricked like this, but-¡±


    He was interrupted when Ethel flung her arm around Riven¡¯s shoulders and began to loudly sob. And by loudly, it was extremely loud. She violently shook, rocking Riven back and forth with the sheer violence of her crying, and her mother and little sister joined them. Riven quickly found himself in the very center of a group hug, very wet with tears, and very ufortable with two scantily d elf women and a little girl in a reed dress hugging onto him for dear life.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong!?¡± Ath burst into the room, ck hair flowing in her wake,sering her sight onto Riven with a growing scowl. ¡°RIVEN! WHAT DID YOU DO!?¡±


    ¡°I DIDN¡¯T DO ANYTHING I- HEY! OW!¡±


    <strong>*WHACK*</strong>


    ¡°Stop that!¡±


    <strong>*WHACK*</strong>


    ¡°GOD DAMN IT ATHELA GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER, I DIDN¡¯T DO ANYTHING WRONG!¡±


    <strong>*WHACK*</strong>


    ¡°Oh, now you¡¯re just hitting me to be a turd! I SEE THAT SMIRK! AZMOTH! AZMOTH COME SAVE ME FROM ATHELA! THAT¡¯S AN ORDER!¡±


    Azmoth¡¯s cackling, which had been rather loud up until now, briefly faltered and then resumed again when therge, lumbering demon entered the room. Ath was pulled out with a quick yank from two of Azmoth¡¯s wed hands. There was a high-pitched squeal of surprise, and the door mmed behind her when she went.


    With a bruised skull and an irritated mumbling, Riven then found himself back in square one. The crying had gone from purely crying to a mixture ofughing and sobbing, with Genua eventually being the first to let go. The woman cleared her eyes, pulled her two daughters off of him and bowed.


    ¡°Thank you Riven.¡± Ethel¡¯s mother stated with a quivering voice, happy tears sparkling in the moonlight while she held her two daughters close. ¡°I cannot thank you enough. You will literally change all of our lives if you do this, and it would not be the first time¡­ since you saved Ethel once already. I will do my best to repay you for your kindness.¡±


    ¡°As will I.¡± Ethel said shakily with wide doe eyes and a sniffle.


    Len raised a hand. ¡°I won¡¯t. Since sister is going to be your whatever it is, I¡¯ll be seeing you lots. You¡¯ll be baking me cookies regrly. That¡¯s what the deal with Ethel was when I participated in her evil n to use you.¡±


    The other two women burst into melodicughter, and Riven¡¯s growing smirk quickly washed away the irritation he had towards this small family for what Ethel had done. At a loss for words and feeling somewhat like a willing idiot for epting their scheme, he took this as an opportune moment to excuse himself.


    He stood up, not sure what to think about any of this and giving them a small bow. ¡°It¡¯s been my pleasure to meet all of you, and I again thank you for nursing me back to health. I¡¯ll be seeing all of you in the morning, and I wish you a very good night.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not staying with me?¡± Ethel asked, a mixture of teasing and genuine disappointment flittering over her words. ¡°You should stay.¡±


    Riven opened his mouth to reply, but quickly shut it and shook his head. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t. You¡¯ve been through a lot and I don¡¯t want to take advantage of that. I¡¯ll talk to all of you tomorrow, have a good night.¡±


    With a wave and another polite smile, Riven stepped out of the room to shut the door softly behind him.


    ¡°I wish Farrod would act like that. That he¡¯d be the man he used to be. Riven reminds me of him when Farrod was younger and not so broken.¡± Genua nced over at her daughter Ethel who was still staring at the shut door akin to the time she¡¯d been a young girl and had first been stung by a bee. The older woman grinned. ¡°Riven was quite scary at first, but after getting to know him¡­ He¡¯s a real cutie, that one.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he though!?¡±


    ¡°And polite too. I was not expecting him to go out of his way to wipe out our family¡¯s debt¡­ does he know how much we owe? Riven really is a kind man. He doesn¡¯t fit the stereotype of vampires very well... it''s too bad things have to y out the way they are. Just remember not to get too attached, you know what''sing.¡±


    Ethel hid her face when she felt a blushing on, and she wiped her tears on her mother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re embarrassing me, mother! And don¡¯t act like this is any kind of romance, it isn¡¯t¡­ I very clearly remember what happened to grandmother. I¡¯m just volunteering to be his regr meal for his help. Let¡¯s go to bed, this has been a traumatic experience for all of us.¡±


    A small voice called out from down below. ¡°But you promised me we¡¯d make cookies!¡±


    Genua¡¯s fingers traced across her youngest daughter¡¯s back, scratching her child¡¯s skin lightly until she got an involuntary moan of contentment. ¡°Another night Len, another night.¡±


    ¡°Can we make cookies for Riven in the morning then?! He was telling me he liked cookies! I promise I¡¯m not making it up, he really did say that!¡±


    Her mother gave an amusedugh, then winced when the bruises along her face red at a more sudden jerk of her head. ¡°Yes¡­ That¡¯d be fine. We¡¯ll make cookies for all of them in the morning, now go to sleep. Your sister is right, tonight has been rather traumatic and I¡¯m in need of some good rest¡­ and I wish to wake up early to see if I can find your father. I wish to talk to him, to try to bring my husband back home. I miss him.¡±


    Ethel grimaced in irritation, but didn¡¯t say anything further on the matter when she saw her mother¡¯s yearning gaze out the window. She and Genua then ended up falling asleep in one another¡¯s arms - with a sense of being far more safe and secure than they¡¯d ever felt in many years. As for the little girl Len inbetween them? She fell asleep thinking of what ingredients she was going to poison her sister¡¯s cookies with for making her participate in this ludacris n of hers. She¡¯d been promised cookies tonight, and Ethel had fallen through. Ethel would therefore pay, no matter how many other delicious, scrumptious cookies she helped Len make in the morning.


    Revenge would be sweet, and revenge would be hers.


    ***


    ¡°This is disgusting! Oh by the hells!¡± Fay puked over the side of the window and out onto the grass in the morning rays of sunrise - letting Ath hold her hair for her as the other demoness loudly cackled at Fay¡¯s misfortune. asionally Ath would give Ethel an irritated re, but fortunately for Riven there''d been little drama between the two even despite Ath''s confided misgivings on Ethel''s maniptions. If anything, the demoness actually thought acquiring a thrall was in Riven''s best interests - and this was a fast-track to getting one without bending Riven''s morals.


    Meanwhile Genua was chiding Len for trying to poison her sister - the cookies of which had ended up being ones Fay had taken instead of Ethel and was now paying the price for. The cute little elvish girl pouted in the corner while she was lectured, staring at the floor and pooching her lips while humphing loudly every couple seconds to the increasing irritation of her mother.


    Len had zero regrets.


    ¡°I am so sorry Fay¡­¡± Ethel said whileing around the side of the house, ignoring the stares of other people in themunity to clean up the mess the subus was making. ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry¡­ I think those cookies were for me.¡±


    Azmoth chortled in the back of the room while ying chess with Riven at a table far too small for a demon of his size, keeping himself hunkered down alongside Dr. Brass in order to not hit the ceiling with his head. ¡°No, this is karma.¡±


    ¡°Karma for WHAT?!¡± Fay screeched at the brutalisk without looking back just before projectile vomiting again. Her wings and tail went rigid, and she hup-gagged with another lurching noise.


    ¡°All evil deeds you¡¯ve done! Subus always more evil. They most evil of demons.¡± Azmoth called back over Fay''s splurging amidst theughter of Riven, Ath and Dr. Brass.


    Meanwhile, Dr. Brass raised an eyebrow and sipped on some water from a wooden cup. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you knew the concept of what karma was, Azmoth. Hey Riven, would you mind talking to me sometime in private?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure. Later today. Is this about the vampiric change you want to undertake?¡±


    Dr. Brass deted upon Riven¡¯s out-in-the-open announcement, but the old man grudgingly nodded despite curious nces shot his way from Genua. Meanwhile, Azmoth just continued tough at the subus and her misfortune.


    Fay spit out remnants of gastric juice and red up with ck eyes at Ath and Ethel, hissing through her teeth. ¡°Remind me to kill that ming, four-armed son of a bitchter.¡±


    Even Ethel had to keep her smile under wraps at the absolute disy of mockingughter all of Fay¡¯spanions were giving her, though she still definitely felt bad about the revenge prank her little sister had done.


    Riven was doing a rather good job teaching Azmoth how to y chess at the kitchen table, and therge, lumbering demon was gingerly moving piece by piece with his huge ws whenever Riven would instruct him on how a piece could move inbetweenughter. Miraculously and to Riven¡¯s surprise, Genua actually was a solid chess yer and even had a board with pieces stored away. He hadn¡¯t thought these elves would have chess on their but was very happy to see otherwise, and when he¡¯d spotted it she¡¯d taken it down out of one of the storage baskets being hung from the ceiling alongside herbs to let him set it up.


    ¡°The queen can go in any direction - diagonal, or straight - and all the way until it hits another piece. It¡¯s the most powerful yer and you don¡¯t want to sacrifice it if you can help it.¡± Riven touched therge central figure of the queen, the moved to the king with his pointer finger next. ¡°This is the king . If he is threatened by another piece he is ced in ¡®check,¡¯ which means you must protect him by blocking the attack or eliminating the threat, or you must move him out of the way. This is an absolute rule, and if you can¡¯t do it then you¡¯re in what¡¯s called ¡®checkmate¡¯ - this will lose you the game.¡±


    ¡°Thisplicated.¡± Azmoth stated with a huff. ¡°It may take long memorize these pieces and what do.¡±


    ¡°Nah man, you¡¯re a fast learner. I can already tell you¡¯ll get it in no time!¡±


    From within his robe¡¯s pocket, he started to feel the ck orb Allie had given him pulse. He looked down, smiling widely at the thought of speaking with Allie again. She¡¯d not picked up earlier that morning when he¡¯d tried calling to update her on events, and he was very keen on talking about the Chalgathi revtion and world quest.


    He pulled the ckmunication orb out of his pocket, infused mana into it, and began to talk. ¡°Hey Allie! God damn, do I have a lot to talk to you about.¡±

 Chapter 106

    Chapter 106


    <strong>Chapter 106</strong>


    Dawn¡¯s light had brought with it a flood of the undead, pouring over entrenched defenders like a tidal wave of death, bathing the northern city of Brightsville in blood when the two major factions present there shed in the biggest battle yet.


    And it had been short lived.


    Allie red down at Prophet¡¯s second-inmand, an old wiry military veteran who¡¯d managed to get a pdin ss and cause grief for her forces numerous times. He now stood battered, beaten, broken and bruised blood dripping down his forehead and breathing out in ragged gasps. Her hand was through his chest, grasping his spine, and she gripped more tightly to hear the crunch of bone under her fingers.


    The man screamed, and she yanked with a spray of gore to end him on the spot.


    Tossing the vertebrae casually to the side and letting the man¡¯s twitching corpse fall onto the ground, she turned and gracefully stepped over the dozens of corpses between her and the burning cathedral Prophet had once called home. Stopping not far off from Vin, the skeletal necromancers gave her a raspy chuckle and motioned for her toe closer.


    ¡°They never stood a chance!¡± Vin croaked, a crooked, bone finger pointing to where thousands of fleeing refugees were frantically trying to escape the onught of their forces across the ins just outside of Brightsville. Skeletons and zombies were in abundance, but there were asional ghouls, blood golems, bone golems, skresh, and even a few ghosts that ran the crowd of screaming people down.


    Allie watched her forces murder the families of the defenders with only a very small amount of guilt, but internally she knew this had to be done lest she endanger herself and the civilization she was going to build here. It was a great evil for a greater good.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t catch him, did we?¡± Allie asked impassively - gazing across the carnage and the fields of corpses.Vin¡¯s smugness dropped, and he grunted an acknowledgement of her assessment. ¡°Yeh, bastard got away with a couple hundred of his best fighters. They fled north across the ins to abandon these ones here.¡±


    The skresh waved a hand across the fields stained red. ¡°They¡¯ve been long gone. But now this poses a question¡­ What do you want to do with these ones?¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyebrow raised and she followed her lieutenant''s gesture, seeing a couple hundred bound humans rounded up into an enclosure between buildings. Many of them were outright terrified. Some were young, some were old, while others were her own age. A couple of sentient ghouls had takenmand of a group of minions and kept the humans in line while awaiting orders, and their dead eyes watched Allie with curious intent - waiting to see what she¡¯d have them do.


    ¡°Why were they not already killed?¡± Allie asked tly, shoving her hands and her wand into the pockets of her cloak.


    Vin cleared his throat, or vertebrae, or whatever it was he did to make that sound happen. ¡°They were not part of Prophet¡¯s forces. They were a negotiating group, one that was being ckmailed and coerced into joining Prophet before we struck. They¡¯d not agreed to anything yet, and this is confirmed by our spies.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Allie strode over confidently through the crowds of unholy creatures, the wave of them parting before her like the red sea. Coming to a stop before one of the bound men nearby. He was a huge man, thickly muscled and built like a bear with a long ck beard and of Indian heritage. He was very bruised, but otherwise bore no wounds. ¡°I hear you weren¡¯t part of the faction who¡¯d dered war on us. What would your ns be, should I let you and your people go?¡±


    The man hesitated, ncing back at the people behind him one by one in unspoken conversations.


    Allie looked left to the ghoul soldiers standing nearby. One carried a sword, the other a rifle and a machete. ¡°This is the leader of their group, correct?¡±


    She got two nods, and in turn she stared back down at the man again with piercing red eyes through the bone mask on her face. ¡°Speak, I do not have much patience for this.¡±


    The man gulped, then raised his face to the light. ¡°I had not known you were the ones dered on, the man calling himself Prophet had told us that you¡¯d gone out of your way to kill people just for being different from you.¡±


    ¡°I have done terrible things, but that sin is not mine to bear. I did not start this war, I am merely finishing it.¡±


    Again the burly man hesitated, then he blinked a couple times and shakily exhaled. ¡°We have no ties to the people you killed. Simply put, we will do whatever it takes to survive. The real question is, what would you have us do?¡±


    Vin came to stop beside Allie, letting out augh when Allie hummed with contentment.


    ¡°That¡­ That is the correct answer.¡± Allie stated simply. Turning around and speaking to the ghoul soldiers, she gestured with a hand to the prisoners at her back. ¡°Free them. Find Mara at the tower, have her integrate them into our society one way or the other. They¡¯ll be made useful, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    Audible sighs or sobs of relief escaped numerous humans and undead soldiers started to cut their bindings one by one, with many people crying or hugging one another after they¡¯d been set free.


    Allie continued to walk through the ruinedpound, watching her forces dig through the remnants of Prophet¡¯s belongings to try and find whatever treasures could be salvaged. No doubt he¡¯d taken the holy book with him, but there might be other things she could acquire that he¡¯d not had time to collect in the panic of her surprise attack that morning.


    Irreverently kicking aside a corpse and plopping down onto a wooden bench, Allie took her mask off and set it in herp. Pulling out themunication orb she¡¯d linked to Riven¡¯s own, she let her mind wander for a time - wondering what he¡¯d say if he saw what she was up to right now.


    But she was doing this for him. Great evils for greater goods, that was what this was all about. There was a good chance he¡¯d one day find out about the things she¡¯d done here, but she¡¯d face it when that time came. No matter what happened, they would always love one another. Riven and Allie had always been inseparable, and just as she would forever support him no matter what he did - he too would never abandon her for the things she was forced to do here. It still made her slightly sick to think about how disappointed he¡¯d be in her though, and she tried to push those thoughts away while wincing when the sunlight reached her eyes.


    She pulled down her hood with a groan, and Vin took a seat next to her on the bench.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you let them live, and even more surprised you¡¯re incorporating them into themunity.¡± Vin spectively stated while rubbing his bone chin. ¡°Suddenly going soft, eh? You¡¯ve probably been talking to Mara too much. We should have butchered them for parts like the ones running in the fields.¡±


    Allie gave him a frown, then shook her head - cing hermunication orb in herb but not activating it yet. ¡°Do not think me evil for evil¡¯s sake, Vin. If you do, you¡¯d be mistaken. I only kill those fleeing from us for reasons of practicality. I do not want to kill them, but they have to be killed. It is a matter of security for ourselves, rather than one of cruelty.¡±


    ¡°Truly?¡±


    ¡°Truly. Think about this, Vin. Would it not be wise to have a sect of our society based on mortals? Those that are not undead already?¡± Allie turned her entire body, shifting one leg to rest on the other knee to get a better look at the other necromancer. ¡°There will always been enemies to kill for more parts, to use as fuel to create more of our kin. However, it does not need to be a violent path all the time. What happens when mortals die? Their bodies go to waste. But we could collect those bodies when they die of old age and normal means, and allow both of our people to grow under one umbre.¡±


    If youe across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Under your umbre.¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± Allie shrugged. ¡°It just makes sense. Yes, humans spurned us multiple times when we got here. But we are the ones in power now, we are the strongest faction in this city. They will fall in line because they have no choice, and when they realize that they are offered security and a path to a better life under my rule? It¡¯s a no brainer.¡±


    She tapped the side of her head with a finger. ¡°After we subdue the warring gangs of the suburbs and kill that man who¡¯s made a base out of the city prison, the rest of the city will be easy for the taking. Who else has the power to stand against us? The answer is no one. It is now simply a matter of time, and a matter of hunting down the rabbits that followed Prophet into the wilderness.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll likely run far and fast.¡± Vin stated tly. ¡°If we do not pursue them now, we may never find them again. Mara¡¯s assassins are pursuing their retreat, but we do not know if her minions are capable enough of catching them, then staying hidden for surveince, and finally rying a message without problems.¡±


    Allie picked up the bauble in herp again with an indifferent shrug. ¡°Perhaps¡­ perhaps not. We will see. I have a very strong feeling that this is not anything but a tactical retreat, however. Where would they go? None of us have any idea whatys beyond the borders of this small city, so unless they want to wander around aimlessly I doubt they¡¯d have a real trajectory to shoot for anyways. They have no true sanctuary any longer, but let¡¯s pause this conversation. I need to talk to my brother, knowing him he¡¯s gotten himself into some kind of trouble over the past 24 hours as is typical.¡±


    She rolled her eyes, but grinned with amusement as she said it. Then beginning to infuse mana into the ck orb, she took her leave and began to walk aimlessly away from Vin or the other undead to maintain a semnce of privacy.


    ***


    ¡°You¡¯re being stupid. Why don¡¯t you just kill the old man causing you these problems and subjugate the vige?¡± Allie¡¯s voice cut through themunication orb clear as day, garnering attention from the others in their cabin while Riven continued to y chess with Azmoth. ¡°It sounds to me like these elves are just using you without giving you any real value. A pretty face and a body to feed on are not something you need to negotiate for. You should simply tell them that you¡¯re in charge and take as many bodies to feed on as you want. Conquer the vige and make it easy. How would they stop you?¡±


    Riven grimaced at her words, but he was hesitant to leave the room for privacy¡¯s sake should Ethel¡¯s family think he was actually going to consider something like betrayal. He wanted them to hear the conversation back to front now that she¡¯d openly told him to take the vige by force. ¡°I¡¯m not going to just take over, Allie. That¡¯s essentially very. The idea to kill Elder Preen isn¡¯t a terrible one but even that pushes a line I don¡¯t want to cross¡­ yet. I¡¯ll deal with him if I need to, but I want the trust of these people. They just had a group of orcs and goblinse to murder their families two days ago, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going toe in and make them submit to me just because I can. Why would you even suggest that?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that you were wanting them to join our new faction?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah it¡¯d be nice. But not by force. I mean what the fuck Allie, are you being serious?¡±


    To this, Allie let out a long sigh. ¡°Perhaps this is a conversation we would best have in person.¡±


    Riven let out an irritated grunt. ¡°Yeah, it probably is.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Well I¡¯m a bit busy, was there anything else you wanted to talk about?¡± The way she said it was snarky at best.


    Riven opened his mouth to reply, but quickly shut it to give himself pause so he wouldn¡¯tsh out verbally. They were both obviously in bad moods. Talking more about anything right now would get them nowhere, and the topic of Chalgathi was pushed to the backburner because of it. ¡°No. There¡¯s nothing else, we¡¯ll talkter.¡±


    ¡°K, bye.¡±


    Themunication stone stopped pulsing and the connection to Allie disappeared, and Riven finally got up to exit the cabin - leaving his minions, Ethel, and her family awkwardly behind.


    ***


    From up in the shade of arge tree, Ath plopped down beside the warlock and nudged Riven¡¯s ribcage with an elbow. ¡°Yo. How you feeling? Any better?¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t bother looking up from where he stared at the huge branch under his legs, but nodded his affirmation. ¡°Yeah I feel fine.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t look fine. You look pissed off.¡±


    Riven gave Ath a half-hearted smile. ¡°Yeah a bit, but let¡¯s not talk about that now. I really am fine.¡±


    Ath crossed her arms skeptically then abruptly shapeshifted into her spider form. mbering onto hisp, she nuzzled under one arm and stayed there. ¡°I¡¯ll pretend you¡¯re telling the truth. I suppose my next question is: do you feel good enough to get this greenskin deal over with?¡±


    Riven¡¯s smile turned warmer, and he started scratching the spider¡¯s head like he would a dog¡¯s. His body became less stiff, more rxed, and he felt his shoulders slump slightly with an exhale of air under the tree¡¯s shade. ¡°Probably not that good. I want to be in top shape, apparently they still have their elites at the orc encampment - ones that didn¡¯te with the raiding party. Give me one more day of rest from ourst battle and I¡¯ll go.¡±


    ¡°You know¡­ there is one thing I agreed with your sister on.¡± Ath blinked her red eyes from where she rested on hisp, hesitantly looking up. ¡°Ethel is definitely using you. As long as you¡¯re aware of that, I¡¯m fine with it. You can use her back and it¡¯ll be a fair trade, but I don¡¯t like how she was so maniptive.¡±


    Riven¡¯s expression soured, but he did give a grunt of acknowledgement. ¡°Can¡¯t say I necessarily me her though. Imagine finding yourself in that situation. Wouldn¡¯t you do something simr if you could?¡±


    ¡°I sure would. I¡¯m just trying to point out the obvious in case you weren¡¯t aware.¡±


    ¡°Oh I¡¯m definitely aware.¡±


    ¡°Want to y rock paper scissors for a bet?¡±


    ¡°What for?"


    ¡°Well, if you win then I don¡¯t kill Elder Preen. If I do win, I go with your sister¡¯s n to kill the old fart today. Then I¡¯ll eat him! That¡¯ll solve ALL of our problems!!! Well, some of them anyways.¡±


    Riven stifled a snort. ¡°Rock, paper, scissors shouldn¡¯t be how we decide life and death events. Plus, I wouldn¡¯t get anything out of it if I won. We¡¯re already not killing Elder Preen.¡±


    ¡°Yet. Not killing him - YET.¡± Ath corrected with a spider leg waggling his way. ¡°5 tinum says we kill him soon.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d prefer not toe off as a murder-happy type of guy to the rest of the vige, which is why I haven¡¯t seriously considered it yet. I already look the part.¡±


    ¡°Wah wah, goo goo gah gah! That¡¯s an impression of you, by the way. Let me bust out the sad violin music so Riven can wallow in self misery!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Riven cackled augh when Ath started rubbing two of her limbs together, no doubt referencing the act from back on Earth when people mimicked ying the ¡®world¡¯s smallest violin¡¯. How she¡¯d known about that reference he didn¡¯t know, but he definitely found it amusing.


    A strong gust of wind caused the trees of the vige to shake and rustle. The chirping of birds was momentarily hushed and the sun¡¯s rays glinted off theke nearby.


    Ath burped and readjusted herself on hisp. ¡°Do we know where it is?¡±


    ¡°Where what is? The orc camp?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°No idea. I¡¯ll have to ask Elder Bren, but he said he¡¯d send a scout with us to confirm our side of the bargain.¡±


    ¡°Bargain? Oh, you¡¯re talking about citizenship and the¡­¡± Ath gave Riven another little nudge and a chittering smirk - head bobbing over to where Ethel was kneeling below them on the ground, next to Len, and talking in hushed but stern tones. She, like many of the other elves in the vige, was wearing only a thin two-piece garment of stitched leaves and furs that were quite revealing. ¡°The hot babe!¡±


    Riven¡¯s hand karate-chopped hard into Ath¡¯s back, sending the spider into aughing gasp. ¡°Shut it.¡±


    Riven did manage to spare a nce up at the woman though, barely having enough time to reflect on her long tanned legs before she swept her blonde hair over her back to nce upwards his way. He immediately averted his gaze from Ethel to avoid detection, and then went back to looking out at theke. Now was not the time to get distracted with things like that, the world of Panu was literally in danger and he was a key yer in at least 1 of the 6 world quests. He needed to get stronger, and he needed to do it fast. 5 years may be a long ways away in some aspects, but not in the realm of needing to finish world-spanning events. He had to assume Panu was at least 3 times the size of Earth if all of thoses had been incorporated into one another, so there was little wiggle room in terms of a timeline.


    ¡°Have you looked at the Guild & Faction System, the cortex, and the leaderboards yet?¡± Ath¡¯s voice carried to question him while he stared off into space.


    Riven immediately paused upon hearing the question. He¡¯d nearly forgotten after all the things that¡¯d happened concerning that jackass Elder Preen, or in his short bursts of craving directed towards Ethel. And by craving he didn¡¯t necessarily mean physically, but moreso meant it in terms of blood. He was getting hungry again, and despite having had warg meatst night as well as some cookies that hrious little she-devil Len had baked for him - he was wanting blood too. He¡¯d already made a morning trip to where the goblins were held down at stakes on the other side of the vige. The goblins were stinking, disgusting creatures and though he¡¯d already feasted on one that day - but it only satisfied his hunger and not his taste buds. Despite his disgust for the action that he¡¯d performed in dungeon Negrada, he still remembered what human tasted likepared to goblin¡­ and it was a stark difference. The taste of it, the smell, the satisfaction of a human was far more enticing¡­ Even the corpse of the human back in the hospital that he¡¯d scrounged up had been incredibly appetizing, but each of the elves here gave off an even better aroma than humans did. It made his mouth water just thinking about it, and though he hadn¡¯t brought up feeding to Ethel just yet - he was certainly going to have that conversation sooner rather thanter. She¡¯d literally volunteered for it, so he didn¡¯t have many reservations holding him back. It wasn¡¯t like he was going to eat her, he¡¯d never even consider it, he just wanted some of her blood in small amounts from time to time so that the cravings would go away and he wouldn¡¯t go insane.


    And he really, REALLY didn¡¯t like the taste of goblin.


    He shook those thoughts off. Then opened up his status page and scrolled, finding the three new options listed at the bottom.<ul><li><strong>Guild & Faction System (Currently Dyed)</strong></li><li><strong>Panu Cortex</strong></li><li><strong>Panu World Quests</strong></li></ul>

 Chapter 107

    Chapter 107


    <strong>Chapter 107</strong>


    He clicked on ¡®Guild & Faction System¡¯ first.


    <strong>[You must create a guild with the ¡®Create Guild¡¯mand prior to utilizing this page. You must have at least 3 people to create a guild. Guild Functions are currently frozen until further notice.]</strong>


    Riven frowned and dismissed it, deciding to move on to the cortex first. He¡¯d talk to the others about guild creationter when the system unfroze the guild functions, but that was definitely a team effort and not an individual one where decisions wouldn''t solely be his. He didn''t even know what they''d name their guild if he and the others created one, but the idea of having a group to go adventuring with in this new world was certainly likeable. Clicking upon ¡®Panu Cortex,¡¯ he saw a very intricate disy appear in front of him in the form of a perfectly square hologram three times asrge as his status page screen. This one had the image of a world that he could only assume to be Panu slowly spinning in the background, with a headline along the front page of ¡°Wee to the Panu Cortex!¡± and an article with listed options beyond that underneath.


    <strong>[Wee to the Panu Cortex!</strong>


    <strong>This is the first week having the Cortex intact. For this reason, the system administrator will be able to answer direct questions if you have them over the next 7 days. Beyond that the system administrator will divert its attention to other more pressing matters upon the world of Panu. Here you will find forum categories and branching categories that you can scroll through subjects, post your own topics, acquire or share video feeds, create enemies or alliances in, and even bargain for goods here like a marketce. Be warned that each of these have strict sets of rules, and you will receive a notification if your content is prohibited as it is denied entry. Most prohibited material from being made public involves key events in the world of Panu or even in your local area, secrets of Panu that the Elysium Administrator wishes to be found rather than publicly exploited, information released too early regarding worlds outside of Panu, and spam content. Video feeds can only be uploaded by request. You must ask the administrator directly for uploading content, and may or may not get your request recognized. Sometimes the administrator may also post video content even without an express request. In order to request video uploading, just mentally think of the time and ce you want to upload and wait for a response.</strong>


    <strong>Please note that restrained or imprisoned personnel may not ess the forums of Panu¡¯s cortex.</strong><strong> Forums extend to only to ces you have visited and guilds you have joined before with the exceptions of the main page discussion board and the world quest message boards- both of which are world-spanning and more heavily moderated. No forums outside key areas visited and guilds can exist other than Global Forums.</strong>


    <strong>Feel free to select from one of the already categorized subjects, or you may use the search function for more in depth selections of guild forums. Your options are as follows:</strong><ul><li><strong>Main Page & Announcements (Global)</strong></li><li><strong>Power Ladders, Guild & Individual (Global)</strong></li><li><strong>World Quests & World Quest Ladders (Global)</strong></li><li><strong>Greenstalk Vige</strong></li><li><strong>The City of Brightsville]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven immediately clicked on ¡®The City of Brightsville,¡¯ and a top-down shot of an aerial view of the city was put on disy in the background to rece the one of the revolving globe. It was very much like the website Reddit from back on Earth, with various subcategories that he could select from and a feed of the most popr posts - of which there were a number of quickly growing topics.<strong>[In need of help, out of food and desperate]</strong>


    <strong>[How do abilities work? Does anyone know how to get new ones?]</strong>


    <strong>[My family was killed by little green men.]</strong>


    <strong>[Forming a hunting group to level up. Taking applications, only ss holders may apply.]</strong>


    <strong>[Exchanging information on ss types.]</strong>


    <strong>[Repent! The apocalypse is God''s will, and the sinners of thesends are to me!]</strong>


    There were a couple of interesting threads that got an insane amount of traction concerning the people of Earth still residing in Brightsville, while others not as much. It was far more than Riven had expected though, with thousands and then tens of thousands of people immediately blowing the more popr forum topics up with active and ongoing chatter. He also knew there were probably far more people just reading through thements like he was, instead of posting outright.


    However, there was one forum topic that caught his attention immediately. Frowning at it, he paused before selecting the following:


    <strong>[Prophet¡¯s forces have been routed, undead are swarming the city.]</strong>


    He clicked the link, and began to scroll through dozens upon dozens ofments. Talk about the surprise attack that morning was constantly being updated, horrified witnesses and even dozens of video feeds were somehow enabled for viewing purposes. Clicking one of the clips concerning the battle, Riven watched with a mounting tide of conflicting emotions while the attack was recorded.


    He was watching from the viewpoint of a man who stood along a makeshift wall surrounding a gatedmunity, overlookingyers of barbed wire fences and other brought-in barriers. He had a rifle slung over his shoulder, wore a linen vest, and was yawning while gazing towards the crack of dawn where the sunrise was beginning to peak over the horizon. Other guards also sporting riflesughed and joked with one another while the man sipped his coffee, only to abruptly startle and drop to the floor when one of hispanions exploded in a spray of viscera when a bonence sted through the air.


    Unholy screeches rose up like thunder to meet his ears, and the man¡¯s body started to tremble as he beheld a wave of undead rushing across the broken city towards thepound. Hundreds, and then thousands of the monsters swarmed over buildings, broken rubble, streets and trees in a mad dash that caused him to gasp. He began to scream out for help, only to have his vision go dark when a blur of motion collided with his head - ending the snapshot of video instantly.


    How a dead man¡¯s perspective was able to be obtained was beyond Riven¡¯s knowledge, but there was a sky-down view as well that showed the flood of unholy creaturespletely copse on barricade after barricade while they scoured the norther reaches of the city. Was the system actually enabling these thing to be shown from its own perspective, rather than those still alive?


    Why had Allie not informed him of this? There was only one person in Brightsville with those kinds of forces, and the ones they were battling were those with holy abilities. It had to be Allie.


    And the things he saw¡­


    Riven turned off the video feed and shut it down. He shared a look with Ath. ¡°I won¡¯t make any assumptions until I talk to her in person. Let¡¯s not talk about it until I do¡­ Ok?¡±


    Ath didn¡¯t say a word and he moved on, sheer determination not allowing him to jump to conclusions without speaking to Allie about what he¡¯d seen. Yet he didn¡¯t immediately call her either, for fear of what she would admit to.


    The Greenstalk Vige forum was far less active. That being said there were only a couple hundred elves in Greenstalk, so he wasn¡¯t too surprised - and it appeared to be more of a test run to see just how the forums worked between the local fletcher and some of his friends.


    Then came the more interesting part. He clicked on ¡®Power Ladders,¡¯ Guild & Individual¡¯ next. It turned out to be a categorized list, and it had an exnation pop up prior to scrolling through it. The guild sections were grayed out, with a little notification stating that the guilds system would be released within the uing weeks.


    <strong>[This is a one time message: Power Ladders are categorized into Guild and Individual categories and only include natives of Panu, they do not include monsters or outworld invaders. They are ranked whenbining andparing raw fighting capabilities or military might, items, wealth, and ability to influence the world around you. Why do these lists matter? Rewards will be given out at random intervals based on your rank, the higher the rank the better the rewards. World events will also take ce and pit rival teams against one another or pair them up for cooperation based on power ranking. Lastly, certain world event invitations will only include people or guilds that are ranked high enough on World Panu¡¯s powerdder. It is usually in your best interest to be ced higher than not.]</strong>


    <strong>[32 billion current participants have been analyzed. The ranking categories are as follows: Apex Rank (Top 10), Paragon Rank (Top 1000), S Rank (Top 0.0001%), A Rank (Top 1%), B Rank (Top 15%), C Rank (Top 30%), D Rank (Top 50%), E Rank (Bottom 50%)]</strong>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Current Top 10 Native Participants</strong><strong>:</strong><ol><li><strong>Judith Marcina, Level 82 Human, Apex Rank, Justicar</strong></li><li><strong>Retesh Vorath, Level 91 Corpse Lord, Apex Rank, Elder Lich</strong></li><li><strong>Aren Hrall, Level 69 Snow Giant, Apex Rank, Berserker</strong></li><li><strong>Thofus Hrall, Level 84 Snow Giant, Apex Rank, Blizzard Mage</strong></li><li><strong>Cracius Mem, Level 85 Human, Apex Rank, Sword Emperor</strong></li><li><strong>Sinthil Tuk¡¯tuk, Level 90 Lizardian, Apex Rank, Wind de</strong></li><li><strong>Thorman Bame, Level 90 Human, Apex Rank, Hammer of the Mountain</strong></li><li><strong>Esper Rite, Level 72 High Elf, Apex Rank, de Guardian</strong></li><li><strong>Toothly Rop, Level 60 Swamp Troll, Apex Rank, Maneater</strong></li><li><strong>Chitter Teh-Sneaker, Level 61 Ratman, Apex Rank, Dark-de Assassin</strong></li></ol>


    <strong>Your Status</strong><strong>: Riven Thane, Level 38 Pureblooded Vampire, </strong><strong>Middle S Rank</strong><strong>, Warlock Adept</strong>


    If youe across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    <strong>Guild Rankings Currently Not Avable.</strong><strong> Guild functions are currently frozen.]</strong>


    S rank wasn¡¯t too shabby. That meant he was in the top 0.0001% of participants on this that were fighting for its survival, though he certainly paled inparison to any of the top 10. How they¡¯d gotten that strong in such a short time when everyone here apparently started at level 1 upon initiation was beyond him, though he had a sneaking suspicion that they¡¯d used various abilities already avable from their original worlds to wipe out insane numbers of enemies in the short span of time Panu had been around. Riven also did some quick math and quickly realized that although he was actually listed in S rank, this only ced him in the top 3.2 million participants - given that there were 32 billion people on Panu.


    That was a lot of people to contend with. But it DID say he was ¡®Middle S Rank¡¯, meaning he wasn''t near the bottom of that bracket. So that was good.


    ¡°NICE!¡± Ath screeched, pping Riven¡¯s shoulder excitedly with four of her legs and hopping up and down. ¡°I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO BE HIGHLY RATED! Ohhhhh the opportunities that await us¡­ I scored the jackpot!¡±


    ***


    Kill the greenskins, visit the ratman Snagger at their predetermined meeting ce in a few days, and have another long talk with Allie about both Chalgathi and the things he¡¯d seen in the forums before returning to Greenstalk Vige to turn Ethel into a thrall. He also needed to figure out where he was going to nt his guild core and the Elysium Altar he¡¯d obtained. That was his list. That, and continue giving Fay lessons on the ¡®Wretched Snare¡¯ spell he¡¯d learned. It was an unholy foundational spell, which meant she could learn it too as she was a mana-user and not based in stamina or divinity.


    During his time over the past day he¡¯d tried teaching Fay his ¡®Wretched Snares¡¯ spell, but the subus hadn¡¯ttched onto it at all. What had taken him a very short amount of time to learn, the demoness was having a rather hard time grasping - and this was apparently the norm.


    He also had the rod to nt the Elysium altar, but he still didn¡¯t know where he wanted to set it up. It was going to be veryrge and attract a lot of attention, especially when he¡¯d not seen any altars before this and it¡¯d likely be a coveted resource if there were any other groups in the area.


    Riven rubbed his forehead with his thumb while walking through the forest, his pointer finger and middle finger squeezing to relieve the tension building between his eyes. His three demons were close behind - the armored, four armed hellscape brutalisk Azmoth; the blue-skinned subus; and Ath, the Arshakai.


    Ethel, her mother Genua, and that cute little girl Len had bid them a temporary farewell with emotional goodbyes for over an hour before letting them leave. With Elder Preen still a potential problem and Farrod nowhere to be seen to take care of them, Riven was determined to finish this fast. He¡¯d ughter whoever he needed to and force the orcs out of the area, it was just that simple. If he could do it by sparing those who were innocent, all the better, but he¡¯d not balk now.


    Regardless, he was far busier than anyone in a post-apocalyptic world should be, at least in his opinion. He just wanted some time to rest and re-evaluate his life, not constantly being swamped with dumb shit like dealing with old, evil perverts or carnivorous goblins and orcs that¡¯d been having blood-feuds with the elves of their pre-integration for centuries. Even now he was mentally fumbling over the logistics of traveling between Greenstalk Vige and the city of Brightsville for visiting the underdark, trying to figure out how many of those captured goblins they should take with them in order to feed on for meal supplementation after normal food. Ethel could be turned into a thrall, but it wouldn¡¯t be an immediate change and before that she¡¯d only be able to supply small amounts of blood before falling ill herself.


    Being a vampire might have its perks, but it definitely was a pain in the ass concerning the feeding he constantly needed to undertake. It was a primal urge that neverpletely went away, and it only got worse the longer he didn¡¯t do it. Would he stay in the underdark long when visiting that rat man Snagger; the one he¡¯d met in the sewers? Who knew, but that wasn¡¯t really a priority right now. Allie was the priority right after this entire escapade with the elves was over with, and he was going to set things straight.


    But he definitely wanted to check out Snagger¡¯s nest of other rat-people. The ratman seemed friendly enough and it¡¯d be as good a ce as any to find someone with the identifier ss. None of the elves had any high level identifiers, and from his conversations with Allie - neither did her undead.


    Meanwhile Riven tried his best to keep the sun out of his eyes and off his skin. They would have traveled the entire way in the dark if it weren¡¯t that the elf guide leading them through the forests couldn¡¯t see in the dark.


    ¡°You look deep in thought.¡± The voice of the elf scout called out from up front, causing Riven¡¯s gaze to shift from the grassy forest floor to the bare-chested man ahead. The elf was of a strong build with shorter hair than most his kind, though it was silver like many of the rest and he wore tribal markings of blue paint along his arms, abdomen and back. He also had a longbow he carried in his left hand, and had two sets of quivers strung up behind him with a dagger in a sheath on his leg. ¡°Something troubling you?¡±


    Riven shook his head, using his vampiric artifact Kane as a walking staff while hiking through the foothills and further into the southeast. ¡°No, not really.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t nervous?¡±


    ¡°About the goblins and orcs? Perhaps this is overconfidence speaking, but no. Not after all I¡¯ve been through.¡±


    The elf, an older man than Riven but still in his middle ages, grinned and nodded in approval. He slowed down slightly to let Riven catch up, and began to walk side by side with him at a lengthy stride. ¡°That¡¯s what I was hoping to hear. I have heard many good things about you Riven, and though I was busy fighting the greenskins myself that night of the raid - I did get to see you in action for a small time. What I saw was encouraging. My name is Ren, it is nice to meet you.¡±


    The elf put his hands together and bowed like most of his kind did when greeting one another for the first time, but then stuck out his hand to shake as well. Surprised, Riven took the man¡¯s hand in his own and firmly gripped it with a nod.


    ¡°So someone taught you our customs then.¡±


    ¡°Senna did. She¡¯s my daughter, one of the two girls you saved and brought back to us.¡±


    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s why your name is so familiar!¡±


    Renughed, ducking underneath one of the lower-hanging treebranches in their path and continuing upwards in the direction of the next hill¡¯s crest. ¡°Yes, I never did get a chance to thank you with everything that has happened. I lost three sons in the fight with the orcs and it has weighed heavily on me, but I must put on a brave face for my family even so. It just took me some time to get ahold of myself and sustain my rightness of mind, for I was in a dark ce due to unbearable grief.¡±


    Riven¡¯s shock wasn¡¯t evident due to the hood and mask. He hadn¡¯t realized that Senna had lost family members, she¡¯d never mentioned it. Then again she hadn¡¯t really been around much and had stuck to her own family since getting back to the vige, perhaps this was why.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡±


    ¡°Do not be.¡± Ren stated absentmindedly, shaking himself out of the obvious inner turmoil he was experiencing and stepping over a fallen log with a grunt. ¡°It would have been more of a loss if you hadn¡¯t acted, you have nothing to apologize for. Again, I just wanted to say thank you. You brought my daughter back to me, and I won¡¯t ever forget the favor you¡¯ve done my family. In fact my wife is demanding that we invite you over for dinner after you get back. The elder might hold a small feast in your honor when this deed is done, but if that happens we can merely have you over for drinks!¡±


    ¡°DRINKS!?¡± Ath called out from the back of the line. ¡°Like the alcoholic ones!?¡±


    Ren nodded and waved back at the others. ¡°Of course you¡¯re all invited, in case you were wondering!¡±


    ¡°Way to invite yourself, Ath!¡± Fay stated with an eye-roll. ¡°Nice manners you¡¯ve got there.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re demons! Since when are we supposed to have manners!¡±


    Dr. Brass began tough, but Ren assured them all that he¡¯d been intending to invite the entire group over along with Riven.


    When Ren was done doubling down on that reassurance, he turned back to Riven while taking them onto a mildly worn dirt path running straight east. ¡°I also wanted you to bring Ethel, Genua and Len of course. They¡¯ve been family friends for many years, in particr - Genua, my wife and I all grew up together. Thank you for helping her daughter.¡±


    Riven paused upon seeing a wild pair of wolves staring them down, but the animals high-tailed it out of there once Rivennded a few well-ced bloody razors that exploded upon additional mana infusion to scare them off. ¡°So just ¡®wife¡¯, as in singr.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean by that.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have multiple wives? It seems like a lot of the men in your vige have more than one.¡±


    ¡°Oh! That.¡± Ren notched an arrow and casually pulled back, releasing it and infusing it with some sort of skill. The arrow glowed a light blue and crackled with lightning before mming into arge snake of some sort further up the path - but the writhing of the creature quickly settled into death. A money pouch dropped on its corpse, and the elf bent down to pick it up while they walked past. ¡°I only have one wife. She doesn¡¯t like to share, and she¡¯s a handful as it is.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Why do so many people have multiple wives in your vige though? I¡¯ve been meaning to ask. Don¡¯t the other young men run out of potential partners? Back on Earth, my original world, the polygamist groups in my country of origin would actually drop young boys off to fend for themselves in other territories so they couldn¡¯tpete with the older guys. They were called ¡®The Lost Boys,¡¯ and they¡¯d just beenpletely abandoned because they were seen as a threat if they were to get older. They just didn¡¯t have enough girls to go around.¡±


    Ren raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked thoroughly taken aback. ¡°That¡¯s horrible. No, we don¡¯t have that problem. The reason is that you¡¯re likely looking at it in a light beyond what it actually is. Meaning that only the most prominent men, usually leaders, will have more than one wife. Most of us only have just one.¡±


    Riven blinked, crushing a tree branch underfoot and batting away arge rock in the middle of the path with his morning star. ¡°Oh. I guess I was under the wrong impression then.¡±


    Ren took the opportunity to exin further. ¡°Elves live a very long time, hundreds of years usually, but we¡¯re an infertile peoplepared to humans. When men acquire power or wealth, and given our patriarchal society, it is only natural for the most well-off of us to buy new wives. You were human once, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That was what I thought. So although humans breed much more quickly and easily than elves, we make up for it with prolonged lifespans and more time to conceive children. But elves aren¡¯t as fertile as humans and we all want to father children, or at least most of us do; and being rich allows one to acquire more wives for a better chance at acquiring a proper heir. Elder Preen worked very hard to have children of his own and only managed to acquire two sons despite having three wives and using fertility supplements. One of the reasons he wanted to take Genua was because she¡¯d had two daughters in a very short span of time, so she is fertile and a higher prize than the wives he already had. Thus it is not that most of us have multiple wives, most of us don¡¯t in fact. It is that the richest and most powerful of us can simply afford it. They can pay the extra dowry to the family they buy the woman off of and can support more people in their household. This is true not only for our vige, but across many other elf societies. Probably even the drow.¡±


    ¡°Drow being dark elves, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the ones who live in the underdark. Though that isn¡¯t confirmed by the elder I spoke to because drow generally hate the elves of the surface. But back to the topic at hand: As for why I personally only took one wife, I just chose not to participate in the bad habits of my fellows even despite my sess because the woman I love wants me for herself. I respect her enough to abide by her wish, and wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so flippin cute!¡± Fay called out, giving Ren a big thumbs up and a wide, approving smile from underneath her hood. ¡°Good for you! You have my official vote for next vige mayor!¡±


    Dr. Brass guffawed. ¡°I would have taken five wives.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re a dirty old pervert!¡± Fay shot back with a re over her shoulder, pointing usingly. ¡°Old and perverted!¡±


    ¡°Guilty as charged! And that¡¯s riching from a subus.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t stereotype me, you wrinkled old mummy!¡±


    Riven smirked and turned to look ahead again. ¡°We¡¯ve had enough old, perverted men for my liking recently.¡±

 Chapter 108

    Chapter 108


    <strong>Chapter 108</strong>


    They made campter that night and trudged along the next day. Riven tried calling Allie twice, but each time he she¡¯d quickly tell him she was busy and hang up shortly after confirming she was still ok. It was like she was avoiding him, and he was getting the feeling that she¡¯d figured out her videos had leaked on the cortex for him to see. It was highly likely, knowing her, that she was trying to figure out what she was going to say before being confronted.


    Ren told them it¡¯d likely be nightfall by the day after that before they reached the ce where the orcs had set up their own vige. A three-day march in total, they had a lot of time to talk about various subjects that¡¯d been on Riven¡¯s mind.


    Fay continued to study under Riven¡¯s tutge for trying to acquire his ¡®wretched snares¡¯ spell. The vision, intent, understanding and mana channeling were all pretty simple for Riven - but came a lot less so for the demoness. Still, she was not deterred and told him outright she expected it to take a couple weeks or even months in order to actually grasp it fully. In the meantime the subus was just excited to learn something new, because knowledge like this was rarely traded between magical practitioners without a steep price. They often kept their knowledge close to the chest, which didn¡¯t really make much sense to Riven when it concerned minions. To him, Fay was an extension of himself in many ways and making her great would only double down his own chances of survival. Perhaps other warlocks simply didn¡¯t trust their summoned minions? He¡¯d have to ask whenever he met another one of his kind.


    Inbetween rest breaks they continued their trek until the third night, and this was when Ren began to make them slow down and be more vignt in their approach. They were nowing towards a treeline where ins met the woods, and they were further away from the mountains than Riven had ever been since arriving here in the world of Panu. He could still see the towering, snow capped mountains in the distance - but they were quite a ways away now and out towards the west.


    The sun had already set, but despite not being able to see as well as them - Ren urged the group onwards to take advantage of the cover of darkness. Coming along a slow-moving river that wound itself like a snake into the grasnds, Ren pointed to arge palisade wall along the northern edge of the river. It covered an area of maybe four square miles, and had numerous hunts and shoddy wooden buildings inside. Fires lit the perimeter with guards patrolling the area, though they were far and few between. Further in the settlement was lit up with evenrger fires ced at intervals between buildings, and Riven couldn¡¯t help but think that was a bit risky considering their tents were all very mmable.


    ¡°This is it.¡± Ren said solemnly, even angrily, while ring out across the hundred yards separating them from the greenskin vige. ¡°This is where I take a step back¡­ I will support you with ranged shots from the safety of the darkness if ites to a battle outside their gates, but otherwise I cannot get involved. This is on you now, if you really want to take Ethel as a thrall - see it done well.¡±


    Riven gave the man an irritated frown. As if he hadn¡¯t done enough for them already.


    Standing there in the dark of night and barely visible to the human naked eye if one strained hard enough, Riven turned his red eyes towards Senna¡¯s father. ¡°There will be children in there. I don¡¯t want to kill them if I don¡¯t have to. We will assess the situation first by sending Ath in, then based on what she says we will either try to negotiate or will scare them off.¡±Ren grimaced, then nodded in confirmation. ¡°Fine. As long as they¡¯re gone from thesends that is all that matters to us. However, I must tell you that greenskins aren¡¯t known for negotiations. They¡¯re generally too stupid or too violent to even attempt it. Even from a very young age, their children are taught to be cruel and bloodthirsty, and leaving them alive will only curse future generations of other races by dealing with them when the greenskins have grown into maturity and are more dangerous. You may think me evil for saying it, but I truly think killing them all would be doing the world a great service instead of showing their younglings mercy.¡±


    Riven considered the elf¡¯s words for a short time, but dismissed them offhand. ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t just murder a bunch of innocent kids.¡±


    Ren¡¯s lips curled, and if Riven hadn¡¯t been paying attention - he¡¯d probably not have noticed the slight sneer. The sneer was quickly hidden, but it had definitely been there. ¡°You¡¯re a vampire. Isn¡¯t that the kind of thing vampires do?¡±


    Thisment from the elf caused a re of anger to erupt in Riven¡¯s chest, but he pushed it down forcefully. And the facial expressions? After all he¡¯d done for them, these people still looked at him like he was a monster. It was definitely off putting, especially after Ren had been so open with friendly talk along the way.


    Riven shook his head. ¡°Not this vampire. Ath?¡±


    The demoness walked forward, utterly silent and grinning ear to ear with anticipation of the violence toe. ¡°Yes master?¡±


    She met Riven¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Just like how we talked it over. Kill the chieftain and any of these so-called ¡®elites¡¯ that Elder Bren warned us about. I want it done quietly and efficiently so you don¡¯t draw any reinforcements. Otherwise I want you to assess the situation as best you can and report back to me when your job is done, let me know if you get any information that¡¯d be useful in negotiations after we take off the head.¡±


    Ath nodded in satisfaction, bowing low and spreading her arms out wide. ¡°Your will is mymand, master. It will be done!¡±


    ***


    Ath gracefully slid over the palisade, bare feet touching the ground with such delicacy that not even the dirt underneath moved upon her touch. The corpses of the three goblins she¡¯d killed along the way were silently cast aside and hidden under a loft of dirty hay, sliding off the des of her arachnid limbs like overly-cooked meat off a metal spit.


    She licked her lips, her red eyes narrowed, her teeth began to sharpen and she scanned the immediate area for any signs of potential enemies. She was standing in the middle of a penned storage area likely meant for herd animals, but it was currentlypletely empty. Wooden, thatched huts were scattered about the immediate area in uneven rows, and bonfires lit up the streets in iron bowls every couple dozen yards. Despite this it wasn¡¯t very well lit, and Ath quickly made her way towards the center of the greenskin vige without much problem at all as her dark body blended in with the shadows of nearby buildings.


    She passed by numerous abodes on her way to the center. Rickety wooden furniture and dirt floors were the norm, with hay often stuffed into sacks made from animal skins for beds. The walls sometimes contained racked animal skulls as trophies, with a few of them even donning human or elf skulls too. Many of the huts had open windows where orc women were shepherding tiny orc children, many of them devoid of any tusks at this point but all with the same green skin and ck hair. Others had an asional goblin servant cleaning up after them, and fewer still contained orc men with the familiarrge frames and hulking muscles of their kind.


    Still, theck of warriors was noticeable and Ath felt a surge of self satisfaction upon knowing that they¡¯d help quell the tribe¡¯s numbers and military might already. She was making quick time through the vige and guessing at where the tribal leaders would be when she abruptly stopped at the sound of a call out from a nearby watchtower.


    ¡°Eh! Who¡¯s dat!? Show yaself!¡±


    The watchtower was also made of wood, and it stood about four stories high with a longdder going up to a boxy container that sentries could look out of. An orc archer was staring down at the dark alley she was residing in, and although she could tell he wasn¡¯t sure of what he¡¯d seen - she¡¯d definitely been spotted.


    Before the orc could mutter another word, crimson threads ripped out of Ath¡¯s fingers and flew upwards towards the support beams of the tower. She didn¡¯t have sufficient control over the threads at that distance for a surefire hit, so instead she used them to yank and catapult herself from the ground all the way to where the orc¡¯s head was sticking out over the side.


    A sh of ck skin ripped silently through the air, blurring upwards and she tore the tusked man¡¯s head right off. Upon passing the tower and continuing up into the air with her momentum, she also saw another orc sitting with his back against one of the thin wooden walls of the tower¡¯s box.


    Her arachnid limbs all turned in unison, locking on to her target with pinpoint uracy, and now that she was close enough - she opened fire.


    Threads solidified into red, needle-like projectiles and broke off one by one, ripping out of the six limbs protruding from her back andsering the startled orc in a barrage akin to that of a gatling gun.


    The attack was brutally effective and silent, skewering the sentry in over three dozen ces and killing him instantly, leaving him looking like a bloody porcupine. Gracefully flipping her body mid-air, she thentched one of her threads onto the side of the box and casually swung around -nding on the edge of the tower¡¯s wall and stepping lightly onto the wooden floor without so much as a whisper of noise. Her long ck tongue whipped out of her mouth, licking off blood from the corpse she¡¯d just created to savor the vor, and she dropped the head she¡¯d ripped off the other body with a thud onto the floor.


    ¡°By the Hells do I love this job!¡±


    She sighed contentedly, turning and leaning over the tower¡¯s edge for a better view of the vige. Wind whipped her dark hair all about her, giving her a majestic aura if anyone would have seen her, and with perfect posture she stood looking down at the greenskin settlement with a look of judging disdain. ¡°Disgusting creatures. Truly, even amongst mortals they are vile to look upon.¡±


    Her eyes shifted, taking in a scene unsurprising to her considering what she knew of greenskin culture. Near the center of the vige and a couple rows over from argepound where she assumed the orc chieftain to reside, well-lit fighting pits had been constructed with variousbinations ofbatants in them. Most of them were various animals and goblins, though a few orcs also participated in what was usually a one-sided fight.


    Immediately adjacent to these busy, bustling pits were small crowds of orcs that cheered or booed and a butcher¡¯s market, also well lit. Greenskins did eat nt matter, but this group was apparently more carnivore than omnivore or herbivore. Things like this were likely the reason why elves and orcs back on Ethel¡¯s had such a long-standing blood feud and why the greenskins rarely if ever went to the negotiation table. The orcs saw elves and humans or the like as mortal enemies, as physically weaker creatures, and ones to be exploited. This ce was a testament to that kind of mentality, with dozens of men and women - either elf or human - having already been butchered and put up for eating. Their bodies were often smoked and salted, alongside numerous bodies of wild boar or deer and other animals, with greenskinsing and going between the food stalls. That being said there wasn¡¯t honestly that much food to go around for how many orcs there were, and the lines to get the food only gave out small portions. There were piles of bones where the aftermath of the feasting was collected, but Ath could still get a vaguely urate number based on the heads.


    Apparently orcs and goblins didn¡¯t eat the heads, and the heads of humans and elves alike were piled on nearby wagons in silent screams alongside those belonging to other types of animals. Whatever prisoners had once been here were now long dead, food to fuel the growing greenskins horde, and she hadn¡¯t seen any other captives on her way here even despite her keen senses and vignce in her mission.


    She watched nk-faced while orc mothers encouraged their younglings in the smaller fighting pits, as little as even a couple years old, to kill one another for sport. She watched as the children obeyed, eagerly beating and hacking at one another until only one was left in what was probably a bloody childhood rite of passage. She saw pens where a couple dozen goblins were kept corralled in a thinyer of their own excrement, having orc guards keep them in line and asionally throw scraps of food over the walls for the goblins to feed on.


    Ath¡¯s lips curled up in disgust. ¡°They need to be purged. Even if it was a lowly elf who suggested it, that scout is right.¡±


    She hopped off the tower andnded on the ground without so much as a stirring of dust, her sharp arachnid legs taking the impact lightly and then lowering her humanoid feet to the ground before her spider limbs withdrew into her back.


    Ath began to move with increased tempo, eager to find the chieftain and im his head for her master. Her smile widened at the confidence he had in her to perform the job, and she wanted to make him proud. She¡¯d gotten incredibly lucky to have such a spectacr summoner, and she would do whatever it took to keep her contract safe so she could remain in his service. Not only was he likely to be a powerful progenitor of this newly integrated, but he had an ancient vampiric bloodline. Both of those things would be immense boons and would trante into her own ascension with some variation or another, and would present opportunities otherwise absolutely unattainable. Riven and his sister had no idea just what kind of luck they¡¯d stumbled upon concerning their suppressed lineages, but Ath knew. She knew all too well the stories of that particr bloodline, what it meant, and what itbeled Riven and Allie as in the eyes of the vampiric empires in the multiverse. They were both a boon and a threat to the established and dominant vampiric factions, if they lived long enough, and Ath¡¯s primary goal beyond anything else was to make sure they got to see that future unfold.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Ath smiled, remembering when she first met Riven in that odd dimensional rift that¡¯d been Chalgathi¡¯s starter trials. She¡¯d just been minding her own business in theher realms right before that, speaking to her sisters about how their grandfather was always too busy to give them the time of day while he conquered various sections of hell, when the system notified her of a summoner matching her specified qualifications. She¡¯d excitedly epted the system prompt and had watched, anxiety ridden, as Riven had gone through the potential lists of summons presenting themselves to him. When he¡¯d picked her, she¡¯d nearly done a backflip for obtaining her first-ever contract.


    Or at least she would have done a backflip if she¡¯d not been sucked right out of theher realms with a final wave to her family, and had beenunched through the void into the pocket dimension to help Riven fight against that other mage and his undead dog.


    The problem was that although the system had provided her with a contract meeting her specifications, the contract she¡¯d been allowed to sign was open-ended. That meant that, unlike Azmoth, she hadn¡¯t been able to set her own ground rules before signing. At the time this had been counteryed by the veryrge sum of system money given to her by whoever this Chalgathi person had been, and she¡¯d not known it to be an apocalypse beast back then - but even now that was irrelevant. She¡¯d taken the money and had given it to her n with arge amount of congrattions, as even demons could use elysium coins for various and valuable perks, not realizing that the contract would be so important and so valuable. She¡¯d not realized just how unique her master would be uponpleting Chalgathi¡¯s starter dungeon in Negrada. None of her n had known.


    Nor had she realized just how much she¡¯d grow to like Riven either. She¡¯d not cared much about him originally and he¡¯d been alright, but the day he¡¯d gone out of his way to save her - when she was still a blood weaver and hadn¡¯t evolved yet? That day in the cage where she was going to be fed to that monstrous lurker demon, destined to actually have her soul devoured because the system had temporarily nullified her contract? That was the day that she¡¯d truly felt a bond form. It was the day that she realized that, even as a spider with an overly sassy attitude, Riven still cared about her. He was a good man, and that was a rarity amongst both her own kind and the summoners that contracted with them. She wouldn¡¯t even consider herself an entity of good, rather she was actually erring on the side of self-serving, thrill seeking and even outright evil at times. She curbed those instincts to better serve him though, because she owed him and knew that¡¯s what he wanted.


    Usually a contract she¡¯d have written up, or what any of the demons in her n would have done in most circumstances, would be to add a series of uses. These uses were intended to give her more freedom, make sure that the contract wouldn¡¯t be broken unless she wanted it to be, would allow her to break the contract at will through a variedwork ofplex wording meant to confuse the summoner;and it would allow her to form a protective measure against any orders she really didn¡¯t want to obey. Just the standard stuff most demons tried to weasel their way into when contracting with mortals. She certainly had freedom now, but that was just because Riven allowed it. The open-ended contract she was bound to currentlypletely negated any free will she had if he wanted to pursue that route. If he wanted her to perform jumping jacks, he could tell her to do it and she¡¯d have to do it as long as hismand was given with meaning and not said while joking around. If he truly wanted her to run five miles every day on her hands, do a backflip and then give him back rubs while burping the ABC¡¯s, he could literally force her to do it. The usual protections ofplex wording in her n¡¯s contracts regarding her ability to close or keep the contract also would have allowed her a measure of power over whatever summoner she¡¯d been contracted to, forcing the summoner to keep her if she wanted it and nullifying the contract if she wasn¡¯t pleased. The open-ended contract Chalgathi had paid her a significant amount of cash to sign was quite the opposite of all that though, with almost all the power in Riven¡¯s court. It meant that if he grew displeased with her actions he could immediately snap his fingers and POOF - she¡¯d be gone, opening up a contract slot for him to find another minion with. With all the other demons in theher realms awaiting potential masters, especially one of Riven¡¯s extreme potential, he would soon be a fan favorite of theher realms. Demons awaiting new masters would no doubt take note of him soon, and he¡¯d have no end to the amount of applications he¡¯d receive. If that were to happen, he may even end up acquiring a servant of amazing quality far beyond even her own ability. Her own n was moderately sized, but it was nowhere near the top of the food chain in terms of demonic power and she had no doubt that if she failed to retain her contract with him that one of the powerhouse ns of the outer realms would swoop in with an offering of one of their own younglings.


    The case and point - was Fay. That subus belonged to a very odd but very powerful demonic house, one that exined her unique upbringing and kindness considering what she was. How they¡¯d known of Riven even during the Chalgathi trial though¡­ that was still a mystery to Ath. They¡¯d made Fay wait it out and apply again, despite other contract opportunities presented to her, and the subus had been delighted upon her sessful contract not long after.


    But allowing herself to be reced was not going to happen, Ath couldn¡¯t allow it to happen. Failure was doubly not an option after all of the resources poured into Ath¡¯s new body and performance. She had a real opportunity to elevate herself and her n, so messing it up would bring dire consequences. But she was in good standing with Riven right now and her own contract wasn¡¯t threatened, and their blooming friendship was only growing stronger - so thankfully she felt rather secure in her position.


    Her thoughts regarding such matters came to an end as she came closer to therge, central building of the greenskin vige. It was circr, with two stories and a dome rooftop all made of wood and poorly put together. There was a chimney billowing smoke in the very center of the domed roof made of y, and a g with a tusked skull pped softly in the wind over the entrance. Two orc meatheads wielding spears and metal cap helmets stood at therge double doors of he front, looking bored and even beginning to doze off. One of them had an empty brown bottle of booze off to the side near his feet, probably from raiding nearby areas or having taken it from their old world via the integration.


    Easy pickings.


    <strong>*RIP-SNAP*</strong>


    She activated her newest martial art, ¡®Flurry¡¯. Her ws and legs drastically increased speed and turned into a silent whirlwind of strikes, tearing through the two orcs in over two dozen ces within a single second. Blood sttered across the wall, and their mangled corpses fell over only to be caught by her own hands so they wouldn¡¯t make any noise. The bodies gushed blood from their numerouscerations, and she quietly dragged them over to a dark recess along a nearby wall to make sure it wasn¡¯t obvious she¡¯d been there.


    She gently tried the door.


    It was locked.


    Her eyes drifted upwards towards a gap in the roof where the ones who¡¯d built the building had left a hole small enough for someone like her to barely slide through, and her smile widened. Her fingers turned into ws again and she passed the door by like a shadow - noiselessly scaling the building to where the hole was at rapid speed. One of the perks she liked most about her new body was the trait containing an almost absolute sound-dampening effect when stimted, as it made moving about for assassination purposes all the easier.


    She poked her head inside, seeing a long hallway filled with various contraptions, chests, weapons, armor, and other items. They were no doubt the product of raiding the surrounding area to take whatever the local neighbors had after killing and eating them, because many of the items were far more intricate and delicate than what Ath would expect barbarian orc artisans to craft. Greenstalk Vige was probably just the most recent victim of these creatures, but it certainly wasn¡¯t the first.


    Her bare feetnded on the wooden second-story floor and she slid through the dark corridor, following the circr hallway to asionally stop and check each room. Some of them were storage units filled with boxes and barrels, others trophy rooms with stuffed animal heads and liquor cabs. There were also a few bedrooms for people to sleep in, but every single one of them was empty.


    This was a little odd. The chieftain could be downstairs¡­ Maybe he was at the fighting pits watching the scuffles. But wouldn¡¯t there at least be more guards inside?


    Finally she came to thergest door on this floor. It was thicker than the others, had arge iron handle, and was positioned right in front of the stairway leading up from the first floor. She nced downstairs, noting how it was dark down there as well, and noted there was no sign of life either by noise or sight.


    Curious.


    She turned back to therger door more warily when she heard the crackling of fireing from the other side. There were no other ways in, thus she stepped back and attached a small string to the thick iron handle, then she backed even further out of sight. Pulling on it, she realized it was a lot heavier than she¡¯d originally given the door credit for. She had to yank just a little bit harder, but the door began to budge and creek ominously. Firelight poured into the dark hallway, but from her current position she could only see the left-hand side of the room - which waspletely barren.


    Then a deep, booming voice called out to her from inside, beckoning her to make herself known. ¡°Come in, demon¡­ I have felt your presence since you stepped foot in my vige. I have been waiting for you, as we have much to talk about.¡±


    Ath only hesitated for a moment, somewhat surprised that she¡¯d been found out, then carefully proceeded forward.


    In front of her was a throne of furs and skulls, with a tapestry of a tusked orc skull hanging on yellow linen in the background. Sitting on therge chair in front of a stone fire pit built into the floor was arge, hunched over orc wearing a wooden mask painted yellow and blue. Probably the chieftain by the look of his shirtless, heavily tattooed chest often identifying orcs in positions of power, and he wore a number of feathered items that made him look like a peacock. He had feather pauldrons the color of burnt orange, along with feathered bracelets and anklets to boot. Feathers adorned the mask around the periphery along the top and sides, with leather straps keeping it securely fastened to the orc¡¯s head - and he held a long, wooden staff carved into the shape of a cobra¡¯s head. Two emeralds adorned the staff for the cobra¡¯s eyes, and a single green sigil akin to Aztec hieroglyphs was glowing brightly along the front of the wooden cobra¡¯s red hood.


    He also wore many rings, some of them intricate gold and tinum while others were more in and had a sickly aura about them that Ath could even feel from here. A mixture of forest and swamp mana if she had to guess. Beside him and on either side of the throne stood two heavily-outfitted orc warriors, each equally as big as the chieftain himself. One carried arge ymore almost the size of a man and was decked out in heavy iron te armor, having arge swath of horse hair creating a frill along a barbute-styled helmet. The other one was adorned with thick studded leather and carried arge basic warhammer with a round shield, being absolutely bald and wearing golden hoop earrings on either green ear.


    Ath confirmed that there were no traps within the immediate vicinity of the doorway and stepped through, smiling venomously with sharpened teeth across the fire pit between them and letting her hands fall out to either side of her with palms facing outwards. ¡°Ah¡­ So here you are atst¡­ Tell me, how did you know I was here? I thought I was being rather elusive. The sentries outside never even saw meing¡­¡±


    The orc with the ymore let out a rumbling growl and took an aggressive step forward, but the chieftain stopped him with his cobra-shaped staff as it mmed against the other orc¡¯s metal breastte with a ng.


    The chieftain thenughed and leaned forward to get a better look at her. ¡°And why would I tell you how I knew? You¡¯re a treacherous little snake, aren¡¯t you? Yes, I have heard about the arshakai from that elfling vige near the base of the mountains. You, the brutalisk, the subus, and that vampire master of yours. After our failed raid on the elf camp, we lost many of our seasoned warriors where we would have seeded in culling the threat of the elves otherwise¡­ but the few that managed to escape reported back what they¡¯d seen.¡±


    The chieftain settled back into his chair and stared at the wickedly smiling demoness, curiously tapping a finger along the armrest of his throne. ¡°Tell me. Why would a vampire help high elves? Surely you cannot trust them, they would sooner kill a vampire than they would an orc.¡±


    Ath pondered whether or not to engage the chieftain further. It couldn¡¯t really hurt, her cover had been blown already. But just in case she failed to kill him now that shecked the element of surprise - she decided to y Riven up in the minds of the greenskins here so they¡¯d think twice about a countermove should the timee.


    ¡°Help them?¡± Ath let out a charming,dy-likeugh and let her right hand dangle as she raised that wrist over her mouth and fluttered her eyes seductively. ¡°Oh no¡­ They¡¯re merely food for the coven! They just don¡¯t know it yet, but they will submit eventually¡­ You see, your warriors were trespassing on our imednds. The elves are ours to feed on, they belong to my master, not to you¡­¡±


    At the word ¡®coven,¡¯ the chieftain¡¯s eyes narrowed and the warrior with the warhammer stiffened. Vampires had a very bad reputation even amongst the most hardened of warriors. They could regenerate extremely fast, they could see in the dark - turning night battles heavily in their favor, they had more speed and strength than most of the mortal races did on average, and all this made them very hard to kill. Usually vampires were territorial by nature, especially if other vampires encroached on their feeding grounds. This usually meant they were solo hunters, so if there was a group of vampires instead of just one to deal with¡­ itplicated things for the orcs in a very big way.


    Ath could immediately recognize the realization of their situation in the chieftain''s eyes, and her already big grin spread literally from ear to ear in a sickening disy. The usually white, brilliant, human-like smile was gone, and instead was the look of a casual predator eyeing its next meal with a tinge of amusement.


    The chieftain stopped tapping his finger and stood to his full height, anger apparent in his voice - but he kept it contained while gripping his wooden staff. ¡°I wish to bargain with your master.¡±


    Ath blinked, and her smile began to fade as irritation welled up inside her. Her mission had originally been to kill the chieftain and scout out the orc vige, but he was already wanting to negotiate the orcs leaving thisnd instead of brutally killing everything there. If she gave up this opportunity for an easy victory, Ath would never hear the end of it.


    With a loud sigh and an obvious frown, she folded her arms and sneered across the firece while leaning against the doorframe. ¡°Unfortunately I was told that negotiations actually are on the table¡­ So if you have a deal that I think my master can agree to, I will hear you out. I suggest you not waste my time and spit it out, filthy creature, for I have better things to do than gawk at your unsightly features or smell the piss that lingers in the air here.¡±


    The chieftain angrily growled, but reigned in his temper despite her insults and nodded just once. ¡°Very well. Let us discuss terms.¡±

 Chapter 109

    Chapter 109


    <strong>Chapter 109</strong>


    The story Ath had put arge damper on the mood, and Riven was unsure of what to think regarding the orcs and their situation. On one hand they¡¯d killed and eaten many humans and elves in the area alike, apparently admitting raiding surrounding towns or viges that¡¯d popped up after the integration and leaving them as husks of what they once were. On the other hand, the orcs had imed that they weren¡¯t entirely at fault here - of which he was about to try and find out.


    The orc chieftain stood in front of his vige gates with a dozen muscr orc warriors behind him, including the two elites of his vige that had been in the room with Ath upon her initial talk. There were also thirty or so dagger-wielding goblins picking their noses, cackling to one another, or grumbling about being out thiste. Orc women, elderly, and children stood up on the palisade tforms that¡¯d been erected at intervals on the opposite side - some of them nervously holding bows while others simply stared.


    On the opposite side anding in from the darkness was Riven, and he was apanied by their elf scout - Ren. His three demons and Dr. Brass were all there too, standing on the perimeter just where the torchlight from the vige walls was barely able to reach. It was enough to give the orcs the impression that there were indeed others out there, but that there also may be more further back.


    While Riven walked side by side with Ren, the orc chieftain and his two elites came out to meet them at a halfway point between the two groups. Ren was obviously nervous by the way his heart rate picked up, but that in turn was matched by many of the greenskins across from where Riven stopped 50 yards from the walls. It was a very, very tense situation - and the orc leaders stopped about ten paces away to keep a healthy distance while being close enough tofortably talk.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard there are more of you.¡± The chieftain said after surveying the others at the edge of the firelight - nodding to Ath in particr where her red eyes were easier to make out than the others. ¡°For your sake, I hope your familiar wasn¡¯t lying.¡±


    The two elites beside the chieftain looked ufortable, but tried to not let it show. However their heartbeats escted and betrayed their true emotions on the situation, even if they looked rather intimidating and fearsome up close.


    Riven nted his staff into the ground, allowing ¡®Vampire¡¯s Escort¡¯ to stand off its own power. Then he cocked his head to the side, evaluating each of therger green men in front of him, and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his cloak. ¡°Ath said you wanted to talk.¡±


    ¡°To talk with you, blood sucker.¡± The orc with hooped earrings and the warhammer snarled, growling at the silver-haired elf beside Riven. ¡°Not with the pointy-ears. They have done us nothing but harm for centuries when we wanted to only live in peace. They drive us from ournds, hunt our kind to the ends of the earth, and then act like it is they who are persecuted. Why is the elfling here?¡±Ren flushed angrily at the usation and his jaw clenched, but he was visibly shaking and couldn¡¯t utter a response. It¡¯d taken all his bravery just toe out here, let alone speak to the orcs.


    ¡°I see.¡± Riven nced at Ren, then turned his gaze back to the orc who¡¯d addressed him. ¡°That, specifically, is why I¡¯m even standing here talking to you. You im that you were attacked first and only responded in kind?¡±


    The snarling orc hesitated, but nodded as the other two orcs joined him in unison.


    ¡°What about the humans Ath saw? Their heads decorate your feast at the fighting pits. Do they not?¡±


    The orc chief coughed out augh from underneath his wooden tribal mask, and nodded while nting his own cobra staff into the ground beside him. ¡°They do. Our people are a war-faring people, I openly admit it. However we are not the cold blooded killers you seem to believe us to be¡­ we merely defend ourselves and actively attack those who have done us harm first. Which brings me to the same question that myrade brought up - if you¡¯re not in league with the elves and merely using them for food, why is one of them guiding you to us?¡±


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± Riven casually shrugged, indifference written in his face as he removed the runic mask covering his nose and mouth. He let on a toothy smile to disy his fangs and pocketed the mask in turn. ¡°Truth be told I will be feeding on some of them, but they chose to do so willingly for my help. What¡¯s your name, by the way? If we are going to be speaking, I¡¯d rather not just think of you as ¡®meat.¡¯¡±


    The chieftain snorted with amusement and removed his own mask, revealing a bald man with a heavily scarred face; where it looked like some kind of wed creature had scratched him repeatedly. Whatever had attacked the orc had even taking off a portion of the tusked green man¡¯s upper lip in the process - giving Riven the impression that the chieftain was always snarling.


    ¡°So the elves pay for their protection with blood of their own. I suppose it does make sense. My name is Gurth¡¯Rok, Chieftain of the Yellow Skull Tribe. Who are you, vampire?¡±


    ¡°Riven. My name is Riven Thane, and I¡¯d say it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you but these are rather dire circumstances, and I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯re all going toe out of this meeting alive or not.¡±


    ¡°Truer words have never been spoken.¡± Chieftain Gurth¡¯Rok replied with a grimace. ¡°What is it that you want from us? We have suffered many casualties already and only wish to be left alone.¡±


    ¡°Well that is all very good, but you actively attacked a vige under my protection. I can¡¯t have you randomly ughtering people in our imednds. And I¡¯m not just talking about the elves in Greenstalk Vige.¡± Riven continued to up-y the card Ath had already cast concerning the coven¡¯s feeding grounds, and in some ways he wasn¡¯t lying. Allie¡¯s forces were less than a week away, though they weren¡¯t really a ¡®coven.¡¯


    ¡°Do you wish us toy down and die then? Because that is what you are asking us to do. To have usy down and die when the enemiese charging at our gates. We have only ever defended ourselves, never have we been the aggressors since arriving here in this newly merged world.¡± The chieftain angrily snarled in frustration and waved a hand in front of his face as if to gesture to the surroundingnds. ¡°There are too many enemies and too few allies for us to so tantly go raiding. Yes, we have killed many of the humans here that sought to kill us first. We burned their homes, butchered them and used them for food. My people are starving, and though we usually don¡¯t feed on humans and elves so frequently I will not have my people suffer hunger if we have the bodies of our enemies to feast upon. The attacks on our people came first, and we responded in force each time. We have lost the great majority of our warriors, once numbering at eight hundred orcs and over a thousand goblin servants. We have been reduced to what you see here now after the many dozens of small battles across the frontier. Surely as a vampire you can empathize with us for the persecution you¡¯ve endured yourself! Your kind is hated even more than my own by the races that call themselves ¡®enlightened,¡¯ so it should not be a surprise to you that the elves of your imed vige struck at us first.¡±


    Riven considered the orc¡¯s words and slowly turned his gaze to the elf beside him. ¡°What do you have to say about that, Ren?¡±


    Ren¡¯s mild shaking had stopped, but he''d calmed his nerves despite being in such close proximity to creatures he and his people had warred against in a blood feud for countless generations. He stared up at therger chieftain for a good amount of time, but eventually grimaced and nodded. ¡°We struck first, it is true.¡±


    ¡°The elf does not see himself fit to lie! That is a wee surprise!¡± The armored orcughed, and even the chieftain seemed a bit taken aback by the admission of guilt.


    ¡°We saw them searching the forest for food and panicked.¡± Ren stated solemnly, casting a nce at the muscr orc in the iron temail. ¡°It was weeks ago. They¡¯ve been at war with us for so long now that it¡¯s usually shoot on sight and forgo questions. We¡¯ve tried negotiating with greenskins before and it always ends in failure and our throats slit, so of course we attacked first.¡±


    ¡°The same could be said on our end.¡± Chieftain Gurth¡¯Rok growled, but his appraising look of the elf did not exhibit hostility. ¡°Though I want to thank you for your honesty, elfling. Perhaps if your people had tried speaking to us first before ughtering our hunters this could have all been resolved. Are we not all strangers to this new world? Thesends are alien, a tapestry redrawn in the eyes of the system, and we know not what awaits us beyond the ins. I had hoped to gain allies in my first days uponing here so that we may trade and flourish like we had in the bands of our ancestral home, but this¡­¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    Gurth¡¯Rok gestured back towards their vige. ¡°It has been nothing but death and misery for all of us. The fighting pits your demon saw, vampire? That is a way to quell our numbers so the rest of us do not starve. It may have looked like a feast to you, but not in the past 20 years have we resorted to eating enlightened races until now. We arepletely out of food and have nothing else, and we do not know how we will get more because we are constantly harassed by scouting parties sent from your elf vige. Most of our hunters never return, and the woonds were our best shot at finding more to eat. We had to act by striking at the elf vige the same way we did with the humans who previously tried their hand. Yet here we are, reduced to almost nothing, with many of our best warriors being ughtered upon our attempt to save ourselves.¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t know what to think about all this new information. At first he hadn¡¯t necessarily believed what he¡¯d heard from Ath, but upon Ren¡¯s admission he could only stare nkly at the ground in front of his feet. He felt guilty, guilty for ughtering dozens of these orcs and goblins with his minions when they¡¯d merely been trying to survive. He knew that if he hadn¡¯t acted the elves would certainly have died, but it seemed to him that they¡¯d merely assumed the orcs were a threat and acted without trying to resolve things peacefully. It¡¯d blown up in their faces in a big way, and they¡¯d almost beenpletely wiped out for it.


    ¡°Do you believe us now?¡± Gurth¡¯Rok asked with a tinge of hope in his voice. ¡°I am no coward, and I am not afraid to die in battle. I even believe I have a chance to win if a battle does ur, but perhaps that is my pride speaking. Regardless, I do fear what would happen to my people if they don¡¯t have me to lead them anymore. Surely even as a vampire you must have some empathy within you, as you otherwise wouldn¡¯t be speaking about who started the conflict to begin with. Do you see the women and children standing out there, watching us talk? All the old men that can no longer fight and rely on me for support?¡±


    The chieftain raised his staff and pointed towards the wall, towards the hundreds of nonbatant orc vigers who fearfully watched the proceedings at a distance. He turned back to Riven with a wary shake of his head. ¡°They will not live through the next winter if I pass. It is very likely that they will all be killed here and now if these negotiations fall through, and they know it.¡±


    Riven shook his head and drew his hands out of his pockets to fold his arms across his chest. ¡°No¡­ No I wouldn¡¯t do that. I had no intention of killing the women and children.¡±


    Gurth¡¯rok¡¯s eyebrows raised in surprise. ¡°Truly?¡±


    ¡°Truly. I only came here to eliminate the threat to Greenstalk. That meant either killing anyone who could pose a threat, or driving you from thesends. It didn¡¯t mean ughtering kids.¡±


    Gurth¡¯Rok¡¯s mouth opened slightly in astonishment, taking Riven¡¯s words at face value. ¡°You are not a normal vampire. Are you?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°Your eyes.¡± Gurth¡¯Rok motioned to Riven¡¯s glowing red pupils. ¡°They are brighter than most vampires I have seen in the past. You are different. Are you a different breed of vampire? Are there different breeds?¡±


    ¡°... No, I don''t think there are different breeds.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well you certainly act differently. I was surprised your familiar even allowed negotiations at all. It¡¯d been a slim hope at best, but when you began questioning us on who began the conflict to begin with I became thoroughly convinced that you are unusual. Most of your kind would not care. They would not care about who started the fight, they would not care about orc children, and they would not care enough to lie about why they chose to help a group of weak and rtively defenseless elves.¡±


    The chieftain smiled, and Riven had tough at the outright usation.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Riven stated with a grin. ¡°It wasn¡¯t necessarily a lie, I really am going to feed on one of the elves that has agreed to it, but you¡¯re mostly right. I helped because I thought it was the right thing to do.¡±


    The orc with the hoop earrings and the warhammer immediately gawked, and the other warrior in iron temale guffawed loudly and turned with his hands on his head.


    ¡°Never did I think I¡¯d see the day.¡± The heavily armored warrior said as he turned to walk away. ¡°Now that negotiations seem to be improving, I¡¯m going to go grab a drink. I think I¡¯ll need it. You ok with that chief?¡±


    Gurth¡¯Rok let out augh and waved hispanion away, turning back to Riven with a slight but reserved smile. ¡°So¡­ a vampire with morals. That¡¯s a new one for the history books. Where do we go from here? If you wish us to leave thesends, we will do so. I do not wish to lose any more of my people. However, if you let us stay and allow us to hunt for meat in the forest and grow our crops in peace - I can promise you that we will put this conflict behind us. We havee prepared with tribute to help sway your mind on this matter, and if it settles the conflict between our people and the vige of elves further into the northwest I will prepare a gift for them too.¡±


    The orc with the warhammer stepped forward, producing a scroll from a pouch at his side. He handed it to Riven and stepped back, allowing Riven to unfurl it and get a better look at the document.


    ¡°It already has identification information attached to it by one of our vige identifiers.¡± Chieftan Gurth¡¯Rok said slowly with hope riding along his words. ¡°It may not be worth much to you because you¡¯re affiliated with the unholy pir, but it is still a valuable gift and was handcrafted by one of the elderly shamans we still have with us. You may exchange or sell it to someone else who can use it for a great deal of money, of that I have no doubt.¡±


    <strong>[Spell Scroll: Nature¡¯s Winds (Forest) (Tier 2) ¨C Select a target and deliver a small dose of healing potential in the form of a soft forest breeze, sealing the target¡¯s wounds and restoring HP. This spell also imbues an after-effect of residual healing over time if the spell has leftover energy, and thus can be used as a buff prior to battle. This spell can be stacked up to 5 times, with each additional stack beyond the first stack giving a minor boost to running speed. This spell does not rid targets of disease or debuffs. Very long range, short cooldown, short casting time, low mana cost.]</strong>


    Riven¡¯s eyes took in the sight before him. The actual parchment that wasn¡¯t identification information was written in anguage that he couldn¡¯t read, but the markings were nevertheless tediously crafted and beautiful to look at. The system message was more than enough to tell him what he needed to know about it too, so he didn¡¯t have any doubts about what it really was.


    Meanwhile the chieftain uncertainly eyed Riven¡¯s expression, trying to read whether or not the gift was enough to appease the vampire. ¡°The shaman who created this scroll took nearly two years to do it, but he is very skilled and was actually the master who taught me my own trade. Most people take years to learn this kind of advanced magic, but with this scroll a person may learn it within a day as long as they have a high enough affinity.¡±


    The chieftain¡¯s worries were quenched when Riven put on a bright smile.


    ¡°I think this is more than enough.¡± Riven stated while pocketing the scroll and turning to Ren. ¡°If the orcs stay, are your people in Greenstalk willing to listen to me when I tell them to leave the orcs alone?¡±


    Ren hesitated, shot the chieftain an uncertain look, yet he slowly shook his head. ¡°No¡­ I do not believe so. That was not part of our deal, Riven. Ethel will not be handed to you as a thrall unless you force them to leave thesends. We will not be safe until they are gone. That is not negotiable, as heard from the mouth of Elder Bren himself.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly and his grip around the scroll tightened. ¡°Without me, none of you would even be alive right now.¡±


    Ren gave him an apologetic shrug. ¡°It is not my order, I am sorry. A deal is a deal.¡±


    The two men stared at one another, and the orc chieftain curiously evaluated the brief exchange with a grimace. ¡°I find it odd that they would not be amodating to the one that saved all their lives, and even moreso that they demand things of someone stronger. Riven, are you sure that you trust these people?¡±


    Riven broke of his re towards Ren with a sideways nce at the chieftain. ¡°Yes. Why?¡±


    ¡°Because although you may be different, these elves are likely not.¡± Therge orc gestured to Ren, who scowled fiercely back at the orc but remained tight-lipped on the subject. ¡°This elfling and his people are probably like all the others. They are likely using you to their own ends.¡±


    Ren let out a snort of derision, but that was the only reply the chieftain got.


    There was a long, awkward silence after that, and then Riven¡¯s thoughts drifted back to Ethel and her family. To Len and Genua, who he hadn¡¯t known very well but had developed a keen liking for. He shook his head and gripped the staff to his left. ¡°I trust them, and I made them a promise. Take your people, orc, and leave thesends. I will not kill you, but I will not permit you to stay here either.¡±


    Ren nodded. ¡°Good.¡±


    Gurth¡¯Rok remained silent for a time, scrutinizing the elf with a deep frown, but in time nodded too and gave a gracious bow. ¡°Very well. I will do as you ask, Riven Thane. I appreciate your mercy and the chance to leave this ce without bloodshed. We will find somewhere else to live, so that these elf friends of yours may find peace. My people will understand and thank you for what you have agreed to this day, for the freedom of passage you have granted us. Perhaps one day we will meet again as friends, rather than as opponents.¡±


    With a conflicted smile, Riven held out a hand to shake. ¡°Good luck with your rebuilding, and I wish you the best.¡±


    ¡°And I wish the same to you. It was nice meeting you, Riven Thane. More than you know. May the gods watch over the path you tread on, and may the winds ever be in your favor.¡±


    ***


    Back in Greenstalk Vige, Farrod closed the door to Elder Preen¡¯s home with a click. Turning he saw the old man sitting at his dining room table, sipping on tea and going over ns with Elder Bren on what would happen should Rivene back sessful - or should he die instead.


    ¡°A brilliant n. Either way we win out.¡± Farrod stated simply, kicking his legs out and nodding to Elder Preen who smiled savagely while his first wife fetched a pot of hot water. ¡°Are theying now?¡±


    ¡°They are.¡± Elder Preen stated matter-of-factly. ¡°They¡¯ll be here soon. Given recent events I¡¯d say they¡¯re rather excited to exact justice. Has Riven caught on at all yet? Any inkling of an idea?¡±


    Farrod shrugged.


    ¡°Surely you¡¯ve checked on things?¡± Elder Preen gave the other man a skeptical, down-the-nose look.


    Genua¡¯s husband rolled his eyes and shook his head. ¡°Not much, you old fool. We have to keep up appearances remember? Rather intricate but appropriate for the situation. This entire thing feels disgusting to me¡­ I just want it to be over with so we can go back to our normal lives.¡±


    Elder Bren gave the middle-aged man a scolding look. ¡°You know we have to do this to keep the vige safe, Farrod. We don¡¯t have much of a choice, given our current circumstances. I¡¯m sorry it was you that had to take the fall, but what¡¯s done is done. There is no turning back now.¡±

 Chapter 110

    Chapter 110


    <strong>Chapter 110</strong>


    Riven¡¯s journey back was a quiet one while he contemted the things Gurth¡¯Rok the orc had said. Pondering the chieftain¡¯s words and feeling not just a little bit guilty about ughtering so many of them to defend the elvish vige, he wondered what the morally right choice would have been.


    But he did not dwell on it for long. In this world, he could only do what he thought was right at the time. Thinking about how he ¡®could¡¯ have done something differently would not change the past, and to mope on it would be nothing but pathetic.


    So he chalked it up to a learning experience, and would try not to make the mistake of assumptions again. He knew sometimes it couldn¡¯t be helped, but that was life and he¡¯d just do his best.


    Firelight flickered and crackled where a small pit in the dirt had been dug by Ren. Azmoth had helped light the fire, while Fay and Ath had set up a defensive perimeter using webs and unholy detonation traps.


    ¡°You¡¯re staring again.¡± Riven stated tly, staring into the fire without looking up. ¡°Is there something I can help you with? Anything you want to talk about? You seem nervous.¡±


    Ren was fidgeting with a knife he had in his hands, and had been giving Riven side-eyes whenever he thought the vampire wasn¡¯t looking. Riven could also hear his heartbeat racing every time the elf talked about getting back to the vige, and the man almost looked sick by the way he was asionally caught sweating even at night.


    Ren coughed, covering his mouth with one arm and sank his knife into the dirt beside him. He pushed his legs out in front, closer to the fire, and shook his head. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just odd traveling with a vampire is all. Very strange, I never thought I¡¯d be in a position like this.¡±


    Riven tucked the ckmunication bauble he¡¯d been speaking to Allie with into a pocket of his robe, then took in a deep breath of fresh mountain air. ¡°It¡¯s nice out here. Isn¡¯t it?¡±Dr. Brass nodded wordlessly and adjusted his sses, a content smile on his face. ¡°It¡¯s peaceful.¡±


    Ren looked around, eyeing Azmoth while the brutalisk sat cross-legged and flipping his tail back and forth from side to side. ¡°Uhm¡­ yes, it¡¯s rather peaceful.¡±


    Riven slowly and sadly smiled. ¡°Yes. Yes it is. I wish it could always be that way.¡±


    The fire crackled and writhed, eating away at the wood while none of the men said a single word. Further into the forest underneath the dark canopy of trees, the sounds of Fay and Ath chatting and bathing in a stream could be heard too - in conjunction with asional crickets or owls hooting under a starry night.


    The silence was eventually interrupted minutester when Riven cleared his throat and addressed the elf again. ¡°So what has Ethel said about me recently? I¡¯m a little nervous, making her my thrall. I don¡¯t want her to think I¡¯m taking advantage of her.¡±


    Ren was happy to start up a new topic of conversation. ¡°Oh! She and my daughter Senna both say great things about you.¡±


    ¡°But what exactly?¡± Riven pressed with a polite smile, arms folded and legs crossed in a sitting position with his back to a log.


    Dr. Brass was curious too, and he sat up a little straighter to listen in.


    Ren scratched his head, then looked up thoughtfully to the stars in the sky. ¡°Hmm. Well, they talked a lot about your battle prowess. How you were nice enough to help them when you could have let the goblins eat them. Ethel is a bit nervous to be your thrall but she¡¯s also excited, or at least that¡¯s what she told me.¡±


    ¡°Has she told you anything about Brightsville?¡± Riven asked, getting a frown of confusion from the other man.


    ¡°Is that the city where your sister is? The other vampire?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one!¡± Riven gave a bit, toothy smile. ¡°I talked a lot about Allie, I hope she and Ethel will be good friends over time. I think they¡¯ll like one another.¡±


    Upon the topic of Allie, Ren perked up a bit. ¡°Ah, yes! Ethel told us stories about her. She has another coven or something like that in a tower there, right?¡±


    ¡°Right. She¡¯s setting up an undead faction there, it¡¯s not really a coven per say but it¡¯s full of other ghouls, skresh, some bone or blood golems, that kind of thing. I saw a couple other types of lesser, mindless minions but those were mostly skeletons or zombies.¡±


    Riven hesitantly nced to Ren from the corner of his eye, and the man was visibly trying not to react.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Ren stated, seemingly surprised. ¡°A necropolis then. It¡¯ll be good to have such strong allies nearby now that the world has turned upside down.¡±


    ¡°Definitely. We¡¯d be more than happy to help you out and protect the vige, Allie has already said she would send a group down here to clear out any local monsters. But only if that¡¯s what you want.¡±


    Riven shot the man another quick nce, and Ren¡¯s expression was conflicted.


    ¡°I¡­ We would appreciate that.¡± Ren said with a nervous smile, scratching the back of his neck with one hand.


    ¡°Of course that can only happen when the war with Prophet is over.¡± Riven stated with a yawn. ¡°Ah, excuse me. I¡¯m rather tired. Did Ethel ever mention the war? I don¡¯t know too much about it, but apparently my sister is nning something big.¡±


    He let thement hang there, still staring at the mes, while Ren contemted his words.


    Eventually, after much fidgeting with his knife, Ren nced up. ¡°So what¡¯s the big move? Ethel told me something of the war, but not a lot.¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Oh? What did she tell you? That way I can fill you in on the rest without wasting too much time.¡± Riven grinned and motioned with his hand over to where Ath and Fay were loudlyughing. ¡°You know how girls are with their gossip. She probably told you most of the big details, but I just want to make sure I¡¯m not zing over unimportant stuff.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Just the basics.¡± Ren stated with a shrug. ¡°Your sister has a tower, Prophet and her are fighting, those kind of details.¡±


    ¡°Did she mention the recent battle?¡± Riven raised an eyebrow.


    Ren slowly nodded. ¡°Yes¡­ Your sister routed Prophet and sent him into the north. Is that right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s about all I know. So what¡¯s this news about a new n your sister has? I¡¯m curious.¡± Ren held out his hands helplessly to either side. ¡°I don¡¯t get out of the vige much.¡±


    To this, Riven let on a low chuckle and nodded in understanding. He uncrossed and recrossed his legs with the opposite leg on top, then snorted. ¡°Hmmm. Where to start.¡±


    ***


    Riven intentionally set a slow pace, wanting to enjoy the scenic view of the mountains and wildlife around him. Ren went on ahead to talk to the vige, a scouting party of elves had already went on to inform the vige of their impending and victorious arrival, and Riven sent Dr. Brass away with Ath and Fay to go level the man up. The old man was determined to join Riven in the ranks as a vampire himself, mostly due to the fact that his old age would soon be the end of him, and Riven respected it. He wouldn¡¯t want to die of old age either, and the vampiric curse was more of a blessing than anything else for Dr. Brass because of that.


    A shrill wind, far colder than most days provided, rustled the treetops under a cloudy gray sky as Riven¡¯s boots crunched leaves underfoot. The beginnings of autumn were upon them, and speckles of orange and yellow dotted the oak trees in patches across the countryside. Taking a position on a hill, Riven couldn¡¯t help but wonder just how long he¡¯d have gone missing out on this kind of hiking lifestyle should the system have never set in.


    He¡¯d spent far longer indoors than he¡¯d realized back then, in his old life.


    Unholy mana drifted on the currents around him, settling into the surroundings with only a light touch so that animals or people wouldn¡¯t be disturbed by it. His aura was a palpable thing now, and onmand he could retract or press on the environment around him - influencing the shifting tides of power in ways that he¡¯d never have guessed at prior to his revtions in the hospital basement.


    ¡°There.¡± Azmoth pointed down the hill with a wicked, ck w. His body flickered with cinder, and his rows of ck teeth grinned in excitement. ¡°We back to the elf home!¡±


    Beyond the hill and across a tter area ofnd at the base of the mountain was Greenstalk Vige.


    ¡°Indeed we are¡­¡± Riven muttered absentmindedly, gesturing for Azmoth to lead the way. ¡°After you my friend.¡±


    Azmoth carried fourrge barrels, one for each arm, each one a gift from the orcs and a tribute to the elvish peoples as a peace offering. They contained odds and ends, and an observer could see textiles, weapons, cutlery and foodstuffs poking out of the tops of each. Therge brutalisk proudly stomped down the hill just ahead of the smaller, cloaked man but kept the overall pace. The vige was stirring, already many of them congregating on the periphery where a long stretch of t ground devoid of many trees opened up within the forest. Many of the remnant elf warriors were present, along with Elder Bren, Elder Preen, Ethel and Ethel¡¯s entire family with the exception of Len. Even Farrod and Senna were there.


    The masked vampire, eyes glowing red underneath a hooded cloak, waved overhead to the happy group of men and women awaiting his arrival. As he got closer, he and Azmoth were greeted with shouts of celebration from the vige periphery.


    Azmoth trudged on, cing the barrels at the feet of Elder Bren with a proud humph. Each of the fourrge barrels caused the earth to shake slightly under their weight, and the elves gawked wide-eyed at the treasures pushing out their tops.


    ¡°For you, from orcs.¡± Azmoth stated with arge grin, folding his four arms over his chest before scratching his neck with an extra maw - only to reel in the maw into his back again. ¡°They peace offering.¡±


    ¡°I see that!¡± Elder Preen cooed, stepping forward past the demon and running a hand ver some of the textiles. ¡°This is quality work. How did the orcs have such things with them? Had they raided these from other settlements?¡±


    Riven¡¯s form halted a dozen feet away, hands in his pockets while he evaluated the crowd. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s what they said anyways¡±


    The vampire nced over at the scouting party who¡¯d informed the vige of his impending arrival, all of them along the sideline where the trees of the forest started growing thicker. They all gave him nods of appreciation, and he nodded back with a wave. ¡°Did they tell you about the peace deal I brokered?¡±


    ¡°The orcs are leaving thesends is what they told us.¡± Elder Bren said stiffly, rubbing his chin and holding a beautiful gold and ruby ne up before ncing over at Ethel. ¡°For you, dear? It is your future master that did this for us.¡±


    The young woman blushed, and shot Riven a look. ¡°Well, would you mind Riven?¡±


    She couldn¡¯t see his facial expresions from underneath the mask he wore, but he nodded and the elf smiled wide. ¡°Thank you so much!¡±


    She took the ne from Elder Bren and ce it around her neck, with her mothering over to take a look.


    ¡°This is so nice! Very good job Riven!¡± Genuaughed along with the merriment of the others, then shot Riven wink and then turned back to the vige. ¡°Oh I almost forgot! Len and I are supposed to pick mushrooms today. I¡¯ll meet up with all of youter!¡±


    Ethel¡¯s mother waved over her shoulder and disappeared through the crowd.


    Motioning for some of the younger warriors to take the barrels of goods, Elder Bren waved at Riven toe forward. ¡°Come,d! Let me have a look at you!¡±


    People quickly started making room for Riven and the elder to speak with one another, and arge space where the elder stood became devoid of anyone else except for Riven, Azmoth, and the old man.


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be shy!¡± Elder Brenughed while urging Riven to step up to him - opening up his arms in an embrace. He then gave Riven a confused scowl when the vampire continued to look around, shaking his head back and forth, before Elder Bren lowered his arms again. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Riven stared at the ground in front of him, right next to where Azmoth and the elder now stood. ¡°Uhm¡­ No. Not really.¡±


    There was a sudden silence, and an awkward pause between Riven and the group of elves.


    ¡°Do you wish to speak to me about something?¡± Elder Bren asked curiously, hunching even more than usual and grasping an amulet around his neck with furrowed brows. ¡°Speak boy! This is your victory celebration! Look there, Ethel is just waiting for you!¡±


    The pretty elf waved nervously from the sidelines and head bobbed for Riven to continue towards the vige leader. Riven stared back, then looked to the ground in front of Elder Bren¡¯s feet again while blinking rapidly.


    Eventually Riven stepped forward, one foot in front of the other, until he came within just a few feet of the old man. Azmoth was to his left, and the old man¡¯s smile widened.


    ¡°Good¡­ Good man.¡± Elder Bren kept a hand on the amulet around his neck, and he pat Riven on the shoulder reassuringly while the vampire continued to get res from Elder Preen not far off. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You seem¡­ off. You should be happy! I mean, just look at all the goods you¡¯ve brought us! This is a day for celebration and nothing less.¡±


    Riven noted the barrels in the crowd of elves behind where they stood, then slowly nodded just once. He cleared his throat and pulled the hood down slightly over his red eyes. When he spoke, his voice shook slightly. ¡°Please. Please don¡¯t do this.¡±


    There was a dead silence. Everyone immediately shut up, and Elder Bren¡¯s eyes widened.


    In a sh of light the old man ripped off his amulet and flung it on the ground, causing the earth around them to explode into hundreds of thick vines that whipped out of the ground. Thorns dug into Azmoth and Riven alike, pulling them tightly down as Azmoth roared, and pre-drawn runes of finely ground powder lit up a vibrant green or white for over a dozen yards around them; with Riven at its center.


    But Riven remained stoic.


    ¡°FIRE!¡±

 Chapter 111: The End of Book 2 (8/29/23 edits are in red)

    Chapter 111: The End of Book 2 (8/29/23 edits are in red)


    <strong>Chapter 111 - The End of Book 2</strong>


    Harpoonsunched from the trees, imbued with blinding white light of holy origins that mmed into the two being held down. Riven¡¯s body was easily piercedpletely through, rupturing internal organs and sending his innards out the other side. Azmoth¡¯s own huge frame took even more of the harpoons, with over a dozen of them cratering into his solid body and five of them bouncing off. Over half of them sank in deep though, either tearing off pieces of his armor or finding weak spots where the brutalisk was more vulnerable.


    The huge demon screamed in rage, billowing into a cloud of mes and tearing apart the vines - only to have a sea of lightning-imbued arrows crash into him from where the elves stood on the perimeter with their bows drawn.


    Riven¡¯s bodyy mangled in the thicket of vines, unmoving, while Azmoth broke free and charged the line.


    Out of the forest roared a series of battle cries, and dozens of men charged forwards from hiding ces in the trees. Some carriedrge axes, others carried swords, some even had machine guns, and all of them had their weapons imbued with holy white light.


    *RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT*


    A gattling gun drilled holes through Azmoth¡¯s body, ripping pieces of his flesh and bone apart to soften him up right before the first of the melee fighters closed in.


    Azmoth ripped the man apart, stumbling slightly due to the green runes still producing vines that caught fire as they wrapped around his body¡¯s inferno. Snarling and crunching down onto yet another man wielding a sword, machine gun fire and then arge metal club to the knee caused Azmoth to trip.


    The demon''s extra sets of maws, like armored worms of death, ripped out of his back and started eating people alive while he swiped and roared in anger. He tried to get up, only to have yet another volley of arrows from the elves ster him and knock him back with another wave of lightning magic.*RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT*


    The gatling gun honed in on him again, giving some of the holy warriors time to back up and regain their bearings.


    Meanwhile Riven continued to stay still in his bindings, grunting in pain whenever an arrow or bullet lodged itself in his mangled body.


    A p of thunder overhead saw a gigantic white bolt of lightning fall from the heavens, crashing into Azmoth and making the demon howl in pain until finally - the brutalisk fell dead to the ground as a smoking cinderblock of the creature he¡¯d once been.


    <strong>[Your minion Azmoth has died. He will be returned to you 24 hours after you pay the blood price for your minion. To resurrect your level 31 infant hellscape brutalisk demon, you will be required to pay Elysium directly with a sum of 31,000 Elysium coins. Simply will this transaction to happen and make sure you have the required payment to further this agenda.]</strong>


    A semnce of silence overcame the clearing, with only the sounds of the wounded groaning or the smoldering corpse of the demon crackling.


    Elder Bren had sweat dripping down his face, and he had to calm his breathing before steadying himself and walking forward to inspect the rune formation.


    ¡°Is he still alive?¡± One of the holy warriors called out, a human in Earth-made body armor that SWAT teams used to wear. Only he didn¡¯t have a gun, rather he carried a broadsword.


    ¡°The demon is dead, the vampire still lives.¡± A husky voice called out from the woods, and the dozens of holy warriors that¡¯d rushed forward to surround the captured target all got on one knee.


    From beside a bush where the gatling gun had been hidden stepped a handsome man who was easily 7 feet tall. He had a thick, muscr build and a well trimmed brown beard. His eyes were bright blue, and the top of his head wasbed back with a thick gel. He wore in brown robes, like those you¡¯d see monks from medieval eras wear, and he carried nothing but a glowing white book.


    ¡°Prophet¡­¡± Elder Bren muttered before bowing in respect. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t realize you¡¯de personally.¡±


    Prophet shot the old man a wary nce, then smirked. ¡°Where else would we go? These monsters have driven us from our homes, just like they would do to you. I am d you contacted us when you did, who knows what kinds of horrors they¡¯d set upon you in time. Though wee from other worlds, I am d we are of like minds on these unholy abominations.¡±


    Elder Bren eagerly nodded, enthusiastically even. ¡°The gods shun those who allow themselves to be corrupted by the dark. We would have dealt with it ourselves, but when we saw his might¡­ we knew we couldn¡¯t do it alone. Thankfully we were able to use him against another mutual enemy of ours, as the orcs should be spooked into leaving thesends shortly.¡±


    Prophet raised an eyebrow, then grinned. ¡°Oh? How¡¯d you end up doing that?¡±


    ¡°Manipting this man¡¯s heart with a pretty face.¡± Elder Bren gestured to Ethel who stood staring in the background, and Prophet loudlyughed.


    Approaching the spot Riven was tied down and still barely breathing, Prophet came to a smug stop and red down at the bound man. Thorny vines still wriggled around the vampire, and his eyes were beginning to dull as blood poured out on the ground from numerous arrows or harpoons. ¡°Ah¡­ the brother of the infamous bitch who ruined my life.¡±


    Prophet raised up his holy book, and brought it back to smack Riven violently across the face. The p of noise caused Ethel and many of the other elves to wince, yet none of them attempted to stop him.


    The big man brought his hand back yet again, gesturing to the two elf elders. The old men both stepped forward to join Prophet at Riven¡¯s side, with Elder Preen cackling maliciously before he came to a stop.


    ¡°What an idiot. To think that you could take one of our own as a thrall? To think you could take my future WIFE as your thrall!¡± With a snarl, thenky old elder brought his staff up and started viciously beating Riven across his face. The sound of beating flesh and cracking bone could be heard over and over again, with Elder Preen¡¯s bloodshot, wide eyes ring down amidst huffs and puffs of exertion.


    *WHACK-SMACK-BAM*


    Elder Bren eventually held up a hand, motioning for Elder Preen to stop. ¡°That is enough. He is nearly dead, and I would have words with him before Prophet takes his head as a trophy to send back to this ¡®Allie¡¯ girl.¡±


    Prophet grunted with folded arms. ¡°Meh. I think I was enjoying that as Preen was.¡±


    Elder Bren ignored the other twoughing men, and sighed when he looked upon the beaten, bloodied features of the man who¡¯d saved their vige. Bren stepped forward, lifting up Riven¡¯s hood to reveal a fractured skull and dimming eyes. ¡°My boy. I am sorry we had to do this.¡±


    Riven did not reply. He could not reply. He merely gave out ragged gasps for air.


    Guilt surged in Bren¡¯s chest, and the old man gripped his cane more forcefully. He shot a re at the other two leaders for their unnecessary cruelty, and then to the people around them. Both elves and humans alike had mixed emotions on the matter, but the vast majority of it was obvious - they were stares of approval. They approved of Riven¡¯s death, many of them even enjoyed the show, and Elder Bren couldn¡¯t necessarily me them.


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    The old man rubbed his temple and turned his attention back to the vampire. He cleared his throat, and began to say his final words to the dying man bound to the earth. ¡°You may be wondering why your regeneration isn¡¯t working, or why your mana isn¡¯ting to your beck and call.¡±


    Riven only red.


    ¡°It is because the runes of binding we have you tied down with sap your energy, my boy.¡± Elder Bren tapped Riven¡¯s head, right next to the open fracture of his skull. ¡°Again, I am sorry we had to do this. But you must understand, though you may be a good man yourself - any that you turn would likely not be. To even acquire the unholy pir is a feat in itself that speaks to a person¡¯s misgivings. It warps people, changes them for the worse. That aside, as a vampire you are truly a monster. Whether or not you want to believe it, whether or not you see it that way, you survive on the blood of our people.¡±


    Bren turned around, calling out to Ethel. She, her father Farrod, and her best fried Senna all approached from the crowd to gather around the dying vampire with looks of distaste and disgust.


    The old man nced down again with a fatherly smile. ¡°Turning Ethel into a thrall would essentially kill her, Riven. You were willing to do that, to take her free will, to create a mind ve out of her to sooth your need to feed. A hunger that is justifiably needed to be subdued, lest you go insane and kill everything around you. You and your entire species is an abomination, creation¡¯s mistake, and thus we could not simply allow you to leave. You are dangerous, like a cancer festering inside someone¡¯s body, and you must be surgically removed to mitigate any damage you could cause in the future. Do you understand?¡±


    The gasps from Riven had turned into incredibly shallow breaths, and his eyes barely stayed open any longer. The man was on the very brink of deatth, and Elder Bren shook his head before drawing out a long dagger made of silver. He handed it to Ethel, who was then urged forward by her father.


    ¡°This monster wanted to feed on you, to bed you, to make you his ve.¡± Farrod stated coldly, pointing towards the bound man on his knees in front of them. ¡°Kill him. It is your right.¡±


    ¡°Do it.¡± Senna agreed with an excited nod of her head. ¡°Just imagine the stories about you! Vampire yer, doesn¡¯t that sound neat! You¡¯re literally killing one of the most feared monsters of our childhood!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with, I have a carnivorous bitch to send his head to.¡± Prophet stated with an annoyed growl. ¡°Come on.¡±


    Ethel red daggers back at the incredibly tall man, then grasped the silver de in her hand. Resolve was set in her gaze and she stepped forward, her stump arm pressing Riven¡¯s tilting head back in line so she could see eye to eye with him. Hesitation briefly shed across her features, but she bit it back down when the others of her vige were seen staring at her expectantly.


    Her nose wrinkled in forced disgust, and she managed to get out her words through clenched teeth. ¡°I will never be anyone¡¯s ve. Especially not when it is a blood-sucking monster like you. Did you actually think that I¡¯d want to be seduced by something so gross? The mere thought of having you feed on me or use me in whatever other perverted ways you had in that gullible brain of yours is utterly revolting. You may be wondering about all those conversations you overheard when I thought I was all alone with my family or friends? All those looks of admiration? It was just a farce to get you to do what I needed you to do for my vige. Thanks, by the way, for getting rid of those greenskin bastards. I can safely say I hate them a little more than vampires, but after one of your kind killed my grandmother so long ago - it¡¯s hard for me topare urately. See you in hell, creature.¡±


    The stunning young woman contorted her features with rage, and she plunged her dagger into Riven¡¯s neck. Yanking his head up by the hair, she began to saw and cut - removing soft tissue bit by bit in a bloody mess until she finally removed his entire head.


    The body fell limp to the ground, and Ethel brought the head up over her head for the entire vige to see. She smiled a perfect, white smile on beautiful features that any man would grow weak in the knees for. She waved the head around to the cheers of elf and human alike, until all of a sudden - an audible gasp was heard.


    ¡°FATHER!¡± Senna screamed in horror, and she dropped to her knees while staring in disbelief at the head in Ethel¡¯s hands. ¡°REN!!!!¡±


    Ethel dropped the head and immediately screamed in horror when she realized that the head she was holding wasn¡¯t Riven¡¯s at all, but rather her friend¡¯s father. The head rolled to astop, and its red eyes opened wide with a sad and resigned smile on its lips.


    Then it began to talk, and the voiceing out of Ren¡¯s head was Riven¡¯s own.


    ¡°I had thought better of you, Ethel. The same goes for all of you here in Greenstalk really.¡± Riven¡¯s breath shuddered onest time through a mere figment of Fay¡¯s magic still left in Ren¡¯s severed head, before Riven¡¯s words grew as cold as ice. The red eyes flickered to focus on Elder Brenst. ¡°Old man¡­ When I asked you not to do this, I was not begging for my life. I was begging for all of yours.¡±


    With thosest words spoken through Fay¡¯s remnant hallucinations, Riven snapped his fingers - and the barrels nearby detonated in explosions of red shrapnel. Though he did not perish, he would forever remember this as the day his innocence died in his stead. It would forever mark him as the day that his life changed irrevocably, when ruthlessness overtook him. It was the day that he lost trust in others, and was the day he was born anew.


    <strong>*KABOOOM*</strong>


    ***


    On a hillside nearby that overlooked Greenstalk Vige, silent tears streamed down Riven¡¯s emotionless face. A cloud made from earth, stone, and body parts flew skywards when the barrels he¡¯d packed halfway with bloody razors erupted. He¡¯d injected insane amounts of mana into each of the razors, as much as he could muster without causing them to be unstable, and the result had been four massive shrapnel bombs that melted Prophet, the vige elders, and anyone else in the explosion radius instantaneously.


    He¡¯d just killed over a hundred people within less than a second.


    People that included those he¡¯d thought were friends. Ethel and Senna were dead, as were the vige elders.


    Perhaps Riven truly was the monster they all made him out to be.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be ok.¡± Fay said solemnly under her small ck horns, grimacing at the sight below them. ¡°You did what you had to do. My curse of the dreamwalker is ending now, the hallucinations will soon fail, so any survivors will probably be able to see us when that happens. There are still enough people down there to put up a solid fight.¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t look away. He merely watched. ¡°I¡¯m already ok, but thank you for your concern. They had iting and this is just a learning experience. A hard-won learning experience. Allie, send them in.¡±


    His sister nodded and raised a hand to ready the signal, and a series of feral roars echoed out around the vige from multiple directions. ¡°Find the book, kill the crusaders, enve the elves. It¡¯s finally time to end this war. Oh, and bring me Prophet¡¯s head. I¡¯m going to mount it on my wall.¡±


    Mara nodded and shot a beam of light into the air, signaling the attack. The thunderous charge of Allie¡¯s undead army burst forward through the trees towards the vige, with people down below in the vige starting to scream and panic. The sh of battle was soon heard, and Allie turned to look at her brother with concern in her eyes.


    ¡°You are too good for this world, Riven. I¡¯m sorry it ended like this¡­ I told you that they wouldn¡¯t ept us but you just wouldn¡¯t listen.¡± Allie reached out to grip his hand, but he jerked it away and turned on her with a menacing re.


    ¡°You lied to me.¡± Riven said with venom in his words, glowering over her before spitting on the ground beside his own feet. ¡°I thought you were better than that. I saw the things you did in Brightsville. You¡¯d better hope that you keep your end of the promise this time, keep the kids safe, family units for the elves stay intact if at all possible. <em>That isn¡¯t a request.</em> Do what you want with the humans, I couldn¡¯t give a rat¡¯s ass.¡±


    Whirling in a rage, Riven turned heel on his sister and did not look back. He passed the orc chieftain Gurth¡¯Rok and a small band of elite greenskin warriors, passed Ath and Dr. Brass, only to disappear into a rift in space he created with a swipe of his staff. The ck portal blinked out with a p of power, and Allie was left behind to blink tears away while clutching at her sides.


    ¡°He mes me, yet he was the one who figured this all out and decided on the n.


    And I still don''t even know how he did it!¡± Allie sniffed, taking off her skull mask to wipe off more tears. ¡°Fucking stupid-head brother of mine.¡±


    Ath opened her mouth to make a rebuttal, but decided better of it. If Allie couldn¡¯t see why lying to Riven about her actions in Brightsville was something that would piss him off, she doubted that she¡¯d get through to the girl anyways. Instead, Ath motioned for the orcs to head in alongside the wave of undead. ¡°Well!? What are you waiting for boys! If you¡¯re Riven¡¯s subordinates now, you¡¯ve got to act the part. Stop beingzy and get down there!¡±


    Chieftain Gurth¡¯Rok abruptly nodded and one of his soldiers blew a warhorn. From up the mountain a series of repeating horns sounded in kind, and the remaining fighting force of the Yellow Skull Tribe rushed towards their age-old enemies with glee.


    ¡°I hope you drilled into their heads that subduing the elves is a priority. No killing the elves unless it¡¯s absolutely needed.¡± Ath warned with a waggling finger. ¡°We¡¯re going to re-educate their brats and use the adults in other ways. They¡¯re Riven¡¯s cattle now, and you should know what happens when a vampire gets pissed off because his cattle are butchered prematurely.¡±


    Gurth¡¯Rok chuckled with a nod and nted his cobra-staff into the ground, kneeling before Ath in subordination. ¡°Of course, mydy. They may rough the elves up a bit for fun, but there won¡¯t be any needless killing just as Riven instructed. Your master will not regret taking us under your wing, and we look forward to serving a conqueror such as him. For the Thane Coven!¡±


    Mara shot a look over at the orcs with a sideways grin. ¡°For the Thane Necropolis.¡±

 Chapter 112: Beginning of Book 3 (Plus a poll regarding: editing)

    Chapter 112: Beginning of Book 3 (Plus a poll regarding: editing)


    <strong>Chapter 112 - Beginning of Book 3</strong>


    Justin¡¯s gigantic body roiled and churned, warping into something greater as dark metal tore through the air around him and through him like a cyclone of the profane. He was a walking apocalypse, a titanic of a man, born from the unholy powers of this universe to pass judgement on those weaker than himself.


    And he would not be undone by this nobody.


    The cobblestone street beneath him shattered and Justinunched himself like a rocket from hell, swinging his enormous spiked mace with a thunderp of power with a cloud of shrapnel tearing through space around him.


    The shrouded rogue he was fighting, another participant of the Chalgathi trials, dove left in a blur of shadow that sent wraith-like daggers whipping out from his trajectory in a torrent of shadow mana. The man easily avoided the first titanic swing, flipping onto a nearby thatched roof and then shifting through space twenty meters away. Whipping around and pulling out a crossbowden with putrefying bolts, the rogue used an ability to rapid-fire replicas of the enchanted bolts in a hail of projectiles.


    Despite the enormous amount of iing missiles, Justin¡¯s cloud of whirling shrapnel was fiercer and the majority of the bolts were easily blocked. Those that didnd either bounced off his thick metal armor entirely or only lodged partway. Unfortunately for the rogue though, this was not nearly enough. The putrefaction did not take hold, because what kind of poison would affect a body created from unholy metal?


    Justin¡¯s muscles flexed and with a roar, he swept his enormous mace in the rogue¡¯s direction that sent shockwaves of kic energy ripping through the town structures and sting the rogue skywards in a scrambling and uncontrolled flight.


    <em>¡°Forsake the heavens and bring me fury!¡±</em> Just finished the miracle¡¯s incantation with a sweeping gesture of his arms into the sky. In an instant, demonic hieroglyphs lit up in the center of a ming pentagram high above.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>The sky above the rogue exploded and the wed, ming hand of some untold behemoth ripped out from the infernal pits of hell to smash down into the screaming man. The rogue was ttened from above in a fiery explosion that leveled entire streets, dissipating into a tornado of infernal mes that continued to billow into his enemy, and Justin¡¯s whirling cloud of ck metal soared higher as he yet again exploded forward to cover the distance.


    But just when he was about to reach the site of impact his danger sense screamed at him to dodge left.


    Unquestioningly he pivoted and rolled, narrowly avoiding a ckser beam that left remnant holes in the fabric of space itself for seconds afterwards. Justin¡¯s eyes narrowed, looking at the burned figure of his opponent who was stumbling out of a street alley and spitting blood.


    Just nced back to the still-raging tornado of mes, then to the rogue again. He picked himself up and leveled his mace, easily weighing over a thousand pounds, with just one arm at the agility user. ¡°How did you get out of it? That miracle is supposed to keep you locked in ce.¡±


    The smoking man, let out a raspy, gasping fit ofughter, then fell to one knee and dropped the crossbow in his hand. His eyes slowly lifted, part of his face still burning while he sneered. ¡°Fuck you Justin¡­ You fucking prick¡­ *GASP*... When the others find out what you¡¯ve done, they¡¯ll hunt you down¡­ Just like¡­ *GASP*... You did to me¡­¡±


    Justin couldn¡¯t help but let out a low chuckle, and he shook his head in disgust. ¡°Daniel. You don¡¯t understand¡­ The cult was only a means to an end in the beginning. That end was to reach Chalgathi, and we aplished that.¡±


    Justin held up both hands to either side, turning around and gesturing at the ruined town where family members sobbed over loved ones and the injured cried out for help. ¡°All of this world, Daniel, is for the taking¡­ but there can only be one king. Outside of ideologies, the cult is no more now that its purpose is solved. The goal is the same, it always has been for men like you and me, but we were never friends. We were allies of circumstance alone, and after the trials werepleted¡­ I had no more use of you. Just like the others have no more use of me. No doubt they will hunt me down, but so am I hunting them. So are we all hunting one another in order to acquire the artifacts needed to breach the resting ce of destiny.¡±


    He turned back around and began walking towards the other man with his mace resting on one shoulder. ¡°There can only be one toy im to the prize Daniel. There can only be one king. I am sorry. Well, not really, but I need your Chalgathi artifact¡­ and we both know you¡¯de after me if I let you live after taking it.¡±


    Justin approached with a malicious smile from underneath hisyers of fused armor, his cloud of shrapnel began tearing the smaller man apart - ripping pieces of his body off in a goreden spray. Daniel didn¡¯t scream, but merely red while he was violently torn asunder.


    The cloud of shrapnel receded soon after Daniel died, pulling back into Justin¡¯s body. He smiled wickedly and knelt down, picking up the items he hade for. They werepletely undamaged from his assault on the prior wearer, and he could feel the mana-bond between the two that kept them as a single unit despite being physically separate.


    They were gauntlets, and each gauntlet was a masterpiece. A testament of unholy might. When the rogue had worn them, they were made of red leather with small knives protruding from each knuckle and green runes adorning them, however when Justin picked them up the gauntlets changed into a solid iron-like substance. However they were still adorned with the same green, flickering, unholy runes and casting an ominous aura of malice just by looking at them.


    <strong>[Chalgathi Cultist ws: ???]</strong>


    He frowned, but not for long. No doubt he¡¯d have to go back to that trashy identifier again to get a read. Still, he¡¯d acquired what he¡¯de for. It was one more piece to the set, he had 2 of the 5 now including his breastte, and the questline hadn¡¯t even propagated fully yet.


    He was way ahead of the curve.


    Putting the gauntlets on, his metal body fused over each of them and incorporated the pieces into his shell. Feeling a pulse of power and a chilling sensation ovee him, Just let his mind frolic in the feeling of sess and let out a long sigh of contentment.


    <em>¡°THERE HE IS! HE¡¯S OVER HERE! CALL THE-¡±</em>


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The soldier¡¯s body sttered across the cobblestone street, leaving a bloody trail behind his corpse. Justin blinked, snorted, and slowly turned away from the burning town to make his way south. He still had an agenda to keep, and although he was way ahead of where he thought he¡¯d be at this point in time - that didn¡¯t mean he could getzy.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    It was time to set up the ritual again. It was time to find more targets.


    ***


    <strong>[</strong><strong>System Quest, Eradicate the Greenskins</strong><strong>: has been disbanded due to failure to hold up your end of the bargain with the High Elves of Greenstalk Vige.]</strong>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Hidden System Quest, Backstabbing Pointy-Eared Racist Bastards</strong><strong>: has been sessfullypleted by defeating the elves who tried to trick and kill you.</strong>


    <strong>System Regional Quest, Crusade Against the Undead</strong><strong>: has been defeated after killing Benjamin, otherwise known as ¡®Prophet.¡¯</strong>


    <strong>You have angered the minor holy god Petori due to your actions. You have pleased the apocalypse beast Chalgathi due to your actions. Your B-Ranked prize previously promised through the failed quest ¡®Eradicate the Greenskins¡¯ has been upgraded into an A-Ranked prize due to your actions:</strong><ul><li><strong>Your Elysium Altar (currently in rod form) has been given the Unholy orientation with terraforming abilities, and strengthens those of the Unholy Foundational Pir as long as they are within its area of effect on terraformednd. Your Elysium Altar will now increase your ability to cultivate all Unholy Foundational Pir and associated Sub-Pir Daos within its area of effect. Terraformingndscape is permanent when chosen, gives different unique bonuses depending on which type of unholyndscape is chosen, and may be selected between randomly rolled options of ¡®Haunted Forest,¡¯ ¡®Hellscape,¡¯ and ¡®Shadonds.¡¯ Additional options are avable for purchase if you wish to pay the appropriate fee. Your Elysium Altar now has the ability to forcibly orient </strong><strong>willing</strong><strong> participants towards the Unholy Foundational Pir for an appropriate fee, rewriting their original orientationspletely but with simr affinity percentages.]</strong></li></ul>


    The army of goblins, orcs, and undead marched on either side of the lines of shackled elves chained together while making their way north towards Brightsville. Not only had the greenskins brought their fighting force, but they¡¯d brought their entire civilian poption as well that took up the rear end of the columns while simultaneously having some small groups of escorts protect them from local monsters. The humans following Prophet had all been butchered mercilessly, while the majority of the elf vige had been sessfully subdued without much resistance given their loss of manpower over thest weeks.


    Looking out from underneath his hood, Riven¡¯s glowing red eyes gazed impassively across their ranks from atop a hill in the light of midday. Allie¡¯s distant tower could be seen from here, shimmering even in the daylight with teal and ck power while her bone garden continued to terraform the structure.


    How fast that would speed up after he nted the Elysium Altar¡¯s rod was only spection at this point.


    Sniffling and the rattling of chains to his left caused Riven¡¯s head to turn, and beside him the elf Genua - mother to Ethel, was wiping away more tears while ring bloodshot eyes his way. Her usually silky blonde hair was frazzled and cached with mud, and her asional nce towards the group of elf children being gently herded by skeletal undead caused her brows to furrow in worry.


    He stared at her, undisturbed by her source of mourning. Her scantily d body that he''d once upon a time found attractive, just as her daughter Ethel''s had, now did nothing but disgust him. She, her husband Farrod, her eldest daughter Ethel and the entirety of their vige had tricked him and tried to kill him. For what? For helping them and saving their lives? They¡¯d yed themselves off as victims when they¡¯d started the war with the greenskin vige in the first ce, and then they¡¯d tried to murder him simply because of what he was even though he¡¯d shown them nothing but kindness.


    Well his kindness was gone now. It was long, long gone.


    ¡°Will you eat her?¡± Genua¡¯s voice cracked with emotional pain, head-bobbing towards therge group of children that¡¯d been separated from their parents. ¡°Will you kill Len like you killed my husband and my other daughter?¡±


    Riven snorted with derision, hands remaining shoved into the pockets of his cloak while his staff ¡®Vampire¡¯s Escort¡¯ remained hovering in the air at his side. ¡°Please. You all had thising and your punishment is more than generous after what you tried to do, do not act like the victim here. As for Len, no. I absolutely will not kill her. I intend to re-educate all of the elf children so they can grow up into adults with futures inside ourmunity, we can¡¯t have you racist fucks raising a bunch of future enemies that¡¯ll try to rise up against us. My sister Allie wanted those kids immediately killed, but I refused. This was thepromise.¡±


    Genua¡¯s knees shook, her cracked lips trembled, and she fell to her knees with an audible, single sob. She¡¯d long cried any tears she had left and was bing dehydrated. ¡°Will I ever get to speak to her again? To my darling daughter Len?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow, then followed her gaze to where the spunky little blonde girl in a reed dress that he¡¯d be so fond of was marching in sight with scared nces up the hill towards their position. He didn¡¯t know what to think of Len, honestly. She¡¯d only done what her family had told her to do, perhaps she was too young to really understand the meaning and consequences behind her actions. Could he expect anything less of a child after she¡¯d lied to him as well?


    He let out a long, drawn out sigh. ¡°Yes, you¡¯ll be able to see her. But only under certain circumstances.¡±


    ¡°Which are?¡± Genua pressed with a shaking voice.


    ¡°You¡¯ll either be proctored with each visit, or you¡¯ll allow yourself to be made into a thrall. Stay a ve with supervision on regr visitation periods, or be a thrall and allow your mind to be warped so you don¡¯t hold us in a negative light. I hear it isn¡¯t so bad, and some people even actively pursue such a route for power. Or so I¡¯m told.¡± Riven gestured out towards the hundreds of enved elves marching inbetween the military columns. ¡°The same goes for all of them. The adults of your vige won¡¯t be forced into backbreakingbor, but they¡¯ll still be forced to work and will be allowed to live simple but happy lives if you choose to make it that way. I can make that promise because you¡¯re all my charge now, you¡¯re my cattle, my personal ves, or to better think of it - you all belong as ves to the new government of the Thane Necropolis. That government is split down the middle between Allie and myself, and Allie wants nothing to do with you. She thinks your bodies would be better used as more willing, undead participants rather than the souls you have inside you now. But it was my decision to keep you alive. The people of your vige that can¡¯t work because they¡¯re too old and weak will be made into cattle for the vampires as we create a coven within this necropolis we¡¯ve built, but you¡¯ll all be treated fairly enough. For those of you who wish it, bing a thrall will be an option if you manage to persuade one of the vampires or future vampires here to do so.¡±


    Genua took her eyes off the column and gave him a scathing re again. Her fists trembled in rage, and he could tell that she was holding the venom back from her words. ¡°You want to turn us into monsters like you.¡±


    Riven shrugged. ¡°Talk about it or think about it however you want. I don¡¯t give a shit. This is your life now, the consequences of your actions. We could not just leave a fanatic group of racist elves and holy warriors wandering the wilds nearby our newly established faction, so pucker up and deal with it.¡±


    He blinked her way, and waved back to Fay when the subus flew overhead - gliding over the columns and circling back around towards the mountains. Then he turned his head to look at her one more time. ¡°You know Genua, I had hoped this would be very different from the way it turned out. However it didn¡¯t go as either of us hoped, and now we¡¯re here. You¡¯ll get to see Len regrly regardless of whether or not you choose to be my thrall, but if you want unrestricted ess that¡¯s the only way to go about it. Either way I¡¯m going to feed on you weekly, or daily, or whatever suits my needs. Because I don¡¯t care anymore, because I need blood to survive, and because I want to make you remember who it was that you fucked with at the end fo every day before you go to bed. The others are dead, all the other elves I knew are now dead. Gone. You and Len are the only ones remaining, and call it petty if you want - but I want to rub it in your face every time you see me seed. I want you to know that I could have been your friend, a friend to your family, but instead you and yours chose this. You tried to murder me for nothing but my good will, and now you pay the consequences.¡±


    He gestured to Azmoth, who was standing behind them and listening in on their conversation curiously. ¡°Come on Azmoth, pull her along. We¡¯ve still got a long march ahead of us and we have to make it to the meeting with that rat-man Snagger in time. No need to dilly-daddle.¡±


    Azmoth grunted in acknowledgement and therge demon yanked on Genua¡¯s chain to follow Riven down the hill, dragging the elf along by her shackles until she managed to get her feet under her again and stumble to a walk.


    For the captured vigers of Greenstalk, it was going to be a very long trip.

 Chapter 113

    Chapter 113


    <strong>Chapter 113</strong>


    Marching their army through the ruined southern reaches of Brightsville towards downtown was quite a novel experience. It appeared there were a lot more undead than before, a LOT more, and there was a crowd of them waiting at the city¡¯s edge when they arrived to wave them in and cheer on their sess.


    ¡°Scouts were sent ahead to let them know Prophet was killed.¡± Allie stated with a nod in the direction of the cheering popce to either side of the road they marched down. ¡°Makes you feel good, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Riven just took it all in, not knowing what to say in reply while he walked. Most of the undead popce that weren¡¯t mindless minions were the skeletal humanoids called skresh, or the fleshy humanoids called ghouls. They were a step up from zombies or skeletons, which by default were mindless or only involved soul shards instead of true souls. However there were more than a handful ofrge, brutal-looking golems, both flesh and bone varieties. There were three bone giants, each the size of a three-story building, and there were a couple ethereal ghosts as well that shimmered with dim gray or blue light and flew above the crowd.


    There were even a couple of ¡®unique¡¯ undead that the system called ¡®undead abominations¡¯, which essentially didn¡¯t fit the make or mold of anything else. They were eachpletely unique, with no abomination fitting the next.


    And all of these creatures were starting to cheer out Allie¡¯s name.


    <em>¡°Allie! Allie! Allie! Allie!¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Long live the queen!¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Long stand the Thane Necropolis!¡±</em>Allie held up a hand for silence and the column stopped. The crowds on either side of the street quickly went silent,pletely obedient to the woman who¡¯d kept them protected over the past months, and watched as she drew out a severed and shredded head from a bag on her hip. She held it up from all to see just as four skeleton minions came up from behind to lift her up over their shoulders, and Allie yelled out while gesturing to Riven beneath her:


    ¡°Many of you have just been born into this world for the very first time! Otherse by happenstance when presented with a way off your own worlds through our bone garden,ing from other worlds where our kind is persecuted just because of what we are! You arrived here, hoping for a chance to find happiness and peace, only to be hunted down like so many other ces across the cosmos! BUT THAT ENDS NOW! THIS IS OUR CITY NOW! MY BROTHER HAS KILLED PROPHET! BEHOLD, THE HEAD OF THE MAN WHO TRIED TO PURGE US FROM THESE LANDS!¡±


    In a fraction of an instant the crowd went berserk, and many of Allie¡¯s new citizens rushed forward to try and touch or embrace the two vampires at the front of the army with screams for a job well done, sobs of pent up relief, or outright calls for a holiday to be made in their name.


    Allieughed and reached out to touch many of the crowd, letting herself be swooped away to crowd-surf the wave of undead, while Riven quickly joined her with a shrug at Azmoth before being tugged away amidst the chanting of Allie¡¯s name.


    ***


    Night was now upon them, and the celebrations were still going on back at the tower downtown. Riven frankly couldn¡¯t believe that the sentient undead here were so¡­ human-like in their emotions. That thought made him quickly realize that he too wasn¡¯t human any longer, yet he still felt ¡®human¡¯, so to judge these undead creatures - no, undead ¡®people¡¯ otherwise was wrong. They had feelings, emotions, hopes and dreams just like any of the friends he knew growing up.


    It was weird to think about. Mara or the more human-like undead were easy to associate with, but some of the abominations really threw Riven off. He¡¯d have to work on that. Not that they scared him or repulsed him, but he had a hard time identifying with them despite them being self-aware creatures with thoughts and feelings just like himself.


    The garden was peaceful under the pale moonlight and starry sky, a quiet ce on the southern edge of the city. Arge willow tree stood in the center of the garden, gently swaying in the gentle night breeze. Its long, slender branches arched outwards and down, providing a canopy that sheltered the tombstone situated underneath it. The crumbling remains of the old stone cathedral behind them would have lent added weight to the fact that this ce had not been used in quite some time.


    And yet¡­ the flowers of the garden were all well cared for and organized. This was likely due to the single skeletal gardener who¡¯d been posted there, a minion of Allie¡¯s who stood motionless in the shadows of the old cathedral while stoically watching the two vampires.


    The tombstone was an old one, probably over a century old, while being chipped and weathered by time and the elements. The inscriptions that had once been there had been smoothed out and reced before Allie had moved it, with new lettering adorning the front that read: <em>¡®Here lies Jose, a loving friend never forgotten. May you find peace and rest.¡¯</em>


    Allie and Riven had both ced bouquets of flowers they¡¯d picked in nearby fields, a testament to the life that¡¯d once been lived by this man, and Riven wasughing while simultaneously crying as they retold stories of their old friend. The man they¡¯d grown up with, a brother to both of them when their parents had vanished one after the other. Jose hadn¡¯t had any real family of his own either, not any that he¡¯d want to openly im anyway, and they¡¯d all leaned on each other for emotional support throughout the years.


    Sniffling but maintaining a smile at the thought of thest time Jose had tried to make cheese-pancakes for the two siblings, Riven rubbed a hand over the tombstone nodded to the ground beneath. ¡°Wherever your soul is now, old friend, I hope beyond measure that you¡¯ve finally learned how to cook.¡±


    Allie let out a sputtering, sobbingugh, and the two of them hugged while staring at the ground below. ¡°Who knows¡­ his soul might awaken in some far off part of the cosmos one day. Maybe he¡¯ll be cast adrift into a mindless sleep, forever, like so many others¡­ but maybe not.¡±


    ¡°If that day everes I¡¯ll have him cook those damnable cheesy pancakes for us again so he can make up for thest failure.¡± Riven sniffed, wiping away a tear with his hand and letting go of Allie. ¡°Wow. That hit harder than I thought it would. I¡¯d thought I¡¯d been able to cope, but we¡¯re both a mess.¡±


    He cleared his throat, then looked out over the rolling fields on Brightsville¡¯s southern side just where the city ended into sprawling ins. The forests to the southwest and west climbed up the mountainsides, and the changing colors of their leaves promised a change in the seasonsing soon.


    ¡°So how¡¯d you do it?¡± Allie asked hesitantly, standing beside him to look over the countryside. ¡°I¡¯m still curious.¡±


    Riven continued staring ahead, hands shoved into his pockets. ¡°You¡¯re talking about what happened with the elves and Prophet?¡±


    Allie nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    He paused, noticing Ath on the sidelines and giving them a wide space for privacy, then smiled and waved at her. The demoness gave him a brilliant grin, a heartfelt wave of her own, then disappeared into the shadows with Fay. ¡°Well, there were a couple things.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Riven held up a finger, then started counting his fingers one by one as he mentally checked off the list. ¡°First, the orc cheiftan¡¯s words of warning caught me off guard. I¡¯d just found out they hadn¡¯t been the aggressors and the elves were still adamant that the orcs leave without being willing topromise, at least that¡¯s how Senna¡¯s father Ren put it. It rubbed me the wrong way, and shed the elves in a different light than the one I¡¯d garnered from fantasy novels as a kid. I realized I was just desperate for eptance from people like me, but at the same time realized that the elves weren¡¯t anything like me anymore. The way they looked at me when walking through their vige was only barely polite, if that, and thinking about it made me wary. That¡¯s when you mentioned in one of ourmunications that Prophet got away from your forces and was looping southwest ording to your scouts, but you didn¡¯t know where his destination was and they were traveling fast. After that I sent Fay to scout it out from above, confirmed Prophet¡¯s trajectory as a straight shot for Greenstalk, with a single elf leading the way. I sent Fay back to negotiate with the orcs after that, and ording to Gurth¡¯Rok - their chieftain, many orc tribes change leaders through military domination or duels. He considered my battle at Greenstalk as symbolic of my victory over him, and pledged to me if we took his people under my wing. Then,stly, was Ren. Senna¡¯s father. I baited him into admitting a couple things one night around a campfire heading back to the elf vige, one of which really caught my attention. I¡¯d asked him if Ethel had told Ren about the recent battle concerning Prophet and my sister - or you. Again it was a bait, I never told Ethel anything about that battle, but Ren at the firece confirmed he¡¯d been told - so there was a good chance he was either lying or he¡¯d been told by someone else. Coincidence, when Prophet¡¯s forces were headed directly for the elves and being led by an elf? I thought not.¡±


    Riven gestured up to the stone church where Fay and Ath were now sitting cross legged, having a soft chat that the vampires could barely make out. ¡°When I bonded with Fay, she gave me a trait called ¡®Silvertongue¡¯. Well, it¡¯s actually a spell now because my physiology won¡¯t consider it a trait, but it does the same thing just at a higher mana cost.¡±


    ¡°Fay is the subus, right?¡±


    ¡°Right. Ath is the other one. You haven¡¯t met them yet on a personal level, have you?¡±


    ¡°No, just in passing.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll change that soon, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love them. Azmoth too. Anyways, Silvertongue is an unholy ability that allows me to infuse words with unholy mana. It allows me to ¡®capture the minds of lesser beings¡¯ with lesser willpower than myself, but even people who have less of a Willpower stat can still resist it if they try hard enough. Let¡¯s just say Ren¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t very resistant¡­ and it was easy to make him talk.¡±


    He pulled up the status page for his Silvertongue ability and shifted the screen over to Allie so she could get a look.


    <strong>[Silvertongue (Unholy): Soak your words with unholy mana to briefly capture the minds of lesser beings, allowing only those with a less Willpower than you to be affected and enabling you to persuade them more easily. This spell scales with both Willpower and Negative Charisma, as well as the amount of mana you put into it. This spell may be developed into a better version of itself by acquiring the ''Depravity'' subpir. Extremely high mana cost, low cooldown.]</strong>


    Allie¡¯s eyes lifted. ¡°Whoa. That¡¯s really useful, especially given our negative charisma.¡±


    Riven nodded. ¡°Yeah. My ability is alright, but it¡¯s only a shadow of Fay¡¯s own version. Hers is even better because it is inherent to her species and she also has the correct subpir. Whereas I was able to hold Ren¡¯s mind captive for a very short time, maybe thirty seconds, Fay can do it for minutes at a time. After Ren realized what I¡¯d done in forcing him to admit the situation, he tried to run - but we tied him down in Ath¡¯s webbing and contacted you for a meetup. Azmoth volunteered to bring in barrels supplied by the orcs, using the barrels as a trojan horse for the bombs I made, and Ren was dressed up in Fay¡¯s hallucinations to be sent down in my ce when meeting the elves. The rest is history.¡±


    Allie shot the blue-skinned subus a wary look. ¡°Those are some pretty formidable powers she has.¡±


    ¡°Formidable if used right. She¡¯s more utility than anything else, even though she does damage it isn¡¯t as direct as what Ath or Azmoth can produce. She also has a trait that gives her bonuses while using curses, and although curses cause her pain when used she¡¯s gotten ustomed to the bacsh. Eventually she wants to pick up a curse-rted ss, and I¡¯ve also been trying to teach her one of my own utility spells. It¡¯s called ¡® Wretched Snare¡¯, but she doesn¡¯t learn as fast as we do. It appears you and I, Allie, have rather unusual affinities and abilities to learn than other people or creatures do.¡±


    Allie flippantly tossed her hair to the side. ¡°I only learn Death magic at an extraordinary rate, apparently. The others I pick up on somewhat, but the Death subpir is what I focus on because I¡¯m able to gain insights and learn those kinds of abilities thrice as fast as anything else.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how I feel about my blood subpir. What¡¯s your affinity for Death?¡±


    ¡°100%.¡±


    ¡°Ah. My Blood subpir is 100%, which is probably why I oriented to it so fast. My Death subpir is 95% and I haven¡¯t learned a single spell rted to death yet.¡±


    Allie grinned. ¡°I can teach you! But your soul fractals are almost halfway used up in terms of space.¡±


    There was a long pause, and Riven¡¯s gaze slowly focused on his smaller sister. ¡°Say what? What the hell are soul fractals?¡±


    Allie raised her eyebrows in surprise and began tough. ¡°You really didn¡¯t know!? Riven, you¡¯re telling me that you¡¯vee all this way only to just now learn about soul fractals?! What the heck were you doing that entire time in hell!?¡±


    ¡°Surviving.¡± Riven muttered with a scowl, only getting another and louderugh from Allie.


    She held up a hand when he was about to protest. ¡°Sorry! Sorry, I just think it¡¯s hrious that you¡¯re so strong and have no idea. Have you at least seen your internal soul structure yet?¡±


    Riven tly stared, but nodded. ¡°Yeah, I can see my soulplex rather easily. Whenever I want to actually.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now focus on your core, the one that your pirs are attached to. And¡­ Wait, what the hell is that!?¡±


    Riven inwardly directed his thoughts towards his soulplex. Allie¡¯s exmation was no doubt directed towards the other, ck, orbiting core that the shard of Gluttony was forming in his periphery. ¡°That¡¯s Gluttony. Remember I told you about itst week?¡±


    Allie gawked at the rotating ball of sinister soul energy, and slowly nodded. She blinked, rubbing her eyes and redirecting her focus onto Riven¡¯s main core again with a shake of her head. ¡°With necromancy I am able to see most others¡¯ soul structures¡­ and I¡¯ve never seen anything that malevolent. Riven, be very careful when interacting with Gluttony after it finally forms. Whatever it is, it¡¯s very sick and twisted¡­ even for us.¡±


    Riven frowned at herment. Gluttony had saved his life once, and it¡¯d never felt ¡®sick or twisted¡¯ to him. It felt right at home, but he disregarded herment and moved on. That wasn¡¯t important right now. ¡°So tell me about these soul fractals already.¡±


    Allie huffed. ¡°Alright, take a look at your pirs. Look at how your blood pir has tiny etchings inscribed into the surface?¡±


    Riven paused, then nodded. ¡°Yeah I see them.¡±


    ¡°Ok good. Well whenever you utilize a spell, the system recognizes that spell and your pure energy erupts from your soul and into the pir. These fractals orient the spells you create and are why only parts of your pir can freeze up at a time, directly corrting with cooldowns when they happen. But do you see how the Blood Sub-pir you have in particr has far more etchings or patterns in it than the rest of your pirs? After that, your Unholy Foundational Pir has the second most. To be exact, your Blood Subpir has 4 fractal patterns, two of which arerger than the others which corrte with your tier 2 and tier 3 spells. Then your Unholy Foundational Pir has 3 fractal patterns to corrte with your 3 unholy spells. You have 3 unholy spells, I assume?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, as I thought. After that you have 1 fractal pattern in your infernal pir and 1 fractal pattern in your shadow pir. Each fractal pattern takes up space along their individual pirs, but soon they start to spill out into your main core. If you look closely, your blood and unholy pirs have their fractals starting to trickle into the white center of your soul space, but though they can go into your core they can¡¯t traverse into other pirs. This means that you and I and everyone else only have limited amounts of space to create spells that we canmand. More pirs means more space as well, lower tiered spells mean they take up less space, and every spell or ability is different in how much space they take up. Even though I am wary of your gluttony core, it also means that you¡¯ll likely be able to create more spells on the separate core too - allowing you to learn more abilities than what is normal.¡±


    Huh.


    Riven rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then shook his head and frazzled Allie¡¯s hair with one hand despite her grunt of discontentment when she swat at him. He smiled her way. ¡°I think I¡¯ll take you up on that, but I only want to learn enough that can be kept within the Death Supir itself. I¡¯ll be saving all my core space for blood. Is it possible to erase old spells to make room for new fractals?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, it is certainly possible NOW STOP MESSING UP MY HAIR!¡±

 Chapter 114

    Chapter 114


    <strong>Chapter 114</strong>


    ¡°Fine!¡± Rivenughed and held up both his hands in surrender when Allie whipped out her wand and started jabbing him in the side. ¡°I¡¯ll stop fucking with your hair, ok! Jesus! OW!¡±


    He snickered at the expression she was wearing, then took a look at the fields of grass and wildflowers immediately adjacent to their position. ¡°This should be a LOT more than 3 square miles. Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°As ready as I¡¯ll ever be. We only barely have an idea of what to expect, so let¡¯s get it over with.¡± Allie snorted and waved over Mara, Vin and Nin - who¡¯d been waiting dozens of yards away to give Riven and Allie some privacy before nting the Elysium Altar¡¯s rod.


    The three necromancers walked forward along with a host of undead minions. Riven¡¯s demons were all present too, with Azmothing out from the ruined chapel to stand beside his master, and the scarred orc chieftain Gurth¡¯Rok followed behind the undead with a couple of his elites.


    Azmoth presented Riven with the red box the system had presented Riven with upon initially receiving the rod, and the vampire warlock pulled out the item a momentter. It was mostly as he remembered it, but the colors had changed since acquiring an unholy orientation. It still had golden trimmings along the shaft, but the shaft had turned from porcin white to a deep gray color. The previously white jewel fitted into the top had turned from white to ck.


    <strong>[Elysium Altar nting Rod (Unholy Orientation): nt this rod into the ground to begin creating an Elysium Altar. An altar requires at least 3 square miles of space in all dimensions in order to ce it.]</strong>


    Riven looked back at the others, then signaled Fay over to him. ¡°Take me over.¡±


    The subus smiled, spread her wings, and her tail whipped about as sheunched herself into the night sky while holding Riven by the waist.She picked up speed, wind whistling by them as they traversed the grassden fields for only a minute beforending about four miles out. Riven intended to ce his guild hall near Jose¡¯s grave, and he didn''t want the altar immediately on his doorstep - but rather he wanted it justfortably close by. Putting a mile or two inbetween his to-be home and the altar would mean less foot traffic he had to deal with but also would make it convenient to visit.


    The subus gently brushed Riven¡¯s hair with slender blue fingers after the wind had tossed it about, stepping back with a slight bow and letting Riven find a spot he wanted to nt the rod. He wasn¡¯t too specific on any exact spot, so it only took him a couple of seconds before he mmed the rod like a spear into the earth beneath his feet.


    <strong>[Do you wish to activate Elysium Altar nting Rod (Unholy Orientation)? Doing so willy im to the Elysium Altar that forms, allowing you to choose a terraforming option from the presented list. You will also be able to select who can and cannot use the altar functions if you wish to exclude others from the opportunity. Killing you will change ownership of this altar to the one who has in you. This Elysium Altar will take up approximately 3 square miles ofnd, and is approximately 1200 feet tall at its highest point. After nting the rod, you will have opportunities to buy from the system store, or you may allow foreign entities across the multiverse to set up shop within your altar¡¯s structure if you and the trading partner meet the right requirements. This Unholy Orientation also allows willing participants to change their affinities to those of the Unholy Foundational Pir. Other Elysium Altar functions are avable but locked until bought with the appropriate fee cost.]</strong>


    1200 feet tall? That was almost the height of the world trade centers before 9/11. This thing must be utterly huge.


    Riven scratched the back of his neck with raised eyebrows, but he turned when he heard Fay cough to get his attention. ¡°Yes?¡±


    The subus met his gaze, then shuffled awkwardly and hummed. sping her hands behind her back, her tail went rigid and she set her posture straight with determination. ¡°Uhm, my brother¡­ He was wondering if he could join us after you set up your guild hall tonight?¡±


    There was a long pause.


    ¡°Your¡­ brother?¡± Riven asked curiously, one eyebrow raised in amusement. ¡°Interesting. Why bring this up now?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re probably going to hire a bunch of mercenaries to protect the guild hall and fill up the slots with other contracts soon. I wanted to get ahead and reserve him a spot¡­¡± She gave Riven a sheepish but hopeful smile. ¡°He¡¯s honestly not that great at fighting though¡­ Honestly it¡¯s more that I¡¯m asking a favor. In fact the rest of my family thinks he¡¯s something of a failure. He doesn¡¯t like violence at all, not very¡­ demonic. Even less so than me. He likes petting animals and exploring nature¡­ that kind of thing. But I-¡±


    She was cut off with a snortingugh from Riven, and she immediately frowned. But he waved his hand in apology and bade her continue.


    ¡°It¡¯s not funny!¡± Fay stated, angrily puffing her cheeks and stamping her foot with clenched fists. ¡°He¡¯s a terrible incubus and he gets bullied all the time! Can we at least talk about itter!? Before you decide!? I think this would be a good opportunity to get him out of a bad situation. Please?¡±


    "You do realize I live a very violent life right?"


    "Yes but binding to the guild hall isn''t the same as binding to you with a minion contract!"


    Riven¡¯s grin didn¡¯t fade, but his eyes softened slightly and he nodded. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a conversation forter though. We¡¯ll need to talk first at length before I choose who or what can bind to the guild hall, it¡¯s also been a while so I¡¯ll have to review the rules on binding. Anyways¡­¡±


    He put his hand back on the nting rod, and selected the option for iming it as his own.


    Overhead a p of thunder roared, electrified clouds rapidly gathered in the sky, and a beam of sickly green light tore through the heavens to st the rod and the entire area around it. Riven was shocked and fell backwards, but it didn¡¯t hurt - and the magic merely swirled around him and his subus like a gentle ocean wave.


    And before his very eyes, the structure began to take form out of thin air.


    Smooth beams of ck metal rapidly rushed out of the ground, coated in jagged spikes that lifted skywards to form a circle around the perimeter of the altar. Obsidian tes covered the ground - while some of them lifted into the air and condensed to interlock with one another, creating four enormous and separated tforms that hovered above the earth and encircled a huge tower-like spire that soared towards the heavens. The central ck spire held no entrance in or out, it had no windows, and it waspletely smooth - but a myriad of neon-green runes adorned its surface in a multitude ofyers. At the very top of the spire a huge halo of green mes encircled the top - casting the surroundingndscape in a dull green light until the ring fires dimmed to a more reasonable level.


    After that, veiled walls of semi-translucent ss light started dropping down from the peripheries of the four tforms. They each shed briefly when the walls touched down onto the dark tes along the ground spreading out from the base of the pir to the periphery where the pirs of ck spikes stood, and more of the green multiyered runes appeared on the veils of the four tforms too.


    Each of the four tforms and their shrouding walls of ss was easily the size of a stadium - huge structures in their own right. The central spire was half the size of them in width, but in height it absolutely dwarfed all of them and could no doubt be seen for miles out. Given that it had a glowing halo of green fire, Riven didn¡¯t doubt at all that it would draw a lot of attention from other people in the surroundingnds.


    Which could be very good or very bad.


    <strong>[Your Elysium Altar has been created. Do you wish to name your Elysium Altar at this time?]</strong>


    Name it? No. He¡¯d talk to Allie about that first, if it was going to show up in any kind of disy for himself or others he¡¯d want it to reflect the city they were in. And ¡®Brightsville¡¯ was certainly not a name they were going to keep for this city after cleaning the rest of the scum out of that prison or subduing the gang wars in the suburbs.


    <strong>[You have declined to name your Elysium Altar, you can change this at any time through your status page. Options for terraforming have been randomly selected from potentials. Please select the kind of terraforming you¡¯d like to see with this Elysium Altar¡¯s Unholy orientation:</strong>


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.<ul><li><strong>Haunted Forest</strong></li><li><strong>Hellscape</strong></li><li><strong>Shadonds</strong></li><li><strong>Other options are avable, to see this list in further detail and to expand your options please pay 300 million coins to the Elysium Altar.]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven nearly gagged at the ¡®300 million¡¯ price tag for other options. There was no way that was going to happen,st he checked after all the killing and looting they¡¯d done - he and Allie had abined total around 976,000. She¡¯d entrusted him with the choice of terraforming based on traits they¡¯d give, and had even refused toe check with him - stating it was his prize and no matter what it¡¯d help their sect. So, he was on his own to choose. Selecting each one for further details, they expanded and gave him an idea of what each terraforming option did:


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Haunted Forest:</strong><strong> This terraforming option slowly turns surrounding terrain into a thriving and heavy mix of unholy-attuned life and undeath. Local animals and ntlife will evolve and multiply ordingly, with a vast boost to unholy-rted alchemy ingredients being made avable. System randomized monster spawns rted to the Unholy Foundational Pir and Death Subpir will increase by significant amounts. These pirs will also have increased bonuses to cultivation and more frequent dao insights. Creatures associated with these pirs will experience a 4% buff to all stats while remaining in thesends, a 2% XP increase, as well as experience minor amounts of passive regeneration.]</strong>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Hellscape:</strong><strong> This terraforming option slowly turns surrounding terrain into a barren wastnd of fire and pain. Local animals and ntlife will quickly wither away into extinction, but in their ce - minor demonspawn will begin to emerge. This terraforming option also changes mineralposition, allowing one to find highly sought after ores of varying types that are usually only found in the lower tiers of Hell. This terraforming option focuses on the Unholy Foundational Pir and Infernal Subpir. These pirs will also have increased bonuses to cultivation and more frequent dao insights. Creatures associated with these pirs will experience a 7% buff to all stats while remaining in thesends. All demons gain an additional 10% buff to all stats while remaining in thesends, regardless of pir orientation. Creatures associated with the Holy Foundational Pir will experience passive amounts of damage and pain while remaining here.]</strong>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Shadonds:</strong><strong> This terraforming option slowly turns surrounding terrain into cold, darkened bands that normal light cannot prate. Species of nts and animals native to the shadow realms will slowly begin to seep in from the outer shadow realms and the void, either devouring or possessing local species to create new ones. Liquid Shadow will be found in minor amounts here as a natural resource, which is a very expensive material often used in stealth-rted enchantments or Shadow-rted dao rituals. This terraforming option focuses on the Unholy Foundational Pir and Shadow Subpir. These pirs will also have increased bonuses to cultivation and more frequent dao insights. Creatures associated with these pirs will experience a 20% buff to attempts at stealth or possession while remaining in thesends, and will be able to draw in passive Shadow Energy for quicker resource pool regeneration.]</strong>


    Well. To Riven there wasn¡¯t much of a choice here. Sure, Hellscape would increase the power of his demons but he was really the only one living here that¡¯d benefit. He was thinking of the society here, rather than just himself, and most of Allie¡¯s people were undead. Only one of the options had ¡®Death¡¯ attuned bonuses, and besides that he really didn¡¯t like the idea of barrenndscapes that Hellscape or Shadonds seemed to provide. Would orcs and goblins be able to flourish in a haunted forest? Probably, the abundance of unholy life and undeath - - nts and animals alike - would mean more opportunities for food and they¡¯d been starving until now. Would the greenskins be able to flourish in a hellscape devoid of anything to hunt or scavenge for food or in a realm where they couldn¡¯t see anything? Absolutely not. Haunted Forest would also supply their faction with Alchemy rted resources, which he wasn¡¯t necessarily interested in but could see a use for from crafters in their new faction, and more monster spawns meant more monster drops when they were killed. This in turn meant more levels and more money, and the small XP boost wasn¡¯t anything to scoff at either.


    On top of that, there wasn¡¯t andscape for the ¡®Blood¡¯ pir specifically. It was a shame, but he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d have chosen it even if he could due to theck of other Blood-oriented creatures containing his popce.


    Maybe ¡®Blood Elves¡¯ he¡¯d heard about were blood oriented? He could only assume so, and that made him want to meet them even more. Perhaps they had insights that he¡¯d not grasped yet, it¡¯d be pretty damn cool to see in the future should he ever find them.


    ¡°I select Haunted Forest.¡±


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Haunted Forest has been selected</strong><strong>. Immediatendscape affected: a radius of 50 miles from this position. All nt and animal life within this radius that are not considered intelligent enough to be ¡®participants¡¯ by Elysium will be forcibly evolved immediately. Terraforming rate has been set to: Minimal. Upgrade this altar¡¯s functions by paying the appropriate price of Elysium coins in order to increase terraforming rate. Unholy Foundational Pir and Death Subpir associated creates will experience 4% buffs to all stats, 2% XP increases, minor amounts of passive regeneration, increased bonuses to rted cultivation, and higher chances for rted dao visions while remaining within these terraformednds.]</strong>


    <strong>*WWHHHOOOOOMMMMMMMMM*</strong>


    The spire at the altar¡¯s center radiated with unholy, green and ck light before radiating out in all directions when the halo surrounding the top of the structure blew apart. A shockwave rippled through Riven¡¯s body, not affecting him much at all but giving him a little bit of a tingling sensation. However when he turned around, his eyes widened - as he saw thendscape the shockwave passed over abruptly change.


    First was the grass. Swaths of it across the fields, along with wildflowers, all abruptly mutated from vibrant green and spotted flecks of yellow. The grass turned a silver-gray, though it didn¡¯t look unhealthy. It just looked¡­ different. As for the flowers, the majority of them turned into nts with silver stalks, ck petals, and neon-teal bulbs that literally radiated death mana in small amounts. Scattered amongst them were other wildflowers that¡¯d be a bright neon green, with unholy power that looked ominous, but also beautiful.


    The forest beyond was simr in its change. The bark of trees went from brown to shades of gray or ck. About a third of the trees even withered and appeared to die, though many of these actually grew in size which made Riven question whether or not they¡¯d actually be some kind of death-oriented nt species? The ones who didn¡¯t lose their leaves varied in color between ck, silver, and neon-teal - with rare smatterings of neon green.


    And just every once in a while, unique-looking vines colored a bright red could be seen growing up the ck bark of what had once been oaks.


    Fay gasped aloud and covered her hands, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet. ¡°It¡¯s so pretty!¡±


    Riven tried to ignore the bouncing subus for two obvious reasons and stared out at the scenery, quite bbergasted himself. ¡°This¡­ this is not what I expected. You¡¯re right, I didn¡¯t expect it to be so nice to look at. It¡¯s like¡­ an evil paradise, of sorts? It¡¯s like the forest became sinister, but with an artistic stroke of genius to it.¡±


    Fay snickered and nced his way, nudging him with a hand. ¡°Come on! You can¡¯t keep corrting the Unholy with Evil. That isn¡¯t how it works.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what Ath told me. She said that in order to get the Unholy affiliation without being born into it, evil acts helped quite a bit.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because Ath only has a basic understanding of the pirs.¡± Fay crossed her arms and confidently smirked. ¡°I¡¯ll have to re-educate her.¡±


    ¡°Her and me both then.¡±


    Now that the altar hadpletely organized itself and the ring of green fire reformed, Riven¡¯s group of allies had started making their way over to the huge structure he stood in. Technically he was standing ¡®in¡¯ the altar, even though it was open to the air, because the dark stones underneath his feet were all part of it.


    But as Allie, her undead, his other two demons and the orcs neared the newly founded Elysium Altar - another notification sprung into space.


    <strong>[You have gained ess to the Elysium General Store. You may restrict who can and who cannot use this altar by thought, be it generalized or specific, and Elysium willply. You may sell wares to the general store at any time for Elysium coins at a marked down price. The most basic forms of amenities of many categories can usually be found here in abundance at marked up prices. These prices are alwayspared to average prices across your sector of the multiverse and may be prone to fluctuations. Elysium buys low and sells high, which in turn gives you incentive to trade with others.</strong>


    <strong>The tforms arrayed around your Elysium Altar are called trading ports. Each port may be given to another faction, as long as they have their own port to sync with at another Elysium Altar. Factions that have chosen to sync with your own will be able to send representative merchants to this altar for trading purposes, with all interactions being taxed by the Elysium Administrator at a 1% fee. If trading partners are off-world, their merchants will not be allowed to leave the vicinity of the altar¡¯s boundaries unless they travel back through their link to the homeworld they came from. If your trading partners are on-world, they may leave at any time but will be warped back to the altar after 24 hours of absence. Destruction of any altar or transfer of ownership will disband all merchants and send them back to their original home-bound location.</strong>


    <strong>Due to your world being in an integration phase, all off-world trading partners have a maximum merchant level set to level 90.</strong>


    <strong>You currently have 0 requests for trading partners.]</strong>


    <strong>[Update avable. Update avable. You currently have 2 requesting trading partners. These factions each wish to set up a tradingmune designated in the space enclosed by one of your altar¡¯s tform barriers. Please decline or ept the following faction offers:</strong><ul><li><strong>Negrada, Minor Hellscape Dungeon</strong></li><li><strong>The Blood Moon Requiem]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven nearlyughed out loud. ¡°Negrada wants to say hello!? Wow. Didn¡¯t see that oneing¡­ but who the hell or what the hell is this ¡®Blood Moon Requiem¡¯? Any ideas Fay?¡±


    He turned to the subus, who was staring at his notification with a paling face.


    She looked up at him with genuine concern, then back to Allie, and then back to him. If she¡¯d had cat ears, he was sure they¡¯d beid back against her head by the stare she was giving him. ¡°Oh fucking roach tits¡­ Uhm¡­ That may be an iffy subject for me? I¡¯m not entirely sure it¡¯s my ce to say. Perhaps you should ask Ath¡­ she¡¯d be able to exin things in more detail.¡±

 Chapter 115

    Chapter 115


    <strong>Chapter 115</strong>


    Hakim quickly swung his huge axe down onto the monster¡¯s head with a ¡®Lacerate¡¯ martial art that would make any of his fellow Barbarian-ss counterparts green with envy, and therge lizard spasmed while many more of its blue-scaled kin rushed his way. Theirrge talons scraped against the stone hallway and their hissing sounds were apanied by sizzling, a byproduct of the acid they couldunch out of their mouths that now ate away at their surroundings and Hakim¡¯s armor. His flesh had already been burned off or melted to fuse with his fur armor in various ces, causing him extreme pain and decreased his mobility significantly, but even despite his dire circumstances he had to remain strong for the front line to hold. He was the primary tank of their group, their newly formed guild had been created even before official introductions of the guild system, and if he went down the others behind him would quickly follow.


    And their three other front-liners were alreadyying dead further down the hallway. That didn¡¯t even include the assassin they¡¯d lost to a pit trap, and he¡¯d been the guild leader.


    ¡°God damn it, they¡¯re closing in!¡± A fire mage by the name of Chad called out with a snarl,unching two more fireballs that exploded down therge passage to the shrieks of the iing swarm. ¡°I can¡¯t kill them fast enough!¡±


    Caleb finally reloaded his gun with shaky hands and started firing his semi-automatic rifle again, trying to stutter out words over the spray of bullets and cursing the creatures. ¡°My regr bullets aren¡¯t prating! Their scales just cause them to bounce right off, and I''m out of enchanted ones! I don¡¯t want to die here!¡±


    Julie hit Hakim with another healing spell and started cursing frantically while generating another holy barrier to try and slow down the wave, and her younger brother Tim was trying desperately to open the door at their backs. The young man was by far the best thief they had, and had made a living for their group by stealing from more sessful fighters who cleaned up monsters in the wilderness or ventured into dungeons that were popping up nearby to spawn monsters. Yet even he was having difficulty with this lock, and the solid wood of the door before them was enchanted somehow - not allowing Hakim or any of the others to break it down.


    Tanya was going to kill Hakim if he let anything happen to her two children, and their mother was no slouch in how frequently she¡¯d let Hakim know what her thoughts on their ¡®exploits¡¯ were.


    <em><strong>¡°Why do you three always have to go out and put yourselves in danger when others can do it for you?¡±</strong></em>


    <em><strong>¡°How many times are you going to get yourselves into life and death situations? The town is just fine with the other fighters keeping the dungeon monsters away, no need to get yourselves hurt!¡±</strong></em><em><strong>¡°Come help me with my clothesmaking craft instead, people need clothes after the fall of Earth and there¡¯s no shame in an honest day¡¯s work!¡±</strong></em>


    Those had been the things she¡¯d grumbled at them before they¡¯d left.


    And now they were stuck in a newly formed dungeon, the entrance closing behind them to unexpectedly trap them inside. It¡¯d been unexplored upon entering and the original n had been just to scout out the top floor, but after it¡¯d shut the only way out waspletion - and although it wasn¡¯t nearly as big as their tutorial dungeon had been, it wasrge enough that they¡¯d gotten lost through its tunnels numerous times.


    <strong>*BAM*</strong>


    Hakim shoulder charged another of the lizards and unleashed a crescent swipe - sending out an arcing line of kic energy that sliced through another of the monsters before crying out as anothertched onto his leg with acidic venom.


    ¡°DAMN IT!¡± He was beginning to panic slightly, but activated his <em>¡®War Cry¡¯</em> martial art with a booming shout. His skin immediately thickened, his bravery skyrocketed, the pain of the acid and ripping teeth lessened, his muscles visibly expanded, and he smashed his fist into the eye of the giant blue lizard to get it to let go.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    Hakim bellowed and spun, a whirlwind of mana from the Harmony Foundational Pir blowing apart enemies to give his allies time. He was thest man standing between the squishier members of their party, and Julie was starting to cry as barrier after barrier of her holy mana shattered when set upon by waves of bodies barreling towards them down the tunnel. She just didn¡¯t have enough mana to keep them solid.


    ¡°GOT IT!¡± Tim screamed over the ruckus, flinging the door open just when blue-scaled lizard-men, wearing brass armbands alongside feather headdresses and wielding primitive weapons, turned the corner of their tunnel.


    The monstrous humanoids hissed and screeched, raising their spears and dashing alongside their quadruped cousins. Their tails whipped out behind them with a bloodlust, and Hakim turned to run.


    He fumbled for his bag, leaving bodies behind him to chase after the others and looking for the treasure he¡¯d received in the tutorial dungeon that he still kept as a trump card. He¡¯d been holding onto it for an emergency, and now seemed like a perfect match for that scenario.


    Otherwise, he and the others would likely be dead very soon.


    ***


    Riven was letting Allie and the others go explore the altar or run over the details of the terraforming, getting a lot of praise from Vin who cackled gleefully at the opportunity presented to them, while simultaneously talking to Ath.


    ¡°The Blood Moon Requiem is a very powerful and ancient vampiric civilization.¡± Ath stated with a shrug, ncing over to Fay who continued to fidget with her hands. ¡°And your parents may have been from there.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes widened in shock and Allie¡¯s head snapped left from where she was evaluating the terraforming details to stare at the demoness.


    ¡°Did I just hear that right?¡± Riven said in a low voice while his sister pushed others out of the way to move in close. ¡°My parents may be from this ce? How is that even possible? And how do you know of my parents?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know your parents at all.¡± Ath said with hands raised. ¡°However¡­ call it a hunch.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty bold statement for a hunch.¡±


    Ath grinned and set her hands on her hips with a swish of her ck hair. ¡°Alright then let¡¯s put the pieces together. Do you remember that notification you received when first activating Malignant Prophecy in Hell?¡±


    ¡°You have that ability too!?¡± Allie asked in shock, her feet nted out to either side of er with her arms crossed. ¡°Why would you never tell me!?¡±


    Riven scowled. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me you had that ability either-¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Ath cut them both off with a wave of her hand. ¡°You both have it. But do you remember what that notification said when you first used it?¡±


    Riven¡¯s brows furrowed and he stared at the ground, shoving his hands into his pockets and not thinking too long before remembering the details as clear as day:


    <strong>[Malignant Prophecy has activated, previously unrecognized heir has been found. Qualifications have been met, link established, royal lineage recognized despite tampering and suppression measures. Imperial system has officially recognized Riven Thane as a prince of the empire, 37th in line for the throne. All citizens, nobility, clergy and leadership of the empire have been informed.]</strong>


    ¡°It said I was a prince of the empire, 37th in line for the throne. Allie, did it say something simr to you?¡±


    ¡°It said I was 38th in line.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Riven pointed a finger her way. ¡°That means I¡¯m obviously superior in all ways, bow before me plebian!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s about to happen is you¡¯re about to get my foot up your ass.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just in rude. Anyways Ath, back to the matter at hand¡­ You¡¯re saying our parents, the ones who disappeared years ago, were from this ce? Why?¡±


    Ath shrugged again and swept her foot out along the dark stone of the altar. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because that bloodline you have and the malignant prophecy you can utilize has only ever been found in their royals?¡±


    Riven blinked. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you told me about this sooner?¡±


    ¡°Do you think this is where our parents went!?¡± Allie asked curiously, but she immediately sagged when Ath shot her hopes down.


    ¡°You never asked and it wasn¡¯t important until now. As for Allie¡¯s question - absolutely not. Whatever happened to your parents, it was on Earth. Why your parents left is a mystery to me though. You¡¯re branded by Elysium as a heretic and hunted by its enforcers if you exit Elysium¡¯s boundaries, and doing so takes tremendous effort and monumental resources.¡±


    Riven¡¯s blood ran cold. ¡°Wait¡­ you¡¯re saying if my parents are out there somewhere, the system of Elysium itself has marked them for death?¡±


    ¡°Yeah people will get a super big prize if they kill your mom and dad now, and that¡¯s if they aren¡¯t already dead after years of being gone. Who KNOWS why they left you two, I mean neither of you have any idea right? Maybe a bounty hunter found them and they left you behind to spare you.¡±


    The shocked looks on both siblings faces was more than enough for the subus to step in, and from the sidelines - Fay let out a long drawn out sigh. ¡°Ath, try to be a little bit more sensitive.¡±


    ¡°What!? I¡¯m not trying to be mean, that¡¯s just how it is. Anyways they¡¯ve obviously somehow found you, and Elysium Altars are one of the only ways established factions outside your world can interact with integratings before restrictions lift. To see that they so quickly offered you a trading post means they¡¯ve been watching you, how long or for what reasons is anyone¡¯s guess - but you two are royals. It¡¯s likely they want you back home to raise you properly.¡±


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Riven exchanged uneasy looks with Allie, neither of them knowing how to take the news, and Mara - who¡¯d been listening in - only remained stoically silent.


    ¡°That is¡­ unexpected.¡± Riven stated tly, scratching the back of his head with a frown. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t even know how to react to that. Are you saying The Blood Moon Requiem is able to get us off world?¡±


    ¡°No, they absolutely cannot do that until the system restrictions end, but they can eventually. They¡¯re probably just trying to establish contact in the meantime.¡± Ath gave him arge smile and a pat on the shoulder. ¡°Look at you prince-boy! A fitting warlock partner for a princess like me!¡±


    Fay snorted and got a death re from the other demoness.


    ¡°They could always pull him through as a merchant, but he¡¯d be restricted to the altar zone on the other side.¡± Fay threw out. ¡°Consider that for a moment.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ actually that is true.¡± Ath gave herself a thoughtful chin rub. ¡°Hmmm. Doesn¡¯t really matter though, it¡¯s very likely a good thing rather than a bad one. Unexpected that they¡¯d so quickly find you, but then again they are one of the greatest vampiric empires known across the cosmos. Of all the major vampiric factions there are a couple dozen that are dangerous enough to warrant attention, 9 of which are considered S-grade factions, and The Blood Moon Requiem ranks 8th on the vampiric power scale ording tomon knowledge. That is no small feat. They own over twelve-hundred worlds I¡¯m told, and have a few vassal states under their wing as well that they essentially lord over. Right Fay? Or am I remembering incorrectly?¡±


    To Allie¡¯s left, Fay nodded in silence - a soft smile on her lips.


    And then to everyone¡¯s confusion, a glowing orb of multi-colored light appeared in front of Riven¡¯s face.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Allie asked, pointing to the growing orb. ¡°Looks weird¡­ I can¡¯t get a mana read on it either. Is that an illusion of some kind?¡±


    Fay looked around, obviously puzzled. ¡°I think so¡­ But where it¡¯sing from I cannot tell. It should be harmless, but¡­¡¯


    Her words trailed off when a notification apanied the growing orb.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Hakim Bluebush</strong><strong> has activated a two-time use system artifact: </strong><strong>Heroic Intervention</strong><strong>. 1 of 2 charges has been used. Heroic Intervention has selected the 5 most powerful people Hakim has interacted with since Earth¡¯s integration, and you - Riven Thane - are one of them. Hakim Bluebush is currently in need of your help, and has ced a live stream feature in the orb before you that will connect momentarily. You will be able to speak to him briefly as he exins his current situation before deciding on whether or not to aid him. You can choose to assist, or you can choose to refuse his request. All or none of the selected participants may go or stay without penalty. If you choose to aid him and risk yourself at his behest, you will be teleported to his location until his plight is over. Then you will be teleported back to your current location after a short rest period. Please hold for connection.]</strong>


    All eyes centered on Riven, and Ath gasped in surprise when she read the notification herself.


    ¡°Hakim from our tutorial! I was wondering what happened to him!¡± Ath loudlyughed and pped her hands onto her hips. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s a really interesting artifact to have. Very neat actually.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like he¡¯s in trouble too¡­¡± Riven muttered, grasping his staff of flesh and wood to tap his fingers along its shaft. ¡°Huh. Wonder what he got himself into.¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t wait long to find out.


    ***


    They were cornered.


    ¡°HOLD IT DOWN!¡± Hakim screamed at the other, panicking people, encouraging them to keep pushing amidst the crash of bodies that kept jarring the thick iron door leading into the circr, dimly lit treasury they now found themselves in. Torches flickered along the walls in three different ces. Piles of coins, treasures and items of power littered the ground, but none of it was any help to them now without an identifier. ¡°HELP WILL COME SOON!¡±


    Caleb was sweating profusely, his rifle hanging at his side while he braced his back against the entrance to keep the lizardmen out. ¡°I¡¯m out of bullets!¡±


    ¡°Hakim I¡¯m scared!¡± Julie shakily yelled over the battering of the door, her red hair was covered in an even brighter red of her brother¡¯s blood, and Tim remained pale-faced in a state of mute shock while examining the missing leg they¡¯d banaged before his sister had sealed the wound shut.


    shes of multicolored light illuminated the ground nearby and Hakim¡¯s statue of a tiny knight brandishing a sword, his artifact ¡®Heroic Intervention¡¯, began to pulse.


    Five illusionary baubles appeared overhead to disy the faces of men and women. Each one represented one of the five people that the system deemed as the most powerful characters Hakim had encountered in Elysium¡¯s multiverse thus far.


    Hakim¡¯s heart lifted with a slim sliver of hope, only to be brutally dashed as one of the five immediately declined and winked out. It¡¯d been a guild leader from the same town he lived in, a man who Hakim had respected until just a moment ago, and now that man hadn¡¯t even given him the time of day for a single sentence to plea his case for help.


    ¡°I¡­ I need your help!¡± Hakim shouted out over the banking of the door - wide eyed, with dents, creaks and groans from the metal bing ever more abundant. ¡°Please! We¡¯re going to die down here!¡±


    ¡°Many people die every day since the system was introduced. Why should I help you? What¡¯s your situation? I barely met you for less than a minute, you are not entitled to freebies.¡± A blonde woman by the name of Zerfi asked. She was a storm mage in the city over, wearing a long blue silk dress while brushing her hair out at a desk as sunlight filtered in through a window. ¡°Do exin quickly, I am alreadyte to a social event and if Ie I¡¯ll need guarantees that this will be fast.¡±


    Her words stung Hakim¡¯s pride, but he bit back his irritation and swallowed. ¡°We¡¯re in a newly spawned dungeon on the southern side of Pelmonth, the dungeon locked us in and we have lizardmen warriors alongside their giant lizard pets that¡¯ve cornered us in the treasury here. Help us, and you can take whatever you can carry back!¡±


    Zerfi nced through the globe, inspecting the treasury, then snorted and went back to brushing her hair while the other three figures in their own baubles remained silent. ¡°Anything rted to the Storm Subpir?¡±


    ¡°WE HAVE NO IDEA, DOES IT LOOK LIKE WE¡¯VE HAD TIME TO EXPLORE THESE THINGS!?¡± Julie screamed at the other woman, her face wet with tears as she snarled. ¡°Please, just help us!¡±


    Zerfi let out a long, drawn out and exaggerated sigh, then put the hairbrush down to smooth out her silk dress. She turned fully in their direction just as a spear managed to puncture through a weakened, repeatedly battered dent in the top section of the doorway with roars and chanting screams bing ever louder.


    The blonde woman frowned. ¡°I¡¯lle only if you get two others toe as well. I may be strong, but I¡¯m usually backed up by apetent team of A-rankers¡­ not riffraff like yourself. I do a lot of damage but I am poor on defense and need to have people peel enemies off of me so I can appropriately strike out - and I will not throw my life away for people who are barely more than strangers.¡±


    Again the words stung Hakim¡¯s pride, but his hope began to climb. She¡¯de as long as the others also said yes, so he turned his gaze to the next portrait. ¡°James! Remember me from the sparring bouts we had a while back when you were giving me pointers? I¡¯ll be in your debt forever, just-¡±


    James held up a hand to stop Hakim mid-sentence. He was African American like Hakim was and had a camo getup you¡¯d see in military types back on Earth, and it was appropriate considering he was a retired special ops sniper and ex-SEAL. He carried tworge knives on either side of his belt, a pistol, a couple packs of ammo, and arge sniper rifle in his hands. ¡°I cannot. It sounds like you¡¯re holding an entire army back behind that door, and I can see from the vision¡¯s angle that there are many hundreds of creatures just on the other side. That door is about to break at any second, and though I¡¯d like to help - you must realize I am a single-target oriented assassin. I would be of little help to you in a battle like this and would likely just die alongside you. I am sorry, Hakim, and I truly wish you the best of luck.¡±


    With that, James closed hismunication down and the bauble winked out.


    Hakim¡¯s heart dropped, and he felt like the world was sinking out from underneath him. He¡¯d thought James was a friend, and he¡¯d simply abandoned him. Abandoned <em><strong>them</strong></em>. James had known Julie in passing too, along with her brother Tim, and he¡¯d just¡­


    A ball began to form in Hakim¡¯s throat at the thought of what was about to happen, and his back took another jarring hit when the metal behind him bent forward. He grunted, wide eyed and charged the door to ram it back into ce after dust started flowing down from the cracks along its top.


    ¡°Hakim.¡± A familiar voice sounded out, and he looked up towards the other two visions he hadn¡¯t addressed yet.


    One vision was of a bald, middle-aged, bored-looking and heavily armored knight-type warrior sipping on ale at a bar; while others crowded around him to happily take bets on what would happen. The other vision was where the voice came from, and unlike the others - this man was shrouded in darkness instead of daylight with a dim green glowing in from overhead. The man¡¯s eyes were a bright crimson red, and Hakim couldn¡¯t say that the recognized this person at all due to the runic mask of softly glowing sigils he wore. But for the life of him, Hakim couldn¡¯t ce that voice - even though he knew he¡¯d heard it before.


    ¡°Yes? Who are you, and will you help us?¡± Hakim¡¯s voice cracked, getting augh from the people at the pub in the middle vision while a sympathetic frown adorned Zerfi¡¯s features.


    The unknown man chuckled, then nodded from underneath his hood. ¡°Yes Hakim, I selected the option to assist you and I¡¯m already on my way. See you soon bud.¡±


    A howling roar unlike anything Hakim had ever heard before vibrated throughout the halls, and the pounding on the door stopped. Croaks, snarls andmands in anguage he didn¡¯t understand started barking off the other side of the metal barrier inbetween himself and a quick death - and the ground started to shake as something enormous started to approach.


    ¡°H-Hakim!¡± Julie cried out from where she¡¯d backed up, trembling with her wooden staff clutched in slender hands. She was obviously terrified, but she had the right idea - they needed to get away from that door before whatever wasing crushed it.


    A feeling of utter hopelessness overwhelmed him in that instant. Hakim had never felt so disillusioned about other people in this world, nor had he felt such despair. He¡¯d thought that his relic would help them, that it would save them in a tight spot, and yet¡­ These people didn¡¯t care about him at all.


    He was trash to them.


    One had declined immediately, one had told him it was just too dangerous, and yet another was outright watching the proceedings like a TV show while the man¡¯s friends wagered money on who would die first.


    Zerfi had conditionally volunteered if she got additional help, which was far more than those other three had done - but even she wasn¡¯ting now that only the masked and hooded man had stated he¡¯d assist. She was likely the most powerful one in this group too, and for her not to help meant Hakim had a lot less of a chance at surviving this.


    As for the one person who¡¯d said yes, his bauble was quickly dissipating and turning into thin mist like the others who¡¯d declined had done - and for a moment Hakim began to panic even more. A thread of hope was still left, but only barely, and for a second even that thread disappeared when he thought he¡¯d been lied to by the stranger. Perhaps the stranger had simply said yes, then declined?¡±


    But then a portal of multicolored light formed that was farrger than the simrly constructed bauble, and out stepped a man.


    He was hooded and cloaked, about six feet tall with an athletic build and bright red eyes. The creepy staff made from ck wood and flesh had streams of blood running up and down or into its length, with spikes of crimson ice and a long wicked dagger at the top end. His very presence caused the room to abruptly grow cold, and the mana fluctuated around his body in twists of crimson energy unlike anything that Hakim had ever sensed before. He¡¯d met a handful of very powerful people in his time, watched their auras switch on or off that normal ssers just couldn¡¯t replicate, but Hakim had never felt anything like this.


    This aura was on another level.


    Hakim was so caught up in the man¡¯s palpable mana signature that he failed to realize the thudding footsteps outside the door had stopped until the metal barrier was smashed in with a booming thud. Dust was flung into the air and the screech of tearing iron caused Hakim to wince and take a knee, and his eyes settled in horror upon a massive wed hand of what could only be a drake. Blue scales and arge yellow eye stared in at him from outside the treasury, and the monster drew its lips back in a wicked smile - iris dting to half the size of the doorway - and exposing rows of teeth each the size of Hakim¡¯s arm.


    Immediately but calmly the spellcaster to Hakim¡¯s right made an incredibly quick set of motions, his hands blurring in intricate patterns while he drew in the crimson lights that drifted in the pool his aura produced.


    And what Hakim saw next had him shook.


    ¡°Nefajia crecus blood nova.¡±

 Chapter 116

    Chapter 116


    <strong>Chapter 116</strong>


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>DUNGEON BOSS FIGHT: BLUE DRAKE, HAS BEEN INITIATED.</strong>


    <strong>DUNGEON CAPTIUS HAS SEALED OFF YOUR POINTS OF EXIT UNTIL THE BATTLE IS COMPLETE.</strong>


    <strong>BEGINNING BATTLE IN</strong>


    <strong>5¡­</strong>


    <strong>4¡­</strong><strong>3¡­</strong>


    <strong>2¡­</strong>


    <strong>1¡­</strong>


    The ground shattered, trembled and split. A massive shockwave directed forward was followed by an enormous globe of swirling blood mana, vaporizing the ground underneath and directly in front of Riven and sting the entire front wall into smithereens before colliding with the drake¡¯srge yellow eye.


    *KABOOM*


    The eye was decimated and its huge head flung backwards in a spray of debris. The enormous multi-ton creature went torpedoing head over heels, roaring, thrashing about in agony with wings and ws as it smashed into a crowd of its lesser cousins that were crushed under the drake¡¯s weight.


    The monster¡¯s body came to an abrupt stop when it violently mmed into the far wall of a muchrger underground chamber, an octagon chamber many hundreds of yards apart in all directions with a skylight reaching miles high and numerous statues of draconic figures spaced out between ruined stone buildings.


    Julia and Tim both took in deep gasps, Hakim just gawked with iprehension, and Caleb began tough like a madman after seeing the huge drake blown backwards like a speeding bullet through the enormous room.


    Riven¡¯s red eyes shifted right, not seeing them through the debris in the air but hearing their hundreds of heartbeats close by. Raising a hand, dozens of spinning red des smoldered into being around his position. Pulling on the blood of the fallen bodies that¡¯d just been crushed in the drake¡¯s wake, spiraling wisps of red were ripped out and quickly condensed into over a hundred more.


    ¡°Get fucked.¡±


    Riven¡¯s fingers extended and a swarm of spinning des tore through the rubble still falling through the air, blindly carpet bombing the crowds of enemies nearby with each disc exploding seconds after impact. Explosion after explosion rocked the underground ruin to the screams and cries of lizardmen and other reptiles, leaving a field of ruined bodies and rubble when the dust finally cleared.


    The drake picked itself up from the other side of the enormous room and screeched in anger, sending out a fireball twice Riven¡¯s size that sped towards him and crashed into his body. The impact was enough to blow him back a couple feet, but he remained standing and when the dust cleared again - his skin was covered in ck metal tes and he continued to writhe in the mes of hellfire.


    The drake¡¯s one remaining eye narrowed upon seeing Riven take no damage, and it started to p its wings - chanting in a low serpentine voice to cast a spell while wind started roiling about it in a tornado of power. The small stone buildings around therge beasts ripped apart, adding their rubble to the swirling vortex of silver mana.


    In turn, Riven drew on his own reserves and the newly decimated bodies of the lizards nearby. More blood tore out of the corpses and swirled about him, dancing about him in a howling, raging storm of crimson might. It began to freeze, then liquify, freeze and liquify, over and over again while fluidly churning around him in a spiraling storm to match the drake¡¯s own.


    The drake snarled, Riven¡¯s aura pulsed, and the two energiesunched across the room in a maddening howl of power.


    ***


    Hakim watched the raging battle take ce before him with utter shock. He¡¯d never seen anything like it, the sheer amount of energy being unleashed between thebatants was unlike any fight he¡¯d even heard about.


    The drake and caster darted through the air, with the drake pping its wings and imbuing them with air magic of some kind to maneuver and dodge iing projectiles that shot out faster than Hakim could even keep up with. They were just red blurs, splitting the sound barrier and beingunched by cks that would create festering wounds in the drake¡¯s body whenever the red tipped spears prated. Sometimes they¡¯d miss due to the amazing dexterity of the great beast, but the man sparking with red lightning was just as fast - and whenever he found himself in a tight spot he¡¯d create a rift through space to teleport away and send a barrage from behind the monster pursuing him.


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    ck lightning bolts cracked the air, fireballs and des of solidified wind tore and blew through buildings, and spires of crystalized blood whipped through the air like living things as they sought out the drake to crash and splinter against its hide.


    ¡°Who¡­ is that?¡± Julie asked with awe, raising both eyebrows and covering her open mouth with one hand when a red snowstorm billowed out around the caster mid-air to blind the drake.


    The monster snapped its jaws, creating a shockwave to blow the bloody snowkes away only to have another bolt of ck lightning crash into its face. The drake screamed in pain and mmed into the ground, but pulsed with a shimmering gray light secondster and exploded outwards in all directions - destroying thendscape around it andunching the caster backwards to skip like a stone on ake across the ruined ground.


    Hakim¡¯s heart sank and he began to panic when he saw the man¡¯s neck bent backwards at an unnatural angle, and Tim screamed out for their ally to get up. Julie held her breath and Caleb¡¯s hands were gripping one another so hard that his knuckles turned white.


    But to their relief and sheer amazement, the man picked himself up like nothing had even happened.


    The drake¡¯s remaining eye went wide, and it snorted in disbelief when the caster¡¯s neck violently snapped back into ce. Manually cracking his neck again with both hands and stretching a bit, he shook himself and looked as good as new.


    ¡°He should be dead!¡± Caleb wheezed out while trembling violently. ¡°How is he not dead? His neck was obviously broken!¡±


    The drake seemed to agree, and it charged furiously towards the man in a pincer attack as two dozen of the lizardmen rushed out from the shadows at his back.


    ¡°Ath, Azmoth, Fay.¡±


    Three portals ripped open in the air around the man. One was void ck, another rimmed in hellfire, and the third was shrouded in purple miasma. Each of them produced a different creature, a different demon. One was a stunningly beautiful subus with sky-blue skin, white hair, ck wings - and she wore a wide smile of perfect white teeth. Another was a titanic, four-armed brutecking skin - adorned in thick ck metal tes between patches of red muscle, while its ming body also sported a tail and two additional sets of eel-like maws from behind. Thest was another menacing woman of ck skin, six scythe-like des spreading out of her back, and a long de-like tongue that dripped necrotic venom. These newfound allies took to the battle immediately without a single word being exchanged.


    The man abruptly vanished, turning invisible and splitting into three versions of himself that sprinted into different directions. The subusunched herself skywards, with green runes lighting up in the drake¡¯s path of charging, while the arachnoid woman blurred towards the nearest group of lizardmen and began rapidly decapitating them or removing them of limbs in a flurry of des.


    The huge, ming monster that was twice the size of any man Hakim had ever seen mmed its numerous fists together and grinned at the oing drake that was barreling through buildings at high speed. He looked left only long enough to open up the two eel-like appendages over his shoulders, producing two torrents of me that bathed another group of blue-scaled lizards and cooking over ten of them instantly.


    The drake had changed targets now that it lost track of the caster, and its maw opened up with another roar. Crackling sparks started umting from its innards,traveling up the inside of its neck and condensing into a ball of lightning that shed forward and collided with the taunting, ming four armed demon in front of it.


    Fire and lightning shed, and the drake was only fifty yards away when it hit Fay¡¯s invisible minefield.


    Unholy runes lit up with green light and detonated, blowing small holes in the huge monster and causing it to stumble. But its momentum kept it going forward, and rune after rune continued to st into the monster when another series of sonic booms rippled forward from across the room.


    Red and ck magic tore through the air and collided with the drake¡¯s neck and shoulder, again piercing its thick scales and creating festering wounds with the ck-like ends of the sharp projectiles that ate away at the draconic monster¡¯s flesh.


    Enraged now, the drake whipped its head around to fire another lightning strike at the caster¡¯s direction only to have its head yanked down by the lower jaw when therge ming demon leapt up to grab a tooth.


    ¡°AZMOTH CLIMB INTO THROAT AND BASH BASH BASH!!!¡±


    Breathing mes and ignoring the cascade of lightning despite pieces of his armor being torn off, the demon started biting, tearing and ripping into the drake¡¯s insides with gleeful, insidious cackles. But what really did massive amounts of damage to the inside was when the demon mmed its foot down and set a shockwave of kic energy throughout the throat - ripping apartyers of flesh and bone alike.


    The drake immediately began to thrash, panicking now and rolling around on the ground frantically while trying to create more and more lightning inside its throat to get the monster inside its body out again. Its body sparked and rippled with electricity, but still the demon raged inside.


    Hakim was so caught up in the battle before him that he didn¡¯t hear the scraping of ws nearby until it was toote.


    <strong>*CLANG*</strong>


    Hakim and everyone in his group startled, and he nearly tripped over his own feet, stumbling back when the sh of a sword was stopped by another de only an inch from his face.


    Right in front of him, a lizardman gagged and gurgled - blood trickling out of its toothy mouth while it stared wide-eyed into the sinister smile of the woman with pitch-ck skin and six de-limbs protruding from her back. In one wed hand she held the lizardman¡¯s heart, one of her des was holding back the lizardman¡¯s sword that would have no doubt killed Hakim had it fell, and two more des pierced the monster¡¯s stomach and neck.


    The demoness slowly extended her long, ck tongue, licking blood off one of the lizardman¡¯s wounds before ripping out all of her des at once and letting the body drop to the ground. Tossing the heart of the monster to the side flippantly, she calmly turned and set the gaze of her red eyes on Julie, then Tim, then Hakim.


    Shepletely ignored Caleb.


    ¡°Well, well, well, what do we have here¡­¡± A familiar voice asked with a chitteringugh, and the smile she gave them was rather genuine. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be more careful, you know. We won¡¯t always be here to save you.¡±


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    The room exploded when another of Fay¡¯s minefields blew apart a group of lizard monsters that¡¯d been tricked into pursuing another hallucination, and shes of red light illuminated the room overhead when more of the caster¡¯s projectiles shes forward to puncture the hide of the huge, iling drake that had smoke billowing out of holes in its neck.


    The demonic woman with ck skin shifted her gaze to the right where another eight lizardmen were rushing through a corridor and towards the treasure room¡¯s wrecked wall, and she let out a loud belch. ¡°Be right back!¡±


    A blur of des and shadow collided with the group of reptilian warriors before they even knew what hit them. The woman¡¯s delightedughter was mixed with the peppering thuds of red needles beingunched from her arachnoid limbs and the sounds of body parts being chopped off. Meanwhile, the lizardmen could only scramble away for their lives and scream.

 Chapter 117

    Chapter 117


    <strong>Chapter 117</strong>


    Riven¡¯s staff channeled sparks of dark lightning up the fleshy, whip-like tendril attached to its embedded de. Deep inside the drake¡¯s brain, therge monster spasmed and twitched - and eventually settled down into death while Azmoth ripped arge hole and stepped out of its smoking throat.


    ¡°Nice job big guy!¡± Riven gave the demon a fistbump and withdrew the fleshy tendril, the sinister de of his sorcerer¡¯s staff snapping back into ce. ¡°You did some real work there, even if you were a crazy motherfucker climbing inside that thing.¡±


    <strong>CONGRATULATIONS</strong>


    <strong>CONGRATULATIONS</strong>


    <strong>CONGRATULATIONS</strong>


    <strong>YOU HAVE DEFEATED THE DUNGEON¡¯S PRIMARY BOSS: BLUE DRAKE. DUNGEON CAPTIUS HAS LOST, AND AS PRIMARY CONTRIBUTING PARTICIPANT IN THIS DUNGEON RAID YOU - RIVEN THANE - ARE THE ONE WHO DECIDES WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.</strong>


    <strong>[Now that Dungeon Captius has been defeated, you may choose to either take the dungeon¡¯s bribe - or may choose to destroy its core. Taking the dungeon¡¯s bribe allows it to offer you treasures otherwise hidden inside the dungeon¡¯s realm. Taking the bribe allows the dungeon to either relocate entirely, or allows it to enter a hibernation mode where the Elysium Administrator guarantees its protection and gives it time to rebuild. Choosing to destroy the core will kill the dungeon permanently, preventing monster spawns out of it, but you must find the core first to do so.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have 1 hour to collect your winnings before ¡®Heroic Intervention¡¯ sends you back home. If you wish to leave earlier, just inform Elysium of your will to leave and it shall be so.]</strong><strong>[You have gained 3 levels. Congrattions!]</strong>


    <strong>[Your minions have received their XP and level ups as well. Congrattions!]</strong>


    <strong>[You have acquired a new title. Please see your status page for more information.]</strong>


    ¡°Hmmm. This is a lot different from when I beat Negrada¡¯s miniboss.¡± Riven scratched his chin and smiled at Fay when the subusnded beside him to rest an elbow on his shoulder - looking down at his notification with interest. ¡°What are your thoughts?¡±


    Fay shrugged, then motioned over to where stone was beginning to form a figure of a lizardman only a few feet away from their position. ¡°Depends on what Dungeon Captius has to offer. By the way, did you ever assign those points from thest time you leveled up?¡±


    ¡°When I killed the elves back at greenstalk? Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Alright! Just making sure.¡± Fay gave him a yful nudge and adjusted her crop-top. ¡°You are quite forgetful, you know.¡±


    Riven furrowed his brows and opened his mouth for a rebuttal, somewhat confused, but slowly closed it as the subus winked his way and walked off with an obviously intentional sway to her hips. He wasn¡¯t sure whether or not she was using her charm ability on him just to fuck around or not, but he doubted she even could - as that would be a breach of contract. He wouldn¡¯t have been surprised otherwise though, because god damn did she look good. He¡¯d always had a thing for athletic-looking women, and Fay had all the right curves topliment it.


    ¡°Bad, bad, bad.¡± Azmoth said with a sour growl. He put a ws hand on Riven¡¯s shoulder, and avidly shook Riven¡¯s smaller body back and forth. ¡°Subus evil Riven, don¡¯t look. Don¡¯t be simp boy!¡±


    ¡°Oh knock it off!¡± Riven said with augh and a slight blush, pushing hisrge demon away - but he swiped another quick nce when Azmoth turned around. ¡°Jesus.¡±


    ¡°Mama didn¡¯t raise simp, Riven. That what said.¡±


    ¡°I KNOW, I know¡­ I know what I said Azmoth.¡±


    ¡°Just make sure.¡±


    ¡°I KNOW! I¡¯m a straight, single, lonely young man ok!? Give me a break! It was only looking, I promised myself I wouldn¡¯t go down that road.¡±


    Riven grumbled to himself and Azmoth gave a sagely nod before the vampire turned his head to address the creature he¡¯d identified as Dungeon Captius.


    <strong>[Avatar of Dungeon Captius]</strong>


    It was about half his height, a miniature lizardman, with no weapons whatsoever. It looked up at him with an expression of fear, intermixed with irritation, and slowly it began to rise up as a stone tform underneath let it hover in ce.


    ¡°Greetings, vampire¡­¡± Dungeon Captius said with a hesitant bow. ¡°I am hoping to beg for my life¡­ as dictated by the rules of Elysium. You have in the primary guardian of my realm, and my fate lies in your hands. May I present the bribe I have prepared for you?¡±


    Riven slowly nodded, looking around at the devastation caused in the rubble of the ruined undergroundplex. ¡°Yeah I would like to see the bribe you¡¯ve prepared¡­ I¡¯d hate to have to go looking for that core of yours just to shatter it. Then again, killing you would keep the local people out of harm¡¯s way wouldn¡¯t it¡­¡±


    Riven put on a savage smile, taking off his mask and exposing his fangs to the avatar. ¡°And there is a treasury room not far off. I have no doubt I¡¯ll get something out of this either way.¡±


    If Dungeon Captius could have paled, it would have, and it gave a hesitant nod. ¡°I assure you there are more treasury rooms than just the one you¡¯ve found, and they¡¯re all hidden - as is my core. It is in both of our best interests to undergo the bribe, as you will likely not find all of my treasures otherwise - and I do not want to risk dying should you actually find the core now that my greatest defenders are gone.¡±


    ¡°Well, go ahead and convince me then. And is there any way you could package this stuff for me? I have to leave soon.¡±


    ¡°Package¡­?¡±


    ¡°Like, in chests or some kind of spatial holding thing. If you have those. Lastly I¡¯ll be iming that treasury room anyways, this bribe has to be stuff you don¡¯t already have there. If it isn¡¯t good enough I¡¯ll obviously be declining. Capeesh?¡±


    The avatar¡¯s shoulders slumped in relief, realizing that Riven was more likely to take the bribe than he¡¯d thought. ¡°Oh¡­ Yes, I cane up with something. Here, take a look at the bribe and tell me what you think.¡±


    ***


    Riven strut across thest stretch of rubble and jumped off a building,nding beside Azmoth to do a superhero pose before straightening himself and wiping the dust off his newly acquired bling.


    He wore arge golden crown adorned with jewels and mithril etchings, one that radiated some kind of magic he wasn¡¯t familiar with. He sported a gold-trimmed robe that had diamonds sewn into the back to create the image of a rose - an item that was far too mboyant for anybody who wasn¡¯t out of their mind. In his off hand he carried a purple satin sack of extremely good quality, and underneath his right armpit he held a mboyant royal scepter also made of gold and jewels that had a singlerge rune flickering inside the fist-sized diamond of the scepter¡¯s head.


    Beyond that, Riven also wore a pair of very fluffy green slippers, a couple enchanted amulets of gaudy design, a pair of poofy yellow silk pants and a massive two-handed bone sword way too big for him to use that radiated neon-teal death mana and had numerous spikes along the serrated de.


    The bone sword along his back dragged along the stone, scraping along the floor to make his approach very noticeable to the small crowd that wasprised of Riven''s two female demons as well as Julie, Hakim, Tim and the man Riven didn¡¯t know yet.


    Ath was in spider form, originally shifting to prove it was her, and was animatedly talking to Julie who wasugh-crying as she, Tim and Hakim were all in incredibly good spirits. Ath was telling them of her adventures with Riven since theyst parted, while Caleb was just trying to take all this in - and the two floating orbs of other ¡®strong¡¯ people Hakim had met were still watching in a state of mute shock at what¡¯d just happened.


    Hakim turned, a huge smile on his face and tears fromughing so hard at Ath¡¯s stories being wiped away while he chuckled. His eyebrows raised at Riven¡¯s gaudy attire, and now that the mask was gone he could clearly see it was his friend from the tutorial after all. ¡°Riven?! It really is you! I hear you¡¯re a vampire now.¡±


    Fay nced backwards along with some of the others and immediately began tough, while Riven stopped dead and struck a pose with Azmoth at his back. ¡°No good sir, I have evolved into ¡®Pimp Riven,¡¯ and that is how I shall be addressed. Have you met my three hoes yet? Their names are Ath, Azmoth and Fay.¡±


    ¡°Me no hoe, I am Azmoth!¡± The titanic demon folded his arms with a disapproving shake of his head.


    ¡°Fine! Just them then.¡± Riven gestured to two female demons, both of them quickly scowling as Ath screeched andunched herself at her master before being swatted out of the air with therge satin back Riven carried. ¡°DOWN FOUL WENCH!¡±


    ¡°I am a PRINCESS you blood sucking buffoon!¡± Ath quipped, bouncing off the stone floor only to be pinned by Riven¡¯s foot at the base of her neck. She glowered up at him, but it was obvious neither he nor she were actually putting true effort into the scuffle. ¡°Humph! This is NOT how I should be treated! How horribly insulting!¡±


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Fay rolled her eyes at the two of them as Riven kept Ath pinned underneath one foot, and she folded her wings behind her while simultaneously folding her arms. ¡°You better watch yourself Riven, you¡¯re rather cute sometimes but don¡¯t push your luck. You wouldn¡¯t want to get on my bad side.¡±


    The subus grinned at him to make sure he knew she was kidding, and he let out augh - letting Ath go as she morphed into a humanoid variant.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the big guy?¡± Hakim asked, staring the smoldering, muscr form of Azmoth down with an impressed nod of approval. ¡°They¡¯re all your demons? You¡¯ve reallye a long way since west met¡­ You¡¯re incredibly powerful now, even if you do wear fuzzy slippers and your fashion iscking.¡±


    ¡°Verycking!¡± Julie snorted augh and covered up her smile. She was supporting Tim, who¡¯d lost a leg in the dungeon earlier that day, but both siblings couldn¡¯t be happier just to be alive and he certainly wasn¡¯tining.


    If anything, he just waved and smiled widely.


    Riven pointed a finger in mock warning at the three of them, waggling it back and forth as his crown slipped over one eye - being slightly too big for his head. ¡°Don¡¯t you judge my fashion sense! I¡¯ll have you know these slippers are enchanted with a speed enhancement that gives me 300 points to agility!¡±


    Tim gawked. ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°No, I am absolutely lying. I just thought they looked funny so I had them included in the bribe deal.¡±


    Riven grinned to match the others and then head nodded over to where Caleb was staring nkly his way. ¡°Who¡¯s the new guy?¡±


    ¡°Caleb!¡± The brte man in jeans with the empty rifle slung across his back warily reached out a hand, obviously nervous and sweating slightly; but when he looked over to the others of his guild he got nods of assurance and straightened his posture. ¡°Thanks so much for saving us. We¡¯d be dead without you. I¡­ Uhm, you¡¯re very intimidating. Even being around you while just standing here feels dangerous somehow.¡±


    ¡°Probably my negative charisma at y again.¡± Riven rolled his glowing crimson eyes and shook his head. Then he jingled the satin bag in his hand and tossed it to Ath. ¡°Yo, take a look at that shit. It¡¯s a bag of holding and we hit it big, but we have to leave the dungeon here soon or we¡¯ll be teleported out. That goes for everyone.¡±


    Ath caught the bag, inspecting it as a notification of its contents popped up, and she gawked with a high-pitched squeal ofughter. ¡°OH MUR GAWD RIVEN! Can I have that tiara? It¡¯d fit my princess status perfectly!¡±


    ¡°Only if you earn it.¡±


    ¡°WHAT DO YOU MEAN ONLY IF I EARN IT!?¡±


    Riven booped Ath¡¯s forehead with his royal scepter and scowled. ¡°Don¡¯t talk back to your pimp that way, or you shall feel my unholy wrath of- OW - OOF - HEY!!!!¡±


    Ath jabbed him in the rib cage and Fay swatted him along the back of his head, only to be followed up by more blows as the two women viciously attacked his weak spots and he fell to the ground in surrender.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be taking this!¡± Ath announced proudly, pulling out a shimmering tiara made from ebony metal and iid with rubies. When she ced it on her head, the demoness shuddered and her red eyes went wide. ¡°Oh¡­ Oh that¡¯s very nice. Is this enchanted?¡±


    Riven took Azmoth¡¯s helping hand, but was pushed back down by Fay¡¯s foot and then sat on.


    He looked up at the smirking subus, raised an eyebrow when he nced down where her tail was slowly wagging back and forth, and then looked over to Ath. ¡°Yes. Did you look at the status info yet?¡±


    ¡°No, I just saw it was a tiara.¡±


    ¡°Well it was specifically made for you. In fact part of the deal was that each of my summons got a unique item hand-crafted by the dungeon to fit your needs, and that¡¯s yours.¡±


    Ath slowly turned to him, jaw dropping and hands cupping over her mouth as he smiled up at her. ¡°You seriously had them custom made?! That¡¯s so nice!¡±


    ¡°Wait, what are ours then?¡± Fay asked curiously, turning over from a sitting position toypletely on top of him while kicking her legs out and grinning deviously.


    ¡°NO, NO, NO! BAD, BAD, BAD!¡± Azmoth grabbed the startled subus by her hair and without warningunched her across the room, sending the screaming woman packing as she soared into the distance.


    Therge demon dusted his hands off and humphed with approval. ¡°Riven need chastity belt. Too easy for evil subus to trick.¡±


    Ath gawked, unsure of what to think as her friend soared across the vast chasm, and Riven cackled while finally taking another helping hand from therge demon to pull himself up.


    ¡°God these slippers are ridiculous. Anyways we¡¯ll get to reading off the status of all your personal itemster when we¡¯re sent back, we have other things to deal with right now.¡±


    Riven turned around to where a new arrival was digging through the piles of money and treasures not far off. He was bald, middle aged, wearing armor and piling as much of the stuff as he could into a bag of holding very simr to the one Riven had just acquired. What he put in disappeared, and Riven stalked over to the man in silence while the others watched.


    <em>¡°AHEM!¡±</em>


    The man casually turned around, showing himself to be the same man that¡¯d watched with his friends and taken bets on who was going to die first when Heroic Intervention had initially activated. He was one of the 5 most powerful people Hakim had met up until this point, and he snapped his bag shut to address the slightly smaller caster who¡¯d approached.


    ¡°What is it?¡± The armored knight asked, tilting his head to look at the demons and other members of Hakim¡¯s party. ¡°Can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Can you help me?¡± Riven repeated, his voice dropping to a t cold tone and the yfulness now utterly gone. The scepter underneath his arm ttered to the floor, he stepped out of his fuzzy slippers and tossed the crown haphazardly to the side with a tter of metal on stone.


    The knight took a step back when Riven entered his personal space and he put a hand on therge sword at his side, sizing Riven up. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t take another step if I were you. Back off.¡±


    Riven paused, then smiled widely with fangs extended and began tough in the man¡¯s face. Hisugh was genuine but also malicious, climbing higher and higher until he clutched his sides. The mood grew dark, and Hakim backpedaled and motioned for the others to do the same - while the one remaining orb of multicolored light showing the blonde storm mage still hovered there as she too watched the scene unfold.


    Riven calmed down, and the man remained unmoving with one hand on his sword in a defensive stance. The vampire''s features brightened, and red flickers of blood mana started creeping up his right arm. ¡°Fucking unreal! You stay back, watching in amusement while thinking Hakim is going to die, until you realize that he¡¯s NOT going to die and youe to im the treasure? At the veryst moment when Hakim¡¯s artifact is about to expire the event? Get fucked. Drop that sack before I start cutting off your skin to wear it like a cape.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes red, and trickles of bright red started crawling across his face from his eyes along his veins. His aura exploded into a dense, writhing, palpable force of will that crashed down onto the entire area around them. The air shimmered in red hues. Crimson frost started collecting on everything - the walls, the ceiling, the floor, and even the treasure or people¡¯s clothes; and bloody snowkes started drifting in the air as they popped into existence one by one.


    The man hesitated, the first sign of nervousness crossing his features when sweat started collecting along his forehead despite the temperature drop. ¡°We were both in the top five most powerful Hakim has yet to meet, I am no pushover. Do you want to take that risk with your life? There is more than enough treasure to go around, and no way for you to collect all of this before you leave. Why not share?¡±


    ¡°I have more than enough space to take all this back.¡± Riven lied. His spatial sack was alreadypletely full, full to the brim. He¡¯d made sure of that when the bribe hade through, but he wasn¡¯t about to let this assclown take treasure back home after he¡¯d decided to let Hakim die and make a sporting event out of it. ¡°And don¡¯t even think ofparing yourself to me, you pathetic, weak insect of a man. I am <em>leagues</em> above you, I can feel it in your very presence, in the way your heartbeat is racing as we speak. You are afraid, we both know it, and I¡¯m ying nice by even giving you the opportunity to give up and head home like the scared little bitch you are. Be true to your nature and run, little piggy¡­ You have five seconds to drop it, otherwise I follow through with my promise to cut off your skin - and I¡¯ll even use you as my next meal.¡±


    Riven¡¯s staff lit up with arcs of crackling ck electricity, his aura pulsed to even greater heights, and the blood mana condensing along his arm red over the right side of his body to enormous proportions of silky red that dwarfed the size of his entire body three times over. The amount of unleashed mana was so palpable that Hakim and his three guildmates had to backpedal in order to not take passive damage, and his growing smile of sinister intent spread beyond what a human could do with regr facial muscles.


    Red frost began collecting along the man¡¯s skin while he stared down the fangs bared his way. His eyes shifted to the three demons closing in around him, and then to Hakim who nervously watched from behind.


    ¡°2 seconds.¡± Riven said, with neither man moving.


    A portal simr to the one Riven had arrived in abruptly red open behind the knight and he jumped backwards, trying to make an escape with the loot he¡¯d already obtained - only to be ripped back from the portal with a scream when a wretched snaretched onto his armor.


    Riven¡¯s arm, shrouded in a dense cloud of flicking blood mana, mmed into and through the heavy iron armor and pierced out the other side - sending the man into a horrified wail of pain.


    The man thrashed for a moment, skills and defensive rings along his fingers lighting up - only to be shattered when they came into contact with Riven¡¯s own power. The convulsing, greed-stricken man belched blood, and then his upper body abruptly exploded upwards onto the ceiling when Riven discharged the energy he¡¯d been storing.


    ¡°Pathetic.¡±


    The thick aura abruptly faded, and the frost umted around the room began to recede. Riven nced up at the stered remains stuck to the ceiling, then casually shook his hand to get the remnants of the lower body off. To his left the other orb showing the storm mage Zerfi disyed her shocked expression only for a moment, before she covered her mouth with both hands and just continued to look.


    ¡°Wana try?¡± Riven asked the blonde woman, who only stared back. ¡°Good. Pimp Riven has been known to smack a hoe on asion, case and point: this asshole on the ceiling.¡±


    He snorted, put his fuzzy green slippers back on, put his crown back on at an awkward angle, picked up therge gaudy scepter he¡¯d found, and smiled back with a toothy grin at Julie, Tim, Caleb and Hakim. ¡°These were really the best you¡¯ve met so far? Jesus. What a bunch of fucking wimps. Anyways now that problem is sorted out, so let¡¯s get on to business. See all this shit here?¡±


    He gestured back at the piles of treasure as the four guildmates nodded. ¡°This is all for you. Whatever you can take anyways. Maybe take asswipe¡¯s spatial bag and that¡¯ll help carry a lot of this stuff, but we¡¯ve got a time limit before the system closes this dungeon off. Whatever you can¡¯t carry in his bag or in your arms, I¡¯ll get my demons to try and carry with me back home.¡±


    Riven picked up the dead knight¡¯s spatial bag and inspected it, before frowning. ¡°Well there¡¯s no way we¡¯ll get it all but we can at least try. This thing is a lot smaller than mine.¡±


    He tossed the bag over to Hakim, who caught it and looked down at the blood covering the fabric.


    ¡°Riven¡­¡± Hakim said awkwardly, sharing nces with his guildmates while Julie stared open-mouthed and simultaneously supported her brother¡¯s stance. ¡°This¡­ Is a lot to take in. You¡¯ve changed a lot¡­¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow. ¡°In a bad way?¡±


    Hakim considered the question, then evaluated the man stered to the ceiling, and shook his head. ¡°Well I hope you really don¡¯t eat people, but other than that? No, not necessarily¡­ you¡¯re just pretty brutal man. But then again when we first met you did kill all those people who were attacking Julie and her family¡­ So maybe not so much. I just didn¡¯t expect you to murder him.¡±


    ¡°He would have left you to die.¡± Riven stated simply, uncaringly, and smiled when he got nods of approval from Ath. He didn¡¯t answer the part about eating people, not wanting to address it after identally having killed that poor sod in Negrada. ¡°Tough shit. If he wanted the treasure he should havee to help, what he shouldn¡¯t have done is try to steal from me afterwards. Fuck that guy.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Ath stated proudly, ruffling Riven¡¯s hair from underneath his hood and crown and ncing at therge, shimmering bone sword on his back. ¡°You¡¯re growing up! I¡¯m so happy for you!¡±


    ¡°Shut it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious!¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes, and then started walking up the pulse of money to where other enchanted items were halfway buried. ¡°Anyways, there shouldn¡¯t be any unholy rted stuff as I already took it all from the dungeon coffers - but a lot of this stuff should help you guys out. There¡¯s an enchanted axe, some healing scrolls over there, an imbue enchantment card for projectiles¡­ and I made sure it was all pre-identified by the dungeon avatar so you know what you¡¯re looking at. Hurry it up! We don¡¯t have all day!¡±

 Chapter 118

    Chapter 118


    <strong>Chapter 118</strong>


    ¡°NO! THESE ARE MY SHINY¡¯S!¡± Ath screeched while in spider form, wearing a small empty treasure chest that¡¯d been dumped out on her head, while simultaneously waist deep in the pile of gold and tinum. She angrily swatted at the coins to make her hill of wealth shake, reminding Riven of a toddler when they didn¡¯t get their ice cream. ¡°MY SHINY¡¯S! MY SHINY¡¯S! MY SHINY¡¯S!¡±


    Riven couldn¡¯t say he¡¯d ever seen a spider-like creature wearing a treasure chest swimming in a pool of golden coins before, but he couldn¡¯t say it wasn¡¯t hrious. ¡°Come on Ath, you can¡¯t move it all and we need to go. Time¡¯s up.¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± Athlea screamed, swatting her little legs faster and faster along the gold pile she was buried in with a full-blown nuclear temper tantrum. ¡°MINE-MINE-MINE!¡±


    ¡°Azmoth get her out of there.¡±


    Riven facepalmed, and Azmoth hunched down over the ridiculous spider to grab her with arge w.


    ¡°Argh!¡±


    ¡°Ath are you biting Azmoth?¡±


    ¡°ARGH!¡±¡°You do realize your mandibles aren¡¯t prating his hand armor right?¡±


    Ath released her hold on Azmoth¡¯s ws and pointed a quivering foot Riven¡¯s way. ¡°SHUT IT TWIRP!¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s good to see Ath hasn¡¯t changed much!¡± Julie said with a wide,ughing smile. She walked over from where she was sitting with her brother, put down the chest of gold she¡¯d collected, and gave Riven an unexpected but purely-friendly hug. ¡°Thanks Riven. I appreciate what you did for us, once again.¡±


    Riven hugged her back a bit awkwardly and gave her a polite smile. ¡°Not a problem at all. Try not to use thatst charge with Heroic Intervention any time soon, but just in case you need me I¡¯ll be there. Oh and say hi to yall''s mom since she wasn¡¯t here this time!¡±


    ¡°Riven.¡± Tim gave him a firm nod from where hey. He was taking the loss of a leg rather well, but then again his sister was also a healer and with magic in the picture it was highly likely he¡¯d get that leg back one day.


    Hakim came over and sped hands with Riven, evaluating his fuzzy green slippers one more time with a chuckle and shake of the head. ¡°It is good to see you again, my friend. Where is it that you¡¯re staying now?¡±


    Riven and the bigger man let go. ¡°Brightsville, or that is what we called it originally. I believe we can use the cortex tomunicate with one another should we ever visit the same spot, but even better would be if yourmunity found an Elysium Altar. We just got one and we could set up a trading outpost in each other¡¯smunities, system shenanigans and whatnot.¡±


    Hakim nodded with a grunt, hoisting his bag of loot over his shoulder and sporting the new runeden battle axe at his hip. ¡°I look forward to it. We don¡¯t have ess to an Elysium Altar at all unfortunately, never even seen one yet, but I have heard that one of the factions founded by the ex-vietnamese government have a few high levelers that acquired one up north from us. Do you think we¡¯d be able to travel to your city to see it for ourselves? Your sister and the undead-greenskin thing you¡¯ve got going on is rather interesting¡­¡±


    ¡°Probably not by foot. It¡¯s daytime here, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nighttime where I¡¯m from, we¡¯re probably on the other side of the world somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    ¡°I know. Well, not much we can do about it but if the opportunity everes up - we¡¯ve named ourselves ¡®The Thane Necropolis.¡¯ Look us up when we¡¯re rich and famous.¡±


    Hakim snorted augh and gave another nod, ncing over at the redheaded young man who was missing his leg. ¡°Ugh¡­ His mother is going to have my head.¡±


    ¡°Nuh uh! Not after I tell her about your heroics to save us!¡± Julie got up on her toes and gave Hakim a kiss on the cheek, then skipped back over to her brother.


    Riven exchanged a look with an obviously embarrassed Hakim, and raised both eyebrows with a widening grin. He hiked a thumb Julie¡¯s way. ¡°You and her huh!?¡±


    ¡°... Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°How long!? Don¡¯t be embarrassed she¡¯s very pretty!¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­ about a month now.¡± Hakim shyly smiled and scratched the back of his head while looking to the ground. ¡°Her mom doesn¡¯t know yet. Do you think she¡¯ll care?¡±


    Riven gawked. ¡°Hakim. What¡¯s not to like? You¡¯re a gigachad if I¡¯ve ever seen one and a nice guy to boot.¡±


    ¡°What is a gigachad?¡±


    ¡°You obviously haven¡¯t kept up with pop culture mate. Just ept it, take your riches and move on.¡±


    Portals red to life with a notification stating the dungeon would close in less than a minute, and that forced teleportation wouldmence soon.


    ¡°Hah. Ok then. I¡¯ll see you next time Riven, and thanks again for saving us. We owe you our lives.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯re friends for, right? Stay alive.¡±


    ¡°You too. Stay safe, keep Ath safe too. She¡¯s kinda scary but I love that ridiculous spider-girl!¡±


    Riven warmly smiled and stepped away with a wave. ¡°As do I.¡±


    ***


    The portal back home copsed and Riven was back under a night sky with only an hour and a half having passed. Allie and the others were all waiting for their return, and it took a little bit of time to fill them all in.


    Especially given the massive amount of stuff Riven dumped out of the chests they carried. Then on top of that were all the things in his spatial bag, which amounted to a three-meter high and six-meter wide pile of coins, jewelry, trinkets, weapons, and a couple spell scrolls. Most of it was unholy-rted to boot, but there were a lot of items rted to the Fae Foundational Pir that the orcs could use too. In particr, there was a storm spell tome and a storm martial-art manual, which were probably some of the most valuable things in this entire pile. Only a couple of abilities were described in each, but those abilities would be more than enough to take the average orc warrior to a new level should they learn it. Hell, even the goblins could probably learn it if they had high enough affinities - though most of the goblins were rather stupid.


    Funny, now that Riven thought of it, that the greenskins were oriented towards the Fae Foundational Pir considering they had negative charisma like he did. They had the option of switching to the Unholy Foundational Pir too now by using his altar, but it wasn¡¯t necessarily a requirement and he was sure many of the shamans would want to keep their already-practiced spells instead of starting over. Plus it¡¯d be nice to have some variety inside their city, at the very least it couldn¡¯t hurt, and the orcs had already expressed to Allie (after some very recent experimentation) that the haunted forest would do their Forest Subpirs well with training despite the Death aspect to it.


    It was looking like Riven had made a very good decision picking that terraforming option.


    ¡°These treasures are¡­ quite valuable.¡± Gurth¡¯Rok muttered while inspecting a gnarled root that was twisted into patterns creating something akin to a dreamcatcher. ¡°Do you mind if I take this? I can happily pay you for the item, though we are somewhat poor.¡±


    ¡°What does it do?¡±


    ¡°It halves the resource cost of any storm or forest pir abilities as long as they¡¯re tier 1.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°Holy shit that¡¯s really good. Yeah, take it as a sign of goodwill. For free.¡±


    The orc chieftan took off his wooden mask, showing a genuine look of surprise - though it was somewhat hard to tell due to the missing upper lip he had and the scars adorning his face. ¡°That is unexpected. Thank you Riven, it will be remembered.¡±


    Allie on the other hand was inspecting the gigantic death-attuned, spiked bone sword Riven had brought back with him. The sword was way too big for her or any of the normal death knights, but one of therge, muscr flesh golems could wield it easily enough and was taking wings with it at Allie¡¯s request. Every time it was swung the air crackled with neon teal energy, and it had the ability to rip life out of an opponent with soul damage just by being close in proximity rather than actually doing purely physical damage.


    It was a rather dangerous weapon.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I want to give this out to just anyone¡­¡± Allie said - gesturing for the flesh golem to put it back in the pile. ¡°I appreciate the gift, but I certainly can¡¯t use it. I don¡¯t have the strength stat, not anywhere close, and it¡¯s not mybat style either. Perhaps I¡¯ll wait to hand it out if we have a notable champion arise in our ranks¡­ it will be good incentive for the recruits to strive for greater things. Perhaps even an orc could wield this if they changed pirs at this altar.¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Riven shrugged, looking up at the green halo of mes encircling the ck, rune-lit spire far overhead. ¡°Whatever. Figured I¡¯d give you a gift, if you hate it that¡¯s fine I get it. I¡¯ll just cry myself to sleep tonight no big deal.¡±


    Allie smirked and gave an exaggerated eye-roll. ¡°Oh do shut up. It looks like your minions are also enjoying their own new toys, I can see Ath in particr is loving hers by the way she shows it to everyone.¡±


    And indeed was she showing it to everyone. Ath was prancing around having a grand old time telling the orcs, the goblins, the undead, the other demons, and even Dr. Brass who¡¯d shown up about how her new tiara was a symbolic gesture by Elysium itself on how she was a true-blue princess.


    She had quite the obsession. Not only because it looked the part of a princess and fit her colors well - being ck metal with ruby gemstones, but it gave her a very overpowered effect in Riven¡¯s opinion. Not that he wasining.


    <strong>[Tiara of Silent Killing (Blood / Shadow Trinket):</strong><strong> After sessfully killing a target without being noticed by anyone else, gain a charge of critical strike. Your next unseen attack has a 100% chance to be a </strong><strong>2x - 8x</strong><strong> critical hit, with multiplied damageing in the form of kic burst energy from the strike site. Requires a 26% or higher Blood </strong><strong>or</strong><strong> Shadow Pir Affinity to wield, and the wearer must be female.]</strong>


    ¡°I¡¯m just happy she¡¯s happy.¡± Riven said, chuckling. ¡°Apparently the dungeon was scared shitless of me, because it spent a load of stuff to get me out of there. And the other demons seem to like theirs as well. This whole dungeon-diving thing was <em><strong>incredibly</strong></em> profitable Allie, I think that we should start looking for more of them in the immediate area. If Hakim¡¯s town has multiple nearby, I¡¯m sure we could find some here.¡±


    Azmoth¡¯s hand-crafted item was an infernal maul of dark-gray stone, three times the size of Riven¡¯s entire body, with streaks of flowingva running along the surface. It was utterly huge, pretty simple in design, did passive burn damage on hit, and had a physical base damage that tripled Riven¡¯s own staff unsurprisingly. Being hit with that thing would terminate any human instantly, and it was the perfect weapon for Azmoth because it wasn¡¯t a weapon made with skill in mind. He¡¯d just whack things as hard as he could with it. Even Azmoth as strong as he was needed two of his arms to wield the damn thing effectively, but it still left his other two ws avable for normal grappling. The huge demon had been utterly excited to get it, and had been smashing boulders or scattered trees with it since they got back. Even now Riven could feel the ground shake slightly from the magma-explosions and shaking earth in nearby fields.


    <strong>[Hellforged Maul (Infernal / Volcanic Weapon):</strong><strong> 319 average physical damage on strike, Two-Handed for full effect, with each strike dealing additional burn damage on hit and over time. 10% bonus to stun chance. Requires 532 Strength stat with the Infernal </strong><strong>or</strong><strong> Volcano Subpir to use.</strong><ul><li><strong>Magma Strike:</strong><strong> Activate this ability to increase the damage dealt by 40% in the form of an additional magma-based explosion. Mandatory 5 minute cooldown.]</strong></li></ul>


    Meanwhile Fay had been given a set of fur-lined, rather feminine, brown-scale boots with a dozen orange-red feathersing out each of theteral ankle areas. The boots came up to her knees, and they¡¯d fit perfectly. She¡¯d blushed furiously when being handed the gift, and had awkwardly epted them before running off to put them on. Ever since, she¡¯d been looking down at her feet with a rather broad grin. These boots had an enchantment that could be used by anyone, which was called a ¡®Generic¡¯ enchantment ording to Ath - even though it was technically a ¡®Storm¡¯ Subpir enchantment due to using air magic for the effect. This was unlike the other two items he¡¯d given his demons, but they still did her a serious solid for her flying abilities.


    <strong>[Boots of Feather Step (Light Armor)(Enchanted Boots):</strong><strong> 36 average defense. Increases any kind of flight speed by 23%. While flying, gain an additional +50 Agility and + 81 Sturdiness.]</strong>


    ¡°If I get loot like this every time I go dungeon diving, I¡¯ll be fucking rich.¡± Riven added with a nod at Fay who smiled shyly and walked off towards Mara and Ath on the sidelines.


    Allie furrowed her brows and folded her arms. ¡°I haven¡¯t known Fay very long but isn¡¯t she acting a bit odd?¡±


    ¡°Herst summoner was a real jackass apparently, this is the first time she was ever given any kind of gift. That¡¯s what she told me anyways.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What ady killer.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not go down that road again.¡± Riven ruffled Allie¡¯s hair knowing she¡¯d hate it and he got a quick jab to the ribs again when she loudly huffed. ¡°Anyways, let me apply my points real quick. Hold that thought, and we¡¯ll discuss the altar¡¯s trading posts.¡±


    <strong>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 44</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty, Infernal, Shadow</strong></li><li><strong>Core of Original Sin - Gluttony:] (Under Construction)(???)</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] </strong><strong>Race: Pureblooded Vampire</strong><strong> (Extreme Darkness Regeneration)(Sunlight Decay)(Extreme Weakness to Silver weapons, Sun pir, and Light pir attacks), </strong><strong>ss: Warlock Adept,</strong><strong> Adrenaline Junky (Blood)(+15% to Agility)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Silvertongue (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood)(Tier 2), Blood Nova (Blood)(Tier 3), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal), Riftwalk (Shadow)</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 74 Strength, 159 Sturdiness, 404 Intelligence, 194 Agility, 10 Luck, -380 Charisma, 188 Vampiric Perception, 124 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li><strong>Free Stat Points: 24</strong></li><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 34 Arshakai [36 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 38 Hellscape Brutalisk [44 Willpower Requirement]. Fay, Level 27 Subus [29 Willpower Required]</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] Crude Cultist¡¯s Robes (1 def), Vampire¡¯s Escort (104 dmg, 102% mana regen, shadow and blood dmg +22%, ck Lightning, Scorpion¡¯s Sting), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Backpack of Supplies (Guild Hall: Stone Manor), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Breath of Valgeshia (48 def, +13 dmg & +9% mana output dmg for blood dmg, 6% mana regen)</strong></li><li><strong>2 PENDING NOTIFICATIONS]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven tapped his foot thoughtfully on where he wanted to apply his 24 free stat points. He¡¯d been applying some to Sturdiness or Willpower on asion, most of them into Intelligence, and little else. Strength was nice to have but he didn¡¯t like to engage in closebat if he could help it, his Faith stat was utterly useless to him because he never intended to go the miracle route and therefore wouldn¡¯t ever convert his pure soul energy into ¡®divinity¡¯ (nor did he even know how miracles worked), and his Luck stat? He didn¡¯t know how Luck worked either, but he¡¯d heard from both Ath and Fay that having a high Luck stat was generally corrted with many people who survived into the highest levels across the cosmos.


    So figuring it couldn¡¯t hurt to have a statistical advantage, he mmed all 24 points into Luck.


    Or at least he tried to.


    <strong>[You have maxed out your Luck stat at 10 with your current qualifications. In order to increase your Luck stat beyond 10, you must meet further unspecified requirements.]</strong>


    ¡°Well FUCK YOU TOO!¡± Riven raised both hands and flipped off the sky in a gesture towards Elysium, then slumped his shoulders when his sister saw the notification.


    ¡°Tough luck.¡± Allie mused. ¡°What¡¯s that ¡®2 pending notifications¡¯ topic? Have you checked?¡±


    Riven red, but then split the 24 points down the middle into Sturdiness and Intelligence with a frustrated wave of his hand. ¡°What bullshit. And no, I haven¡¯t checked yet, but I¡¯m willing to bet one of them is the ¡®trait¡¯ I¡¯m getting for defeating that dungeon boss. Let¡¯s go ahead and see.¡±


    Clicking on the line of text, two different screens appeared. One was rting to Azmoth, one was rting to a new trait, and both had two different options to choose from. ¡°Oh. Oh boy. Hey, Azmoth! Get over here, we need to chat!¡±


    <strong>[Your minion Azmoth has been judged by the system to have met requirements for 2 different sses, based on actions and fighting style. Please select from the following starter ss titles if you wish to do so:</strong><ul><li><strong>Legion Berserker Initiate (ss Title)</strong><strong> - A physically demanding ss that supplies this ss-holder with a new resource pool: Rage. This ss rewards the participant with an influx of HP (Health Points), SP (Stamina Points), and RP (Rage Points) every time he or she makes a kill. The higher the Rage Points get, the more damage output the participant has, and the more the participant loses his or her ability to think properly. Gives bonuses to two-handed weapons and heavy armor. +2 Strength, +1 Sturdiness, +1 Free Stat Point per level. </strong><strong>(Comes with the knowledge of the Unholy Martial Art: Wretched Cleaving)</strong><strong>(Increases Willpower Requirement by 6)</strong></li><li><strong>Infernal Crusader Initiate (ss Title)</strong><strong> - A fire-attuned physical ss path that focuses on tanking through martial arts. This ss increases defensive capabilities with inherent bonuses, the amount of Sturdiness gained per level, and abilities granted by the system at regr intervals. +1 Strength, +4 Sturdiness, +1 Free Stat Point per level. Gives bonuses to heavy armor and fire-attuned abilities. </strong><strong>(Comes with the knowledge of the Infernal Martial Art: Dome of mes)</strong><strong>(Increases Willpower Requirement by 5)]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[You have been granted the option between two new ¡®Aplishment Titles¡¯. You may only have 1 ¡°Aplishment Title¡¯ active at any time, and changing titles is permanent. Aplishment Titles are granted based upon actions that are out of the ordinary and deemed worthy of note by the system. Please choose between the following:</strong><ul><li><strong>Dragon¡¯s Bane 1: Any draconic enemies you fight now receive a generalized debuff to all stats at a t baseline of -60. (Received for solo killing a greater drake of higher level in less than 30 minutes)</strong></li><li><strong>Bloodthirsty 1: Corpses around you supply you with 5% increased blood mana, and blood magic does an additional 1% damage to enemies. (Received for utilizing environmental blood resources on a grand scale numerous times against overwhelming odds)]</strong></li></ul>


    The option for his Aplishment Title was an obvious one, and he didn¡¯t even have to think about it when he selected ¡®Bloodthirsty 1¡¯. Though he did note that the Dragon¡¯s Bane title talked about how he ¡®solo killed¡¯ that dungeon boss, and his thoughts went back to the time Ath told him the system considered all summons as part of him. How true that was, because he certainly hadn¡¯t killed the drake without the help of his minions - yet the title used him of such.


    Not that it mattered too much because he wasn¡¯t selecting it anyways.


    Looking up from his screens and closing one of them, Azmoth came bounding over while holding his enormous maul in one hand. Though the demon couldn¡¯t maneuver the weapon without two as effectively in battle, carrying it with only one was still possible given the massive amount of Strength Azmoth had.


    ¡°You called, Riven?¡± Azmoth asked, taking a knee and bowing in an unusual disy of allegiance.


    Riven pooched his lips but didn¡¯tment on it, and he gestured to the weapon. ¡°Having fun with the new toy?¡±


    Azmoth grinned and avidly nodded. ¡°Yes, I love new toy!¡±


    ¡°Great to hear man. Question for you though, did you know you had a ss choice up for grabs?¡±


    Azmoth tilted his head, then nodded. ¡°Yes, yes. I not know which pick. Was going to ask, but you busy. What you think?¡±


    Riven exchanged a nce with Allie. ¡°Uhm¡­ Honestly I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m kind of torn. One one hand the berserker ss would make you an absolute menace offensively and killing things would regenerate you even more than that Hell¡¯s Amor you have going on, while on the other hand you get 2 more stat points per level and a focus on defensive abilities while taking the crusader ss. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re already aware of this, and I know I¡¯m stating the obvious, but I just wanted to make sure you knew. I think it¡¯s best if you follow your heart and choose for yourself though, because to me - there isn¡¯t an obvious winner here. Either one would be great.¡±


    Azmoth grunted his acknowledgement, then stood up. ¡°I think on this. I let know.¡±


    Riven smirked in turn. ¡°Alright buddy, just tell me when you decide. It¡¯s exciting either way, so congrattions on the achievement!¡±

 Chapter 119

    Chapter 119


    <strong>Chapter 119</strong>


    Riven side-eyed his sister with a growing grin as Azmoth walked over to y with his new hammer, and he nudged her in the side to get her attention under the dim glow of starlight and the green ming halo overhead. ¡°Hey, I do have one other thing for you before we move on.¡±


    Allie evaluated his smug posturing and took a wary step back. ¡°You better not fucking tickle me or something stupid like that. I¡¯ll fight back.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Riven let out a longugh and shook his head, then reached into his spatial bag and pulled out a small shing bauble. It was orange in color and semi translucent, and had a small picture in it that changed based on the way you looked at it - though Allie couldn¡¯t tell what it was by any angle.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ What¡¯s this?¡± Allie asked curiously, inspecting it and getting only question marks pop up for her identification information.


    Riven smiled fondly. ¡°Well, first I have a question for you. Do your minions level up?¡±


    ¡°... Why?¡±


    ¡°And what kind of minions can you make?¡±


    ¡°... Those are very odd questions, but fine I¡¯ll y ball. My minions can level up, yes. It¡¯s why some of my skeletons are simply skeletons while others I¡¯ve outfitted to be ¡®death knights,¡¯ though they¡¯re technically not REALLY death knights YET. The ones I¡¯ve been calling death knights are really just leveled up skeletons I¡¯m preparing to take on the actual ss of death knight.¡± She waved a hand at where some of her more heavily outfitted and armored skeletons stood silently by. ¡°The problem is that mindless undead minions can¡¯t have sses. They retain the abilities their old bodies had, or unholy versions of the abilities they had, but their sses and associated perks disappear. In order to have a ss they need to have a true soul and these ones only have soul fragments. It¡¯s been a pain to deal with, but I know I can eventually figure out how to imbue true souls without the bone garden¡¯s intervention.¡±¡°Why not just use the bone garden then?¡±


    ¡°Because then they wouldn¡¯t be my minions. They¡¯d be self-aware undead that serve themselves rather than me.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I see. But they can still level up?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they can. They also start at half the level they were when they were raised from the dead. So if they started out at level 20, theye back as a level 10 skeleton. Concerning your other question about what kind of minions I can make, I¡¯m a swarm necromancer and have a heavy focus on bone. I have 200 ¡®basic¡¯ undead minion slots and 2 ¡®captain¡¯ undead minion slots that control my other minions. They¡¯re supposed to be intelligent, but again I can¡¯t seem to figure out how to create them without the bone garden and the bone garden doesn¡¯t add them to my minion slots. My ss allows me to specialize between bone, soul, and flesh, and bone is my specialization. So most of my creatures lose their flesh pretty fast, but I can also modify them to build them up with bone from other creatures or even grow new bone to fill in gaps when needed or for extra protection.¡±


    ¡°Can the ¡®captain¡¯ undead minion slots be used on any creature when you figure it out?¡±


    Allie suspiciously grinned, then eyed the bauble. ¡°What exactly is that, Riven? Why are you asking me all these questions?¡±


    Riven touched one hand to his heart and took a step back as if used of something horrible. ¡°Well I just figured that since most of my sack was filled with the the body of the dungeon¡¯s drake boss that I¡¯d ask if you could - you know¡­ use it.¡±


    Allie¡¯s jaw dropped. Her eyesnded on the orange bauble in her hand, then she looked back up to Riven afterwards. ¡°You¡¯re kidding me.¡±


    ¡°Not kidding you.¡± Riven stated cheerily with a finger uplifted. ¡°That¡¯s apression device because we couldn¡¯t fit it into the bag''s opening, but it still took up a lot of mass-space. The dungeon was more than happy to get rid of it instead of filling up the entire damn thing with more of its loot. The body would have gone to waste otherwise. So¡­ if you ever figure out how to use it, there¡¯s your pet drake. It¡¯s pretty big! Careful where you break that bauble because if it shatters the bodyes crashing down.¡±


    ¡°... Well, thank you Riven. You¡¯ve always been very thoughtful of me, even while growing up.¡± His sister gave him the childish, excited grin he used to get whenever he gave her Christmas presents back on Earth when they were young. She palmed the bauble in her hand, then shoved the item into a pocket and pat it down. ¡°It won¡¯t be useable for quite some time, and it¡¯ll probably take up quite a few minion slots from what Mara told me about the rtive strength of minions to necromantic master, but it is certainly appreciated. Perhaps in a few months I¡¯ll have figured it out. You¡¯re the best, as always.¡±


    ***


    <strong>[You currently have 2 requesting trading partners, 0 imed trading ports, and 4 open trading ports. These factions each wish to set up a tradingmune designated in the space enclosed by one of your altar¡¯s tform barriers. Please decline or ept the following faction offers:</strong><ul><li><strong>Negrada, Minor Hellscape Dungeon</strong></li><li><strong>The Blood Moon Requiem]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven touched the screen and mentally selected which port he¡¯d like to utilize. ¡°I ept Negrada¡¯s trade request.¡±


    To his left, one of the stadium-sized tforms came to life with a myriad of lights that lit up the night sky.


    <strong>[The faction: </strong><strong>Negrada, Minor Hellscape Dungeon</strong><strong>, is transferring its tradingmune now. Tradingmune is set to Tier 1, and you may now set up your ownmune on the opposite end of this connection. Setting up your own tradingmune is not a necessity, but those recognized by the altar owner as merchants representing your faction are allowed to cross over via portal ess in the trading port. Tier 2 can be purchased by either trading partner after 1 year¡¯s time. Tier 3 will be unavable until the integration phase is over and the world quests have beenpleted. Please hold.]</strong>


    *POP*


    And just like that, arge red tent appeared, and arge portal appeared beside it.


    The portal itself was wreathed in mes and shifting images revealed what Riven could only assume was the hellscape, with demonic figures roaming about on the other side in more organized a fashion than he was used to - but no sounds came through it whatsoever. Then tent itself was ratherrge and spanned a space not nearly asrge as the area given to the faction to build on, but was more about 40 yards wide and 80 yards long. The depiction of a ck ming eye symbol was imbued onto the front of the tent, and therge tent ps at the front were parted to reveal a couple dozen jabob demons in purple robes, a dozen or so scantily d and cored subi of varying skin tones, a very tall incubus of orange skin and ck hair who held leashes attached to the subi, and a handful of heavily armored purple gargoyles with yellow eyes that each was the size of a rhinoceros.


    Fay immediately hissed in irritation and took a step back, quickly hiding behind Riven to make herself look small when the incubus settled his gaze on her, and the demon smirked at her reaction before leaving the leashes he had with a gargoyle to follow one of the older, bearded jabob demons with a cane.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Riven asked, feeling Fay¡¯s forehead and her small horns push up against his back to hide her face. ¡°You ok?¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Fay uttered a growl, and Ath began tough while walking over and adjusting her tiara.


    ¡°You have a lot to learn about demonic culture, Riven.¡± Ath pat him on the shoulder and watched the two demons from Negrada approach. ¡°A lot to learn.¡±


    Riven frowned, but let Fay stay there to hide in his shadow until the old Jabob demon with the twisted, knotted beard came to a stop before them - evaluating Riven in particr with three bright green eyes that were unlike most Jabob demons Riven was familiar with. Beside the old, red-skinned, ape-like demon - the incubus calmly stepped into ce with eyes firmly glued to him as well.


    ¡°You can tell your subus that I have no intention of trying to im her.¡± The orange, extraordinarily handsome man said. So much so that Allie audibly inhaled a sharp hiss of air. He had a very strong jawline, was toned but not huge, had his ck hair in a ponytail that came to his back and wore a white shirt with brown pants and boots. His wings were simr to Fay¡¯s butrger, and the tail was a lot thicker at the base, while his horns were farrger than Fay¡¯s and curled at the tips. Out of thin air, he produced a stone tablet very simr to a clipboard, and summoned a glowing pen made of red light. ¡°I would not dare anger my master Negrada by attempting to relinquish something that is yours, Riven Thane. Even if I wanted to, I cannot, because my mercantile license through the system does not permit me to attack you on altar grounds unless I was stolen from or attacked first. Not only that but bonded subi familiars are much harder to capture than free-roaming ones anyways. Though I must admit¡­ I would thoroughly enjoy having a blue.¡±


    A blue? Was he referring to Fay¡¯s skin color? Riven nced back over to the other scantily d subi; and noted how there were green, orange, bright white, brown, and purple subi present - each with slightly different features concerning their demonic features.


    Fay¡¯s grip rxed, and she peaked out warily from under Riven¡¯s arm where he held Vampire¡¯s Escort with the staff nted onto the ground.


    Still, she did not move from where she stood behind him.


    Riven remained silent, blinking with one hand on his staff and the other shoved into a pocket, and he shifted his gaze when the old Jabob demon began tough.


    ¡°My name is Fred, and I¡¯m the leader of this tradingmune as a representative for my master, Dungeon Negrada. It is a pleasure, boy.¡± The gnarled hand stretched out for Riven to shake. ¡°This incubus is Zelmontar Shushvar Trok, but you can call him Zelmont.¡±


    Riven stared down at the shorter demon, then epted the handshake firmly with a polite nod. ¡°I assume your name isn¡¯t truly Fred either.¡±


    ¡°No it is not, but it¡¯s an easy enough name to remember and was picked from the knowledge we have of your world. My actual name is Forskar Mentunivini Chubrakwanton. But you can just call me Fred.¡±


    Riven chuckled and released the grip, gesturing to Ath - who was ring daggers at the incubus as if daring him to do something, and then Azmoth. ¡°These are my minions Ath, Azmoth and Fay. This is my sister Allie, as well as her advisors Mara, Nin, and Vin. And this is Gurth¡¯Rok. I¡¯ve got to admit, I¡¯m rather curious as to what you can offer us and what we can offer you at such an early stage in the integration process. I appreciate the gesture from Negrada, he didn¡¯t seem like too bad a guy there at the end of my stay, but it is nevertheless confusing to see him wanting to establish trade connections. We barely have a civilization set up to begin with and don¡¯t have much in the way of production or goods yet. Do you mind exining why he chose toe?¡±


    The red, ape-like demon stroked his beard thoughtfully and then examined the surroundingndscape - eyes settling on the partially terraformed tower in the distance. Though ntlife and animal life had changed thoroughly for miles through the Altar¡¯s work, it hadn¡¯t changed the buildings of Brightsville. ¡°Truthfully I¡¯m slightly confused myself. I was hoping you¡¯d know, but it is not my ce to question the master. If I had to guess, it is that he sees a lot of potential in you and your newly growing civilization. It is a rarity for him to invest in such younglings like this, most of our trading partners are other dungeons or established factions in the hells, but truthfully the curiosity of it all makes me quite keen on being here. I¡¯m excited to see things unfold, as no doubt time will tell us both why we were sent. This is your first time experiencing an altar¡¯s trading system, yes?¡±


    Riven nodded, as did Allie and the others.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll start with the basics. First and foremost the system store is essed by putting a hand on the central spire there - the one with the halo of green fire surrounding its top. It generally has marked-up prices and you should only buy from there if you¡¯re desperate. Tradingmunes are the primary way civilizations trade off world. Withrger negotiations there are some who trade via other means to avoid the 1% system tax on their Elysium Coins with any trade deal, but that usually isn¡¯t worth the effort unless the quantities are huge or the item tiers are vastly greater than the world tier. It¡¯s pretty simple otherwise. We take goods from the dungeon and present them here, with Tier 1munes like this one being limited in size as well as the scope of what we can bring. Communes are also limited for what they can bring over by the tier of worlds, and because this is what the system considers a F-ss world we get taxed much more for even attempting to bring over any higher tier goods.¡±


    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve heard of world-tiers.¡± Allie stated with a raised hand to interrupt the two. ¡°Is F-ss bad?¡±


    ¡°F-ss is usually what all worlds start out at when they integrate, it isn¡¯t anything to be ashamed of.¡± Fred the jabob shrugged, supporting his weight more heavily on his gnarled cane. ¡°It just means that if we bring over SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D or E-ss items that we¡¯ll be taxed exponentially for even the transfer of goods. It works like this: If Negrada sends over supplies that arebeled F-ss to this F-ss world, we only get taxed 1% on transactions for anything we sell. If we give you F-ss items for free in an F-ss world then we get taxed by another base percentage of 1000% of the item¡¯s average worth, which will certainly not happen from Negrada¡¯s standpoint I can tell you right now. And free stuff is even ouwed by Elysium in newly integrating worlds to stop unfair advantages from happening until the world has been entirely imed by one native entity or an invasion force with a token. E-ss items we supply to you will be taxed at 100% the the normal value on top of the sale price. D-ss items we supply an F-ss world with will be taxed 1000% the average cosmic price. C-ss items we supply an F-ss world with will be taxed 10,000% the average cosmic price. This goes on, adding zeros for each tier above the world tier until you get to SSS tier, which nobody in their right mind would ever sell if they ever managed to get such an item. But theoretically, if we brought over an SSS-ss item to an F-ss world, the tax on what the system considers the average price to be would amount to a %10,000,000,000 mark up.¡±


    The demon huffed as Riven¡¯ did the numbers in his head.


    ¡°If the items arebeled as ¡®Elite,¡¯ within their item tier it also increases the value with another 0. If it isbeled as ¡®Legendary¡¯ by the system within their item tier, like that soul-woven set you have there girl-¡± The jabob poked at Allie¡¯s bone armor, and then her wand. ¡°That status will elevate the price by two zeros on top of whatever the normal tax would be. These percentages are between all altars, even those within the same faction. And that, my friends, was all meant to exin why we have only taken F-ss items with us to thismune!¡±


    The incubus Zelmont chuckled and shook his head, scribbling down notes with his magical red-light pen while evaluating their surroundings as well as the three other unupiedmune trade ports on the altar¡¯s 3-square-mile tform. ¡°That was rather long-winded. I have a question for the master of this altar-¡±


    Zelmont gestured to the other trade ports. ¡°Do you have any others that you¡¯re going to be setting up shop with sometime soon?¡±


    Fred frowned and scoffed up at the other, taller demon. ¡°How in Negrada¡¯s name would a ce like this get another trading agreement moments after establishing an altar? You do realize this is a newly integrated world, right? You¡¯re being rude.¡±


    Zelmont rolled his eyes and tapped his pen on the stone tablet clipboard he carried. ¡°I am only being practical, <em>Fred</em>. I don¡¯t expect them to have other off-worlders of note here, but it is still certainly possible that they have other on-world trading ports with other Panu-based altars.¡±


    ¡°Why does it matter?¡± Riven asked curiously.


    The two demon men turned his way.


    ¡°Well we can trade with anyone inside the altar¡¯s boundaries.¡± Zelmont stated with a polite smile. ¡°So if you are able to get more factions established within your altar, we are able to trade with them through this connection. It¡¯s more profitable for everyone present if you have all of your four trading ports filled. Taxes go up even more ifmunes trade with one another, but we won¡¯t bore you with those details like Fred did earlier and it wont'' effect your own trading prospects at all.¡±


    Fred scowled up at the incubus who yed dumb to the re, and Riven smirked at the interaction.


    ¡°I see. Well, there is one other faction that I have yet to ept. I was wanting to talk to you first.¡±


    ¡°Oh!?¡± Fred¡¯s eyes perked up, and he rubbed his knotted hands together with a vigorous smile while Zelmont pulled some kind of drink out of a spatial bag at his side and began to sip. ¡°That is splendid news! We also appreciate the gesture of good faith in speaking to us ahead of the other. I assume it is an on-world ally you¡¯ve made?¡±


    Riven and Allie exchanged looks.


    ¡°No.¡± Riven said, pulling up his altar¡¯s functions screen out of his own status page to view the notice. ¡°It¡¯s something called The Blood Moon Requiem. Ever heard of it?¡±


    Zelmont immediately choked on his drink and sprayed it out all over the ground, eyes going wide as Fred froze in shock. The incubus blinked and wiped off the liquid from his chin, then scowled in disbelief. ¡°I may have heard wrong and excuse my rudeness, but could you repeat what you just said? I think I may have misheard you.¡±

 Chapter 120

    Chapter 120


    <strong>Chapter 120</strong>


    Trumpets sounded, and drums reverberated across the broad street between towering marble buildings of monumental architecture.


    Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th, eldest daughter to the Duke and Dutchess of House of Crushada, 107th in line for the vampiric throne, was nervously waving to the crowds of vampires while they roared with thunderous apuse.


    Red flower petals poured down from the balconies and airships far overhead as an orange dawn broke the horizon and cast the beautiful hues of sunrise on the capital of their world. The prophecy concerning Riven and Allie had been spot on, marking the exact time and date that their altar woulde into being and connect their world with the homnd they¡¯d fallen so far from.


    The return of a prince and princess was a big deal. To the senate, to the noble houses, to the High Queen Nephridi, and even to the masses. Even more so, it was a big deal to the enemies of their empire. It marked both the beginning of political discontent amongst the power yers of their civilization, and marked The Blood Moon Requiem as an increasing threat to the surrounding systems of their controlled sects of space, but it was also symbolic in nature to their empire¡¯s citizens. The queen¡¯s favorite granddaughter was still missing, but her granddaughter''s children had been found, and of all the citizens of their empire - the royal family had always produced the best and brightest of The Blood Moon Requiem. It symbolized potential, potential for the rise of a new chapter in their great dynasty, and it added yet another powerful cog to thework of prophetic potential that the royals represented. The royal bloodline was one of extreme power, and having not one - but TWO more of them capable of malignant prophecy would only further ensure the security of their people. After all, though Malignant Prophecy was found only within the royal lineage of their empire - only 20 of their number had ever been able to use this gift and was often found skipping generations despite aggressive or selective breeding practices.


    Well, now that number was 22.


    Kathrine continued to glide down the paved streets towards the brilliantly lit pce, and despite the sunlight - she was not bothered by the re. It had long been the case that their homeworld was granted a great boon by the queen, allowing all vampires in their homnd to walk in the light as daywalkers would. And for that, Kathrine was truly appreciative. Some things could only have their beauty appreciated in the light.


    Her long, perfectlybed and straight brown hair only barely shifted with each step she took at the front of the small column. The long, beautifully made ck dress of embroidered red flowers that matched her glowing eyes flowed out behind her. Handpicked apprentices to elite military branches, all at the maximum level of 90 that the system would allow into the integrating world, marched in ck, gray and red te armor of intricate designs, huge pauldrons, visored plumed helms and metal boots. Each handpicked soldier wore elegantly crafted swords at their sides that were a cross between a scimitar and a longsword, runes etched into their des, with g-adorned halberds and tower shields disying a ck background behind a red crescent moon.


    Ahead of her, up a wide flight of steps, positioned on the raised tform above the roaring crowds in front of the pce gates, was High Queen Nephridi in all her elegance. The long-lived matriarch of their empire was the undisputed powerhouse that ruled this sector of the gxy, a true terror to their enemies and beloved by the people she lorded over that were not the lesser being ved for livestock. Beside High Queen Nephridi were Kathrine¡¯s parents, the Duke and Dutchess of House Crushada, given a ce of honor in this ceremony after Kathrine was chosen to be the voice of their empire on Panu. They¡¯d even been ced in front of the high queen¡¯s own children and prince Jalel, the man who¡¯d found the two new royals. Kathrine was still very young, slightly older than Riven and Allie actually, and met the low level requirements to enter the temporarily quarantined frontier world. She was the only member of the royal bloodline that met this qualification, and had been the youngest of their line up until the discovery of the new prince and princess.Her parents had obviously been thrilled, but this in turn had caused friction between House Crushada and the other royal branch families that were jealous of the sudden favor bestowed upon them. It was written upon the faces of their rivals even now as the noble houses looked down on her approach from the tform above with thinly veiled contempt.


    Most normal citizens would not recognize it for what it was, but after being raised as aristocracy - it was easily noticeable to her. It was evident in the way their eyes narrowed by the barest margin of a fraction, by the way they shifted slightly in their stance as if ready to pounce, or could be seen in the way their lips twitched at the corners of their mouths while they watched her walk forward.


    She started up the marble steps, blood-red flower petals continuing to shower her in a drifting cloud of elegance while gs above shifted along a warm breeze. Keeping her posture perfect and eyes on the steps in front of her, she tried to contain the pounding of her heart.


    Until she finally arrived.


    She found herself kneeling at the edge of the tform, and arge portal behind the nobility and directed to their chosen altar ripped through space to show the rest of the tradingmune awaiting her arrival on the other side.


    ¡°Kathrine vonsi Crusahda the 9th¡­¡± High Queen Nephridi said softly, her words of palpable power echoing out above the trumpets and drums to silence them immediately along with the apuse of the crowd. ¡°I wee you, child, and congratte you on your selection.¡±


    The queen¡¯s own dark brown hair was decorated with red flowers over a form-fitting in white dress, and the usual ruby amulet around her neck sparkled in the sunlight. Her young, extraordinarily beautiful features smiled warmly down at her distant niece, and a light touch ushered Kathrine to stand and meet her gaze.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Thank you, majesty.¡± Kathrine stated with sped handed in front of her, not daring to look over at her parents for emotional support despite how much she wanted to. This was without doubt the most important event of her life thus far, and she was deathly afraid of messing up.


    Queen Nephridi gave an amused hum of contentment, red eyes looking her younger rtive up and down approvingly, and she reached a hand out to fix Kathrine¡¯s cor where it¡¯d been ruffled by wind.


    Kathrine blushed in embarrassment, keeping her eyes on the queen¡¯s chest, but didn¡¯t move.


    ¡°I hope you realize the importance of what you are doing.¡± Queen Nephridi said softly, her words still easily heard over the vast expanse of the long mainstreet leading through the capital where hundreds of thousands or even millions of people were now gathered. ¡°Despite my power, I am unable to intervene directly with the events on this new. Panu, I believe it to be called. You will be my eyes and ears, a more direct line ofmunication, and will be responsible for guiding them back home. Despite the trainers, advisors, teachers, and resources we supply, it is a very real possibility that both the prince and princess will die in uing years. I know you never experienced one for yourself, being born in an already established world, but integration trials are not easy. Above all else, the invading armies of other kingdoms will no doubt soon be aware of their existence, and be it murder or a hostage situation for political gain - they will seek to harm both Riven and Allie. And you. Their world is far from our own borders, and we cannot spare the legions we have on a crusade so far from ournds. That means that, aside from the trade ess and benefits thereof, we will be unable to send aid. Their altar could be attacked at any moment, assassins coulde for you or them, and you must be aware of the risks. Do you still willingly ept this position as the mouth of the empire in my stead?¡±


    There was a palpable silence as Kathrine Vonsi Crushada, eldest daughter to the Duke and Dutchess of House Crushada, took in a breath. ¡°I humbly and willingly ept this position of honor, your majesty.


    Kathrine bowed, and the crowds roared with approval.


    ¡°Good.¡± The queen smiled, ncing over to Kathrine¡¯s beaming parents with a nod. ¡°Prepare yourself Kathrine, the portal is ready, and the prince has just epted our trade agreement as prophesied. It is time you leave, and if you ever need anything - you know where to find me.¡±


    ***


    Kathrine stepped onto a tform of ck metal tes underneath a star-filled night sky. Overhead a ck spire familiar to her as an unholy-oriented altar disyed a green halo of mes, and a chill night breeze rustled her ck and red dress.


    Standing behind her were the advisors, trainers, merchants, and other important people of the empire that The Blood Moon Requiem had sent over to Panu. Behind them still were two columns of heavily armored soldiers, all level 90, all elites for their level and grade. Their tower shields and halberds waving with the ck g of the crescent red moon blew in the wind just as Kathrine¡¯s brown hair did, and her glowing eyes settled onto two sets of simr gazes not far off.


    She briefly nced behind her, looking up at the small stone keep with towers and battlements that¡¯d been sent over as their version of the trademune, and she nervously took in another deep breath before solidifying her resolve and walking forward. To know that the eyes of the entire empire were on her right now through scrying abilities crossing the portal was¡­ intimidating, to say the least.


    Two of her thrall servants, both older human men in nicely fitted satin robes with cleanly cut beards, followed behind her mutely. Each carried a small intricately carved box made from ebony and tinum, with the royal crest of the blood moon depicted on the lids.


    Holding her head high in front of the rather shoddy-looking bunch of characters, Kathrine came to a stop only ten feet away. It was an odd bunch: demons, orcs, various undead, and even a human who was no thrall in the background, all stared at her silently. She looked right to the other tradingmune that¡¯d been set up. It was from a small and insignificant dungeon from the hellscapes that¡¯d been part of Riven¡¯s tutorial process to her knowledge, and she was rather uninterested in the lot as they stared her way.


    Refocusing on her primary objectives, she politely smiled and briefly curtsied. ¡°My name is Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th, eldest daughter to the Duke and Dutchess of House of Crushada, 107th in line for the vampiric throne. I believe we are distant cousins, Riven and Allie Thane, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintances.¡±


    There was a pause as Allie and Riven exchanged looks.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ Well this is unexpected and I¡¯m not quite sure how to react.¡± Riven, the newly found prince said while scratching the back of his head. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, but¡­ you¡¯re really rted to my mom and dad then?¡±


    ¡°Told you!¡± Ath crowed from the background with augh while the jabob demon and incubus nearby just gawked in muted silence.


    Before Kathrine could reply, the princess butted in.


    ¡°Do you know if my mother is back in your world?¡± Allie asked with a concerned furrow of her brows. ¡°Do you know anything about her disappearance?¡±


    Kathrine opened her mouth to speak, unsure of how to reply, but hesitantly shook her head. ¡°We are not sure where Princess Sheline is, I am sorry. High Queen Nephridi hopes to find her though, and informed me to tell you both that - should you ask about it - ongoing efforts to find her granddaughter and her granddaughter''s husband are underway in full force.¡±


    Allie¡¯s face fell in dismay, but she nodded in eptance with a glum expression.


    Riven¡¯s disappointment was apparent too, and he held out a hand to take his sister¡¯s in his own. Gently squeezing it, he gave her whispered words of encouragement - something that was somewhat of a shock to Kathrine. Growing up in an aristocratic family, shows of affection like this in public were often frowned upon and considered signs of weakness. However the prince and princess did it so openly, so tantly, that it temporarily stunned Kathrine into silence.


    She had to remind herself that her own upbringing was far different from those of these two newfound royals, and internally considered what it would mean and how much she¡¯d have to teach them about court life and the proper way to hold oneself in the public eye.


    ¡°Riven and Allie Thane, or better said - Riven and Allie of House Wraithtide, we have much to speak about.¡± Kathrine gestured towards the immacte keep that theirmune had set up in. ¡°Would it be alright if we speak in private? There are many sensitive topics I¡¯d like to discuss, and I¡¯m sure you have lots of questions.¡±


    But before Riven or Allie could reply, the thrall servant next to Kathrine let out an abrupt scream. He dropped the present from the queen while falling to his knees, clutched at his bulging gut, and his body exploded in a hail of blood and silver shrapnel imbued with white fire that raced towards all three of the royals like homing missiles.


    Kathrine had little time to register the assassination attempt in her confusion before hot, searing anti-vampire metals and enchantments ripped through her abdomen and soared straight for Allie¡¯s head.

 Chapter 121

    Chapter 121


    <strong>Chapter 121</strong>


    Blood and viscera tore through Kathrine¡¯s abdomen and white sparks of high-speed shrapnel sted towards Allie¡¯s face with a high-pitched screeching sound that dulled the senses. Allie¡¯s eyes went wide, Kathrine let out a horrified scream, the heavily armed guards jolted forward with shouts of rm, and more of the ring metals continued to st out of the exploding thrall to head towards the three royals.


    <strong>*THUMP*</strong>


    <strong>*THUMP*</strong>


    <strong>*THUMP*</strong>


    The world turned into shades of gray, ck, and red; slowing momentarily and then speeding back up within the course of a few seconds.


    The metals whipped forward and shredded Allie¡¯s face, neck, and brain - sending gray matter peeling out the back of her skull and letting her body slump to the floor. Riven saw himself scream out and rush towards her only to get sted himself, being ripped apart a thousand times over by a swarm of small burning metals that eviscerated his body and tore the head cleanly off Kathrine¡¯s riddled body.


    They were all so close to the thrall that¡¯d ruptured and there¡¯d been so little time to react¡­ it was inevitable. The guards hadn¡¯t been able to take more than two steps forward even despite super-human speed before all three of the vampiric nobility were utterly torn apart in a storm of white fire, glowing metal and body parts that refused to heal. The nearest guard to them stumbled to a stuttering stop, gawking and dropping his halberd in utter dismay at witnessing the carnage before them. Ath screamed, Azmoth looked on in shock, and Fay put her hands up over her mouth in horror right before all three demons were ripped from this ne of existence and vanished into portals leading into theher realms.


    And thus, Riven watched himself die over and over again - the image reying in front of him.Riven¡¯s eyes dted and the world around him abruptly calmed on the fifth rey, slowing down just when three shimmering fragments of metal were within an inch of Allie¡¯s face. Thend around them was still tinged in shades of ck, red, and gray, and the familiar out-of-body experience halted space all around him as cold, resonating energy rippled across his skin.


    His ethereal body, a replica of his own but without physical representation stood staring at the scene before them - blinking red eyes and looking down at a hand created from gray wisps of mist.


    <strong>[Malignant Prophecy has activated.</strong>


    <strong>Desired Action: High Tier Maniption. Current Willpower stat: -380. Sufficient Willpower to perform desired action. Performing this act will put your malignant prophecy on cooldown for significant amounts of time. Do you wish to proceed?]</strong>


    *THUMP*


    *THUMP*


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    <strong>[Desired action: Save yourself, Allie, and Kathrine from impending death. Malignant Prophecy¡¯s two options are as follows:</strong><ul><li><strong>Option 1: Create an exact replica of miniature rifts in space to match iing projectiles by. At least 137 individual miniature rifts must be properly timed and created to divert all vital strikes. Up to 320 individual miniature rifts can be created at short distances and at enough of a narrow space-time before your mana runs out. Chance for sess: High.</strong></li><li><strong>Option 2: You must force Core of Original Sin - Gluttony, to awaken early. This will empower you enough to survive and devour iing projectiles, but it will greatly damage your soul¡¯s Blood Sub-pir to the point of non-use. Chance for sess: High.]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[Desired action has been selected: Option 1: Create an exact replica of miniature rifts in space to match iing projectiles by. At least 137 individual miniature rifts must be properly timed and created to divert all vital strikes. Up to 320 individual miniature rifts can be created at short distances and at enough of a narrow space-time before your mana runs out. Chance for sess: High.]</strong>


    Immediately time unfroze and the colors of the world went back to more normal hues.


    Blood and viscera tore through Kathrine¡¯s abdomen and white sparks of high-speed shrapnel made from silver sted towards Allie¡¯s face with a high-pitched screeching sound that dulled the senses. Allie¡¯s eyes went wide, Kathrine let out a horrified scream, the heavily armed guards jolted forward with shouts of rm, and more of the ring metals continued to st out of the exploding thrall to head towards the three royals.


    A half-secondter and ming white-hot shrapnel was within a centimeter of Allie¡¯s head, and less than a millisecond after that a small ck rift opened up in between her and the iing missile that would mark her death.


    Riven¡¯s hand shot forward and dozens upon dozens of small rifts in space blew holes open around them, each one only an inch in diameter with a cost far less than a normal riftwalk. His red eyes quivered and shot back and forth at insurmountable speeds while following the patterns Malignant Prophecy drew out in his mind, and his Shadow Sub-pir red to life.


    Missiles intended for himself, Allie, and Kathrine were all simultaneously swallowed in the blink of an eye and wereunched elsewhere onto the surroundingndscape around them. Explosions of hot-white mes dotted the ck floor of the altar, and the sound of metal scraping on metal could be heard when many of the projectiles came to a grinding, sparking halt.


    Riven¡¯s heart pounded in his chest, and blood leaked from his nose as his body shuddered. He dropped to one knee, vision going in and out while shouts from his allies and the vampires rushing over to help Kathrine up quickly started healing her and making sure he was ok.


    He heard the enraged screams of Allie not but momentster, felt the strong armored ws of Azmoth pick his sagging body up, and then his mind faded into darkness as he passed out from the strain on his body.


    <strong>[Your maniption of fate has gained you 3 Malignancy Points.</strong>


    <strong>Current total Malignancy Points: 4]</strong>


    ***


    Jalel ran a hand up through his short, silver hair. He watched, awestruck, as the queen¡¯s fury was unleashed on the idiot who¡¯d tried to circumvent Elysium¡¯s bws in order to kill the three younglings on the integrating world. If the man had only tried to kill Kathrine, that¡¯d be one thing. He¡¯d have seeded, without any trace of what he¡¯d done. But even despite being many millennia old and being well over level 1000, this moron had still failed to cover up his tracks well enough to subvert the wrath of Elysium¡¯s administrator.


    Within mere seconds of the assassination attempt being orchestrated, curses of magnitudes far greater than Jalel had ever seen visibly washed over the greater noble while his body began to rot and whither.


    But it only took mere seconds for Queen Nephridi to realize what her distant cousin had tried to do to her nieces and nephew, and she¡¯d acted to save her cousin so that she may exact vengeance herself.


    And she was certainly making an example of the man.


    The prince, once the head of a great house of their empire, was stripped naked of clothes and titles before being nailed on a cross right there on the tform in front of the entire empire. She¡¯d yed his skin from his body, torn scars through his very soul, eviscerated him over a hundred times, broken all his bones dozens of times over and was slowly pulling his brain out of his skull just fast enough to keep him alive while he regenerated it bit by bit inside his head.


    All the while, the queen wore a cold expression of contempt as he and his family begged for his life while he let out inhuman screams of pain. And all the while, the crowd jeered and cheered to keep it going while chanting for his death.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Jalel understood why his rtive would have tried it. The situation represented a great opportunity, one he could capitalize on to kill otherpetitors in the aristocracy. Kathrine in particr was of a house that this man had conflicting interests with off world concerningpeting tradingpanies and ve harvesting along the border of their empire, but Kathrine is where the man should have stopped. He¡¯d gotten greedy, foolishly thinking his use of a thrall would not tag him as the perpetrator of the crime. Perhaps the man had used multiple lines, multiple people beneath him, one after the other to pass the traitorous message along so that he wasn¡¯t immediately responsible for the act. Perhaps the man had not thought Riven or Allie to have a full grasp on their Malignant Prophecy¡¯s powers yet.


    But he should have known better, and Jalel could only shake his head at the absolute idiocy of it all.


    ¡°Quite the bold move.¡± Another man on Jalel¡¯s left said, and his red eyes shifted to where another aristocrat, another prince by the name of Blosuth, calmly watched the torturous execution with an unwavering gaze. ¡°What an amateur. He deserves to die simply for the inability to properly carry out a n, and even moreso for poor judgement of time and ce. He should have left it at Kathrine and the system wouldn¡¯t have intervened.¡±


    Blusoth adjusted his ornate, tinum-trimmed silver robes and smoothed back his blonde hair. His lips quirked into a predatory grin and his sideways nce at Jalel was met in stoic repercussion. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be like that dear cousin. I¡¯m just voicing my thoughts is all. I had been wondering if you were going to be the one to try it, unfortunate that wasn¡¯t the case. It appears you have more of a brain on your shoulders than I¡¯d anticipated.¡±


    ¡°I fail to connect the dots on why you¡¯d think I¡¯d attempt to assassinate the newly found royals.¡± Jalel stated tly, hands clenched in the pockets of his well-made ck robe-suit and fingernails digging into his skin as he tried to subdue his rage. His red eyes narrowed. ¡°Do enlighten me.¡±


    Blusoth smiled widely, exposing his fangs as red flowerpetals from above them continued to shower the crowds; as the screams of the tortured man not far off echoed out above the shouts for his death. ¡°My dear cousin, I just find it humorous you tried to hide what you found there; deep in the heart of hell.¡±


    Jalel¡¯s blood ran cold, and he stiffened even despite an act of willpower to not do so. His pale face got paler, and the reaction was all Blusoth needed to startughing. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean by that, Blusoth. Stop speaking in riddles.¡±


    ¡°Ohe now.¡± Blusoth teased, nudging past Jalel to step away with a paused, backwards nce. ¡°I wonder what the queen would think if she noticed you failed to mention the shard held within Riven¡¯s soul. Perhaps, if you pamper me enough with bribes, the money may make me forget that little bit of¡­ oversight. However, should you fail to do so, it may very well be that I identally let it slip. Who knows. Anyways, have a jolly time with the show! I¡¯ll see you around, cousin!¡±


    Blusoth sneered and continued his step, walking away and across the tform to where some of his concubines awaited his return, and Jalel¡¯s heartbeat raced as he silently pondered on what to do. Did he kill Blusoth to try and silence him? If so, how would he do it? Could he even do it if he wanted to? And if not, how much money was Blusoth going to milk out of him before Jalel was a broken beggar of a man?


    And what was even worse, was that Blusoth and possibly other nobles of the court now had knowledge of Riven¡¯s shard. Of his building core of Gluttony. How had they found out!? That piece of Gluttony was his, NOT Blusoth¡¯s! Jalel had been the one to find it, and he¡¯d be the one to im it! Jalel¡¯s forehead popped with a vein as internal rage boiled up to the surface, and he silently swore to himself as he concocted a new n to get him out of this mess.


    ***


    Two days had passed and the meeting with the rat man Snagger wasing up very soon. Gurth¡¯Rok and the greenskins had been ced as overseers of the enved adult elves and areas ofnd for farming had been designated in the fields adjacent to the Elysium Altar, with the elves being particrly good at growing crops due to their affinities and nt-based magic. The elf children had been sent to the tower at the center of Brightsville where they were enrolled in re-education programs under the thumb of their new undead teachers. Their entire force had been fed easily enough by buying various foodstuffs from the altar¡¯s central spire - the general system store, or from Negrada. They''d used half of Riven¡¯s umted money, but this also allowed them to stock up on enough food tost their entire small nation - ves included - for at least half a year.


    The Yellow Skull Tribe as well as the adult elves had been ced under direct supervision by Riven while Allie maintained control of the undead part of their faction. Allie was assimting smaller groups of humans either by force or by coercion in the northern reaches of the city, and the Thane Necropolis now controlled the entire eastern, north-eastern, southern, and central grounds of the city with only northwestern and western reaches being controlled by other, smaller groups. The western reach was now controlled by the convicts in the prison, who¡¯d enved most other small groups in the area and were living like kings while abusing their lessers - and the northwest part of the city was still being battled over by numerous gangs in the suburbs that refused to bow to anyone or anything. They were high on the newfound power their sses gave them, obsessed with the new inhuman powers the system brought, and were determined to remain free of others despite the Allie''s announcement dering Brightsville as under the control of the Thane Necropolis in the cortex forums.


    Meanwhile meetings with The Blood Moon Requiem had indefinitely been put on hold, and Riven was half tempted to banish them from the face of their despite pleas and apologies offered by Kathrine or her subordinates. He didn¡¯t necessarily me Kathrine and he also wanted to know more about his parents, which were both reasons why he hadn¡¯t outright dismissed their tradingmune from the altar, but nevertheless he and Allie had almost been killed that night.


    And his malignancy points, of which he still didn¡¯t now the true value of detriment of, had built because of it. Whatever it was, his body had ached and asionally spasmed for more than a day after doing what he¡¯d done to avoid death. Allie had theorized this was inrge part because of how he¡¯d split his ¡®Riftwalk¡¯ spell into numerous and very small versions of itself, which had likely damaged his mana channels due to the overdrive of power he¡¯d experienced, but he wasn¡¯t entirely convinced that was the case.


    But now he was finally recovered, and standing outside the chapel next to Jose¡¯s tombstone in thete hours of dusk, Riven was about to conjure his guild hall.


    <strong>[Guild Hall: Stone Manor</strong>


    <strong>*nt this at a chosen location to create your pre-made guild hall. This is a packaged, one time use item*</strong><ul><li><strong>Homeward Teleportation: Very long channel time</strong></li><li><strong>15 attendant spots avable, 600 Elysium Coins per month per active attendant are taxed by the system administrator</strong></li><li><strong>3 mile exploration radius for attendants before forced retrieval back to guild hall</strong></li><li><strong>Core Sturdiness: Moderate</strong></li><li><strong>Defensive wards: None</strong></li><li><strong>Other features: Library, kitchen, dungeon, cer, armory]</strong></li></ul>


    His demons were obviously there. Azmoth was stoically standing by, ying around with hisrge magma-imbued hammer but being very careful not to damage anything in the area under strict orders from Riven. Fay was somehow telepathically talking to her brother in the outer realms, letting him know that they¡¯d contact him soon for a guild hall contract. Dr. Brass, Gurth¡¯Rok, and Genua were all present. Dr. Brass was excitedly shifting back and forth, knowing full well that his impending turn into a vampire was going to be done tonight, and was animatedly talking to Ath about it on the sidelines. Genua wore a heavy iron cor and shackles, was chained to a nearby tree, and was ring up at the others with ill-hidden rage. Gurth¡¯Rok was merely here to talk to Riven about how things were going on integrating the greenskins into the city, but had told Riven he¡¯d wait until the manor was summoned and explored before going into any details as they weren¡¯t urgent.


    ¡°Hurry it up!¡± Ath called from the back. ¡°Dr. Brass is talking my ear off! It¡¯s torturous!¡±


    Riven chuckled and looked over his shoulder to where the old man quickly scowled Ath¡¯s way. ¡°Alright! Alright, hold on.¡±


    The rod he held in his hands was quite simr in design but different in color to the altar rod he¡¯d used to create the enormous structure not far off from their current location. Only a few miles away through the silver, death-attuned fields to the south, over the hundreds of tents and small wooden houses being built by the orcs and goblins, over the pens and farnd upied by the enved woond elves, the unholy altar and its halo of green mes was easily seen in the distance. The rod was blue and gray, with a simple power stone in the pommel and a sharp pointed end to jab the thing into the ground.


    Which he promptly did, and a notification screen appeared soon thereafter.


    <strong>[Do you wish to activate the item ¡®Guild Hall: Stone Manor¡¯? Doing so willy im to the guild hall that forms: allowing you to ess the guild hall functions, enlist attendants through contract, and assign it to a guild. This guild hall will take up approximately 7000 square feet ofnd, and is approximately 60 feet tall at its highest point.]</strong>


    Pictures and visions of the guild hall disyed next. It was a rather luxurious-looking stone mansion, 3 stories high, and was very simr to Victorian-style architecture with a rectangr build. It had a wide tower climbing up over the front entrance, stone gargoyles holding up the balconies, and a wide metal gate around the front courtyard with gardens in the back. Inside, red carpets lined hallways with empty picture frames on the walls. There was an indoor pool with a skylight, arge dining room and kitchen, dozens of empty rooms for living in or storage areas, a library at the top of the central tower and arge meeting area for social gatherings in the front that wasn¡¯t necessarily a ball-room but had the same feel.


    Visualizing where he wanted the guild hall in his mind. He made sure that the willow tree over Jose¡¯s grave - now changed into an unholy-oriented tree species that stood up straighter with slightly glowing neon-teal leaves - was ced in the center of the garden out back, and incorporated the chapel¡¯s garden into it while building the manor adjacent to the old chapel so that they¡¯d be able to touch up the ruined building and make it an extension of their guild hallter on.


    <strong>[Activating ¡®Guild Hall: Stone Manor¡¯. Please hold.]</strong>

 Chapter 122

    Chapter 122


    <strong>Chapter 122</strong>


    shes of multi-colored light erupted from the nting rod, and over the course of minutes Riven¡¯s guild hall came into fruition.


    After moving around to the front of the building, it was just like the pictures. Arge central tower was present over the main entrance where very thick, wooden double doors with enormous ringed knocker handles on the outside. The upper floors on the third level had balconies, each with a stone gargoyle depicted to hold them up on the underside. Metal barred fences of expensive design began encircling not only the garden of beautiful unholy-attuned flowers and chapel in the back with Jose¡¯s tree, but also the slides and the front of the property too. The front contained a courtyard with a gate and a cobblestone road leading out to it, with a lot of empty space inbetween.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± Riven asked with a backwards nce at the others.


    Fay picked up Genua¡¯s chain and tugged the cored elf to her feet, winking Riven¡¯s way. ¡°After you, master!¡±


    Riven tantly ignored the subus, walked up to the double doors and pushed. They opened with a slight creek at first, but then silently glided to a stop.


    Lanterns, not lit by me - but instead lit by yellow baubles of light - rested on a rather short main hallway leading into the much bigger greeting room that was at least thirty feet tall. On either side of therge, square, mostly empty room wererge hallways with red carpets on top of wooden floors. Arge spiral staircase with a guardrail was ced in the back-left corner of the greeting room, tworge brown leather couches sat facing one another in the middle of the room, and tall ss windows halfway up the wall let in light in addition to thentern¡¯s magical glow.


    Riven pped his hands and gave a nod of approval. ¡°Not too shabby. Spread out and explore everyone - and meet back in twenty minutes! While you¡¯re at it, pick out a room if you¡¯re living here. Fay and Ath - I think there¡¯s a dungeon here somewhere. Find it and lock Genua up for me.¡±


    ¡°Yessir!¡± The subus saluted and bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly, tail flipping merrily around before dragging the elf away in search of a staircase leading downwards.Genua struggled with failed attempts to pull back, getting smacked hard in the back of the head by Ath and stumbling while bing outwardly enraged. ¡°You¡¯re just going to dump me underground!?¡±


    ¡°Yup! At least for now anyways. You¡¯ll maybe be given a chance to redeem yourselfter.¡± Riven said with a salute and a wave, just as she was tugged out of sight and into an adjacent hallway by the two demons. ¡°Now¡­ let¡¯s see what this ce has to offer.¡±


    The hallway to the right was shorter than the one on the left. Each room they passed was outfitted with very basic feather bedding, a small mirror, a nightstand, a closet, a ss window that had thick wooden shutters which could be locked, and a dresser for clothes. There was amunal toilet in the hall as well, likely to be in every hall by the looks of theyout, which had small power stones with storm-pir affinities that powered the toilets and sinks.


    ¡°Pretty neat.¡± Riven said while turning the sink on and off again, and flushing the toilet. The toilets were a little different from the ones back home, and didn¡¯t have a back to them. Rather they were just round, wooden bowls one sat on with piping that led elsewhere. ¡°Any idea where the waste goes?¡±


    Dr. Brass shrugged and adjusted his sses while peering down into the bowl. ¡°Maybe it dumps it all outside, or has a portal of some sort?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s as good a guess as I could think of. Maybe you¡¯re right. When are you going to ditch the white coat?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm?¡± The old man looked down at his doctor¡¯s uniform, thenughed. ¡°Oh, this old thing? I think I¡¯ll keep it. Maybe even repair it, the coat reminds me of back home before the world fell apart.¡±


    Riven returned the doctor¡¯s sad smile with a nod. ¡°I get it. You doing ok?¡±


    Dr. Brass slowly held up his hands to either side. ¡°As good as one could get in a situation like this. I think I¡¯ll be more ok whenever you turn me tonight, I¡¯ve been looking forward to it for a while. But¡­ have you thought about my need for blood as well?¡±


    Riven straightened with a confused expression and walked out into the hall with the doctor in tow, stepping out of the way of Azmoth who was checking out arge supply closet with Gurth¡¯Rok. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    The two men started down the hall again, this time towards therger door at the very end that was different from all the others - likely leading to something that caused this hallway to be shorter than the opposite one.


    ¡°I mean that you have Genua to feed on, but what about me?¡± Dr. Brass eventually said, stopping in the hallway and turning to meet Riven¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯m going to need someone to feed on regrly too.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That.¡± Riven gestured out a window in the direction of the fields. ¡°You can go ask around to see if anyone wants to be a thrall. If they don¡¯t, just talk to me and we¡¯ll pick someone for you. It¡¯d be better if they volunteered but one way or the other we¡¯ll get it done.¡±


    ¡°Alright. By the way¡­ I think you should consider talking to The Blood Moon Requiem again.¡±


    Riven paused just as he was about to open therge door at the end of the hall. ¡°What makes you say that?¡±


    Dr. Brass sighed, then came to lean against the wall with his hands in the pockets of his white coat. ¡°Look son. I realize you are angry about what happened-¡±


    ¡°Yeah I¡¯m fucking angry.¡± Riven red back at the doctor with an edge to his voice. ¡°We were almost assassinated just two days ago man! Why would I think any other way?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re putting yourself in danger by not doing it.¡± Dr. Brass said tly, unflinching as he met the gaze of the much stronger and younger man next to him.


    There was a long drawn out silence as the two men stared at one another, and Riven took his hand off the door to match the doctor - putting his hands in his pockets while his staff floated next to him. ¡°Allie told you about the malignancy points, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    Dr. Brass hesitantly nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°She wasn¡¯t supposed to do that.¡±


    ¡°She wanted my opinion, and I think it¡¯s incredibly foolish not to ask.¡± Dr. Brass lowered his sses and peered out from over the rims with a knowing gaze. ¡°Just because you¡¯re upset doesn¡¯t mean you should pursue the path of the fool, Riven. After what Ath has said about your bloodline being solely found in the royals of The Blood Moon Requiem, it¡¯s almost a certainty that they¡¯d know more about these ¡®malignancy points.¡¯ The very name ¡®malignancy¡¯ does not give off good vibes, and umting more of them without knowing what they do is sheer stupidity. You may be angry if I say it, but you know it¡¯s true. As indebted as I¡¯ll be after you turn me, changing me and giving me the gift of eternal life when I¡¯m on the precipice of ending this one: I feel like it is my duty to advise you against stupid, irrational ideas guided by emotions. Kathrine wasn¡¯t even the one who tried to kill you and she was nearly off¡¯d as well, so drop the grudge. You don¡¯t have to be friendly with them, but at least use them to make sure whatever is happening isn¡¯t going to harm you.¡±


    Riven simply red.


    ¡°Please.¡± Dr. Brass stated tly, keeping their eye contact steady.


    Eventually Riven¡¯s shoulders slumped, and he gave a grudging grunt of affirmation. ¡°Fine. But not yet, I want to make them wait for at least another day. I want them to squirm, thinking I¡¯m noting back or that I¡¯ll banish them.¡±


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Out of spite?¡±


    ¡°Definitely out of spite.¡±


    ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t let itst too long. This could be seriously detrimental to your health.¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes, thenughed at the smug expression Dr. Brass was wearing. ¡°Is that the look you give patients when you finally convince them to stop smoking cigarettes?¡±


    ¡°Hardly. Anyways, are you going to open that door?¡±


    Riven shifted. ¡°Sure thing boss man.¡±


    Gripping the handle of the abnormallyrge door, Riven tugged - and the hallway opened up into an indoor pool. Though the pictures of this pool hadn¡¯t done it justice, and it was a lot bigger with additions that hadn¡¯t been included in the package pre-viewing. Not only that, but it was connected to another portion of the house that Riven hadn¡¯t expected to be here.


    The central pool was rectangr, with slowly flowing water that was powered by yet another storm-affinity stone to manipte water at one corner. It was crystal clear, warm to the touch, and felt absolutely great when dunking his hand inside. A few racks with rolled up fluffy towels were set to one side, and a skylight reaching far above them up to the height of three stories let rays of dusk trickle in from orange-streaked clouds, but the part that surprised him most and that he¡¯d not expected was the elevated tform just beyond the pool where the dining room was set up.


    Instead of the dining room being separate, it was actually only separated by five steps leading up to the elevated tform at the back of the room. There: two long wooden tables with steel cutlery, wooden tes and iron goblets were all lined up. Each table had twenty chairs, making a total of 40 spots for people to sit at, and a kitchen was ced behind an open-counter where a firece, grill, oven and storage units were held.


    One of the storage units upon closer inspection was a fridge, charged by another power stone with the cial affinity that created frost to keep things cold. The oven had a fire-type affinity gemstone, meaning it was sun, infernal, or volcanic, but Riven couldn¡¯t tell which as its fires smoldered in the back. He could turn the fire on and off with a knob of all things where magical engineers had connected runeden power lines to the stone, and it very much reminded him of technology back on Earth in many ways.


    ¡°This will definitely be an area I visit often¡­¡± Riven said, staring out ss windows from the elevated tform to overlook the courtyard below, and then ncing over his shoulder to where the pool was still slowly rippling and churning. ¡°This is really nice.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we can sneak peaks whenever Fay or Ath are around.¡± Dr Brass stated with a kidding smile, then held up his hands defensively when Riven cocked an eyebrow. ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re quite the old pervert, aren¡¯t you? You do know that Ath walks around naked all the time, right?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®not really¡¯?¡±


    ¡°She wears a chitinous protectiveyer on top of her skin, which is why she looks the way she does. It¡¯s just rather form fitting, but she doesn¡¯t walk around naked. Ask her about it.¡±


    ¡°And how would you know that?¡±


    ¡°She told me.¡±


    Riven¡¯s lips pooched in surprise, and he put his hands on his hips. ¡°Wow. Alright I will, that¡¯s kinda interesting. But I wouldn¡¯t go spying on them even if that¡¯s true, Ath will kill your ass and I won¡¯t stop her.¡±


    Dr. Brass huffed. ¡°I was only kidding!¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡±


    ¡°I was! But between you and me in all seriousness, if I ever get my own subus¡­¡± Dr. Brass¡¯s voice trailed off and he wiggled his eyebrows and nudged Riven¡¯s side with an elbow. ¡°Maybe you can teach me how to take a warlock ss! Eh!? Eh!?¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyelids drooped. ¡°Old. Pervert.¡±


    ¡°Calling people names is rude.¡±


    The rest of the manor was a little less exciting, but it was still nice to get a feel for the ce. Leaving the eastern wing, or the wing with the dining room, kitchen, and pool - they crossed back over to the western wing and found a bunch of living quarters. There was a stairway leading down into the basement where it split off into a cer filled with storage racks, an armory that had mannequins and disy cases, and then the dungeon - which wasplete with five different holding cells.


    One of which was upied by Genua, who sat curled up on a pile of hay with her head tucked between her knees - and the chain tying her shackles and cor together was nowtched onto the cell bars where a heavy padlock was set.


    Genua didn¡¯t look up or even acknowledge them as they passed by.


    The second and third floors were strictly living quarters in either wing, with only the first wing leading to the pool and dining room. There were three stairwells, the central spiral staircase and two more - one at the end of each wing. But the tower, which could be essed through the central stairwell, led up to arge room at the top that had lots of windows and empty bookcases. There were also a few armchairs, a single couch, and some tables as well.


    It was supposed to be the library no doubt, given all the bookcases along the walls, but without any books it was just another empty room.


    He¡¯d have to fill it up sometime. It¡¯d be a shame to let it go to waste.


    ***


    ¡°Bleed them.¡±


    Ath¡¯s w superficially slit Genua¡¯s wrist, not enough to do true damage, and the elf woman cried out with a scream of pain. Azmoth held the shackled blonde woman down in her cell as crimson liquid flowed into one of the iron goblets they¡¯d brought from the kitchen.


    The other elves that¡¯d been brought in as a rmendation by Gurth¡¯Rok, eight of the neers in total, were there because of their absolute unwillingness to work over the past two days. Two of them had been too old, an elderly couple with graying hair, thin skin and fading eyes; while the six others had been young or middle-aged adults who¡¯d refused anything until they got to see their children again.


    Riven wasn¡¯t against reuniting them with their children in time, but only after re-education or if the parents allowed themselves to be turned into thralls. None of them wanted the second option.


    So they¡¯d ended up as his food supply for the foreseeable future, and were added to the guild hall¡¯s dungeon as its new inhabitants.


    One by one the scantily d men and women of greenstalk were held down, terrified yelps or screams erupting from their lips only to be let up again and have their arms sewn shut by Ath¡¯s red threads. It was painful for each of them, but it also stopped the blood losspletely.


    His demons collected the blood person by person until they had enough of it that Riven feltfortable proceeding with their current agenda: turning Dr. Brass. They¡¯d do it here, in the dungeon, where the captives were behind locked bars and it¡¯d be hard for Dr. Brass to escape if he went into a crazed rage like Riven had done.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit dark down here.¡± Dr. Brass said, squinting in the dim light of the onentern that cast shadows from along the wall. ¡°Can¡¯t we do it upstairs?¡±


    Riven¡¯s smile slowly spread, and he shook his head no. ¡°Easier to contain you here. In fact, Ath - tie him down just in case he does what I did. And don¡¯t worry Dr. Brass, it won¡¯t be dark down here for much longer.¡±


    The change would no doubt take care of that.


    ¡°EEEEYOOOOO!!!¡± Allie¡¯s voice echoed down the stairwell and her feet smacking against the stone steps gave Riven pause. Looking left, he saw her slender form hop, skip and jump to the bottom where she whirled on him with a wide smile. ¡°Hey! You weren¡¯t going to begin without me I hope!¡±


    ¡°Not a chance. Did you already move your stuff in?¡±


    ¡°Yup! Well, no not really, but my servants are taking care of it now.¡± She pointed up at the ceiling where the mbering of feet was still heard, and she grinned widely.


    Mara, the female ghoul necromancer, and Vin - one of the skeletal skresh necromancers, followed close behind.


    Vin pointed over his shoulder and up the stairway from where he¡¯d juste, shifting in his ck robes toy pale glowing orbs on Riven¡¯s red ones with a bare skull for a head. ¡°My lord, thedy dictated we take up residence on the bottom floor. Does this sit well with you?¡±


    ¡°Take whatever rooms you want, just make sure your undead aren¡¯t trampling the garden outside or breaking any furniture when moving stuff around. We don¡¯t have much of it as it is. And Allie asked about ab of some sort? Just move the stuff out of an adjacent room and you can set up your alchemy equipment - or use a storage closet.¡± Riven turned to Allie. ¡°Do you need me to bring in more elves to harvest? Or are you going to be good?¡±


    She shook her head, the smile fading slightly and a look of embarrassment oveing her as she blushed. ¡°Uh¡­ No, I''m good!¡±


    ¡°She has two thralls.¡± Mara stated ndly with a yawn, covering her mouth and stretching to expose three wands tucked into a sash at her waist. ¡°Mmm. She won¡¯t be needing any elves, you¡¯ll see for yourself soon enough.¡±


    Ah. Yes. Riven had almost forgotten about the time in the tower when this had been mentioned before. His curious gaze drifted back from Mara to Allie and his sister gave him a guilty smile while pulling the hood over her eyes.


    He gave her a skeptical look, crossing his arms as Azmoth set the goblets of blood on a nearby table that a skeleton had brought down and Ath began tying Dr. Brass up with her threads. ¡°Allie¡­ why do you look so guilty?¡±


    ¡°Heh¡­ heh¡­¡± She gave him a sheepishugh. ¡°No reason!¡±


    Mara sighed and pulled back her hood, letting her raven hair flow around her with a shake of her head. ¡°You¡¯ll see them and immediately understand.¡±


    ¡°Understand what? Wait, I thought thralls took a while to create? Don¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°I was going to KILL them otherwise!¡± Allie protested with a growl, ignoring Riven¡¯s question and ring in Mara¡¯s direction with a hiss. ¡°They were crusaders from Prophet¡¯s forces! You can¡¯t me me!¡±


    ¡°Oh I certainly don¡¯t me you, mydy. I very much understand.¡± Mara replied tly.


    Riven blinked in confusion, then his eyebrows lifted when he saw a hulking, bald, handsome, muscr, shirtless beast of a man step down the stairs.


    His features were normal. He looked every bit human. But his smell¡­ his smell was off the charts good, and it somehow reminded him of the two men following Kathrine before one of them had exploded.


    ¡°My queen.¡± The husky man said, bowing onto one knee and taking Allie¡¯s hand before kissing it gently. His pale blue eyes looked up at her with admiration, his chiseled features set in an adoring expression, and a perfect white smile escaped his lips while his rippling abdomen caught the light. ¡°I have taken your bed from the tower and ced it in one of therger rooms on the third floor, so that we may enjoy ourselves at your leisure. Kraig is already awaiting us there.¡±


    Huh?


    Riven¡¯s jaw dropped, the goblet in his grip burst as his fist subconsciously tightened, and he nearly spit blood.


    Oh, hell no.

 Chapter 123: (Marked for editing)

    Chapter 123: (Marked for editing)


    <strong>Chapter 123</strong>


    ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal!¡± Allie protested in hushed tones, embarrassed that she was getting chewed out by her older brother in front of all the people she led even despite having went into the adjacent cer to have some privacy. ¡°Keep your voice down!¡±


    Both of them ignored the mindless skeletons bringing in crates or sacks of stored food; ones they¡¯d bought in mass quantities from the Elysium Altar as piles of supplies started to fill the cer up.


    ¡°It''s a little bit of a big deal.¡± Riven stated sourly. ¡°Allie, god damn it why is it that I have to¡­ You know what? We¡¯ll talk about thister. I¡¯m tired of fighting with you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, no, no¡­ You don¡¯t get to do that.¡± Allie said, barring his way and pushing Riven back with one hand. ¡°You¡¯ve literally enved an entire elf vige so you can feed, so you don¡¯t get to y the moral high ground here!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯spletely different from what you¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°Is it? How? Because you took your enemies to feed on and I took mine to have sex with - it¡¯s different? Oh and they HAPPILY follow me now by the way, unlike the prisoners YOU keep.¡± She jabbed a finger into his chest, not backing down. ¡°Or would you rather I have killed them?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I think.¡±


    ¡°So killing them is ethically correct while giving them a happy life of pleasure isn¡¯t?¡±¡°You essentially warped their minds, Allie. It¡¯s sick.¡±


    ¡°WE¡¯RE FUCKING VAMPIRES RIVEN! We literally have it built INTO OUR DNA to create thralls so that we don¡¯t have to go and do what you just did today!¡± Allie waved at the adjacent room beyond the basement hallway. ¡°Those elves over there? They¡¯re terrified of us. They hate their lives, and no doubt curse us by the hour for what we did to them. Even if it WAS them that started this mess and it WAS THEM that betrayed you. They deserve every second of what they get, and I genuinely think that you¡¯re being too nice to those pointy eared, murderous bastards. Yet, when youpare what their lives are like to the lives of the two men I ¡®mind-warped¡¯ - let me ask you this: who do you think is happier? You saw the look on Alexander¡¯s face, he adores me!¡±


    Riven¡¯s lips twisted in disgust. ¡°Alexander?¡±


    ¡°Alexander is the bald, muscr one that you just saw. If you see a bearded, skinny pretty-boy, that¡¯s Kraig.¡±


    Riven violently facepalmed and began rubbing his forehead vigorously. Taking in a deep breath to calm himself down. ¡°If I didn¡¯t love you and you weren¡¯t my sister, I swear to god I¡¯d throw you through a wall. Whatever, fine, keep your sex ves but just know I think it¡¯s disgusting, gross, and morally repugnant.¡±


    ¡°YOU have an enved SUCCUBUS, RIVEN!¡±


    ¡°I don''t sleep with my subus. And she¡¯s not a ve.¡±


    ¡°Does she do whatever you tell her to do?¡±


    Riven aggressively rolled his eyes and scoffed, throwing his hands out to either side and pacing back and forth while his shorter younger sister red up at him with her hands on her hips. ¡°Alright I can see this is going nowhere. How about, before we say something to one another that we¡¯ll regret, we just take a step back and cool down. We¡¯ll talk about thister, ok?¡±


    ¡°Only if you promise to be nicer about it next time.¡± Allie demanded, folding her arms in front of her.


    Riven felt a vein pop out on his forehead, and he ground his teeth with a rigid jaw. He took in another deep breath, and let it out slow. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll be¡­ nicer, when talking to you about this next time.¡±


    Allie hesitantly nodded, then stepped forward to put her arms around his waist. Drawing in Riven close, she buried her head in his chest and groaned. ¡°I hate fighting with you. Please don¡¯t be mad at me.¡±


    Riven¡¯s rigid body rxed slightly upon hearing her words, but he was still internally fuming. Embracing her back despite his anger, he shook his head and muttered to himself under his breath. ¡°Yeah. Me too.¡±


    ¡°Want to go change Dr. Brass into a vampire?¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s go do that, but this conversation will be continuedter.¡±


    Allie humphed. ¡°Yeah, I know.¡±


    ***


    Riven¡¯s fangs sank into the trapezius of the old man underneath himying on the floor, and Dr. Brass shuddered. He was bound with Ath¡¯s webbing after both Allie and Riven had shared simr experiences with one another - rifying that it would likely be a very violent or ravenous change when Dr. Brass actually turned.


    Though Allie had made two thralls so far, she¡¯d never made another vampire before. Not only that, but the way she¡¯d made those two thralls was outside the norm. She¡¯d acquired an item from a quest that allowed her to speed up the process, whereas creating thralls actually took a lot more time than that normally.


    So without much of a guide on how to do it and not wanting to talk to The Blood Moon Requiem unless he had to - just to make them squirm a bit more, Riven tried it on his own. At first nothing happened but a stiffening of Dr. Brass¡¯s muscles and a pained wince, and Riven felt the man¡¯s blood flowing down his tongue into his throat. But as with many things in Elysium¡¯s system, once he focused on the act that he wanted to perform while having the necessary ¡®credentials¡¯ - a notification appeared.


    <strong>[Do you wish to turn this target into a vampire? Doing so will inject a piece of your vampiric essence into the target. You may currently create new vampires at a 30 day cooldown period without risk to yourself, how much they inherit from your gift is partially dependent on them and partially randomized.]</strong>


    Riven thought ¡®yes.¡¯


    <strong>[Proceeding with vampiric change. Target has been injected with vampiric essence.]</strong>


    In an instant, pulsing red veins startedcing their way out from where Riven was biting Dr. Brass. The old man stiffened and let out a scream, writhing on the floor as the rapidly spreading blood, or essence, or whatever it was tore through his body and sent him into spasms. His hands, feet, face, and even his eyes pulsed with throbbing red veins in a disy that was very much different from the way Riven¡¯s own change had been, but nevertheless Riven proceeded as nned.


    Meanwhile, the others of Riven¡¯s group and the elf ves imprisoned here watched in silence.


    The old man grunted, twitched, and his bloodshot eyes rolled back into his head as fangs sprouted from his face. His muscture changed - toning and expanding slightly from the wiry old frame to a more steadfast and tougher body. His wrinkled skin ripped in dozens of ces to adjust to the new bulk, only to sew itself shut secondster, and came back as a younger, smoother, much paler version of the skin he¡¯d once had. His face narrowed and then filled out again, bones snapping and rearranging to be more attractive and symmetrical - and his white, graying hair turned a stark silver while filling in all the patches that¡¯d previously been thinning.


    And finally, minutester as his eyes rolled back into his head, a deep and dull red color had reced the brown eyes Dr. Brass had once had. However they weren¡¯t the brilliant crimson glow Riven or Allie had.


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    <strong>[As creator, you are now granted insight into the stats you have granted this newly born vampire:</strong>


    <strong>Greater Vampire (Blood / Shadow / Death) - Changed by a rare pureblooded vampire, a chosen descendent of the Blood God, you have acquired better than average affinities and bonuses whenpared to your vampiric peers across the multiverse. However, though your heritage empowers you with many bonuses, it alsoes at a steep price. Please review the following changes.</strong>


    <strong>Negatives:</strong><ul><li><strong>You suffer 400% additional damage from any Silver based weapons.</strong></li><li><strong>You suffer 300% additional damage from any Light and Sun Pir abilities.</strong></li><li><strong>You may not be healed or have active buffs applied to you by any Light or Sun Pir abilities.</strong></li><li><strong>Your Mana and Stamina slowly drain while your skin is exposed to direct sunlight. If exposed to sunlight when they start to run low, your Health will also deteriorate.</strong></li><li><strong>You are required to feed on the blood of mortals on a regr basis. You will lose your sanity and go into a rage if underfed.</strong></li><li><strong>Your heritage bestows a baseline -150 Charisma. -1 Charisma per level.</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Positives:</strong><ul><li><strong>51% affinity to the Blood Pir, 36% Affinity to the Shadow Pir, and 45% Affinity to the Death Pir. These pirs now take less resource consumption to use abilities with, control is increased, and potency is increased.</strong></li><li><strong>Your heritage also bestows upon you a baseline +30 Strength, +50 Sturdiness, +50 Intelligence, +80 Perception, and +40 Agility.</strong></li><li><strong>Perception has been upgraded to: Vampiric Perception, and has extra emphasis per stat point applied for heartbeats, dark vision, and smell.</strong></li><li><strong>Your race change to Greater Vampire upgrades the amount of stat points per level to +1 Strength, +1 Sturdiness, + 1 Intelligence, +1 Agility, +1 Perception, and +4 Free Stat Points per level.</strong></li><li><strong>You gain passive regeneration while in dark ces.</strong></li><li><strong>You are immune to most diseases.</strong></li><li><strong>You will not die of old age.</strong></li><li><strong>You may currently create new vampires at a 90 day cooldown period without risk to yourself, how much they inherit from your gift is partially dependent on them and partially randomized.]</strong></li></ul>


    The changes were very simr to Riven¡¯s own, but had some major differences. The negative charisma gained was less, and the pir affinities - though high - were nowhere near Riven¡¯s own. The Strength, Sturdiness, Intelligence, Perception, and Agility immediately gained were also a good amount less, and the gains per level were significantly less too. Other than that, instead of ¡®extreme¡¯ regeneration in the dark - Dr. Brass as a greater vampire got ¡®passive regeneration¡¯, which was probably just a lesser version of what Riven had. There was also a difference in how fast Dr. Brass could create vampires, which was every 90 days without endangering himself - while Riven could do so every 30 days.


    Dr. Brass blinked rapidly under his sses as Riven evaluated his screen, then screamed in a primal rage with fangs extended while trying to bite at Riven¡¯s hand nearby. Thankfully Ath¡¯s webbing was enough to keep him down and subdued amidst his struggles, and Riven took one of the cups they¡¯d brought down from the kitchen before putting the blood to the old man¡¯s lips.


    Or, perhaps not ¡®old¡¯ anymore. At least not by the looks of it. Dr. Brass now looked like he was in his early 30¡¯s orte 20¡¯s, and the stark change was a little unnerving.


    The newly created vampire quickly chugged the cup, ravenously draining it before gasping like a dehydrated man in a desert who¡¯d just found water. Cup after cup, taken from the elves, was poured down Dr. Brass¡¯s throat - and after some time, the man began to calm down. Shuddering and rapidly blinking again, Dr. Brass eventually fell into a deep sleep - passing out right there on the floor without saying another word.


    ¡°Well that went well!¡± Fay said, pping her sky-blue hands together excitedly and extending her bat-like wings while Riven gave Azmoth the order to carry Dr. Brass upstairs to a bed. ¡°Now that he¡¯s not starved of blood, mind if we go get my brother from theher realms? I''m so excited to see him!¡±


    Ath, who was perched along the roof in her spider form, let herself down along a single red thread andnded atop the subus¡¯ head. ¡°ONWARDS! To the core!!!¡±


    Riven couldn¡¯t help but smile at the two as they skipped up the stairs and out of sight, then gave Vin, Nin and Mara a polite smile before ruffling Allie¡¯s hair. ¡°Are youing to breakfast tomorrow like we nned?¡±


    His little sister beamed. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t miss it! I¡¯m making pancakes, I even got the ingredients from a local grocery store!¡±


    ¡°Oh-ho!? Exciting. Well, love you sis. See you soon.¡±


    Riven waved Gurth¡¯Rok to follow and therge orc chieftain gave Allie a polite bow before using his wooden, carved cobra-staff as a walking stick to follow his new liege up the steps onto the first floor.


    Nin and Vin shared a nce with one another, the two skeletal brothers not saying a word but staying put with their hands in the pockets of their ck robes, while Mara gave Allie a suspicious side-eye. ¡°You and Riven ok?¡±


    Allie huffed, briefly ring at the blonde elf woman Genua at the back of her cell, then put her hands on her hips and gave her undead friends all a reassuring grin. ¡°Yeah. We used to fight like this all the time, so we¡¯ll move on from this soon enough. But anyways let¡¯s go! We need to set up your rooms, and I still need to meet the boys upstairs for a little rxation time before bed. Kraig gives really good massages.¡±


    ***


    The guild hall¡¯s core could be moved at will, and was essentially arge blue crystal ball that floated wherever it was ced by the owner and controlled the guild hall¡¯s functions - but it couldn¡¯t leave the manor itself. For a basic guild hall like this one that didn¡¯t have any functions beyond the few presented here, it wasn¡¯t a hard concept to grasp.


    <strong>[Guild Hall: Stone Manor (Unnamed)</strong><ul><li><strong>Assigned Guild: Unassigned. Owned by Riven Thane.</strong></li><li><strong>Homeward Teleportation: Very long channel time. Only hired attendants or guild members can utilize this teleportation function. Currently there is no guild assigned to this guild hall, and there are no attendants, so the teleportation function is limited to Riven Thane.</strong></li><li><strong>15 attendant spots avable, 600 Elysium Coins per month per active attendant are taxed by the system administrator. You may either mentally link this guild hall to the nearest friendly Elysium Altar that you have ess to in order to hire attendants from the general store, or may hire attendants from associated factions at that altar.</strong></li><li><strong>3 mile exploration radius for attendants before forced retrieval back to guild hall</strong></li><li><strong>Core Sturdiness: Moderate</strong></li><li><strong>Defensive wards: None</strong></li><li><strong>Change Guild Hall Location: 1 year of channeling needed.]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven was currently holding the guild hall¡¯s core while sitting on his feather bed, just having dismissed Gurth¡¯Rok back to the greenskin camp just south of here to oversee building after talking to him about how progress wasing along. Progress was apparently going very smoothly with only a few scuffles between the elves and orcs, but a few goblins had to be put down after attacking the ves against orders. Apparently the goblins hated the high elves even more than the orcs did, but most of their efforts were being put towards building a new town inbetween the edge of Brightsville where Riven¡¯s manor sat on the city¡¯s edge - and the fields leading to the altar further south.


    Meanwhile Riven was very much enjoying his new room after sleeping in the dirt and grime so often; which was one of five rooms on the third floor¡¯s western wing that wererger than all the others and took up the entire wing due to theirbined size. There were two on the northern end, two on the southern end, and one on the far western end. As one of the ¡®master¡¯ bedrooms, his was positioned adjacent to the spiral staircase facing south towards their courtyard (the front side of the guild hall) in the middle of the manor while Allie¡¯s was two doors down; being the one at the very end of the hallway. Each master bedroom had a balcony that you could walk out onto, ss windows, a lot more furniture than the other rooms including thefy quilted feather bed he now sat on - king sized, a personal bathroom unlike the public ones for the rest of the hall, and a writing desk with two shelves inside a closet. The walls on the interior were made of white ster with wooden frame trimmings, and the magically infusedmps lighting up his room could be turned on and off with a button.


    ¡°This is super nice!¡± Ath said, happily bouncing up and down on the bed in her dog-sized spider body. She raised one of her arachnid limbs. ¡°I¡¯ll be staying here too.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow, taking his eyes off the hall¡¯s disy notification and the blue, bowling-ball sized orb in his hands and silently stared Ath¡¯s way.


    Therge spider stopped bouncing and shot him a death re. ¡°What!? Don¡¯t you dare send me across the hall or to my own room! I¡¯m sleeping here!¡±


    ¡°No you aint.¡±


    ¡°Yes I is!¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Yus!¡± Ath mbered over Riven¡¯s legs and stared him in the eye, mandibles clicking twice, then she jabbed him in the stomach with a foot. ¡°It¡¯s not up for debate!¡±


    ¡°You snore, Ath. I can¡¯t have my beauty sleep disturbed by-¡±


    ¡°I DO NOT SNORE!¡±


    Riven grinned. ¡°Ok, maybe not. But wouldn¡¯t you want your own room? Fay and her brother are taking the master bedroom directly across the hall.¡±


    He gestured to the beautiful subus who was standing anxiously at the bedside, hands sped in front of her while her ck tail swished back and forth in impatience. ¡°And Azmoth is going to stay in that old chapel outside because it gives him more space for such arge body. You could even have the room next to mine if you want it.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s thest master bedroom going to?¡± Ath asked curiously, motioning to the door.


    Riven shrugged. ¡°Probably Mara if I had to guess.¡±


    ¡°The ghouldy?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Ahem!¡± Fay cleared her throat rather loudly, stopping the conversation in its tracks before Ath derailed it too far. ¡°Master, may I suggest we proceed? My brother is awaiting the contact message now.¡±


    Riven huffed, then put his right hand on the blue orb again with a nod. ¡°Alright. One moment.¡±


    Fay immediately beamed with a brilliant, white smile. ¡°Thank you Riven! I won¡¯t forget this! He¡¯s been having a hard time in theher realms and he nearly got killed in hisst trip into the hells¡­ He¡¯s not in a good ce. Mother and Father have disowned him, so I owe you for this one.¡±


    Riven gave his minion a warm smile. ¡°Not a problem. Just a second.¡±

 Chapter 124

    Chapter 124


    <strong>Chapter 124</strong>


    <strong>[15 attendant spots avable, 600 Elysium Coins per month per active attendant are taxed by the system administrator. You may either mentally link this guild hall to the nearest friendly Elysium Altar that you have ess to in order to hire attendants from the general store, or may hire attendants from associated factions at that altar.]</strong>


    The screen red, and mentally linking his guild core to the altar he actually owned himself - he quickly saw a new set of messages along with a very long list and a search option. There were also category checkmarks, with numerous options such as: Utility, Tank, Damage, Subterfuge, Crafting, Scouting, Magic-Based, Martial-Based, Miracle-Based, Long Range, Melee, Level, Guild Association, Corporation Association, Faction Association, Group-Contracts, Individual-Contracts, and others. There were even categories that divided up into what type of pir the attendants were associated with, and the lists could be divided up by hiring price from lowest to highest or vice versa. Each of these categories had subcategories of their own, and the vast majority of listed groups were from the ¡®General Elysium Store¡¯ - while less than a twentieth of them were from Negrada or The Blood Moon Requiem.


    <strong>[You are now essing attendant listings from the following: General Elysium Store, The Blood Moon Requiem, Hellscape Dungeon Negrada. You may organize choices based on category to narrow down the search function.]</strong>


    ¡°Alright, what do I put into the search?¡± Riven asked, looking up when Fay came over to sit on the bed next to him.


    The subus narrowed her eyes, then started pointing out category tags. ¡°He¡¯ll be from the general store, so click that one.¡±


    All of The Blood Moon Requiem and Negrada groups disappeared.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ Click ¡®demon¡¯ for race, and type in ¡®Sojavi n¡¯ for ¡®Faction Association.¡¯¡±


    Riven did as asked, and the list narrowed significantly from many tens of thousands of pages he could scroll through to only a handful of pages - each page having a couple dozen options. ¡°What¡¯s the point of hiring off of The Blood Moon Requiem or Negrada here when I could just look their factions up?¡±Fay smirked, then patted him on the head. ¡°Silly man. It¡¯s because doing it through the general store is much more expensive, you get arge discount of Elysium Coins by hiring through associated friendly channels at the altar.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t it only 600 coins per month? That¡¯s what my guild hall status page said.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but that''s only for maintenance. That doesn¡¯t include the up front fee to hire, and it doesn¡¯t include the personal fee that the person you¡¯re hiring requires either. The personal monthly fee that you¡¯re paying them to be here isn¡¯t taxed because you¡¯re paying a maintenance fee to the system to keep that person attached to the guild hall, but the up front cost is always doubled as a tax for using the Elysium General Store. If you hired the same group or individual from, let¡¯s say, Negrada: You could either do it through your altar¡¯s channel and disregard the fee entirely, or hire that same group or individual through the general store and pay the doubled up front cost. And then there¡¯s also the distance tax too, with longer distances costing more. I have no doubt that both Negrada and The Blood Moon Requiem had to pay quite a bit of money just to send their trademunes and all their people here under the same principle, as neither one of them are in this vicinity of the multiverse. We¡¯re talking a LOT of money.¡±


    Riven scratched his head. ¡°I see. Interesting. Alright, what¡¯s next?¡±


    They selected a few other options after that, and the list became smaller and smaller. First they selected an area of theher realms to pick from that was actually Fay¡¯s homnd, then they cycled out group contracts and made them ¡®individual contracts¡¯ only. After that, the race was further narrowed from ¡®demon¡¯ to ¡®Incubus¡¯, and then they picked ¡®crafting¡¯ as yet another category.


    ¡°What kind of craft does he do?¡± Riven curiously pondered while scrolling through the list for Fay to look at.


    The subus kept her eyes on the screen, scanning the names that appeared one after the other. ¡°Well.. not any one thing in particr. He¡¯s¡­ trying to figure out who he is as a person, but he doesn¡¯t have anybat sses or even a ss at all. However, I did tell him to list himself as a cook or scribe¡­ Aha! Got him!¡±


    She punched a name off the list, and a vision of a blue-skinned man appeared on screen. Just like Fay, this man had sky-blue skin, ck eyes, ck wings, small ck horns, and white hair past his shoulders. He was far broader and taller than Fay was, obviously handsome, and had a thicker tail than his sister did. His name appeared as ¡®Tupper.¡¯


    <strong>[Tupper. Level 2 Incubus Demon. ssless. Crafts listed by participant: Cooking. Combat abilities listed by participant: Not avable. Affiliations: Not avable.]</strong>


    *THUD*


    Riven startled slightly when a huge, saddled bird with golden feathers and a hooked beaknded outside on his balcony. Not getting up but turning his head with an expression of bewilderment, he and his two nearby demons watched in confusion as a human knight in heavily decorated, gold-trimmed te armor stepped of the gigantic bird with the chink of metal tes. The visored, white-plumed helm shifted - staring straight at Riven before the knight gave him an odd salute and bowed respectively.


    The voice that was produced from that helm was deep and masculine, but not confident.


    ¡°Forgive my rudeness! My name is Veswuad Morandium, and I am a messenger representing the Kingdom of Dawn not far from here. I was told that this is the ce to find Riven or Allie Thane? Is that correct?¡± The man waited in that posture expectantly, and Riven hesitantly stood up to walk over to the balcony doors where they¡¯d been left wide open.


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    Looking up into the darkening sky to make sure there weren¡¯t any other monstrous birds flying about and carrying fully armored knights on their backs, he actually spotted two others. Both were circling the mansion overhead, but they didn¡¯t appear to be hostile and kept a distance. Most likely they were just trying to make sure this man who¡¯dnded came back safe.


    He identified the bird cleaning its feathers nearby.


    <strong>[Great Golden Roc]</strong>


    Hmmm. The identification information called the massive, elephant-sized bird a Roc, something he¡¯d read about in fantasy books as a kid, and it made Riven wonder just how much of his childhood readings were based in myth versus reality after these odd coincidences kept happening. Someone from the outer multiverse other than his parents must have visited Earth in the past to spread these legends in the first ce.


    Riven looked down at the bowing man with an unamused expression, shielding his eyes from thest rays of the sun as it began dipping below the horizon. ¡°Yeah I¡¯m Riven thane.¡±


    His expression became all the more irritated when the bird spewed a white stream all over the balcony floor, and he let out a long, audible, exasperated sigh that caused the knight to wince slightly. ¡°Who are you and why did youe here? Other than to let your bird shit all over my stuff anyways. I don¡¯t like having strangersnd their gigantic pets on my stuff, you¡¯re lucky I didn¡¯t think you were an enemy. I could have identally killed you.¡±


    ¡°Uh - My most sincere apologies!¡± The fancy armored knight straightened and chastised the bird with a tisk, to which he got a squawk and ruffled feathers. The knight shook his head and grumbled to himself, then pulled out a letter from a satchel at his waist. ¡°I was just in a rush¡­ you see, I am in need of assistance. More urately, my country is in need of assistance, and from scouting reports it appears that your faction is one of the few in the area that could help us. Others are dealing with their own problems and cannot assist, unfortunately.¡±


    The letter was exchanged, and Riven took the paper envelope to examine a wax seal in the image of a bird very simr to the one this man was riding. Riven¡¯s glowing red eyes nced up to the bird, then back to the knight, and he ripped the letter open a momentter. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re not either afraid of me or trying to kill me. That¡¯s usually what I get from most humans or elves here.¡±


    The knight cleared his throat, drawing Riven¡¯s attention back from the parchment he was unfolding and to the man behind the decorated visored helmet. ¡°Truthfully it is very off putting to be in your presence, yes. But our agents told us that although you¡¯ve had your conflicts with some of the locals, you also are allowing humans to be fully fledged citizens of your newly growing faction. It was enough to persuade my king to ask a favor of you, and as neighbors we hope that you and yours will oblige to solidify a rtionship. Of course, terms of payment can also be discussed.¡±


    Without looking down at the parchment, Riven continued to evaluate the man more thoroughly. A longsword was at his waist, a very longnce was attached to the roc¡¯s saddle along the side, along with a couple ofrge round canisters, and Riven could feel trickles of mana from the man fluctuate every couple seconds; though this was the case for all people who were casters that Riven had met and it likely only meant that this knight could use some sort of magic.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be frank.¡± Riven said, waving the letter in the air. ¡°I haven¡¯t read this yet, but I can already tell you that after our experiences with the other ¡®enlightened¡¯ races in this area - I¡¯m already wary of some kind of trap.¡±


    The knight hesitated, considering Riven¡¯s words. ¡°Understandable. However you must consider that my colleagues up above - as well as myself, could have dropped bombs on your manor from the clouds without ever having known we were here. To present myself to you is a sign of trust, and I am hoping you take it at face value.¡±


    ***


    The letter sat unfolded on his desk a half hourter, the ck ink being illuminated in the yellow light of the manantern attached to his wall, and Riven tapped his fingers along the wooden surface with his legs crossed while pondering what to do next. He¡¯d no doubt have to talk to Allie about this change of pace, and he was more than a little unnerved by the idea that these knights from the Kingdom of Dawn could have bombed his guild hall into oblivion without even the slightest warning. He¡¯d have to correct that somehow, and sometime soon, but it appeared they weren¡¯t hostile and genuinely did need his help.


    That would be a discussion for tomorrow morning before he set out to meet the rat man snagger at the designated spot within the underdark.


    At his right, Ath was in her humanoid form and curled up under the nkets of his bed - yawningfortably now that night had fallen and having already imed the bed for her own while dering that he sleep on the floor.


    He snorted in amusement, remembering her promation, and said he¡¯d just go to another room before she¡¯d denied him and physically stopped him from doing so by dragging him back into the room by his legs.


    ¡°Master?¡±


    Fay¡¯s voice reached him and brought him out of his thoughts.


    He gave her an apologetic wave of the hand and reached out to grasp the guild core again. ¡°Sorry, let¡¯s resume things.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    <strong>[Tupper. Level 2 Incubus Demon. ssless. Crafts listed by participant: Cooking. Combat abilities listed by participant: Not avable. Affiliations: Not avable.]</strong>


    Her brother¡¯s information popted the screen again, and the image of the blue-skinned subus came on screen. He selected the option, and another notification appeared.


    <strong>[This attendant will cost you 1 Elysium Coin up front, with a matching tax of 1 Elysium Coin, and a distance tax of 78,924 Elysium Coins. Maintenance fees for this guild hall are set at 600 Elysium Coins per month per active attendant, with 0 of 15 Attendant Spots already being filled. Do you wish to hire this attendant?]</strong>


    Riven slowly shifted his gaze to therge pile of coins that Azmoth had brought up to his closet, then to Fay who was giving him a sheepish smile. ¡°78,924? Really?¡±


    Fay lowered her eyes apologetically. ¡°Sorry. Is that too much? I wasn¡¯t sure what the distance fee would be, theher realms shift positions rtive to physical realms all the time, so if you need to wait it might reduce the price. Or it might increase the price¡­¡±


    Her voice trailed off in disappointment, and she looked sideways at the wall - almost as if embarrassed by her oversight.


    ¡°What are the odds it¡¯ll decrease versus increase?¡± Riven asked, knowing full well he could afford it but also knowing that was still a lot for an attendant based on other prices he¡¯d seen.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ It¡¯ll probably increase in the immediate future, but if you wait a year or two it may decrease. Theher realms are huge.¡±


    Riven could see she was obviously disappointed. Whatever was going on with her brother, it was affecting her as well. ¡°Then let¡¯s just get it over with.¡±


    He selected the ¡®yes¡¯ in rtion to the prompt for hiring an attendant, and a final notification popped up right before a portal appeared in the middle of the room - and arge chunk of money vanished off the top of his closet-stash nearby.


    <strong>[Tupper, Level 2 Incubus Demon, has been added as an attendant to this guild hall. 78,926 Elysium Coins have been taken from your belongings. 1 of 15 Attendant Slots filled. Current monthly cost for all attendants: 600 Elysium Coins. Tupper has been imbued with permanence as long as the guild hall core remains intact. Upon death, Tupper will be resurrected as long as guild hall core remains intact. Tupper has been restricted to a 3 mile exploration radius surrounding the guild hall before forced retrieval back to guild hall. Tupper can now utilize the ability ¡®Homeward Teleportation¡¯ to teleport back to this guild hall after a channel time based on distance.]</strong>

 Chapter 125

    Chapter 125


    <strong>Chapter 125</strong>


    What stepped out of the portal was very far from the handsome figure of Fay¡¯s brother. Riven could make out distinguishing features that told him it was the same man, the same incubus, but he looked haggard and beaten to an extreme.


    Tupper¡¯s right leg was necrotic and bent at an awkward angle, and the rest of his body looked starved. His face was half burned, skin yed off the side of his skull as he limped forward, and one of his wings was torn offpletely. Tears streamed silently down his face, and one eye was zed over with a sickly green ichor running out of it. He staggered and fell to the ground only two steps out, letting out a whimper of pain through cracked lips and getting an audible gasp from his sister who rushed over to him - trembling slightly while she whisperedforting words into his ears.


    Riven just gawked, not knowing what to say, do, or even think. Were demons able to be tortured in theher realms? Or had Tupper not been inside theher realms?


    On the other side of the portal from where Tupper hade from was another blue skinned incubus, snarling and obviously screaming at Tupper with an enraged flush to his skin before the portal winked out. The only signs that the portal had ever opened were both the mutted, grotesque version of an incubus on the floor - and the wisps of purple miasma that were leftover remnants from the dimensional passageway that¡¯d just shut down.


    ¡°Riven¡­ Could you help me lift him up?¡± Fay asked without looking back from her kneeling position on the floor, voice quivering. ¡°I need to carry him to my room.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Might makes right. It¡¯s the way things are in demonic culture, and when you¡¯re a weak, tree-hugging, animal-cuddling hippie wuss like that guy it only makes sense that you¡¯d be persecuted. At least that¡¯s how Fay portrayed him, even if she did so lovingly.¡± Ath shrugged indifferently and bit at an apple, having her long pitch-ck legs up on the table while enjoying the warmth of the morning sunshine on her skin through a window in the dining hall. ¡°Don¡¯t tell Fay I said that though. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s already heard it all about her brother in the past and probably doesn¡¯t want to hear it again. Poor sod looked like he¡¯d been stomped like how I used to stomp babies.¡±


    Riven grunted his acknowledgement. Not a lot he could do about it, and what he could do he¡¯d already done by giving Tupper a way out of whatever hellish home life he¡¯d had before. ¡°Figured as much.¡±Allie dumped some more scrambled eggs on his te, kissed him on the forehead and happily went back to making pancakes with Mara and the two thralls she¡¯d outfitted in aprons while telling them what to mix and how to cook the bacon.


    Bacon.


    He had fucking bacon. All that money he¡¯d spent at the altar was more than worth it now.


    Riven lifted the pancake-bacon-egg-pancake sandwitch to his mouth, drooling, and only managed to sneer briefly at that muscr dream-boy fucker across the dining room that Allie was using before snarfing down another bite. Chewing and letting the taste sink into his taste buds, his shoulders slumped and he rxed into a blissful state again. He knew full well that Allie was doing this on purpose as a bribe to go easy on her, but it¡¯d been so god damn long since he¡¯d had a good meal.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised this food all tastes the same as it did back then¡­¡± Dr. Brassmented from beside him, and Ath gave the newly formed vampire an eye roll while he continued to check his new body out in a small mirror he¡¯d taken from his room. ¡°And damn do I look good. <em><strong>Goodbye</strong></em> bald spots!¡±


    Riven snorted and kept eating, but eventually finished half his sandwich and put the meal down when Allie came by to discuss the events ofst night.


    ¡°Ah, now that breakfast is ready for everyone - let¡¯s talk.¡± She straightened her hoodie out and ruffled her jeans, both of which were typical of what she used to wear before the integration happened.


    He cleared his throat with a fist to his mouth, jerking in surprise when Ath¡¯s foot poked him in the stomach from under the table. He smacked her leg aside and shared a grin with the demoness, then addressed the situation by putting the letter he¡¯d received from that roc-riding-knight on the table. Then he began reciting the words aloud. ¡°Ahem. Alright here goes:


    <em><strong>To Allie and Riven Thane, of the Thane Necropolis: Your reputation precedes you.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>My name is Theodore Munchamp, Court Wizard to the king of the Kingdom of Dawn and practicing schr of the sun arts. It hase to the kingdom¡¯s attention that you have imed most of the city known as Brightsville to our northwest, and are mere weeks away from having itpletely under your control by estimates from our agents there. We know you¡¯ve raised an army numbering thousands of undead, as well as a lesser number of orcs and goblins. We know you¡¯ve opened up an Elysium Altar, the first we have yet to see anywhere. We know you¡¯ve enved a group of high elves that tried to assassinate your leadership, and we have video footage evidence of the tremendous power you two each individually wield.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>That in turn opens the door for us to begin diplomacy, as equals.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Our kingdom was once a bastion of civilization in the world of Zazir, and in many aspects it still is for what remains of it. Though we are but a mere fraction of the kingdom we once were due to our country being split apart, the capital city and three otherrge towns belonging to Dawn arrived together on Panu; and we are in dire need of assistance.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>We were hoping for your help.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>To your southeast and into the ins you¡¯ll find our civilization besieged on all sides. One of our towns has already fallen and the citizens that we could evacuate safely have left for the capital, though the situation still remains uncertain. The majority of our armies, save the single legion stationed in the capital upon integration, were lost when the system arrived. We do not have the forces necessary to guard the Capital City of Mandon, the town of Bradshire, and the town of Belmington all at the same time. We are stretched too thin, and many of the other civilizations we find ourselves bordering are either too fragmented, too caught up with internal struggles for power, or too involved with their own external problems to help us.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Truthfully we could consolidate our forces into one area and evacuate the towns, but this would lead to a massive refugee crisis. That in turn would lead to food shortages, and simply abandoning the settlements would put our civilization back decades when rebuilding if we ever took the towns back.</strong></em>


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    <em><strong>We will be up front about our intentions, and in turn we hope to make a deal that can be struck in both of our favors - empowering both the Kingdom of Dawn and the Thane Necropolis simultaneously. There are five things that we wish to negotiate with you.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>The first is ess to your Elysium Altar.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>The second is local trade routes between our factions.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>The third is protection for our northernmost town, Bradshire, that borders your territory.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>The fourth point of negotiation is support for the war we are involved in.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Andstly, the fifth topic to discuss is that we wish you to cease terraformingnd when you reach our borders. Though it is a slow spread, the unholy taint your altar is creating has already been noted and will likely reach ournds within months or years toe. This would be very bad for our crops and agriculture, and would lead us into starvation if we did not act.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>I am sure you¡¯re asking yourself why you¡¯d allow us ess to system stores, trade, and protection. I¡¯m also sure you want to know why I think you¡¯d join our cause, or why you¡¯d stop terraforming areas ofnd to better suit you. The answer is simple: We havemon enemies, and we can help each other grow. We could provide you with information on the surrounding areas, information on two world quests, pay you for your services, and once the war is over - ensure that you have one faithful ally to protect your southern border.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>As you¡¯ve already experienced in your own isted exchange with the high elves of thesends, they are arrogant and selfish in their desires to thrive. We too have had our own share of conflict with their peoples, and are currently engaging in gueri warfare with a host of warriors many thousands strong that matches our own in strength. They burn our crops to try and starve us, butcher our people and caravans, and have even gone as far as to ally with a nearby dungeon to attack us on two fronts.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>We also know that if our kingdom falls, your people will be targeted next. What will the elves do when they find out that their most hated enemies, both the undead and the greenskins, have banded together and enved a group of their own kin?</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Thus my king and I have proposed a meeting. I am willing to meet you at any time and any ce of your choosing to show myself in good faith, and can promise you both riches and new bodies to use in building up your forces with if you choose to help us. If you decide to ept my invitation to discuss terms, infuse mana into the sigil of the roc at the bottom of this letter with mana - and amunication link will open so we can discuss these things at an in-person meeting ce.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>I hope to hear from you soon.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Sincerely, Theodore Manchamp</strong></em>


    Riven closed the letter and pushed the folded parchment over to Allie so she could read it again. ¡°I¡¯ll be keeping the greenskins out of this one. As I¡¯m responsible for them, I¡¯ll be first to say that they are far too worn down to help. I butchered most of their remaining fighters at Greenstalk, before that they¡¯d already been set upon by numerous enemies. So they only have elites, the old, the young, and some goblins. I told Gurth¡¯Rok they needed to focus on rebuilding. What you choose to do with the undead you¡¯re leading is up to you.¡±


    Allie¡¯s red eyes flickered over the parchment and she stuffed a pancake into her mouth, ripping it apart with ravenous hunger while her stomach growled. Taking a goblet of elf blood and sipping it to take the pancake down, she let out a hup and closed the parchment again. ¡°They want altar ess, trade routes, protection for their northernmost town, an alliance against a dungeon and the elves attacking them that apparently number in the many thousands, and they thought they could just expect us to help? Us? Vampires and undead helping humans?¡±


    Riven held up both hands unknowingly, then swatted Ath¡¯s leg away before yanking her under the table when she tried to poke him a third time. Grinning at the screech he got from the arshakai demon, he put a boot on her stomach and kept her pinned while she growled up at him. ¡°Who knows. I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re just desperate though from the sounds of it. When you get desperate, you do a lot of things you normally wouldn¡¯t do. So what do you think? Are you going to use that sigil on the paper or are you going to shred it? Wouldn¡¯t hurt to have some allies in the area, but I¡¯m not sure we can trust them either.¡±


    Allie hummed in agreement. ¡°Yes. And we¡¯ve already had poor experiences with the elves of greenstalk, if their entire culture is like that¡­ perhaps it¡¯d be wise to aid them after all. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and until proven otherwise I will assume the elves of thesends will treat us the same way they treated you earlier. Then again the humans of Brightsville were little different¡­ Hmm. Mara.¡±


    ¡°Yes mistress?¡± Mara asked,ing to stand beside Allie and putting some syrup they¡¯d stolen from a local grocery store on the table before bowing low in her ck robe. ¡°What can I assist you with?¡±


    ¡°Send some of your raven familiars into the soutnds and figure out what you can about the ongoing political events there. Confirm whatever you can about this letter, and make it fast.¡±


    ¡°Yes mistress.¡±


    From up above where they¡¯d been perched on a window, two ravens flickering with shadow mana took flight and tore into the darkening sky above. A p of thunder rolled across the city, echoing from the mountains to the north and west, and the sunlight began to fade while ck clouds hovered on the horizon.


    ¡°Storm¡¯sing.¡± Riven noted casually, getting up from the table and pushing his chair in. He head-nodded to Dr. Brass. ¡°Hey old man, get some training on curse magic from Fay when you can since she¡¯s already here taking care of her brother. You need to acquire your unholy pir so you can get some actual abilities, instead of just staring at yourself in the mirror all day.¡±


    Allie snickered and Dr. Brass dropped the mirror in his hands to scowl at the younger man.


    Riven smirked, helped Ath up to her feet and then thanked his sister for the meal. ¡°I¡¯m off to the underdark. Are you still raiding the prison today?¡±


    Allie¡¯s tapping fingers came to a stop on the table, and a sinister smile yed across her lips while she waggled her eyebrows. ¡°Oh yes. Vin and Nin have already begun preparations for the assault. Those inmates won¡¯t know what hit them before they¡¯re all dragged out as corpses to add to our empire.¡±


    ¡°Just be sure to spare the ones they¡¯ve enved.¡±


    ¡°How hypocritical.¡±


    ¡°Damn it Allie, we¡¯ve had this conversation-¡±


    ¡°I know! I¡¯m just kidding.¡± Allie waved off Riven¡¯s re. ¡°It¡¯s just fun to poke you there because I know it bothers you. What are siblings for, right? Seriously though, you''re always WAAAAYYYYY too on edge. Chill a bit, live a little, and stop being so rigid. Anyways have fun, be safe, and for fuck¡¯s sake you better run if there¡¯s anything actually dangerous down there. We have that deal in ce, remember? If there¡¯s a real threat we throw our minions at whatever it is - high tail it - and meet up to face it togetherter. Ok?¡±


    ¡°Yup I know. Same goes to you.¡± Riven waved at his sister, then to Mara, and was followed out by Ath into the eastern wing hallway of the manor while bypassing a few armored skeleton soldiers stationed in the hallway. ¡°Time to go meet that big rat again.¡±


    ¡°He probably wouldn¡¯t be appreciating it if he knew you called him a ¡®rat¡¯. He¡¯s a rat-man, not a rat.¡± Ath stated simply, skipping to catch up to him and leaning against his shoulder with narrowed eyes looking upwards. ¡°So¡­ You gonna tell me what happened with Fayst night or not?¡±


    ¡°I already told you. She¡¯s staying here while we¡¯re gone to take care of her brother.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t exin much.¡±


    ¡°He came out of the portal all fucked up, she was upset, that¡¯s literally all I know. If you want to know more then ask her yourself.¡±


    Ath sighed. ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll ask herter. But as her master, you can always just force her to tell you.¡±


    Riven shot Ath a re.


    ¡°Might makes right, remember!?¡± Ath said with a wide, brilliant smile. ¡°Make her do what you want! Plus she owes you! Big time if you ask me. I can¡¯t believe you actually let that useless twat into the guild hall and paid so much money to do it! That¡¯s insane to me! Truly, you¡¯re not a normal warlock Riven. Or a normal vampire. And wait, aren¡¯t we going to go talk to that princess Kathrine first? The Blood Moon Requiem should know about your malignancy points after all, and they¡¯re no doubt dying to talk with you after what happened.¡±


    Riven shook his head, drawing his hood down over his eyes to protect himself from the sunlight and stuffing his hands into his pockets to avoid more of the rays. Then he headed towards the chapel where Azmoth was doing god knows what in the old building he¡¯d imed as a room to pick his other demon up for the trip to the destroyed hospital. ¡°No. We don¡¯t have time, we¡¯ll talk to Kathrer. The meeting with Snagger is only a couple hours away.¡±

 Chapter 126

    Chapter 126


    <strong>Chapter 126</strong>


    <strong>[Azmoth has selected the ss ¡®Infernal Crusader Initiate.¡¯ Due to gic</strong>


    <strong>makeup, ss title benefits have integrated with species traits.]</strong><ul><li><strong>Infernal Crusader Initiate (ss Title)</strong><strong> - A fire-attuned physical ss path that focuses on tanking through martial arts. This ss increases defensive capabilities with inherent bonuses, the amount of Sturdiness gained per level, and abilities granted by the system at regr intervals. +1 Strength, +4 Sturdiness, +1 Free Stat Point per level. Gives bonuses to heavy armor and fire-attuned abilities. </strong><strong>(Comes with the knowledge of the Infernal Martial Art: Dome of mes)</strong><strong>(Increases Willpower Requirement by 5)]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven stumbled and nearly fell over before being caught mid-stride walking through the garden at the back side of the manor. The neon-teal leaves of the tree overhead shuddered and quaked, and he found himself needing to catch himself yet again on Jose¡¯s tombstone when a pulsing wave of heat rippled across the ck, red and silver flowers that decorated the walkways.


    And then all went still again, and Riven shared a curious nce with Ath before hurriedly walking over to where the heat wave hade from.


    The old stone chapel that Azmoth now was making his own home was only a couple dozen yards away, across the garden and behind the manor where Riven now lived. It was a far bigger room than the smaller ones in the manor could offer such arge demon, and Azmoth had volunteered to stay there after scoping out potential ces to call his own.


    Coming around the side of the old ruined building and entering through a wide archway without a door, Riven froze when he saw Azmoth inspecting one of his arms.


    Though Azmoth had undergone a significant change.


    Azmoth¡¯s body was generally the same shape andposed of the same materials, but he was slightly bigger and meaner-looking. Just previous to selecting the ss before the ss title ¡®integrated¡¯ with the species traits Azmoth had, the thick ck iron tes covering Azmoth¡¯s body had leftrge gaps inbetween them to expose red and sinewy muscle thatcked skin. Here, however, those gaps had significantly decreased and had mostly been reced with more of the ck metal. More spikes had also been added along the ridge of his neck and head to boot.The effect made Azmoth look like a titanic, demonic ck knight of sorts - with a tail, four arms, no eyes, and two eel-like maws made of ck metal that gnashed their teeth and flickered with cinders. Only small slits of red muscr flesh were now seen between the tes, and Azmoth¡¯s body had be something of a living set of armor.


    His movements were still fluid however, and he turned his sightless gaze upon Riven with a grin to expose the usual rows of obsidian teeth while picking up his gigantic stone maul. Resting it on a shoulder, he waved with his two free hands. ¡°ss count body as armor and give more bonus. We go now?¡±


    Riven looked therge demon and his exterior metallic exoskeleton up and down with newfound appreciation. ¡°You really look the part of a doomsday knight my friend. Congrattions on picking a ss! And yes, we¡¯re going. Fay¡¯s staying behind with her brother unless I need to summon her, she¡¯s having¡­ family issues. Anyways have you had a chance ot try out your new ability yet?¡±


    ¡°Dome of mes?¡± Azmoth muttered, looking down to a notification that appeared before his face - and he shook his head. ¡°Tryter. I burn down house if stay here. Let go.¡±


    ***


    Walking down the cement road towards the remnants of the half-destroyed hospital, Riven saw a couple decaying bodies of humans that hadn¡¯t been there prior to thest time he¡¯d been here. Some of them were being fed upon by birds like roadkill, but they all had obvious gunshot wounds - indicating that they¡¯d been killed by other humans instead of from monsters, goblins or anything else.


    He avoided the remnant bodies of the men and women who¡¯d been killed by the nightmare creature too, frowning at the memory of these creatures rampaging through the crowds.


    He kicked open the hole they¡¯d patched in the floor leading to the basement, shoved some rubble and remnants of Ath¡¯s webbing that was still there, and dropped down into the dark.


    The stench hit his nostrils immediately, and he nearly gagged at the putrification that the clown-like dream creature was undergoing at this very moment. He stood in a puddle of the necrotic ooze leaking out from the massive beast, along with some of the smaller bodies of other dream creatures, and he kicked the clown monster¡¯s corpse for good measure while walking by in a spiteful act of retribution for the headache it¡¯d given him back then. There were no signs of anyone having ever returned after the mass exodus when the creature had attacked, the basement beingpletely devoid of any life, and he alongside his two minions found the sewer entrance in the back room without incident.


    He dropped down yet again, feetnding on the hard stone of the sewer¡¯s walkway while his eyes immediately adjusted to the deep ck of the tunnels beneath Brightsville.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Which way?¡± Azmoth asked after his huge body mmed against the floor with a loud, thudding boom. The newly formed ck armor was so fucking sick, and Riven could only shake his head with arge smile of approval while looking at his unholy pdin that flickered with smoldering mes here or there at random. The huge stone maul Azmoth wielded was very simr, and it too simmered with heat while the demon stood to his full height to tower over the others.


    Ath waved away the dust that Azmoth had kicked up, giving the bigger demon a grimace, and pointed left. ¡°That way.¡±


    Riven nodded in affirmation, holding out his staff to confirm Ath¡¯s gesture and stepped ahead. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The tunnels were devoid of any heartbeats other than the small rodents and amphibians that somehow lived down here in the muck without getting herpa-ghona-syphil-aids, but that wasn¡¯t reason to be without caution. The armored wyrm creatures that¡¯d attacked himst time down here came as a swarm, they were ambush predators and Riven hadn¡¯t picked up any heartbeats from themst time either. The battle between Riven, Ath, Snagger, and the swarm of wyrms had left huge numbers of the creatures dead - but that didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t more.


    The tunnels turned and twisted a couple times and then led down further into the ground where it connected with arge cave system that spanned many hundreds of yards out in any direction, no doubt attached there by the system on purpose when fusing the three worlds together. It had many stgmites and stctites, a couple pools of water far cleaner than the sewage pockets from up above, and a couple patches of bioluminescent moss. This was the real entrance into the Underdark, and Riven had been instructed to meet Snagger here.


    Riven was not disappointed.


    Already standing in the middle of the cave was Snagger, apanied by three more ratmen each quite a bit smaller than Snagger was. Snagger looked the same - a scarred, brown-furred, muscr ratman that stood up on two legs like a human to be a little taller than Riven was. He wore the same spiked knuckle pieces he¡¯d used to bash the wyrms with when Riven¡¯d first met him, and had the same worn leather chest piece across his front as well.


    Unlike Snagger, who looked like he¡¯d eaten roids for breakfast for the past 9 years, were the three other scrawny ratment nearby. Each of them only stood to be somewhere between four and five feet tall. Two of them were colored gray, while the other had white fur instead, but all of them had long bare tails andrge ears like Snagger did. Riven couldn¡¯t tell if any of them were male or female because of the rags and cloaks they wore around their upper and lower bodies, but one of the gray colored rats carried a caster¡¯s staff and the other two carried daggers and slings. They all perked up upon Riven¡¯s entrance, chittering in hushed tones to one another while Snagger stepped forward and came to greet the vampire himself.


    ¡°It is happy-good that you-we meet here!¡± Snagger chittered in the same raspy voice Riven remembered. ¡°We-I am excited to show-introduce you to my nest-brood. Comee, I will show-tell the name-signs of my kin-brood!¡±


    The ratman was obviously excited to have Riven there, and Riven couldn¡¯t help but feel the same way. Despite everything else that was going on in the world, he was here meeting creatures akin to aliens and going likely where no man from Earth had ever gone before - into the Underdark. This was the kind of stuff books were written about.


    ¡°Good to see you too, Snagger. I¡¯d love to meet your friends. By the way, this is Azmoth - I know he wasn¡¯t there with usst time but he¡¯s another of my demonic servants.¡±


    The ratmen were already evaluating Azmoth with wary eyes, or at least the neers were. Azmoth¡¯s foot was enough to crush them to dust, and the huge demon¡¯s form-fitting obsidian tes were a testament to the enormous strength underneath.


    ¡°A strong minion-demon-ve, yes-yes. You are certainly-truly powerful-strong!¡±


    Snagger nodded enthusiastically and raced over to the other ratment on all fours, being just slightly faster than he¡¯d have been on two legs and showing Riven that Snagger and his species likely could run or walk either way depending on what suited them at a given moment.


    Snagger motioned to the white-furred rat first as Riven approached. ¡°This is Mesha-kin, my cousin-kin.¡±


    He then motioned to the gray-furred rat with the staff, and the other gray-furred rat with the twin daggers. ¡°Cheshish-kin and Bort-kin. They help-fight with me-me and Mesha-kin. We take jobs-fights for the brood-nest and mother-queen, we explore the surface-city and upper-higher Underdark, try-find helpers and ally-friends.¡±


    Mesha, the white rat and apparently Snagger¡¯s cousin, bowed low and offered her two daggers out hilt-first towards Riven. Her voice was far squeakier and higher-pitched than Snagger¡¯s, and she kept her eyes low upon her own introduction. ¡°I-we heard-listened to story-tales about you, great vampire mageling. I thought you summoned-kept only one demon ve-servant, but you acquired-have two? Much impressed-awe, not an easy-flimsy thing-item to do.¡±


    ¡°I actually have three. One of them is on personal business.¡± Riven silently snickered at the way Ath was giving the rat people a dirty look at the mention of ¡®ves¡¯ when referencing his two demonic minions, but kept his humor underneath his mask. ¡°Alrighty then. I believe you were going to show me around your nest? Is it like a city, or¡­ What should I be expecting here? Either way, I¡¯m rather excited to find out. I¡¯ve never been to a settlement created by your people before.¡±


    ¡°You-you have not?¡± Cheshish, the gray-furred caster rat asked curiously, adjusting the leathers he wore so that they weren¡¯t too tightly bound.


    It was a conversation he¡¯d already had with Snagger, but he was patient. Riven shook his head. ¡°Nope. On my world, Earth, your people don¡¯t even exist there. Or they didn¡¯t, Earth isn¡¯t around anymore as it was incorporated into Panu.¡±


    Mesha cut into the conversation with wide eyes, stepping over to evaluate him in more detail. ¡°Interesting-fascinating. Maybe why your eyes are red-bright, and not red-dull like other bat-vampire friends we-we have. Wee-travel from Zazir world, but we will show-see you to our nest-city. It is very akin-like to other nest-cities in the underdark, and you will be wee-friended there! Travel-follow me-me!¡±


    ¡°Zazir huh? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve met anyone from the third. Everyone I¡¯ve seen so far is either from Earth or Zazir¡­"


    And that was when Riven heard it. The rapidly increasing heartbeats from further down they tunnel. His eyes narrowed, and he peered further ahead until he focused in on what looked like a helmet¡­


    Yup. That was definitely a helmet, a set of eyes, and a long brown beard on a face peering out at him from around a ledge further back. The clicking of bolts being loaded into crossbows was vaguely heard, and then a shout-squeak of rm went up from Snagger as a flurry of iing missilesunched themselves through the tunnel towards their position.

 Chapter 127

    Chapter 127


    <strong>Chapter 127</strong>


    <strong>*WHOOSH*</strong>


    Azmoth immediately tore forward and mmed a foot down in the direction of the oing projectiles, not wasting any time and sending a shockwave of kic energy through the air. Stone shrapnel form the cave floor was thrown up, creating a temporary cloud of dust, and vast majority of the projectiles shattered or were thrown aside due to the shockwave.


    But three made it through.


    Mesha squealed in pain and hit the ground, a crossbow bolt protruding from her back while a second bolt clipped Snagger on the shoulder to make him grunt. Simultaneously the other rogue, Bort, took a simr bolt to the eye. The small ratman dropped to the ground instantaneously, his weapons ttering to the stone floor while he pped face-down beside them hard and lifelessly.


    ¡°KILL THE BEASTS!!! KILL THEM ALL!!!¡± a deep, bellowing voice roared out, and in an instant a party of at least over thirty stout, bearded men came tearing through the tunnels leading further into the Underdark.


    <strong>[Dwarf Warrior]</strong>


    <strong>[Dwarf Warrior]</strong>


    <strong>[Dwarf Warrior]</strong><strong>[Dwarf Sharpshooter]</strong>


    The dwarves and ratmen alike were able to see in the deep tunnels of the just like Riven could, that much was made very clear by the way their coordinated movements and theck of actual light. To a normal human, the only think they¡¯d have seen would be Riven¡¯s glowing red eyes or the mes beginning to billow around Azmoth¡¯s fused ck te armor and the maul he carried.


    The stout men bore heavy metal crossbows on their backs,rge stone axes in their hands, some of them had thick round shields, and all of them had heavy stone te mail armor that looked incredibly heavy to wear. The warriors were all rather thick, muscr, and about four to five feet tall apiece.


    Azmoth responded with a roar and tore through the ck depths to meet them head on, blowing up into an inferno and bringing his hellforged maul swinging overhead. The weapon glowed a bright orange intermixed with yellows and reds, the magma along its stone bodying to life, and with a thunderous stroke downwards Azmoth smashed the first two dwarves with overwhelming force.


    The room reverberated under the impact, and an explosion of magma tore out from Azmoth¡¯s position to shower more of the short stout men like the eruption of a volcano. Thick, molten, ming metal sshed in a wave in front of the demon¡¯s position and a number of the dwarves ahead of him screamed in shock. Simultaneously Azmoth¡¯s armored, eel-like maws extended out from his back over his shoulders to breathe more mes onto the iing enemies, baking many of them alive and stopping the brunt of their attack with an abrupt, stupefied halt.


    Two bloodnces whizzed past like streaks of crimson through the dark. The unfortunate dwarves in the front that met those bloodnces were each sent backflipping when their heads and helmets exploded. More crimson mana began to stream out of the charred corpses on the ground like silky ribbons, flowing to collect into a red orb in front of Riven as a power reservoir, and Ath jumped up to the cave ceiling to begin making her way around for a nk.


    Snagger rushed over to Mesha who was still writhing on the ground and clutching at the bolt in her back. Therge ratman inspected her briefly, and then screamed in rage before he leaped towards one of the armored enemies that¡¯d managed to make it around the demon¡¯s mes.


    Not wanting to hurt Snagger with friendly fire, Riven decided not to send in a barrage of exploding discs - but rather he began to collect more bloodnces and started attaching wretched snares for the slingshot effect. Even more dwarves were rushing in anyways and most had put away their crossbows in favor of closebat weapons.


    Axes shed, cut and bounced off of Azmoth¡¯s enormous body while therge demon snapped necks with his ws, crushed bodies with his maul, and ripped off te mail to better expose his enemies while breathing fire and cackling all the while.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    Riven¡¯s crackling beam of ck lightning ripped across seven of the dwarves simultaneously, killing two outright just as an orb of purple energy rocketed out from Cheshish - the ratman caster, burying itself into the gut of one of the oing enemies and exploding in shrapnel made of stone and body parts.


    Unfortunately two more dwarves dressed in brown robes had stayed in the backline and returned fire with spells of their own. From beneath Cheshish arge hand of stone ripped from the cave floor and grasped at the rat, squeezing at him and crushing him as he squealed until his body exploded from the force.


    Riven had to dodge a simrly targeted spell, but he was far faster than Cheshish had been and knew Ath was already on the lookout for any potential backline casters or sharpshooters. The enemy mages would be dealt with soon enough, he trusted Ath¡¯s judgement.


    His body lit up with red electricity when yet another stone hand ripped out of the cave floor and he riftwalked past the enemy spell -nding right in the fray amidst Azmoth and Snagger with a tear in space to expel his body.


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    Riven¡¯s staff sent a shockwave of shadow magic as its spikes near the top de collided with one of the dwarves from the side. The dwarf only had time to blink in shock at Riven¡¯s abrupt appearance before his body wasunched into the opposite cave wall, crashing to the ground in a limp heap atop his weapon.


    The dwarves were still very surprised about the resistance, but they were trying to rally and redoubled their efforts while screaming out crazed war cries and banging their weapons on thick metal shields. ¡°TOGETHER MEN!!! BRING THE DEMON DOWN!!!¡±


    Snagger¡¯s spiked gauntlets crashed into enemies one after the other with quick blurring motions, dancing back and forth between axe swings and taking an asional clip here or there. Azmoth took most of the attention by taking on seven at once, tossing dwarves overhead and punting the smaller enemies across the cave while shrugging off most of the blows made against him.


    A pang of hunger washed through Riven¡¯s body.


    ¡°COME HERE LITTLE DWARF RUNTLING!¡± Azmoth cackled and batted another swing from a study dwarf just ahead of him. His wed hand grasped the short man by his beard and yanked him up screaming to meet Azmoth¡¯s eyeless grin with rows of obsidian teeth. ¡°GOODBYE!!!¡±


    Azmoth¡¯s mouth exploded with a beam of mes that cooked the screaming dwarf alive, still in his armor, like a boiling hot pocket.


    Meanwhile Riven had his own problems to deal with. He blocked an iing strike that was powered by some kind of martial art that made the dwarf¡¯s axe glow orange. Riven turned his shoulder at just the right moment, the brunt of the attack was redirected and the axe slid off to Riven¡¯s angled staff to crash into the stone - sending pieces of cave floor as shrapnel up into the air.


    Riven counterattacked, his handunching forward and getting a firm hold on the dwarf¡¯s neck. His fingers exploded with crimson ice, turning his entire right arm into a crimson spike-trap that skewered the dwarf¡¯s neck and went out the opposite side in a spray of blood.


    Sneering, Riven¡¯s ice retracted back into his body and he flung the corpse aside before being tackled to the ground by another dwarf - but Riven used the momentum to roll and he flung the dwarf off. Holding up his hand, he sent some of the prepared bloodnces at this new enemy.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ck and red tore forward from the spot he¡¯d been in only twenty second before, breaking the sound barrier and splitting the man in three ces while piercing his armor like a knife through butter. Blood and brain sprayed out in fountains of gore, and the dwarf¡¯s remnant corpse was flung backwards over a dozen feet with a trail of blood sttered along the ground.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    An explosion in the far back of the tunnels confirmed that Ath was fighting her own battle against the two mages that¡¯d attacked Riven with the stone hand and killed Cheshish. Briefly evaluating her situation, Riven could see that one of the dwarf mages had already been assassinated by Ath and was strung up - headless - by his feet from a stctite. The other mage was putting up quite the fight though, and was hurling rocks that he ripped out of the cave walls, ceiling and floor themselves - desperately sending a storm of stone back and forth from all directions to keep Ath at bay as the demoness ducked and weaved with an extreme disy of agility.


    Another pang of hunger swept over Riven¡¯s soul.


    Riven came back to his own fight only a moment after that and spun his staff around to block an attack directed at Snagger. The weapons shed, Riven could feel the hot breath of the panting dwarf warrior directly in front of him, and the staff in his hands quivered with an odd sensation of pleasure when he felt his flesh temporarily meld with Vampire¡¯s Escort.


    The staff¡¯s crimson spikes along the top end surrounding the main de spun, twisting along the weapon and then two of them blurred forward - extending well over three feet and tearing into the dwarf¡¯s weaker chainmail at the armpit.


    Riven didn¡¯t have time to be surprised and drew back his weapon while the warrior swore and staggered back, holding his limp left arm with a grimace before he turned to run.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    Azmoth¡¯s maul smashed through the man¡¯s body and ttened him like a pancake, armor and all, with the ming demon chuckling to himself before leaping away again towards a new victim.


    Nearby an axe swung in an uppercut and lodged itself in Snagger¡¯s ribcage. Snagger let out a howl of pain, staggering back and then took a gauntlet to the face. The dwarf warrior ripped his axe out and yelled a bellowing battlecry - jumping forward to end the ratman.


    The warrior¡¯s side and the armor covering him ripped apart with another bloodnce - stering his guts along the far wall.


    <strong>*WHOOSH*</strong>


    A bolt from a handheld crossbow Mesha produced in the backline flew within inches of Riven¡¯s face, passing straight bye and mming into a dwarf that''d managed to get behind Riven. The dwarf swore and stumbled, clutching at the bolt lodged in a weak spot between two tes of armor and then screamed when Riven¡¯s nextnce tore through his armored head.


    Riven kicked off to the left, sted another man in a spray of bloody razors that he charged with mana and exploded before they made impact. He dodged right underneath another axe swing and smashed the man in the back of the knees.


    The man fell in a cry of agony but Riven didn¡¯t have time to finish him off. With Bort and Cheshish dead, and Snagger out of the fight, it¡¯de down to Riven and his two demons at the frontline while Mesha hid behind a boulder and fired asional bolts - grimacing and the projectile still sticking out of her lower back.


    But if Riven had to be honest with himself, he wasn¡¯t exerting himself much. Not that he hadn¡¯t wanted to, but he¡¯d been unable to do so with Snagger getting in the way. Friendly fire had been a very real possibility, and now that Snagger had retreated from the front line of the fight - Riven could go all out.


    The sound barrier broke and the lines of iing enemies were eviscerated as another six prepared bloodnces sling-shotted their way forward through dwarf ranks. Another explosion of magma lit up the cave, and cks alongside spike walls of red ice were set up between Riven¡¯s position on the high ground where he started firing more and more magics into the crowd near Azmoth below.


    <strong>*KABOOM*</strong>


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    <strong>*SMASH*</strong>


    ¡°AAAAAHHHHHH!!!¡±


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    <strong>*SNAP*</strong>


    ¡°BY GROM¡¯S BEARD WILL THIS CREATURE NOT JUST DIE ALREADY!?¡±


    ¡°AZMOTH DOES NOT FEAR DWARFLINGS!!! AZMOTH WISHES TO PLAY!!!¡±


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    <strong>*THUD*</strong>


    It was like watching kittens trying to kill a fully fledged adult rhinoceros due to the size difference, and Azmoth hade into a habit of batting them across the cave as hard as he could with his maul or tail; seeing them crunch or st against the stone cave while he let outical demonic grunts of amusement. The warriors were just too weak to bring him down, their weapons only scratching his obsidian tes.


    <strong>*RIP-RIP-RIP-RIP-RIP*</strong>


    Stones of all shapes and sizes rapidly tore out of the ceiling overhead, centered on Azmoth¡¯s position, and after they started to glow with an unnatural brown light - they rocketed downwards with the fury of a torpedo. Azmoth only had a brief moment to look up, but then mmed one hand down onto the ground in an explosion of me.


    Abruptly a dome barrier of infernal mana bloomed out around the demon, evaporating two nearby enemies with a pulse of hellfire far stronger than his normal fire breath, and the very ground beneath Azmoth¡¯s feet began to melt. The temperature was so extreme in fact that Riven¡¯s eyes hurt just from looking that way, but it onlysted for a few seconds.


    The iing enemy spell ripped downwards and collided with the ming barrier, the mana-infused stones disintegrating upon contact and turning into ash that floated away with the dull current of wind. Azmoth looked up from where he now knelt in a pool ofva, grinning at the awestruck mage in the background past the stunned warriors nearby - just as the mage¡¯s head was severed from his body in a lightning-fast strike from behind via one of Ath¡¯s des. Chaos erupted in the backlines a secondter, and Azmoth began to cackle when the ming dome dissipated.


    There was no doubt in Riven¡¯s mind. Even since he¡¯d acquired Azmoth as a familiar, the hellscape brutalisk had increased his defensive prowess and ability to take hits drastically. He¡¯d been a tank since stepping out of theher realms on that very first day back in the dungeon Negrada, but now that stat points and evaluations had been stacked so much over the course of leveling up¡­ it was just unfair. It made Riven curious: Just what level WERE these dwarves at?


    He needed to get an identifier in the party.


    Riven teleported left, his body vanishing through another rift. He exploded into the air again, his body materializing right behind another of the dwarves who thought they¡¯d take care of Mesha and Snagger in the backline.


    ¡°Not today, motherfucker!¡±


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    Riven¡¯s staff extended its de like a whip, and it lit up with crimson light when the weapon ability ¡®scorpion¡¯s sting¡¯ activated. The de shifted and sted through the air like a ribbon of death, cleaving through the necks of the two enemies in less than a second before rapidly snapping back onto the head of the staff with a thunk.


    He slowly turned, staring down two more warriors who warily eyed him amidst the sprawled out corpses of their allies.


    Riven¡¯s aura exploded upon their attempt at assassination of his newfound rat-oriented friends. The energy his aura released was a violent mixture of raw anger and visible crimson power that caused the cave to start freezing around him. Stone protrusions started umting frost, the air around him started to simmer, and his red eyes grew even brighter to spider-web across his faces in lines of power.


    Hunger raced through him yet again.


    The power spiked and the cave shook when he fed even more of his mana into the aura. His cloak billowed out around him in the storm he¡¯d created, and the dwarf assassins quickly stepped back with wide eyes. Stone shrapnel ripped off the walls and joined the rippling waves of mana, and the vampire lifted one hand - palm up and body engulfed with roaring energy - to beckon them with his fingers.


    ¡°Come.¡±


    The smaller, thicker, armored men took one look at each other in stunned silence. Then their grimacing faces became stoney, they gave each other a nod, and they charged.


    It was brave, Riven had to give them that, but it was also very stupid. As soon as they hit the cyclone his aura produced, their bodies began to rip apart like paper through a shredder. Riven just watched silently and unmoving as the two warriors tried to push through. Watched as one of them had the flesh stripped off his face and the stone tes carved off his body before he was torn asunderpletely. Watched as the other dwarf managed to barely make it through the torrent of wailing crimson winds, only to take a single step beyond it and fall over dead - bleeding out on the ground with his body ravaged.


    Well that¡¯d been easy enough. Test runplete.


    The remaining dwarves who¡¯d been fighting Azmoth began to retreat with fearful shouts of despair, sprinting back towards the tunnel where Ath was finishing off another four mages that¡¯de at the dead end of the enemy column - piles of debris and stone littering the ground around her while her most recent targety bleeding out on the floor and impaled by one of her arachnid legs. She saw theming and quickly began spinning a web to slow them down - dashing back into the tunnels where she knew they¡¯d go and blurring up-down, side-to-side, with dozens of threads attaching from wall to wall or floor to ceiling every few seconds.


    Azmoth tossed histest victim¡¯s ripped corpse to the floor and let out a roar reminiscent of a T-Rex off those Jurassic Park movies Riven had seen growing up. The monstrous demon lunged ahead to chase them down with his tail sweeping out behind him, being far slower than Ath but about as fast as the dwarves were. With Ath slowing them down, tangling them up in her crimson webs and Riven firing off sts of ck lightning and bloodnces over Azmoth¡¯s shoulders across the downwards slope - the dwarves quickly sumbed one after another. Thissted only half a minute, with the dwarf warriors pleading, begging for mercy and screaming curses at them until the final one died under Azmoth¡¯s wed foot.


    Riven didn¡¯t waste any time, and he quickly stripped his mask to begin feeding on the dead.

 Chapter 128

    Chapter 128


    <strong>Chapter 128</strong>


    Gurth¡¯Rok looked back at the reflection in the mirror, and he put his hand against the ss to try and wipe away the disfigured features he saw. The wooden mask to his left had been worn for many years now, a reminder of his failures. The scars he bore and the upper lip that¡¯d been ripped off to give him his ever-present snarl still radiated remnant magics of a long forgotten curse that¡¯d been resistant to his attempts at healing. It¡¯d been a disfigurement he¡¯d finally and grudgingly epted.


    Until now.


    Dr. Brass stood behind him at the door leading into the hallway, the previously old man now showing signs of vigor and youth in abundance. His shriveled frame was now slim and athletic, his features turning pristine and refined. Graything, thinning hair had turned into a thicker, silky silver - and all the previous health problems ailing him had disappeared entirely.


    Beside Dr. Brass, Allie Thane widely smiled - disying her fangs excitedly when Gurth¡¯Rok stood up. Therge orc turned around, bowed to Allie, and straightened again with a clenched jaw. Two of his other orc elites were there to witness the transformation, and goblets of blood had already been drained from the elves again with bindings prepared.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Allie asked curiously, gesturing to the chains and shackles two of her skeletal minions held on either side of where she stood.


    The orc chieftain nced over to one of his childhood friends, now an elite guard of the Yellow Skull Tribe, and firmed his resolve when his friend gave him a reassuring nod. ¡°I am. Bind me.¡±


    The two skeletons stepped forward and started applying the shackles, and Allie¡¯s smile only widened to unnatural proportions when she stepped forward past Dr. Brass and into Gurth¡¯Rok¡¯s personal space. She slid one hand up the orc¡¯s neck, feeling his sinewy muscture retract on reflex to her cold touch, and then she motion for him toy down. ¡°It may hurt.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll definitely hurt.¡± Dr. Brass affirmed. ¡°But it¡¯s worth it. You¡¯ll feel¡­ different, but in a very good way.¡±Gurth¡¯Rok took in a deep, wavering breath. This is what he needed to do in order to not only heal himself, but maintain a ce of power in the new order. Bing one of them would guarantee that he would not be thrown aside when the coven grew in power, and he knew it was only a matter of time. If one could not beat them, join then, and he¡¯d seen little reason to do anything else but obey so far. Joining the Thane Necropolis had supplied his people with security, a new home, and newnds with plentiful animals to hunt - even if they were strangely afflicted with unholy magics or undeath. Even if the animals didn¡¯t supply meat, his warriors were quickly gaining levels and were acquiring Elysium Coins to use at the altar in exchange for food that way - and their situation had change from one of starvation and exclusion to one of inclusion and plenty in mere days.


    Joining the Thane Necropolis had been one of the best decisions of his life, and he had little doubt that it¡¯d saved his people from obliteration. It was time to turn the page in the book detailing his life, and he was finally ready to move on to embrace change as the haunted failings of his past were finally being let go.


    Gurth¡¯Roky back on the floor, chains secured and neck exposed. He nodded, and felt his heartbeat pick up when Allie¡¯s sinister figure took steps forward to loom overhead. ¡°I am ready. Please begin.¡±


    ***


    The world was changing.


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    And Riven was at the epicenter of at least onerge piece of that change.


    Riven¡¯s eyes shifted upwards, not being startled at all like the others nearby - but instead being incredibly irritable now that the sudden burst of power ahead of him had been caused by nothing but a rather fancy notification. This one was etched in golden mes, far different from the teal-blue colored notifications he usually got, and he put down the dwarf corpse he was feeding on to evaluate the new set of information.


    He squinted, red eyes flickering over the words while Ath started wing her way over the dead to read it too.


    Then his interest began to rise.


    <strong>[World Quest 2, The Apocalypse Beasts: Chalgathi (Updated x1)</strong>


    <strong>The death of this world approaches. Neckra, the Skeletal Devourer, churns in his sandy tomb amidst a sea of the unliving. Chalgathi, the gue Dragon, awaits those that would free him from his skyward prison above the clouds. Chubin, the ss Kraken, seeks an escape from the abyss beneath the ocean. The cults of the end times gather their strength and resources to try and find theirs of their chosen apocalypse beasts. Should they seed, your world is doomed.</strong>


    <strong>As one of the 3 Apocalypse Beasts born for this cycle of ascension, Chalgathi is destined for carnage. It is a creature of nightmarish power, a beast born of hate and malice. 5 years after the beginning of this integration a wave of destruction will spread across all the world on wings of decay. Empires will fall, billions will die, and the very ground you tread upon will rot and wither - for the gue dragon has finally awakened.</strong>


    <strong>However, there is an alternative to this fate: Stop the cultists from raising the gue dragon to his adult form, find Chalgathi¡¯s incubation chamber, and destroy or im his egg for yourself before the 5 year period is done. You, </strong><strong>Riven Thane,</strong><strong> are one of his chosen ones. You have acquired one of his artifacts: Chalgathi Cultist Amulet, and have started down the path of saving this doomed world. It falls on you to act.</strong>


    <strong>There were 50 chosen ones to leave Chalgathi¡¯s Trials, all of which have unholy bloodlines of great power. There are now 48 originals remaining, with 2 newly chosen having been assigned upon recent deaths. The chosen ones are divided into 2 categories: Cultists, and those who are not cultists, the significance of which will be revealed upon quest updates; and you are allpeting against one another regardless of what category you fall into. Depending on which of the chosen reaches Chalgathi¡¯sir to sessfully im his egg, each oue could have drastically different consequences with salvation or damnation of Panu. Each surviving chosen one came out of Chalgathi¡¯s starter quest with 1 piece of a 5 piece set called the Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance Set. There are a total of 10plete and identical sets, with set pieces being able to shift form slightly based on the build of their wearer. Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance includes the following: </strong><strong>Chalgathi Cultist Amulet, Chalgathi Cultist ws, Chalgathi Cultist Mask, Chalgathi Cultist Pauldrons, and Chalgathi Cultist Breastte.</strong>


    <strong>> You must find and collect one of each of these 5 items toplete the item set, at which point you will gain the locations and ess to Chalgathi¡¯s Altars. You will be required to visit all 4 altar sites and activate the shrines before acquiring knowledge of the location of Chalgahti¡¯s Temple where Chalgathi¡¯s incubation chamber has been hidden.</strong>


    <strong>> You must kill or rob other chosen that have necessary pieces to create the full set. You may find them by utilizing a </strong><strong>¡®Ping Chalgathi Artifacts¡¯</strong><strong> ability provided to you that tracks others of Chalgathi¡¯s chosen across the of Panu. ¡®Ping Chalgathi Artifacts¡¯ will do exactly as it says in the name, and gives you a generalized feel for direction for where you can find these other needed pieces.</strong>


    <strong>> Acquiring more than 1 of the same type of artifact will result in banishment of extra same-type artifacts before administering them to a newly picked chosen one; or the system will readminister the duplicate artifacts to chosen ones who are still alive but lost their artifacts. Each time a chosen one dies their spot in the questline will be given to someone within the general popce and be given the skill ¡®Ping Chalgathi Artifacts¡¯. There will always be 50 chosen ones with Chalgathi¡¯s subset of ¡®The Apocalypse Beast¡¯ quest line. If chosen ones die, they will be reced with new chosen ones at Chalgathi¡¯s discretion.</strong>


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    <strong>></strong><strong>Only once all set pieces have been fully equipped to a chosen one will Chalgathi¡¯s subquest of ¡®The Apocalypse Beasts¡¯ update to the next stage.</strong>


    <strong>Summary:</strong>


    <strong>>There will always be 50 chosen ones with the ability to ping Chalgathi¡¯s artifacts, having recements fill in for those who died along the way. Those who are not Chalgtahi¡¯s chosen ones may not enter the temple.</strong>


    <strong>> Acquire the amulet, ws, mask, pauldrons and breastte by any means, but it is very likely you¡¯ll have to kill the other chosen ones to do so.</strong>


    <strong>>Once the item set ispleted, you will have a quest update.</strong>


    <strong>Number of chosen ones holding 5 artifacts: 0</strong>


    <strong>Number of chosen ones holding 4 artifacts: 0</strong>


    <strong>Number of chosen ones holding 3 artifacts: 1</strong>


    <strong>Number of chosen ones holding 2 artifacts: 0</strong>


    <strong>Number of chosen ones holding 1 artifacts: 47</strong>


    <strong>Number of chosen ones holding 0 artifacts: 2]</strong>


    <strong>[You have been gifted the unique ability: ¡®Ping Chalgathi Artifacts¡¯. This ability pings the locations of other Chalgathi Inheritance Set artifacts - </strong><strong>only identifying pieces you do not already have after the very first utilization of this ability (the very first activation will set sights on all artifacts)</strong><strong>, and may be used at any time without any mana requirement. This ability only locates artifacts that you are missing from the set.]</strong>


    He¡¯d need to talk to Allie about this, and soon.


    Riven¡¯s eyes slowly drifted down to the medallion around his neck that¡¯d been tucked into his shirt. Suddenly, he felt like a very real need to get this thing identified fast. Up until now he¡¯d not been able to find an identifier, but now that he had identifiers at the tradingmunes at his altar it was very likely he¡¯d be able to swing an easy deal.


    That would have to be a very high priority for him, starting now.


    He pulled up his status page momentster, noting the level up he¡¯d acquired but also seeing the new ability he¡¯d been gifted - and he started to apply points. He must not have noticed the notifications proiming his level ups while being so epassed with feeding on the dwarf, but he¡¯d certainly not scoff at another level.


    <strong>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 45</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty, Infernal, Shadow</strong></li><li><strong>Core of Original Sin - Gluttony:] (Under Construction)(???)</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] </strong><strong>Race: Pureblooded Vampire</strong><strong> (Extreme Darkness Regeneration)(Sunlight Decay)(Extreme Weakness to Silver weapons, Sun pir, and Light pir attacks), </strong><strong>ss: Warlock Adept,</strong><strong> Adrenaline Junky (Blood)(+15% to Agility), Aplishment Title: Bloodthirsty 1 (+5% increased blood mana from corpses, +1% dmg for blood magic)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Silvertongue (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood)(Tier 2), Blood Nova (Blood)(Tier 3), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal), Riftwalk (Shadow), Ping Chalgathi Artifacts (Unique)</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 75 Strength, 173 Sturdiness, 420 Intelligence, 198 Agility, 10 Luck, -383 Charisma, 189 Vampiric Perception, 126 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li><strong>Free Stat Points: 7</strong></li><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 37 Arshakai [36 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 40 Hellscape Brutalisk (Infernal Crusader Initiate) [49 Willpower Requirement]. Fay, Level 27 Subus [29 Willpower Required]</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] Basic Cloak (1 def), Vampire¡¯s Escort (104 dmg, 102% mana regen, shadow and blood dmg +22%, ck Lightning, Scorpion¡¯s Sting), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (???), Leather Boots (1 def), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Breath of Valgeshia (48 def, +13 dmg & +9% mana output dmg for blood dmg, 6% mana regen), Satin Bag of Holding]</strong></li></ul>


    Normally Riven ced most of his free stat points into Intelligence, some into sturdiness, and some into Willpower. But now with Fay added to the list and Azmoth¡¯s recent evolutions, he was cutting it close for Willpower requirements and didn¡¯t want to hold his demons up if they ever needed more for new powerups. So he ced all 7 points into Willpower, bringing it from 126 to 133.


    Then, activating his new ability - he found that he got approximate locations via direction and a vague feeling of distance from 46 other people. It was more of a sixth sense than anything else. One of these other ¡®chosen ones¡¯ was no doubt Allie, who was rather close, with the other closest figure only being a little over 80 miles away. All others were much, much further than that¡­ Meaning that although this new turn of events was concerning - it wasn¡¯t likely an immediate concern.


    However, having other people track him based on his item was something he¡¯d have to consider. Perhaps keeping it in a guarded location rather than wearing it himself would be wise, as that painted a target on his back.


    But he¡¯d make that decision after he actually knew what the fuck this stupid thing did. Perhaps leaving it on was a great boon, and he¡¯d just not had the time or resources to figure it out until now.


    ***


    Ath and Riven exchanged hushed words before activities resumed.


    Mesha and Snagger watched in somber silence as Riven and Azmoth went back to gorging themselves on the bodies of the fallen dwarves - with both rat-kin giving each other questioning looks when the golden notification winked out. It¡¯d been too far for either of them to read it, and they¡¯d been tending their wounds while not wanting to intrude. They¡¯d been patched up by Ath¡¯s meager ability to stitch injuries with her threads, though they were still hurt. They just weren¡¯t bleeding out anymore.


    Ath on the other hand was going through the inventory of their defeated enemies, asionally putting a ring, pouch or trinket into a purple and gold spacial sack simr to the one Riven had taken from the dungeon; an item she¡¯d found on one of the dwarf mages. The spacial sack itself was the greatest prize, an item that could hold items far beyond what a normal bag of its size should be able to do. It had a storage system in it that could keep items in an alternate pocket dimension linked directly to the bag, and she¡¯d already found a bunch of good stuff in there even before she¡¯d started looting the others. There¡¯d been potions, two books, three rings, some clothes, a bunch of money, some assortments of ores which she didn¡¯t know the value of, seven dark elf ears that¡¯d apparently been taken as sick trophies of some sort, and food stuffs. That list was only adding up as she went, and she still had another dozen bodies to check over.


    Mesha absentmindedly pawed at her white fur, grimacing when she moved in the wrong way to adjust her sitting position against the boulder they leaned back on. She leaned over to whisper to her brother. ¡°Your friend-allies are strong-mighty.¡±


    Snagger didn¡¯t bother replying, rather he lowered his eyes and let out a mournful squeak. Cheshish and Bort had been his friends for years, and losing them to a dwarven patrol this far from the battle grounds hadn¡¯t been something he¡¯d ever expected. The dwarves had been encroaching on the nest¡¯s territory since the integration, and the brood was bing desperate. If something wasn¡¯t done about the dwarves and their genocidal ughter of Snagger¡¯s people, the ratmen may just very well have to pack up and leave. The problem was that the underdark was a very dangerous ce, and finding a new safe haven would be very hard to do and doubtless a big risk in itself. Then there was the question of whether or not a location would have ess to enough resources to support the remaining brood, or if it¡¯d mean they¡¯d all starve. The nest had put decades of time and effort into cultivating their underground farms, and if they left - they¡¯d be abandoning those farms for the dwarves to take hold of. That alone would mean many thousands more of his people would die, because they wouldn¡¯t be able to keep feeding themselves in the short term should they leave.


    That was why Snagger and groups like his were constantly being sent out by the queen, searching for potential allies to fight alongside them against the dwarves. Peace talks and envoys had all fallen short, their diplomats¡¯ heads being put on pikes in the major tunnels where traffic led towards the nest, and crude messages or threats being written in the blood of Snagger¡¯s people as a response. It was very clear to everyone involved that the dwarves wanted nothing more than to route the entire rat-kin poption and im this area for their own kingdom, and thus far - the dwarves were winning the war.


    ¡°Do you think-imagine the vampire glowing-eyes has more-many of his people to help us?¡± Mesha eventually pushed again after getting no response from the open-ended statement she¡¯d made earlier. ¡°The queen-mother will reward the bright-eyes greatly-much if he has-does.¡±


    Snagger grunted, and ced a wed rat hand on his wounded armpit, still not entirely able to move that particr side even now. It was likely that tendons and ligaments had been torn right through, but Snagger was just lucky he¡¯d kept the arm at all. Wounds like this would eventually heal or he could get a healer back in the nest to seal it over and repair the injury. If he¡¯d lost the arm entirely, that may or may not be the case. ¡°He did not tell-show me-me. I was to ask-inquire of this now-here, when we invite him-him to the nest-city. He may-might be alone, but can show-tell of valuable information-facts even if he is one-alone and does not have many-lots of blood-eater vampire-kin with him. We-we do not know-see of the world yet. Nest-kin must know-see of Panu now that worlds have merged.¡±

 Chapter 129

    Chapter 129


    <strong>Chapter 129</strong>


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯lle up with a name for our new city after you cull the opposition. Remember not to just butcher anything in sight, I mean that, and catch youter.¡± The call with Allie ended, and he deposited the ckmunication bauble in his bag of holding. Riven thumbed through the pages of one of therge books he¡¯d taken off the dwarves, walking behind Snagger down the underdark tunnels with a gleeful grin and gave Ath a loving pat on the head. ¡°You y fetch nicely! Who¡¯s da good dawg!¡±


    <strong>*SMACK*</strong>


    ¡°OW!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m NOT a dog! I¡¯m a princess. Hmph!¡±


    Riven imbued amand. ¡°Bark for me.¡±


    ¡°WOOF! Hey!¡±


    ¡°Sucker.¡±


    Ath pouted and folded her arms over her chest. ¡°Not fair!¡±¡°What¡¯s not?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t use my contract like that! I feel vited.¡±


    ¡°You signed up for it, girlfriend!¡±


    Riven gave her a wide teasing grin and then stuck his tongue out while pulling his cheeks apart, crossing his eyes and making a stupid face. She tried to hide her amusement under an eyeroll and a quick twist of her hips - walking further ahead with her long ck hair swaying behind her while pretending to act disgusted.


    ¡°Ugh. You humans are immature.¡±


    ¡°Vampire, not human.¡± Riven cackled to himself and went back to looking over the notes scribbled into the text. It was one of many items Ath had scrounged up, and it wasn¡¯t anything magical but it was a condensed list of valuable ores and where to find them via instructions and maps drawn out on the parchment. It contained all the information the dwarves had umted so far in their scouting missions for this particr group Riven had killed, and it looked like they¡¯d spent weeks at a minimum jotting it all down. They even had Snagger¡¯s nest listed as a potential zone for ¡®extermination¡¯.


    Mesha the white-furred ratkin rogue was not far off further down the tunnels, asionally giving the book Riven was holding inquisitive stares, but she¡¯d always turn away when she saw Riven¡¯s eyes dart over to her. He caught on pretty fast though and intentionally caught her in the act mid-stare a few minutester while hopping over a small cave pool.


    ¡°Interested in the contents?¡±


    Riven snapped the book shut and casually tossed it over to the ratkin female, smiling to himself as she hastily nodded with a light squeak of appreciation and then began to thumb through the pages herself.


    The footsteps of their party, namely Azmoth, echoed across stone walls as the path narrowed and spilt off into four different directions within a small cave and crossroads. Snagger took them left, and they began to descend deeper into the underdark after a spiral loop. These were likely once hugeva tunnels, no doubt, a vast and intricatework of them. That they were intricate only became more apparent the further they walked, and they soon found themselves on one of the most curious trips Riven had ever been on before.


    Some of the caverns they passed through were many miles high and even many more miles wide, leading torge ecosystems of cave-dwelling creatures like various species of bats, huge ck or purple snakes, glowing green mushrooms the size of trees and moss clumps that created literal hills. Neon-teal grass, fungi and molds were seen in abundance, creating forests that were rampant with tiny rodents, brilliantly colored smanders, ants the size of small dogs, and other insects of various types. Pools of crystal clear water with bioluminescent or pale white shrimp could be seen feeding on nt algae, withrger, blind, squid-like creatures even further in the darker recesses of thekes or basking on the shores underneath the canopy of glowing mushrooms. They got attacked twice, once by arge spider-like creature that Ath actually spoke to and sent away without anything more than an initial scuffle - much to Riven¡¯s amazement, and a small group of chitinous giant centipedes. The orange armored centipedes here each weighed a couple hundred pounds, but Riven annihted them easily enough with a few spells. He didn¡¯t even break a sweat in the attempt. Otherwise Snagger and his cousin Mesha did a good job of keeping everyone out of the dangerous areas and away from conflict.


    ¡°It¡¯s very pretty.¡± Riven muttered under his breath while they marched along the outer edge of one of these caverns, looking down at arge pit where a flock of brilliant pink cave birds were bathing at a centralke.


    Snagger approvingly smiled back at him, still gingerly clutching the armpit that¡¯d been stitched back together by Ath with one gauntleted hand. ¡°We are close-near to the brood! Wait-stop until you see-view our nest-city! It is much-very nice-pretty as well-well!¡±


    Snagger was telling the truth.


    It took nearly an hour after that to get there, and it¡¯d been nearly an entire day of traveling through the underdark with once stopping for a short exchange of naps and standing guard, but they finally arrived through a small tunnel entrance at an overwatching point.


    The nesting cavern was absolutely massive, unlike anything Riven would have thought even closely resembling possible. It spanned for at least a couple dozen miles, maybe even a hundred miles directly in front of him, but due to the twists and turns in the distance it was hard to tell just how vast this cavern system was. Thousands of bioluminescent vines hung down from the ceiling, some in clusters that hung dozens of feet and others by themselves that were not as long, giving light to the otherwise dark interior of the cavern. Pools of glistening water rippled with underground waterfalls that came down from the ceiling above, with rivers snaking their way through an absolute clusterfuck of activity with no rhyme or reason to it. There was barely any organization, with most of the structures either being made out of hardened y, a dark brown wood-like substance, or stone.


    The vast majority of these structures were divided up intorge mounds or hills anywhere from the size of arge house to the size of a football stadium that held dozens or even hundreds of small caves or tunnels apiece. These mounds were truly the only glimpse of organization in the entire city, but many of them also had beams made of a strange dark brown substances simr to wood with very rough texture that created awork of roadways above the mounds leading to various points. The beams themselves looked very simr to what construction workers would use back on Earth to set up support tforms while buildingrge buildings or towers downtown, but this was on an entirely different level than that. Taking in the rag-tag fiesta of nonsense construction here in Snagger¡¯s nest made Riven¡¯s head hurt, and some of the wood-like beams even led to nowhere at all just to hover above the city as if they¡¯d been left halfpleted.


    Hundreds of thousands of ratkin, most of them about Mesha¡¯s size and a lot smaller than Snagger was, scurried back and forth over these hundreds of mounds or beams above while diving in or out of the holes leading into the mound interiors. The hills of y and stone had not only been created on floor level, but had also been created up the sides of the cave 45 degree angles and somewhat steep drops down, with most of the ratkin easily making their way back and forth across these structures via climbing.


    Riven himself probably would be able to climb up and down those inclines, but he¡¯d personally be worried about falling as it seemed just a bit unsafe. He¡¯d definitely be avoiding the beams if at all possible as well.


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    Aside from the tunneled hills, the beams, and scurrying bodies, or the congregations of ratkin drinking from thekes, there were also a couple of what Riven assumed to be shops topside that were more exposed than whatever infrastructure was present inside the hills of caves and holes. He saw an open, glowing forge with green plumes of smoke wafting into the air atop one of the mounds busy with activity and buying customers. He saw another mound nearby disying arge collection of jewelry that was no doubt enchanted from the remnant mana Riven could sense even at this distance, with disy cases of ss under guard from the shopkeeper¡¯s employees. Yet another vendor at the base of another mound that was selling leather and chitin goods they¡¯d no doubt made from dead animals found in the underdark.


    *KABLAM*


    The nearby forge exploded with red light, sending a couple dozen ratkin screaming through the air and to their deaths while still ame until theynded with crunches and crashes.


    ¡°That nest-family is-is experimenting with fire-chemicals, insane-crazy they are!¡± Mesha cackled, pointing a small wed finger at where dozens of other ratkin had beguning out of the mound beneath the forge to start cleanup or help the survivors of whatever had been going on there. ¡°They make-create weapon-gadgets and are very rich-wealthy!¡±


    ¡°Come-walk, we must go talk-speak to another!¡± Snagger said, waving at Riven and his minions to follow and perking hisrge rat ears up at the sounds of the nest-city below. ¡°Follow me-me!¡±


    Riven¡¯s presence was noticed immediately by the surrounding ratkin upon their approach. But seeing that Riven was walking alongside Snagger and Mesha while talking to them about their nest put many of the ratkin at ease - who then only gave Riven and his demons curious nces before returning to whatever work they¡¯d been up to before his arrival.


    The further Riven walked, the more he realized that this city was truly a rag-tag sprawl of various buildings on the insides of these hill-like mounds that were more unique than he¡¯d originally thought. Passing through the crowds of curious onlookers that shuffled about him, he was able to see inside a lot of the mounds through the caves adorning them to get a better idea of how these ratkin lived their lives.


    There were family residences, more shops, areas for crafters, storage areas full of mushrooms and grains or equipment, there was even a colosseum where Riven paused to watch tworge rat-kin evenrger than Snagger battle it out in a brutal match to the death. The crowds roared their approval and swapped bets before the final blow smashed the other rat-kin¡¯s skull in, and a couple squabbles broke out just after that with knife and ws shing in the dark - likely because one side didn¡¯t want to pay the other when their bets fell through. More died in those scuffles, goods traded hands, and the dead bodies were promptly disposed or ignored while society just kept on going like nothing had ever happened.


    ¡°Is it normal that people just get murdered out in the open like that?¡± Riven asked, ncing over to where another small rat-kin had been stabbed in the throat and tossed out of one of the tunnels - only for his body to be dragged away by a random passerby.


    Snagger nced over, then shrugged. ¡°The nest-brood has high-many births, we multiple-produce our kind fast-rapidly! When you are mark-branded by the kin leaders, you-you gain protection from rulesws. Before mark-brands, you are not-not protected-saved by rulesws.¡±


    Therger rat-kin pulled down his vest to disy arge triangr marking that¡¯d been burned into his skin. Mesha did the same, showing her own mark, and Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised.


    ¡°How do people know if you have the mark?¡± Riven asked curiously, folding his arms and watching yet another scuffle break out to his right. ¡°And the others, they¡¯re not protected by yourws at all? Is this like a caste system?¡±


    Snagger paused, trading a look with the smaller cousin of his. ¡°What is caste-system?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a social hierarchy where one group of people is considered better than the others, it dictates who you can marry, who you can socialize with or what you can do for work - that kind of thing.¡±


    Mesha vigorously nodded. ¡°Yes-yes! Like-simr to that. The mark-brands are given to us and magic identifies-signals us to other n-nest kin as high-mighty citizen-kin. Rat-kin are high-citizen or low-citizen kin, with low-citizen kin not-unable to be protected by rulesws. Must earn-collect mark-brand from queen or brood-nest mothers to earn-acquire one. So kill-fighting low-kin is not rule bound-enforced, can kill-fight them without punishment. If a kin kill-fights us-we, as high-kin, gaurds and other citizen-ratkin enforce rulesws to defend us. It is known.¡±


    ¡°So I could just go over and murder a ¡®low-kin¡¯ person and not have anything happen to me?¡±


    ¡°Only if you are-be high-kin. You are not rat-kin, so does-is not applied to you-you. If I-we want to fight-kill low-kin, we can attempt-try, but they can fight-kill us back and take-obtain our mark-brand.¡±


    ¡°Kinda fucked up.¡± Riven frowned while crossing his arms disapprovingly.


    Mesha snorted in amusement, sidestepping arger ratkin carrying a steel pole into one of the tunnels nearby. ¡°We overpopte-breed fast, it makes us-we strong-fit for survivors. But with beard-men dwarf-fighters attacking-warring us, queen-kin has told us-we to try and hold off customs-traditions to save our numbers-kin for war.¡±


    Riven felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Snagger looking down at him rather hesitantly.


    ¡°Is it alright-ok if we take-show you to the brood-mother? Want to know many thing-happenings of top-surface, of new world ally-friends and fighter-enemies.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°Like, the queen of your city?¡±


    Therger ratman rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck with a toothy grin that looked a little weirding from a humanoid rat, but nevertheless it was obviously friendly. ¡°No! We take-show information on world to brood-mother, Mesha and I¡¯s brood-mother, head of family-nest - not city-nest. It is our brood-nest. Queen-mother look-seeks for new friend-allies and information, but not important enough for us-we to get audience. That why we take-show to brood-nest instead of city-nest.¡±


    There was a long pause as he considered this.


    ¡°Huh. Sure thing, that¡¯s fine with me. Not sure if I¡¯ll be any real help but I¡¯ll answer what I can and what I know.¡±


    That was more than enough for Snagger, and he along with Mesha led the way while beckoning Riven and his two demonic familiars to follow.


    Mesha and Snagger eventually led them to a checkpoint along the city¡¯s inner perimeter where the crowds started to thin and things became more organized. A wall had been erected here, encircling one of manyrgerpounds that sometimes had two or three mounds apiece. This particr mound was singr, but nevertheless was heavily guarded and muchrger than many of the other mounds in the area.


    Guards outfitted in leathers simr to Snagger¡¯s own from a stone tower overlooking a path called back and forth with the duo, holding crossbows and asking about Riven and the demonic servants, but neither the guards nor any of the other ratkin passing them by seemed to mind that Riven was a vampire. Nor did they seem to care that he had demons with him either. The most that continued to happen were a few curious nces, but none of them were hostile and Riven even got a few open smiles. This only confirmed what Snagger had originally told him about the underdark, that ratkin here were used to vampires from their old world - and it was rather encouraging after the absolute looks of horror or hate from elves and humans he¡¯d received on the surface.


    After the checkpoint was over with and Snagger told the guards of the dwarven scouting party that¡¯d attacked them, he proceeded to exin he was bringing in outsiders to see their brood-mother. The guards let them pass without much issue, knowing Snagger and Mesha already, and their group entered thepound to travel into the mound with minimal incident after that.


    However, one of the guards hopped down adder and rushed off to tell the military of the dwarves¡¯ presence. ording to Mesha, the dwarves had been encroaching on their territories but had never ventured that close to the city yet.


    ¡°The dwarves grow fierce-aggressive.¡± Meshamented when they entered the mound through arge cave entrance, entering a bustling rat-made cavework of merchants, food carts, and ramshackle buildings of various makes. ¡°They kill-butcher us-we, take our goods-things, want our city-spawn.¡±


    Riven had overheard Snagger and his cousin Mesha talk about the dwarves in brief snippets along their travels, but still had little to go on and wanted to rify a few things. ¡°So why are your people at war with this group of dwarves?¡±


    Mesha nodded and squeaked loudly at a bunch of young whippersnappers that chittered andughed while yfully racing underneath Snagger¡¯s legs. ¡°Yes-yes, the dwarf-wretches kill us, attack us-we, take our shiny things because they want-need ournd-things. They hunt-kill us and leave message-threats telling us-we to leave. The queen-mother and many brood-mothers have led battles against dwarf-wretches, we win-attack and lose-attack both. We try to make peace-sign with dwarf-wretches, but they say no-refuse.¡±


    Huh.


    Riven didn¡¯t know Mesh or Snagger very well, but based solely on how the dwarves had tried to ambush Riven and the rest of them he couldn¡¯t help but be a little biased against the dwarves now. He shook his head. To think he¡¯d have met dwarves, elves, orcs, demons, and even ratkin since leaving Earth only about two months ago? It was all very surreal. That being said he was very excited to explore this underground sanctuary of civilization, and was pretty sure he was the first person from Earth to get a good look at any rat-kin city since the worlds had merged.


    To go where no man has gone before!

 Chapter 130

    Chapter 130


    <strong>Chapter 130</strong>


    The trees had begun to turn from vibrant green to a dark gray and ck, many of them losing their leaves entirely or illuminating deathly teal light. The grass had gone from a healthy look to a gray-silver, and unnerving fogs blocked their sight even though it was midday. Though the umtion of dark clouds in the sky that seemed to settle in ever-more without signs of leaving any time soon didn¡¯t help their vision problems either - and it¡¯d been this way for the past ten miles.


    Despite the sightings of skeletal undead wolves or pitch-ck deer with ghostly outlines that¡¯d mutated into unholy versions of their previous selves, the very small trade caravan traveling northwards through thest stretch of forest was in hopeful spirits. The guard unit at the front was hacking and shing away, creating pathways through the underbrush for the other men and women - mostly being merchants that were using mules for carrying luggage.


    Cade was one of these merchants. As a younger and adventurous man he¡¯d been far more excited than most about the prospect of the worlds merging than most. He saw it as an opportunity for growth, rather than an opportunity to be feared, and he¡¯d been among the first to volunteer for his uncle¡¯s quest to depart from the town of Bradshire westwards, across the ins to seek out trading partners with the undead of this ¡®Brightsville¡¯ rumors talked of. Some people called his uncle stupid for even attempting it, being fearful that he and his caravan would be turned into corpses and used as fodder to create even more of the unliving, but these were desperate times and the war with the elves was cutting food back drastically. If they didn¡¯t get more of it, their people would starve - and his uncle had a bleeding heart. Both Cade and his uncle felt that this was not only an opportunity to be rich, but was also a civic duty to keep their people fed.


    So they¡¯d begun their journey with whatever goods they¡¯d had. They¡¯d carried various textiles, pottery, basic weapons and armor, as well as some minor totems. They¡¯d even brought along carts of corpses from the war effort, courtesy of a captain in the army they knew that¡¯d urged them to keep the bodies as a gift to increase chances of sess. Now that all the Kingdom of Dawn had been mix-and-matched across the newndscape, or at least what was left of their kingdom after half of the cities and towns had likely been sent to the opposite side of their new world Panu, new pathways had to be carved out, mapped and routed. Not only that but the natural resources supplied by each of the settlements left in Dawn were now vastly different from how they¡¯d been before, trading partners from other kingdoms were now long gone, and the people of Dawn had monster problems to deal with.


    Not to mention these sphemous world quests the system had endangered everyone with.


    Regardless, Cade was excited and smiled while brushing his hands through his short ck hair. With his other hand he kept his donkey Horus close by, making sure to lead it on by giving the grumpy animal asional carrots so it wouldn¡¯t just refuse to keep moving. The reason Cade was excited was news from a runner who¡¯d caught up to their caravan not even an hour ago.


    More specifically, it was news that Allie Thane of the Thane Necropolis had sent word: she was going to meet with Theodore Munchamp, Court Wizard to the king, for official negotiations. This was a huge deal, not only for their kingdom - but it also meant their little voyage northwards was a lot more likely to be met with positive interactions rather than outright hostility. The risk had just dropped off.


    Contact had been made with the Thane Necropolis north of the forest and adjacent ins just days ago, or so said some of the hunters from Maringrad. The future negotiations were now being celebrated as a potential victory in the rumors across their remnant kingdom, and the feeling had been a warm and wee one. No doubt it was being pushed as a measure to keep moral high by the nobles and the king himself, but it was a much needed thing. Perhaps, just maybe, the Kingdom of Dawn wouldn¡¯t be so isted any more. Even help from the undead was a very wee thing, because they could use the help from anybody at this point.He sighed, thinking silently to himself about how hisst rtionship with Alexa hadn¡¯t worked out. That cheating bitch had gone behind his back and slept with his best friend, or the man who he¡¯d used to call a best friend anyways. It was one of the reasons he¡¯de aside from the money - to get his mind off things, and if Cade could get rich by trading while doing it then great. Better yet, if he could find himself a hot undead girlfriend¡­ that¡¯d make Alexa jealous beyond Cade¡¯s wildest dreams.


    He snickered at the very thought of it. How sweet a vengeance that would be.


    Twigs cracked underfoot and sweat dripped down his chin, sttering against his linen shirt when the voice of his uncle called out at the front of the column. ¡°HALT!¡±


    The caravan came to a dead stop, with donkeys braying and the men in the back trying to look over the shoulders of those in front to see what was going on up ahead.


    The donkey Cade was leading nipped at his ass and the young man swore, swatting the donkey¡¯s nose and causing it to headbutt him into a nearby tree with other men snickering at him as he picked himself up.


    ¡°Gods damned unappreciative animal¡­¡± Cade muttered, clutching his bleeding nose and trying to nurse his wounded pride by not giving the other men the satisfaction of recognizing theirughter. He swat an insect thatnded on his brown linen shirt and grumbled to himself, trying to get a better look ahead, but nodded in silence when the caravan started moving forward again.


    This time though the pace was much slower, and Cade her whispers from further up the line as he trudged through the fog. ¡°What¡¯s the deal? Why have we slowed?¡±


    He wasn¡¯t answered, but he got the answer himself when he came into the clearing where his uncle and all the others were lining up in a row. They were all facing another group of people not far off, and Cade¡¯s heart froze in terror when he saw a dead man hanging from the branch of a tree in the dark forest ahead.


    The man had once been a high elf, no doubt about it, and he wore thick luxurious te armor with silver and gold trimmings along green metal. A long green cape pped out behind him when a gust of wind struck his position. He had dead, sapphire eyes, a handsomeplexion and held a longbow crafted out of willow with iid mithril that was draped around his neck along with the noose. His body was just hanging there, silently staring at them with cold unblinking eyes - blonde hair flowing out behind him with a confident expression.


    The warrior was just as physically perfect as he¡¯d remembered their kind to be, butcked the typical scantily d outfits their woond counterparts had. This elf had no doubt been a city-dweller.


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    But what scared Cade the most, was the way the others started pointing out other bodies further to the left and right - with more and more elves being spotted hanging from other trees until the fog made it impossible to see into the beyond.


    Crows made from shadow flew overhead,nding on a nearby branch and called out with a squawking sound that made the people of their caravan jump. Then the sound of crunching leaves and twigs started to echo through the forest, first it was only a couple - then it was dozens - and then it became hundreds.


    Cade watched, partially in horror and partially awestruck, legs quivering to run back to his donkey to keep the animal from running away. He held the reins, not sure if they should flee or stay put, while hisrades stood just as awestruck as he did.


    That was when they made their appearance from beyond the mists.


    Hundreds of shambling skeletons, ghouls with milky white eyes, flesh golems having enormous muscr frames devoid of skin, and backline ck-robed casters came into eyesight through the fog.


    A pair of red eyes stared at their caravan curiously from a woman at the front. Those eyes continued to walk forward, and it was apparent by the way the other undead oriented themselves to her position and the quality of her gear that this person was theirmander.


    And when she took off her bone mask, Cade¡¯s breath caught in his throat. She was medium height for a young woman in her early twenties, with long silky brown hair and perfectly set features not even having a single blemish to them. She had high cheekbones and a well defined, feminine nose, along with moderately curved hips and breasts. Though looking at herpelled him with a sense of urgent fear to run, her extreme beauty made him want to stay. She was perfectly symmetrical, pale white skin glistening in the shimmering mist while neon and ck magics lit up across her fingertips - and she wore a devilish smile while approaching their caravan¡¯s front at a slow pace.


    Despite all that Cade knew of vampires and undead, he kept drilling the idea that this is exactly what they¡¯de for. They wanted to make trade rtions with their neighbors, and they¡¯d even just been saved by these people, so there was no reason to panic.


    There was no¡­ no reason to panic¡­


    His uncle obviously felt the same way, because when his dark-haired uncle spoke and began to stroke his mustache - Cade could tell that the man was both nervous and eager. His uncle never stroked his mustache unless he was optimistic or in good spirits about something, but the way his knees almost buckled gave away just how on edge he was too.


    ¡°Hello there!¡± Cade¡¯s uncle, a man by the name of Gibry, called out with a wave and a smile. He stepped forward and bowed, letting his velvet red shirt that was far too baggy for his own good p in the light breeze ¡°We¡­ We weren¡¯t expecting to find you this far south yet¡­¡±


    The woman narrowed her eyes, then gestured to the elf corpse hanging from a branch above her. ¡°Yes, well if we hadn¡¯t been here - you¡¯d all be dead. They were waiting in ambush.¡±


    There was a long, awkward silence as her words registered with the men of the trading caravan - who shifted uneasily while muttering to each other.


    Cade¡¯s uncle cleared his throat nervously. ¡°Ahem. I see¡­ We were being hunted? We are merchants from Bradshire, and came looking for your people after tales from the capital started circting. Are you a captain or some ranking officer of the Thane Necropolis, by chance?¡±


    The woman started walking forward again, only stopping twenty secondster to stand in front of the man. She nced around, keeping eye contact with Cade and winking at him briefly to cause him to blush - before turning back to Cade¡¯s uncle Gibry. ¡°Ranking officer¡­ I suppose you could call me that.¡±


    She smiled, giving off a perfect white gleam with fangs that gave Cade mixed emotions of both attraction and terror. ¡°I suppose I should give you my name as well. I am Allie Thane, co-leader of the Thane Necropolis, and I havee to offer my protection to your town at the request of your kingdom.¡±


    Gibry straightened up in surprise and brushed his fingers across his mustache again, gesturing to the guards and merchants who still held their two-dozen donkeys still and quiet other than the asional bray. Then he abruptly realized who he was talking to, paled, and mmed to the ground in a prostrated position. Many of the others quickly did the same when they realized that she was essentially the queen of this undead faction. ¡°Mydy! I-I was not aware that you¡¯d already agreed to terms! You¡¯ve decided to help us?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. What does it look like to you?¡± Allie asked, gesturing over to where her soldiers and minions were ripping bodies apart. She stepped forward, past Gibry, and continued on to where Cade was kneeling with his head bowed. She leaned down, all eyes on her, and used one slender finger to bring Cade¡¯s chin up along with the rest of this face. She grinned and gave an amused grunt, letting her fingers trace along his left cheek and causing him to shudder. ¡°I have note to terms with your kingdom¡¯s court wizard just yet¡­ but that doesn¡¯t mean I will allow these pointy-eared fairies to trespass on mynds. Especially when it involves caravans that I¡¯d very much like to trade with; trade, after all, is the lifeblood of civilizations. But can I trust you? That is the question I must ask myself. Will allowing you into our borders benefit us, or will it endanger my citizens?¡±


    She straightened and put on her mask again, turning from the surprised young man and walking back to the front of the column.


    Gibry blinked rapidly with a growing smile that he immediately suppressed, trying to figure out what was going on, and cleared his throat nervously while exchanging a nce with his nephew. ¡°We are no threat! We merely seek fortune for both our sides! Mydy, if I may ask¡­ have you heard news of our passage? Were you tracking us? Is that why you are here?¡±


    Allie took her time to answer that.


    Cade¡¯s heart pounded in his chest, and it was all he could do not to stare at the beautiful woman who¡¯d just grazed his cheek. He did manage a few quick nces though, but his excited smile turned into somewhat of a frown as the demeanor of the undead behind Allie stayed stoic. He was getting an odd vibe from them, a feeling of pressure or ominous foreboding like he wanted to walk away just because he was near them. He couldn¡¯t see any of their eyes from underneath the dark hoods they wore, and they stood a little further back from the other armored skeletons up front.


    The caravan guards became wary at the awkward silence between the two groups, nervously shuffling and palming the hilts of their shortswords, maces and buckler shields as they eyed the silently staring ghouls, abominations, flesh golems and skeletons on the other side who were silently evaluating the tradingpany


    ¡°What is your name?¡± The vampiric woman eventually asked.


    Cade¡¯s uncle stuttered. ¡°G-Gibry is the name!¡±


    She slowly tapped her bone-made boot on the forest floor.


    ¡°Gibry it is then. Yes, I have been tracking your caravan for some time now.¡± The woman paused, then twirled a small wand in one hand with mana ring along its body again. ¡°You see, Gibry, I am at somewhat of a crossroads concerning whether or not to let your people into the necropolis. We have had many problems with others in the area trying toe in and kill us, enve us, or steal from us. Recently, many of those people have actually been of your own race.¡±


    ¡°We would never!¡± Gibry stated, aghast at the very idea of violence. He had never been a violent man to begin with, and truly was a merchant through and through. That''s why he started kissing ass. ¡°Gaining early ess to your great necropolis would be a boon far beyond anything that could be gained by attacking you! The idea that we, a weak and humble group of humans, could win out or seed in attacks against your kind is foolishness. I would not attack you merely because of past grudges between our races, the idea is absurd! Meanwhile my family grows rich if I establish trade routes with your city before others of my kingdom can jump on the opportunity, it would be madness to do anything but maintain a standing in your good graces!¡±


    Gibry¡¯s unashamed greed was showing through, and this in turn caused others in the caravan to wince - but got an amused chuckle from the female vampire.


    Her eyes glowed a bright crimson when she turned, staring back out at them with a calcting gaze that settled on Gibry, then eventually drifted back to Cade. ¡°Hmmm¡­ And what price, I wonder, are you willing to pay¡­ if I do let you in?¡±

 Chapter 131

    Chapter 131


    <strong>Chapter 131</strong>


    Riven stood beside his two minions in an audience chamber, with Mesha and her cousin Snagger beside them. The room was coated in multicolored crystals and illuminated by glowing multi-colored gemstones set into the walls. There were also two rows of elevated tforms that came down from the sides of the room like the stands of a stadium would, with higher ranking members of Snagger¡¯s rat-kin brood filing in for what was apparently the very first meeting on today¡¯s schedule at the home court. They all wore fancier clothes than many of the other rat-kin did, with very well made silks or stitched shirts with bioluminescent properties simr to the nts Riven had seen through the cave systems. He even saw one of the rat-kin wearing a monocle of all things.


    He was deep inside the mound-fortress that snagger¡¯s personal family unit, or his ¡®brood¡¯, kept. They were awaiting an audience with the family matriarch per Snagger¡¯s request, but she¡¯d been caught up with something else and had sent a messenger to tell them she¡¯d be there shortly. Ratkin guards about Snagger¡¯s size withrge halberds and heavy, studded leather armor stood at intervals along either side of therge room, and tapestries depicting battles, giant lizards, wyrms, drow, and other scenes or creatures from the underdark were hung from the ceiling.


    It was certainly not what Riven had been expecting after seeing the rest of the ¡®nest¡¯ of these creatures, but then again each mound had been hard to peer into without actually traveling into them. He¡¯d expected something like a dirty, grimy ce - but although the city up above was somewhat disorganized and violent: it wasn¡¯t too oundish.


    Especially when entering the mound.


    On their way to this particr audience hall and in Snagger¡¯s brood-mound: There¡¯d been smiths, libraries, unique pipe-line sewage systems, and even an alchemist in his own little cove of the tunnels leading down - so it was truly a civilization in its own right, and the forums of the cortex here had actually been extremely active. Snagger had told Riven that he wasn¡¯t sure exactly how many of them lived here, but he guessed it was well over 300,000 with the vast majority of them being nonbat civilians. With that amount of people all living in one ce, it meant that there¡¯d been sub-forums of the city created for jobs and quests, barter systems, advertisements, discussions on the war with the dwarves, and many more topics that updated in real time. The city forum itself corrted with the city¡¯s name, and was called ¡®<strong>Deepnest.</strong>¡¯ Not very original for the name of a ratkin nest-city deep underground, but it was what it was.


    ¡°The brood-mother of us-we makes her grand appearance-show!¡± A rather cute, three-foot ratkin girl with red fur and a white robe yelled out above the muffled whispers of the weather brood members in the stands. The rat-kin along the sidelines immediately became quiet and they all stood to show respect, staying that way as a tall and ratherrge ratkin woman entered the throne room from a hallway to the left.


    She was slightly taller than Riven was, standing at 7 feet akin to Snagger¡¯s height, and wore a tinum ne that hung down over her chest. She was thinner though, with brown fur and was dressed in a form fitting white robe simr to the smaller girl who¡¯d just announced her presence. Her long bare tail, the wed hands and feet, and her mouse-like ears and face were a stark contrast to any women Riven had ever known - but he could still tell she was feminine for a rat person.


    The brood-mother waved at the audience and gracefully moved to therge stone throne, sitting down with a courteous smile oriented towards the group on the floor beyond the slightly elevated tform the throne stood on. ¡°Mesha-kin! Snagger-kin! You have brought-found a new friend-thing to us? Do tell-show how you¡¯ve been!¡±Meshafortably waved back, but Snagger straightened and motioned for the others to stand up before turning around with arge smile. ¡°Brood-mother! It is good-fond to see you! I have been well-good, Mesha-kin and I have explored-sought through the tunnels and it uses-takes much time. It is a travel-adventure though! Sadly, Bort-kin and Cheshish-kin died-passed to the dwarves on way-trek here.¡±


    Snagger¡¯s face fell at thisst bit of information, as did the brood-mother¡¯s. ¡°They died honor-proud, taking many dwarf-devils with them.¡±


    Murmurs of sadness at how they¡¯d passed and approval that they¡¯d taken dwarves with them crossed through the gathered rat-kin in the stands on either side of the vast room. Riven was a little confused at how everyone here seemed to know who these people were, or how Snagger was so familiar with the brood-mother in such argepound, but Ath couldn¡¯t help but snicker slightly under her breath.


    ¡°Dwarves don¡¯t have anything on devils.¡± Ath whispered to Riven on the side. ¡°To evenpare the two is an insult to all demonkind.¡±


    The brood-mother took Snagger¡¯s words to heart though, and her frown was very evident when she lifted a wed hand and rubbed her forehead. ¡°That is sad-sorrow to hear. Did you show-tell the guards of where the battle-fight happened?¡±


    ¡°Yes-yes brood-mother, I did show-tell.¡±


    ¡°Good. This war is bad-poor to us all, and us-we have lost many family-kin to them already.¡± The brood-mother¡¯s eyes turned to Azmoth next, then Ath, and then to Riven. She leaned forward on her throne and steepled her fingers, the jingling of her tinum ne audible even from a few yards away. ¡°Are you their summoner-owner?¡±


    Riven couldn¡¯t help but smile with amusement at thement, giving Ath a sideways nce when he noticed the re. ¡°Why yes. Very much so, I use the big one as a pack mule and the sassy girl here to make me sandwiches. It¡¯s been quite the investment.¡±


    Both demons looked his way at that one as he tried to notugh at the unamused stares from either demon. The tall brood-mother took it in stride though and didn¡¯t seem to notice the joke at all. ¡°Sandwitch-foods? Hmmm¡­ Well it isn¡¯t-not my ce to ask about your preference-tastes. I am Rashtalia, Brood-Mother of Brood-Tarrow in Deepnest-city. What is your name-g?¡±


    ¡°Riven Thane. It¡¯s very nice to meet you.¡±


    Rashtalia¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Your manners are not forgotten-unnoticed. Many-much of your kind could be taught-learned lessons by you. How-when did my nephew-niece Snagger-kin and Mesha-kin meet-find you?¡±


    Riven cocked an eyebrow at that one, ncing over at the two ratkin next to him and sping his hands behind his back. Nephew and niece of the brood-mother huh? ¡°I met snagger a few weeks ago in the tunnels under Brightsville. Sewers actually. It¡¯s a city from my own, Earth, on the surface.¡±


    ¡°So you are-is not from Zazir?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t even know that Zazir was another until the integration.¡±


    Murmurs of curiosity started spreading amongst the gathered rat-kin in the stands and the brood-mother slowly nodded, deep in thought. ¡°Curious-interesting that is. So there are vampire-batkin on this¡­ Earth, too?¡±


    Riven hesitated, then shrugged. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. I assume so, but I can¡¯t be entirely certain. It¡¯s a bit of a weird situation, I was originally human and my bloodline was locked until integration happened. We had stories about vampires back on Earth though, so probably. Other than that, the was run by humans. There weren¡¯t any of the other races there, aside from legends or stories passed down in novels.¡±


    Rashtalia remained silent for a time, un-steepling her fingers and leaning back against the stone chair she sat in. She motioned for a nearby servant and was approached with a te of food, then picked off some kind of berry and stuffed it into her mouth to chew while keeping eye contact with Riven the entire time. ¡°Perhaps that is why you-you have bright-eyes and not dull-eyes. I have not seen bright-eyes of the batkin before now-here.¡±


    ¡°Ahem!¡±


    The brood-mother was interrupted by an older gray ratkin man who had several trinkets dangling around his neck and from along his arms. His violet robes were decorated with sigils Riven didn¡¯t recognize, but he scurried over and whispered something in Rashtalia¡¯s ear.


    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The brood-mother¡¯s eyebrows raised in turn when the older ratkin left to stand a little ways off to her side on the tform again, and she drummed her fingers along the right-hand side armrest. ¡°No-no, that is not right-correct. You are pure-pureblooded vampire, like what bat-kin have been looking-searching for in the deep-depths.¡±


    The room immediately became silent, and all eyes locked onto Riven¡¯s form as he stood there unmoving.


    His brows furrowed in confusion, and he exchanged nces with Snagger and his demons - who all had no clue what the brood-mother was talking about. He straightened a little, put his hands on his hips, and cocked his head to the side with a curious stare. ¡°Yes¡­ I am pureblooded. But what are you talking about, exactly? Someone is looking for me?¡±


    Rashtalia tapped her wed fingers on the stone throne a couple times, then leaned forward and nodded while steepling her fingers again. ¡°Other bat-kin.¡±


    ¡°Vampires?¡±


    She nodded in confirmation. ¡°Theye-run to seek-find purebloods. They want-need help for world quest.¡±


    ¡°World quest? Now I¡¯mpletely at a loss.¡±


    Rashtalia put up both hands to either side. ¡°I not know-perceive why. But vampire bat-kine-seek you-others of pureblood for world-quest. Perhaps go find-seek them yourself to ask-question them? Theye-travel two weeks ago, live in darker-depths of underdark.¡±


    ¡°Do you know exactly where? Could you lead me to them?¡±


    Rashtalia shook her head. ¡°Strangers. Not know.¡±


    Riven felt himself dete slightly. Just great, another group of people seeking him out that lived somewhere deep in the underdark of his new Panu. This time it was the local vampires instead of the intergctic ones. Why though? He didn¡¯t have any ties to any vampires back on Earth, and it seemed like they were just looking for ¡®purebloods¡¯ rather than ¡®Riven¡¯. But if it had to do with a world quest, he probably needed to figure it out eventually.


    His shoulders slumped slightly, but he didn¡¯t take his eyes of the brood-mother. The man who spoke to Rashtalia may have even been an identifier. In fact that was very likely, as when Ath identified him he only came off as <strong>[Vampire Warlock]</strong>. It didn¡¯t even give his full ss title of ¡®adept¡¯ to people without an advanced identifying ss.


    Regardless, he was getting off track. Pulling up the old notification that was stashed in his status page - he reviewed the world quests and quickly identified which of them these vampires were likely pursuing him for. However why that was the case - he still didn¡¯t know.


    <strong>[World Quests (6 of 6 remaining). You have 5 years toplete these quests as a worldwide team effort. Further details on each of these quests will be presented to you individually when youe into direct contact with the given quest. Only the basics are initially handed out otherwise. Current Threat level is an indication of threat concerning the world atrge, and not a direct representation of how it may or may not affect you individually. The World Quests are as follows:</strong><ul><li><strong>World Quest 1, The Lich King¡¯s gue:</strong>In the far reaches of the northern Chaos Wastnds, an ancient lich begins to stir. Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.</li><li><strong>World Quest 2, The Apocalypse Beasts:</strong> ***ADVANCED DETAILS HAVE BEEN UNLOCKED*** Ah, this is one of my personal favorites. I present to you the apocalypse beasts! Your world has been cursed with 3 tyrannical creatures of astronomical power that are currently being incubated and grown into their adult forms. Each of these absolute monstrosities is able to turn the world on its head, demolishing countries in their path and tearing the very fabric of reality apart. Know that if these creatures are allowed to awaken you will likely not live much longer than the 5 years¡¯ limit. Each of these monsters have cultist worshipers from your owns, given knowledge of these creatures before the integration even begun. They will try to awaken the monsters¡¯ adult forms to destroy your world entirely, leading to astronomical amounts of power as a reward for the cultists in their sess for when they leave the smoldering wreckage of Panu. Your goal is to stop and kill their cult worshipers, and find out where these creatures are being incubated so that you will have a world to live on when the 5 years of time runs out. Current Threat Level: Extremely high, death toll within the billions. Catastrophe upon failure ofpletion when 5 years has passed: Nekra, the Skeletal Devourer will be unleashed onto Panu. Chalgathi, the gue Dragon will be unleashed onto Panu. Chubin, the ss Kraken will be unleashed onto Panu. Click for updated details.</li><li><strong>World Quest 3, Invaders from Beyond:</strong>Other gctic civilizations greedily watch your fledgling world, wanting thesends for their own. Invasion tokens have been distributed. Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.</li><li><strong>World Quest 4, Blood of the Fallen God:</strong>An unnamed vampiric elder god has fallen from grace after having sinned against the Elysium Administrator. The elder god has been trapped within a hidden, guardedbyrinth in the deepest levels of the underdark, and you must stop him from awakening. Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.</li><li><strong>World Quest 5, Realm of the Snow Giants:</strong>In the southern reaches of the cial inds in the Numenor Sea, on the opposite end of the world from where the Lich Kingys in wait, an ambitious king of the snow giants has united the warring tribes. Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.</li><li><strong>World Quest 6, Drums in the Deep:</strong>The mer-people and naga of this world have been given a choice¡­ Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.<strong>]</strong></li></ul>


    Yup. World Quest 4, Blood of the Fallen God - that was probably the one.


    Sighing, he closed the notification. He already was involved with one world quest, and he had 5 years to deal with it, so he¡¯d probably push it off for now¡­ he had another holder of Chalgathi¡¯s artifacts only 80 miles from Brightsville and would need to take care of that first. Not only that, but he also had an impending war with another elf factioning up.


    He and Allie were rather busy at the moment to be worrying about some fallen vampiric good on top of it all.


    Riven facepalmed, knowing he couldn¡¯t just *NOT* figure this out. What if it was important?


    His internal struggles came to a standstill, and he rubbed his forehead with two fingers while letting out a groan. ¡°Rashtalia, do you have any idea on where to start? Even a small clue to point me in the right direction?¡±


    The brood-mother blinked, cleared her throat and motioned over to the gray rat-kin who¡¯d spoken to her earlier. She nodded a couple times as he whispered in her ear, and then she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. ¡°Yes-yes. But not exact location-spot and not much-good clues. Only direction. Bat-kine to city-nest and ask-query, then leave-run next day. Very fast when realize rat-kin and dwarf-devils at war, not wanting to fight-involve with us. If want, I can tell-show directionter.¡±


    Riven smiled, nodded, and nudged Ath. ¡°Hey. Howfortable are you with exploring the underdark by yourself for a little while?¡±


    Ath¡¯s face widened into a gleeful smile. ¡°Sounds exciting! Are you going to send me to find the vampire she¡¯s talking about?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. I''m hoping the quest will update whenever you do find and talk to them, perhaps they already have the quest details active and can pass it along. Then, when that''s done, we can decide whether or not that''s an important avenue to pursue versus the other things we have on our te.¡±


    Rashtalia examined the exchange, then shrugged. ¡°I hope-plea that you seed-win in finding the bat-kin. If any of we-us find them, we-we shall tell - otherwise we show-point in direction they came. Now, show-tell me of surface-world and what you know-found. I am very curious-eager to hear news-tidings of beyond the nest.¡±


    The brood-mother didn¡¯t bring up the world quest again. The rest of Riven¡¯s meeting was very enlightening for both sides, and by the end of it he could even say that he honestly liked Rashtalia quite a bit. She made jokes from time to time and she wasn¡¯t stuck up in any way, shape or form. Rather she was quite down to earth, and talked to Riven as an equal rather than as the matriarch of Snagger¡¯s brood.


    Riven told her of how his own experience had gone with his starter events, though left the part out about Chalgathi. He told her about the hellscape dungeon he had to enter and learned that a few of the rat-kin in Deepnest had undergone unique trials of their own, but it was rather random and a rarity at that. He told her of the surface world and of what he¡¯d seen so far, with lots of information about his old and the city of Brightsville above them. There was talk about the elves, the purging of the holy crusaders, and the faction his sister had created. He gave a brief description of the geography topside and mentioned there was another war raging between the human Kingdom of Dawn and another high-elf empire he hadn¡¯t encountered just yet, but was sure to get more detailster.


    In turn he learned about the ongoing events here in the underdark. Deepnest had been a cave-city of their small rat-kin kingdom on Zazir, surrounded by friendlymunities with only a few hostile forces to deal with in the form of Drow or Dark Elves. The meshing of worlds had shifted Deepenest¡¯s location and none of their satellite settlements were around anymore, nor were their allies, reducing their trade and resources significantly. She told him of the encroaching dwarves and the war she and her people had been unwillingly thrust into, losing many thousands of civilians and military personnel since the conflict had started. The dwarves had also taken over numerous mines full of valuable minerals and areas suitable for farming since the integration, and had been extremely brutal in their attacks andck of empathy concerning the rat-kin. The dwarves obviously thought themselves as a superior race, and looked at Rashtalia, the other brood-mothers, and the queen-mother or their people as beasts to be purged rather than equal sentient beings.


    Overall the knowledge swap was a very positive experience, and the exchange had be rather friendly.

 Chapter 132

    Chapter 132


    <strong>Chapter 132</strong>


    Salzahar red daggers at the leaving vampire from atop a ledge above the audience hall. He fidgeted with the hoop earing on his right side, chittering to himself while consider whether or not he should take the shot at his long-time rival now.


    The n to lead the dwarves over to Snagger¡¯s position had been fumbled, utterly fumbled, and he¡¯d been left humiliated while losing out on a huge amount of profit the dwarves hadid out for him and his crew. Now, in all likelihood, the dwarves thought Salzahar having betrayed them for his own people.


    Ironic, considering he¡¯d done quite the opposite only to be bastardized by this new vampire oddity. Salzahar could only helplessly watch while the dwarven attack squad he¡¯d led to Snagger¡¯s position had been demolished and eaten - and the sheer power this man had utterly dumbstruck him.


    How could someone be this powerful? Salzahar had spent quite a lot of time thieving, sneaking around, assassinating people, and plotting - putting himself in a position to kill numerous others while they slept for meager amounts of XP points. It¡¯d awarded him a grand total of 17 levels t. He¡¯d even say he was on the higher end of many of the rat-kin, or dwarves, and yet this ¡®Riven¡¯ had shown up out of nowhere to st his ns to smithereens.


    It irked him. Oh how it irked him.


    ¡°We kill-shoot Snagger, yes-yes?¡± Salzahar¡¯spanion, another wretch of brown hair and buck rat teeth by the name of Brutis asked with a cocked crossbow.


    Salzahar snarled Brutis¡¯ way, pulling the bow out from sight of those below and pping his bare tail against the ledge¡¯s top. ¡°Idiot-fool! Do you not think-care that brood-mother is here-now? She is powerful-strong, favors-coddles Snagger, and Mesha-kin too. She find-seek us out, kill-strangle us in cold-evil ways.¡±


    Brutis frowned back with a half sneer of his own, but stepped back from the ledge with a nod. ¡°Fine-fine. I want dead-kill soon though, Snagger-kin needs to be dead-gone before credit for ally-friends to Deepnest it goes. Should queen-mother see Snagger helping Deepnest kin-city again-now, he will take spot-ce of you-us in the ranks-files of fighter-guards. And where is Chishish? Chishish-kin not here-be where supposed to.¡±¡°Not know-see. Find Chishish-kin now. Goe.¡±


    The two of them turned around, heading back into the tunnel from whence they¡¯de to watch the proceedings below and plotting together about their schemes. The tunnels turned a corner, seeing over two dozen of their closer co-conspirators waiting for them, and a shadow they did not notice trailed behind them with a shimmer of magic in the air as they passed.


    ¡°Wonder if Chishish think sly-cunning for Snagger-kin to reach fake ally-friends. Need assassinate-kill Snagger now before brood-mother tells-hails queen-mother. Can also murder-kill vampire bat-kin too?¡± Brutis asked, pulling out a silver bolt from a jacket pocket and glowering evilly at hispatriot while his little pawed feet scuttled along the hardened stone and y floor. A dozen others in their band of cutthroats cackled or snickered at the thought of what they were going to do to their brood-mother¡¯s favorite nephew, and if the vampire was coteral damage - so be it. Riven certainly wouldn''t be the first vampire they''d killed after having such a long history of sharing the underdark with their blood-attuned brethren. ¡°If bat-kin red-eyes is dead-gone, Snagger cannot get credit-value from queen-mother or brood-mother. Deepnest not need ally-friends from surface, we can win-kill dwarf-devils by ourselves. Yes-yes!¡±


    Another rat-kin with white fur and a pair of goggles behind them raised two daggers high overhead. ¡°Agreed-yes! Kill red-eyes bat-kin and-¡±


    A sh of green light illuminated the tunnel in front of them, stopping them dead in their tracks mid conversation. It¡¯d only been there an instant, but it was literally a beacon in the dark for that brief moment of visualization. It¡¯d been some sort of sigil, and it¡¯d glowed an eerie neon-green before winking out into nothingness once more.


    ¡°What that-that?¡± Salzahar said in a hushed whisper, drawing two obsidian des from the sides of his belt. Others quickly followed suit, drawing their own cuss, slings, and pikes out momentster.


    Then Salzahard lurched to one side when another green sigil appeared behind them on the opposite side of where the first had, and his eyes went wide with confusion and fear. ¡°What that!?¡±


    Then they startled again, and again, ears up tall and hearts rapidly beating as sigil after sigil briefly shed in the air on either side of them in the tunnel they stood in, until all went deathly silent.


    A faint feminineugh echoed through the lonesome, empty corridor - and the two dozen rat-kin went into a full panic. They screeched and bolted down the direction of the exit, skittish and afraid of the unknown, only to p face-first into an invisible trap sigil that they¡¯d not realized was still there.


    The st of unholy energy triggered other sigils nearby, and the tunnel erupted in an explosion of shrapnel and stone. Blood and body parts flew in all directions before being crushed under part of the tunnel copsing, but the violence was short-lived and soon only dust remained.


    At the end of the corridor, beyond the st zone, Riven stood looking with a slight smile on his lips while slowly pping at Fay¡¯s performance. She let down the illusions, bowing and winking his way while he stared ahead at the destruction.


    ¡°Good job.¡± Riven stated with an unblinking stare, focusing on a limp hand protruding from the rubble; absentmindedly wiping away blood from his mouth to smear it across the rest of his face. ¡°How hard was it to track them through the underdark?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t have a problem once you identified them, master. When we got to Deepnest, it was slightly harder¡­ but only a few of the mages here noticed me and they all attributed my presence to you. Which was urate, but it wasn¡¯t any of their business and your other demons were already out in the open.¡± Fay perked up, wings spread out, and beamed with a brilliant smile that¡¯d melt any man¡¯s heart. ¡°You were the one who noticed they were following you after the dwarves were killed. I should be congratting you on being so observant.¡±


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Riven¡¯s cold gaze turned, settling on the one these rat-kin conspirators had called Chishish. She was an older rat-kin mage based in some kind of Earth magics, though from what pir she oriented towards exactly - Riven could not tell. A broken wandy on the ground at her feet, and two other rat-kin who¡¯d been with hery headless and bleeding out on the stone floor beneath them.


    The female rat-kin stood quivering, eyes wide and a long bloody w-mark along one cheek where she¡¯d been threatened earlier. Hesitantly and with a shaking voice, she looked up to meet his gaze where the blood of herrades still dripped off his chin; and visibly gulped with an almostically frightened expression.


    ¡°May I go-leave now?¡± Chishish asked, terror dripping from her words as she patted her brown, blood-sttered robes absentmindedly to nervously fidget. ¡°I did as you-you asked-told¡­¡±


    Riven¡¯s crimson eyes red and narrowed, and he reached down - picking the terrified rat-kin up by the scruff of her cor with one hand to bring the shorter creature to an eye-level gaze. ¡°You did as you were told because I forced you to do so with a spell, you weak-willed little shit. Too bad for you: I don¡¯t want to leave any loose strings that could harm my newfound friends¡­ and you¡¯re not needed anymore.¡±


    In a blur of motion, Riven mmed the three-foot tall rat-kin into the stone wall with a violent thrust of his arm.


    *CRACK*


    Blood sttered all along the floor, Chishish¡¯s neck loudly snapped, and he let her body drop to the ground like a limp rag doll. Then he stepped back, fangs exposed with a predatory snarl, and turned his head to grin at Ath. The demoness was evaluating him with raised eyebrows and crossed arms while leaning against the wall.


    ¡°I think we can safely assume that¡¯s all of them.¡± Riven stated, licking his lips and stepping over the new corpse. ¡°Burn them to cinders.¡±


    Ath slowly nodded, watching the pooling blood on the floor coagte before Azmoth stepped forward and began to clean up what remained of the murders. She nced left, sharing a look with Fay - who just shrugged with a wide and proud smile, no doubt happy to be valued by the master and dwelling in thepliments he¡¯d given her.


    Though Ath wasn¡¯t so sure this was something to be happy about. What had happened to the cute, virgin-like little man who¡¯d been so easy to mess with and mean-mug back in the hellscapes? She¡¯d noticed a subtle change in Riven ever since the elves had been dealt with, but this was a few steps beyond what she expected for him even after hisck of trust in others had developed.


    Sure, his trust issues had pushed him to investigate the group of ingrates that¡¯d decided to try and kill Snagger or involve Riven in the process - but it was borderline paranoia now. Even if he didn''t outwardly show it. Not everyone was out to get him, but she could see that Riven was of a different mindset. He¡¯d put off going to see The Blood Moon Requiem because he didn¡¯t trust the intergctic space vampires. He¡¯d stopped the greenskins from participating in the war to help the Kingdom of Dawn because he didn¡¯t trust the newfound humans. He¡¯d summoned fay to follow shadows in the dark while cloaked in illusions because he didn¡¯t trust Snagger or the rest of his kin at first, and even now he still didn¡¯t.


    It was an unhealthy mindset to have, in her opinion. But then again, after all he¡¯d been through, she didn¡¯t me him.


    Sighing to herself and pushing off the stone wall, she came over to where Riven was flipping through a notebook one of the rat-kin had been carrying that detailed their ns on assassination plots surrounding Snagger. It had something to do with an honored position in the queen-mother¡¯s elite guard and was of little importance to Riven or his minions other than it¡¯d almost swept them up in a murder plot.


    Nevertheless Riven was going through it again and again to make sure he didn¡¯t miss any detail, and was going to no doubt give it to Snagger on their way out of Deepnest.


    ¡°Riven?¡±


    Riven shifted his gaze up to Ath, who¡¯de to stand with her hands folded in front of her. The casual arrogance she usually showed was gone, and in its ce was¡­ something different. It made him stand up straighter, taking her more seriously at a moment¡¯s notice after all the time they¡¯d spent together attached at the hip. ¡°Yeah Ath? What¡¯s wrong? Why are you giving me that look?¡±


    Ath¡¯s soft gaze let on a timid smile, and she let out a breath she hadn¡¯t realized she¡¯d been holding. Stepping forward and pushing herself into Riven¡¯s personal space, she let her hands gently rest on the book in Riven¡¯s hands - and her eyes sank down to his chest. ¡°You¡¯ve been going over that book like it¡¯s an obsession. How many times have you read it now?¡±


    Riven¡¯s mood darkened. ¡°I¡¯m just being careful, Ath.¡±


    ¡°How many times?¡± Ath pressed softly, staying where she was and letting her fingers touch his.


    He looked down at the physical contact, somewhat surprised, and let her words sink in. ¡°Probably fifteen times.¡±


    She nodded, but said nothing.


    They stood there like that for some time, and Fay gave them a curious look while nudging Azmoth in the side and whispering something to therger demon.


    ¡°You know¡­¡± Ath began, then pulled the book from his grasp and tossed it to the floor behind her. Turning back around, she slowly pulled him into a hug - locking her arms around his back and resting her head on his shoulder. ¡°You may not trust others like you used to, Riven. But there will always be people who you can trust. Don¡¯t let the world get to you just because of who and what you are. When you¡¯re important, you draw the ire of other people who want to take you down a peg orpletely get rid of you for no other reasons than jealousy, spite, or fear.¡±


    Riven stood rigidly in ce, almost in a state of shock upon hearing Ath¡¯s genuine and heartfelt words while her warm body pressed up against his in a firm but kind embrace. ¡°I¡­ Ath, what are you trying to say¡­?¡±


    She closed her eyes, heaved her shoulders with a deep inhale - and then slowly exhaled with a content smile while resting her cheek on his shoulder. ¡°That I¡¯ll always be there for you. Even if the world abandons you and tries to involve you in their plots and schemes, even when the gods and demon lords of the hells try to push you towards a quick death, I¡¯ll stand by you. So don¡¯t ever think that you¡¯re alone, and don¡¯t change the person you are just out of a fear that you¡¯ll one day be betrayed by all the people you love. Because, Riven, you¡¯d be wrong to think so. I will never abandon you.¡±


    How Ath had known what internal emotions and struggles Riven was dealing with was beyond him. Why she¡¯d decided to bring it up now was also beyond him. But her words resonated with his soul, and the awkward, rigid contracture of his muscles slowly softened as he felt a lump began to form in his throat. Slowly taking Ath back in an embrace of his own, he fought back tears and nodded wordlessly - focusing on the feeling of her body against his.


    ¡°Thank you, Athl.¡±


    She nodded, arms still wrapped around him. ¡°No problem, twirp.¡±


    They held each other for over a minute, just standing there while Fay gawked in surprise and mild amounts of jealousy, before Ath pulled back - stood up on her tip toes, and nted a long, drawn-out kiss on Riven¡¯s cheek.


    The arshakai demoness wiped blood off Riven¡¯s face and wiped away a lone tear that¡¯d begun to fall down his cheek, then brushed his hair back with her fingers and adjusted his hood. She gave him a pat on the shoulder, and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t get the wrong idea about this, bute on. We have to get back to the surface now that you¡¯ve done your exploring¡­ we cannot help these rat-kin at all until we deal with our own problems topside. And, for the record Riven, I think I¡¯ll be staying with you for a little while longer. Going into the underdark by myself, abandoning you right now, to search for those other vampires in the state you¡¯re in is a bad idea. Maybeter, but right now - I think you could use a friend.¡±

 Chapter 133

    Chapter 133


    <strong>Chapter 133</strong>


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Quest Update: Brenna Landish has fallen in battle to Tao Zhang. Tao Zhang has acquired 2 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance. A new Chalgathi¡¯s Chosen will be picked within 1 hour from now as a recement for Brenna Landish.]</strong>


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Quest Update: Venice Garcia has fallen in battle to Fred Talons. Fred Talons has acquired 2 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance. A new Chalgathi¡¯s Chosen will be picked within 1 hour from now as a recement for Venice Garcia.]</strong>


    ***


    Snagger snapped the small booklet shut, then looked up from where he¡¯d been reading. His rodent ears were pinned against his head in shame and sadness, and he shook hisrge rat head in regret. ¡°I-me sorry friend, did not know-aware of plot-schemes you were caught in. I shall show-enlighten brood-mother of this. Thank you, Riven-kin.¡±


    The rat-kin extended a hand, and Riven shook it with a nod. ¡°Not a problem at all, it wasn¡¯t your fault. Perhaps after our own problems are sorted, we can help each other out. Until then, I wish you and your people the best of luck.¡±


    ¡°Well-wishes to you bat-kin friend. Come visit-seek me at your leisure-chance, or if find self able-willing to help us-kin. Dwarf-devils ever eager to kill-maim rat-kin of Deepnest.¡± The muscr rat-kin bowed, sping his gauntleted hands together in front of him while Mesha did the same at his side. Then they started to walk back, through the sewers and towards the tunnels leading deeper into the underdark.


    ¡°Nice to meet-find you, Riven Thane!¡± Mesha¡¯s squeaky voice echoed through the tunnels, her small pawed hands waving at them before the two rat-kin of Deepnest vanished out of sight. ¡°Keep safe-sound!¡±


    Riven smiled, pushing his hands into his pockets while his staff floated in the air beside him. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see that not everyone is an absolute prick out to get me. Maybe you¡¯re right Ath.¡±¡°Of course I¡¯m right!¡± Ath yfully smacked him across the back of the head with one of her spider limbs. ¡°Now let¡¯s go! We have a royal vampire to meet so we can ask about your malignant prophecy. What was her name again?¡±


    ¡°Kathrine Vonsi Crushada, something or other of the eldest house 102nd in line for the throne.¡±


    ¡°I think you got that wrong but let¡¯s go with it for now until we meet her again.¡±


    Riven smirked and began climbing up thedder into the basement of the hospital. Pulling himself up and huffing, he nced around the basement where he¡¯d battled the horde of dream creatures. Their bodies were still rotting here or there, the ones that hadn¡¯t been ripped apart in torrents of blood mana, and he¡¯d already told Allie she needed toe collect them at least for the bones. Materials for undead in the Thane Necropolis were in growing demand, with more and more undead traveling from other worlds through the bone garden or being created there atop the tower from souls drawn in out of the void.


    ¡°Come on Ath, lets-¡±


    A nearby heartbeat quickened.


    Riven¡¯s body lit up with red lightning, drastically enhancing his speed as he sidestepped a blurring projectile that nearly took his head clean off.


    <strong>*CRACK-BOOM*</strong>


    The room shattered around him, and something akin to a missile that¡¯d shot past him exploded on impact on the far wall. His body was scorched and he barely had time to summon hell¡¯s armor to avoid the majority of the st when a shadowy figureunched itself out of the adjacent hallway with glistening des extended.


    Riven¡¯s red eyes went wide, and he simultaneously tore a rift through space while creating a myriad of spinning des around his original position.


    The assassin missed their strike, des slicing through nothing but air when the portal winked out and the bloody razors erupted after an influx of mana.


    An unfamiliar feminine scream echoed out, and Ath tore up through the hole in the floor tounch herself at the new assant just when the figure vanished - leaving Riven to evaluate his surroundings in more thorough detail.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Riven muttered, seeing nothing but not letting his guard down while ck lightning crackled along Vampire¡¯s Escort. ¡°Who the hell was that?¡±


    ***


    Astrid¡¯s body went rigid when she saw the notification appear, and she continued to quickly limp-run down a long street in the dead of night while unnatural mists permeated the surroundings.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Due to proximity, you have been notified of the following: Your Chalgathi Cultist Mask has been pinged by the unique ability: ¡®Ping Chalgathi Artifacts¡¯.</strong><strong> This ability pings the locations of other Chalgathi Inheritance Set artifacts - </strong><strong>only identifying pieces you do not already have</strong><strong>, and may be used at any time without any mana requirement. This ability only locates artifacts that you are missing from the set. </strong><strong>Due to proximity, this ability only gives an area destination of 50 square meters and not an exact location.</strong><strong>]</strong>


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    She picked up the pace, using her own ability to keep track of her pursuer as he closed in. Just who the fuck was that guy!? She¡¯d had the drop on him, she knew she¡¯d beenpletely stealthed up until the veryst second because her bloodline had told her so, and yet he¡¯d somehow had the reflexes to dodge one of her best high-speed martial art abilities. Then he dodged her dual viper-strikes while teleporting out and figuratively backhanding her with magical mines of some kind - all as a MAGE!?


    Weren¡¯t mages supposed tock that kind of awareness and speed!?


    Her mind raced and blood from her wounds dripped onto the pavement behind her. Despite her injuries she was traveling fast and passing down broken houses with eerie bat-like creatures staring down at her from their perches, or cats that''d been mutated into ghost-like figures who red at her passing.


    She was still ahead of him by a good margin too, but despite this he wasn¡¯t injured - and he was slowly closing in. Every time she pinged his amulet, the one she¡¯d seen right in front of her face but had been unable to obtain, his position rtive to her became shorter and shorter.


    Astrid paused after turning a corner anding face to face with some kind of skeletal zombie wolf that was eating arge pig-sized rat. It growled at her warningly, and she backed away only to use the next alley over and dart down the thin passage between buildings into the next suburban road.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Due to proximity, you have been notified of the following: Your Chalgathi Cultist Mask has been pinged by the unique ability: ¡®Ping Chalgathi Artifacts¡¯.</strong><strong> This ability pings the locations of other Chalgathi Inheritance Set artifacts - </strong><strong>only identifying pieces you do not already have</strong><strong>, and may be used at any time without any mana requirement. This ability only locates artifacts that you are missing from the set. </strong><strong>Due to proximity, this ability only gives an area destination of 50 square meters and not an exact location.</strong><strong>]</strong>


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.


    She cursed again, her body warping with the shadows around her and only producing a thin veil of ck as she passed. This was not how it was supposed to be. She couldn¡¯t lose her only artifact now, she¡¯d paid so much of her time and blood over the years to get here - especially when it was just some nobody that wasn¡¯t even part of the cult!


    Another shadow, not one of her own, grazed the edge of her peripheral vision - and Astrid froze while blending into the darkness between a tree and an old dumpster that smelled like rot. Her body twisted and shifted, molding into a crevice underneath the dumpster as her heart started pounding wildly.


    She knew something was there, just across the street from her and sitting on a windowsill - but the figure was just as ck as she was and Astrid could only barely make out the many des protruding from its back through the unnatural, unholy-tainted mists of this cursed ce.


    A winged woman, a demon of some sortnded on an old abandoned gas station at an intersection to Astrid¡¯s right - obviously looking for her, and a sh of ck produced a rift in space just ahead of Astrid¡¯s position. The man she¡¯d tried to kill stepped out, crimson eyes scanning the surroundings, with his staff of ck wood and muscr flesh writhing with flowing blood and crackling ck lightning.


    Upon exiting the portal in the middle of the road he abruptly stopped, cocking his head to one side as if hearing something, and Astrid tried to remain as quiet and still as she could while her heartbeat frantically pounded in her warped chest, waiting for an opportune moment to assassinate him when his back was turned.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Due to proximity, you have been notified of the following: Your Chalgathi Cultist Mask has been pinged by the unique ability: ¡®Ping Chalgathi Artifacts¡¯.</strong><strong> This ability pings the locations of other Chalgathi Inheritance Set artifacts - </strong><strong>only identifying pieces you do not already have</strong><strong>, and may be used at any time without any mana requirement. This ability only locates artifacts that you are missing from the set. </strong><strong>Due to proximity, this ability only gives an area destination of 50 square meters and not an exact location</strong><strong>.]</strong>


    ¡°She¡¯s here¡­ Somewhere¡­¡± The caster muttered, glowing eyesbing the dark and settling on the exact spot where Astrid hid in the crevice of the dumpster. ¡°Right¡­ there¡­¡±


    Her shadow-formed eyes widened and she froze in shock for only a moment while her mind went into overdrive. He shouldn¡¯t be able to see her, he should only be able to ping a general area, so how was he able to know she was there!?


    Like a lightning strike his staff lifted and a torrent of crackling ck energy intermixed with ance of blood - exploding towards her position.


    Using one of her escape martial arts, Astrid barely managed to get away and nearly vomited in fear when the position she¡¯d been in only a half second ago was devastated - turned into a smoldering pile of rubble and a cloud of debris.


    The other dark figure on the opposite rooftop screeched andunched itself over the street, clearing the entire road andnding on another nearby rooftop to give chase as Astrid glided like water over the tiles - hopping from house to house in a frantic and high speed chase.


    She dodged left, avoiding a w swipe and turning tounch four throwing knives at the figure pursuing her. Eyes went wide and she narrowly avoided a long, ck tongue that crashed through the rooftop she stood on -ing face to face with nothing other than some kind of demon.


    The throwing knives made contact and punched into the demon¡¯s gut, but the monster kepting through the pain and Astrid whipped out her dualbat daggers to engage the monster.


    That was a bad idea.


    A blur of exchanging des saw Astrid¡¯s left hand fly off of her body in a spray of blood, eliciting a scream of horror and making her backpedal - shadowstepping off the roof andnding on the ground before sprinting ahead through the mists again in an attempt to lose her pursuers.


    Then she got the ping notification yet again, and she let out a frustrated scream when necrotic poison began visibly climbing up her severed forearm. ¡°GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!¡±


    Realizing she was going to die here unless she was able to lose her trackers, and knowing the artifact wasn¡¯t worth her life, she tore it off. Flinging the mask to the side through an open door that remained unhinged after some monster had broken into a nearby one-story suburban house, she vanished into the haunted city like a ghost to figure out her next move and treat her injuries.


    ***


    Riven bent down, picking up the sinister mask with a small smile creeping across his lips. There weren¡¯t any heartbeats nearby, the assassin obviously having left it to throw him off her trail, and he flipped it over to wipe off the blood she¡¯d left behind.


    <strong>[Chalgathi Cultist Mask: ???]</strong>


    So they¡¯d finallye.


    The mask itself was very intricate, with numerous carvings that shifted and roiled under his touch - but to his surprise the mask actually began to change while he grasped it. From roiling shadow-like textures, it evolved into something else entirely. Smooth, white porcin reced the shadow texture - until it became a very in but sleek-looking full-face mask without any identifying features at all. There weren¡¯t any holes for the eyes or mouth either. The only other thing notable about it was that the back side, the one that was supposed to fit onto his face, shimmered with red wisps now that trailed along his skin and pulled - almost as if it was trying totch onto him. It waspletely different from the item it¡¯d been only a minute ago.


    ¡°How odd.¡±


    He set off another ping, finding out that there weren¡¯t any other participants in Chalgathi¡¯s trials nearby for hundreds of miles¡­ but then quickly corrected himself. Not only was this unknown woman still here, somewhere, and she could track him while he couldn¡¯t track her - but it was certainly possible there were others of Chalgathi¡¯s Chosen and he just couldn¡¯t ping them. The ability only worked to identify those with artifacts he didn¡¯t have, and now he had two of the set.


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Quest Update: Astrid Fested has been defeated in battle by Riven Thane, but has escaped pursuit with her life intact. Riven Thane has acquired 2 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance.]</strong>


    Within only seconds of having acquired the notification, themunication bauble started pulsing and he picked it up to answer Allie¡¯s call. ¡°Heyo.¡±


    ¡°Riven!¡± Allie¡¯s voice echoed through the mists and deserted streets of the Brigthsville suburbs. ¡°Were you attacked!? Are you ok!? What happened! I had no idea they were that close to us! Where are you now!?¡±


    ¡°Calm down, I''m fine. Almost got assassinated by some bitch because I was off my guard, I¡¯d been pinging their locations but she¡¯d somehow cleared nearly 80 miles in less than a day and it threw me off. She must have some kind of traveling or movement ability aside from the ones I saw.¡±


    ¡°Which were?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a stealth type, uses something akin to my rift-walk via the shadow pir and can blend into dark areas or mold her body to fit into tight spots. She has a couple escape abilities and I¡¯m not entirely sure how they work, but she¡¯s very mobile. Be careful, she¡¯s still around here somewhere but I managed to cut off a hand. So unless she has some kind of means to heal herself, she¡¯ll be maimed.¡±


    ¡°Well at least that¡¯s a plus. But where are you? Are you back from the underdark already?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Visited Snagger¡¯s city of rat-kin, was neat to see. I¡¯ll tell you about it more in detailter, I¡¯m in Brightsville now and headed towards the altar to get some answers on malignancy points. I also need to identify these Chalgathi artifacts.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I probably need to do that too. I have the pauldrons, but I haven¡¯t been using them because I wasn¡¯t sure what they did and they gave me odd tingly sensations whenever I put them on.¡±


    Riven snickered in amusement. ¡°Odd tingly sensations? They¡¯re artifacts for a world quest, surely they can¡¯t be bad.¡±


    ¡°You never know! Don¡¯tugh at me! And I already have these legendary tier soul-woven pauldrons built into my outfit - ok!? I went with what I knew!¡±


    ¡°Well at least it doesn¡¯t make you a target. Where are you keeping the Chalgathi pauldrons?¡±


    ¡°In a guarded vault in the tower. Tell you what, I¡¯ll have Mara grab them for you and meet you at the altar. Have the Blood Moon Requiem identify them for me too, and since I already have a pair of pauldrons with the soul-woven outfit - you can have the Chalgathi set. It¡¯s probably better if webine ours anyway, gives us a better chance of doing this stupid quest and getting to the next Chalgathi quest update before other people do. It¡¯ll also allow me to monitor more people involved with the questline, because I won¡¯t have any of the items. One more thing - do you mind helping Mara clear the prison sometime in the next day or two? I told her I¡¯d be back to lead the attack but I¡¯ve been busy killing elves the past two days.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°Killing elves? I hope you¡¯re not talking about my ves. They¡¯re supposed to be treated well, Allie.¡±


    ¡°No! Idiot. Dawn¡¯s northernmost town, Bradshire, is under siege. Or it had just begun until I arrived, I¡¯m routing these pointy eared pricks now, adding to my legions with their bodies, and am going to discuss terms with some of Dawn¡¯s ambassadors so I¡¯m kind of busy.¡±


    ¡°Just be careful about the things we talked about, Allie.¡±


    ¡°I have an army of undead with me, along with Vin and Nin. I¡¯ll be fine. Talk to youter!¡±


    Allie¡¯s voice cut out, and Riven hummed in discontentment.


    ¡°She¡¯s in the S-Tier of natives on this too, you know.¡± Fay stated from behind, adjusting her crop-top and clearing her throat to fold herrge ck wings behind her. ¡°She¡¯ll be ok!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not her that I¡¯m worried about.¡± Riven said, putting the newly acquired Chalgathi artifact into his satin bag of holding. ¡°We have rules about engaging any truly strong opponents, if we think there¡¯s a chance at losing we¡¯re to retreat and group up. It¡¯s just that Allie can be¡­ a little bit kill-happy.¡±

 Chapter 134

    Chapter 134


    <strong>Chapter 134</strong>


    Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th, eldest daughter to the Duke and Dutchess of House of Crushada, 107th in line for the vampiric throne, was not in a good mood.


    ¡°Yes instructor dius¡­¡± Kathrine said for the twelfth time that night while brushing ab through her long locks of brte hair - staring at a slim figure wearing a ck dress that she seemed to barely recognizetely in the mirror. ¡°I realize it¡¯s important, but there¡¯s simply nothing I can do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re obviously not making this a priority!¡± Kathrine¡¯s teacher scolded, irritation ring in his words as the older vampire red at his pupil over a stack of books on a desk made of polished wood. ¡°It is your responsibility as mouthpiece to initiate contact!¡±


    ¡°I know that instructor dius¡­¡±


    ¡°Then do something about it!¡± dius snarled with fangs bared, mming a thick book onto the table and ring over the rim of his sses and steepling his fingers. ¡°It is not just you and your family that will feel restitution if this seeds, and you are CERTAINLY not the only ones who will feel the queen¡¯s scorn if we fail! My entire family¡¯s fortunes are riding on my sess, your highness! Please keep that in mind!¡±


    Katherine¡¯s eyelids drooped, and she smoothed out the formfitting ck silk before turning on her backless stool to re coldly at the older man. ¡°Need I remind you just who it is you speak to? Instructor?¡±


    dius opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it after meeting the unflinching gaze of the young royal in front of him. Sighing, shaking his head to stare at the desk underneath him, and running his fingers through his graying hair - he only ended up mumbling something under his breath.


    ¡°As I thought.¡± Kathrine stated coolly. ¡°Now please have patience. I am confident one of them, if not both of them, wille speak to us in time.¡±¡°What makes you so sure of that?¡± The old man asked angrily, ring up at her again with a sniff and sipping on a goblet of blood.


    ¡°Because they haven¡¯t kicked us off the yet.¡± Kathrine turned confidently back to the mirror, trying out different types of dao flowers in her hair that she¡¯d been gifted by her mother for acquiring this position in the first ce. Despite her outward appearance, she too was worried that Riven and Allie would simply nevere. But just as the old man''s - her family¡¯s entire fortunes as well as her own future were riding on this mission, and she couldn¡¯t fail no matter what it took. Yet she was at a loss for what to do, and the instructor¡¯s ramblings didn¡¯t help her feel at ease when she was battling with her own internal demons.


    A rapid knock at the door caused her to turn, and the dimly lit study was opened to reveal a half-panicked vampire maid wearing a red and ck dress of her own; with a red veil to cover half her face from the nose down like most of the maids here did. Her red eyes were wide, her blonde hair disheveled, and she was breathing heavily as if she¡¯d sprinted up the stairs of the keep to get there.


    ¡°Mydy!¡± The maid said, bowing low with a curtsy.


    Kathrine frowned at the woman, not remembering her name, and tapped a finger against her folded arm with irritation evident on her features. ¡°Since when is it ok that you just walk in without asking for permission first? What is your name?¡±


    The maid froze, then she looked up hesitantly from her bowing position. ¡°My name is Cherna, your majesty¡­ It¡¯s just that-¡±


    ¡°Just that you should be re-schooled in the appropriate manners of your ss and rank, Cherna. Peasants do not just waltz into the abode of a royal, and it is an offense that some would punish by death.¡± Kathrine stated tly. ¡°Be happy that I am no such tyrant, but keep in mind that I will not tolerate such behavior either.¡±


    The maid stuttered a whispered acknowledgement, standing up to a normal posture with hands sped in front of her when Kathrine bade her rise.


    ¡°Now tell me, Cherna.¡± Kathrine stated, still irritated at thepleteck of manners on the maid¡¯s part. ¡°Why did you enter this room in such a vulgar way?¡±


    The maid stilled, then caught her breath. ¡°I tried toe earlier but the others - they stalled me! Mydy, Riven Thane is downstairs. The other nobles and children of the great houses who came across the portal are already beginning-¡±


    ¡°<em><strong>Curse those ipetent DIRTBLOODS!</strong></em>¡± Kathrine whipped herself into a frenzy and out of the chair, with Instructor dius quickly scrambling after her. ¡°Of COURSE they wouldn¡¯t tell me! Their insufferable political games just HAD to follow me here!¡±


    Kathrine stomped past the maid, who was trying to make herself look small and even paler than what was normal for a vampire - being well aware that getting a peasant such as herself involved in the powerys of the nobility would likely see her dead one day.


    ¡°dius!¡± Kathrine red over her shoulder at the older man, pulling up her dress to begin half-running down the steps of the keep to the lower levels so that she¡¯d hopefully get there in time before her political enemies caused too much damage. ¡°dius I need you to put on your best behavior, no matter what you actually think about them! Understand? None of your pompousness today, AND DEFINITELY NONE OF YOUR PHILOSOPHIES, or I swear by the blood god I will have your head!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with philosophy!?¡± Protested the old man with a scowl while he raced after her down the spiral staircase.


    ¡°NO! I don¡¯t want you to bore him to death! Not yet! UNDERSTAND!?¡±


    ***


    Riven stood in the dining room of what had to be the most extravagant ce he¡¯d ever set eyes on.


    Gold and tinum trimmings decorated the walls and ceiling where carved monuments to creatures of all kinds were set in marble. Overhead the chandeliers sparkled with types of gemstones he had no name for, and though it was well-lit - the light here had an unnatural feel to it. It was a room far toorge for the keep it was contained in, making him think there was some kind of spatial magic going on, and some of the vampiric or thrall servants were already beginning to set up a feast on the single long table present adorned with finely made ss cutlery.


    ¡°Your majesty, it is an honor that you grace us with your presence!¡± The singsong voice of the lone female vampiric noble said with a charming smile. She wore a brilliant, Victorian-style red dress with a corset that starkly contrasted against her pale white skin, and her orange hair was cut in a punk-rock type style: being very short and almost shaved on the right side of her head while being very long everywhere else.


    Another very tall, muscr man with a raven ponytail and dressed in what looked to be silver-trimmed ckbat robes a monk would use (one of the two other nobles present), gave a poor attempt at hiding a sneer while he eyed the woman. ¡°Yes¡­ I finally find myself agreeing with Lady Muren at longst.¡±


    The man with the ponytail shifted his red gaze back to Riven, then bowed at the waist with a hand on his front and the other on his back. ¡°It is a true pleasure to finally meet you, Prince Riven of house Wraithtide. My shorter name is Duke Blemrich, but you may call me Blemrich. Will your beautiful sister be joining us this night? I was hoping to meet her as well!¡±


    Wraithtide. There was that family branch name again that Riven and Allie apparently belonged to.


    Riven¡¯s face betrayed a scowl, and he shook his head while keeping them at a short distance. ¡°Unfortunately not. Thest interaction we had here was less than receptive, so I thought it¡¯d be better if I came alone. Allie will not be attending tonight¡¯s meeting.¡±


    The third person, an incredibly handsome but rather thin man with long blonde hair trailing to his shoulders, red at the two shorter people standing beside him given the obvious social blunder. He wore something akin to what Duke Blemrich had on, the formfitting robes of a cultivator, but his were colored royal-purple with gold iid into the fabric with various draconic designs.


    He¡¯d briefly introduced himself as Lord Carsion, and otherwise hadn¡¯t talked at all - but had merely observed the interactions since.


    ¡°We humbly apologize for that attempt on your lives¡­¡± Lord Carsion said warily, staring daggers at Duke Blemrich with a clear signal to shut up about Riven¡¯s sister. ¡°The man who attempted the assassination was dealt with not only by the system, but was thoroughly tortured and executed on a public stage for the entire empire to watch. The queen wishes for us to send her deepest apologies, as we only wished to establish positive contact with the two of you.¡±


    ¡°Theck of oversight on the part of our esteemed expedition leader is under scrutiny by the crown even now.¡± Lady Muren mused, waving away a veiled servant girl who¡¯d brought over refreshments. ¡°It is truly a shame, we had such high hopes for her.¡±


    The bustling of activity in the dining hall was growing, with full-te armored guards bearing halberds and tower shields being positioned all around the room - giving Riven respectful nods whenever he looked their way. Servants, both thralls and vampires of lower status alike, were setting up jugs of blood wine and various decorated appetizers of extremely high quality food all along the table. bs of steak, cakes, tarts, cheese and other foods Riven didn¡¯t have names for of all kinds were beingid out.


    Riven nced Lady Muren¡¯s way. ¡°You¡¯re saying the attack was Kathrine¡¯s fault? The woman I met earlier?¡±


    Lady Muren winced slightly, then gave a hesitant frown in exchange with Lord Carsion. ¡°I spoke out of turn¡­ it is just that she is very¡­ Oh, how should I put it. Well, if it had been me, there would have been little in the way of such oversight. To think that she¡¯d not assume an attempt would be taken on your life¡­¡±


    Lady Muren gave an exaggerated huff and fanned her face with a handkerchief.


    ¡°She should have checked the thralls as she was the one in charge of assigning duties.¡± Duke Blemrich stated tly. ¡°If anyone is to me for what happened other than the man attempting to take your life, it is her.¡±


    Brutal.


    Riven exchange looks with Ath and Fay on his right, and Azmoth behind him continued to stand silently with his maul weapon-down on the floor.


    ¡°And who exactly are you three? Aside from being some random nobles that just happen to be here off world in the trademune.¡± Riven eventually said, curiously tearing his eyes away from Ath.


    Lord Carsion cleared his throat in feigned embarrassment. ¡°Oh dear, we did get caught up in the excitement didn¡¯t we? The three of us are representatives of great noble houses very close and loyal to the queen. She thought it wise that, due to our influence across the empire, our houses should send the young elite for representation.¡±


    ¡°They paid an extreme amount of money and exchanged many favors to be here.¡± A familiar feminine voice called out across the extravagant dining room, and all heads turned to see Kathrine Vonsi Crushada gracefully crossing over from a hallway adjacent to the kitchen on the left. Her long, form-fitting ck dressed flowed out behind her - and her silky brown hair was perfectlybed with a red flower adorning the side of her head. ¡°They are not as important as they might try to make themselves out to be.¡±


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The two men scowled, with Duke Blemrich clenching his fists, and Lady Muren snorted in derision while tossing her hair to the side and sping her hands in front of her. Behind Kathrine, an older man scurried behind her while clutching a book and pen to his chest before bowing low in Riven¡¯s direction when he came to a stop.


    ¡°My prince!¡± The old man stated with a huff. He stood up straight again, adjusted his sses, and red at the other three nobles in front of him. ¡°The princess and I were not made aware of youring until just now. We apologize for not having a formal entrance or tour prepared, this was most unexpected.¡±


    Princess? Ah, yes. Kathrine was technically in the line of session, though she was near deadst from what little Riven understood.


    ¡°Those are rather petty insults,ing from someone who can barely call herself a princess - one from a family that is considered the equivalent of lower nobility at best. Wouldn¡¯t you agree, Lord Carsion?¡± Lady Muren mused, ring heatedly at Kathrine who only coldly stared back.


    Lord Carsion coughed into one hand, unsure of what to say - but was saved by Duke Blemrich as the bigger man crossed his arms.


    ¡°I agree wholeheartedly.¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s smile twitched, and she gave Riven an apologetic smile. ¡°I am truly sorry. We shouldn¡¯t be involving the politics of our nation or the feuds between families in your presence, Riven Wraithtide. It also appears that some people cannot remember just who the queen appointed as expedition leader, or what the chain ofmand here is. Would you mind following me? I wish to speak to you in private, cousin to cousin.¡±


    ¡°We have already begun dinner preparations-¡± Duke Blemrich stated with a scowl, but he was cut off with a wave of Kathrine¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Later.¡± Kathrine said dismissively, turning heel and beckoning Riven to follow. ¡°Please, this way. We will have dinner after I speak to you in private.¡±


    ***


    The fog and dark clouds hanging over these hauntednds wasn¡¯t always present, but it had certainly been a weather favorite ever since the altar¡¯s terraforming. Even now at midday, it was an overcast sky with thin mists in patches across thendscape.


    Riven sipped a tea mixture that included blood and some kind of berry with a sweet aroma. He sat on a balcony in a fluffy brown chair overlooking the rest of the altar, which was buzzing with activity. Orcs, undead, and demons all conversed with one another in or around Dungeon Negrada¡¯s enormous red tent with the ck eye symbol etched into it - epassing their tradingmune. There were even a few goblins and humans down there too, though in smaller quantities than the others. No doubt the humans were residents of the city that Allie had brought on board, or at least he¡¯d thought that until he saw some of them pulling wagons with various goods - dressed in peasant attire from a medieval civilization.


    Traders from Dawn had already gotten this far? That was his only guess.


    As for the goblins¡­ Well most of them were downright stupid, but there were a few of them that were more intelligent than their counterparts. These were few and far between, due to this particr species of goblin being rather stupid in order for the orcs to subjugate them - but ording to Gurth¡¯Rok there were other smarter goblin species that were just as intelligent as other enlightened races.


    Maids set down refreshments and burning incense sticks on the center table on their balcony, and Kathrine set down her own ss cup to lean back and breath in deeply. ¡°Again, I wish to extend my most sincere apologies for what happened. To think that one of our own would try their hand at killing you is beyond me, I would have never thought it even a possibility and I take full responsibility for my failings.¡±


    Riven stared out across the fields adjacent to the altar where he could see his guild hall manor in the distance on the southern edge of the city. People kepting and going to and from Brightsville, crossing a dirt road that¡¯d been created inbetween greenskin cabins and tents, inbetween the fields of farnd that his high elf ves were tending to. Trade was bustling and a true thrivingmunity was starting to appear in the ashes of the old world.


    ¡°It¡¯s not ok, but I do forgive you.¡± Riven stated solemnly, turning his attention back to his distant cousin - who visibly sighed in relief with a slumping of her tightened shoulders. ¡°It appears that you don¡¯t get along very well with those other royals.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not royals.¡± Kathrine quickly corrected with a shake of her head, picking up a smoking pipe from a dish on her right to puff on it - letting it emit a dull purple vapor with each exhale. ¡°They¡¯re high nobility. Our society is divided into royals at the top, high nobility directly under them, and low nobility at the bottom for the ruling sses. They alle with titles and responsibilities of various sorts but in the end it doesn¡¯t really matter - what does matter is that you must realize these people are not your friend.¡±


    ¡°They seemed friendly enough.¡±


    Kathrine set the pipe down and gave him a raised eyebrow. ¡°They are opportunists.¡±


    Riven smirked at her expression, then warmly smiled at a nervous servant girl who almost tripped on her way over to give him a pipe of his own. She flushed underneath the thin veil she wore and scurried away after delivering the item to him, covering her face and whispering to other maids who giggled or softlyughed in the background at their friend¡¯s poor coordination.


    Kathrine watched the interaction with growing amusement of her own. ¡°You make them nervous.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re royalty too. Wouldn¡¯t you make them just as nervous?¡± Riven asked with a side eye.


    Kathrine shook her head. ¡°No, they¡¯ve been my servant girls since I was little. We all grew up together, they never act this way around me.¡±


    ¡°Why use vampires for servants when you can use thralls? I see you have a mixture of them here. Wouldn¡¯t it just be easier to have more submissive<em> ¡®mind ves¡¯ </em>to do your bidding rather than other vampires?¡±


    Riven said the words ¡®mind ves¡¯ with a tinge of distaste that was obvious to anyone with ears, and Kathrine frowned.


    ¡°Do you have something against owning thralls?¡± Kathrine asked, rather curious in her tone.


    ¡°Absolutely. I think it¡¯s disgusting to warp someone¡¯s mind like that. Plus, it really rubs me the wrong way that my sister already has two hunky sex ves she¡¯d changed into thralls. Really pisses me off actually.¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s draw dropped slightly, then she sputtered augh and held up a hand over her mouth with a flush of amusement. ¡°Your sister created two thralls just for that? Are they human thralls?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°How erotic! I¡¯ve always wanted to do that, but my parents said it was beneath my station.¡± Kathrine refused to hide her grin much longer and ced her hands in herp, ignoring the old man at her side clearing his throat with a disapproving frown. ¡°To sleep with cattle, I mean."


    ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d get along with Allie after all.¡± Riven muttered, sighing and taking a long inhale on the pipe. It gave him a buzzing sensation, and he immediately lifted his spirits upon smoking some of the stuff. ¡°You never answered my question.¡±


    ¡°Oh! About why I keep vampires as servants? Vampire servants are more expensive to maintain, it is true, but they¡¯re also one of us. It adds prestige to enlist other vampires in such a position as well, gives your house recognition that you are able to afford such things - and it allows me to speak with them frankly; rather than just having the thralls who agree with anything or everything you say. Have you ever had a conversation with a thrall before?¡±


    Riven shook his head. ¡°I have not.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not very enlightening.¡± Kathrine mused thoughtfully, tapping her chin with a slender finger. ¡°They¡¯re good for manualbor, a useful food source, or are good for being obedient ves. They are still somewhat their own people, but only to an extent. They can think abstractly, but when ites to their masters - they will immediately switch opinions to match your own as soon as they find out that their own opinions conflict with yours. They are all-pleasing, which I suppose is why your sister enjoys the two men she¡¯s taken.¡±


    Kathrine winked Riven¡¯s way despite his loud snort of discontentment. ¡°Haha! I am sorry, enough with the teasing! I would say that I¡¯d deliver the queen¡¯s gifts, but they were very shortsting dao fruits that have already expired¡­ and we cannot bring any others across at this time due to system limitations. Above all else - what can I do for you? Why did youe here now? What changed your mind about speaking with us?¡±


    Riven shrugged in his seat, scooting over to make room for Ath when she yawned and transformed into a spider to curl up next to him. He stroked her head fondly as she buried her arachnid face in the crevice of his arm, then looked up to the mildly surprised royal across from him. ¡°Three reasons. First, I wanted to see what you could offer me in terms of aid. Secondly, I want to know more about malignant prophecy and malignancy points. Third, I need help identifying some world-quest items. A ghoul woman by the name of Mara should be arriving with an undead escort soon, she¡¯ll be carrying another piece concerning the world-quest and I need your identifiers to look them over. I figured it¡¯s the least my long lost family can do after almost getting my sister and I killed.¡±


    The old vampire next to Kathrine winced at the outright usation, and Kathrine nodded sagely. ¡°Of course. I¡¯d be more than happy to help with all three of those things. Should I address them in order?¡±


    ¡°Address them however you¡¯d like.¡± Riven said tly.


    Kathrine cleared her throat, steepled her fingers, and leaned back into the soft cushion of her chair. ¡°In terms of aid¡­ The most valuable we have to offer isn''t anything tangible, and system limitations are set to prevent us from giving much out for free anyways until the integration is over. Instead we¡¯ve actually prepared quite a lot in the form of knowledge and training. We have a legion officer and general¡¯s son here that is to teach you the strategic art of warfare and physicalbat, three magical instructors that were some of the best for their given levels across our empire that can guide you, as well as a historian and dao theorist who happens to be standing next to me.¡±


    She gestured to the old man with sses next to her. ¡°This is Instructor dius, historian and dao theorist, who is hoping to teach you and your sister about the happenings of our universe as well as give you insights on how to expand your dao pirs to new heights. He¡¯s been a family friend for a while and has been my own teacher for quite some time.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes focused on the old man, and tius bowed low.


    ¡°My prince, it is an honor to be assigned to tutor you.¡± tius straightened again and smile widely - exposing his fangs. ¡°It is a great opportunity for both you and I to pursue. I hope that you will take me up on my offer, you shan''t be disappointed if you agree. I have many things to teach you.¡±


    Riven nodded to the man. ¡°I may take you up on that.¡±


    tius beamed in turn.


    Kathrine¡¯s own grin widened too. ¡°I hope you do. To be trained by some of the best the empire has to offer is no small feat. True, it is within a level 90 restriction set upon us for people we could bring to this world, but our empire spans across hundreds of worlds. The talent here is very real, and it would be a tragic waste of resources if you and your sister didn¡¯t utilize them. The queen personally hand picked these people, because she is very invested in getting her favorite granddaughter¡¯s children up to par with the rest of the royal family.¡±


    Riven remained silent for a time upon mention of the queen or his own long-lost mother, and Kathrine looked like she was preparing a statement if he was to ask about it - but he moved on to the more important subject matter instead. ¡°What about malignancy points?¡±


    ¡°What about them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve used malignant prophecy twice.¡± Riven held up his pointer and middle finger in a ¡®peace¡¯ sign. ¡°And yet I''ve acquired 4 points. The first prophecy cost me 1 point, the second prophecy that saved all of our lives when the assassination attempt happened cost me 3. I have a gut feeling that acquiring them isn¡¯t a good thing. Would I be correct?¡±


    Kathrine opened her mouth to reply, but frowned and then shut it again. She turned to look at the schr beside her next. ¡°tius?¡±


    The old man stepped forward. ¡°It would be my honor to exin these thing to you, young prince. I have had the honor of tutoring many of the royal family¡¯s young, including Kathrine here, but unfortunately not all the royals have the gift you and your sister have acquired. Most of them don¡¯t, actually, and the secrets pertaining to your malignant prophecy are a well kept thing indeed. The gift is an invaluable resource to the empire, so the two of you having this gift makes you both a very strategic resource for the queen to obtain.¡±


    He held a hand up to his chest while looking at the gray overcast sky, as if he was about to recite poetry. ¡°To outsiders and the general public, malignant prophecy is just a way our empire has climbed to the top. It is a thing of legend and myth that sways the tides of fate in our favor, it has won many wars for us in the past, and it is a thing to be feared. It is a way to change the future before it happens by giving routes and avenues to sess where they¡¯d otherwise be lost. However, it doese at a steep cost. Each time you use malignant prophecy, you altar fate - and in doing so you acquire bad karma. These malignancy points you have are symbolic of that bad karma, with more points being given for more drastic changes to the future. Spontaneousbustion of your points will happen at random, with more probability forbustion with the more points you umte.¡±


    ¡°Spontaneousbustion?¡± Riven repeated, a little unnerved. ¡°What exactly does that do if it¡¯s supposed to be ¡®bad karma¡¯?¡±


    tius frowned, and his shoulders slumped slightly. ¡°My boy, it means that something very bad will happen to you, your interests, or the people you love. It is not an unavoidable thing, but it is often a ¡®trial¡¯ set up by the system to punish you for intervening in fate - which is on the borderline of heresy concerning Elysium¡¯sws.¡±


    That did not sound good at all.


    ¡°Any examples?¡± Riven asked, shifting in his chair to put Ath¡¯s spider body in hisp.


    ¡°That¡­ is unfortunately beyond my knowledge. I only know that we have lost royal family members twice before because of this, and many of the royal family have experience significant loss in other undisclosed ways. Secrets like that are kept close to the chest, even from people like me, due to many under-the-carpet rivalries between different royals who have the ability. The general idea is that you only want to use malignant prophecy if you absolutely have to, but many times it only activates when you¡¯re in dire need - so there isn¡¯t often a choice in the matter. More important than avoiding its use, is oveing the trials that Elysium will administer to you as punishment. What or when that may be is never known to us.¡±

 Chapter 135

    Chapter 135


    <strong>Chapter 135</strong>


    It didn''t take long for Mara to get there.


    ¡°Was it odd? Finding out that you were a prince of all things?¡± Kathrine asked while sipping at her tea again and giving Riven an appraising nce. ¡°Did it phase you?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean much to me, honestly. I was more interested in finding out about my mother and father rather than anything else, but it appears none of you know what happened either.¡± Riven yawned, putting a hand up against his mouth to cover it and then waved Mara over from where she was being escorted onto the balcony by a set of vampiric guards. Her undead had been forced to wait outside and were standing at the fortress gates, but she¡¯de nevertheless. ¡°Hey. Did you bring them?¡±


    The ghoul woman knelt with her head bowed, arge linen bag at her side. She gave the other vampire a side-eye of distrust, but quickly averted her gaze when set upon by Kathrine''s own. ¡°Yes, my lord. As Alliemanded.¡±


    Riven gestured for Mara to rise, and she did so while pulling out a pair of pauldrons connected by a thin strand of shimmering ck mana.


    They were each very¡­ engaging to the eye, and the pauldrons changed in size to fit his body when he picked them up to hold them. Why these items shifted or morphed whenever attained was beyond his knowledge, but he hoped to get answers from his off-worldpatriots very soon.


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Quest Update: Riven Thane has acquired 3 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance.]</strong>


    Each pauldron was a porcin, ivory white like the mask he¡¯d taken off the rogue just earlier that day. Each pauldron was crafted in the shape of a horned devil¡¯s skull. The eye sockets actually flickered with infernal mes, which was a rather neat trick in Riven¡¯s opinion, and with just a thought they whipped around andtched across his head and onto his shoulders with a thunk.Immediately he felt a difference in how his body felt, though he couldn¡¯t ce just how that was. Was it a stat boost? Some other bonus? He had no idea.


    Which brought him to his next question for The Blood Moon Requiem.


    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d be able to identify these things.¡± Riven stated, pulling out his dragon amulet, and then the smooth porcin mask with red tendrils of power wafting off the interior side, only for the three items to abruptly interact with one another.


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Personal Quest Update: 3 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance have been acquired. Checkpoint reached. Participant under evaluation, identifying weaknesses, strengths, and orienting artifacts to the most powerful affiliated build.]</strong>


    The old man¡¯s eyes went wide at seeing the artifacts, and his jaw slowly started to drop while taking a step back. ¡°Those... Those are dangerous to have on your person. My prince¡­ Why do you have these items in your possession?¡±


    Riven gave the old man a frown. "What do you mean by ''dangerous''?¡±


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    The mask in Riven¡¯s hand mmed onto his face, the tendrils of red power off the backside began to w into his eyeballs and mouth - forcing their way into his body as he let out a scream of pain and surprise. He wed at his face, only to be attacked by the other two items next. The amulet lurched downwards onto Riven¡¯s chest and began tearing itself through his shirt to dig into his skin, and the pauldrons mped down around his shoulders with jagged teeth that sank into his muscles.


    "RIVEN!" Ath immediately whipped into a humanoid form and began to pry the mask off frantically, but was blown back with a pulse of power that shot her straight off the castle walls and far to the ground below a hundred yards away.


    ¡°PLATIUS! DO SOMETHING!¡± Kathrine screamed, getting to her feet while maids cried out for help and guards rushed over to try and help the prince - only for the older vampire to hold up a hand in a gesture to stop them from approaching.


    ¡°STOP!¡± tius yelled out over the sudden turmoil. ¡°These are soulbinding items! DO NOT TOUCH THEM unless you want to do harm to the prince! We do NOT know what will happen if you rip them off during the fusion!¡±


    ¡°Fusion!?¡± Kathrine choked back, hands shaking and wondering just how her family would be murdered if the queen found out her great grandchild had died horribly in her custody after only barely escaping with his life on the first visit.


    ¡°Fusion!¡± Repeated the old man, physically pushing her back with a warning waggle of his finger. ¡°I said do not approach! Let it finish first, he¡¯ll be fine¡­ I hope.¡±


    Kathrine froze in horror and shock, reliving the previous experience where her charge had almost been assassinated - now only to watch as Riven writhed on the floor while screaming and thrashing. Guards looked on nervously, awaiting orders, while Riven¡¯s two remaining minions didn¡¯t really know what to do either.


    Azmoth bent down over his thrashing master, watching the mask shift and mold with red tendrils spreading down Riven¡¯s neck. Watched as the amulet warped and twisted, the ivory etchings of the dragon changing into something else entirely, and watched as the pauldrons twisted with new features.


    The zing infernal eyes of the pauldrons became glowing red orbs simr to Riven¡¯s own, balls of blood magics that radiated sinister intent. The horns along the pauldrons elongated, bing much sharper and sleeker than their originals, and the demonic visage of a devil warped down into a more skull-like appearance of the original with vampiric teeth protruding from an open mouth.


    Riven continued to scream.


    The porcin mask remained without any holes on the front surface. It remained smooth and covered the entire front of Riven¡¯s head, but it sprouted seven peacock-like feathers made of glowing crimson blood-mana along the edges that protruded from his hood, making it look somewhat like a headdress.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The amulet¡¯s dragon visagepletely disappeared, while spikes of bone ripped out along the circr jewelry piece and gouged into Riven¡¯s chest like anchors just below the sternum where his demonic pentagrams were located. In the center of the circle where the circr amulet had originally been, arge gaping whole opened up with razor sharp teeth - expanding up and down to create a vertical maw that split his chest in half down the center. It grew to about two feet in length, and lead in into an abyss of ck. The mouth in the center of his chest opened and closed, expanded and contracted, letting wisps of ck protrude from Riven''s center until the sharp teeth of the maw closed over the hole to seal it shut in an interlocking pattern.


    Afterwards: All along Riven¡¯s skin, a thin wovenyer of bloody threads begancing themselves up and down his body. They covered himpletely, creating attice of skin-tight fabric under his clothes that in turn connected all three of his Chalgathi artifacts over the course of a few minutes.


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Personal Quest Update: 3 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance have been acquired. Checkpoint reached. Participant has acquired the most powerful affiliated build avable based on soul aspects for current acquired pieces. Item set is now sentient and is linked to your Core of Original Sin - Gluttony. Item aspect attained: Gluttony. Participant must acquire remaining set pieces within 6 month''s time, or participant will be consumed by the worn items due to pathway¡¯s requirements.]</strong>


    ***


    Allie¡¯s gauntlet crunched into the face of the elvish warrior, splitting his skull open along with the winged helmet he wore in a snapping of metal and bone.


    ¡°HAAAHAAAAAAAAA!!!!¡± She shrieked with a gleefulugh when the body hit the earth, radiating death mana that pulsed and surged along her figure while the screams of innocent and guilty alike echoed through the air.


    Huts burned, shadows moved on the outskirts of the firelight, and weapons shed in the roar of battle as she stood over the enemymander¡¯s corpse with red-tinged eyes ring down.


    Two shimmering spots shifted in the air about her peripheral vision and she whirled, six neon-teal ming skulls erupting about her position andunching towards the iing assassins.


    The attacks broke the sound barrier, causing sonic booms to radiate from her position. The skulls shrieked and catapulted into the two stealthed enemies, blowing one hooded elf¡¯s chest clean out his back and causing him to drop his daggers. The other hooded figure dressed in leathers managed to dodge with a dash ability that blurred his body to her right, but a flickering ck ribbon of power whipped out of her wand and eradicated him with extreme prejudice.


    The nearby screams and crackling of mes was interrupted by a loud crash, and looking left she saw one of her bone giants crush a nearby hut with all the people inside it under an enormous club. The small house was utterly decimated, and the giant slowly turned to the next target while lumbering off into the dark - seeking out hiding prey.


    Her excited breathing ticked up a beat. All around her in the firelight under the night sky were dozens upon dozens of bodies,batants and civilians alike. ¡°Just look at all this material we get to use!¡±


    Vin, who¡¯d been watching from the shadow of a still-standing cabin, looked up to her from where he¡¯d been scribbling down notes about an experiment he was performing on a twitching elf nearby. He motioned for this skeletal minions to keep the iling, frothing peasant man in ce and headed over to stand beside his queen. ¡°You nearly get as excited as Nin does about seeing new bodies!¡±


    She gave him a chuckle, and raised her hands out to either side while ck and teal mana shimmered and ripped from her fingertips to enter nearby bodies. Flesh began to melt off in swaths of necrotic tissue. First it was five corpses, then ten, then over twenty corpses as blue lights started flickering to life in the sockets of their skulls. Groaning and gradually pushing themselves to their feet, they stood to look at their new master in silent decorum.


    ¡°War is profitable, it makes harvesting that much easier.¡± Allie muttered, waving her hand towards the remaining lines of defenders at the back of the elf vige they were tearing apart, and the undead scattered - off to find their old brethren to eat, w, and rip apart the living. ¡°How goes your experiment?¡±


    Vin clicked his teeth together in irritation, and the skull¡¯s lower jaw twisted to the side. ¡°Poorly. I cannot seem to keep their souls intact. Progress is slow and I don¡¯t know if we¡¯re even on the right path. Perhaps your newfound allies, the vampires from afar, could enlighten us? Do you think they have knowledge of such necromancy?¡±


    Unholy sigils shed up above in the sky where her ritualists were calling down meteoric showers of offensive magics - raining hell down on the hill where thest group of elvish defenders were quarantined. She watched her skeletal minions rush forward in a wave from all sides after that, and listened to the sing-song screams of her enemies as they begged, pleaded and died under the green g of a white doe.


    How funny that they ask for mercy when they¡¯d almost wiped a human town clean off the map before she¡¯d gotten there. If it wasn¡¯t for her, the town of Bradshire would be nothing but a smoking husk in the wake of the elvish forces calling themselves ''Tereen''. Saving the town and purging the elvish forces attacking it was a strategic move that gave her an excuse to essentially anex Bradshire entirely, with its citizens not only thanking her for the help she provided - but outright praising her as she walked through the streets even despite being a vampire. Now, after removing the closest elf threat in this small vige where the routed Tereen forces had congregated, she¡¯d found abundant supplies for the war effort. She¡¯d taken more corpses to create undead, body parts for modifications that were in high demand back in Brightsville, and more ves to add to the farnds her brother was cultivating. If anything was to be said about these elves, it was a certainty that they had a knack for growing crops - and she¡¯d be damned if she let that go to waste when the humans of her kingdom and even some of the undead could utilize various crops that grew in the hauntednds she ruled over.


    ¡°What do you think the Kingdom of Dawn will say when they realize I¡¯m not going to give Bradshire back?¡± Allie asked with an amused hum, turning back to Vin with a sadistic smile. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll want to fight us too!?¡±


    ¡°I think making such rash decisions without Riven¡¯s input is going to cause you to butt heads with him again.¡± Vin stated while scratching his head. ¡°If you truly do want to rule in conjunction with him, it would be wise to ask his opinion first before iming the town as your own.¡±


    Allie paused, thinking it over with a scowl, and then motioned for Vin to walk with her. Killing the convulsing man on the ground while they walked by with a flick of her wrist and a pulse of mana, Allie headed back into the east where Bradshire was located a few dozen miles away. ¡°I will speak to him first. Though I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be around much longer.¡±


    Vin abruptly stopped in his tracks, eyeing his queen with a sour expression even for a skeleton. ¡°You don¡¯t mean you¡¯re going to kill him, do you? He¡¯s your brother!¡±


    Allie¡¯s jaw dropped and she let out an abruptugh. ¡°No, you fucking idiot! Of course I don¡¯t mean that. God.¡±


    She shook her head and rolled her eyes, turning back around with Vin close behind her. ¡°Moron. I¡¯d rather off myself before killing Riven, he¡¯s everything to me. No, what I meant is that he¡¯s likely going to pursue events that take him far away from this ce. We both see the writing on the wall, and the world is changing. We cannot just simply stand by and let rogue forces go berserk to tear our new world apart, so one of us must leave to address the problem. Meanwhile, one of us is going to have to stay behind to make sure things here get run right. That person who stays - is likely going to be me.¡±


    ¡°You speak of the world quest?¡± Vin asked dubiously, stepping over an armored, bloody elf corpse that was missing its arms. ¡°Would it not be wise for both of you to pursue it, if the results of failing are so grim?¡±


    Allie paused in her stride, then shrugged and shot a wide fangs-bared smile over her shoulder. ¡°Riven is strong enough to do it by himself, and I have an empire to build.¡±

 Chapter 136

    Chapter 136


    <strong>Chapter 136</strong>


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Personal Quest Update: 3 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance have been acquired. Checkpoint reached. Current Chalgathi artifacts have had their stats partially revealed and unlocked based on the aspect they bonded to within your soul. Full stat pages for each item that has acquired your aspect will be further revealed and unlocked after all 5 set pieces have been acquired.]</strong>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Chalgathi Cultist Amulet</strong><strong> (Legendary Heavy Armor, Gluttony Aspect) (Parasitic) (Unique Soulbound Sentient): The gluttony aspect absorbed into this amulet has transformed this artifact into ¡®The Great Maw.¡¯ This artifact is currently in an unstable transformation state and will consume you unless the item set ispleted soon. This artifact set can attack and defend on its own. Set Piece: 1 of 5. This Item is part of the </strong><strong>Chalgathi Cultist Set</strong><strong>. Acquire 3 items of the Chalgathi Cultist Set for additional bonuses. Acquire 5 items of the Chalgathi Cultist Set for all bonuses.</strong><ul><li><strong>The Great Maw</strong><strong>: ???</strong></li><li><strong>Devour: This amulet can use shadowy tendrils to attack and pull in prey for devouring. If bitten, a potent paralytic poison is applied to your enemy. Devouring enemies allows this item set to slowly grow.</strong></li><li><strong>???]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Chalgathi Cultist Pauldrons</strong><strong> (Legendary Heavy Armor, Gluttony Aspect) (Parasitic) (Unique Soulbound Sentient): The gluttony aspect absorbed into this Pauldron Set has transformed this artifact into ¡®Twin Cannibals.¡¯ This artifact is currently in an unstable transformation state and will consume you unless the item set ispleted soon. This artifact set can attack and defend on its own. Set Piece: 1 of 5. This Item is part of the </strong><strong>Chalgathi Cultist Set</strong><strong>. Acquire 3 items of the Chalgathi Cultist Set for additional bonuses. Acquire 5 items of the Chalgathi Cultist Set for all bonuses.</strong><ul><li><strong>Twin Cannibals</strong><strong>: 1290 Defense to shoulders. +10% to all stats. +60 t points of Sturdiness. ???</strong></li><li><strong>Blood in the Eyes: These pauldrons absorb blood mana passively from your surroundings up to a maximum of double your normal mana pool. These pauldrons act as a reservoir for both your passive vampiric regeneration, as well as a mana font to pull from like you would environmental resources. Once the pauldron¡¯s eyes dim, your extra resource pool has run out.</strong></li><li><strong>???]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Chalgathi Cultist Mask</strong><strong> (Legendary Heavy Armor, Gluttony Aspect) (Parasitic) (Unique Soulbound Sentient): The gluttony aspect absorbed into this Mask has transformed this artifact into ¡®Fallen Apostle.¡¯ This artifact is currently in an unstable transformation state and will consume you unless the item set ispleted soon. This artifact set can attack and defend on its own. Set Piece: 1 of 5. This Item is part of the </strong><strong>Chalgathi Cultist Set</strong><strong>. Acquire 3 items of the Chalgathi Cultist Set for additional bonuses. Acquire 5 items of the Chalgathi Cultist Set for all bonuses.</strong><ul><li><strong>Fallen Apostle</strong><strong>: +900 Defense to face, +325 Defense to whole-body via additional blood-skinyer that can be used underneath any other armor. Natural sunlight does not bother you while wearing this item, and all your senses are enhanced by 40%.</strong></li><li><strong>Identifier¡¯s use: Wearing this item increases your ability to identify information concerning items or living creatures, being the equivalent of a low tier identifier ss. Your own basic information will be much harder to identify.</strong></li><li><strong>???]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[Checkpoint update: In the past, you have made A Choice of Selflessness. A branching quest has been unlocked based on your previous choice: Savior of the Weak.</strong>


    <strong>Chalgathi Side Quest, Savior of the Weak</strong><strong>: You, Riven Thane, have proven yourself to be one of a bleeding heart. A rare case amidst your kind, you seek to bridge the gap between the damned and the saved. It is a path few walk, and even fewer seed in during their attempts. Some would even call it a fool¡¯s errand. Nevertheless, your previous choice of selflessness hasnded you here - and now you will reap the rewards to y hero to those less powerful than yourself.</strong><ul><li><strong>On the opposite side of the world of Panu, one of Chalgathi¡¯s previous chosen is wreaking havoc amongst your kin of Earth and other humans in the area. This chosen is a sphemer, having taken Chalgathi¡¯s artifact to warp and distort it into a cursed item. This in turn caused it to be useless in the world quest entirely, and will not count towards your 5 set pieces, but it is also an item of great and corrupting power. Your assignment is to kill this sphemer who has strayed off the path and disregarded the world quest to rampantly kill without cause. Completing this quest will please Chalgathi, save many thousands of innocent lives, allow you to take this item for yourself or destroy it at your leisure, and establish portal-points you can ess both here in Brightsville as well as across the world through the staff you carry. These portal points will only be essible after you kill the sphemer. Abandoning this quest by using your guild hall¡¯s teleport will result in angering Chalgathi immensely.]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[Your minions have been temporarily banished to theher realms and you have been transported to the next probable site of conflict. Good luck.]</strong>


    ***Riven woke up to the sound of birds chirping overhead, and the sound of men arguing fiercely about¡­ something.


    God his head hurt.


    He blinked, only barely absorbing the information contained in the notifications before letting out a breath. To his surprise, his surroundings were crystal clear to all of his senses - far clearer than they¡¯d ever been before at any point in his entire life. It was like he¡¯d been awakened yet again, beyond the vampiric and into something truly divine.


    He was in a prison cell, an old cement one with metal bars like the ones back on Earth. He could see the specs of sand and dirt on his surroundings in vivid detail, could smell the sweat of people nearby, could hear their heartbeats and the shuffling of feet, and a skylight overhead leaked in streams of dimming daylight that he did not shy away from.


    Slowly, he reached out a hand - illuminating what should have been the bare skin of his fingers. Instead, he saw a thin veil of blood-red silk coating his body to fit over his skin like a tight glove. He looked down from where hey on a rickety dirt-stained bed full of holes, and saw that he was essentially wearing a tight body-suit. But everything else was gone.


    His staff was gone, his bag of holding was gone, his clothes were gone - everything was just gone; with the exceptions of his mask, the body-suit created from his mask, the monstrous maw of teeth etched vertically down his chest, and the two pauldrons which were gored into his shoulders with spikes of ivory. Along his wrists he also had a pair of basic iron manacles which had a lock on each of them, which had been enchanted somehow based on the faint white runes glowing on the iron, but they weren¡¯t attached to one another and were probably only there to suppress his mana.


    Howughable, considering he could feel just how weak the enchantments were. He did notice a slight dip in his power output when he flexed his mana channels, but was easily able to conjure two bloodnces along either arm. Blood-mana flickered along his already-red body like ribbons of power up to his shoulders, and he heard each of the manacles pop with a crackle of electricity just when the white runes were extinguished.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    <strong>[Broken Iron Suppression Manacle: 13 Defense. Enchantments extinguished. Forged by low level crafters of the native poptions on Panu.]</strong>


    His mask lit up with the information he¡¯d long-since missed after the Chalgathi starter trials had ended, and arge smile was brought across his face. Sitting up and turning his body, he turned his attention away from the cell bars and towards a mirror set in the cell.


    Seven bright red peacock feathers, or an equivalent, protruded from the outer perimeter of his nk, white,pletely smooth mask covering the entire front of his head. There was one feather vertically up, at the peak of his head, one on either side at a diagonal, and two more on each side of his face for the total of 7. However upon closer inspection and when standing up to get closer to the mirror, he realized that the peacock feathers actually had¡­ were those eyes looking back at him?


    He saw one of the eyes divert its attention from where it was positioned at the end of the feather, ncing out towards the cell door, then shifting its attention back to him.


    That gave him the creeps, and he involuntarily stepped back while pawing at his face. His hand touched the front of the mask, but when it made contact: the effort was like he was looking (and even breathing) out of ayer of thick ss. It was like he had a HUD of some kind, where he was trapped inside some advanced mecha suit - and when he tried to peel the mask off it wouldn¡¯t budge at all.


    HOW WAS HE SUPPOSED TO FEED LIKE THIS!?


    Shit. Hopefully the mouth on his chest would take in blood?


    Otherwise he was in for a really bad time.


    The rest of his his head, neck, and body were covered in the newly acquired blood-red skin, and the teeth along his chest asionally shifted from their interlocked positions to open - revealing a ck abyss beneath them where shadowy wisps flowed out only to retract when the demonic mouth closed. The porcin pauldrons of ivory color simr to his mask had glowing red eyes infused with blood mana, the depiction of horned vampiric skulls with open mouths and fangs protruding along their surfaces.


    If he¡¯d had his ck wooden staff made in conjunction with flesh and flowing blood, he¡¯d really look the part of evil sorcerer. Hell, even now he looked like a story-time viin of extreme proportions.


    A knock on the cell doors caused him to turn his head right, and the feathers all swayed and adjusted to look with him - peering their red eyes at the figure that¡¯d made the noise with as little interest as when Riven viewed an ant underfoot.


    Holy shit. Riven could feel the INTENT of the thing he was wearing¡­ of the iplete item set he had on. It was all one entity, a will of its own - yet one that was subservient to him¡­ at least for now.


    Standing at the cell door was a man in an army uniform bearing the American g on his shoulder, fully outfitted with grenades and a fully automated machine gun. He had a crew cut, a strong jawline, and was Caucasian. He was also likely in histe 30¡¯s or early 40¡¯s by the looks of it.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡± The man said gruffly, before two more soldiers stepped up behind him on either side with hands on their own machine guns strapped to their fronts. ¡°You are something of a freak. You know that?¡±


    Riven stared back, expressionless due to the porcin mask, and turned his body to face ahead fully. He walked up to the bars and looked side to side, finding out that he was in the lowest floor of a two-storyplex. There were at least a couple dozen prison cells here, with inmates banging on the bars up above and a scuffle breaking out in one of the other cells between two others that wasrgely ignored by the soldiers standing nearby on guard duty.


    Riven turned his attention back to the man in front of him. ¡°Where are my belongings?¡±


    The echoing yells of the scuffling inmates caused the lead soldier with the crew cut to scowl, and he verbally cracked the whip at the nearbypatriots who were cking in their duties. The guards who¡¯d been chided snapped to attention and rushed ahead, unlocking the cell door to stop the bigger man from murdering the smaller one inside with a shiv.


    ¡°Your belongings are being held for study and evaluation. The government of Chicago needs every bit we can get in these trying times, I¡¯m sure you understand.¡± The lead soldier stated gruffly, eyeing Riven¡¯s shifting vertical maw along his chest. ¡°You had quite the set of equipment, and we couldn¡¯t even get most of it off of you when you mysteriously dropped into the downtown district from fifty feet in the air. Senator James didn¡¯t want it damaged when we realized you were actually a person underneath it all until one of our identifiers saw you, and not one of the monster spawns in this area, but you¡¯re going to have to give it up if you want out of here.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°It is. If you give it up, we can start talking about getting you out of here.¡±


    Riven snorted in amusement at the man¡¯s steely gaze, then he crossed his arms and shook his head. If there was another of Chalgathi¡¯s chosen here he had to be very careful and couldn¡¯t waste time like this, who knew when the man or woman would attack - and if he didn¡¯t have his staff, he¡¯d be at a disadvantage. ¡°I¡¯ll give you thirty seconds to let me out of here to speak to your boss or whoever has my things. Then things will start to get dirty.¡±


    The two soldiers behind the lead stiffened, and the man who¡¯d been talking to Riven narrowed his eyes while undoing the safety on his automatic rifle. ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand the situation you¡¯re in. You¡¯re locked up, have suppression manacles on, and have no weapon. What¡¯re you going to do? Spit at me? You¡¯d have to take that mask off first before you can.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only a safety precaution.¡± One of the other soldiers said with a scowl, lifting his weapon and aiming Riven¡¯s way. ¡°Don¡¯t make us shoot you man. No matter what kind of shit you have going on with that outfit, you¡¯re not going to survive 7.62 rounds to the head.¡±


    That was actually very inurate, and Riven knew it, as long as these bullets were just in and normal bullets. Based on the defensive perks he had on this equipment whenpared to Breath of Valgeshia - his other mask with a defensive rating of 48 - he was more than certain even the weaker, thinner blood-suit he had on could take bullets like that at least a couple times. Not to mention he¡¯d be able to heal whatever did make it through via passive regeneration.


    Riven paused, then sighed. ¡°Go get your boss and get me my things, or I tear this prison apart. There will be no negotiations.¡±


    Riven¡¯s arms red with blood magic again, ripping off the manacles and shredding the iron like paper while dozens of spinning razors bloomed around their position. His aura exploded out of his cell, causing the soldiers to go rigid with shock as bloodfrost began umting along the walls, guns, ceilings and floor - and concentrating briefly on the cell bars caused them to literally crack and shatter. A palpable intent to destroy and kill was etched into their psyches, and the sounds of the other inmates in the other cells immediately silenced when the air inside the prison started to ripple with random cascades of red mana.


    The soldier who¡¯d been jittery from the get-go, the one who¡¯d aimed his rifle Riven¡¯s way - pulled the trigger, but the weapon jammed due to the frost. His boots stuck to the floor where they¡¯d been frozen in ce which caused him to stumble and fall when the ice shattered due to his weight.


    ¡°Pathetic and embarrassing.¡± Riven said coldly, arms pulsing with mana while staring down at the terrified man still fumbling with his rifle. ¡°As I said, you have 30 seconds. The count begins now: 30. 29. 28. 27¡­¡±


    ¡°OPEN FIRE!¡±


    ***


    The city lights of Chicago still shined brightly even after all it¡¯d been through, a bastion of the old world under the dying light of sunset; where the tall buildings and sprawling suburbs were ced adjacent to a patch ofnd along a new ocean¡¯s coastline. Ah how Richard hade to hate this city while growing up. A den of corruption, crime, and hate was what he¡¯de to know of it as a child, and things had only gotten worse after incarceration and the shunning from normal society many yearster.


    He was going to purge it. All of it. And with his newfound power, he was finally able to make that dreame true.


    Looking back at one of his hatchlings, a newborn insectoid that¡¯d crawled out of one of the corpses of a local patrol, he smiled with sinister intent. A yellow gleam to his eyes, Richard stood up - clutching the ck orb he¡¯d created from the remnants of Chalgathi¡¯s artifact to his chest. His insectoid, chitinous legs shifted and groaned, splitting the earth underfoot with pincers that could crush cars, men, and even tanks.


    He knew because he¡¯d already done it. His awakened bloodline was just that powerful.


    At level 51, Richard was at the apex of strength here on Panu. He would harvest these disgusting creatures he¡¯d once called kin, he¡¯d y them all, and use them as fertilizer to nt his eggs. Then he would create a society where he and his children could thrive.


    The time to strike would be soon, and after he was done with Chicago - he would head to the other cities further down the coast just like he¡¯d done with the smaller towns here in previous weeks. The ones that hadn¡¯t already been ransacked by creatures or internal strife would meet a quick demise under his grim ws, and they would know the pain they¡¯d inflicted on him during his past life.


    All humans were naught butmbs to the ughter.

 Chapter 137

    Chapter 137


    <strong>Chapter 137</strong>


    Senator James was usually aposed man. He was in histe 40¡¯s, young for a man of his position in the senate - though not much of the senate was left if he had to guess the whereabouts of the old government. Still, he¡¯d done a good job in maintaining order after calling the present military into action and setting up systems for food distribution.


    But that food reserve was running out, and without a supply chain that worked properly he was in for some real problems unless he figured out how to go about getting almost a million people ess to foodstuffs. That didn''t even include the other cities of Rockford and Milwaukee, which had been put under Chicago''s military protection but were fending for themselves in the meantime through the local mayors otherwise.


    Senator James grimaced at the idea that thest estimated count was ced that low. Chicago was nearing 3 million before the integration, but after the tutorials, monster attacks, anarchy, and hostile neighbors they¡¯d had to put down - they¡¯d lost almost two thirds of the poption.


    He shook his head in silence under the nd light of the prison interior. Today he wore a typical ck suit, well pressed, with a red tie and dress shoes. His hair wasbed back in the usual gelled style he liked most, emphasizing the single gray streak in his otherwise dark brown hair that was borderline ck. He sat in a chair across from the prison warden¡¯s desk, waiting for the old balding man across from him impatiently while the warden sifted through papers. It was unfortunate, but the warden had very recently be a person of importance in the city that Senator James had to deal with all too often.


    ¡°Surely it can¡¯t be that hard to find a paper on a man who was just admitted into the prison today?¡± Senator James stated sourly, tapping his finger against the padding of his armchair while ring across the room.


    The old warden red right back, adjusting his navy-blue baseball cap, but didn¡¯t reply and went back to sifting through papers.


    Senator James sighed, but thankfully the search onlysted another couple of minutes before the files were pulled and handed over.


    ¡°That¡¯s what we have.¡± The warden stated sourly, leaning back in his rolling chair and looking out the window to the sunset along the skyline. ¡°Our best identifiers couldn¡¯t get any read on his person other than the ss of ¡®Warlock¡¯, but they did get partial reads on each of the things he¡¯s wearing along with that wicked-looking staff he had and the contents of his spatial bag. All the details are right there in those documents, pretty nasty stuff. These items make our own weapons look like children¡¯s toys, and the general isn¡¯t too happy about it.¡±¡°General Florence?¡±


    ¡°Is there another general I should be aware of?¡±


    Senator James pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and tried not to be too snippy with his retort. ¡°No, warden. You are correct, there is only one general. Now tell me¡­¡±


    The senatorid a picture of Riven¡¯s passed out body on the desk. ¡°The notes here say that this ¡®warlock¡¯¡­ someone mistook him for a monster and tried to shoot him?¡±


    ¡°A civilian, yes.¡± The warden said with a head nod. ¡°9mm bullet right to the head, which promptly bounced off ricochet to hit someone else in the shoulder. Didn¡¯t even leave a dent.¡±


    ¡°Jesus.¡±


    ¡°Gets worse. That weapon he has? It¡¯s higher grade than anything anyone in the city has - that¡¯s for sure. And look-¡± The warden pointed to a line that was highlighted with yellow marker on the description written out by their intelligence officers. ¡°Requires vampiric heritage to wield.¡±


    Senator James blinked, scowling as he did so and flipped the page over to get another look at the snapshot of the staff. ¡°So you¡¯re saying this man¡¯s a vampire?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know, but his staff implies that he is one.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize vampires were real.¡±


    ¡°Is it really something you want to question at this point after all that has happened?¡±


    Senator James shook his head, continuing to scan the notes on what little information they¡¯d acquired on this stranger. ¡°No. I won¡¯t question it. I just find it very weird that he was teleported out of nowhere in the middle of downtown with a magical disturbance that caused power to go out for entire city blocks. Bringing the powerlines back up is going to be a real pain in our ass considering how long it took the first time. Are you sure we have those manacles fitted to him properly?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He¡¯s got the suppression manacles on and we¡¯ve posted soldiers outside his cell. The general gave them strict orders to fire¡­¡± The warden¡¯s voice trailed off, and both men looked to the door leading out of the small office when gunshots erupted further into the prison.


    A terrifying cold sensation swept over them both, a palpable presence settled onto their minds like a titanic weight of pressure, and a thunderous boom rocked the prison - shaking the very walls of therge structure. Red frost began forming along the furniture, ceiling, chairs and even their hair as the mens¡¯ breath started giving off visible vapor. Senator James held onto his chair as the quaking of the prison got more and more violent, gritting his teeth and staring wide-eyed to the window that was being covered in this new onught of abnormal red ice - until all of a sudden: everything stopped.


    Then the sound of gunfire was gone. The frost stopped umting. The heavy feeling of pressure subsided, and only calm remained.


    The warden wheezed out a gasp, eyes wide and hands shaking. ¡°What the fuck was that!?¡±


    ¡°Senator James got up, not bothering to wait for the olderman, and headed for the door. Putting his hand on the cold metal, he winced at the sub-zero temperature - and pulled.


    But it didn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°The door is jammed!¡± He tried to yank harder, but it still didn¡¯t budge. Ice had covered the door¡¯s hinges, and all he got was a grating sound whenever he yanked.


    The warden shambled over, almost slipping on the ground and cursing aloud before leaning in and taking a hold of the door handle himself. He pulled once, twice, and then three times before the handlepletely snapped off - and the warden fell backwards to the ground with the metal piece clutched in his hand.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Senator James looked around for another way out. He went over to thendline - the only types of phones that worked here anymore ever since the satellites went down. Cell phones were nothing but little pieces of garbage now, so that wasn¡¯t an option. But when he picked up thendline, it rang a dead signal - likely due to damage sustained by the building with whatever kind of freakish event or attack was going on. ¡°God damn it! We¡¯re trapped in here!¡±


    From beyond the door and far down the hallway beyond a solid door held in ce with keypad ess, where he¡¯d stationed his personal escort - more shots rang out. He stiffened when the shots abruptly died, then turned around when he heard a monstrous crash of metal on cement.


    Senator James exchanged looks with the warden who¡¯d just gotten to his feet - supporting his weight on the desk. ¡°Something just took the barricade off its hinges.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t realize that!?¡± the older man hissed in terror, fumbling with the drawer in his desk and pulling out a handgun to cock and load it. ¡°By god, this world has gone to hell!¡±


    Steps echoed, crunching through the long hallway one after another. The ground shook underfoot, and the senator¡¯s heart shook with it while he quivered and backed up to the frozen window. He briefly thought about trying to throw a chair through the ss behind him, but it was bullet proof and there was zero chance of sess in that avenue. He could only hope that whoever or whatever was on the other side - that he¡¯d be able to negotiate with it.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    Thick, ck, metallic ws tore through the cement on either side of the door, gripping the entire thing in four different ces. Dust and debris shot into the room, and Senator James watched in awestruck horror as some gigantic brute pulled and ripped the door right out of the wall with part of the cement binding it.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    The warden didn¡¯t bother waiting, rapid-firing his pistol into the dust cloud that washed over them and sending sparks off his target with every bullet that hit. A demonic, deep chuckle echoed into the room, and Senator James paled to a deathly white when the visage of a huge armored THING appeared out of the debris.


    It was absolutely massive, having to hunch over in the rtively small confines of the hallway behind it, with four muscr arms tossing the door aside effortlessly. Itcked any eyes or nose, only having a metallic, spiked, helmet-like head to match the rest of its obsidian body where thin lines of red, sinewy muscle could barely be made out between therge tes of armor fused to its body. Its smile was what creeped Senator James out the most though, as it had rows of very long, very sharp obsidian teeth that smiled wickedly back at him while it continued tough.


    ¡°My god¡­¡± The warden said, stumbling back and shakily fumbling to load another magazine. ¡°Oh my god, oh my god, oh¡­ my¡­ god¡­¡±


    From behind therge monster a humanoid figure stepped out, and James immediately recognized him as the previously unconscious warlock they¡¯d subdued and imprisoned earlier that day. He looked around, the feathered headdress-like mask turning left and right before settling on the warden who lifted his hand to fire.


    The warlock lifted his own hand in turn, and red ice quickly epassed the pistol as well as the warden¡¯s hand - causing the man to scream in pain.


    ***


    ¡°Oh shut up. I guarantee a little bit of cold is far less painful than being struck with a bullet.¡± Riven snickered, walking into the room towards the screaming old man - backhanding him to send the warden toppling to the ground. ¡°I hate dealing with idiots, and there are oh so many of them. Fay, ask which one of them has the goods.¡±


    The subus entered next, and alongside Ath the two demons pulled a bound man who¡¯d been halfway cocooned in red threads. It was the same military man with the crew cut who¡¯d tried to tell Riven he had to take off his stuff and hand it over.


    Quickly she whispered something into his ear, the subus using her silvertongue ability to get a drugged half-smile and a head-nod in the warden¡¯s direction. She straightened, proudly pointing to the man Riven had just backhanded.


    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s dopey then.¡± Riven walked by Senator James without even a sideways look, pulling the warden to his feet and knocking the gun out of his hand - shattering ice and a finger with it. The old man screamed even louder, but Riven shook him back and forth rapidly like a rag doll to get his attention. ¡°Hey idiot, shut up for a second! I SAID SHUT UP!!!¡±


    Riven stopped manhandling the poor guy a few secondster when his cries died down into a whisper, and then he looked around the room. ¡°I¡¯ve been told on good authority that you¡¯re the dumbass who took my shit. Where is it?¡±


    ¡°Your shit!?¡± The warden repeated, quivering in Riven¡¯s grasp and being held by the scruff of his shirt that was slowly ripping at the seams.


    ¡°My shit! Like, my staff and my bag and all that other stuff that you cockwombles stole from me.¡± Riven unceremoniously dropped the old man with a thud, then walked over and ripped open a closet door, only to frown underneath the porcin mask he still couldn¡¯t take off. ¡°God damn it. Not here. FAY! Your version is better than mine, get over here and ask.¡±


    ¡°Yes master!¡± The subus skipped over to the old man, getting his attention instantly with the tworge objects she always had on her, and bent down while infusing mana into her words. ¡°Where is my master¡¯s stuff? You can tell me!¡±


    Instantly the old man¡¯s eyes hazed over, and he stiffened as his minimal Willpower tried tobat the demon¡¯s ability. His Willpower was not nearly enough, and he gave a sidelong look at arge metal box with a lid off to the side of a couch on the far side of the room. ¡°There.¡±


    ¡°Good boy!¡± Fay patted the old man on the head, then let her ability go as the man sputtered and fell back - horrified at what she¡¯d just done.


    ¡°Mind magic!?¡± The warden gasped while Riven walked past him to the metal chest.


    Pulling off the lid and flinging it halfway across the room, he cackled delightedly and yanked his staff out. The magic item pulsed in his grasp, fleshy tendrils embracing him tightly before the weapon was ced to the side and hovered mid-air while he sifted through the other goods.


    Riven quickly became irritated again though, and one by one started putting stuff back into the bag of holding that these idiots had taken out. ¡°They pulled out a lot of stuff to examine, this is going to take forever to put back inside. I swear to god if anything is missing¡­¡±


    ¡°Ahem¡­¡±


    Riven straightened, and for the first time since entering the room - looked over to the man in the nice suit who was trying to put on his best impression of confidence. ¡°What is it, pops? Got something to say?¡±


    ¡°Pops¡­?¡± Senator James repeated with furrowed brows. Bing slightly more confident in his assumption, he straightened his tie. ¡°You¡¯re from Earth, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re quite the Sherlock Holmes.¡± Riven stated sarcastically, turning back to the box and rummaging around again while pushing stuff into the satin spatial bag and setting aside his clothes. ¡°What gave it away? The good old American ent or the fashionable outfit that so many millennials nowadays try on for sport? I¡¯d like to say I¡¯m a trendsetter, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the first guy to try out kinky form fitting cosy.¡±


    Senator James almost forgot his current predicament when he started to grin, but quickly shut that down when he remembered that this man had torn through a heavily guarded facility and had likely killed many people to get here. This man was incredibly dangerous, and hemanded equally dangerous creatures. A wary frown quickly set onto his features, and he hesitantly took a step forward while side-eyeing the woman who was obviously a subus not far off. ¡°Just by the way you speak¡­ I realize that we¡¯re not speaking English anymore, but the mannerisms and the way you structure sentences is the same as me.¡±


    ¡°Goodie. Perhaps you people should have tried talking to me first before putting me in a prison cell and stealing all my shit then.¡±


    Senator James winced, casting a sidelong look at the warden who was babying his broken finger. ¡°Yes, that was obviously a mistake¡­ I assume the men I stationed outside that hallway are dead?¡±


    ¡°Dead?¡± The warlock repeated, standing up and pulling out a pair of dark linen trousers as well as some leather boots. Going over to the frost-covered couch, the frozen magic vanished from the fabric when he sat down - and he began to put the pants on over his skin-tight jumpsuit. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t kill them. They were weak enough that my demons and I were able to subdue them without much fuss.¡±


    Again the senator winced. ¡°Demons? Too weak? This is one of the most secure ces in Chicago¡­ we keep most of our hardened, higher level criminals here.¡±


    Riven paused, having halfway put on one boot, and he looked up through the nk face mask with bodynguage that imitated surprise. ¡°Seriously? Chicago?¡±


    Senator James nodded slowly. ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ Oh, and my name is Senator Rufus James. You may have heard of me if you¡¯re an American-¡±


    ¡°Nope. No idea who you are, don¡¯t care either.¡± Riven went back to shoving on his leather boots. ¡°You motherfuckers ruined the country because you were all so greedy, I¡¯d half hoped you all were lost to the system tutorials. Did you know that many people with Type 1 diabetes, who were born with the condition, couldn¡¯t even afford insulin and died due to your bad policies? And that¡¯s just one of a billion bad things you people did.¡±


    The senator¡¯s face reddened, and his fists clenched. ¡°I am well aware of the failings of our senate, I for one never voted-¡±


    ¡°Oh I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not the problem. None of you senators ever were, it was always the other side right? Always the OTHER political party. God help Chicago if they have one of you cockroaches already leading them. I assume you¡¯re the man in charge here?¡± Riven grunted, standing up and pulling on a baggy dark shirt. In order to put it on he needed to literally tear off the sleeves and cut down the side so his pauldrons would fit. Immediately after that, the maw along his chest bit and ravenously tore through it in a miniature temper tantrum until the teeth were exposed to the air again - and Riven looked down dumbfounded at the shirt his ¡®amulet¡¯ had just ruined. ¡°Oh, god damn it I better not have this happen to all the shirts I buy.¡±


    Trying to change the subject and realizing that this warlock obviously had a very poor view of the government from back on Earth, Senator James spoke again. ¡°So¡­ these are your demons then?¡±


    He stared at the two beautiful women who were sitting on the desk chatting in low whispers with one another, and then warily looked over to the living armored tank that was ring at him with a wide toothy grin.


    ¡°Indeed. Now¡­¡± Riven tried to put on his cloak next, struggling to find a way to get it on without ruining it like he did with the shirt. He made sure it stayed open in the front so his ¡®great maw¡¯ wouldn¡¯t eat through the fabric there as well. Thankfully and to Riven¡¯s own surprise, the pauldrons actually lifted up off his shoulders to hover in ce temporarily - allowing him to ce the cloak back down and underneath the pauldrons just with a thought - which was certainly going to make dressing easier considering his ¡®Twin Cannibals¡¯ had been spiked down to his flesh only earlier that day. Then when he tried to remove the pauldrons manually again, they simply didn¡¯t budge.


    Must be the sentient item set sensing what he wanted. It didn¡¯t want to let him go. Would it want to let go when all 5 of the set pieces were put together?


    That would definitely be a problem he¡¯d have to address sooner rather thanter.


    Riven grabbed his staff from out of the air, pulled his hood up to the edge of his porcin mask where the peacock-like red feathers stood out in seven directions, and waved a hand over the window to clear it entirely of frost so he could check himself out in the mirror. ¡°I have a busy schedule ahead of me and some jackass to find. Then I have even more jackasses to find¡­ fucking Chalgathi out to ruin my day. You wouldn¡¯t happen to know of any roaming person killing civilians by the thousands in this area, would you? Any mass murders you can¡¯t exin? Any evil-looking baddies that need taking out because they¡¯ve gone mad with power? Anything like that? I¡¯m looking for someone fitting that description and I have no idea where to start.¡±


    Confusion. That was the emotion Senator James was feeling right now, and he shook his head rapidly when Riven turned his way. ¡°Uh¡­ Uhm, no. We¡¯ve had monster attacks and a lot of infighting during the anarchy after our tutorials if that¡¯s what you mean¡­ but a single person killing civilians by the thousands? I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve heard of anything like that.¡±


    A thought crossed the senator¡¯s mind, and sweat began to slowly umte across his forehead. Dabbing at it with his sleeve, he tried to contain hisposure while the other man stared him down. If this man had just ransacked the prison so effortlessly, and he had a friend in the area with that kind of description¡­ there wouldn¡¯t be anything Senator James could do to stop him. It was very likely that it would take an entire battalion to kill this man just by the show of force he¡¯d already disyed, and he didn¡¯t even know the warlock¡¯s true extent of power yet. ¡°If I may ask¡­ Why are you looking for this particr type of person? Is he or she an acquaintance of yours?¡±


    Riven cocked his head to one side. ¡°No, nothing like that. It¡¯s a long story, but I¡¯m here to kill them.¡±

 Chapter 138

    Chapter 138


    <strong>Chapter 138</strong>


    A steady, familiar thrum started to descend on Riven¡¯s position. It came from outside, up above, and the sound only got louder as the second ticked by.


    Slowly turning his head, Riven watched the air beat against the bullet proof ss of the second story window. The frost remaining in patches there shuddered, and the machine of war he¡¯d been very familiar with growing up as a kid - for the very first time in his life - made an appearance that caused him to go giddy. He¡¯d always wanted to see one up close¡­ but perhaps being the target it was locking on to wasn¡¯t all that great.


    A heavily outfitted Apache helicopter settled down into a hovering position just below the third floor, where the gatling guns on either side of the absolute beast of a war machine lined up to face him on the second level. The steady beat of the helicopter des whirred, missiles were locked and loaded, and it had obviously been modified to fit into this new magical world with sleek yellow enchantments engraved onto the thick armor of the machine. Instead of the runic symbols of the unholy pir he was used to, these ones were¡­ blockier. Less archaic and more futuristic, and he had some ideas - especially considering they were stered on the side of a war machine - as to which pir these enchantments came from.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s fucking sick.¡±


    Riven had assumed that because he was standing next to Senator James that the Apache wouldn¡¯t fire. He was only a few feet away from the man after all, and he was supposed to be the guy in charge of Chicago - was he not?


    But Riven assumed wrong.


    The bullet proof ss shattered when bullets shining a brilliant yellow light sprayed out of the gatling guns on either side. Riven¡¯s eyes widened only for a brief half-second before a wall of thick red ice ripped out of the floor in front of him to block iing projectiles. But Riven hadn¡¯t been the initial target - and that was more than enough time for Senator James to be stered against the wall in a spray of blood and viscera. Meanwhile the wall of ice was chewed away within seconds as the helicopter unloaded hundreds of those yellow glowing bullets into the room.


    He heard Fay scream out in pain when her left leg blew off and he heard Azmoth roar, but Riven had to move. With a thought, he tore a rift through space and vanished - reappearing outside mid-air behind the helicopter while swinging his staff in an arc. The fleshy tendril whipped out from 50 feet away, shing crimson under the light of the sunset, and Vampire¡¯s Escort ripped through the helicopter with its de like a cleaver¡¯s knife through soft meat.The modified Apache helicopter exploded and shrapnel went everywhere, and Riven let himself fall thirty feet to the ground tond nearby the crashing wreckage in a super-hero pose with one arm mming into the dirt. Whatever runes they¡¯d inscribed into the apache, they either hadn¡¯t been defensive ones or they¡¯d simply been far too weak to withstand his attack.


    He looked up to the devastated second floor, and could still hear Fay screaming in agony from up above. He didn¡¯t even need to see just how bad it was to dismiss her to theher realms for healing, and the pentagram of subi wings on his sternum shed as she portaled out.


    The sound of grating metal caused him to look left when three tanks of all god damn things bulldozed over a fence at high speed and started to turn their cannons towards him. The shouts and approaching heartbeats of men beyond the corner of the building alerted him to even more enemies, and his eyes narrowed behind the porcin mask he wore.


    ¡°So we¡¯re ying hard ball.¡±


    Azmoth crashed into the first tank from up above, crushing it in a spray of magma when the maul made contact with the machine of war that ttened most of the central cockpit and no doubt left them all dead. Riven¡¯s body crackled with red lightning and he sidestepped a projectile with a blur of speed, retaliating with a st of ck lightning from his staff that shredded the second tank.


    The third tank was already backpedaling over the crushed fence, a machine gun on its side riddling Azmoth¡¯s armor with sparking bullets as they nced off - only to blow the ming demon backwards into a spiraling fall with an anti-armor shell that left arge dent in one shoulder.


    Riven was about to intervene, but bullets started stering him from the side when an entire firing squad in American military uniforms unloaded on him after opening an outer door to the prison on the first floor. He¡¯d only barely heard the heartbeats over the din of battle, and though his pauldrons, great maw, and face mask easily deflected the bullets - the rest of his clothes and red bloodskinyer was another story. The clothes were quickly shredded in the first two seconds, and though the bloodskin along his body did take many of the hits - it was unable to keep it up for more than a few shots to the same area. Holes began forming where bullets had punctured through, causing him a lot of pain and spiking his anger as he began to see his enemies as more of a real threat.


    He cursed, encasing his body in hell¡¯s armor as mes zed to life around him to eat up more of the iing bullets and heunched a volley of spinning crimson des that ripped the soldiers apart. Heads, limbs and innards sttered across the wall and ground, with simmering des imbedded in the building and dirt - only to erupt again when another wave of soldiers tried rushing through the door while spraying machine gun fire.


    The des blew in a wave of shrapnel and the reinforcementsing out or behind the wall were annihted, causing a small part of the building to groan and sag when the support structures beneath the top floors were turned to dust.


    ¡°This is not how it¡¯s supposed to be.¡± Riven angrily turned his head and dismissed his mes, ring with frustration at thest remaining tank that had its hatch ripped off with Ath mbering inside to the shouts and screams of the service members in it. ¡°We¡¯re not supposed to be fighting one another.¡±


    In the distance and over the suburbs of Chicago, Riven saw five more Apache helicopters flying their way. They were small dots now, easy to pinpoint with the backdrop of the ocean at sunset, but would no doubt be at the prison within minutes.


    The sound of a bullet leaving his body to hit the dirt beneath his feet met his ears, and he looked down at the damaged armor with numerous oozing wounds. But bullets had started pushing out from his body as his wounds started to seal, and the red bloodskinyer of his armor was already starting to repair itself. Lifting a hand with a curling motion to his fingers, he summoned a flowing, ribbon-like wave of mana along his left arm and - without looking their way - fired at the two men preparing an RPG behind a shed.


    The bloodnce blew through their bodies in a sh of crimson, and he called out to his demons to get their attention while picking up a walkie-talkie from a corpse. He only paused briefly when the maw across his chest opened up, unleashing tendrils of ck that pulled in the arm of the corpse and snapped down to eat it. ¡°Azmoth! Ath! We need to leave!¡±


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    Ath jumped off the tank she¡¯d infiltrated, covered in blood, and Azmoth¡¯s two overarching eel-like maws blew mes into a third-story window where gunfire had been raining down on him. The horrified wails of the people previously shooting died out, and therge demon snapped his dislocated upper left shoulder back into ce before hefting the huge stone maul.


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    ¡°Let¡¯s leave before we get more innocent people involved.¡± Riven said sourly, staring into the sunset where the Apaches were fast approaching. ¡°These people don¡¯t know what they¡¯re doing, they¡¯re just following orders, and I really don¡¯t like the idea of killing my own countrymen because some assclown is telling them to attack.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s the n then?¡± Ath asked curiously, stepping over a simmering piece of metal that had once been an attack helicopter. ¡°Hide for now, and try to ping the Chalgathi artifact to find the sphemer?¡±


    Riven hesitated at the question.


    ¡°I¡¯ll call you backter Azmoth, you¡¯re too big. Sorry bud.¡± Riven dismissed the armored monstrosity and motioned for Ath to follow. Still crackling with red sparks due to his Blessing of the Crow, he and his minion shot over another two sets of barbed wire fences and a thick cement barricade before advancing onto arge road leading west. Civilians were staring wide eyed at themotion from beyond the barriers, and Riven turned right to avoid the crowds - setting his gaze onto a business district with abandoned-looking buildings that seemed like a promising start.


    They rushed through street after street, alley after alley and passed through multiple districts and neighborhoods; eventuallying to a run-down looking motel that was ransacked and halfway burned to the ground. Breaking open one of the doors to a room that was more promising than the others, Riven waited for Ath to go inside before shutting it behind them and shutting the curtains. Barricading it with a desk that would at least give him a heads up in case some stupid kids or local refugees tried to walk in, he let out a groan and walked over to the bed.


    Letting his body fall, hended on the soft cushions with a bounce.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡± Ath stated with an amused smile, hopping onto the bed and poking him in the side while the red peacock-feather eyes shifted her way. ¡°Are we just going to hide for a while? And have you tried pinging the Chalgathi artifact to find the sphemer yet? The faster we do this job, the faster we can get back home.¡±


    Riven grunted face down, then nodded into a pillow. He pulled out hismunication stone, the ck orb that Allie had given him, only to put it back in his spatial bag again. ¡°It¡¯s too far for this to work. The ping Chalgathi artifacts ability lights people up, but they¡¯re all quite a ways away from here. My guess is the cursed object that was once a Chalgathi artifact isn¡¯t being picked up by the ability because the system no longer registers it as a world quest item.¡±


    Ath frowned, sighed, thenid back with her hands behind her head beside him. Scooting over and pushing her side up against his, she closed her eyes and let out a content huff. ¡°Well it could be worse. Hey, do you mind taking that armor off? It¡¯s creeping me out.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a demon, you shouldn¡¯t get creeped out by things like this.¡±


    ¡°Well I want to see you naked. We¡¯re in a dirty old motel room after all, why not!?¡±


    Riven cackled while turning his head to look at her, then pushed Ath aside when she startedughing too. ¡°Shut up Ath, don¡¯t tease me like that. You know damn well that I can¡¯t take this off, I¡¯ve already tried to take this armor off. You¡¯re doing that on purpose to mess with me.¡±


    Ath leaned onto her side with one arm holding her head up, smiling deviously and chuckling while wiggling her eyebrows in the dark. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m bad, I know. Think the armor wille off when you get all 5 set pieces?¡±


    ¡°Probably, but that¡¯s just a guess.¡±


    ¡°Well we need to start that hunt as soon as possible after this sphemer is killed. It¡¯s a priority above all else. If we don¡¯t find him fast enough, we need to just abandon this quest altogether. Your life is more important than a silly side quest, and angering Chalgathi by not finishing it is an easy price to pay if these items are going to devour you if you don¡¯t get the other set pieces.¡±


    Sheid a hand on one of his vampiric, horned skull pauldrons, looking closely at the swirling vortexes of blood mana in the eye sockets. ¡°But you do look pretty damn cool. How are you going to feed like that?¡±


    ¡°I ate an arm earlier with the demonic mouth across my chest. It had blood in it, and I¡¯m already satiated. It appears that this suit actually can and does settle my vampiric needs by consuming things¡­ even as creepy as that is.¡±


    ***


    General Florence took the stage in full stacked ck body armor, high powered snipers and Machine Foundational Pir engineers ced at various intervals around the media gathering there. There was even one small mech behind the stage just in case, outfitted with technology he¡¯d only dreamed possible pre-integration, but the Mecha Sub-pir of the Machine Foundational Pir was a new route to glory and military dominance even above the other rted sub-pirs. His aircraft were also being outfitted with upgrades day by day, and it¡¯d only be a few months before his military was up to the task of conquering other nearby cities not already under his control.


    Nevertheless, he was very aware that the monster was still out there in the city and could strike at any time, and was taking no chances after it had torn through three tanks, an already modified Apache, a locked down prison, and two squads of his men.


    His dark gray hair was neatly gelled back in a crew-cut style many of his men had, and his strong jawline was set rigidly in a clenched position while taking the stage with armed soldiers wearing sunsses on either side. Only his face and head weren¡¯t covered, the rest of his body having thin tes with white, orange and yellow markings emzoned onto the surface with the best quality his engineers could create. Engineers were the equivalent of mages for those in under the influence of the Machine Foundational Pir, with sses given to those who utilized this pir expressing uniquely different but still somewhat simr abilities to magical casters he¡¯d had reports about in other civilizations across the coast.


    He tapped the microphone to make sure it worked, squinting slightly and motioning for the overhead lights to be dimmed so he wasn¡¯t blinded while addressing the reporters who sat or stood in the aisles of the college auditorium he¡¯dmandeered.


    ¡°General Florence! Is it true that the vampire in question killed Senator James in cold blood!? After breaking out of a prison that has been holding some of our most dangerous criminals!? How did this happen!?¡±


    Other questions echoed the first reporter¡¯s own, and General Florence, briefly muted the microphone while touching ams unit ced in his ear. ¡°Are the cortex channels active?¡±


    His intelligence officer on the other line buzzed back. ¡°Affirmative. All news channels are active and live streaming across the Panu cortex forums rted to Chicago, Rockford, and Milwaukee. You¡¯re on air.¡±


    General Florence didn¡¯t bother nodding, and flipped the microphone switch back on while clearing his throat to silence the blubbering idiots in front of him. The reporters representing the new-world newsworks quickly went silent, and he gave a long stern look out to the crowd. ¡°It is my solemn duty to report to all the fine people still residing in the cities of Chicago, Rockford, and Milwaukee, that our beloved Senator James has been killed. Assassinated at the hands of a monster, a warlock, a vampire. We¡¯ve uploaded surveince footage of the unjustified attack to Panu¡¯s cortex as proof, showing him tantly killing the brave men and women of our armed forces that so selflessly sacrificed themselves in an attempt to save the man leading us into the new world.¡±


    Gasps and solemn mutterings echoed throughout the auditorium, but General Florence held up a hand with a grim expression to make sure no one yelled out any questions to interrupt him. ¡°We did not provoke him or start this conflict, but our forces will certainly end it. Our military might is greater than it has ever been pre-integration, with new technologies being unlocked by the day. The sacrifice of our people will not be in vain, and we will bury this vampire by the end of the week - mark my words. Even now we have ssers such as mana-hackers, system engineers, and even our elite cyborg hunting him down to bring him to justice.¡±


    ¡°Will Lieutenant Cliff be enough if the vampire was able to break out of a maximum security prison so easily?¡± One of the reporters, a pretty middle-aged asian woman in a business suit, called out over a raised microphone.


    General Florence nodded confidently, the stern look never leaving his gaze. ¡°I have absolute confidence in Lieutenant Cliff¡¯s capabilities. He is on the cutting edge of the merging between machine and man, and he is already a level 39 S-Tier ranker. He will be more than enough to bring this vampire down, especially with the support our other ssers are providing him.¡±


    Smiles and impressed raises of the eyebrows met the general¡¯s promation, and there was even a small amount of pping from the crowd before General Florence raised his hands to settle them down one final time. ¡°However, due to current circumstances and ack in the chain ofmand - it is my solemn duty and responsibility to all of you that I take up the mantle of leading our newfound country. I have already spoken to the mayors of Milwaukee and Rockford, and they agree that it is in our best interest that I - for at least the time being - enter into a full leadership role withplete authority being invested in me. Until this threat is dealt with, and until we can set up a working system that better provides for all the needs of safety, foot, shelter, and the other basic functions of society; I will do my best to protect you all. Pray for us. Pray for our children so that they may grow strong, pray for our prosperity so that we may find a path to greater heights, and pray for our military men and women so that they return every night safely to their loved ones. May god watch over our souls, and may the sun shine brightly on our fledgling civilization.¡±

 Chapter 139

    Chapter 139


    <strong>Chapter 139</strong>


    Riven yawned on the bed, still unable to take his mask or Gluttony-modified Chalgathi items off much to his irritation, while reying the recorded scenes over and over again. ¡°What a two timing cock sucking mother fucker.¡±


    Azmoth grunted his acknowledgement from inside the small hotel room, barely small enough to even fit at all while hunched, and the sound of giggling in the shower nearby caused Riven¡¯s eye to twitch. Somehow the water was still running here, and Riven was really fucking pissed that he wasn¡¯t able to enjoy a hot shower right about now because he was stuck in this evil contraption encasing his body.


    He nced over to where Fay peaked out, long white hair dripping wet, to wink his way while wringing water with her hands onto the floor. ¡°Stop getting so worked up about some human spreading lies. They¡¯re rather good at that kind of thing, and you¡¯re an easy target. How about you relieve some of that pent up stress ande join me, hmmm?¡±


    The sky-blue woman stepped out of the bathroom, spreading out her wings and raising her chin and crossing one leg in front of the other while putting her bare body on full disy for the first time since Riven had contracted her. Riven had done a pretty good job at ignoring her teasing up until now, but he nearly died of a nose bleed and coughed back a quick retort. Despite all the previous banter, she really was incredibly pretty.


    Azmoth¡¯s head turned, a growl echoing through the room as the hellscape brutalisk pointed two wed left hands at the dripping wet subus with intent. ¡°I will catapult evil subus out window if tempt Riven. Riven not simp, I smash subus if try!¡±


    ¡°Ohe on!¡± Fay said with a brilliantly white smile, bouncing on the tiptoes of her feet on purpose while smirking Riven¡¯s way while she - for the first time ever - had Riven¡¯s undivided attention due to the shock-and-awe tactic she¡¯d just pulled. ¡°Don¡¯t be such a buzzkill Azmoth, it¡¯s not like he can even take the suit off anyways - I¡¯m just teasing!¡±


    Azmoth thought about it for a moment, cocked his head, and settled back down with a nod. ¡°That true.¡±


    ¡°What a walking talking chastity belt¡­¡± Fay rolled her eyes while muttering, checking for Ath and seeing she still wasn¡¯t back - only to put on a seductive grin and waltz over to Riven on the bed. Casually swinging her bare legs over the motionless vampiric warlock who continued to stare with his hands behind his head and notification screens buzzing in front of him - she swiped a hand through the cortex prompts to dismiss them.¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Fay muttered with a chuckle, aggressively pinning Riven¡¯s left hand when he reached up to push her off. Her smile grew, and she pushed her face closer to his and flexed her toned abdomen while clenching his hand in excitement. ¡°I¡¯d been under the impression that you may not like girls¡­ but I see now that isn¡¯t the case¡­¡±


    Hand trailing down to where she was straddling him, she came to a stop just below his stomach to a growing bulge. Her smile faded, her eyes softened, and she took on a serious look to retract her hand. ¡°Thank you from the bottom of my heart for getting my brother out of there. It means a lot to me, what you did, and most warlocks wouldn¡¯t ever even consider it unless it benefited them. When we get back to Brightsville, I¡¯d really like you to meet him¡­ So again, thank you.¡±


    Riven, who still wore the porcin mask that hid all his expressions, was suddenly very thankful for the item that hid theplex series of emotions crossing over his features. ¡°You¡¯re wee Fay. Though I have to admit, you¡¯re a bit mean doing this to me.¡±


    Fay¡¯s smile returned and the subus let out a singsongugh, caressing his chin with one hand before sliding off andying down in the crook of his arm with folded wings. ¡°It¡¯s rather fun, knowing you can¡¯t do anything about it. However I don¡¯t believe you even would if you could. Would you, Mr. Chastity? You¡¯re too righteous to use your demons like that aren¡¯t you - Mr. Highschool Hero? God forbid you take a willing servant because of that power dynamic you keep talking about!¡±


    Her narrowed ck eyes looked up teasingly, pushing her soft chest into his side, and one hand settled on his rib cage to y with the carnivorous teeth that randomly shifted with asional low hissing sounds.


    He paused in his response, thinking it over, and didn¡¯t reply for almost twenty seconds. ¡°I don¡¯t really know anymore. Maybe I would do it.¡±


    Fay¡¯s eyebrows lifted in surprise, and genuine shock was evident underneath her small ck horns when her mouth started to drop.


    The door swung open, and Ath barged in from the night with a cacklingugh while in her spider form. She wiggled her two front arachnid feet in front of her, bags of groceries in either foot, and screeched out her victory. ¡°I AM THE ONE! THE BRINGER OF ALCOHOL, THE TYRANT OF THE CHICAGO GROCERY STORES, THE STOMPER OF BABIES! I-¡±


    She quickly shut up when she saw Fayying there on the bed next to Riven, and she dropped the grocery bags with a thud. ¡°You¡¯re in MY SPOT BITCH!¡±


    With a screeching lunge, she transformed into her humanoid arshakai form mid air andnded on top of Fay before roughly and yfully flinging her off the bed. ¡°BEGONE!¡±


    Fay crashed against the wall and scowled, rubbing the back of her head with visible irritation and extended fangs that she rarely put on disy. Her shoulders heaved in scarcely seen rage, and her right eyebrow twitched. ¡°You can have the OTHER side Ath, I was there FIRST!¡±


    The subusunched herself back, putting all of her meager strength into a full-facial p that cracked across Ath¡¯s cheek with a surprised yelp from the arachnid woman. ¡°Don¡¯t be such a JERK!¡±


    The audible p was so loud that it caused a brief moment of silence, with Fay breathing heavily and ring at Ath with almost murderous intent to the surprise of everyone.


    Ath was stunned, realizing how obviously pissed Fay was - and not in a funny or teasing way either. Ath¡¯s own face dropped secondster, and she met the gaze of her friend with a stern coldness while rising up off the bed to square off with the other woman. ¡°Oh? Does the pretty little subus want to y dirty? Are you mad because of my interference with your little schoolgirl crush? Maybe you should rethink your ce in all this, and I''d be happy to give you a tiny reminder about the hierarchy here.¡±


    Ath¡¯s ws extended in a threatening sh and her six ded arachnid limbs ripped out of her back, only for Fay to hiss with unholy curses rippling across her hands in a ready gesture to cast spells. The subus extended her wings in challenge, and Azmoth looked on with startled curiosity - stepping over and reaching a hand out to pull them apart from one another before any serious damage was done.


    But Riven intervened first with a contractualmand.


    ¡°Stop it immediately. Both of you.¡±


    Both women turned heads to stare at Riven, who was swinging his feet around and getting off the bed.


    He cracked his neck, stretched, and pointed to a corner of the room devoid of anything but a small wastebasket. ¡°Ath, you¡¯re in spider-princess time out.¡±


    ¡°WAHT!?¡± Ath gasped, utterly appalled at the idea - and obviously irritated at the fact that he was taking Fay¡¯s side. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious, AND SPIDER-PRINCESS TIME OUT IS NOT A THING!¡±


    ¡°It is tonight, and you¡¯¡¯ll sit in that corner until I say so while you figure out how to be nicer to Fay.¡± Riven stated tly, then turned to the beaming subus who looked like she¡¯d just won a jackpot lottery. He then pointed to the bathroom where the shower was still running. ¡°And you, you¡¯re in time out as well. Sit in that room and think about how much you overreacted to Ath¡¯s shenanigans until Ie get you.¡±


    Fay¡¯s beaming smile dropped like a cinderblock, and the subus¡¯ bare shoulders immediately slumped. ¡°But she-!¡±


    ¡°Not a word.¡± Riven cut her off with a wave of his hand, looking back and forth between the two demonic women with an eventual shake of his head and not wanting to show any favoritism. ¡°Azmoth is the only one here not behaving like a child, so he and I are going to go enjoy all this alcohol Ath stole by ourselves for the next little while until I feel like you¡¯ve both had sufficient time to grow up. Got it?¡±


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Fay sputtered something unintelligible, then red angrily over at Ath who was making a face at the subus while sticking out her ck tongue.


    ¡°You just earned yourself another hour after Fay gets out.¡± Riven stated, pointing a finger at Ath only for the arshakai demoness to fiercely scowl and humph with folded arms. ¡°Meanwhile, I¡¯ll continue to monitor the cortex forums for any sign of the impending attacks. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll happen sooner orter, but that may be hours, days, or even weeks out. Who knows. If you both want to be useful while in time out, you can do the same. Come on Azmoth, let¡¯s go to the roof. The stars tonight look rather nice.¡±


    ***


    Riven sat beside hisrge, armored minion while running over all the numerous topics in the cortex forums. There were hundreds of forums present in Chicago, most of them talking about recent events concerning him - but there were many others talking about forming groups to go monster hunting to cull the local threats. There were topics on bartering, trading, crafting using the new system-rted Pirs, discussion groups on theories concerning how different pirs worked, and it very quickly became apparent that there was a strong orientation towards the Machine Pir all across the city here. There were certainly mixes between the other pirs too though, with discussion groups on literally every single pir avable - including his own Unholy Foundational Pir, but that was by far the smallest group of people here whenpared to the others.<ul><li><strong>The Unholy Foundation Pir, with the major sub-pirs of Blood, Shadow, Death, Infernal, Depravity, and Chaos.</strong></li><li><strong>The Holy Foundation Pir, with the major sub-pirs of Light, Heaven, Grace, Moon, Sun, and Judgement.</strong></li><li><strong>The Fae Foundation Pir, with the major sub-pirs of Volcano, Storm, Ocean, cial, Swamp, and Forest.</strong></li><li><strong>The Archaic Foundation Pir, with the major sub-pirs of Arcane, Void, Metal, Illusion, Alteration, and Time.</strong></li><li><strong>The Harmony Foundation Pir, with the major sub-pirs of Body, Mind, Primal, Chi, Karma, and Zodiac.</strong></li><li><strong>The Machine Foundation Pir, with the major sub-pirs of Hacking, Armaments, Integration, Mecha, Interweb, and Sci-Tech.</strong></li></ul>


    Literally every single pir and all their subpirs were represented in the forums though.


    There were groups of civilians who hadn¡¯t picked sses yet trying to figure out how to best approach their choices and routes to acquiring different sses, as well as groups talking about ways to expand Pir orientations to better fit the molds they wanted to buy into. There were groups of varying sses here too with experimental builds already being copied or expanded upon by up-anding people who were showing incredible enthusiasm for the magic and mystery these system-sses held potential for. There were discussion groups on whether or not physical, magical, or miracle based sses were best - specialist sub-forums for groups of individuals with the same sses, and he even found a group for warlocks which piqued his interest immensely. However all of the warlocks here were far below his own level, and not even one of them had been granted more than their very first demon due to ack of demons wanting to bind with them - which was kind of hrious to Riven and made him feel good about himself. Some of the warlocks here were even having trouble binding a single minion.


    Regardless, most of the ssers here were oriented to the Machine Foundation Pir, which is what the Earth-made military had apparently adopted for its main branch. There¡¯d been an army reserve base here, as well as an airforce base, and there were talks about modifying fighter jets through ¡®Engineers¡¯ - which were essentially the equivalent of mages, but for the Machine Foundational Pir and all its subpirs. It was quite fascinating to read about, and Riven often found himself over the past two days getting lost in magical theories that made his own will to explore magice to light.


    He¡¯d always thought magic was pretty neat, who wouldn¡¯t? But it¡¯d also been a tool for him to survive. Here, with these discussion groups, it had re-ignited a spark of wonder about what the future held for him. Magic was¡­ fascinating, intriguing, awe inspiring, and he found himself getting almost giddy while talking under an alias to other online theorists about how the pirs worked. He often was the one giving them insights because he was a lot more advanced than any of the others, but with dozens of other people picking his brain - it was rather stimting for the mind.


    ¡°Man¡­ This would have been a much nicer ce to start out in.¡± Riven muttered, pulling out a wine bottle from one of the bags Ath had brought and pulling it to his chest. The teeth of the great maw casually popped the cork off, and little slithering wisps of darkness encircled the handle before starting to drink.


    Riven watched under the starry sky, sitting there on the rooftop overlooking the city, rather amused that the gluttonous amulet was so careful to not spill any of the alcohol at all. It also reacted to his own thoughts, allowing him to almostmunicate with the Chalgathi artifacts silently, in a way he hadn¡¯t experienced before other than with his staff.


    Feeling a very slight buzze on, he put the bottle back down to the side and nced over at Azmoth who was ying with a rubix cube barely big enough for the demon not to smash to pieces using hisrge ws. ¡°Not feeling it?¡±


    ¡°Alcohol not work on Azmoth, just taste gross.¡± Azmoth stated with a shrug, noting how Riven was motioning towards one of the vodka bottles that¡¯d been drained. ¡°Disgusting.¡±


    Riven spluttered augh, resting on his elbows and kicking his feet out. ¡°Well I suppose it isn¡¯t for everyone.¡±


    ¡°Did you try again?¡±


    ¡°Try what?¡±


    ¡°Upload images to forum.¡±


    The vampire sighed, then pulled up his notifications again. ¡°Yeah, but maybe I¡¯m missing something. Let me try again.¡±


    <strong>[Wee to the Panu Cortex!</strong>


    <strong>Here you will find forum categories and branching categories that you can scroll through subjects, post your own topics, acquire or share video feeds, create enemies or alliances in, and even bargain for goods here like a marketce. Be warned that each of these have strict sets of rules, and you will receive a notification if your content is prohibited as it is denied entry. Most prohibited material from being made public involves key events in the world of Panu or even in your local area, secrets of Panu that the Elysium Administrator wishes to be found rather than publicly exploited, information released too early regarding worlds outside of Panu, and spam content. Video feeds can only be uploaded by request. You must ask the administrator directly for uploading content, and may or may not get your request recognized. Sometimes the administrator may also post video content even without an express request. In order to request video uploading, just mentally think of the time and ce you want to upload and wait for a response.</strong>


    <strong>Please note that restrained or imprisoned personnel may not ess the forums of Panu¡¯s cortex.</strong><strong> Forums extend to only to ces you have visited and guilds you have joined before with the exceptions of the main page discussion board and the world quest message boards- both of which are world-spanning and more heavily moderated. No forums outside key areas visited and guilds can exist other than Global Forums.</strong>


    <strong>Feel free to select from one of the already categorized subjects, or you may use the search function for more in depth selections of guild forums. Your options are as follows:</strong><ul><li><strong>Main Page & Announcements (Global)</strong></li><li><strong>Power Ladders, Guild & Individual (Global)</strong></li><li><strong>World Quests & World Quest Ladders (Global)</strong></li><li><strong>Brightsville</strong></li><li><strong>Deepnest</strong></li><li><strong>Chicago</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>NOTE: Continental differences along Panu have been detected in optional selections. To acquire ess to continent-wide forums or map-sharing specs, please visit more locations along the continents you have traveled between.]</strong>


    Riven frowned, already knowing this probably wouldn¡¯t work due to earlier failures, but hey - maybe persistence was key.


    <strong>[You have failed to post in Brightsville¡¯s forums. You may view these forums, but are too far away to add any content yourself.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have failed to post in Deepnest¡¯s forums. You may view these forums, but are too far away to add any content yourself.]</strong>


    Riven¡¯s grimace grew harder, seeing a couple topics on Allie¡¯s war, the integration of more elvish ves, the acquisition of a new elvish town, talks on the purging of the prison back in Brightsville with public beheadings of the inmates there, andrge rewards being posted for any information on Riven¡¯s location. A public notice had been set up with details on how he¡¯d disappeared, with massive sums of Elysium coins concerning clues that led to his finding.


    Allie must be pretty worried because he hadn¡¯t used the guild hall¡¯s teleport home option after being swept away. He wanted to reach out and let her know he was ok, but that wasn¡¯t really a thing that was avable to him. He had to wonder just what she thought, and wondered whether or not she¡¯d banished the Blood Moon Requiem from their after this other mishap that¡¯d happened on their turf for the 2nd time. No doubt she had serious suspicions about them, but at the same time that could also mean she would keep them around to try and peel whatever information she could off of the people who¡¯d been there when his Chalgathi artifacts had mutated.


    He went back to Chicago¡¯s forums next, and again tried to upload footage from his own memories. He concentrated hard on recent events, trying to disy the thoughts and images shing through his mind, only to scowl in irritation at the next pop up concerning his attempt.


    <strong>[Your request for uploading video content has been denied. Reasons for denial: Lack of control over this area. Conflict of interest with parties holding control of this area. Lack of defined footage.</strong>


    <strong>For higher sess rates concerning uploading video content, please review the following: Gain control over this area. Destroy conflicting interests holding sway over this area. Attempt to ask the administrator directly for pre-approval of an event, or approval to record an event prior to event happening, providing defined footage and less strain on the Administrator¡¯s systems.]</strong>


    Riven¡¯s re circled back to one of the forum topics with newsworks sting him as the viin who¡¯d killed Senator James. Knocking his knuckles against the side of his porcin mask and adjusting his hood, he continued to stare out across Chicago towards the downtown area where city lights illuminated the tall, steel buildings across the backdrop of the ocean and night sky.


    ¡°This is bullshit.¡±

 Chapter 140

    Chapter 140


    <strong>Chapter 140</strong>


    Ath chugged a beer in one quick go, gasping for breath and wiping her mouth with a wide smile and a loud belch. ¡°Why so grumpy my guy!? We¡¯re having fun! Be happy!¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t allow me to upload footage of the senator¡¯s death to prove myself innocent.¡± Riven stated grimly, popping another bottle of wine to feed to the vertical maw across his chest. ¡°It¡¯s beyond irritating that I was framed for this.¡±


    Ath shrugged, kicked out her long slender legs, and popped another beer can with a fizzling sound. ¡°You should be thinking of the cortex as more of a propaganda machine than anything else. The forums are controlled by those who control the given area, with contested territories requiring arge fee to upload footage - or it may evenpletely deny it outright. If you want to upload footage, it usually can¡¯t be antagonistic to the dominant party in a sector. That¡¯s how it¡¯s always been.¡±


    Further out to sea, the shimmering lights of the starry sky above reflected in shimmering patterns - setting a calm before the storm that was no doubt toe. Fay flew far overhead and further to the south, her figure only barely visible from here even with Riven¡¯s keen dark-sight.


    ¡°Are you and Fay alright?¡± Riven eventually asked,ying back to stare up at the cloudless heavens and crossing his legs. ¡°I haven¡¯t ever seen you two go at it like that before.¡±


    There was a pause, and Riven¡¯s gaze shifted over to where Ath had stopped halfway from bringing a beer can to her lips.


    She met his gaze, frowned, and let out a sigh. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s fine.¡±


    Ath¡¯s right hand extended above her, and her flesh began to shift. Slowly but surely, the tiara Riven had given her not long ago started toe out of her hand like she was giving birth to it.<strong>[Tiara of Silent Killing (Blood / Shadow Trinket):</strong><strong> After sessfully killing a target without being noticed by anyone else, gain a charge of critical strike. Your next unseen attack has a 100% chance to be a </strong><strong>2x - 8x</strong><strong> critical hit, with multiplied damageing in the form of kic burst energy from the strike site. Requires a 26% or higher Blood </strong><strong>or</strong><strong> Shadow Pir Affinity to wield, and the wearer must be female.]</strong>


    ¡°That¡¯s a neat trick.¡± Riven mused, watching Ath put the ck tiara with iid rubies on her head, a bright smile adorning her features. ¡°Is that a new ability?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Ath replied softly, tapping the tip of her tiara with her fingers daintily. ¡°I¡¯m just progressing my shapeshifting abilities and found out I can store small items like this. Not like a dimensional storage like that bag you have, but rather I can physically keep it on my body if it¡¯s small enough.¡±


    ¡°Gotchya. I¡¯ve seen Fay wear her feathered boots and Azmoth keeps thatrge maul on him all the time, but I rarely see you wear the tiara. I¡¯d thought you just didn¡¯t like it.¡±


    Ath gave him a surprised look, then let out augh. ¡°Riven! I love it¡­ I keep it hidden away because I don¡¯t want to identally lose or damage it.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t it supposed to be used?¡± Riven frowned in confusion. ¡°It has great stats.¡±


    Ath pondered this, then nodded. ¡°Yes¡­ but I¡¯d rather not wear it during fights in case it falls off when I¡¯m hit hard or something causes it to fall off! Just let me do my thing, ok!?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that defeat the purpose of having it though?¡±


    Ath smiled, then took the tiara off again and softly patted it. ¡°No. It¡¯s a keepsake. It¡¯s the first gift you¡¯ve ever given me, and I want to keep it safe.¡±


    A warm feeling started growing in Riven¡¯s gut, and speechless - he merely stared back and didn¡¯t reply. There was nothing that needed to be said, and the three figures on the rooftop continued to drink until morning before Fay returned from her scouting trip.


    But despite the feel-good energy Riven was experiencing now, this was merely the calm before the storm. And a very big storm it would be.


    ***


    Lieutenant Bradley Cliff was a young man, aged 24, who¡¯d grown up in a military family who expected nothing less than excellence. He¡¯d attended one of the best military academies in the United States, had be an F35 fighter jet pilot, and was well on his way to making his father proud before the integration hit. Before he knew what¡¯d hit him, Bradley found himself dogfighting wyverns in the sky over Chicago¡¯s airspace as they breathed fireballs his way.


    Killing a few of the monsters using the tech he had was the key to unlocking the cyborg ss when he eventually hit the tutorial. That, and the fact that he¡¯d had a microchip imnted in his right arm as part of an experimental trial run for some of the military¡¯s more advancedmunications systems back on Earth. It¡¯d ticked off the boxes he¡¯d needed, and the Machine Foundational Pir - along with the Integration Sub-pir, had unlocked.


    The Integration Pir funnily enough had nothing to do with the actual ¡®Integration¡¯ of the. Rather, it had everything to do with integrating machine or mechanical parts into one¡¯s body. His first skill had been one that changed his right arm into a part-flesh part-mechanical energy weapon that he¡¯d found in his seemingly hand-crafted tutorial made just for him. Then he¡¯d upgraded his body with traits giving him bionic limbs, a titanium skeleton, and he¡¯d acquired a new skill that gave his physical attacks kic energy sts whenever he struck. He¡¯d acquired a built in engine-fueled sma shield that could epass an entire side of body with a half-orb of light-orange energy at will, and his body¡¯s nanobots repaired damage far faster than normal humans could heal.


    All in all, he¡¯d gone down a route far different than normal people. Most of the ssers had focused on acquiring new skills, with many of the sses either just supplying new skills at random or giving them a choice between skills and traits. When given the option, most people chose the martial arts, miracles or spells that the system supplied rather than the traits - but he was different.


    He had 9 traits all focused on making him an unkible half-machine beast.


    Which is why he wasn¡¯t at all afraid while hunting down the monster that¡¯d killed Senator James, and carving a path through the dark tunnels in the hillside - mowing down the creatures that lived there to find the vampire and exact vengeance, was so far showing to be rather easy. The vampire¡¯s minions were rtively weakpared to him, and he just made sure to keep ahead of the strike team at his back by a good distance so they were put in the least amount of danger at any given time. He could only hope the other strike teams were also faring this good, but he couldn¡¯t be everywhere at once.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    Bradley¡¯s half-titanium fist smashed through another of the wolf-sized insectoids, sttering its green guts across the hive tunnel floor before pulling his arm out of therge creature and throwing the corpse aside. Then it shifted back from a hand into the energy cannon version of his limb, glowing as it charged up another round of ammunition. The tunnel behind him asionally sounded out or lit up with automatic rifle fire, targetingsers swept from side to side, and Bradley continued on through the maze of passages while firing off pulses of energy from his right hand whenever he saw movement.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Bradley touched his ear, opening upmunications with the home base where General Florence, his most trusted officers, three of their best hackers, and their very best mapper were organizing the assault on the hive of mantis-like creatures at a safe distance. ¡°Still no sign of the vampire, just more bugs. Are you sure this is the ce?¡±


    The patchys unit rang with static for a moment, before the voice of General Florence cut in. ¡°We¡¯re certain. Our hackers tracked him here through the unique items he was wearing, we got a brief signature read on them for analysis before the vampire broke loose and took them back. A very simr signature ising from this hillside. We¡¯ve also received reports that people have been disappearing from this area for a while, and after interrogating that other vampire we found a few weeks ago - it makes sense that he¡¯d set up here. It¡¯s a perfect location to attack from, on the border of the city where he can pick off prey to feed on easily. Just focus on your job and get it done, and I¡¯ll be sure to make it known just how much of a hero you are, Lieutenant Cliff. Your country needs you, do not fail us here.¡±


    Lieutenant Bradley Cliff nodded to himself, stepping around a corner into the darkness of arge, cavernous room that he couldn¡¯t see the end of. His right arm¡¯s energy cannon pulsed with neon orange light to illuminate further ahead, and upon feeling a sudden drop in the temperature - his sma shield bloomed around him to encase him with a half orb of energy.


    He scanned the area, still not seeing anything - but hearing the shifting sounds of something further back in the cave. He opened ups again. ¡°I just don¡¯t see how or why a vampire would be able to control so many of these creatures. They aren¡¯t registered as demons, and from what we know of the warlocks in our own city - he shouldn¡¯t be able to control more than a handful of creatures right now. It doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡±


    Static again.


    ¡°You have your orders, Lieutenant. Let us know when you¡¯ve found him.¡±


    General Florence ended thes, leaving Bradley frowning and alone at the head of his strike team while thesers and shlights of dozens of guns spread out across the room. Despite being a good soldier who followed orders to the T, Bradley couldn¡¯t help but be a little irritated that the general was so dismissive of the oddities here.


    Something just didn¡¯t feel right about all of this.


    ¡°Lieutenant?¡± One of the strike squad members asked to Bradley¡¯s left, a shlight attached to the front of his weapon pointing out into the dark of the cave. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    Bradley nced over, nodded, and was about to reply when he stopped mid-sentence and peered harder into the gloom. Holding up a hand, he motioned for the rest of the strike squad to remain where they were - and he slowly walked forward with his energy cannon charged to max.


    The translucent, orange sma shield in front of him caused the air in front of him to shimmer as he went. His footsteps echoed throughout the cave, only interrupted by the distant shots of gunfire or explosions in other areas of the strange hive he found himself in. Ever more cautiously, he approached the side of the cavern wall - dismissed his shield, and reached out a hand to where a slimy gray substance was stered to the stone.


    The fingers of his left hand touched the substance, and he pulled his hand back to reveal a slimy, semi-sticky goo that dripped off and sttered against the floor. Looking back up, he reached out again and more forcefully pressed - noting how soft the substance was. It felt like a biological thing, a membrane, and this was further confirmed when the metal tips of his fingers punctured the membrane to reveal white skin underneath.


    He gripped the camouge membrane, tearing at it, letting gallons of fluid to spill out and wash over the stone floor. With the fluid came the body of a deathly white woman who was only barely alive. She hit the floor hard and motionlessly remained there, somehow still breathing despite the strange fluid leaking out of her mouth. She had bloodshot eyes that stared ahead without registering his presence, waspletely naked, and had swollen green egg sacks growing out along her body - each ranging inbetween the size of a quarter and the size of a bowling ball.


    There were dozens of them, and inside therger eggs Bradley could see the insectoid embryos of these armored, mantis-like creatures that he¡¯d been fighting through the tunnels. Then, looking around, he realized that there were dozens upon dozens of these camoflogued sacks lining the wall. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡±


    One of the men who¡¯d been closer to the scene pulled off his mask and vomited, while another shied away - not wanting to look upon the grotesque figure in front of them that¡¯d once been a woman who¡¯d no doubt been pretty in days past.


    A clicking sound echoed off the stone walls, and shadows in Bradley¡¯s periphery moved in a blur. He whirled around, not finding the culprit of the motion - but then heard the sound of guns and bodies hitting the floor behind him.


    ¡°Level 39. An S-Rank sser¡­ A cyborg. How cute.¡±


    Bradley turned around, eyes narrowed, as the light of the shlights on the ground illuminated the decapitated bodies of his entire squad. Blood was oozing from their wounds, and a sensation of cold dread overcame him when he stared back into the peripheral shadows where four eyes were gleaming a sickly yellow in the dark.


    A huge frame,rger than a truck, stepped forward withrge, sharp, chitinous legs - snapping spines and crunching stone in stark contrast to the silence the creature had moved with only moments before during the assassination of his people. Rows of sharp teeth smiled devilishly back at him, and Bradley¡¯s skin started to sweat when he took a step back.


    ¡°You have entered my home uninvited, I do not know how you found myir, but I thoroughly wee this.¡± The figure in the dark snickered, and from all along the ceiling and walls - dozens, then hundreds of gray, armored, insectoid bodies with yellow eyes starting peeling off the stone to re at Bradley. ¡°Without aerial support, and trapped deep underground, you will be far easier to pin down - Lieutenant Cliff. Hero of Chicago¡¯s sheep. I had been nning various ways of luring you into an enclosed space so that I may more easily kill you before ransacking the city. Being a ranged artillery specialist with your primary weapon being an energy cannon, it surprises me that you''d so obviously walk into a battlefield that suits you so poorly. Even despite the rumored traits you have that amplify your defensive capabilities. But I digress... you''ve made my job all that much easier by waltzing down here of your own ord.¡±


    More and more of the creatures began to move, encircling Bradley¡¯s position with des shing. Things Bradley had thought to be boulders of stone were actually in fact creatures, farrger and many sporting abnormal evolutions beyond what he¡¯d witnessed in the weaker of their brethren up until now. His eyes were wide, his heart beat furiously, and the energy cannon on his arm that¡¯d brought him victory through so many battles up until now suddenly seemed very inadequate.


    There were too many.


    How had he not picked up on these creatures before?


    Static reached Bradley¡¯s ears. ¡°Lieutenant, we¡¯ve just lost contact with five of the seven other strike teams. They are unresponsive, and¡­ Hold. It was just reported that one of the other strike teams encountered an ambush and are in full retreat. Give us a status report, are you able to pull back and assist? We have reinforcements gearing up to head in, and we¡¯d like you to rendezvous with Captain Marshal at the nest entrance.¡±


    The cavern shook, when thergest of the creatures who''d been talking to him shed forward and mmed into Bradley¡¯s side, shattering the sma shield and sending the usually sturdy cyborg crashing into the stone wall with a sonic boom. Bradley¡¯s cannon discharged with everything he had in an orange beam of sma, ripping through dozens of enemies simultaneously as a swarm of hungry predators tore from all sides - plunging him into darkness. Ripping, tearing sounds could be heard amidst muffled screams as pieces of flesh and metal flew through the air.


    An electrical discharge began to spark beneath the piling bodies. It surged, writhed, and built over long seconds of agonizing torture, where the man struggled with desperate swings to try and kill as many of the enemy as he could - but they kept oning.


    Until he let it loose.


    Power erupted in a storm of lightning around Bradley, frying dozens and then hundreds of therge scythe-bearing creatures in a torrent of energy that left the cyborg gasping for breath. His hands shook, his mana levels were at rock bottom, and desperation was beginning to etch itself into his subconsciousness. "I need to get out of here!"


    "Lieutenant!" Thes unit in his ear rang again, this time much more urgent from one of themunication officers back at base. "Command is under attack! I repeat,mand is under attack! We have thousands of iing hostiles, we are in need of your assistance!"


    He pushed off corpse after corpse with rasping breaths, digging himself out of a mountain of fried bodies. He only hoped he''d killed all of them after expending all of his resources to deal with the ambush, and ignored the further desperate requests for help over thes until he found himself staring face to face with four gleaming yellow eyes while still half-buried in an army of enemies.


    His face paled, and rows of gleaming teeth smiled back with sinister intent.


    Then the sinister, deep voice echoed through the cave one more time. ¡°Overconfidence is a flimsy shield, Lieutenant Cliff. A very flimsy shield indeed.¡±

 Chapter 141

    Chapter 141


    <strong>Chapter 141</strong>


    ¡°Here¡¯s the list.¡± Fay said, handing over a booklet of names and dispelling the illusion she¡¯d ced on herself. Her body shifted from one of an overweight, bearded guard in a police uniform to that of her usual self - and she smiled at Riven¡¯s nod of approval.


    ¡°Great job as usual.¡± Riven stated, getting an eye roll from Ath when Fay clicked her feathered boots together, adjusted her crop top and bashfully tossed her hair to the side. ¡°Have you ever thought about bing an assassin? Those hallucinations or illusions you cast are quite handy for infiltrating ces. Perhaps you and Ath could team up and support one another doing it, and when Ath gets her shapeshifting abilities under control she¡¯ll be able to change forms as well. You¡¯d be quite the duo.¡±


    Ath raised an eyebrow, silently evaluating the subus who hesitantly nced her way.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have the qualifications to be an assassin¡­ I¡¯m more of a mage, and my curses don¡¯t kill very fast.¡± Fay stated, frowning slightly and avoiding Ath¡¯s stare. "And they''re technically hallucinations, not illusions, but if you want to call them illusions that''s fine. Hallucinations have a direct effect on a mind, where illusions are not directed towards the mind but are directed towards external sources. It really only matters when you get into how the curse works, rather than the oue. Usually, anyways."


    Ath nodded. ¡°If she picked up some high powered strike magics, it¡¯d be doable as a mana-assassin instead of the traditional kind like me. And she¡¯d need to improve her hallucinations considerably if she would want to utilize them against higher level enemies who have a far higher willpower and perception.¡±


    Riven nodded, flipping through the charts listing the inmates down below. The prison roof they now stood on was a much smaller version of the highly guarded one he¡¯d been put in, but it still had what he was looking for. ¡°Thief, drug dealer, drug dealer, battery and assault, ah - here we go. Rape, home invasion and double homicide. Checkmate.¡±


    Riven pointed to the name. ¡°Where would this one be located?¡±


    Fay looked at the room number, then nced around the prison grounds and pointed to a jail cell on the 2nd story after memorizing theyout. ¡°That one!¡±Riven gave a thumbs up, then tucked the booklet into his bag. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll be back in a few minutes.¡±


    A rift opened up in space, and in a blip of shadow he was gone. Instantly he found himself inside a prison room, where a bald, shirtless, middle-aged white man was brushing his teeth next to a mirror and a hulkiertino guy with a wife-beater tank topid out on a bottom bunk.


    They both startled when Riven shed into their room, with the bald guy yelping in surprise and thetino man quickly taking out a shank to stand up - eyes wide and cursing under his breath. ¡°What the fuck!?¡±


    Riven took the book back out, nted his unholy staff into the floor, and flipped open to the page where it had the name he was looking for. His crimson feathers red out to the sides of his hood, seven eyes peering out at them, and the maw along his chest hissed with excitement. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a Timothy Ransen. I assume it¡¯s you, baldy?¡±


    Riven snapped the book shut and pocketed it again, waiting expectantly.


    ¡°Who the fuck are you!?¡± The man replied, only for his bunkmate to step back against the bars.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Riven asked curiously. ¡°Footage of me has been all over the Chicago cortex.¡±


    Thetino man shook his head rapidly, shiv still clutched in his right hand. ¡°We can¡¯t ess the cortex because we¡¯re imprisoned, it¡¯s part of the system rules.¡±


    Ah.


    Yes.


    Riven had forgotten about that. Anyone considered captured or ¡®bound¡¯ lost all ess to forum functions.


    ¡°What¡¯s it to you if I am Timothy?¡± The bald, shirtless man asked hesitantly after ncing over at his cell mate. ¡°Why the fuck is a mageing to meet me of all people in this prison cell? Did gramps pay you to bust me out or somethin?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow from underneath his porcin mask, and an amused chuckle echoed out from behind it. He shook his head. ¡°No, nothing like that. I was just looking through the prison roster because I¡¯m a vampire, and I need someone to die for me. Someone who can be my next meal.¡±


    Riven spread his arms out to either side and the maw along his chest opened wide - revealing rows of teeth leading into an abyssal, ck hole. Both men screamed in absolute terror when cords of ck tore out from the abyss,tching onto Timothy¡¯s neck, arms, ankles and waist.


    ¡°WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?!!???¡± Timothy screamed, starting to thrash and struggle as he was dragged across the floor, and the other man started frantically yelling for help while banging on the cell doors. ¡°WHAT THE FUCK! WAIT-WAIT-WAIT! PLEASE!!!¡±


    The maw grew, bing wider and wider while Riven¡¯s ribs cracked painlessly to adjust the size. Riven saw the fear, the sweat, the piss the man had just released onto his pants, and he could hear the thunderous heartbeat of the horrified human while Riven dragged him forward.


    ¡°PLEASE NO!!!¡±


    Riven¡¯s maw yanked an arm in first, snapping down and tearing off the forearm in a bloody spray of bone and muscle. Timothy howled, renewing his attempts to thrash free while hyperventting and being eaten alive, only to lose more of the arm when the ck cords yanked it in further.


    <strong>*CHOMP*</strong>


    ¡°AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!¡±


    <strong>*CRUNCH-SNAP-RIP*</strong>


    The man¡¯s screams immediately died into nothing when Timothy¡¯s head was torn off his body, and half of his upper body was now gone while being devoured. The other inmate, who was still up against the bars as far as he could physically pushed himself, sobbed and shook while holding the shank as threateningly as he could. Shouts from outside began to reach Riven¡¯s ears, and he heard their heartbeatsing down the hallway at a quickening pace.


    At the same time, he felt his body rejuvenate as the man¡¯s blood soaked into his vessels¡­ and he sighed with a long, contented exhale. ¡°That hits the spot.¡±


    <strong>[You are now well fed.]</strong>


    A thunderous echo rolled out across the night sky, and a shockwave brought Riven¡¯s attention upwards. Looking out the window and eyes widening, he riftwalked back onto the roof where his two female demons stood - leaving the remaining meal behind.


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    Fay and Ath both stared upwards as well, watching in confusion as myriads of colors bloomed over them - rapidly encasing the entire city andndscape for miles out in an enormous dome of energy.


    ¡°The fuck is that?¡± Ath asked with furrowed brows.


    Fay shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s what I was about to ask you two¡­ Any idea, Riven?¡±


    ¡°Not a clue.¡±


    <strong>[A CLASH OF FATE HAS BEEN FORCIBLY INITIATED.]</strong>


    *CRASH*


    The entire city shook, and a pir of dusky gray light tore skywards from just beyond the city¡¯s perimeter. Immediately rms went off all around the city, and skylights positioned along the skyscrapers and military base further in illuminated the air.


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>A CLASH OF FATE HAS BEEN FORCIBLY INITIATED BY RICHARD LONGHOLLOW THROUGH THE ACTIVATION OF A CURSED SANCTUARY STONE. THE CITY OF CHICAGO HAS BEEN TARGETED AS THE PLACE FOR THIS SANCTUARY¡¯S CREATION.</strong>


    <strong>RICHARD LONGHOLLOW HAS SET TARGET ACQUISITION TO CHICAGO¡¯S ENTIRE HUMAN POPULATION. ALL DECEASED SOULS WILL BE ABSORBED BY THE SANCTUARY STONE TO FEED ITS CREATION.</strong>


    <strong>CHICAGO HAS BEEN SEALED OFF. THE BATTLE FOR CHICAGO IS ABOUT TO COMMENCE.</strong>


    <strong>ATTACKERS: AZAG HIVE CLUSTER</strong>


    <strong>DEFENDERS: THE POPULATION OF CHICAGO</strong>


    Riven sneered in distaste, then nced up at the dome above. Secondster a series of booms erupted from the ce where the gray pir of light was shooting up into the multicolored sky, and even from here - Riven could see a swarm of¡­ something, tearing down hillsides all across the western border. They came rushing towards the city like a tidal wave of gray, though their figures were hard to make out at this distance in true detail. Whatever these things were, they were met with hostility immediately. In return the humans opened up with heavy artillery and gunfire, meeting their charge from numerous points where military units had been stationed to fend off against monster attacks.


    ¡°So he¡¯s finally made his move. Didn¡¯t think there¡¯d be so many enemies though.¡±


    Blinking in surprise, Riven¡¯s brows furrowed and his attention shifted when another notification appeared. He rapidly began to read while his demons watched the battle unfold. Attack helicopters began to scramble from the military base further east, no doubt to be followed by whatever fighter jets Riven had seen earlier that day, and lights all along the city started flickering to life where the suburbs had been kept in good enough condition to house the civilian poption.


    <strong>[A sh of fate has transpired in your vicinity. Due to not meeting the requirements of the sanctuary¡¯s targeting system, you have been given the option to leave the perimeter of the sealed city if you wish to do so. If you do not leave, you will be entered in as a hostile presence to the attackers: AZAG HIVE CLUSTER, and their leader RICHARD LONGHOLLOW. Do you wish to stay? Yes or no?]</strong>


    Riven selected yes. ¡°Didn¡¯te all this way just to run away now.¡±


    <strong>[A sh of fate has transpired in your vicinity. Elysium¡¯s Administrator has designated this sh as a battle of supremacy. You have been added to the defenders side: THE POPULATION OF CHICAGO.]</strong>


    <strong>AN OUTSIDE FORCE REPRESENTING THE THANE NECROPOLIS HAS VOLUNTEERED TO JOIN THE DEFENDING SIDE. THE BATTLE FOR CHICAGO HAS NOW COMMENCED. THE ELYSIUM ADMINISTRATOR HAS RULED THIS CLASH OF FATE TO BE A STRATEGIC BATTLE.</strong>


    <strong>RULES FOR SYSTEM-REGULATED STRATEGIC BATTLES ARE AS FOLLOWS: EACH TEAM¡¯S PARTICIPANTS ARE MEASURED BY FATE IN TERMS OF INFLUENCE. THE TOP 5 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED AS BATTLE TARGETS. IF ALL 5 OF ONE SIDE¡¯S BATTLE TARGETS ARE KILLED, THAT SIDE WILL BE INSTANTLY PURGED BY THE SYSTEM.</strong>


    <strong>PROTECT YOUR BATTLE TARGETS AT ALL COSTS. ALL TARGETS WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED BY DOTS IN THE SKY - RED SYMBOLIZING THE ATTACKERS, AND BLUE SYMBOLIZING THE DEFENDERS.</strong>


    <strong>Battle targets for ATTACKERS: AZAG HIVE CLUSTER</strong><ul><li><strong>Richard Longhollow - (Azag Overmind)</strong></li><li><strong>Clidra Mutishbane - (Azag Broodmother)</strong></li><li><strong>Scythewalker Trik Trak - (Azag Broodfather)</strong></li><li><strong>Tiklik Longjaw - (Azag Broodfather)</strong></li><li><strong>Everkill Gorgemonger - (Azag Bull Champion)</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Battle Targets for DEFENDERS: THE POPULATION OF CHICAGO</strong><ul><li><strong>General Florence - (Leader of Chicago¡¯s Military Forces)</strong></li><li><strong>Lieutenant Cliff - (Cyborg Champion)</strong></li><li><strong>Lieutenant General Bruner - (Human Military Officer)</strong></li><li><strong>Governor Banks - (Human Civilian Authority)</strong></li><li><strong>Riven Thane - (Pureblooded Vampire Prince, Allied unit: The Thane Necropolis)</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[You, Riven Thane, have been designated as 1 of 5 battle targets on the defending side for the sh of fate ongoing in this region. Should you and the other four battle targets die, the side you represent will be immediately purged by the system. Good luck.]</strong>


    <strong>[Richard Longhollow has been engaged in battle. Click to view.]</strong>


    <strong>[Lieutenant Cliff has been engaged in battle. Click to view.]</strong>


    ¡°Oh look! The system called me a prince. That¡¯s neat.¡±


    Both demoness nearby got the follow up notification about the battlemencing, and how Riven was now a battle target. They slowly turned, staring wordlessly his way when a pir of blue light skyrocketed from all around his position, and he held up both hands to either side with an innocent shrug; bouncing hisrge horned pauldrons up and down as he did. ¡°WHAT!? Don¡¯t look at me like that! We were going to potentially die here anyways if we decided to stay, and finding that asshole is what I came here to do!¡±


    Four other pirs of blue light around the city illuminated the darkness. Two of them were already on the front lines where the battle was raging, one of them was in the military base, and another was in the eastern suburbs on the opposite side of the city. Five red pirs, four of them within the oing swarm of gray bodies, shot skywards next. And a momentter all ten pirs dissipated, only leaving blue and red dots that glowed brightly along the multicolored dome overhead to symbolize the positions of the battle targets.


    Ath¡¯s eyelids drooped. ¡°You <em>volunteered</em> for this? Don¡¯t you think it would have been smarter to just wait this battle out, and when Chicago falls you could havee and cleaned up afterwards?¡±


    ¡°I was more¡­ voluntold, rather than volunteered.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Gotta kill this guy either way if I don¡¯t want to anger Chalgathi, and I can¡¯t just let all these people die. There¡¯s almost a million people living here, I don''t have a choice.¡±


    ¡°You have a choice if you stop giving a shit about these nobodies! And if someone is powerful enough to wipe out an entire city of that size, even more reason to hold off and strike after the battle.¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes, only noticed by Ath by the way he rolled his head along with it for emphasis. ¡°No more discussion, we have a battle to fight.¡±


    <strong>[General Florence has been engaged in battle. Click to view.]</strong>


    <strong>[General Florence has been killed in battle by Azag Hive Cluster forces. 4 of 5 battle targets for the defenders remain.]</strong>


    A pop up window showing the same man who¡¯d framed Riven not long ago appeared next, in front of all of them. It was a video feed, showing the man in a hybrid suit of mesh and metal with intricate engineering enchantments being torn apart, being eaten alive byrge mantis-like bugs as he screamed and cursed in a bloody disy of carnage. The men nearby in some kind of base camp tent were firing off whatever bullets, energy weapons, or explosives that they could - shredding the oing swarm of armored, chitinous insectoids, but the monsters were far too many. Their thick hides, de-like limbs, ripping pincers and yellow eyes soon dominated the scene - burying the general underneath a wave that swept over him in seconds. The footage ended with two tanks and arge sci-fi looking mech engaging the swarm - leading a counteroffensive push with guns ring and insectoids sting apart.


    <strong>[Lieutenant Cliff has been killed in battle, in by Richard Longhollow. 3 of 5 battle targets for the defenders remain.]</strong>


    Another pop up window disyed next, showing a huge dark figure in an underground cave impaling a wide-eyed cyborg outfitted in American military gear underneath a w-like leg of sharp, spiked chitin. Blood and another sma-like fluid leaked out of the man, but despite the kic stsing out with every desperate punch he made - he was doing little damage to the leg that had impaled him through the chest.


    The shrouded, dark figure grinned with piercing yellow eyes, and with a blur - mmed arge stinger through the cyborg¡¯s skull. Abruptly the man stilled, his brain matter stered against the ground next to him.


    Riven blinked as the window winked out. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that guy supposed to be S-ss too?¡±


    Fay pointed skywards, drawing Riven''s attention to a red dot along the dome that was very quickly closing in on his own blue dot''s position. "I think we have iing."

 Chapter 142

    Chapter 142


    <strong>Chapter 142</strong>


    The red dot overhead was traveling in a straight line, and Riven didn¡¯t have much of a hard time finding it due to the size of the creature.


    Six legs in the back, four ded arms along the sides, two sets of yellow eyes, a long wingless carapace of gray chitin armor, and long pincers were all set onto the body of a gigantic mantis that was rushing over the rooftops and roadways at breakneck speed towards him. Easily the size of a tank and likely just as bullet proof, it was closing in fast with the air shimmering around its body.


    Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed, and it activated a martial art that sent it tearing through the air with a sonic boom towards his location on the prison¡¯s roof.


    ¡°If he¡¯s going to send one of his lieutenants, I¡¯ll match it with some of my own. Don¡¯t want to give away all my tricks just yet now, do I?¡±


    Calmly watching the bullet-like creature ripping through the air, he raised his hand. ¡°Azmoth.¡±


    A portal of fire red around him and the titanic demonunched out of it to meet the azag mantis. Riven saw the creature¡¯s yellow eyes go wide in rm just before they met, and a shockwave of fire and magma erupted when Azmoth¡¯s infernal maul crashed into the monster¡¯s skull.


    <strong>[Riven Thane has been engaged in battle. Click to view.]</strong>


    <strong>[Tiklik Longjaw has been engaged in battle. Click to view.]</strong>The recoil was the equivalent of a baseball bat making a home run with a baseball. One moment therge mantis was rocketing towards him, the other moment it was rocketing in theplete opposite direction while ame with a third of its face caved in.


    Riven loudly cackled in amusement, watching the streaking, ming, screeching creature bounce like a stone on water through roadways and ruined buildings. ¡°Ath, Azmoth, kill it. Fay you stay here.¡±


    Ath¡¯s ck tongue whipped out of her mouth with a screech of glee and she blurred forward - jumping off the roof and tearing towards the injured monster who was still writhing on the ground blocks away. Azmoth pursued them afterwards with a boom when hended from the 2 story jump, then effortlessly bulldozed his way through theyers of barbed wire fences while bursting into mes.


    ¡°You don¡¯t wish to kill it yourself?¡± Fay asked curiously, side-eying her master with a cocked eyebrow and folded wings.


    ¡°Nope. We have other targets to draw out.¡±


    ***


    Tanya clutched her two small daughters in the corner of her family home¡¯s basement. Her red hair was frazzled, her kids were crying, the house was literally shaking from the battle being waged right outside their doors. Being woken up in the very early hours of the morning by her husband to the sound of ring sirens, system notifications, gunfire and unearthly screams from a monster swarm was not something she thought she¡¯d ever experience - but here she was.


    ¡°We¡¯ve barricaded the door down here with everything we have!¡± Derrick, her husband said with a grimace and heavy breathing. He looked over his shoulder to where Tanya¡¯s stepfather John was still inspecting the makeshift barricade - adjusting things here or there on the pile to feel useful in a situation where they were all rather useless.


    Derrick grunted, then leaned against the stone wall of the basement and slid down to a sitting position next to his eldest daughter - wincing when the house shook again under the crash of arge body outside. His daughters were already silently crying, and he patted both their heads with a loving smile - one that¡¯d won over Tanya¡¯s heart when they were younger. ¡°It¡¯ll be alright girls, the military will save us.¡±


    Off in the other room the rest of the family, including Tanya¡¯s mother inw and two sisters inw were all huddled together around the cortex forums that were rapidly uploading video feeds and information with live streams of the battle. System notifications had already beening and going with different battle targets being engaged or killed off, while two of their own targets had died within only a few minutes of the battle having started. Being caught in the crossfire was certainly a worry, but they may all be gonners regardless of whether or not they were found by monsters if the military couldn¡¯t hold these attackers at bay from killing all 5 of the defending side¡¯s targets. If that were to happen, Tanya could only hope the system¡¯s ¡®purge¡¯ would be quick - because by the looks of things it wasn¡¯t going well outside and she couldn¡¯t bear the thought of her children dying a horrible, agonizing death.


    They were such good little girls, and they deserved to live. They deserved to grow up and find husbands, bear children of their own,ugh and cry and enjoy all the little things that were important in life. But Tanya wasn¡¯t sure if they¡¯d make it, even after all they¡¯d been through with the tutorial and frequent monster attacks up until now - they still might not make it.


    Not with this army of carnivorous creatures tearing through the outer suburbs,killing and devouring anyone they came across.


    ¡°You should go watch with the others¡­¡± her husband said, smiling Tanya¡¯s way and gripping her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll stay with the kids. You keep looking over at my mom and sisters, I know you¡¯re nervous and want to watch it. It¡¯ll make you feel better.¡±


    Tanya¡¯s pale face shifted his way, lips quivering into a smile of her own, putting on a brave face for little Elsie and Sara. ¡°Yeah, I think that¡¯d help a lot. Thanks honey.¡±


    Kissing each of her daughters for a brief goodbye, she then bent over and gave Derrick a long, drawn out, passionate kiss - one that they hadn¡¯t shared the likes of for a long, long time. ¡°If we make it out of this alive¡­¡±


    She whispered, putting her forehead against his. ¡°Let¡¯s spend more time together. We let work life get in the way of the important things, let¡¯s not make that mistake again. Ok?¡±


    Derrick choked up, but nodded and pushed her away. ¡°Go watch, you can bring me updates from time to time. Hurry! Go!¡±


    Cries of horror and outright denial abruptly erupted from around the corner, and Tanya startled only to realize why her husband¡¯s family was so upset a split secondter.


    <strong>[Governor Banks has been killed in battle by Azag Hive Cluster forces. 2 of 5 battle targets for the defenders remain.]</strong>


    Derrick and Tanya shared a pale look, only for Tanya to dash around the corner and bring up the notification showing Governor Banks¡¯ demise.


    It¡¯d been an assassination. Although the Governor had been on the opposite side of the city, he¡¯d been run down in the street with an entire escort of military personnel being ravaged in the process of trying to protect him and escort him to one of the towers downtown. The scene was bloody, gore-filled, and just outright horrible - and Tanya had to cover her mouth while watching the people there get eaten and ughtered as they fought back to kill as many of the azag hive cluster as they could. Even some of the braver civilians hade out of their homes with shotguns, pistols, submachine guns or whatever else they could find - and the groups of adventurers, mercenaries and makeshift guilds that¡¯d formed in preparation for theing ¡®Guild¡¯ system had also taken to the streets to help defend their homes.


    Tanya collected herself, and was offered a seat at the table by a teary-eyed sister inw by the name of Amanda. Her twin sister Samantha was on her left, and Tanya¡¯s mother inw Debbie was across the table - with all of them looking at a series of screens and scrolling walls of text.


    ¡°Can you catch me up to date?¡± Tanya whispered, looking over her shoulder at the corner she¡¯d juste around where her daughters were still crying and clutching their father. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is it as bad as it looks?¡±


    Samantha sniffed, using a quivering hand to whip away her tears and cleared her throat. ¡°Uhm¡­ It¡¯s pretty bad. Only Lieutenant General Bruner and that Riven Thane guy are left on our side. Bruner is holed up in the airforce base and they¡¯re carpet bombing the major roadways that are leading into the city, that¡¯s where the swarm had originally gone. Most of the frontline defenses we had set up for monster attacks are overrun, except for a couple, and the army is preparing ast stand with the police and whoever else cane help.¡±


    ¡°A lot of civilian groups have bravely gone out to fight.¡± Debbie said with a nod, her eyes glossy while staring at the screens and her hands white-knuckled to grip the table¡¯s edge. ¡°The forums are talking about how they¡¯ve stationed all their new mechs there, and they hope the fighter jets and helicopters will be able to provide enough support that the swarm can¡¯t just roll over the ground forces. So far, it¡¯s only working because of that other guy¡­¡±


    Debbie shifted the screen she was looking at so the others could see - and Tanya quickly realized that they each had their own version of this screen pulled up beside her. Her father inw came into the room just as Tanya¡¯s bloodshot eyes went wide, and she took in a quick inhale of breath.


    ¡°Whoever he is, he¡¯s definitely bringing the heat.¡± Her father inw, John, said while sitting down next to his wife with a firm jaw. He pulled his wife in by the shoulder, and kept a brave face on for them just like Tanya had done for her own daughters. ¡°And those demons he controls are something else. We may just make it out of this battle yet, I just wish he¡¯d been at the front line when all of this went down. Maybe the general would still be standing¡­ but then again, the general had been hunting him down not long ago for the assassination of our senator. That doesn¡¯t really make a lot of sense to me, looking at what he¡¯s doing now¡­ And it makes me wonder why this Riven person stayed.¡±


    ¡°The front lines were overrun in less than five minutes, he wouldn¡¯t have made it to the outskirts in time.¡± Amanda muttered, gazing at the screen with a mixture of amazement and anxiety while sping her hands in front of her. ¡°He¡¯s doing what he can, and the system notifications said he didn¡¯t even have to stay. He volunteered to fight for us, the forums are going wild right now about who he is and why he chose to fight, or if the allegations against him were false for a power grab on the general¡¯s part. You know how the conspiracy theorists were getting even before all this when the military only released pieces of the footage and not the entire thing. Anyways Elysium said he¡¯s a vampire prince, from somewhere called the Thane Necropolis - but no one has heard of anything like that around here. It¡¯s all very confusing.¡±


    Tanya only nodded silently, continuing to be more awestruck as time went on.


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    The cortex screen in front of her was split into three parts. One was of the roiling forums that were going crazy with viewers, mostly nonbat civilians, who¡¯d note out of hiding and were waiting anxiously for the battle¡¯s oue. The second part of the screen was a live feed of two demons - one the forums were calling ¡®Ath¡¯ by means of hearing them talk to one another, and the other one they were calling ¡®Azmoth¡¯.


    Tiklik Longjaw, which was supposed to be an ¡®Azag Broodfather¡¯, was currently engaged in a battle of epic proportions inside a burningndscape as it desperately fought off the smaller of the two demons in what was mostly one on onebat. The broodfather was muchrger than a lot of the other Azag mantis creatures, and had an extra pair of scythe-like arms in the front, but it wasn¡¯t quite a match for the speed of the pitch-ck woman with desing out of her back - and the furious exchanges of blindingly fast strikes between their limbs was like watching a cyclone of swords crash into one another over and over again. Usually the demoness Ath woulde out on top - scoring deep gashes along the body of Tiklik to add to its oozing wounds that bled profusely and started spreading ck poisons across the azag''s flesh. asionally the demoness would activate a martial art of some kind that caused her to glow green and enter abination of strikes that were so fast no one was able to keep up with the hits - but the mantis creature would retaliate by activating a martial art of its own that would harden its body to infinite proportions over the course of two seconds to counter her flurry - resulting in a blinding spray of sparks when her des met the temporarily hardened carapace. Then whenever she switched over to spraying red needles or threads to try to pin the creature down, the mantis would counter by spraying acid at her webbing to dissolve it mid-air. Still, the demoness had the upper footing - and though it was a war of attrition: the azag mantis was slowly being worn down.


    Meanwhile hundreds of the smaller mantis monsters hade rushing in from all sides, and asionally they¡¯d get to Ath to take away some of the pressure she was putting on theirrgermander - but most of them were being ripped apart and smashed to bits by the titanic, ming tank of a demon that had set entire blocks of abandoned neighborhoods ame. His maul crushed, his ws ripped, shockwaves erupted underfoot and most of the scythe¡¯s attacks just bounced off hisrge obsidian tes as he cackled and bowled over the monsters by the dozens.


    It was incredibly impressive, seeing two allied demons fight off hundreds of other monstrous creatures in a battle ofpeting nightmares - no doubt they were to see which type of nightmare would win out soon. But what was even more impressive was the next screen over, and Tanya couldn¡¯t help but gawk at the absolute disy of might and power.


    The vampire prince, Riven Thane, stood on the edge of an abandoned five-story office building. Beside him an absolutely stunning subus with blue skin and ck wings stood by, weaving her hands through the air to produce a fine ck mist; and all around the two of them - an absolute storm of chaotic energy crashed into a horde of enemies that were ripped apart the moment they got too close.


    The ck mists produced by the subus were swept up in a tornado of crimson energy that billowed about them in the form of ice and blood, causing the bodies of the insectoids to soften and wither away with rot before being eviscerated by the madding howl of blood. Some of the armored insectoids made it through the outer storm of ck and red though, only to enter a minefield of invisible sigils that¡¯d sh green and explode on impact. Those that made it past the minefield and tried climbing the building found themselves torn off in sprays of viscera when red spinning discs with serrated edges came billowing down at them from above in a swarm of their own - ripping the hardened armors of the azag monsters into scraps before rising again to circle the warlock overhead.


    ¡°Jesus Christ almighty¡­¡± Tanya gasped, holding a hand over her mouth in absolute astonishment. ¡°Just how strong are these things?¡±


    ¡°The demons and their warlock master? Pretty damn strong!¡± John gave a nervousugh, trying to lift the mood, but Tanya could easily tell he was just as worried about the oue as any of the rest of them. ¡°Just look at him! He could take on the entire swarm by himself!¡±


    Amanda grunted - eyes glued to the screens. ¡°Why do you think he just stays up there on that tower? Do you think he¡¯s waiting for them toe to him?¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡± John said with a stern nod. ¡°Why go to them when he has the high ground? None of these creatures seem able to fly, which is why our aerial units are doing so well aside from the few that¡¯ve been shot down with acid projectiles or spines that some of the stinger-variants have. If I was him, I¡¯d stay up there too. Eventually the azag bigshots are going to have to go meet him, otherwise he¡¯ll just continue mowing down their forces like he¡¯s been doing for thest 30 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t he run out of mana though?¡± Tanya asked hesitantly. ¡°He is a mage, right? Warlocks are a type of mage?¡±


    John opened his mouth to reply, but then gave an uneasy smile. ¡°Not sure.¡±


    ¡°The forums are talking about how he¡¯s utilizing the blood of the fallen creatures to draw more mana out.¡± Debbie said, scrolling through the text boxes that were still going wild on the sideline. ¡°One of our own native warlocks has been talking about it while he waits with the military at the base for the azag assault. He says that this warlock has to be an S-tier sser as well, probably on the higher end of S-tier, otherwise there¡¯d be no way he could hold off that many monsters at once for that long. And none of the warlocks here have been able to get more than 1 demonpanion, while this vampire has 3.¡±


    ¡°Why would a vampire want to help us though? Aren¡¯t they evil?¡±


    ¡°Evil is a rtive term, who knows. All that matters is he¡¯s here and has chosen to help. Realistically speaking, the base would probably already be overrun by now - and we¡¯d all be dead already without him. Let¡¯s just hope he and his minions can keep it up, because the enemy side still hasn¡¯t lost a single target yet.¡±


    ***


    Ath was growing frustrated.


    Blurring left and avoiding another pincer strike from more of the smaller mantis creatures, she fired off hardened needles of her threads to impale them like a gatling gun - only barely dodging another lightning-fast strike from Tiklik Longjaw.


    ¡°WHY DO YOU RUN FROM ME, TINY DEMON!¡± The azag broodfather hissed through mandibles that reminded her of one of her uglier sisters back in theher realms. ¡°STAY STILL AND FIGHT ME!¡±


    Tiklik was obviously a poor sport and venting because of the necrotic venom debuffs she¡¯d repeatedly stacked. Each strike with her des, tongue, or ws added more and more stacking over-time damage. And although this monster had some sort of poison resistance as well as a regeneration property - it wasn¡¯t nearly enough.


    One of her limbs shot out a thin red thread, sticking to the wreckage of a burning building to her right when sheunched herself into the air. Tiklik began spraying acid again when she feinted with another offensive cloud of needles, but she tugged on the string and caused her body to abruptly jolt right. Clear of the acid burst and activating her martial art ¡®Flurry¡¯ when she had a clear line of side - Ath ripped forward mid-air into abination attack that she¡¯d preset.


    It was one of threebination attacks she could program into the ability. Flurry drastically increased the speed and strength of any pre-programed 9-movebination, moving faster than a normal brain could process or her normal body could move without the martial art. This particr version of flurry included a lunge forward that was meant for aerial attacks, not needing any kind of solid-footing to do it as the stamina literally propelled her like a rocket would.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The azag mantis activated its own hardening ability just in time to avoid most of the flurry, but not all of it. Ath smiled when she felt one of her ws rip through the front of the armored thorax and into softer tissues right under one scythe-like arm, only to feel the rest of her slender arachnid des bounce off the quickly hardening body in a spray of sparks.


    She cackled and kicked off, backflipping dozens of yards away onto a tiled rooftop and abruptly rolling to rip the throat out of another mantis with a wicked grin Tiklik¡¯s way. ¡°GOTCHYA THAT TIME BITCH!¡±


    Azmoth¡¯s maul exploded with me and a shockwave of kic energy sted through another wave of the iing enemies further down the street - leveling an entire burning block of the neighborhood in an instant with a shower of debris.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!¡± Tiklik screeched in agony, stomping the ground with its six legs and cursing in anguage she didn¡¯t understand while its limp upper-left arm snapped off by the thin thread of meat she¡¯d left behind. ¡°MAY YOU BE BLASTED BACK TO THE HELLS FROM WHENCE YOU CAME, YOU DIRTY BITCH!¡±


    ¡°Hey, only my master gets to talk to me like that!¡± Ath winked, then cackled again when she imagined what Riven would say after reviewing the footageter. ¡°I am quite hrious, I know. Don¡¯t mind me!¡±


    Her hand blurred again, knocking aside a spine projectile that¡¯d beenunched her way from one of the stinger-variants these monsters had for ranged units. The spines were covered in acidic goo, were anywhere between two and five feet long, acted as the actual stinger tips until fired, and were just as fast as bullets were when shot - but Ath¡¯s ws were faster and it only took a slight nudge to push the spine off course and redirect the trajectory.


    She retaliated with her own spray of threading needles from her six spider legs, jolting the mantis with the stinger that was starting to harden yet another spine in real-time to rece the projectile it¡¯d fired. The mantis screeched angrily and started yelling back at the demon as it died, but it quickly slumped over - riddled with holes and dozens of needles that leaked blood.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    The tiled roof she stood on shook, and Ath¡¯s eyes widened in surprise when she saw Tiklik had used yet another martial art to close the distance in an instant while she¡¯d been distracted. Her mind almost nked upon seeing a de closing in for her neck only a couple inches away, and with reflexes akin to a cat on crack - she bent her back at a 90 degree angle to avoid the swipe and counterattacked with des of her own.


    The roof copsed under the weight of the monster¡¯snding, but a spray of blood and a loud gurgling sound met Ath¡¯s ears over the snapping of wood and rising dust.


    She unloaded everything she had through the cloud of debris, swiping and slicing blindly at the iling body in front of her while dodging retaliatory strikes to hit her that were just as blind as her own.


    The twobatants crashed onto the stairway of the second floor, only for part of the stairway to give next when the railing snapped off. The huge body of Tiklik Longjaw unceremoniously flopped and smashed face-first onto the cracked, burned side where Azmoth had hit it earlier - and it let out a pained wheeze just before Ath¡¯s ws hand shot forward into the back of its skull.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    Ath¡¯s evil smile widened from ear to ear, far wider than any normal human could do, and she let out a delighted screech of victory as she pulled out the brain of the creature for the entire audience of Chicago to witness. Doing a little happy dance, she flung the gray matter over the spasming body of the monster to st against the wall, then trot out of the ruined building that crumbled behind her to fully copse while she dusted herself off.


    <strong>[Tiklik Longjaw has been killed in battle by Thane Necropolis forces. 4 of 5 battle targets for the Attackers remain.]</strong>


    Ath could literally hear an excited roar of faint cheering in the distance that rose up towards the heavens immediately as the notification appeared. It came from miles away and from multiple directions, and she posed for the system¡¯s camera she knew was there somewhere. ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m great - I know!¡±


    She tossed her long ck hair to the side and humphed, hands on her blood-covered hips to pose yet again. ¡°Princess Ath to the rescue! HEY, ASSHOLE!¡±


    She pointed to Azmoth who was munching nonchntly on a bug carapace while silently staring her down from a couple yards away. Raising his maul with his left hands, he smashed it down onto another bug that was trying to bite one of his ming, armored legs.


    ¡°WERE YOU THERE JUST WATCHING ME THIS ENTIRE TIME!?¡± Ath screeched angrily, stomping over to therger demon with a scowl. She then threateningly whipped one of her sharpened spider legs out to point directly at his face from an inch away. ¡°THIS ISN¡¯T SNACK TIME! THIS IS A BATTLE GOD DAMN IT, YOU GOTTA HELP ME OUT!¡±


    Azmoth stopped chewing, then gestured over to a field of ming, dead mantis monsters who were scattered amongst the remains of the burning neighborhood. ¡°Azmoth did help. I fight many monsters, Ath just slow to kill big one. Not Azmoth¡¯s fault Ath is weak.¡±


    ¡°YOU TAKE THAT BACK!¡±


    ¡°Azmoth not take it back. Azmoth stomp Ath like little baby. Nowe, we go find Riven and help kill more.¡±


    Ath opened her mouth to retaliate, a quivering de-like leg still pointed in Azmoth¡¯s direction, but eventually harrumphed and started walking towards the storm of blood magic and cursed cloud that¡¯d intermixed about half a mile away. ¡°This is not over you god damned sasquatch-wannabe! When we¡¯re done here, we¡¯re having a 1 versus 1 battle to the death! Then once one of us is sent theher realms, we¡¯ll see just who is the weak one and who is the pussy ass bitch!¡±


    Azmoth heaved hisrge stone maul, etched with lines of magma, over one shoulder and grunted his agreement. ¡°Fine. We make bet though. If Azmoth win, Azmoth uses Ath as chair for whole month.¡±


    ¡°And if I win you have to be my little-wee-baby that I get to stomp on every night for a month! You¡¯ll have to pretend cry like a little-wee-baby too whenever I do it - and you¡¯ll have to beg for my lubies. IT¡¯LL BE HUMILIATING! Now shut up and let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°I just said we go. You the one holding us back by taking long time to kill single bad mantis monster while Azmoth fight army.¡±


    ¡°SHUT IT TWIRP!¡±

 Chapter 143

    Chapter 143


    <strong>Chapter 143</strong>


    The shrill cries and screams of the oing swarm echoed around him, like a faint memory on a wayward breeze. Flocks of beautiful red des continued to wash away the enemies that dared to try their hand at his life, wiping them off the face of the building and ending their existences effortlessly. He only needed to think about it, and the blood magic reacted to his will.


    Blood, Shadow, Death, Infernal, Depravity, and Chaos.


    Out of all the elements in the universe, why was Blood one of Unholy¡¯s pirs? Was blood an inherently evil thing, or was Ath wrong about what the Unholy Foundational Pir actually was?


    Unholy didn¡¯t necessarily have to be evil. That had been proven over and over again, time after time. Though Riven was an unholy-oriented vampire he¡¯d say he was generally a better person than many of the humans in this city. He was certainly no godsent heroe to act as savior to the world, he was no bastion of moral excellence, but he was proud of who he was as a person. So what was the Unholy pir really? What was the Blood pir¡¯s rtionship to it?


    Despite the immense internal calm he felt as he contemted these things, eyes zed over and heartbeat slowly pumping at the epicenter of untold carnage while his magics wrecked havoc amidst the enemy - he felt confused. Ribbons of crimson whipped around him and his aura sang to the heavens in a storm of red that washed away the cursed clouds of ck his subus produced - incorporating them into his own torrent of energy¡­


    To make them his own.


    He studied them, barely registering a spine projectile that somehow made its way towards him. The spine was utterly crushed, obliterated when it made contact with his living, thriving aura that epassed him and the area he stood on while looking down from the building¡¯s fifth floor rooftop.


    The clouds Fay was producing¡­ they had an inherent code to their production. He could see it, see the way the mana roiled and folded in on itself - addingyers of restrictions and conditions to the spell production before being gently incorporated into the massive typhon of his own energy that cradled and used Fay¡¯s own.His head tilted slightly. Why was it that curses created pain while cast? Why did it exact a price of emotional turmoil in order to create and produce a cloud that would rot away enemies down to their cores?


    Was it magnifying internal turmoil and pain, eliciting a strong emotion and pumping that emotional state to create something new?


    Why was it that her clouds of unholy pain and rot mingled so well with his blood magic? Blood was a biological thing, a lifebringer, something that brought warmth to one¡¯s body to make muscles move and flow. It was the exact opposite of Fay¡¯s magic, which should by theory be eating away at his blood mana - yet that was not the case. The two entities twisted and swerved, with the blood mana incorporating Fay¡¯s clouds like one would see when stirring sugar into coffee. The sweetness, the cold rot, the vor of the unholy curse was within his flowing ocean of red - swallowed to be made one.


    Merged to be made one.


    His eyes shifted from the moving whirlwinds and ribbons of mana, back down to the oing swarm that continued to mindlessly and desperately push past his cyclone of death. He watched them wither and rot, watched their bodies shred apart, watched as even when the best of them made it to the tower. Even when the flood of swirling des sometimes failed to knock them off their climbing ascent, he watched when they finally came into contact with his aura. He watched them rot, watched them disintegrate as piece by piece their bodies fed his growing storm.


    Riven could feel how the area around them was infused with a slight undercurrent of unholy power even aside from himself or the minions he had. It leaked out from the corpses, permeating the area with a taste of the profane as the blood of his enemies was drawn skywards to obey his will.


    No doubt it was due to these creatures being rted to the man he hunted here. Richard Longhollow by definition had to have an unholy bloodline, just by way of making it into Chalgathi¡¯s trials. So it would make sense that his spawn would be inherently unholy.


    Yet here they were, creatures with blood flowing through their veins and inherent unholy properties permeating their very fabric¡­


    Just like him, actually.


    There on the rooftop overlooking the carnage, watching these creatures die by the hundreds, Riven had an epiphany.


    He understood.


    Holding up his right hand: a crackling, snapping surge of red lightning traveled along his fingertips - then surged along his arms as he pulled blood mana into his unholy ability ¡®Blessing of the Crow¡¯. The Unholy Foundational Pir shifted and churned inside his soul apparatus, resisting themand at first - but within seconds, it started linking and forming new pathways with the blood pir beside it.


    The pirs¡­ They were one in the same.


    Fay¡¯s cloud of cursed mana, his blood typhoon, his aura that wasn¡¯t even a true skill by definition of the system - they were all connected. Even his minions, who by contract were an extension of himself now, were connected to him - each of them a new arm or leg to utilize like a piece of his own body.


    Rapidly his soul aperture began to shift, expanding, connecting threads quickly tearing across the pirs to weave an intricate web from the Unholy Foundational Pir, the Shadow Sub-pir, and his Blood Specialty Pir - and a vision shed before his eyes.


    6ets rocketed through the heavens, alling together and crashing in an explosion of red, ck and green - creating an abyssal monument that radiated profane might.


    3 hooded skeletons rotated around a floating vampire of immeasurable beauty with golden hair, pale skin and brilliant golden tattoos that wrapped around her bare body. Each skeleton held a scythe that dripped with flowing blood - leaving patterns over the floor that began to congregate underneath the vampire¡¯s hovering feet.


    The nude vampire in the middle of the room slowly lifted her red eyes towards the ceiling, and the roof of stone exploded - revealing another sixets that crashed into one another overhead amidst a starden sky.


    Riven felt his soul explode as a storm of ck and red crashed down from the heavens from the point where theets had collided. He screamed, an influx of pain shattering his psyche and crumbling his bones.


    Slowly, as Riven continued that scream in an ethereal state of being - the vampiress descended to the floor. The ball of crimson collected from the three scythes turned ck and created a pool as knelt inside it with sped hands and a bowed head. Then she began to pray before she too began to wither and rot, disappearing into the pool of ck that grew into an abyssal maw while her body crumbled to nothing.


    She and the pool were swallowed by the maw, and the world became silent.


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    Then, attempting to do what the vision of the sixets had done in their own merging - Riven attempted to replicate it with his own pirs - but the struggle was too great. He tried and tried again, only to fail repeatedly over and over, until finally he reduced the number of pirs to three. His halfway-fusion between pirs was a sess, he was able to control them at a lesser extent than the vision of theets that were each imbued with one of the major sub-pirs that created the Unholy Foundation - but he was happy.


    He had seen the path, and it was glorious.


    ***


    <strong>[Blood Specialty Pir has gained an ascended ability modifier through Dao insights: </strong><strong>The</strong><strong>Path of Red and ck: </strong><strong>Profane Cyclone (Ascended Ability Modifier)</strong><strong>, which is automatically applied to any and all Unholy / Blood / Shadow abilities for additional mana cost unless mentally choosing not to. All Unholy / Blood / Shadow abilities have been upgraded to Profane Cyclone¡¯s modified version of each spell.</strong>


    <strong>Notice: Only one ability modifier may be active at one time. Mana channels have been enhanced. Meditate and contemte upon the concepts you have understood to further evolve this path.]</strong>


    The building underneath him shattered as the sky exploded red above him into a red and ck storm, and his body radiated with killing intent as his subus screeched in surprise.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    Fay was the only thing not affected in the immediate vicinity when a shockwave of epic proportions leveled the building Riven stood on. The cyclone of blood surrounding the building pulsed and exploded - shooting off in all directions and ripping apart entire city blocks in a wave of ck and red.


    Thousands of azag hive cluster forces sumbed in an instant, and waves of red and ck mists with crackling ck lightning were left in the aftermath that quickly caused any creature that came inside to wither and die as a necrotic husk or be ripped apart. Numerous mantis immediately attempted this, dashing across the decimatedndscape towards their enemy, only for almost all of them to sumb within less than a minute.


    Riven¡¯s ears rang, and he hovered dozens of feet in the air off the ground with rippling tides of crimson intermixed with smaller ck clouds or sparking energy. The power of his blood magic pulsed and rose with new additions, rotting the very ground away as buildings cracked and roads decayed.


    Lifting a hand as he floated mid-air, hemanded the blood magic toe to him. Wisps of crimson mana shot up his arm instantly, with flickers of ck inside the red like little worms or mes that refused to be entirely beaten down by the more dominant color. The intent behind his mana was more palpable, more malicious, and hungered with a craving that simted the cravings of Gluttony in past experiences. The three Chalgathi artifact pieces oriented towards gluttony all screamed with envy and approval, and Riven felt his still-forming gluttony core shiver upon the mental touch of the Path of Red and ck. Blood was somehow connected to Gluttony, Unholy was connected to Blood, and the six


    The ringing slowly started to fade, and he abruptly became aware that Fay was roughly shaking him - wings pping and outspread while trying to get his attention. Below, Azmoth and Ath looked around in utter astonishment at the devastation Riven had unintentionally caused - gazing about a wastnd that continued to crumble and decay all around them. A crater-like hole was forming in the ground beneath where Riven was continually pulsing mana at extreme proportions with power rising skywards in rippling semi-translucent waves.


    He ignored his minions, he couldn¡¯t hear them anyways, and he was still on the cusp of ascending even further¡­ he could just feel it. The power was just one step away from achieving a bonding momentum with his gluttony core, yet he couldn¡¯t quite figure it out.


    His brows furrowed and he gently shrugged Fay off, concentrating on the inner workings of his soul. His aura was so palpable now, so alive, consuming everything around it to feed the growing power that hemanded at his fingertips. Bloody des condensed and widened - forming shadow-like vortexes with sharp edges that rather looked like spinning balls of ck and red storm; sharpened miniature balls of profane cyclone that shredded everything they touched. Multiple simultaneous rifts through space tore open around him, bathed in ck and red that sucked and pulled things through with currents of profane storm based on his will. Bloodnces were summoned, forming much faster and with thick ck trails of lightning indicative in the very fundamental foundation of his ideology behind ¡®Blood¡¯ magic - having integrated it with ¡®Unholy¡¯ and ¡®Shadow¡¯ upon achieving a step towards the greater truths.


    The greater truths of one-ness between the profaneets he¡¯d seen in his vision.


    Fay¡¯s clouds intermixing with his own had been the catalyst, and he felt like the potential to achieve more was there - but despite all the mental pressure and his racing thoughts there were no further results. He was just so close¡­ and minutes ticked by as he tried to corner the aspect of gluttony that was still escaping him.


    <strong>[Riven Thane has been engaged in battle. Click to view.]</strong>


    <strong>[Clidra Mutishbane has been engaged in battle. Click to view.]</strong>


    He saw iting before it got there, like a buzzing flying to irritate him and draw him out of his budding insights. Blessing of the crow, usually conjured with red streaks of sparking lightning, now rippled along his skin with red and ck streams of blood that moved like silk ribbons and felt like death. Not only did his reaction speed up far more than usual, but his concept of time slowed down - and he casually tilted his head to the right with what was witnessed as blinding speed to anyone watching in order to avoid an iing strike of boiling, dark green liquid.


    He stared at the monster below him while power crackled along his body - all seven of his feathers focusing their eyes on the monster in turn.


    <strong>[Clidra Mutishbane, Azag Broodmother, Level 35]</strong>


    Clidra Mutishbane was evenrger than the first of the offensive targets had been. She had arge, elongated abdomen that dragged out behind her and three stingers that bubbled and ozzed green liquid radiating unholy power. Yellow eyes red back up at him, and the basic casting staff in her ws was a stark contrast from normal scythe-like attachments of the rest of her species.


    ¡°Who are you? All of you. We have no qualms with demons and vampires, we are of the same flock.¡± Clidra clicked between mandibles with a sneering gesture directed towards the demons on the ground. She was like a beacon amidst a gore-filled storm, dark green mana rippling around her tobat Riven¡¯s own tide of blood and decay. A small horde of azag warriors surrounded her position, ded arms out to the sides and awaiting theirmander¡¯s call. ¡°We can still settle this peacefully. There are too many of us, and only four of you. We do not wish further bloodshed between us and your own kind, and we are all of unholy affiliation. Let us speak terms, and then we may negotiate with the system through a fee to withdraw your volunteer ballot. Withdraw your minions and I will withdraw my own forces, so that we may finish this discussion without-¡±


    Riven¡¯s voice echoed across thendscape as his power began to rise, and the visage of a great semi-solid maw appeared behind him - as if to devour them all and swallow them whole. ¡°I do not negotiate with genocidal maniacs. Chalgathi has sent me, Ie for the artifact your master has - as well as your master¡¯s head.¡±


    Clidra¡¯s mandibles abruptly stopped clicking when her eyes went wide upon witnessing a surge in power above her, and she took an involuntary step back when the vampire¡¯s aura spiked. ¡°Chalgathi!? You are one of the cult!? You should not have been able to find us here! Our allies-¡±


    Riven¡¯s sinisterugh tore through the building storm and cut Clidra¡¯s speech off. ¡°Cultist!? No, I will kill all of them too. I am merely caught up in a greater Broadway y on Chalgathi¡¯s grand stage, but as an involuntary side character. But I must say, what my choice of selflessness has led to is both amusing and satisfactory. Your master and the cultists will all have the same fate, you are all destined to be fertilizer for my path.¡±


    A p of thunderous power exploded overhead, causing many of the azag mantis monsters to instinctively flinch and duck. Meanwhile, Riven continued to stare down at them like a vengeful god of judgement as more and more power began to umte in rippling waves around him for hundreds of yards in all directions. ¡°Do you think yourself strong? Do you think yourself amongst the powerful in this world? Let me show you what true power is. And when your souls are ground to dust and your spirits enter hell - tell my friends there that it was Riven Thane who sent you.¡±


    Hundreds and then thousands of spinning storm orbs and crackling red-and-cknces congregated in the sky above them in a rapid flurry from the power gathered there. The storm of crimson heightened, creating snowkes and ice shrapnel that crashed across Clidra¡¯s green barrier with rot applications causing her own power to quickly decay.


    In an instant, two dozen portals ripped open through space and the offensive projectiles wereunched. Hundreds tore through the portals - exiting out at different angles all around Clidra¡¯s position to fire on the azag from all directions with shockwaves of ice, lightning and berating waves of decaying mists and blood.


    The city shook underfoot, and Riven looked to the west.


    <strong>[Clidra Mutishbane has been killed in battle by Riven Thane. 3 of 5 battle targets for the attackers remain.]</strong>

 Chapter 144

    Chapter 144


    <strong>Chapter 144</strong>


    <strong>Battle targets for ATTACKERS: AZAG HIVE CLUSTER (3 of 5 Remaining)</strong><ul><li><strong>Richard Longhollow - (Azag Overmind)</strong></li><li><em><strong>Clidra Mutishbane - DECEASED</strong></em></li><li><strong>Scythewalker Trik Trak - (Azag Broodfather)</strong></li><li><em><strong>Tiklik Longjaw - DECEASED</strong></em></li><li><strong>Everkill Gorgemonger - (Azag Bull Champion)</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Battle Targets for DEFENDERS: THE POPULATION OF CHICAGO (2 of 5 Remaining)</strong><ul><li><em><strong>General Florence - DECEASED</strong></em></li><li><em><strong>Lieutenant Cliff - DECEASED</strong></em></li><li><strong>Lieutenant General Bruner - (Human Military Officer)</strong></li><li><em><strong>Governor Banks - DECEASED</strong></em></li><li><strong>Riven Thane - (Pureblooded Vampire Prince, Allied unit: The Thane Necropolis)</strong></li></ul>


    Officers shouted orders while machine guns rattled, heavy artillery explosions and sma weapon fire consumed the other noises outside. Large mechs of various designs stood tall over the defenses and projected one way barriers to help negate the oing horde¡¯s barrage of acidic spines, while both helicopters and fighter jets zoomed overhead - trying to beat back the ocean of enemies using missiles.


    Lieutenant General Bruner, the second inmand concerning Chicago¡¯s military and the graying man at the head of the rectangr table, continued to get feedback reports from his scouts on the outside. Even with the live feed going on now, there were many eyes and ears that gave him an advantage over what the system showed from his operatives - and for the first time since the battle started he was hopeful. Moral had been shattered across their entire force when General Florence and their most powerfulbatant Lieutenant Cliff had been killed almost immediately upon the battle¡¯s start, but now that moral was skyrocketing again.


    ¡°His magics are actively ignoring our operatives, sir.¡± One of the intelligence officers further down the table confirmed with a nod of his head. ¡°At most it¡¯s just an ufortable pressure. They¡¯re able to move freely inside the blood storm without much issue, and we also have recently confirmed reports that groups of independents are using his blood storm to more easily kill off the invaders.¡±


    ¡°Independents?¡±


    ¡°Guild mercenaries and civilians, sir.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then I want all sniper teams to support him at a distance too.¡± Bruner said with a gruffmand, his hand shakily rubbing the stubble of his beard while he nced between various screens - both system made and not. ¡°They should be safer inside his field of influence anyways.¡±¡°Should I call in the F35¡¯s and drones to lend aid as well?¡±


    ¡°No. Keep them here, we¡¯re barely holding the swarm back from overrunning our base defenses even now and thest two jets we used to target their leaders were sted out of the sky instantly.¡± Bruner held up his robotic right hand, grimacing down at his cyborg appearance and hoping it would be enough if things came down to closebat. But if the defenses didn¡¯t hold here there was little hope for the residents of the interior, as most of their scattered forces on the outside were disjointed and recollecting themselves after the sudden ambush attack on their city.


    His eyes lifted, gleaming with orange light as the cyborg half of him analyzed various information across the forums at a rapid speed whenever he linked to Elysium¡¯s database. It was one of the perks of using the Machine pir, and it suited him wonderfully from amand perspective in the unique situation he found his city in.


    But just who was this Riven Thane?


    He knew little of the man other than his superior officer General Florence had named Riven as the assassin who¡¯d attacked their senator. But Bruner had always had an uneasy feeling about General Florence from the get-go, especially after integration, and his suspicions for treasonous takeover had run high ever since arriving on Panu.


    Now, seeing the man who was supposed to be the enemy of their city fighting entire armies of these creatures with earth-shattering waves of death and destruction on a level he¡¯d not even thought possible - Lieutenant General Bruner found himself at a loss for what to think. He watched as swaths of Azag hive cluster forces were cut down in the blink of an eye, rippling waves of ck and red magics carving a path towards the point where the remaining three battle targets on the enemy side had congregated.


    They were out there, somewhere just outside the city¡¯s perimeter, waiting for Riven and his demonic servants to meet them in battle. They had no doubt realized just as Bruner had - that this man who faced them was uniquely suited for killing armies. It¡¯d taken him ten or so minutes to realize it, but after watching this warlock continue to grow, and grow, and grow in power as he collected more and more blood from the bodies of the fallen - Bruner finally confirmed it.


    What they¡¯d all thought was a limited mana pool was something entirely different. This warlock was somehow converting environmental resources to feed his magics at a far, far greater efficiency than any other magic user the intelligence unit of Chicago had ever heard about before. So without realizing it until far longer into the battle than what the hive cluster would have liked, Richard Longhollow - Overmind of the Azag Hive - had started ordering his forces topletely avoid Riven. They¡¯d only been fodder for Riven¡¯s building storm, and the spike of energy had significantly declined in rate ever since the retreat. All weaker units had been sent towards the military base where Bruner was now, and Richard Longhollow had condensed only his most powerful people to meet Riven in battle over the uing hour. That way Riven would have less bodies, less blood to feed on to build his ever-increasing storm.


    Bruner regretfully apuded Richard Longhollow for the insight. He¡¯d hoped the hive overmind would not notice it, but unfortunately that¡¯d not been the case. The graying cyborg sighed, looked out over the walls of the military base, over the explosions and din of battle where mountains of bodies flooded towards them with reckless abandon - to where a writhing cyclone of ominous energy ripped across the city limits on their western border under the multicolored dome.


    Bruner could only hope that Riven would win. He hoped the warlock had collected enough of the energy to end these monsters just as fast as he¡¯d ended thest one, or hoped that Riven would at least kill one or two of them. Because if not, Bruner wasn¡¯t sure Chicago¡¯s forces wouldst the night.


    ***


    <em>Dearest descendent¡­ You have</em><em> chosen poorly, and I am not sure it is not a choice you can take back. The Path of Red and ck is a boundless road leading into the eternal maw of oblivion. You have been tricked, you have been swindled, and you have been led astray. Gluttony awaits you, Sin-bearer¡­ And though I hope that your soul is up to the task, I doubt that you will make it out of this alive¡­</em>


    Riven¡¯s eyes snapped back to reality as the whispers faded and he blurred left, dodging the strike of another mantis elite and countering with a whish of his staff. The fleshy cord flexed and extended, tearing the monster and a chunk of concrete apart instantly only for the de of his staff to m back into the ck wooden shaft of Vampire¡¯s Escort.


    Then all went quiet, with only his minions and the swirling mana around him causing ripples of air in the surroundings as he beheld the carnage.


    Thousands of mantisy dead, permeating the area with unholy taint that was so thick the people who¡¯d been following Riven at a distance to lend whatever support they could had to stay back. Crowds of Chicago¡¯s citizens with various weapons, sses and buildpositions hade out of the woodworks to help him crush the invading forces even despite losing hundreds of their own - but the enemy had lost far more thanks to Riven.


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    ¡°The overmind has figured out your trick¡­¡± Ath mused while licking one of her bloody ws - frowning as the remnant blood was sucked off of it to add into Riven¡¯s swirling vortex overhead. ¡°They figured out how you tick. They are waiting for you¡­ Will you go to them? Or will you wait out here?¡±


    Azmoth mmed his maul head-first into the ground, waiting expectantly like an unholy pdin of legend, and Fay hesitantly swayed back and forth in the air while repeatedly adjusting her invisiblendmines to keep a field ahead of Riven¡¯s position at all times.


    Whispers from beyond echoed through Riven¡¯s thoughts, and the visage of a great maw screeched with a sh inside his head - causing him to clutch at his mask while his soul apparatus shivered.


    Ath gave him a concerned look, but he shrugged it off and looked back over to where the three red dots were positioned in the sky not far off from where his own blue dot was. To match the congregation of three was arge hill, with numerous newly created cave entrances where the swarm had burrowed out to attack the city. Wafts of thick green mists were in abundance, shing with Riven¡¯s own tidal wave of red as a deep aura of malice oozed out to rub up against Riven¡¯s soul.


    Riven only sneered, his seven feathers ring out to all sides and his great maw across the front of his chest shrieking out in challenge. ¡°I will wait here. And if they do not want toe out, I will force them to do so.¡±


    He closed his eyes, steadied his soul, and began to concentrate with his staff nted into the ground before him and clutched in both hands - using it as a conduit to better conduct mana through his pirs. Slowly, ever so slowly, his cyclone of rapidly swirling blood, crimson ice, necrotic clouds and ck lightning all came to a standstill. It was like he was standing within a zone trapped in time, where everything around him stood almostpletely frozen in space. He felt the runic inscriptions on his pirs re, he felt the mana channels burning with power, he felt the newly formed connection between his pirs circumventing his soul¡¯s core to more rapidly process and integrate power with one another, and the magic let out a breath of contentment as the world around him sighed.


    With the eyes of the city on him, Riven raised the tip of his staff overhead. ¡°Come to me.¡±


    The world howled and a roar of violent energy pulsed before rapidly beginning to condense. The miles-wide storm of mutated, twisted blood mana was sucked into Riven¡¯s position like a ck hole - coalescing and packing into a globe of energy a few meters across at the tip of Riven¡¯s staff above him.


    Ribbons of red liquid, flurries of crimson shrapnel, and torrents of dark lightning were all sucked in and crammed into a far, far smaller area than what should be able to hold a power of that magnitude.


    The ground cracked underneath the weight of Riven¡¯s power, and the cement he stood on began to decay faster and faster - turning into dust that floated up into the air while the winds of iing magic howled and crashed around him. His horned pauldrons glowed brightly, infused with as much blood mana as they could possibly hold, and his cloak whipped about him while he struggled to maintain the condensed storm.


    And just as thest of the energies tore from his surroundings to feed his building spell, Riven settled his gaze on the riddled hillside where the aura of malice continued to pour forth. He let go of his staff, maintaining the collecting power through a mental connection with his weapon. Fingers began to quickly turn and twist, incorporating two-handed patterns that unlocked profane seals necessary toplete the call.


    Riven could feel the energies within the hillside retract just when he finished his necessary hand gestures, and he uttered the words to set it all loose. ¡°Nefajia crecus blood nova.¡±


    It was unlike anything Riven had ever created before. The multicolored dome overhead went bright red for a split second, and the ball of power he¡¯d collected blossomed into a cataclysmic strike that shed forward to strike the hillside.


    There was a brief, deep st of sound before his eardrums shattered and caused everything to go silent with a high-pitched ringing. The entire city shook under the impact, and thendscape along the western edge blew like a super-volcano.


    Debris and roaring, searing power hit the outer wall of the multicolored dome epassing the event before the bacsh of power sent aftershocks into Riven¡¯s positon. Riven¡¯s mending eardrums abruptly popped yet again despite his vampiric regeneration, and the howl of his own energies rebounding off the event¡¯s domed cage caused him to nearly stumble back. Smashing the pointed end of his staff down into the ruined cement, the de cut deep and he held on to keep his position while the onrush of power blew by.


    <strong>[Scythewalker Trik Trak has been killed in battle by Riven Thane. 2 of 5 battle targets for the attackers remain.]</strong>


    <strong>[Everkill Gorgemonger has been killed in battle by Riven Thane. 1 of 5 battle targets for the attackers remain.]</strong>


    As the dust and swaths of rampaging energy eventually cleared, the remnants of Riven¡¯s attack were finally revealed. A deep crater, crackling with red and ck energy, had been left in the wake of his strike - epassing well over two miles of space with ck and red ss forming along the crater¡¯s underbelly due to howpressed the magic had been upon release.


    Two ss-encased figures, each farrger than normal mantis monsters belonging to the swarm, had obviously perished underground where they¡¯d attempted to draw Riven inside. The figures of Scythewalker Trik Trak and Everkill Gorgemonger, Riven assumed, but the figure of Richard Longhollow was nowhere to be seen¡­ and the system notifications indicated he was still alive here somewhere.


    Riven nced up just in time to see the red dot rapidly closing in on his position, and his eyes widened in rm at the speed before a portal red to life.


    Riven vanished just in time to avoid a huge chitinous w whistle through the air so fast that it sent shockwaves out from his old position - and he exited only to barely dodge by creating a pir of ice underneath him thatunched him skywards.


    <strong>[Richard Longhollow has been engaged in battle. Click to view.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your minion Fay has died. She will be returned to you 24 hours after you pay the blood price for your minion. To resurrect your level 27 subus, you will be required to pay Elysium directly with a sum of 27,000 Elysium coins. Simply will this transaction to happen and make sure you have the required payment to further this agenda.]</strong>


    The pir of red ice shattered from where it¡¯d propelled him skywards along with the torn body of his subus, and Riven saw a blurring, hulking figure sh through the air only to have it disappear - and then he felt himself crash back down into the road below.


    What was left of the road shattered in a spray of debris as Ath screeched in rage and rushed to meet the attacker, and Azmoth abruptly catapulted towards Riven¡¯s position before mming a fist down into the ground beside them.


    The shattered floor Riven was ttened into turned to magma and a dome of mes epassed their position just in time to intercept another incredibly fast w-swing from a shadowy figure.


    Cursing and pushing himself up with a re of irritation and aching bones, Riven picked up the staff he¡¯d nearly dropped and red out to where Ath had just beenunched three streets over. Standing there, in the middle of the ruined suburb bordering the hills on the city¡¯s outskirts, was a grotesque half-man half-monster hybrid.


    Despite his speed, Richard Longhollow was abnormallyrge. Four chitinous legs with barbed ends, a thick brown armored carapace, bulging muscles and a humanoid upper body made this creature look like an insectoid centaur of some sort. Antenna that came out the ends of his forehead flicked back and forth, evaluating Riven and his minions with four yellow eyes, and three rows of mouths with sharp teeth stacked on one another while he hissed in irritation. He held arge ck orb that swirled with unholy green light in one of his two humanoid hands, while four scythe-like mantis arms also protruded further out to the side. Lastly, arge stinger was positioned at his back - and it hovered like a scorpion¡¯s would right before the strike was plunged.


    All of this being said, and even after all that Riven had unleashed on the hillside, Richard was somehowpletely unscathed.


    ¡°Hehehe¡­ To think¡­¡± the voice of Richard Longhollow echoed out in a deep, raspyugh. ¡°That another of Chalgathi¡¯s chosen has already been sent to hunt me down. That apocalypse beast is rather melodramatic over a simple artifact being stolen, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Riven turned where he stood, feeling his bones cracking back into ce and the teeth of his maw grating against one another. His staff crackled with ck lightning, but he remained where he was as Azmoth¡¯s barrier died out. This enemy was far faster and far stronger than Riven would have liked to believe, matching or even overpowering himself in both categories even despite the wisps of ck and red blood ring off his body via Blessing of the Crow. Unlike Riven, this man-turned-monster had no doubt applied all his points into physical attributes¡­ that or his bloodline was heavily oriented towards strength, speed and defense. It was the exact opposite of Riven who¡¯d applied all his free points into Intelligence, Willpower, and to a smaller extent - sturdiness.


    ¡°You¡¯re rather stealthy for being so big.¡± Rivenmented, his right arm ring with tendrils of mana and producing a bloodnce that crackled with epassing ck lightning. ¡°Just how did you survive that attack? Did you dodge it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll answer your questions if you answer mine.¡± Richard retorted loudly with another crazed cackle, and the sound of artillery fire picked up from deeper in the city where the military base was under siege. ¡°Tell me, how did you find me to begin with - and what did Chalgathi offer you to kill me? How did a vampire end up enrolled in Chalgathi¡¯s quest, when all of the vampires on Earth had been long extinct ording to the cult records? I¡¯m curious, and before I cut off your head I¡¯d very much like to know.¡±

 Chapter 145

    Chapter 145


    <strong>Chapter 145</strong>


    ¡°It appears the information your cult had was wrong.¡± Riven cracked his neck, and let out an audible sigh when his left arm snapped back into ce with a click. He let out an amused chuckle when his staff hummed in anticipation, hissing and ring with power as it mentally urged him to kill the creature in front of them. shes of images rippled across Riven¡¯s consciousness, and he grinned at what the weapon was telling him. ¡°It appears my weapon wants to feed on you, your body is going to allow it to evolve.¡±


    Richard Longhollow snorted in turn, and he readied his four scythe-like des while channeling power into the orb he held at his chest. ¡°Let us finish this and see just who feeds on who.¡±


    ***


    Minutester, and the entire western edge of Chicago had be a devastated wastnd that continued to tremble under the momentous sh between two high end S-tierbatants.


    Azmoth, for the first time in a long time, was just a little bit nervous. He¡¯d never seen an opponent this fast, this strong, or this durable. Richard was as strong and sturdy as Azmoth, as fast and nimble as Ath, and every time he took a hit the mantis-man creature would rapidly repair itself just as fast as Riven¡¯s own regeneration would. The only advantage that they had was Riven¡¯s ability to manipte mana and cast hard hitting spells, but his master was constantly on the back foot - constantly needing to portal out or defend with walls of ice and snares to avoid being cut in half. This made Riven unable to focus entirely on offense, and despite both Azmoth¡¯s and Ath¡¯s best efforts - Richard was hard-lined on taking Riven down over the demons.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    Azmoth flung Riven out of the way and snarled when his left chest te was prated with a five-foot long stinger, and the roaring demon¡¯s maws snaked around to snap onto the stinger and hold Richard in ce. ¡°STAY STILL!¡±


    Azmoth violently body-checked his enemy and simultaneously swung his maul up to crush the stinger that was stuck in his body, and he felt the weight of his huge stone weapon smash the appendage off cleanly with an audible snap.A blurring side-kick with one insectoid leg sent Azmoth¡¯s head backwards into the ground, too fast for therge demon to react only for Ath to undercut Richard¡¯s posterior legs with her des. A long pointednce of crimson sparking with ck electricity broke the sound barrier and tore a hole in Richard¡¯s chest, but the monster shrugged all of the attacks off and aggressively moved in Riven¡¯s direction while healing his injuries in mere seconds.


    ¡°GET UP!¡± Ath screeched at him while passing by to tear after the creature chasing their master.


    Azmoth¡¯s head was dented and one of his long, sharpened obsidian teeth wasying on the ground. He shook himself to clear his mind, grunted, and roared while pushing himself off the ground and turning to find the threat. He needed to give Riven time and an opening to let out another full force strike, because despite Ath¡¯s speed and Azmoth¡¯s strength - Riven was the real heavy-hitter when it came to damage output.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    A shockwave radiated out from where Riven¡¯s magic infused staff knocked aside a de-strike martial art that left fifty-meter gashes in the earth behind him. Portaling away again and charging up dozens of swirling red and ck balls of mana - Riven sent the chaotic, sharpened projectiles off in a swarm. They were upgraded versions of his bloody des, and thus locked on to Richard and tore left when the mantis overmind tried to evade.


    Ath was there to intercept too and she tried to slow the creature down - a flurry attacks flinging sparks and blood off of Richard¡¯s body with her limbs before yanking herself out of the way of a counter attack with bloody strings; avoiding a life-ending strike.


    The half-man insectoid screamed in anger when the swarm of red-and-ck balls crashed into him, sending pieces of his chitinous armor in all directions as his three serrated mouths bared teeth. He shed forward, ripping through space itself with a dual-strike cleaving attack from abruptly shimmering scythes.


    Azmoth saw Richard refocus on Riven¡¯s position and charged with a vicious lunge. The demon mmed his maul into the earth, causing it to quake while a wave of magma sted forward to rip up the ground.


    Richard easily dodged, retracting his attack and countering with a pulse of unholy energy that sted out from his chest. Azmoth was flung backwards, head over heels and screeching to a halt with ws digging into the cement only for a shadow to close in on him with a sh of ck.


    Azmoth grinned, and he poured everything he had into his infernal pir while roaring at the top of his lungs akin to a tyrannosaurus rex. Just before the advancing shadow was in striking range, Azmoth¡¯s body exploded into a pir of mes.


    Thendscape around him exploded and a searing heat caused all nt life even outside the immediate radius to wither and die. The shadow was sted backwards, sending Richard¡¯s body speeding out of the shadowy dimension he¡¯d entered while still ame and crashing through a small office building beyond Azmoth¡¯s line of sight.


    ¡°AZMOTH WILL CRUSH YOUR SKULL AND FEED ON ENTRAILS!¡±


    Activating his kic shockwave and infusing his wed feet with explosive mes, Azmoth inadvertently created a new skill.


    <strong>[You have created a new Infernal based martial art. Propulsion (Infernal): Activate this ability to infuse infernal energy into the stamina channels in your legs,unching yourself at high speed in one direction that empowers any physical attack with additional me damage. Medium Cooldown, High Stamina Cost.]</strong>


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    A shockwave erupted from Azmoth¡¯s position, a cloud of ming debris shot out the back, and a trail of ember followed his wake as the armored demonunched himself through three brick walls to m a huge stone maul right into Richard¡¯s face.


    ¡°PAYBACK*


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    An explosion of mes rippled out of his maul with the remnant energy of the martial art, and he returned the gift Richard had given him earlier with a scream of satisfaction. Riven followed up from far off with a well ced snipe - using a supercharged, long ranged bloodnce from over 90 yards away and tearing off one of Richard¡¯s legs in a spray of body fluids.


    But Richard onlyughed, and he red up at the ming demon as Azmoth began to bring around the maul with all four wed hands for another swing. ¡°Not good enough.¡±


    Richard¡¯s body exploded with rampant unholy power, ck and green light lifting Azmoth off the ground effortlessly before hundreds of acidic spines appeared out of ck portals all around Richard¡¯s position. A sea of projectiles ripped forward in all directions, and Azmoth was thrown up into the sky with numerous spines impaling him while he heard Ath¡¯s pained scream.


    <strong>[Your co-contractor Ath has fallen. Your master, Riven Thane, must pay the blood price to have her re-summoned back into the mortal nes.]</strong>


    ***


    Riven watched helplessly as Azmoth¡¯s smoldering figure continued to sail farther and farther away. Then, watching Richard pull himself up out of the burning wreckage of the nearby city, Riven couldn¡¯t help but frown. Richard¡¯s regeneration grew his leg back in real-time, frankly it was even better than Riven¡¯s regeneration was and he simply didn¡¯t understand how it was possible.


    Regardless of how, this posed a serious problem for Riven. Two of his demonic familiars were temporarily dead, while one of them was no doubt seriously injured and probably would have to stumble back over here across the length of half the city. He¡¯d been holding on this entire time because of the help of his minions, but Riven had to admit - he¡¯d be hard pressed to fight Richard one on one even with his recent dao insights and spell upgrades. He¡¯d roasted,cerated, frozen, blown up and electrocuted this guy dozens of times over already. He¡¯d torn off limbs, blown a hole in Richard¡¯s head twice, and had even annihted half the man¡¯s insectoid body from the chest down. Each of these interactions had resulted in the same oue: Richard had regenerated almost instantly.


    But that didn¡¯t make sense. Riven knew that even his own regeneration had limits, and the same rule must apply to Richard. It had to, Richard couldn¡¯t just regenerate fifty times over like that under normal circumstances, and so unless he had a source he was drawing from to fuel his regeneration¡­


    Riven¡¯s eyes locked onto the ck orb with swirling green lights that Richard always kept on his person. He hadn¡¯t seen the Chalgathi sphemer use it or activate it even once, he¡¯d only seen brief power fluctuations being infused into it, so just what was the purpose of him holding the orb like that during this entire fight?


    Was that the key to this battle? Was it somehow enabling Richard to continually heal, or was it fueling his own natural perks to a greater extent and allowing the insectoid monster to keep his energy stores high? At first Riven had only assumed this item was the profane artifact Chalgathi had sent him after, and that it somehow created the ¡®sanctuary¡¯ the system had talked about. But that ¡®sanctuary¡¯ hadn¡¯t been created yet, so Riven had also assumed it had valueter instead of now. Perhaps he was wrong.


    Riven didn¡¯t have much more time to contemte this when the familiar shadowy blur of Richard¡¯s movement skill activated, and Riven muttered a curse while flinging up a wall of spiked ice pointed in Richard¡¯s direction.


    Richard easily jumped over it when exiting the skill, but this gave Riven ample time to create a reinforced wretched snare and fling it like spiderman. Up until this point, Riven hadn¡¯t been actively targeting the orb and whenever attacks had beenunched Richard¡¯s way - the insectoid would defend it with his hand while attacking using his scythes. When the orb had previously been knocked out of Richard¡¯s hands once or twice at a distance, the man had simply picked it back up quickly afterwards. But now as he flung the snare over -tching it onto the ck orb in Richard¡¯s arms, Riven was attempting to steal it. The snare was reinforced with the Profane Cyclone modifier from his new path, and the began to electrify his target on top of the burning, acidic-like effects it usually had.


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    The reaction was far more immediate than Riven had expected.


    Seeing Riven¡¯s abilitytch onto the orb to try and pull it away, Richard let out a screech of rage and used all four of his scythes to cut the snare off. He also rebounded backwards off his original rush, and released des of energy at a medium-range attack that tore through the air and left unholy wisps in their wake.


    Riven¡¯s staff spun in the air and smashed the waves of energy apart, hissing with hunger and urging Riven to kill this man faster. Vampire¡¯s Escort wanted to feed on this man desperately, and it kept sending images of Riven impaling Richard¡¯s heart with the ded tip with increasing momentum.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying my best!¡± Riven grunted at the weapon, sidestepping another energy de and jumping onto a nearby rooftop while releasing another swarm of spinning storm balls. ¡°I¡¯m going as fast as I can!¡±


    The building he stood on shattered when the auras of the two S-tierbatants collided with one another, Riven building his own to counter the building pressure from Richard. Whereas Riven¡¯s aura was a pressure that felt of predatory hunger, blood, and cold violence; Richard¡¯s was one that stank of mutation, change and cannibalism.


    Cannibalism?


    It was an odd sensation to feel, as usually Riven was the one putting his aura out to others and hadn¡¯t experienced many if any others use their auras on him before. The concepts were tangible though, and it spoke to Riven of alternate paths that he himself could have chosen if he were to abandon the recent dao insights he¡¯d acquired not only today - but over the past few months.


    ¡°THIS IS MINE, AND IT BELONGS TO ME!!!!¡± Richard screamed, his whirling aura of green pulsing and rocketing skywards as a thickyer of energy that mmed into Riven¡¯s own aura zone of rippling red tides. ¡°DIE!¡±


    Rivennded just as Richard opened his mouth, and out of it came a swarm of¡­. Hos? The swarm immediately grew to enormous proportions, not onlying out of his mouth but soon peeling off his very body. The chitinous armor he¡¯d been wearing warped and shed off his outeryers - moving into an offensive ability and tearing away his defenses in the process. The swarm grew to the point that it clouded out the light from the multicolored dome overhead, creating a shadow that spanned for hundreds of yards and then well over a mile. Thousands of winged insects with ws and little stingers rushed about Richard¡¯s position, creating a literal whirlwind of tiny bodies that each hummed with Richard¡¯s aura. It was then that Riven realized these insects were actually smaller pieces of Richard¡¯s real body - otherwise that aura wouldn¡¯t be present on them. It was also here that Riven realized Richard was going all out in an attempt to end the fight.


    Richard then stuck out a hand to point Riven¡¯s way, and the buzzing swarm rocketed towards him in a dark cloud of wings.


    ¡°Oh shit.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes widened and he tried to portal away, but his portals abruptly sputtered and died away when he tried to summon them. They simply wouldn¡¯t work even after four attempts to open them up, and not sure why that was - he began to run at breakneck speed.


    He was traveling far faster than any normal human could, but it wasn¡¯t fast enough. Looking over his shoulder and speeding by broken buildings and decimated streets, he pumped his legs and cursed while trying to think of what to do next. The swarm was gaining on him, fast, and just as the first of the insects got to him - he burst into mes.


    Hell¡¯s armor bloomed along his body with an explosion of heat, covering it with obsidian tes and hellfire that killed most of the insects that got close without much problem - but a few of themtched on anyways and started to chew away at the clothes he had or the bloodced skin-tightyer his mask provided him with. Whipping around to face the oing cloud of insects, his body crackled with ck lightning and he unleashed a torrent of energy from his staff that shredded thousands of them - only to be outdone by the maw on his chest.


    The vertical, sharpened rows of teeth spread wide - causing his ribcage to crack open to extreme lengths as tendrils whipped out to devour the iing insects. Simultaneously a ck vacuum from within the mouth began sucking the cloud in like a faucet sink would water.


    Riven watched, dumfounded, as the vast majority of the millions-strong cloud was simply sucked away and eaten by the gluttony-attuned Chalgathi artifact on his chest. Those that weren¡¯t sucked in were either burned to ash by the mes coating his body as he stood with his arms spread wide, or dragged in by the thousand of tiny ck wisps reaching out from the abyss within the maw.


    Secondster they were all gone, and the maw snapped shut with a crunch.


    The area was very silent after that, with Richard just looking on as equally dumbfounded as Riven had been. It only took Riven a second to realize that he was out of hot water though, so he pointed over to Richard and began to loudlyugh.


    Meanwhile Richard, who was now devoid of the outer chitinous armoryers, red at him with all four yellow eyes. He looked far less bulky this way, and no doubt would take a lot more damage than he had before now that the outeryers were gone unless he could somehow regrow them. That¡¯s also probably why he turned to run with a hiss of rage, only to meet Azmoth¡¯s w.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The ming demon had leapt from atop a building across the city, activated his new propulsion martial art, and exploded forward tond sharp dagger-like fingers right into Richard¡¯s unprotected neck.


    Richard¡¯s soft body was mmed backwards into the stone, and quickly began screaming in agony as Azmoth¡¯s mes burned him alive. He iled against therger demon, only for Azmoth to double down on his grip with other sets of ws as he began to yank on the spine.


    Riven didn¡¯t waste the opportunity and charged ahead, portaling forward now that he could suddenly use the ability again. That cloud of insects must have had some kind of spacial locking trait, but he doubted he¡¯d ever find out the real truth.


    There would be no interrogation here.


    In a sh he was on top of the struggling duo, and without pausing he speared Richard in the ribcage. His staff shuddered and let out an audible screech of delight, and the dagger-tip end began to dig and worm itself into Richard¡¯s body - wrapping around vital organs and anchoring down while sucking out the man¡¯s life force.


    Yet even now, Richard was still beginning to regenerate.


    ¡°GET THAT ORB!¡± Riven yelled, attempting to st it out of the man¡¯s hands only for Richard to yank it out of the way in his iling. ¡°NOW!¡±


    Azmoth, who was struggling to keep Richard down, nodded and swat at the ck and green ball with one of his four hands.


    The item was knocked free, and Richard¡¯s burning eyes went wide with rm as he began to scream far louder than he had been only a half second ago. But if the insects that¡¯d been part of Richard didn¡¯te back even when he¡¯d had the orb - perhaps the orb had nothing to do with it. Richard was able to heal his softer, fleshy wounds even now to some extent, but couldn¡¯t regrow the armored outeryer? Even if the item was influencing Richard¡¯s ability to heal, giving him the ability to continue that regeneration, something about consuming those insects with the maw of gluttony had left Richard unable to grow his chitin again.


    Azmoth continued to roar, using all the strength he had to keep the iling monster underneath him pinned down while the stinger and scythes continued to stab at him frantically. Meanwhile Riven¡¯s staff continued to drain and suck energy out of Richard with a hungry hum, and Riven himself created a long de of red ice along his right arm that extended three feet. Not wanting to identally hit Azmoth with the two being in close proximity, he chose to close in for the kill and quickly made his way over to the head that Azmoth was trying to pry off by the neck.


    With a couple quickcerating jabs using the sword attached to his right arm, Riven helped behead Richard with a malicious grin. ¡°Gime that, and hold the body down in case he regenerates again!¡±


    The screaming head of the insectoid literally spat blood at them, and Riven took therge face from Azmoth by the sides of the skull with a shrewd, cruelugh. ¡°I¡¯M NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES! IN YOU GO, ADIOS MOTHERFUCKER!¡±


    Opening the abyssal jaws on his chest one more time, the maw of gluttony peeled his ribs apart with a hungry growl.


    ¡°NOOO!!!! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR!¡± Richard¡¯s head screamed while his body still thrashed on the ground. ¡°BURN IN HELL! BURN IN HELL!¡±


    ¡°Been there, done that!¡± Riven guffawed merrily as he let the ck tendrils from his chest encircle the screaming head. He watched with a giddy smile as they dragged Richard in by the neck, and then saw the jaws snap shut to end Richard¡¯s screaming abruptly.


    The body immediately went limp underneath Azmoth, and the scythes digging into Azmoth¡¯s body slowly fell out with a ttering sound. Then, from the depths of the city and the surroundingndscape where thousands of people hade out to watch - a roar of excitement was sent to the heavens. In the distance, where the remaining mantis-monsters still tried to swarm the military base - rays from the heavens began burning them away with lightning-quick efficiency.


    The purge of the losing side had begun.


    <strong>[Richard Longhollow has been killed in battle by Riven Thane. 0 of 5 battle targets for the attackers remain.]</strong>


    <strong>CONGRATULATIONS</strong>


    <strong>CONGRATULATIONS</strong>


    <strong>CONGRATULATIONS</strong>


    <strong>THIS CLASH OF FATE HAS ENDED, DEFENDERS: THE POPULATION OF CHICAGO, HAVE COME OUT VICTORIOUS. ALL ENEMY TARGETS HAVE BEEN DISPATCHED. ALL ENEMY FORCES NOT ALREADY DECEASED WILL NOW BE PURGED. THE CURSED SANCTUARY STONE HAS BEEN SET BACK TO DORMANT. CHICAGO HAS BEEN UNSEALED, ALL DEFENDING SURVIVORS WILL NOW BE GRANTED BOONS BY THE SYSTEM BASED ON PERFORMANCE.</strong>


    <strong>[You, Riven Thane, have been deemed the one who contributed most to this battle. You have been awarded the following: The ¡®Snipe¡¯ upgrade to your bloodnce spell has been added. All Elysium Coins dropped by azag hive cluster forces have been ced inside your bag of holding with an additional 1 million. The rest of the Valgeshia Armor Set is now avable to buy from your Elysium Altar (1 of 5 pieces already obtained). Once bought, all vampires in your empire will have the opportunity to buy the Valgeshia Armor Set for themselves directly from the system.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have gained 23 levels. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]</strong>


    <strong>[System Notice: You have ascended tiers and have climbed out of the S-rank. Elysium has re-assessed your level of power whenpared to the many billions of souls living on your, and </strong><strong>you are now ranked as a Paragon on this world¡¯s powerdder</strong><strong>. You are currently listed at </strong><strong>spot #72</strong><strong> on the powerdder. </strong><strong>This shift of power on the world stage is noted by Elysium, and video footage of your climb to the peak has been uploaded to the world forums along the main page for anyone to view</strong><strong>. With this increase in rank wille better opportunities for you in the future provided by the system as Panu¡¯s integration continues. Congrattions! The ranking categories are as follows: Apex Rank (Top 10), Paragon Rank (Top 1000), S Rank (Top 0.0001%), A Rank (Top 1%), B Rank (Top 15%), C Rank (Top 30%), D Rank (Top 50%), E Rank (Bottom 50%)]</strong>


    <strong>[Chalgathi Side Quest, Savior of the Weak</strong><strong>has beenpleted. You have killed the Chalgathi sphemer, and may take the cursed sanctuary stone to do with it as you see fit - but beware its corrupting power if you choose to do so.</strong>


    <strong>You have once again sessfully yed a hero¡¯s role to those who do not deserve it. That is the path of the selfless, I am afraid. However, your sess will still reap you rewards even aside from the cursed sanctuary stone.</strong><ul><li><strong>Completing this quest has pleased Chalgathi, has saved many thousands of innocent lives, and will establish portal-points you can ess both here in Brightsville as well as across the world through the staff you carry. These portal points can also be made into permanent stationary portals that allow travel between the different sides of Panu if you choose to do so, but this is up to your discretion. Please notify the system of what your decision will be.</strong></li><li><strong>You have been given a tier 3 infernal spell scroll: ze of Profane Glory]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[Your staff, Vampire¡¯s Escort, has consumed the essence of Richard Longhollow. Your staff, Vampire¡¯s Escort, is now evolving through its trait ¡®Sacrificial Kill.¡¯ Your staff is entering a stasis mode and will be unable to wield in battle until it exits the stasis.</strong><ul><li><strong>Sacrificial Kill:</strong><strong> Killing strong opponents has a chance to imbue this weapon with additional attributes, stats, or bonuses.]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[Your previous request for uploading video content has been re-evaluated and epted. Reasons for eptance and re-evaluation: The poption of Chicago sees you as a hero and are willing to follow at a percentage of 96%. Control over this area has been established based on reputation and influence. Conflict of interest with parties holding control of this area is no longer an issue. Footage of Senator James¡¯ assassination will now be posted to the cortex forums.]</strong>

 Chapter 146

    Chapter 146


    <strong>Chapter 146</strong>


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Quest Update: Revo Mani has fallen in battle to Fred Talons. Fred Talons has acquired 3 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance. A new Chalgathi¡¯s Chosen will be picked within 1 hour from now as a recement for Revo Mani.]</strong>


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Quest Update: Sara Orni has fallen in battle to Nora Lang. Nora Lang has acquired 2 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance. A new Chalgathi¡¯s Chosen will be picked within 1 hour from now as a recement for Sara Orni.]</strong>


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Quest Update: Jin Lee has fallen in battle to Justin Mather. Justin Mather has acquired 4 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance. A new Chalgathi¡¯s Chosen will be picked within 1 hour from now as a recement for Jin Lee.]</strong>


    ***


    Three days had passed since the battle for Chicago.


    Riven stood on the balcony of the Margrave Hotel with his back to the railing. It was a very high-society building that¡¯d just been built before the integration had urred, and it¡¯d been well kept even afterwards with many of the fancier things in life still avable. His weapon, Vampire¡¯s Escort, was encased in what Riven could almost describe as a brick of red ice while it underwent evolution and wasying on a table in the room behind him where various staff members for the leadership of Chicago bustled about. Beside the chunk of ice was the ck and green orb that¡¯d once been a Chalgathi artifact, held up on a pillow - the same one he¡¯d taken off Richard.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Cursed Azag Sanctuary Stone</strong><strong>: This sanctuary stone enables the bearer to create an Azag Hive Cluster Sanctuary, and will list the creator of this sanctuary as this hive¡¯s Overmind. This sanctuary will seclude an area of the in a protectiveyer that has permanence for 1 year, and can only be passed through by the overmind, Azag, and whoever the overmind deems as allies. Bing the Hive Overmind will enable the creator of this sanctuary to create a Hatchery immediately upon creation, and will open up the ¡®Queen¡¯ and ¡®Drone¡¯ pathways to breed units with. More units will be avable upon creation of the necessary biological modification facilities. </strong><strong>Warning:</strong><strong> This item is cursed; It afflicts the owner withpulsions that are in the best interest of the Azag Hive Clusters, and links the owner to the gctic hive minds formunication purposes.]</strong>


    Riven dismissed the screen with a thought. It appeared that there was more to the backstory of Richard Longhollow than he¡¯d originally thought, and they weren¡¯t just simple monsters. Whatever these Azag were, it appeared that they had a far greater influence than just the local area or even this. Had they sent this sanctuary stone here or helped Richard to get one somehow through changing Chalgathi¡¯s artifact in an attempt to gain a foothold on the? It certainly appeared that way through context clues.¡°Riven.¡± The newly appointed General Bruner, who¡¯d reced General Florence as chiefmander of the military, saluted him in typical military fashion. He immediately went at ease with Riven¡¯s nod of approval, and approached to stand beside Riven at the railing. The older man¡¯s graying hair was swept back, and his orange cyborg eyesbed the surroundings far below in the bustling central district before clearing his throat. ¡°Sir. Are you ready for the press conference?¡±


    ¡°Are they already good to go?¡± Riven asked, a little bit surprised by the speed at which things got done around here. ¡°I¡¯d been thinking it¡¯d be another few hours.¡±


    ¡°Well the civilians are all riled up and wanting to know how things are going to proceed from here - so things got a bit hasty. They¡¯re calling you a hero you know, and most of them want to join without question. Everyone¡¯s scared after the city had almost been overrun, and having someone like you at the head of things protecting them doesn¡¯t sound like a bad option to most.¡± General Bruner adjusted his military suit, frowned, and waved away an assistant who offered him some refreshments amidst the bustling in the room. ¡°They¡¯ve lost faith in us after the video footage of Senator James¡¯ assassination went public, and finding out that you¡¯re from the USA only helps your standing. There¡¯d be riots in the streets if we didn¡¯t go ahead with this, and the mayors of Rockford further ind and Milwaukee down the coast are both ready to pledge as long as you guarantee our citizens certain rights. But may I be frank, sir?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow from underneath his mask, thenzily nodded. ¡°Go ahead. You know I¡¯m anything but formal.¡±


    ¡°The sounds of your sister are worrying.¡± General Bruner stated tly, straight and to the point. ¡°In the very little time I¡¯ve known you and after witnessing your conversation with Senator James before he was killed in cold blood by our own people, you seem like a decent man. It was also a breath of fresh air to get so much honesty out the gate, concerning how you¡¯ve treated those elvish war criminals, even if there are many in the city that don¡¯t necessarily agree with it. The forums are abuzz with what-ifs and worries about losing our democracy in favor of a kingship, but without your intervention we¡¯d all be gone. People are willing to bet on you. I just hope that you¡¯re as straightforward as I think you are, and I would hope that if your sister does anything rash you¡¯d stop her. We are pledging because of you, Riven. And because we need to be stronger than we are. We are not pledging because of her, I just wanted to reiterate that.¡±


    Riven gave him a sad smile. ¡°Try to get to know her before making any assumptions, General. When we open the gateter today at the press conference, I hope to introduce you soon.¡±


    Riven winced as his body shuddered again, and he coughed before ncing up at the blue sky overhead. It was nice, being outside in the daytime without needing to look away. His mask allowed him to do just that, and it was rather refreshing.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± General Bruner asked upon seeing Riven¡¯s flinching. ¡°Is it the stat points again?¡±


    Riven nodded wordlessly.


    He¡¯d leveled 23 times to settle at abat level of 68, which was frankly absurd. But given the amount of mantis he¡¯d killed, he could understand it. The power spike he¡¯d had due to the dao insights had made all of his abilities far faster to cast, and far more powerful than they had been just days before the fight. The mere shock of having all those base stat points flood his body at once had been rather violent, and he was still in recovery dayster - not daring to use his free stat points yet due to fear of what would happen if he ced them all at once on top of the baseline stats he already got. He still had 161 free stat points just sitting there, but he was going to add them slowly so he¡¯d avoid the violent downsides to abrupt stat acquisitions again.


    Casually pulling up a screen and looking over the forums of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Rockford again, he touched based on what the general poption of his countrymen were saying.


    The city was still in mourning due to their losses, but many of them were excited due to the new developments. Videos of the battle and General Florence¡¯s assassination of Senator James were rampant, and even the front page of the world¡¯s cortex had it on disy while highlighting Riven¡¯s rise to power as the number 72 spot on the powerdder out of tens of billions.


    The popce had received Riven very well, even gone as far as to burn pictures of General Florence while sending death threats to his family for killing the senator - which Riven put a stop to immediately. Riven had been almost unanimously hailed a hero, and when it was learned he was actually from the United States himself prior to his vampiric change - he¡¯d essentially been put up on the pedestal of leadership without much of a say. The forums practically demanded it, which was a big surprise considering his negative charisma, but it went to show that charisma only went so far. Actions could speak for themselves, and memories of Mara¡¯s exnation on charisma or speaking with Ethel and Senna on the subject before their betrayal only reinforced that it was something that mattered far more with first impressions than anything else.


    And it made him feel very good that his old country, or at least part of it, had epted him back as one of their own.


    Lieutenant General Bruner had been promoted to General Bruner to fill General Florence¡¯s spot, had given a public speech yesterday regarding the transfer of power to Riven - and Riven going to publicly ept that position today as king of the three cities. It was¡­ interesting, how easily people¡¯s worldviews and priorities shifted when their safety was at risk. He hadn¡¯t even asked for it, but rather he¡¯d had it shoved onto him through desperation and public outcry when they thought he might leave them.


    Two men in business suits, one in blue with a bald head and the other being a very burly man in a ck suit, came up to the door together with smiles typical of used car salesmen. The other people in the room behind them got out of the way rather quickly, and it was apparent that both of these people were of a higher social standing.


    ¡°Mayor Bret Rawling, Mayor Eric Parker.¡± General Bruner said with a curt nod to each of the arrivals. ¡°Good to see you both here. I hope the trip was both uneventful and safe?¡±


    The bald man in blue chuckled, causing his shoulders to bounce, and he shook his head. ¡°We were attacked by some kind of dinosaur birds on the way¡­ but the armored convoy easily dealt with those beasts. Still, it does me little good toin after what happened here in Chicago. It must have been downright terrifying. Plus, the roads between our three cities arergely intact and the newly modified cars that run on new-world energies work just fine¡­ so I shouldn¡¯t beining when so many others have it far worse than I. By the way, Name¡¯s Bret. Bret Rawling, Mayor of Milwaukee.¡±


    Bret held out his hand to Riven, which Riven took. The mayor¡¯s eye twitched slightly when touching the slick red suit covering Riven¡¯s body, and he hesitantly nced to where the maw was lined across Riven¡¯s chest between ck rags of the shirt he¡¯d worn. ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s nice to meet you. Should I start calling you ¡®liege¡¯ now?¡±


    Riven saw the slight grin on Bret¡¯s face, and it was obvious the man was trying very hard to look friendly here. ¡°No. Just Riven is fine.¡±


    ¡°Eric Parker, Mayor of Rockford.¡± the burly man in the ck suit stated next, holding out a hand of his own with a more stoic expression after his smile fell to shake firmly. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll do right by us. Never thought I¡¯d see the day when we went back to colonial days under the rule of a king, but that¡¯s what the people want. So that¡¯s what the people will get.¡±


    ¡°I take it you¡¯re against the idea of joining the necropolis?¡± Riven asked casually, letting the man¡¯s hand go.


    Eric Parker shrugged. ¡°Not necessarily. If life bes better I¡¯m all for it. I just have my doubts. Prove me wrong and I¡¯ll be more than happy about it. Regardless, it¡¯s not really my say anyway. I¡¯m just a small town elected official, nothing like the bigshots in Chicago or Milwaukee.¡±


    ¡°Over 90,000 people still live in Rockford after the integration.¡± Bret Rawling stated with a drawl. ¡°I¡¯d hardly call that a small town. Small city maybe, but not a small town.¡±


    ¡°The specifics are meaningless to me.¡± Eric Parker shrugged again. ¡°Anyway, we were hoping to get a rundown on what the newws under your rule will be. Stuff we can bring back to our own cities to discuss with our police force and citizens. Anything out of the ordinary that we need to know about? I¡¯m also curious about this elf situation that you¡¯ve got going on back in Brightsville, seems a bit dark-ages to me. Care to exin that in more detail?¡±


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Riven let out an exasperated sigh, then motioned for the three men around him to follow him inside. The staff rearranging papers, talking to their contacts in the media outside the hotel room, and soldiers standing guard all paused briefly and made room at the table by pushing stacks of papers aside so Riven could sit. Quickly a hotel maid provided by the owner set down some cookies, cheese and a bottle of wine with sses.


    Riven sat down and reached for the cheese, only to hesitate as he looked down at his maw. ¡°God damn it.¡±


    Bret Rawling, Mayor of Milwaukee, began tough with folded hands. ¡°So it¡¯s true then? You really can¡¯t take off your mask?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I can¡¯t, and the maw on my chest doesn¡¯t taste anything for me so eating stuff like this is just nd. As I said in my video on the cortex addressing the three cities, I kinda fucked up and now have an evil set of armor strapped to my body that I can¡¯t get off¡­ for now at least. It¡¯ll probablye off eventually if I don¡¯t manage to diepleting the apocalypse beasts quest first.¡±


    Bret snorted with amusement. ¡°That¡¯s hrious!¡±


    Riven slowly turned his head, and General Bruner nearly facepalmed. ¡°What¡¯s so funny about that, may I ask?¡±


    ¡°Ohe on!¡± Bret Rawling said with a cheeky grin. ¡°You¡¯re rank number 72 in the world! You just wiped out an entire army! You¡¯ll be fine. There¡¯s no way you¡¯re going to fail that Chalgathi quest.¡±


    Riven gave an unamused grunt. Little could be hidden from the popce after his talk with Richard had gone absolutely viral concerning the cult and Chalgathi, and afterwards Riven hade out clean on just what was going on. It was both fascinating and scary to most of the people here, and was another hot topic that was rampaging across not only Chicago¡¯s forums - but apparently the world forums too. Not many people across the had openly discussed or had knowledge of the Apocolypse Beasts quest to Riven''s knowledge - and that had been confirmed by General Bruner.


    Though Riven hadn¡¯t had the time to look over the world forums himself just yet. He had his own stuff to contend with, and he¡¯d make time to delve into the massive expanse of Panu¡¯s main pageter this week when he wasn¡¯t swamped. No doubt he had both haters and fans out there somewhere, but he also cared little for public opinion now as long as he had a core set of people he could rely on. Especially after he¡¯d tried so hard to win over the opinions of the elves of Greenstalk, only to be betrayed with a murder attempt. There was only so much you could do for people to like you, so he¡¯d do what he could for the people that he got along with and the people who didn¡¯t like him for what he was could go fuck themselves.


    Riven folded his arms and leaned back. ¡°Anyways, there¡¯ll be little in terms of changes to thews just yet. Thews will pretty much stay the same for now, with the exception of a few things. I know you have certain topics you want to touch on talking about guild activities or taxations and we¡¯ll get to that too, but for now it¡¯s this: Our undead part of the faction is going to need bodies. That means all bodies lost to death by old age or in battle will be given to the necropolis government for processing, either for parts or for raising. Bodies are valuable resources now, no more burying them. Other than that, the prison systems need to be redone. We aren¡¯t going to just have leeches that feed off the rest of society, especially in a post apocalyptic world like this one. The worst prisoners we have now will be made into ves or outright executed, and the ones with crimes that aren¡¯t that bad will be put into indentured servitude. Both ves and indentured servants will only be owned by the government, and there will be no personal ves whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°Not too terrible.¡± General Bruner muttered.


    Riven nodded. ¡°To address your question from earlier, Mayor, the elves I talked about had tried to kill me. Their people apparently have a deep-seated hatred for vampires and I happened to be one, so they struck out at me even after I saved their lives. I struck back. What remains of their vige will remain as ves to the government and they will be allowed to pursue happiness in many aspects of their lives, it won¡¯t be as bad as you¡¯d think. Their children won¡¯t be born into very either, but rather are being re-educated and allowed full citizenship rights unless they cause problems. That¡¯s pretty much the entire gist of it.¡±


    Both mayors nodded.


    ¡°Fair enough. Do you mind going over a few things that are at the forefront of problems we have now, though? Before you go off to your news conference and open the portal gate to Brightsville?¡± Bret Rawling of Milwaukee asked with a curious side-nce at General Bruner. ¡°May I?¡±


    Riven and General Bruner nodded, and Bret took out a small vani folder from underneath his suit jacket. cing it on the table and opening it up, and he put forth a list. ¡°These are the things that I think need immediate attention in the wake of what happened in here in Chicago. Some of this was already a problem and just outright ignored by ourte General Florence, god rest his traitorous soul, so I¡¯m hoping to get some more input from you - Riven. Ahem¡­¡±


    Bret shuffled through the papers again, brows furrowed. ¡°Alright so here goes. We have bandits and gang problems along the trade routes between our cities. We have guilds of civilians who are proiming independence with small pockets of territories after we lost over half of the army in the battle for Chicago. ck market human trafficking for sex ves is skyrocketing, mostly involving captured peasants from the viges further south and ind - which is in itself causing a lot of unrest with our neighbors. Monster attacks are on the rise and I think we may have a dungeon problem on our hands¡­ and food supplies are in dire need. We won¡¯t make it through winter without increasing our food stores, and it¡¯s already the beginning of autumn.¡±


    ***


    Riven was dumbstruck, and he stepped out of the armored transport to the sound of thunderous apuse and screaming crowds. They¡¯d chosen the professional football stadium as the site where Riven would set the portal up, as it¡¯d be a major trading hub between the two sides of Panu and would be a permanent addition to thendscape.


    It was also the ce he was to make his public address to the citizens of the three cities, and he¡¯d expected there to be a couple dozen reporters working for the new-world presspanies there - but he hadn¡¯t expected this. It was one thing to see how the forums were ramping up positive vibes about him, but it was something else entirely to see the roaring crowds numbering tens of thousands of people around him chanting his name.


    ¡°They really seem to like you.¡± Ath mused, waving at his side and putting a hand on his shoulder to the absolute roars of approval when she did. ¡°OOOH A FAN BASE! They seem to like me as well! Let¡¯s stay!¡±


    Fay stepped out next, getting quite a few gawking looks from nearby onlookers, and Azmoth hopped off the tank he¡¯d been riding on with a grunt.


    ¡°Avengers assemble!¡± Some nerdy teenager with a superhero shirt called out from behind the guarded barricade, gettingughs from both Riven and the others nearby.


    Riven waved to the kid, then to the crowd, and started walking to follow behind General Bruner through the gates of the stadium.


    The walk to the central field was a bit surreal for Riven. Despite dozens of soldiers with automatic Rifles making sure the crowds didn¡¯t push in and outright swarm Riven with pleas for autographs, congrattions, or heartfelt thanks for saving the city, there were still a few times that someone broke through to touch Riven and even hug him once when an olddy shoved by and swung her arms around his waist with tightly closed eyes. She sobbed her thanks loudly into his chest, talking about how her son had died protecting Chicago and that she knew he was up in heaven looking down favorably on Riven for what he¡¯d done, and Riven had to stay the hands of nearby military personnel to stop them from dragging her away until she was done.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he was a fine young man. I wish there was something I could say or do to help your struggles¡­ but I¡¯ll make sure that you and people like you don¡¯t go without if you¡¯re in need.¡± Riven hugged the old woman back and she let go, wiping tears away and smiling up at him as he waved back at her and continued to make his way to the field.


    Inside the stadium a wooden tform had been erected with a series of microphones, and the two mayors were already sitting and waiting for Riven to make his entrance. They stood up to p, followed by dozens of reporters resting on metal folding chairs and tens of thousands more people in the stands.


    Again the uproar from the crowd was deafening, and Riven even began to get a little bit emotional as he stood and gawked from underneath the porcin mask he wore. Ever sinceing back to Panu from the hellscapes, he¡¯d been worried he¡¯d be an outcast. He¡¯d been betrayed by Jalel, betrayed by the elves, been shunned and hunted by Prophet¡¯s forces and the humans of Brightsville. But here and now, thousands upon thousands of people had given him their stamp of approval.


    They called him a hero.


    They called him their savior.


    And they wanted him above anyone else to lead them into the new world. Yet again, it was a stark reminder that the forum posts praising his name weren¡¯t just text on a screen - those were real people with real feelings and ideas behind them.


    The lump in Riven¡¯s throat grew, but he continued walking after the brief moment of rity. Uniformed soldiers on either side of the way towards the tform saluted him as he passed, and eventually he came to the wooden stage. Walking up the steps and waving to the crowd to stand beside the mayors who each shook his hand for a more public disy of congrattions, General Bruner cleared his throat and spoke loudly into the microphone.


    ¡°Silence please! Quiet down!¡±


    It took a couple of requests for the crowds to do so, but eventually the people of Chicago settled into a more bearable state of excitement as the top military officer there began to address them yet again.


    General Bruner nodded in satisfaction, taking his time to eye the people sitting in the seats all around them. ¡°Hello, people of Chicago. It is a pleasure to be with all of you here today, and even more of a pleasure that I have the honor of publicly introducing the man who saved our fine city only a few days ago. By now you all know his story, it is public knowledge now that he posted a video on the cortex exining just who he is and what happened to him. How he was changed into what you see now, and where he began. And it brings me great pleasure to announce that he was and is one of us - born and raised in the United States of America!¡±


    Again the crowds roared with approval, only to settle down again with a raise of Bruner¡¯s hands.


    ¡°But that brings us to now and today. Things are changing and even the physical world around us ispletely different from the one all of you and I grew up in.¡± Bruner¡¯s gaze turned, with cameras shing and voices murmuring. ¡°We are now in a world where the United States of America sadly doesn¡¯t exist anymore. We are on our own. The cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Rockford have all been thrust into the world of Panu as one of many puzzle pieces ofnd mass shuffled into the greater whole, and we have enemies on all sides. Monsters of myth and legend roam ournds, killing our people at random. Kingdoms to our South and North from others with magics not known to us are encroaching on ournds regrly with questionable intentions. The weapons of our old world are not necessarily obsolete, but as you have all recently seen - there is much room for improvement to be made when things like magic exist. Not only that, but we have 6 world quests that need to bepleted in 5 years¡¯ time, and if not - great cmities will befall not only us, but the entire we now reside on. They will be cmities far greater than the one you witnessed here in our tiny piece of the today.¡±


    General Bruner let that message sink in, and the mood became more somber than it had been only seconds before. ¡°With that in mind, and with the will of the people having been expressed, I and my colleagues in the military brass believe that strong leadership is a must. Especially after the traitorous actions of my predecessor, General Florence.¡±


    Boos and angry shouts echoed throughout the stadium after that, but quieted down again after another pause from Bruner. ¡°We have listened to all of you. We have heard what you have to say, and we agree. As I said, strong leadership is a key in these trying times. We need someone who can not just lead us, but someone who can protect us from the greater evils of this world that we cannot fight by ourselves. Who better to do that than the man who so selflessly fought for our city without being asked to do so? A man who was framed for a crime he didn¡¯tmit, only to turn around and help us regardless when he could have ran? A man who is one of the most powerful entities on this, a superhero not in theic books - but in reality. And above all - a man who shares our origins and histories from Earth. He is one of us, and <em><strong>he</strong></em> did not ask this of our people, but he is willing to take on the responsibility <em><strong>we</strong></em> ask of him. Without further ado, I present to all of you the man we are now pledging our allegiances to. To our new king, the hero who saved our city, I present to all of you Riven Thane!¡±


    The crowd went ballistic, jumping to their feet and starting to chant Riven¡¯s name as General Bruner stepped back from the microphone and started to p along with all of the government officials.


    ¡°Thank you, General Bruner.¡± Riven said into the microphone while waving to the surroundings, and he chuckled as the people of Chicago continued to chant over and over again.


    ¡°RIVEN! RIVEN! RIVEN!¡±


    ¡°Alright! Alright. Calm down everyone.¡± Riven said with an amused grin while the uproar died down to a thrum. ¡°Thank you all for being here today. As General Bruner said, I did not ask to be your king. I am even a little bit surprised that it was suggested, but when it was - the idea caught on like wildfire and spread across all three of our cities. I¡¯ve gotta admit, I¡¯m humbled by the idea. It is true that I¡¯m technically a prince and one of two leaders of the faction you¡¯ll all be joining though, so I¡¯d like to wee you all into the Thane Necopolis. Today marks the day that I¡¯ll be utilizing a system prize to join the two opposite sides of Panu with a permanent portal gate, making travel between Brightsville and Chicago an evesting fixture, and I hope that you¡¯ll all have the time to explore the opposite side of the world with me over time when the city there is more secure. Now with all that¡¯s happened, there are a couple things the Mayors and I have talked about recently that I¡¯d like to address - then afterwards you¡¯ll all be witness to the portal¡¯s creation. I hope that I can fill the shoes you¡¯ve all given me, and I look forward to making all of your lives better through both policy and protection.¡±

 Chapter 147: (Taking book 1 off RR tomorrow)

    Chapter 147: (Taking book 1 off RR tomorrow)


    <strong>Chapter 147</strong>


    The portal was pretty big and took up half of the football field Riven had chosen as the permanent spot it¡¯d set up on. It was a lot different from the ovoid ones Riven could create himself, but rather this one was very simr to a wormhole - giving voice to the idea that it utilized some other kind of magic Riven wasn¡¯t familiar with. It faced directly down into the, drawing people into it when they stood nearby and popping them out on the other side of the portal where they were expelled into an area empty of others with systematic precision. From Chicago¡¯s viewpoint, the portal also showed a starry night sky. But when Riven was flung through said portal and exited to stand on the familiar fields of death-attuned grasses, the mirroring wormhole portal on the outskirts of Brightsville not far off from the Elysium Altar showed daylight and a blue sky riddled with speckled clouds.


    They were windows looking into opposite ends of Panu.


    Riven blinked a couple times and oriented himself, ignoring the cries of rm from nearby orcs and elf ves working the fields. Examining the portal with his mask¡¯s basic ability to identify things - he even got a small grin and a pleasant surprise.


    <strong>[Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole: a permanent portal fixture on the world of Panu that allows one to travel instantly between opposite sides of the world. This portal is a system-made phenomenon, granted to the vampire Riven Thane in the early days of Panu¡¯s integration.]</strong>


    Well at least he could say he¡¯d made his mark on the world.


    ¡°Lower your weapons or get smashed.¡± Ath casually yelled out to a group of ghoul and skresh warriors who¡¯d taken up a defensive semicircle perimeter nearby. ¡°This is Riven Thane you idiots, or do you want to piss off your doting queen after her brother returned by trying to attack him?¡±


    ¡°Ath?¡± Gurth¡¯Rok called out, stepping from beyond the line of warriors and being followed by a few of the orc soldiers not far off. The old chieftain was a lot more wholesome than he¡¯d once been, with the upper lip wound that¡¯d been cursed and torn off now showing signs ofplete healing. His green skin had turned paler, though was still a tinge of green, and his tusks were noticeably sharper as he moved with a grace unbefitting him prior to what was obviously a vampiric shift. ¡°It is you! Ath I am d to see you here. As I am for the rest of you¡­ is that Riven?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Riven called out with a wave of his staff from underneath his mask. ¡°I can¡¯t take this stuff off. Long story. Where¡¯s my sister? I¡¯ve been wanting to talk to her. Also, I¡¯m digging the vampire look you¡¯ve got going on. Wee to the club.¡±Gurth¡¯Rok smiled, shot General Bruner a curious nce, then gestured for them to follow. ¡°You have only been gone for a week or so, but a lot has happened in that time. Your sister is at the bone garden, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll want to fill you in on all that has transpired.¡±


    ***


    ¡°RIVEN!¡± Allie cackled with a piercing smile, letting wine spill onto the floor in her alcohol-induced fit ofughter. ¡°I WAS A THREE YEAR OLD KID! How was I supposed to know that toilets worked that way!?¡±


    The stone manor, Riven¡¯s guild hall, was for the very first time hosting a party in the eastern wing. It was here that therge indoor pool was located, and just above it on an elevated floor overlooking the pool was the dining room and kitchen. Arge crystal chandelier had been installed by Allie for tonight¡¯s celebration concerning Riven¡¯s return, candles were ced all around the perimeter of the room on shelves and other fixtures, ssical music was ying in the form of a live group of musicians who¡¯d been stationed in one corner, and food was being brought out regrly to resupply the long redwood table where fancier ss cutlery had reced the stuff this guild hall hade with.


    The people most important to the Thane Necropolis were all present, along with a couple of others such as two nervous-looking diplomats from the human kingdom of Dawn, a small brown-robed ratkin diplomat from the underdark city of Deepnest, and yet a third diplomat from another nearby mix-and-matched faction that was located farther to the west bordering the conflict between Dawn and the elvish kingdom of Tereen.


    Tereen being the mutual enemy of the Thane Necropolis and Dawn, after Dawn had epted Allie¡¯s demands to hand over two of therger elvish settlements conquered during the war in exchange for Allie¡¯s help. The other option had been to give up Bradshire, therge town under Dawn¡¯s rule to the southeast of Brightsville, which had been staunchly refused by Dawn¡¯s leadership.


    All in all, there were quite a few people here. Vin and Nin were animatedly talking to the Deepnest diplomat about necromancy. Mara was engrossed in conversation about herbs with Dr. Brass, Gurth¡¯Rok, and three of the orc warrior elites that always followed Gurth¡¯Rok around. Fay and Ath were swimming in the pool below, wearing rainbow-colored swimsuits that left little to the imagination - which only proved Dr. Brass¡¯ previous ims about Ath¡¯s chitinous outeryer being correct; Ath actually did wear around a thin form-fittingyer of chitin around on the regr, because today her skin was a lot more human-looking than it usually was. Then there was Azmoth, who was ying chess with Mayor Bret Rawling to the amusement of General Bruner and the other human military officers who¡¯de over from Chicago - because Azmoth had beaten the mayor three times in a row so far. Outside of these were a good number of undead soldiers stationed around the room, various human and undead officials Allie had appointed to help run Brightsville, Allie¡¯s two yboy thralls who doted on her every need while wearing speedos and bow-ties to Riven¡¯s disgusted expressions, and over two dozen staff members that were being ordered around by Tupper.


    Tupper, who was Fay¡¯s incubus brother, had taken it upon himself to get things around the manor running properly in the downtime he¡¯d had. His initial arrival had seen Tupper stay in his room with only Fay asionally visiting him, needing time to heal up from whatever traumatic undertaking he''d gone through prior to being assigned to this guild hall, and this was the first time he¡¯d reallye out when Riven had been around. Tupper was a very handsome demon, with white hair and short ck horns simr to his sister, only he had a more masculine build - though was still somewhat thin even by human standards. He was currently in the kitchen, making sure the chefs were doing things in a timely manner and that all the guests were taken care of. ording to Fay, it¡¯d given the incubus a small but necessary sense of belonging here - and she¡¯d actively encouraged Tupper to take up the mantle of pseudo-manager of Riven¡¯s estate after getting Riven¡¯s permission to do so. In fact, Tupper had been the one to acquire the chandelier for Allie upon her request for tonight¡¯s event, and he was also the one who¡¯d acquired uniforms for all the maids and butlers present.


    French maid outfits for the women, and English butler outfits for the men. The maids and butlers, mostly consisting of elvish ves, had been handpicked from the more trustworthy group of conquered people to serve here. It¡¯d apparently been a very sought-after position amongst the younger generation of elvish adults, with both young men and young women desperately trying to get out of the farming duties the rest of their kind had been assigned to.


    Riven leaned back in his cushioned chair, jealously casting gazes at the food on the table and being unable to taste it despite this being a celebration for his return. He was especially eyeing the cheese wedges with crackers that¡¯d been set in front of General Bruner across the table. His mouth watered at the idea of eating them, but with his current predicament regarding the Chalgathi artifacts it was a big no-go.


    ¡°My lord.¡± Came the timid voice of Tupper as he tapped Riven¡¯s left pauldron and bent low so he could whisper. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind that I selected Genua as one of the maids¡­ She was a good candidate and passed my questions while using Silvertongue. However, given your past histories with her and her family I can always send her back to the cell she came from. I just want to confirm that my choice was alright by you, my lord.¡±


    Riven looked left to the incubus who was wearing a butler outfit like many of the young elf men were, and then shifted his gaze to where Ethel¡¯s mother, Genua, was cleaning dishes behind a kitchen counter and over a sink top. The blonde elf momentarily looked up, caught him watching, and nched before going back to furiously scrubbing and trying to look small.


    Riven blinked, and the maw along his chest hissed slightly as he pondered Tupper¡¯s question. ¡°You said she passed your silvertongue questions? What exactly did you find out about her while you were interrogating her for this position?¡±


    The incubus cleared his throat. ¡°She is willing to be very loyal, even to a fault, as long as she is given freedom to explore the manor. And as long as she is able to see her daughter soon.¡±


    Riven¡¯s memory shifted to the little girl, Len. A pit of guilt started to form, and he reached a hand back to rub at his neck where tension was beginning to build. ¡°You¡¯re sure Genua won¡¯t cause problems?¡±


    ¡°It is very unlikely a mortal of her caliber would be able to sessfully lie through my silvertongue ability. It is possible, but very unlikely.¡±


    ¡°Then that is fine. Do you know anything about how the children¡¯s re-education ising along?¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Tupper paused, then straightened and shook his head. ¡°I do not, my lord. Do you want me to ask Mara? She¡¯s the one overseeing such things.¡±


    The incubus gestured in the ghoul-necromancer¡¯s direction further down the table, and Riven nodded. ¡°Yes. If you could, make sure the visitations are started sooner rather thanter. In fact, have Mara give the entire day tomorrow to the children to see their parents again. If the elves behave over time, we may even lift the restrictions entirely.¡±


    Tupper shifted his stance. ¡°I will pass the message along.¡±


    Allie¡¯s drunken cackling as she talked to General Bruner caused Riven to grin, and he watched their interaction unfold with mild amounts of curiosity. On one hand, General Bruner was a pretty straight to the point man, and the general had even been very wary of Allie based on the things Riven had told him. It wasn¡¯t that Riven had embellished or lied about anything, he¡¯d just told General Bruner the truth, but the older man had been on guard since getting here. However, in the moment it seemed like they were really getting along. Despite Allie¡¯s drunken state, the general was asionally smiling andughing himself.


    So far this meet and greet was a real sess, and Riven really hoped there wouldn¡¯t be any problems with the integration of Chicago and the two adjacent cities. Tonight was more rxed, but tomorrow was going to bring about talks concerning military integrations, problems concerning both sides of the portal and political maps, supply shortage issues and more. Most of those issues, other than the war with the elvish kingdom of Tereen, were located on Chicago¡¯s side of the portal after Allie¡¯s forces had crushed all other factions inside Brightsville¡¯s borders - putting Brightsville entirely under the control of the Thane Necropolis.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Uhm¡­ Riven, right?¡±


    The meek, feminine voice of one of Dawn¡¯s diplomats asked hesitantly from behind him. Riven sat up, turned his chair from where he¡¯d positioned it to watch his sister¡¯s drunken rants, and shot a look over at the two Dawn diplomats that hadrgely been ignored since arriving here. Personally he hadn¡¯t really been in contact with anyone from dawn aside from the roc-riding knight who¡¯d visited the manor a while ago, and he¡¯d subtly given the responsibility of dealing with them over to Allie since she was the one heading the war efforts and iming newnds in elvish territory for the necropolis.


    ¡°Yes that¡¯s my name.¡± Riven stated, the crimson feathers along his porcin mask twisting and blinking at the short, plump brte woman who¡¯d bundled her hair up into a bun and wore a clipboard across her robed chest. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve introduced ourselves yet. Who are you?¡±


    Looking relieved that someone was finally giving her the time of day, the woman held out a hand to shake - though Riven could tell it took her a lot of courage to do so by the way she flinched at his touch. ¡°Marin. I¡¯m one of the diplomats from Dawn, and this is Theodore Munchamp, Court Wizard to the king of the Kingdom of Dawn and practicing schr of the sun arts.¡±


    The skinny old man with orange hair next to Marin, also robed in yellow and white, gave a half smile and timid bow while scrambling to his feet to stand. ¡°Lord Thane! I have heard so much about you, and your aplishments on the cortex have already been noted. To know that one of our neighbors, who holds us in such high esteem, has such a powerful warlock is truly inspiring!¡±


    Theodore Munchamp. This was the man who¡¯d initially sent the roc-riding knights to negotiate a peace pact and request help in the war against the elves. He certainly looked a lot less impressive than what Riven had imagined the man to be or what his title had hinted at.


    Riven leaned back in his chair to evaluate the skinny robed man with hands folded over hisp. ¡°Oh, so you¡¯ve seen videos of my exploits have you?¡±


    Theodore quickly nodded. ¡°I have! We all have. The world forums are a vast ce, but our kingdom¡¯s schrs keep a keen eye on the happenings of the world in case any of it rtes to us. It just so happens that when your battle with the Azag Hive Cluster was posted by Elysium, and your rise to the Paragon ranks was recorded after your dao insights, it became a very attractive topic to talk about in the kingdom. We were all very impressed¡­¡±


    Riven silently waited for the man to continue, but Theodore looked like he was at a loss for words. ¡°Well thank you for thepliment. Let me ask, are you new to the diplomacy thing?¡±


    The court wizard stuttered a reply. ¡°U-uhm, why would you ask?¡±


    ¡°Just curious.¡±


    Hesitantly, Theodore Munchamp nced over at Marin - who just stared back at him like a deer caught in the headlights, then he slowly nodded. ¡°Uhm¡­ why yes. Diplomacy is not necessarily my first calling¡­ I am more attuned to practicing or experimenting with sun magic than anything else as my title implies.¡±


    ¡°What made you the one toe then? I¡¯m just curious. I¡¯m not trying to insult you. Also, please sit. There¡¯s no reason to stand, this is an informal dinner and you¡¯re more than wee to eat whatever you want in the meantime. Please be at ease.¡±


    Theodore wiped away sweat that¡¯d begun to umte on his brow, nodded, and sat down to take a long swig of ice cold water. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I seem inadequate for the job-¡±


    ¡°I never said that.¡± Riven cut in with a smile that the man couldn¡¯t see. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I came off rude. You¡¯re just very nervous, and it shows.¡±


    Marin let out a long sigh, putting her face into her hands.


    Meanwhile Theodore red at the woman next to him, but didn¡¯tment on her obvious disy of irritation. ¡°Most of our professional diplomats were already attending other kingdoms and empires on Zazir before the integration and merging of the three worlds. We have to make due with what we¡¯ve got, and I just happened to be one of the men to fill that role at the request of the king. As for my nerves, it is hard not to be.¡±


    Theodore gestured over to Allie. ¡°When you¡¯re sitting at a table with someone as bloodthirsty and simultaneously as gorgeous as that, those are just two big reasons to be nervous.¡±


    ¡°Theodore!¡± Marin gasped, going pale and wide eyed with a stiffening posture in her cushioned chair.


    ¡°It¡¯s the truth Marin!¡± Theodore eximed with exasperation, again dabbing at his forehead. ¡°And you, my lord! How am I supposed to be anything but terrified after seeing that tremendous disy of power! You two siblings running this necropolis are downright scary!¡±


    Riven¡¯s grin wasn¡¯t seen, but his sputteringugh came fast that turned into a hearty bellow. ¡°I see! Well Theodore at least I can tell that you¡¯re honest. I like that quite a bit actually, honesty goes a long way with me and it¡¯s a hard trait to find in many people.¡±


    He gave a pointed look Genua¡¯s way as she passed by, and her eyes shied away from him while she adjusted her French maid outfit to deliver more bs of meat on circr metal dishes to where Azmoth was devouring food rapidly over time.


    ¡°Tell me.¡± Riven eventually said after there was a lul in the conversation, and his attention shifted back from the enved elf to the two humans nearby. ¡°What do you think about the war with the elves?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re pompous, arrogant, evil bastards.¡± Marin immediately replied with a hot rage simmering behind her brown eyes. ¡°They attacked us for no reason, butchered an entire town without cause, and raid our supply caravans every chance they get. They are racist, bigoted, and they deserve to die. All of them.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows rose, and his left hand settled onto the table to begin tapping at it with his fingers while theughter of his two female minions echoed from the sshing pool below. ¡°Really¡­ that¡¯s a rather aggressive stance to take.¡±


    ¡°What other stance would you take if your family was killed by them for no reason?¡± Marin shot back, venom in her words as her knuckles went white on the clipboard she carried.


    Theodore¡¯s features softened into a sad, contemtive tone, and he let out a sigh while nodding. ¡°I must agree with Marin¡¯s¡¯ assessment. The elves of Zazir were always arrogant, but we¡¯d never had any real dealings with them before now. But due to the proximity of Tereen whenpared to Dawn after the merging, it appears that we have no choice but to fight. Otherwise they¡¯ll enve or kill us to take ournds for their own. They think of us humans as a lesser race, a wed race, and their inherent racism is drilled into the young they bear from an early age. They will either need to be put down, orpletely subdued¡­¡±


    Theodore motioned over to where numerous butlers and maids bustled around the room. ¡°You¡¯re treating your conquered enemies rather well. We¡¯ve seen your farms, we¡¯ve seen how you operate, we¡¯ve seen the school you set up for their children. But the people the Tereen enve are quite the opposite of this, they live and wallow in mud while dying like flies for the amusement of elvish masters. To be quite blunt, we were worried you¡¯d decide to decline our request for aid. The king is very grateful, and if he weren¡¯t on the front lines regrly he¡¯d havee to thank you in person. With your forces protecting our northernmost town Bradshire, and after Allie defeated the elvishmander at the battle of Longhill, we¡¯ve been able to focus our efforts on the core of our remaining kingdom.¡±


    Riven mutely nodded, then snapped his fingers in Allie¡¯s direction. ¡°You said we acquired new elvish settlements to rule over, is that right?¡±


    Allie stoppedughing at one of General Bruner¡¯s dad jokes, turned her head, and squinted. ¡°Yes¡­ Why? We¡¯ve upied two medium sized towns and had a vige under our control that we ended up burning down for a tactical retreat. They¡¯re to the southwest near where the mountain range ends, past where Greenstalk was, and we¡¯re securing the area of gueri fighters before figuring out what we¡¯re going to keep. It¡¯s likely that we¡¯ll destroy one of the towns and consolidate the poptions of both into one, after most of the defenders were killed. It¡¯ll be easier to keep an eye on the subjugated that way.¡±


    General Bruner, who¡¯d not been in on any of these talks concerning the military agenda on this side of the world yet, perked up with interest. ¡°If I may, I would like to get a rundown on what¡¯s going on with the war efforts here. Riven informed me that you have enemies in the area, and although we have our own problems near Chicago¡¯s borders we may be able to send some flying units for scouting and striking purposes.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not bogged down by the moral decision of whether or not you should participate?¡± Riven asked curiously.


    General Bruner looked confused. ¡°Sir, we pledged to you. If you decide to go to war, you¡¯re our king now. We will do whatever it is that you want us to do after you saved our city from annihtion. Aside from that, I think it¡¯s a moral obligation to unite the.¡±


    ¡°Oh-ho!¡± Allie crowed, turning back to reevaluate the general with a new gleam to her eyes. ¡°And just why is that!? I think I like this guy!¡±


    General Bruner grinned slightly, but then ced both hands confidently on the table and sped them together. ¡°If I¡¯m speaking bluntly, a united front across the world means two things. One, it means less wars for future generations. In the past back on Earth, war was a rampant gue that destroyed the lives of people over countless generations. So it is, in my opinion, the moral high ground to conquer everything to prevent wars like that from urring over future decades, centuries, or even millenia. And with vampiric heritage like yours, you¡¯ll be able to live long enough to see it through and keep it stabilized.¡±


    Riven hadn¡¯t ever really thought about it like that, but he couldn¡¯t necessarily argue with that logic. There were certainly ws behind it, but the overall premise wasn¡¯t a bad one. ¡°Alright. What is the second thing that it means to you?¡±


    General Bruner didn¡¯t take long to think it over. ¡°This is the multiverse now. Our is just one of many, and we already have invaders from other worldsing to take over ording to the world quests. If we don¡¯t unite as a world, someone from offworld will do it for us. And it is very likely that things will end very badly for our people if thates to pass.¡±

 Chapter 148

    Chapter 148


    <strong>Chapter 148</strong>


    Lahn Lucio sputtered and coughed, clutching his bruised forehead where his wavy chestnut locks were stered across his face. He had slipped trying to get out of the bathtub again and had tipped the porcin tub over while simultaneouslynding face first with water rushing over him onto the tiled floor.


    Having been born with deformity caused him many problems growing up and among the least of them was his regr slips in the bathroom. His left leg was slightly short, looking rather withered with scrunched up green and gray tissues, while his left arm wasn¡¯t as afflicted but was still abnormally weak and shriveled. His back curved with extreme scoliosis and he had the misfortune of being very, very weak on his left side with overall poor bnce. Thankfully his mother was a kind woman and often helped him dress in the morning or eat when he couldn¡¯t hold his utensils properly.


    ¡°LAHN!?¡± his mother called from the next room over. She was always watching out for him even when she knew he hated to be babied at the age of 20. ¡°LAHN ARE YOU OK!? DID YOU FALL AGAIN!?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯M FINE MOTHER!¡± Lahn in frustration, though he couldn¡¯t help but smile that his mother still cared for him so much. She was such a good and kind person.


    The same couldn¡¯t be said for his siblings and father.


    His father was a war hero and esteemed inquisitor for the crown while his two siblings were rising stars at the imperial academy. The house name of Lucio was well known throughout Dawn and the surrounding remnants of their kingdom as one of the most esteemed households in court. His siblings were worshiped as future leaders in the army, already having achieved great feats in the war against Tereen,while <em><strong>he</strong></em> was akin to a ghost. A ghost to them all, a ghost to be ignored, all looking down on him save for his mother. But as long as he had her¡­ that was all he could ask for.


    ¡°HURRY! LORD AND LADY BORTROST HAVE BROUGHT THEIR DAUGHTER TO MEET YOU!¡± His mother sounded excited and spurred him on as he struggled to merely get up off the floor. A minute passed before she came into the bathroom, and soon she saw her struggling son. She wore a pretty dark green dress, had hear brte hair pulled up into a ponytail hanging out of a bun, and wore arge pendant across her chest. Putting a hand over her mouth and trying not to damage his pride upon seeing him like this, she helped him to his feet and let him regain his bnce without too much help.


    ¡°This is a bad idea mother¡­¡± Lahn stated solemnly, avoiding eye contact and allowing her to dry him off. ¡°Perhaps I should just stay in my room while they¡¯re here.¡±¡°Nonsense!¡± Lady Shovi Lucio insisted. Her radiant smile always lifted Lahn¡¯s spirits and she helped the young man into a white shirt before putting on his undergarments and pants. ¡°Their daughter is supposed to be very cute, and her parents wish her to marry into a good household! Be sure to tell them about how you¡¯re doing in sses at the academy! I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be impressed.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s nervous grin showed briefly and he cleared his throat as he felt his hands get sweaty. ¡°Don¡¯t make me out to be something I¡¯m not mom. The only thing I can do at the academy is magic-¡±


    ¡°And there are PLENTY of men and women who make a good living doing just that!¡± eximed his mother as she brushed up his bruised forehead and kissed it. ¡°Some people have very low affinities or no affinities at all, making them unable to cast anything! Be grateful for what you have, there are always those worse off and you¡¯re a catch for any woman!¡±


    Lahn rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Yeah. Maybe one day, if I study magic hard enough, I¡¯ll even figure out how to stop my body from¡­¡± Lahn¡¯s words trailed off as his eyes fell to his shriveled limbs. His mother frowned and her lips quivered just briefly before she kissed him again and held his handsome face in her hands.


    ¡°You are my son.¡± she said as she wiped away a tear and sniffled. ¡°Never forget that I will always love you. I will always be there to support you when you need it and even if I have to spend the entire family fortune doing it I will find a way to fix this.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already tried many times. The cure isn¡¯t there.¡± Lahn smiled happily at his mother and put his good right hand around her shoulder to hug her warmly. ¡°I love you too mom. But there¡¯s no need to spend any more money on healers, the best have already been hired and failed. If there is a fix for my¡­ disfigurement, it will have to be through new magic not yet discovered. That¡¯s why I went to the academy in the first ce right!? It¡¯s not like they¡¯d ever let me into the military like this. And I only got into the imperial academy because of our family name.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t like it in the military anyways. Your brother and sister are crazy for following in their father¡¯s footsteps, he¡¯s miserable all the time and those Tereen monsters are so bloodthirsty! Not to mention the new monsters around here since the integration!¡± insisted his mother as she finished buttoning up his vest. Going over to a mirror trimmed in gold she reached behind it and pulled out men¡¯s perfume that she sprayed all over her son causing him to cough. Sheughed and kissed him on the forehead again just as a uniformed maid rushed in and bowed.


    ¡°The Lord and Lady Bortrost have just arrived with their daughter! Their carriage is pulling up now!¡±


    ¡°Shit!¡± Lady Shovi Lucio eximed as she finished dressing her crippled son. She motioned for the maid and was quickly brought a wheelchair from his bedroom. The in-looking, freckled maid and his ever-sweet mother helped him into the chair. They then wheeled him out as fast as they could while keeping within a safe speed through therge, well-lit halls decorated with paintings of Lahn¡¯s father¡¯s triumphs.


    Then they arrived at the front entrance of their estate just as the servants finished escorting the guests to the marble arch of the front door.


    ¡°SHOVI!¡± eximed Lady Lucio¡¯s childhood friend as Lady Niltini Bortrost rushed over to greet her. The two well dressed brte women looked quite simr as they embraced and kissed each other¡¯s cheeks while exchanging a myriad ofpliments.


    ¡°It has been too long, Niltini! And how is your handsome husband doing this fine day!?¡±


    Lord Armando Bortrost was a well built and tall man with dark hair wearing a victorian-style suit, he smiled widely at thepliment and bowed to kiss her hand in the shadow of the Lucio manor. ¡°Always a pleasure, Shovi. Who is this fine young man we¡¯ve got here?¡±


    Armando winked at his wife and motioned towards Lahn, who was directly in the line of fire for a blinding ray of sunlight to blind him - rapidly causing him to blink.


    ¡°Lahn! It¡¯s been almost a year hasn¡¯t it!?¡± stated Niltini with sped hands in front of her - bending down to be at eye level with her best friend¡¯s boy. ¡°You¡¯re looking good! I heard you got epted into the Imperial Academy? Is that true? We can use all the good men we can get in these trying times!¡±


    Lahn¡¯s face blushed bright red and he sheepishly looked down to hide his eyes under his wavy brte locks. ¡°My mother talks too much.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re doing very well in your magic sses!¡± Laughed Lord Armando Bortrost as he patted Lahn¡¯s shoulder. The lord motioned for the maid to bring Lahn forward. ¡°Lahn we¡¯ve brought someone we¡¯d like you to meet! This is our daughter Marsia!¡±


    Lord Armando Bortorst motioned to the carriage they¡¯de out of that¡¯d parked on the cobblestone path nearby, and the door to the carriage swung open to reveal a young woman that Lahn had seen before in passing.


    Marsia, a woman of 19 years of age, was in her prime years to get married to another of the court. She wasn¡¯t spectacr to look at for most people, but she certainly wasn¡¯t ugly; having brown hair andrge dimples just like her parents while wearing a bright blue dress. She came forward from her hiding ce behind Armando and reluctantly curtsied.


    ¡°Hello Lahn. I¡¯ve heard many things about you.¡±


    Lahn bit his lip and tried not to choke in his wheelchair. This was actually the first time he had ever spoken to a girl his own age since his childhood years and he squirmed under the pressure. ¡°H-Hi Marsia. You look amazing.¡±


    His mother Shovi rolled her eyes as the Bortost parents giggled to one another.


    ¡°Come inside! Come inside. We¡¯ll have the servants fetch some tea and pastries while we eat out on the back porch!¡± eximed Lahn¡¯s mother, Shovi, as she ushered everyone into the greeting hall. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you remember but we have a very nice view of theke from here!¡±


    The back porch was muchrger than what most people would consider a ¡®porch.¡¯ It was many times the width of a small house and had many different well carved tables in a mix and match variety of high ss decor. Servants had already set up refreshments in anticipation of the House Bortrost¡¯s arrival, and they were quick to stand at attention as they all sat down at one of therger tables overlooking their backyard gardens.


    ¡°So tell me about how your investments have gone since the merging of worlds! Are you bringing back a good haul with mining copper in the ounds? I¡¯ve heard we¡¯re in dire need for new weapons material.¡± Lady Shovi Lucio was quick to delve into her good friend¡¯s happenings.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    Lord Armando Bortrost rolled his eyes and sighed with unspoken misfortune as he picked up a pastry and shoved it into his mouth, pouting. ¡°Not good. The miningpany we sponsored were all butchered by Tereen raiders a few days ago. Those damned pointies arepletely ruining us - and we¡¯re not the only ones.¡±


    Lady Niltini Bortorst deeply frowned, ttened her dress, and sipped her tea.


    But Shovi would not be dissuaded or dismayed. Their country had already undergone quite a few challenges and hurdles, and if one didn¡¯t actively pursue happiness - it would quickly escape you after so many had senselessly been lost to the tutorials, local wildlife, or the elves.


    ¡°Ohe now, give me the details! I must know what my friends have been up to. And at the very least provide me with some good gossip on this fine summer day!¡± Shovi remarked casually as she too picked up her tea in a fine porcin cup, verydy-like, and winked to herpatriots across the table.


    ¡°Gossip?¡± asked Niltini slyly, adjusting her blouse and cing the cup back down. ¡°That I can provide. I will spare you the boring details of our failed trading efforts and focus on the things that matter¡­ did you hear about how twodies of the court were found involved in the illegal ve trades?¡±


    ¡°WHAT?! What are their names!? Surely they¡¯re in prison now. A shame. Do we know them!?¡±


    ¡°Well yes¡­ we actually do! I¡¯ll tell you, and you won¡¯t believe who it was¡­¡±


    The banter between the two women overtook the stage, and soon Lord Armando Bortost was losing himself to sleep as he grew bored of the silly things his wife and her best friend gossiped about. Meanwhile, Lahn was doing his best to think of things to say to their daughter Marsia.


    The young woman next to him hadn¡¯t nced at him even once since sitting at the finely made table. Perhaps she was bored¡­ his mother had always told him that he was fun to talk to though. Maybe he could make herugh? Maybe then she¡¯d talk to him!


    ¡°M-Marsia. Do you like jokes?¡± Lahn asked hesitantly in a whisper that she barely heard.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Marsia asked, barely turning her head to nce at him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure what it was you just said.¡±


    Lahn felt his hands getting sweaty and tried to sit up straighter, but the extreme form of scoliosis was working against him. He tried to adjust his positioning in the wheelchair so that he could look at her straight on but with his weak left side he was only able to kind of flop to one side before the maid had to adjust his frail body for him. Marsia didn¡¯t say a word as the in, middle aged maid pulled him up by his armpits as he blushed furiously before getting into a corrected position on the patio again.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± muttered Lahn, flushing thoroughly with a bright red tint to his cheeks. ¡°I said, do you like jokes?¡±


    Marsia shrugged unenthusiastically, barely giving him a sideways half-nce that was filled with impatience. ¡°As much as any other person I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Well would you like to hear one?¡± asked Lahn with a small, truly innocent smile. He was just happy to have someone his own age to talk to, other than his pompous siblings.


    ¡°No. I¡¯d rather not, I have a rather harsh headache at the moment.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s small smile quickly faded, and he was left twiddling his thumbs. ¡°I see. Uhm... Are you enrolling in the Academy too?¡±


    A bird flew overhead, and as it passed them by it dropped a small load of shit thatnded on Lahn¡¯s left hand. Startled by the bird and filled with a mixture of disgust and embarrassment, he cursed his luck and used a napkin to wipe away the bird dung as Marsia eyed him with raised eyebrows.


    ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯m actually a ss ahead of you and have already been epted¡­¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± Lahn replied excitedly as he threw the napkin in a side pouch attached to the wheelchair he sat in. ¡°Wow! Maybe you could help me with some of the sses I¡¯m in now! Do you think-¡±


    Marsia cleared her throat loudly and stood up as her eyes drifted to where their parents were talking enthusiastically. She then turned back to Lahn. ¡°Do you mind showing me to thedy¡¯s room?¡±


    Lahn eagerly nodded and motioned for the maid to wheel him out and without a word they began to backtrack into the mansion. Going through a set ofrge wooden doors and entering arge living room, they turned down one of the hallways leading towards the kitchen. He looked back excitedly and watched as Marsia walked by his side and looked straight ahead.


    ¡°That¡¯s the door!¡± Lahn eximed, smiling again as they came to the spot where one of the bath rooms was located. He looked her up and down just briefly enough so that she wouldn¡¯t notice, appreciating how pretty she was. ¡°May I wait here for you to finish?¡±


    The inside of the mansion was rather quiet. Marsia took a long look at one of the portraits of Lahn¡¯s handsome father before replying. As she spoke, an air of disgust overcame her.


    ¡°No. You may not.¡±


    The quick and blunt retort shocked him, and his face betrayed his emotions momentster while she continued to speak.


    ¡°Let me be clear¡­ Lahn. I am not interested.¡± Marsia¡¯s face was cold and stern. ¡°I certainly think you are a nice boy. But I am the daughter of an esteemed noble family. My parents may be approving of this potential arrangement because of their friendship with your family, and your family does have a good name¡­ but I will now allow myself to marry a cripple.¡±


    <strong>*THUD*</strong>


    Lahn¡¯s heart almost stopped in his chest, and he looked like he¡¯d just been struck across the face.


    Marsia resumed her normal posture and ced a hand on the door handle. ¡°Maybe your family status will be enough tond you a peasant girl. Maybe one of your maids. But you need to leave me alone - and that is the end of it. Good day, sir.¡±


    The door to the bathroom shut quietly behind her as Marsia gracefully parted ways with him. Lahn just sat there, stunned and ashamed, as he looked his crippled body over in dismay. He wanted to cry.


    ¡°Entitled bitch.¡± the maid who was wheeling him around said under her breath. She looked down in pity at the young man and frowned. ¡°Should we go back outside young sir?¡±


    It took a while for him to get the words out, but he shook his head with a quivering voice. ¡°No¡­ just take me to my room. Tell my mother I felt ill. And please, do not speak of this. It would only cause my mother unnecessary grief.¡±


    The maid reluctantly nodded, and with a sigh she began to wheel him away. The excitement Lahn had felt when he had firstid eyes on Marsia was long gone, and all that was left was a pit in his stomach made of self pity and depression. Off to sleep he went.


    ***


    Things were gearing up. Riven was preparing to leave even though he''d just got back, he needed to get out and about to find the other Chalgathi artifacts before he was killed - and he was on a shorter timeline than the others. Meanwhile Allie had a war to continue, so they''d set up a short breakfast to say goodbye before parting again. It was bittersweet, drawn out, and the two siblings basked in each others'' presence while knowing that it''d likely be a while before seeing one another again. They''d stayed upte talking about it after everyone else had gone to bed, but they each had their own path to take - if only temporary. Neither of them was very worried though, not after buying a certain pair of items from the Elysium altarst night in case of emergencies with an absolutely massive amount of money from their treasury lost.


    But at least they''d be around if one needed the other.


    However, things had taken an abrupt right turn when one of the Dawn diplomats posed a question concerning a trip to Dawn''s capital. Apparently the king had given him a letter addressed to the Thane Necropolis leadership, and the old man had forgotten entirely about itst night due to his nervous breakdown at being in the presence of so many vampires and unholy entities at one time:


    Theodore Munchamp patted down his robes and pulled out the letter he¡¯d mentioned. It had the king¡¯s red seal, the symbol of the sun, embroidered with gold lining sealing the parchment shut. Cutting it with a small knife, the older orange-haired mage cleared his throat and handed it to Allie as Riven watched from the side.


    Allie took it, scanned it up and down, then raised an eyebrow and handed the letter to Riven.


    The room remained silent after that, with Dawn¡¯s other diplomat staring hopefully at the two vampires from across the table as Ath snarfed down scrambled eggs nearby.


    ¡°He wants one of us to attend the royal academy?¡± Riven said skeptically, turning the letter over to make sure he hadn¡¯t missed anything before pushing it into one of Allie¡¯s pockets. ¡°I¡¯m out. I have to find Chalgathi¡¯s other artifacts before I¡¯m eaten by this goddamned suit. As for you¡­¡±


    Riven eyed his sister suspiciously, where a thinly veiled grin was creeping across her face. ¡°I don¡¯t know about this. If you wanted to learn, you still haven¡¯t visited the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s tradingmune since I was identally banished to the other side of Panu.¡±


    ¡°I have nothing to learn from them.¡± Allie stated sourly. ¡°Those ipetent rtives of ours have only brought us misfortune. First they almost got us killed, then they were less than capable when you were forcibly zapped away. I have lost faith in them.¡±


    ¡°I see. But don¡¯t you have a city to run?¡±


    Allie nodded, and gestured out the window towards the portal in the distance. ¡°More than just one now. Including the three cities you brought into the fold and the elvish town we conquered, that makes five. But I think you¡¯re failing to see the big picture here.¡±


    Allie adjusted her position in her chair to fully face her older brother as he gave her what she knew to be a judgemental frown despite the mask he wore. She could tell just by his bodynguage. ¡°I¡¯m already moving our armies further into Dawn¡¯s territories for a backline defense in case the dungeon Tereen is allied to attempts to strike out at Dawn¡¯s capital city - Mandon. I was going to set up a base camp there anyways with General Bruner, Gurth¡¯Rok, Vin and Nin, so why not? It¡¯ll give me some insight into how Dawn is run, what their people are like, allows me to make political connections with their nobility and gives me some much needed off time. Mara will be sure to run things in my stead through themunication stones we have linked to one another. Right Mara?¡±


    The ghoul necromancer nodded in agreement. ¡°I will not fail you mistress. I have be very adept at running Brightsville in your absence while you wage war on the tree lovers. I¡¯ve improved trade rtions with Negrada and the Blood Moon Requiem, culled the remaining forces that¡¯d opposed you in the prison and gang wars to the north, and have integrated the remaining Brightsville humans without much hassle. I also have already drawn up ns for civilians to freely travel between Chicago and Brightsville through the portal with checkpoint setups and registration cards for safety measures - with many of the officers from General Bruner¡¯s police forceing over soon to get theyout for the new reality of our twin cities. I do believe I¡¯ve earned at least some measure ofpetency.¡±


    Riven snorted at thement of ¡®tree lovers,¡¯ especially when Genua shot the ghoul a re while she was picking up after breakfast. ¡°Hmmm. I see. Well, I don¡¯t see any reason why Dawn would betray us¡­ So it shouldn¡¯t put you in danger while I¡¯m out hunting Chalgathi¡¯s chosen. Just be careful, ok? I don¡¯t want to have toe in and wipe out a neighboring city because you get into trouble - and I won¡¯t be able tomunicate with you when I get out of range. Satellite phones or cell phones from Chicago still aren¡¯t up, so I¡¯ll be checking the forums of Brightsville regrly if you have anything important to impart.¡±


    ¡°I assure you!¡± Theodore eximed nervously, holding up both hands in wide-eyed rm. ¡°We would never DREAM of attacking your sister! The king merely thought that, since you two were of courting age, perhaps you¡¯d find someone within our kingdom that may suit your fancy¡­¡±


    Theodore¡¯s voice trailed off uncertainly into the distance as both vampires slowly turned to stare, and Marin - the other, female diplomat from Dawn, facepalmed hard.


    ¡°Well.¡± Riven stated tly. ¡°I guess¡­ Just try not to kill anyone while you¡¯re over there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll only be a temporary thing while we finish the war.¡± Allie stated with an amused nod. ¡°I¡¯m rather curious about what our neighboring allies are like, so this little trip should be rather fun.¡±

 Chapter 149

    Chapter 149


    <strong>Chapter 149</strong>


    The Elysium altar¡¯s general system store was¡­ overpriced, to say the least. Its options were also low quality, but at least it gave vast amounts of them. Even the basics were in high demand concerning their little necropolis kingdom, with dozens upon dozens of adventuring guilds or mercenary groups taking up government-posted contracts to cull beasts in the area or scout out resources of interests like unholy herbs and ores. There were even system-sponsored quests for such things too that could be picked up at the altar. This meant Riven¡¯s altar and Brightsville in turn had be a major, major trading hub in the area. There were even a couple orcs, humans and goblins exchanging their pir affinities for the Unholy Foundational Pir as well as randomized subpirs, which inrge part reset what people could take in terms of sses, and it was a very popr choice due to the unholy attuned environments in this area giving people bonuses to leveling and dao insights for the unholy brands.


    Touching one hand against the obsidian spire in the middle of the now expansive trading hub, where people from Brightsville, Milwaukee, Chicago, Rockford, Deepnest, and Dawn¡¯s northernmost town of Bradshire all intermixed with one another. That didn¡¯t even include the vampiric host of the Blood Moon Requiem, who¡¯d opened their metaphorical doors to the budding kingdom with items as dirt cheap as the system would allow while simultaneously avoiding consequences; done as a desperate attempt on Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th¡¯s part to make amends with the Thane siblings. It also didn¡¯t include the various jabob demons, gargoyles, and other hellscape creatures that were found in or around therge tent Dungeon Negrada had set up.


    ¡°This stuff is all so expensive¡­¡± Riven heard some poor sod from Bradshire mutter under his breath while touching the central altar''s spire to ess the general store. The young man nced his way and abruptly paled when seeing Riven looking back at him, then quickly scurried away without having bought anything.


    Others, such as various undead, orcs, a few of the smarter goblins, and the Earth-born humans were all scrolling through their own screens that¡¯d been disyed on the obsidian monument like individualputers that they and others could view. Watching the rows upon rows of people waiting in line in order to ess the system store was rather interesting - with many of the people here undertaking transactions by mentally selecting items, the system removing coins on the person, and then with the system depositing whatever items the person bought. Usually this was either low tier adventuringbat gear for almost any or all sses, unique items like bonded pets, ability tomes or scrolls, information missives, tools, crafting materials, and foodstuffs - which is what Riven had primarily used it for in order to secure vast amounts of food for the growing empire.


    In fact, after learning that Chicago was in dire need, Riven had nearly spent all of his massive fortune from culling the Azag swarms and clearing the dungeon he¡¯d saved Hakim from. Tons upon tons of preserved food rations, seeds for nting, and even livestock had whittled away at Riven¡¯s funds until only a small pile of money remained from his once grand-standing mountain of wealth.


    <strong>[Eysium Coins: 1,253,508]</strong>


    Riven groaned internally when he saw just how far it¡¯d fallen within his spatial bag. To a normal person, over a million coins would have been enough to be considered rich. But for him, after his recent batles, he¡¯d capped out at over 80 million.


    ¡°The price of a bleeding heart!¡± Ath said with a wink, andughing when he red her way. ¡°What!? It¡¯s true! If you¡¯d just let all these people starve, you¡¯d have been able to buy all kinds of neat stuff!¡±Despite what Ath was saying, Riven could see his efforts had been appreciated - and they¡¯d been widely publicized due to his sister¡¯s efforts. Everyone here knew just how much he¡¯d spent to feed the cities they controlled, how much he¡¯d invested in nting crops for the next year, and if he¡¯d been hailed a hero in Chicago before all this - pretty much everyone who lived under the umbre of their empire had a deep-set respect for him that also bordered on awe or fear. By now the world forums had been sting Riven¡¯s fight across Panu, and it was a known thing in the necropolis that he was a Paragon - and that he was also involved in one of the major world quests. The power disy had been impressive, to say the least, and would no doubt act as a nuclear deterrent to some while quickly garnering attention from leaders and diplomats in other startup nations around here like flies to shit. Their intelligence gathering wasn¡¯t perfect, and the politicalndscape around Brightsville¡¯s area of influence was heavily contested across multiple areas with multiple different wars going on, but nothing very solid hade up other than a few major outliers like Dawn, Tereen, or the bordering nation on their conflict that was still deciding who to support if anyone at all.


    What were their names again?


    Riven couldn¡¯t remember. He¡¯d even talked to their diplomat over dinner, yet for the life of him he couldn¡¯t bring himself to really care when so many other more important subjects were on the table. He''d leave the politics to Allie.


    Riven shook his head and focused, and he continued to scroll through the lists of equipment he was going over in preparation for the journey into unknownnds. He was going to go hunt down those other artifact pieces, and he had to be prepared for anything. It was obvious, especially after his fights against both the assassin in the hospital basement and the heretic, that these people in Chalgathi¡¯s trails were another level of dangerous. Even for someone like him - it was nothing to scoff at, and there was a good chance that many of them would give him a run for his money.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing in the general store that interests me beyond the healing, stamina and mana potions we got.¡± Riven muttered, letting his hand drop and dismissing the screen from the obsidian face of the altar.


    He ignored the frequent stares or hushed whispers directed his way from the crowds around him, nodding to Azmoth and snapping his fingers to get Fay¡¯s attention. ¡°Find anything good? Or should we make a stop nearby and then head over to themunes?¡±


    Riven gestured over to where three buildings stood inbetween the two trademunes. They each belonged to prominent adventuring groups, oneprised mostly of orc warriors and some undead mages, while the second was mostly made up of humans from Brightsville. Both of these guilds had their own startup crafting sects, and these parts of the guild had set up shop here on the Elysium Altar¡¯s grounds after having been given permission by Allie to do so. The third building was actually a ragtag collection of ratkin from deepnest, who had been able to create a hill full of caves and interior rooms like the ones Riven had seen in the underground city weeks ago.


    From what Riven had heard, the prices were far better at the native stores whenpared to anything you could find in themunes of Negrada and the Blood Moon Requiem - and they were WAY cheaper than anything from the general store. So it was always in one¡¯s best interest to check out the locals first, due to the taxation practices and price hikes the system enforced on outsiders or its own wares. The problem was that Riven highly doubted these locals had anything of value for someone like him, as most of them were below level 25 and he was now level 68, so until people started to catch up he¡¯d most likely focus his time in the trademunes from offworld.


    Fay grunted her acknowledgement and pped her wings in irritation. ¡°There¡¯s only bad quality stuff here and it¡¯s all way more pricey than it should be! How can the system produce these ridiculous prices?!¡±


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°First time at an altar? I¡¯d thought you¡¯d known.¡± Ath mused with a grin, and the three of them started off in Azmoth¡¯s direction.


    Therge demon he stood stoically with two hands resting above the crowd on therge stone shaft of his infernal maul, and people didn¡¯t dare get near him lest he re up with heat - giving himself a wide berth from the otherwise packed crowd as his master and the two other demons approached. Beside him and bound to one of hisrge wrists was Genua - who¡¯d been more or less voluntold she¡¯d being along as Riven¡¯s private set of meals on wheels. The elf was outwardly terrified, her blue-green eyes darting around and sweat visible on her forehead that she continued to dab at.


    Azmoth snorted. ¡°Did find goods?¡±


    ¡°Just some basic mana, health and stamina potions. Everything else was either sub-par or priced so god damned high it would have hurt my soul to buy them.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Negrada has good stuffs. We go there next, ok?¡±


    Riven nced towards Genua - who was nervously fidgeting in a tattered robe and scratching at her neck where the iron cor kept her shackled. Then he looked up at therge demon with furrowed brows,. ¡°You went to check it out earlier?¡±


    Azmoth nodded. ¡°They make special gear for us to buy. You want outfit us three demons, yes?¡±


    Riven nodded. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. The goal here is to get each of you new equipment, traveling supplies, and some new abilities for the way out. Whatever I can buy with what I have left.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Uhmm¡­ Master?¡± Genua asked almost as a whisper while raising a hand to get his attention. ¡°Are you really taking me along? I believe I¡¯d be better suited here as a maid in your household¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯reing.¡± Riven stated tly. ¡°You¡¯re the one I¡¯m going to be feeding on as I travel around.¡±


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°But nothing. You don¡¯t get to choose anymore, be happy that you¡¯re even alive right now. Be happy that I let you see your daughter before we leave. Other than that, be quiet unless spoken to.¡±


    Genua paled, then let out a shuddering breath to calm herself. ¡°Alright. Will I be able to see Len again when we get back?¡±


    ¡°What did Riven just say about being quiet?¡± Ath hissed, yanking on Genua¡¯s long blonde hair and causing the woman to yelp. ¡°Speak only when spoken to, Sandwich, because we¡¯re definitely not bringing you along for thepany.¡±


    ***


    The tent Negrada had supplied for its tier 1 trademune was spatially enhanced when you got inside. There was far more room within than should have been possible, with multiple floors of wooden stockades or tforms underneath the red roof. Locals bartered with many of the red-skinned, three-eyed jabob demon merchants who were rather shrewd in their dealings - and the peace was kept intact by armored gargoyles who¡¯d throw any rowdy customers out. Hundreds of people were inside, with booths, stalls and elevated walkways leading up to the more grand stuff overhead.


    ¡°Prince Thane! Or should I call you Prince Wraithtide of the Blood Moon Requiem, eh!?¡± The excited and shifty voice of the demon Fred called out from up above, making Riven and many of the others look or pay attention to the one shouting and the one being shouted at.


    Above them and on a huge third story tform was the old red-skinned jabob demon Fred. He had a white long beard, was robed in purple, and kept a gnarled staff with a slight hunch. This was the head of the tradingmune here on Panu, and beside him peering over the edge was his assistant and the head identifier - Zelmont, the handsome orange incubus with his ck ponytail slung over one side.


    ¡°Come up! Come up!¡± Fred crowed, waving his staff in the air and causing a spiraling staircase created from red light to twirl down and settle at Riven¡¯s feet. ¡°You are a special guest, do not mix with the rabble! Come see what stores we have for you! Azmoth has already given us a good idea on what you¡¯re looking for when we heard you were in the market for a long journey, and we¡¯ve prepared some of the best we can offer on this poor, unruly low grade world!¡±


    Riven smirked, then ignored the stairs made of energy and simply walked through a rift in space to step onto the tform ahead of him. His three demons followed, and they found themselves facing a rathervish storefront that was secluded from the rest of the smaller shops, booths and setups down below. Red banners iid with gold covered the entrance and walls of carved, polished wood - and some of Zelmont¡¯s subus wives stood at attention just outside.


    ¡°Traveling in style I see.¡± Zelmont, the incubus stated with a head nod - letting his eyes fall over Fay just once to elicit a hiss before smirking and adjusting his in white tunic. Pulling out a clipboard and a pen created from the same red energy the staircase had been made of, he headnodded over to the inner workings of Negrada¡¯s tradingmune. ¡°This is an exclusive trading area only for people on this who we deem¡­ eptable enough to enter. May I also add that I was quite pleased to see your rise to power on the cortex forums here, it did add some excitement to the boring tasks of overseeing thismune.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t act like you do all the work, that would be me.¡± Fred the old jabob demon snarled with a flick of his wrist - ruffling Zelmont¡¯s hair with a st of some kind of wind and getting a disgruntled re from the incubus. ¡°Anyways I am very excited to see you finally make you appearance in our small and humblemune, my prince. It is an honor to not only have an esteemed progenitor of this buy from us, but also to do business with one of the royal house of the Requiem is beyond a simple demon like me. Please,e inside so that we may discuss the wares we have! Was Azmoth correct in saying you¡¯re looking for specialty items concerning your demonic familiars?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be correct.¡± Riven stated with a head bob over to the three familiars behind him. ¡°Weapons, armor, outfits, supplies, trinkets, new ability tomes or scrolls, anything that¡¯ll help us on a long journey. You name it and I¡¯ll consider buying it.¡±


    ¡°And what is your price range at the moment? Surely you gained quite a bit of wealth after your recent battle!¡± Fred¡¯s eyes gleamed with greed, and his little red hands rubbed together excitedly in anticipation.


    ¡°I spent most of it.¡± Riven said honestly, getting a frown from the smaller, hunched demon in front of him. ¡°Only a little over a million coins left. I spent over 78 million at the system store on acquiring food stuffs and getting our economy started. I¡¯d heard that you didn¡¯t deal in food so I just went to the source.¡±


    Fred¡¯s eyes bulged and his voice rose to a squeak of disbelief. ¡°78 MILLION!? Are you INSANE!? Why would you spend that kind of money on¡­ Ugh¡­ Nevermind! Just follow me. At least tell me you still have the cursed sanctuary stone?¡±


    ¡°Yeah I still have it. Why?¡±


    ¡°Negrada is interested in buying it. Getting our hands on an Azag Hive Sanctuary that can be harnessed isn''t unheard of, but it is very rare and potentially valuable to a dungeon core if we''re able to crack its code.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Riven had actually seen what the system store would pay for such an item. He¡¯d also read up on some of the lore concerning the Azag, which were essentiallyary parasites that ate the cores out of worlds and left them as smoking husks while draining their mana. The Azag Hive Clusters were a very feared force of the multiverse, but just how they¡¯d gotten a foothold on this through using Richard as an overmind was unfortunately beyond Riven¡¯s knowledge. Regardless, he could see why a dungeon would want it. Using it to build up a force of personalized Azag would be of great benefit to Negrada without a doubt, and perhaps a dungeon like Negrada would be able to resist thepelling sensations the curse of the stone would give.


    That didn¡¯t mean Riven would part with it for anything less than a monumental price, because the price the general Elysium Altar¡¯s store proposed for the stone was worth an immense amount of money. Hell, Riven wasn¡¯t even sure he wanted to part with it at all - in case he could somehow find out a way to control the startup hive cluster himself one day.


    Fred¡¯s irritation died down when he realized the Azag sanctuary stone was still in Riven¡¯s possession. Waving Riven forward, the jabob went through the gold-iid ps with Zelmont ths incubus behind. Azmoth roughly yanked Genua forward by her chain and the three familiars quickly followed suit as Riven passed into the interior of the elevated third story tform.


    Inside was a long hallway with closed off rooms on either side, and at the end of a hallway was a rectangr room with four sets of outfits already positioned on wooden mannequins. Each had a name carved into the wood below, with very fine detail noted to each carving.


    Ath.


    Azmoth.


    Fay.


    Genua.


    ¡°Genua?¡± Riven stated, eyeing the outfit and ncing between his ve and the mannequin. ¡°Really? You prepared a set for her too? The rest of this is rather impressive and I''m sure it¡¯s expensive, but I won¡¯t be paying much if anything for her. She and her family betrayed me and tried to kill me. If she dies, she dies.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s on the house!¡± Fred stated with a wide grin, ignoring the wide-eyed look of shock on the elf¡¯s face. ¡°And trust me on this, vampire: you should invest more heavily in creating a thrall. A proper thrall can be just as good a weapon as a contracted familiar, and with a bloodline like yours flowing through her veins to change her - I¡¯m sure you would not be disappointed in such an oue.¡±

 Chapter 150

    Chapter 150


    <strong>Chapter 150</strong>


    ¡°I agree with Fred.¡± Ath promptly stated, glowering over at Genua with distaste. ¡°We¡¯ll need a solid supply of blood for you while traveling and things will be dangerous. Creating a thrall out of her will allow her to take more of a hit and maybe even be useful, as opposed to this sniveling creature we have on our hands now.¡±


    Genua¡¯s eyes had tears collecting underneath them, and with a fearful look shot Riven¡¯s way - she adamantly shook her head with fingers going white as they tightened against her palms. ¡°Please¡­¡±


    Hmmm.


    It probably was about time he took a thrall of his own. The problem was they took a long time to make: with the process of continually feeding on them being weeks, months or even years if their willpower was strong enough to resist the vampiric taint. Pulling up the old system quest from his screens that¡¯d been sitting there for quite some time now, Riven reviewed the thrall-rted quest that¡¯d gone over specifics.


    <strong>[You have been offered a </strong><strong>guiding system quest</strong><strong> from the administrator: </strong><strong>Acquire Cattle and Create a Thrall</strong><strong> ¨C As a newly born vampire, you will need to acquire cattle, or in other terms - people to regrly feed on. It does not matter if you do this through persuasion or force. Then after this select one of these cattle to create a thrall. Thralls are mortals bent to a vampire¡¯s will and are essentially more subservient and powerful ¡®cattle¡¯ as many vampires like to say. Though they do retain their intelligence, personality, and to some extent their own free will - their desires are instinctively and heavily oriented to align with your own. This ces them in the minion category of your status page when acquired sessfully. Thralls also acquire some vampiric strengths, while they are able to retain their own pirs and abilities outside of the vampiric influence. However: retained pirs and abilities will be corrupted - sometimes modifying them slightly for better or worse. Lastly, thralls are able to provide greater amounts of nourishing blood than normal mortal cattle do; and their bloodlines may be modified over time to evolve to your liking. To create a thrall, you must feed on them regrly for an extended period of time and they must in turn feed on your blood numerous times throughout their initial evolutionary cycle. Reward upon acquiring thrall: 1bat level, a stable food source, and a new avenue to acquire minions.]</strong>


    Riven let out an exasperated sigh in Genua¡¯s direction, then turned to Fay while Negrada¡¯s ambassadors waited patiently by the disys. ¡°If we can¡¯t find anyone else to volunteer, it¡¯ll be Genua that I¡¯ll turn. But we¡¯ll see if there¡¯s anyone else more willing first. Your brother vetted people to serve in the guild hall. Right? Would he know of anyone?¡±


    Fay hummed in thought, rubbing her chin, then lifted a finger. ¡°I can go check! Is there anyone in particr you¡¯re looking for?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±¡°Do you want them older or younger, female or male?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, as long as they¡¯re adult elves and they¡¯re willing or even wanting the change. Tell them it¡¯ll be a good opportunity for a power up, a better life, and potentially a lot of excitement but also danger. Just bring the first one you find, and if there happen to be multiple right off the bat bring them all. I don¡¯t want to waste time while this evil suit I¡¯m wearing threatens to feed on my soul, so hurry. And thanks.¡±


    ***


    Despite a long time waiting, which was filled with small talk between Riven and Negrada¡¯s merchants as he didn¡¯t want to go ahead with the transactions while Fay was out, Fay¡¯s return did yield results.


    The subus was followed inside by her incubus brother, Tupper, who red Zelmont¡¯s direction when their eyes met but neither incubus said anything to the other. Behind Tupper was a single old man, an elf with silver hair set into a ponytail, who was missing his right eye. The wrinkled features of the man were set into a determined, yet also hesitant expression as he blinked and supported himself with a cane.


    ¡°Master.¡± Tupper stated, still dressed in a butler¡¯s suit as he bowed at the waist and extended his wings out to either side in a show of respect. ¡°My sister has informed me that you were looking for a thrall, specifically one to create from a ve who is willing or wanting the change? Unfortunately that limited our options down to only a single man after checking dozens of the captives we currently own.¡±


    Tupper rose when Riven gestured with a hand to do so, and the incubus stepped back to present the old elf as the man¡¯s arthritic fingers tightened along the cane he bnced himself with. ¡°He isn¡¯t the greatest of specimens, but he is the only one who volunteered.¡±


    A snicker from Zelmont drew everyone¡¯s attention, and the orange incubus was covering a mouth with one hand while looking the old ve over. ¡°Rather pathetic, isn¡¯t he? Are you sure you¡¯d rather not just take the woman you have chained here? Imagine all the fun you¡¯d be able to have with her. Or if you¡¯d rather not, at least sell her to me. I¡¯ve always wanted an elf.¡±


    The old man¡¯s eye fell along with his expression, but he remained silent - and Genua¡¯s face paled further.


    ¡°Personal ves are ouwed here.¡± Riven said unemotionally as he walked up to the old man to evaluate the hunched figure. ¡°They¡¯re only owned by the government for crimesmitted. I won¡¯t be selling anyone, especially not to a sex demon.¡±


    Zelmont¡¯s look of disappointment was immediately mirrored by Genua¡¯s look of relief.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± Riven eventually asked after moments of staring down at the old elf who was avoiding Riven¡¯s gaze. ¡°And what are your affinities? Or will I have to go get Zelmont here to tell me what they are? He should have the identification ss to do so.¡±


    Zelmont nodded in confirmation of this, and the elf gradually lifted his good right-eye up to blink at Riven¡¯s well-postured form.


    ¡°My name is Luke. Luke Blissfallen. My affinities are 43% of the Fae Foundational Pir, 39% for the Forest Sub-Pir, 48% for the Storm Sub-Pir, and 28% for the Ocean Sub-Pir. I did have the sub-pirs of Volcano, cial and Swamp - but unfortunately lost these affinities in a battle where my divinity channels were burned away many decades ago and my soul was damaged. I also lost ess to my bloodline¡­ a true shame.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised. Most of the ves from Greenstalk Vige ranged in the 15-30% range for their affinities and had only one or two of them. A lot of Allie¡¯s undead had Unholy and Death affinities ranging from 20-30% as well, while the greenskins had mostly Fae, Swamp and Volcano affinities with simr numbers. ¡°Those are some very good percentages. Zelmont, can you confirm?¡±


    Even the incubus was quite surprised, and his look of disgust with the old man abruptly fell off to one of respect when he reached a hand forward to touch the old man¡¯s shoulder. Lights shed across his eyes, and Zelmont gave a nod of confirmation. ¡°He¡¯s correct, though his energy channels aren¡¯t just burned away concerning his lost sub-pirs. They¡¯re burned out across his entire body, he won¡¯t be able to utilize any abilities at all even despite his percentages.¡±


    The incubus withdrew his hand, looking curiously down at the hunched figure. ¡°Just what happened to you?¡±


    Luke, the wrinkled old elf, gave a hesitant smile and nced Riven¡¯s way. ¡°I used to be a well known battle priest. I was caught in a life and death situation, back before the integration, and though I came out on top¡­ I was forever unable to heal my body and soul entirely. I was hoping that¡­ just perhaps, bing a thrall would fix me. Perhaps even give me a longer life. That is why I volunteered. I am a shadow of the man I used to be due to my disfigurement in both body and soul, even before being enved my life was a living hell. I have no family that were killed in the battle of Greenstalk, as I was merely a traveler passing through when the integration came. My grandson, Ren, was the only remaining family that I kept in contact with and he wasn¡¯t present at the battle. No doubt the youngd is off elsewhere in this world still trying to figure out what path he needs to take¡­ but as for me, I am hoping that this one is mine.¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    There was a long pause as Riven considered the old man¡¯s words. ¡°Does anyone here know if it is possible to heal energy channels and soul damage through bing a thrall? I¡¯m not even sure if it does.¡±


    ¡°No idea.¡± Ath replied.


    Fay shrugged, as did her brother. Even Zelmont didn¡¯t give any input, choosing to remain silent.


    ¡°I believe it is possible¡­ but it would be hard to do alone.¡± Fred, the bearded jabob demon stated while scratching his chin and looking over thoughtfully at the hunched elf. ¡°Turning him into a thrall would certainly help his physical condition correct itself to an extent, it would also prolong his life and modify his pirs and energy channels - be them stamina, divinity, or mana. However, whether or not it would fully fix these channels and pirs is unlikely without help. It is possible over time that the vampiric curse you afflict him with will eventually continue to shape his body so that he fully regains whatever it was that he lost - with them being modified through your vampirism of course. But I wouldn¡¯t bet money on it, and I¡¯m a gambler at heart. Therefore I propose that, if you choose to make this man your thrall, you should buy some soul-healing dao treasures or pills.¡±


    Fred gave Riven an evil grin. ¡°We have them in stock too!¡±


    Riven snorted in amusement, then motioned towards Genua. ¡°Take her back to the mansion. She is not needed here anymore, and thank you for the help Tupper.¡±


    The incubus smiled widely at the acknowledgement of his sess, bowed, and grabbed Genua¡¯s chains from Azmoth before leading the blonde woman out of Negrada¡¯s trademune.


    Riven watched the expressions change across Luke¡¯s face, a conflicted pattern of changing features that settled down into a hopeful grin. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re signing up for, old man?¡±


    ¡°To be a thrall is to be a blood-bound ve to a vampiric master.¡± Luke stated with an indifferent grunt. ¡°But if it heals me, why would I say no? If it gives me another chance at life, one of excitement and adventure, why say no? You never did me wrong personally, nor the ones that I care about. The racism of the elves of Greenstalk got the better of them this time. Logically what you did by not purging them outright, and by treating them rtively well considering they are ves, speaks to your character.¡±


    ¡°You say ¡®they¡¯ like you are not one of them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. I am not.¡± Luke tly replied. ¡°As I said, I was merely passing through their vige on a trip when integration struck. They are what I like to call ¡®country bumpkins.¡¯ I always lived in the cities growing up.¡±


    This got a snort from Ath and a grin from Riven.


    ¡°I see. Well then, Luke - I¡¯ll take your word for it. And what about your eye?¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°Were you not able to heal at least your body?¡±


    Luke shook his head. ¡°Couldn¡¯t afford it. Didn¡¯t have the money, and it¡¯d take a high level healer to rece body parts rather than just mend them.¡±


    Riven¡¯s gaze drifted back to Fred. ¡°Get me some dao treasures and soul healing pills to look over. Also, if you have any ve-binding cors to use in the meantime while his thrall transition is still being cultivated - I¡¯ll need some of those as well. Can¡¯t have him trying to betray me mid-way through bing a thrall when his energy channels renew. Luke, you said you were a battle priest? What kinds of miracles do you have?¡±


    Luke¡¯s look of excitement was palpable, but he settled himself down and let out a huff to reply. ¡°I... I¡¯m not entirely sure. I had many, but most of them were partially destroyed when I took soul damage. Even my remaining percentages were decreased. The fractals imbued onto my pirs are at the very least in need of repair, and at the very worst -pletely unusable. It¡¯ll take time to realize what I can and cannot ess in terms of my old abilities.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Well, wee to the group. I hope you don¡¯t regret it.¡±


    Luke nodded. ¡°I doubt there¡¯s anything to regret. Thank you for helping me, because that''s exactly what you''re doing.¡±


    ***


    The unholy ve cor etched with green runes clicked into ce, binding Luke to the owner of a bracelet now strapped along Riven¡¯s right wrist.


    ¡°This should keep him in check to obey anything youmand of him as long as his willpower is below 80, which it is.¡± Fred said while stepping back to evaluate the item. ¡°That¡¯ll be 40,000 coins.¡±


    ¡°Roadside robbery. I¡¯ll give you 20,000.¡± Riven replied without missing a beat.


    ¡°30,000.¡±


    ¡°25,000, and even that¡¯s a ripoff you greedy fuck.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    Riven mentally selected the amount of coins he wanted to transfer out of his bag of holding, and stack set of coins shed into existence momentster. Fred quickly deposited the coins into a sack of his own, grinned victoriously, and shot amand to one of the subi standing nearby to exchange the female-oriented equipment set out for Genua for some stuff that¡¯d better fit Luke.


    ¡°On to bigger and better things, the girls will get Luke his equipment, dao treasures and soul healing pills while we go over the hand-crafted pieces made for your own demonic minions.¡± Fred¡¯s eyes gleamed enthusiastically, and he bade Riven¡¯s group follow down the row. Stopping at the end where a ratherrge mannequin was positioned to match Azmoth¡¯s size, Fred¡¯s red hand pointed up at the pieces adorning its figure. ¡°This one is obviously for the brute you have with you!¡±


    Azmoth snarled. ¡°I smash you, little red ape.¡±


    Fred ignored the hellscape brutalisk and turned to face Riven head on with all three eyes sparkling wide. ¡°There are many features that we¡¯ve included! Hellscape Brutalisks are often very hard to find, and they¡¯re already heavily armored so it makes their equipment hard toe by. Even moreso for the one you have, who¡¯s acquired traits to make his bulk and armor even more noticeable than the average brutalisk his age. However, that does not mean that we didn¡¯t get some things - so go ahead and take a look! The prices are matched up with the pieces, all identification information is also on disy courtesy of Zelmont here.¡±


    The mannequin had only 3 distinct pieces on it.


    The first and most noticeable was a veryrge round shield, big enough for even Azmoth to hide behind it with over half of his body. It was made of a darker shade of gray steel, was many inches thick, and looked like it could have been the door to some kind of massive machine - only to be ripped off and used as a barrier instead. Bolts and screws had been drilled into the external perimeter, and the sigil of a ck hand had been painted onto the front.


    Painted?


    Maybe not. Riven saw the fingers of the hand twitch, causing the iron to creak and groan when the gray metal bent slightly only to reform to the way it¡¯d been moments before.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Immortal¡¯s Grasp (Tier 1 Awakened Shield)(Heavy Armor)</strong><strong>: 640 average defense, 83 average damage on strike. +209 Sturdiness, +42 Strength.</strong><ul><li><strong>Grasping Fingers:</strong><strong> This shield canunch a hand out of the shield to grasp enemies, pulling them towards the shield or you towards an enemy.]</strong></li></ul>


    That one was definitely interesting, but if he¡¯d beenining about the price at the altar previously he was certainly doing so now. The price for the shield was listed 140,000 Elysium Coins, so mentally checking it as an item of interest Riven moved on to the next.


    Which was essentially a veryrge, ck loincloth.


    The loincloth was created from numerous metal links that were each individually very small. It only came down the front end, being strapped around the waist by another kind of metallic fabric that gave the lower abdomen some additional protection, and it had three very prominent red runesid into the front end that looked like Japanese sigils or something simr.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Cansun Loin Cloth (Medium Armor)</strong><strong>: 78 average defense, decreases the amount of energy spent from any fire-type abilities regardless of pir by 8%.]</strong>


    The price was significantly lower than the shield, at a cost of only 9,000. Not that bad, but Riven couldn¡¯t help to think that this piece wouldn¡¯t survive many battles if it was Azmoth wearing it. He was always on the front line, and Riven was doubtful it could take many hits before being torn up.


    Then the veryst item as arge amulet. It had a veryrge orange and ck gemstone set into the front that was held in ce by rings of metal, but instead of being hung around the neck - it had four straps of metal that went under and over the arms to hook around the back.


    <strong>[ming Beholder¡¯s Tear (Amulet): This medallion uses the core of an evolved fire-attuned beholder demon to fire off high powered beams of infernal energy at enemies inbetween charges.]</strong>


    The price was set to 600,000, and Riven whistled at the amount before shaking his head. ¡°Hmm. Got any ability scrolls or tomes for him?¡±


    ¡°We selected two scrolls that Azmoth may be interested in, and one tome. Go ahead and look.¡± Zelmont held out a set of two rolled up scrolls that each had literally ming insignias written onto their seals, with an orange book to follow that was a couple dozen pages long. ¡°We only provide the best for our most treasured customers, but remember that the bestes with a cost!¡±

 Chapter 151

    Chapter 151


    <strong>Chapter 151</strong>


    Time went by quickly as Riven sorted it all out. Ath was presented with a list of five different abilities to pick from between different martial arts, with various unique weapons and ck, gray or brown rogues¡¯ outfits oriented towards shapeshifting abilities. There was even a dao treasure that allowed one to acquire the Shadow Sub-Pir affinity, which she was very heavily considering as the item she wanted Riven to buy for her.


    Fay was presented with a wooden caster¡¯s staff that could amplify curse damage, a corset and skirt outfit with various shades of purple that gave bonuses for any mind-rted magics, and a ck, crooked witch¡¯s hat that matched the color of her horns, tail, eyes and wings. She was given choices from two spells to choose from too, and a few enchanted rings with various properties rted to curses as well.


    Lastly, for Luke - who¡¯d volunteered to be Riven¡¯s first thrall, it was mostly utility stuff aside from the five brightly shining soul healing pills and a single dao treasure in the form of a brilliant red flower that were presented. There was some cooking gear, another spacial bag to carry stuff in, a magical tent that pitched itself, a ss jug that Luke could store blood into as it leached off his hand just by touch, and above all else - an outfit that collected more XP points than normal while in a party, converting these extra XP points into healing energy that helped mend various types of damage.


    Including soul damage.


    ¡°We can do this one of two ways.¡± Fred stated while hopping up onto a nearby chair behind the four disys. ¡°The first way is you trade that Azag hive cluster sanctuary stone for everything here. You won¡¯t have to pay anything else, just the stone. We¡¯ll even throw in another 3 million coins too.¡±


    The ape-like, red-skinned demon held up two fingers. ¡°The second way is you can haggle for the items here and buy what you can, though as you already know it won¡¯t be nearly as much as all that is disyed here. And honestly, Negrada is very much wanting that stone. We could use it, and even somewhat need something like this.¡±


    ¡°Need? Why?¡±


    Fred frowned, then exchanged a look with Zelmont. ¡°We¡¯re currently under siege. Negrada and one of our allied dungeons are fighting a war with a collection of five other hellscape dungeons, and one of our previous allies has already had their dungeon core destroyed. This stone will ramp up our production of military forces by a lot. It is useful to a dungeon core, but very dangerous for a mortal who cannot deal with the hive minds trying to manipte you when you link to the inner clusters of the multiverse.¡±There was an awkward pause in the conversation, and Riven¡¯s surprise showed through his bodynguage. Then he folded his arms. He certainly would like the gear, and Negrada had helped him out by getting rid of that damnable ghost in his soul aperture, but the deal wasn¡¯t in his favor either way. ¡°The system store will buy the Azag sanctuary stone for 64 million coins. There isn¡¯t any way I¡¯d take your first deal.¡±


    Fred nched a bit at the price, but tried to keep himself calm when he straightened his posture and tried to regain control of the situation. ¡°Ahem¡­ I see. I didn¡¯t realize the Elysium general store would value it that much. Alright then¡­ We can offer an additional 8 million on top of these items.¡±


    ¡°Still not enough.¡± Riven stated with a shake of his head. ¡°No chance. The stuff here is great, but it¡¯s only worth about 3 million total by itself.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll throw in more items. Christia, please fetch the others.¡±


    One of the brte subi on the periphery of the room bowed, then turned to walk away. Doors opening, drawers being shut, and finally the sound of wheels turning sounded to Riven¡¯s ears before the subus came back only half a minuteter as she pushed arge cart with various types of stuff.


    There were scrolls, tomes, books on crafting, enchanted weapons and armor, jewelry, and odds and ends that Riven didn¡¯t immediately recognize. However his mask enabled him to get the gist of what most of this stuff was, and he was left disappointed. This was all second-hand, low quality, and even the ability scrolls weren¡¯t anything to be particrly envious of.


    Especially since he knew there was limited space on what you could learn, due to soul fractals for each ability being engraved on your soul¡¯s core and pirs. When that space ran out, you either had to discard an old skill or just not learn the new one.


    For half an hour Riven and his minions sifted through it, and Riven¡¯s best guess at estimating a pricey somewhere between 25 and 30 million for everything, including the 8 million in coins they¡¯d promised.


    Which was less than half of what the system would buy it for. And if what he¡¯d learned about how the system sold high and bought low, he could urately predict that the Azag hive sanctuary stone would be worth even more elsewhere.


    ¡°May I be blunt?¡± Riven asked after a time while the red jabob demon anxiously looked on.


    Fred hesitantly nodded, trying to keep hisposure in the chair. ¡°Yes, of course!¡±


    ¡°Is Negrada broke?¡±


    Zelmont immediately frowned.


    Meanwhile, Fred took in a quick inhale of air. ¡°Well¡­ Perhaps the wars aren¡¯t going in our favor at the moment, so yes¡­ We aren¡¯t particrly in a good spot right now.¡±


    Riven slowly nodded. It appeared that Negrada was a lot less powerful and a lot less rich than he¡¯d initially thought - even despite intimidating forces residing here like the lurker demons.


    But then again, Riven was different now. Those lurker demons on the first floor, like the one who¡¯d nearly eaten Ath back in the hells, would be nothing but fodder for his growth now. He could utterly crush most of them without much trouble after all the levels and dao insight he¡¯d gained, so perhaps on the grander stage of the multiverse Negrada might not be all that strong.


    Then again maybe these lurker demons were maxed out at level 90, instead of being in the 40 to 50 range like the one he''d seen earlier. He hadn''t checked.


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s why you even came here in the first ce, to help stimte the economy. Most of the stuff I¡¯ve seen are decent items for lower level people or those who are just starting out, but none of this beyond what you initially presented is something I¡¯d want for me or my minions.¡±


    Fred began to scratch his head, anxiety about losing the deal evident in the way he stiffened. ¡°I suppose there is a third way. Otherwise we¡¯ll just have to forgo getting the stone and you can buy what you do like from the wares present.¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Oh? What is the third way?¡± Riven asked curiously.


    Fred took his time to answer. Likely this was due because he wanted to create dramatic affect, though Riven couldn''t be absolutely sure. Perhaps there really was a reason why Fred was hesitating like that. Perhaps he lost out on the bonuses he''d otherwise get, as he knew that Fred like many merchants using systemmunes got a bonus cut for whatever they sold.


    ¡°I have been given permission by Negrada itself to forge a system-regted contract.¡± Fred steepled his fingers, eyes narrowing. ¡°You may take 1 item scroll for each of your demons, some basic provisions that we supply with your thrall-to-be, and you will have 1% of all profits that Negrada makes, plunders, or steals. In exchange for the sanctuary stone.¡±


    Riven shifted his gaze to the pile of goods. ¡°1% of all profits?¡±


    ¡°Indefinitely.¡± Fred confirmed with a nod. ¡°Forever. Paid monthly starting a month from today, 1% of all profits for a given month by value of items or wealth. The money will be transferred to your bag of holding if I mark it, and I will even upgrade the bag for you so it can hold more to amodate our tribute. I will be frank with you, even when you¡¯d first met Negrada months ago - we¡¯d been far better off and far wealthier. Far more powerful, and with far greater allies. The tides are changing against us, and we need this stone. We are also willing to add to this contract a use stating that if we survive this war, Negrada will owe you any single favor you can think of as long as it does not directly harm or endanger the dungeon. This includes asking for any item we possess, any sum of money we may have at that time, any minion you wish to acquire. Anything, just once, as long as we live through these trying times.¡±


    The offer was something of a shock, and Ath¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    ¡°And this stone would help you survive the war?¡± Riven rified hesitantly, pulling out the ck orb that crackled with green energy inside. ¡°And I get to pick one item, and one ability tome or scroll per minion?¡±


    ¡°That is correct.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°You have yourself a deal, as long as you throw in the outfits for Fay and Ath. They have a hard finding clothes that¡¯ll amodate their more demonic features.¡±


    Fred guffawed with excitement, holding up a clenched hand to shake at the air, and he smiled triumphantly like a man who¡¯d just won the lottery. ¡°VERY GOOD!!! You will not regret this, Riven Thane! Today, you have just won yourself an ally in Dungeon Negrada - and we will pay this debt back a thousand fold! Mark my words, you have just done yourself a great favor indeed!¡±


    ***


    Azmoth stood outside the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s gates, an enormous new shield in one wed hand whilemanding the ck hand of the shield to extend and wiggle around in the air like a child on Christmas with a new toy. He¡¯d actually selected the tome instead of a scroll, for an ability called <em><strong>¡°The Burning Crusade¡±</strong></em> which boosted all members of a party with a martial art - giving them increased resistances and additional me damage with physical strikes for a short period of time. He¡¯d have to learn it on his own, which was different than scrolls, but the ability had been worth it and he¡¯d be able to reuse the tome instead of it just vaporizing like scrolls did.


    Ath had been outfitted in a dark gray assassin¡¯s outfit with studded leathers, vambraces, a hooded cloak and an amulet she¡¯d picked out as her item. The outfit amodated shapeshifters - absorbing into her body or meshing with her mutations as well as added extra stealth boosts to ¡®presence¡¯, meaning people would more easily overlook her even if she wasn¡¯t necessarily trying to hide. The amulet was a dark ck gemstone set into a backdrop of gray steel, and it increased her damage by physical-attack critical strikes with a 15% bonus. Her newest ability was a ssic that Riven had seen in many games back on Earth, being called <em><strong>¡°Backstab.¡±</strong></em> It was an ability scroll so she¡¯d learned it instantly, only to have the parchment evaporate soon after, and it allowed her to unleash a martial art that only worked on what the system considered a the back of an enemy - and would only work when she was stealthed to her target. If she was noticed by her target prior to the strike, the martial art would fail, but if she sessfully stabbed someone from behind without them being aware of it - the strike would cause an abrupt pulse of kic energy to rip through their bodies, stimting an automatic critical strike that would range from 3x to 10x the normal damage done. It was even enough to get her to wear the tiara she''d been safekeeping - now cing it underneath her hood and on top of her head, because it just meshed so well with her newfound upgrades:


    <strong>[Tiara of Silent Killing (Blood / Shadow Trinket):</strong><strong> After sessfully killing a target without being noticed by anyone else, gain a charge of critical strike. Your next unseen attack has a 100% chance to be a </strong><strong>2x - 8x</strong><strong> critical hit, with multiplied damageing in the form of kic burst energy from the strike site. Requires a 26% or higher Blood </strong><strong>or</strong><strong> Shadow Pir Affinity to wield, and the wearer must be female.]</strong>


    He could only imagine the stacking power of what Backstab would do with the new amulet and the tiara finally being worn. Aside from this, Riven had also bought ¡®<em>Heart of Darknes</em>s¡¯, a dao treasure looking very much like a ck coconut that would allow Ath to also acquire the Shadow Sub-Pir immediately upon consumption. This he¡¯d paid for out of pocket with a whopping 200,000 coins t, as it was outside the boundaries of the deal they¡¯d struck and was actually cheaper than the amulet Ath had picked. Without it, she¡¯d have been unable to even learn her new shadow-affiliated martial art - so it¡¯d been a given to buy and he¡¯d brushed off her concerns of spending too much on her with a wave of his hand.


    Fay had acquired a wooden staff, the purple caster¡¯s corset and skirt, and the ck witch¡¯s hat. They all gave bonuses that would benefit her, with the staff amplifying curse damage while decreasing the pain she received while casting them - the hat amplifying her mental defenses and mana regeneration - and the purple midwear giving her bonuses to mind magic. Namely, this was for her hallucinations, and they too could modify themselves to fit shapeshifting abilities. Fay wasn¡¯t all that great at retracting her tail, wings, or even horns - but as she got more powerful it¡¯de more naturally and these clothes could benefit her then. Her one spell scroll was an Unholy affiliated ability, though she was running out of space on her Unholy foundational pir after applying it and would either need to start looking to the Depravity pir for new spells or would need to start getting rid of old abilities to make room. This new ability she¡¯d ced was a curse called <em><strong>¡°Dark Pact¡±</strong></em>, and it healed all allies nearby while simultaneously slowing enemies. It was a Tier 3 curse, was pretty potent, and it built up over time in both how much it healed as well as how much it slowed enemies. However the adverse effect for the curse, which was mental anguish, would drastically increase over time as well - essentially torturing the mind of the caster until it started draining actual health from the user. If the user used it too long, they¡¯d even die.


    Lastly, the cored, one-eyed old man who was to be Riven¡¯s thrall stood curiously looking around at the bustling activity. It was the first time Luke had been to the altar, only having seen it in the distance as he¡¯d been forced to work the farms before now, and Riven could tell by the smile that Luke was enjoying the rtive freedom from hisst predicament.


    It made Riven sad, because he knew there were likely other elves on the farms just like this guy. Ones that hadn¡¯t agreed with what they¡¯d done to Riven, but he just couldn¡¯t chance an uprising after what they¡¯d put him through and how racist they¡¯d showed themselves to be.


    Kathrine¡¯s touch from behind him caused Riven to startle, and he turned to face the other royal member of his extended family through the porcin mask stuck to his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you came, but I am relieved.¡± Kathrine stated slowly, looking down at his minions talking to one another and the elf who was standing nearby. ¡°They seem excited, but I for one am disappointed to see you go. I¡¯d been hoping to talk to you in detail, set up a proper education and training program for you, and was hoping to deepen the bonds between you, your sister, and the empire. The queen is not very happy with my performance, and my family¡¯s name is slowly being dragged through the mud due to my failures.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not my problem.¡± Riven stated simply. ¡°But fear not, you can tell them that I just have some things to take care of and I¡¯ll be back to truly hear you out. Thest time I was whisked away was not your fault, nor should you let the irritation of my sister rub you the wrong way. Even she knows that you couldn¡¯t have done anything, it was a system integration quest. Now let us have onest talk before I leave to meet my sister and say my final goodbyes, it is unlikely that I¡¯ll be back any time soon after this - potentially even years - and we have a lot toy out for my time away.¡±

 Chapter 152

    Chapter 152


    <strong>Chapter 152</strong>


    <em><strong>3 monthster¡­</strong></em>


    ¡°I love you Riven. Don¡¯t stay gone too long, ok?¡±


    Those were thest words Allie had said to her brother as she¡¯d waved him off with a warm, parting hug. He¡¯d vanished through the portal to the other side of the world, then their forces in Chicago had reported they¡¯dst seen him departing along the coastline into the nortnds. She still remembered how he¡¯d smelled, and it felt like it¡¯d been so long now that she was beginning to be depressed. He only had another half year to find the next to pieces to the Chalgathi set, and although there hadn¡¯t been any notifications of his death - there¡¯d also been no notifications concerning his sess in acquiring another piece.


    That worried her. She should have seen at least one message about it by now, as she¡¯d already seen notifications about two of the contenders already having acquired all 5. What happened beyond that¡­ was anyone¡¯s guess.


    Nevertheless, the gamen was set. Allie had her duties here to run their fledgling country in preparation for what would no doubt be a world-wide war. Any one of the world quests could lead to billions of people dying, and she''d need armies to help get her agenda done - to literally save the world from catastrophe. If that meant crushing a few local enemies in the process such as the elvish nation of Tereen, so be it. Meanwhile, Riven wouldplete and seed in Chalgathi''s sub-section of the Apocolypse Beasts world quest. And if he needed her help, they always had that means...


    ¡°Allie?¡±


    Snapping out of her trance, Allie realized the carriage hade to a stop. The zombified horses were bing restless outside, and the ck interior of the coach she rode in was still. Mara had originally been assigned to maintain Brightsville, but she¡¯d been so lonely that she¡¯d reced Mara with General Bruner - who was inbetween Wrightsville and Chicago on a regr basis now.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Allie muttered, following Mara out of the carriage and wincing at the sunlight. Stepping onto the cobblestone street just outside of the towering fantasy city, she gazed up at the many floors of elevatedndscapes that supported different levels. Airships, rocs and their riders, and even a couple small drakes were swarming the upper city levels like bees to honey. ¡°I just miss Riven.¡±Mara nodded, smiling and gesturing her towards the opposite side of the road where another carriage, escorted by high profile warriors of Dawn¡¯s 1st legion, waited patiently at attention. ¡°I know. He¡¯ll be back eventually, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    From afar, Dawn¡¯s capital of Mandon looked to be an unbelievably tall stack of seven different cities - including the ground floor. Each of the floors was built on a very thick plot of elevatedndscape. Mandon was a magnificent city that took up the entirety of a zone spanning exactly 109 square miles everyyer ording to the government. ording to the locals they had questioned, the city was a relic of the past when necessity caused them to conserve space to limit their outside contact with enemy forces in the early days of its existence - back before the integration had culled numbers of the poption in the surrounding area. 3 levels of the city existed underground and 7 levels of the city existed above ground for a total of 10 levels - ranked in order of number from the ground level when being described by the popce.


    Generally the upper levels were for the residents who were better off. Order and safety, along with beauty and splendor could be found amongst the elevated gardens, farms, markets, trade schools andmunities of the top levels. The base of each top level had light collected from the sun passed down through a magical screen that let you view the sky even while underneath - and the only way you¡¯d know that you weren¡¯t looking up into the actual sky was the grid of the screen constructed with cables and stone, or the multitude of elevators, enormous pirs and evenrger spiral staircases that led up to further levels. In the very center of the city a circle had also been carved into thendscape, being many football-fields across in diameter, and you could actually look up to see the pce on the top floor as its waterfall poured over the sides and fell down through all levels of the city to pour into the sewers of under-level 3 where the water was recycled and cleaned for future use. Aqueducts imbued with magic weremonce and the pirs holding each level up often had tube systems designed for the transportation of water. The poorer citizens could be found underground and slums weremonce the further down you went. Instead of magnificent grids with the sky overhead, artificial lights were used to brighten the under-levels during the daytime and dimmed at night - the only exception to this was therge hole the waterfall originating from the pce entered from the upper levels.


    Unfortunately Allie had done little sightseeing throughout her brief trips her prior to today, but she was sure to do so now that she¡¯d be spending more time here - if only temporarily. The city truly was a magnificent sight to behold, and would no doubt have been considered the next wonder of the world if it¡¯d been located back on Earth.


    No, she¡¯d not had time to sightsee. She¡¯d been rather busy over the past season. 1rge city, 3 towns, and arge swath ofnd conquered - Allie had taken control over a third of Tereen by herself. The war between Dawn and the elvish nation of Tereen was still raging fiercely, but the elves had been pushed back onto the defense and were bing desperate thanks to the undead intervention. Not only that, but ck ops teams, assault mechs, tank groups, and fighter jet squadrons were working in unison with the undead swarms to crush any opposition quite quickly. Trade between Dawn, Deepnest, and the Thane Necropolis had be the lifeblood of all three countries, with travel between them rampant even despite charisma shes causing asional conflict. The trust between the three small empires was ramping up, and measures had been taken to curb the effects of the system-based charisma problems as best they could do. It very much helped that Allie had essentially saved Dawn from either a long drawn out war, orplete annihtion, and the citizens were reminded of this constantly whenever their loved ones came back from the front line to tell their families of the undead who¡¯d helped them survive thest battle or so. Meanwhile, the ratkin of the underdark who¡¯d beencking necessary weapons, food and supplies after the dwarves had cut off their outlying farming posts were now back in business. The Thane Necropolis had provided both local and system-based means of acquiring all those things, and the strategic advantage the dwarves initially had was now gone. Caravans from the underdark regrly made it to the surface, and the tunnels outlying trade between Deepnest and Brightsville were extremely well guarded at all times by both sides. Not only that, but Deepenest was so close to Brightsville it made travel very easy - with Brightsville already having sent some of its forces down below numerous times to help counter dwarven attacks. The ratkin supplied the necropolis with bodies from both sides of the conflict, and Allie¡¯s forces continued to grow.


    Meanwhile on the other side of the world-spanning portal, the three cities of Chicago, Rockford, and Milwaukee were a centerpoint for attention by the surrounding factions rising there. It was a well known thing that the Thane Necropolis was a rising powerhouse, and that Chicago was associated with Riven on the world forums - so the surrounding forces at y kept a wary watch. Two newly formed countries waged war to the south of Chicago, with a very sketchy faction up to the northwest sending spies southwards regrly, and a couple scattered independent city states having formed along the coast or further ind. Allie truthfully just hadn¡¯t gotten around to exploring much over there yet, as she already had lots to do on this side of the. As long as Chicago and its neighboring cities weren¡¯t under attack, she¡¯d let things remain as the status quo.


    For now.


    She closed her eyes and hummed to herself, trying to take her mind off the present and insert it into a more peaceful ce. It was time to rx, and she was finally going to try her best to do so after so much bloodshed and so much worrying.


    Hopefully the king, who she¡¯d only met in very brief passing twice now, was right on the money. Perhaps attending college, or its equivalent at the academy, would be a good thing. It would give her a needed break, an interesting lesson on the politics and histories of Dawn¡¯s kingdom, perhaps would even allow her some insight on how to run her own kingdom, and would maybe even allow her to find some new theories on magic. Her tutor at the Blood Moon Requiem was a very good teacher, but he was more focused on Dao theory than anything else and he often discarded energy based theory in favor of just ¡®Understanding the Dao¡¯ - which she didn¡¯t agree with. Magic had a rhyme and reason to it just like science did, even if Dao had a huge part to y. It wasn¡¯t just understanding the concept, it was understanding the intricate pieces that created arger whole. Usually and in many other circumstances she¡¯d call someone like her a fool to go against the mainstream teachings of what an ancient empire hade up with for their young, but she had a 100% affinity with the Death Pir. It almost spoke to her, guided her in ways that were far beyond normal, and she¡¯d take the Dao¡¯s teachings and promptings at the source over anyone or anything else. If it told her that there was more intricacies than what meets the eye throughpulsions and feelings, she¡¯d trust it.


    Given, thosepulsions and feelings only ever came from the Death Pir - so perhaps this only applied specifically to the Death Pir. She couldn¡¯t speak for the others. Perhaps that really was how the other pirs worked.


    ¡°Allie, you¡¯re off into wondend again.¡±


    Allie snapped out of it for the second time, getting her bearings and smiling at Mara - who wore a concerned look underneath the hood covering her patchwork ghoul features. ¡°Sorry. Let¡¯s be off then, shall we?¡±


    Mara nodded, took theptop she¡¯d been using for administrative purposes out to check her private messages, and then waved to the undead escort who¡¯d been riding in on zombified horses as well as the tanks and helicopters hovering overhead. Putting away herptop again, she spoke into thems unit attached to her ear she¡¯d been given by the techies from Chicago and patched in to speak with the pilots nearby. ¡°Thank you, we will be fine from here. Good hunting.¡±


    ¡°Roger that.¡± The voice of the escort leader came through. Shortly after that the carriage turned around along with the dozens of deathknights, death-attuned mages, and heavy mechanical units turning around to make their way back into the north.


    Heavily armored knights bearing the insignia of a yellow sun saluted Allie as she walked forward, and a decorated veteran with a feathered helm hopped off his own warhorse to address Allie with a low bow. ¡°Queen Thane, my name is Sir Reford the Second - a Captain in the king¡¯s service. It is my pleasure to escort you into the capital, the City of Mandon. Our destination is the tenth and top floor where we have your amodations prepared for your attendance at the academy. It may take an entire day or more for the journey up if we go bynd. Would you like me to call down an airship?¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Allie nced over at the pristine white carriage waiting for her, embroidered with gold and decorated with flowers. Then she looked up to the differentyers of city reaching high overhead, and the swarms of air traffic. She smiled, then shook her head. ¡°No. I was hoping to see the city on the way up.¡±


    The feathered knight nodded, then stood up to his full height. ¡°That¡¯s what I was told, I just wanted to make sure. We¡¯ll be certain to stop at many of the more interesting sites on the way, there¡¯s a lot to do and see here - and it will be my honor to act as your tour guide for the day.¡±


    ***


    He had traveled far across an entire continent, and he was finally closing in on not one - but multiple other Chalgathi paritcipants.


    The desert sun beat down across the horizon, a barren wastnd of t crackednd with extreme heat. The only sound was that of the slowly flowing river nearby, theughter of his two female minions as they sshed around, and the slow breathing of Azmoth and Luke beside him.


    Riven hovered three feet up above the ground, cross-legged in the air with a meditative pose. Light gleamed off the heavy steel armor that supplemented his Chalgathi outfit wherever it wasn¡¯t covered by his cloak - metal encasing his hands, arms, legs, feet, and even the chest surrounding the maw in the center having a cutout in the breastte. It was all custom made, courtesy of a cksmith he¡¯d saved 2 months into the trip. Hands steepled in front of him as wisps of blood mana spiraled gently off his body, the bodies of dozens of banditsy stered around them - drying up under the zing heat. They were merely husks of the bodies they¡¯d once been, especially after Riven had drained them to satiate his thirst. His hunger was bing ever more ravenous.


    And on Riven¡¯sp was his spiritually bound weapon, finallying out of its shell.


    ¡°Focus.¡± Luke stated calmly, hovering beside Riven and opening his one good eye that showed an eerie red. It was one of the effects of having be a thrall belonging to a pureblood, as opposed to a normal vampire that couldn¡¯t often get results such as this. It¡¯d only been only two months ago now, and though his pirs and divinity channels were still damaged even after eating the soul mending pills and divine dao treasure - it would probably be soon that he started to get a grasp back on his abilities. Things like manipting his divinity, much like Riven manipted his mana, were trifling things and easy enough to do for someone with as much experience as Luke. ¡°Let your energy peel theyers back, but do not force them. With a transformation like this, you can think of it very much like you would your own dao visions. Only that for the weapon, you are the guiding force - for you can mold these changes to be what you wish them to be. Feel it out, warp the essence stolen by this ¡®Richard¡¯ person you slew, and let the weapon grow in ways that you feel would most benefit the build you want.¡±


    Flickering wisps of red and ck coalesced, forming intertwining strings that slowly began to dig at the already cracking crystalltice epassing his weapon. It¡¯d been 3 months since he¡¯d been able to use the staff, but now - behind the capsule closed around it - Riven could feel the staff calling to him. Pulling on Gluttony¡¯s shard and imbuing it into the weapon, Riven visualized the characteristics of what he wanted - and Gluttony replied.


    It was finally time.


    First the crystalized pieces began to ke off one by one, falling into dust as they touched the ground like red petals. Riven¡¯s strings of mana continued to gently nudge the capsule apart piece by piece, with small chunks falling off next - until entire sections began to ke and disintegrate. An audible sigh, like the wind on a night¡¯s breeze, escaped from the capsule as it finally vanished into nothingness - and in its ce, a new weapon had emerged.


    <strong>[Vampire¡¯s Escort has evolved into an ascended legendary weapon. As an ascended weapon, this item gains true intelligence and an awareness of self beyond what any other kind of totem, awakened item, or enchantment can produce. Most crafters only dream of creating such a masterpiece, and you have sessfully done so. By utilizing high high grade materials, a piece of your own soul, dao insights, a piece of original sin, and by absorbing the essence of a high tiered enemy for your level, the system has granted this weapon ess to ascendancy. As an ascended weapon, Vampire¡¯s Escort has given itself a True Name, one imbued with power, that will forever remain a permanent fixture on the item. Ascended weapons cannot be soulbound, soulbinding has been nullified. Vampire¡¯s Escort has given itself the True Name: Jackal.]</strong>


    <strong>[Jackal (Ascended Legendary Weapon. Type: Vampiric Artifact, Sin Artifact, Sorcerer¡¯s Spear-Staff): 894 average damage on strike with each physical strike dealing additional shadow damage. Each physical strike steals health from the enemy and heals you and repairs this item. Mana regeneration is increased by 305%. Stamina regeneration increased by 8%. All Shadow and Blood abilities cost 10% less mana while dealing 36% additional damage. This item has an abnormally high endurance and is hard to destroy. Requires Vampiric Heritage and a piece of Gluttony¡¯s Original Sin to wield.</strong><ul><li><strong>Sacrificial Kill:</strong><strong> Killing strong opponents has a chance to imbue this weapon with additional attributes, stats, or bonuses.</strong></li><li><strong>Gluttony¡¯s Riptide:</strong><strong> Passively builds up an elongated de of sin energy that can extend by swinging this weapon in an arc. Recharge rate and damage output depend on control and insight concerning Gluttony.</strong></li><li><strong>ck Lightning:</strong><strong> This staff can passively build up charges of ck lightning. Power of ck lightning depends on the amount of charge emitted.</strong></li><li><strong>Jackal¡¯s Lunge:</strong><strong> Point this weapon in any direction and activate this innate and unique martial art, charging the de with blood mana to create the visage of a jackal¡¯s maw and sting forward. When your de strikes an enemy, the red jackal will close down on them to deal additional blood and sin damage.</strong></li><li><strong>Portal Master:</strong><strong> This weapon can sync to any stabilized portal you permission to use by the maker and master. Current locations avable for ess: Dungeon Negrada, Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole. Takes 1 week of channeling in the same ce to use this ability.</strong></li><li><strong>Beastform:</strong><strong> This weapon can turn into a shadow jackal. This form is not offensivelypatible, but is a way for the weapon to experience the world around it outside ofbat - matching the will of the de.]</strong></li></ul>


    Many questions came with the awakening of Riven¡¯s weapon. Why was soulbinding not allowed? What was sin energy? What exactly was an ascended weapon - other than one with self awareness? Or was that all there was to it?


    Regardless of these things, Riven was not disappointed in the result. The damage had increased almost 9 times over mana regeneration had over doubled, each strike now leached life off enemies to heal him, all blood and shadow abilities had even more umph than before, and scorpion¡¯s sting had been reced with two new weapon-infused abilities: a riptide and a lunge. It now even gave him a very small of stamina regeneration, which was kind of funny because he really didn¡¯t use stamina much other than while sprinting. But it was well received.


    Why it had named itself ¡®Jackal¡¯ and why this was considered a ¡®True Name¡¯ were also a little odd. But the weapon certainly had that vor, and it could apparently even turn into one?


    What Riven had once considered a true staff with a pointy end now was more like a Kwan Dao, or a Chinese halberd. It was a lot longer now, just slightly thicker, and was still made of ck wood all along the shaft. The bottom end of the shaft was blunted with a cap carved into a jackal¡¯s closed mouth, while the opposite end had another andrger jackal¡¯s head that produced a pitch ck de.


    In fact the entire weapon was a deep ck, except for swirling patterns of blood that trickled along its surface. It hovered above hisp horizontally just like he hovered over the ground, and when Riven reached up to grab it and sped his hands around the polished ck wood - the rushing streams of blood adapted and started flowing over his hands. The streams flowed along and into his skin, sending a jolt of awareness from the weapon as the mental entity touched Riven¡¯s mind, and Jackal¡¯s eyes along its carved faces began to glow crimson in a very simr way that Riven¡¯s own did.


    The weapon shuddered, and a pulse of shadow swept across thend to blot out the sun for an entire five seconds over three miles in diameter. Then the darkness retracted, and Riven felt a feeling of eptance wash through him.


    <em>¡®I remember you¡­ father¡­¡¯</em> A voice called out to him from the spear staff like a whisper. <em>¡®I remember you¡­ and I see you now.¡¯</em>


    Riven smiled, sending a pulse of warmth back through his connection and stood - gently touching down as he ced his feet on solid earth. ¡°Show me.¡±


    Abruptly the spear staff shifted and warped, knowing what he was asking for, and formed the shadowy figure of a dog with red eyes that looked up at him from the ground. Slowly the shadows retracted and vanished, only to leave an abnormally deep-ck dog that was kinda creepy staring at him. It was half the size of a fully grown golden retriever, and would have perhaps been rather cute if not for the ominous aura andck of a wagging tail.


    Still, Riven felt only good intentionsing from the bond that he still felt even despite having lost a soul connection with the item. Somehow he could still feel its intent, and knew that there was something that kept their consciousnesses touching even at an arm¡¯s distance.


    Azmoth looked up from where he was contemting the infernal daos and grunted in approval before turning back to meditation, and Luke smiled at the dog - reaching over to pet it before rapidly drawing his hand back when a sense of dread swept over him with a look his way.


    ¡°That feels rather dangerous.¡± Luke chuckled, only for Jackal to look back to Riven and warp into the weapon form again - flying into Riven¡¯s hand without dy.


    Riven silently nodded, approvingly running his hands over the ck weapon and the flowing rivers of blood along its surface that constantly shifted positions into different sigils or no sigils at all. Without warning Riven lowered the spear westward, activating Jackal¡¯s Lunge - and his body shot ahead with a shockwave left in his wake.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    Desert sands were blown apart underneath his feet and the image of a jackal¡¯s maw, formed from blood magic, shed forward ahead of Riven¡¯s de before snapping down onto thin air with a shockwave of power when the lunge stopped. Then with a blurring vertical swing, Riven activated Gluttony¡¯s Riptide.


    The visage of Gluttony¡¯s toothy maw roared from behind him with a sh of power. A ck and red de, sharp and fast, extended for dozens of yards off his spear-staff and crashed into the ground ahead of him. The blow created a fissure and caused the ground to violently shake, getting the attention of both Ath and Fay who¡¯d been doing who knows what in the River further off.


    ¡°HEY! RIVEN!¡± Ath called with cupped hands over her mouth, wet ck hair stered to her face as sheughed alongside Fay while half submerged in the water. ¡°COME JOIN US AND SHOW US THE NEW TOY!¡±


    ¡°AGREED!¡± Fay intentionally turned around and stood up, topless, while extending her wings and winking his way with a yful finger-tug to motion him forward.


    Turning, heavy armor glinting in the sunlight, vampiric horned pauldrons ring along the eyes and his porcin mask turning all 7 feathers in their direction - Riven snorted their way. ¡°Put on some clothes and stop shing me, and maybe - just maybe I will!¡±


    ¡°THAT¡¯S NO FUN!¡±


    ¡°Yeah well neither is being teased, and I can¡¯t even truly bathe with this stupid outfit on! SOOOO fuck off.¡± Riven ignored Fay¡¯sughter and Ath¡¯s scowl, and began to walk back to where his new elvish tutor sat.


    Tutor? Thrall? ve? Luke was all those things. The man was thankfully very knowledgeable about all sorts of things. Weapons, hand to handbat, magic, martial arts, and divine miracles were all things that the man was unusually knowledgeable of. ording to Luke he¡¯d been trained in all of them too, but he¡¯d had a major focus in miracles andbat with various types of weapons as some sort of battle priest.


    ¡°Mind giving me another sparring lesson?¡± Riven asked as he walked over and held out a hand to the one-eyed, silver-haired elf. ¡°Another lesson in staves and spears?¡±


    Luke grinned, epted Riven¡¯s hand and pulled himself up from where he¡¯d also been hovering above ground. ¡°Of course. But remember that I am still very weakened, and have not had the opportunity to grow levels like you since getting here. Remember to pull punches, thest time you almost killed me on ident. Even though I have the skills, I do not have the speed or power to repel any true attacks in our sparring sessions - so go easy onto his old fool. Especially now that you¡¯re going to be using a real weapon and not this old stick.¡±


    The old man bent down and picked up a walking staff he¡¯d been using, then motioned for Riven to follow his example as he struck a pose. ¡°Just like in previous lessons, go through the fivebinations I taught you first as a warm up. Then the three defensive stances. I¡¯lle at you during the defensive stances, and after that we can really begin.¡±

 Chapter 153

    Chapter 153


    <strong>Chapter 153</strong>


    Huffing and mming back down onto the ground with a thump, Riven began to rest. His undersuit of red, silky blood-skin supplied by the mask ¡®Fallen Apostle¡¯ kept his body cool even while wearing a cloak and heavy metal armor underneath a desert sun - but that didn¡¯t mean Luke couldn¡¯t still work him like a dog. The old man had be something of a drill instructor for him, and over the past three months Riven could safely say he¡¯d easily be able to kick his own ass from three months prior if his current self and past self had it out.


    Learning closebat tactics had been a longtimeing, and it¡¯d been needed, as Riven had often found himself at a serious disadvantage whenever enemies closed in. Sure, his magic was great and would still be his primary source of damage output - but that didn¡¯t mean it was unwise tomit to learning some close quarters fighting styles when closed in on. Already there¡¯d been a couple assassins that nearly offed him, two prominent ones being the orc from Greenstalk¡¯s vige battle and the woman who¡¯d tried to take his Chalgathi artifact in the basement of the ruined hospital.


    ¡°You¡¯re certainly getting better.¡± Luke smiled down at the heavily breathing warlock. ¡°I¡¯m impressed with your performance. I only wish that I was in peak physical condition myself so it wasn¡¯t just you going at it with shadows, or at myparatively slower pace.¡±


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Riven gasped, the weapon in his hands vanishing and whisking away to create a jackal beside him that started sniffing at his armor. ¡°How does your new body feel?¡±


    The dog nced his way, nodded once in approval, then began to trot towards the river where Ath was sunbathing.


    ¡°Not much of a talker then.¡± Riven mused, only to look up as he saw Fay¡¯s iing form descending from the sky.


    Shended a momentter, her feathered boots gracefully touching down as the wind blew her purple miniskirt about with a strong gust. Smiling and pulling the brim of the witch¡¯s hat down across her eyes to shield her from the blowing sands, she dusted herself off a moment after the wind went away and walked forward.


    ¡°How is it that you keep that hat on the entire time you¡¯re flying?¡± Riven asked curiously, pulling himself up when Azmoth walked over to give him a hand. ¡°And did you find a caravan yet? We need cover to make it into the city.¡±Fay nodded and whipped her ck tail out behind her to smack the ground with a *TWHAP* before pointing . ¡°Yes sir! Another iing caravan will be passing now where the two rivers meet in about a day. We should be able to make it there beforehand by an easy margin.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ll be able to disguise us as we go? How many minds can you effectively warp with your hallucinations? I know your spell is internally contrived within the minds you want to move, and not externally built like an illusion so there¡¯s gotta be a limit.¡±


    ¡°Somewhere over three thousand weaker minds, more than enough. Perhaps even four thousand, and the hallucinations work on status reads too, but the hallucinations get weaker and less convincing the more people I target. Stronger targets also take more effort.¡±


    ¡°Alright. My mask can also help, it stops other people from being able to identify me very well unless they have a true ss - but I didn¡¯t want to bank on people recognizing me for what I am. Or at all, given how I look.¡± Riven motioned to his very unique outfit that¡¯d been circting the world forums. Not many people in the top 1000 had much public footage out there, only a handful really and Riven had only nced at it once in a while to make sure. What he¡¯d seen was that though he was only rank 60 and not even in the top 10 most powerful people on the, albeit a few steps up from where he was at rank 72 a couple months ago, his battle for Chicago had gotten a very hyped amount of attention. Specifically from other vampires on the, and from the people of Earth. He could safely say he was somewhat famous. ¡°Anyways let¡¯s get packed up. Ath, put on some clothes - it¡¯s time to move out. We¡¯ve got a caravan to catch.¡±


    ***


    Riven stood disguised as an old wrinkled man, still cloaked but with human features and a slight hunch while using a staff for support. Behind him the hulking, tattooed, maul-wielding barbarian was the most intimidating of their group as there was no way disguising Azmoth¡¯s movements realistically without keeping him at least simr to the same size. Ath¡¯s outfit was the same, a dark gray cloak with a ck tiara underneath its hood and very recently added handheld crossbow strapped beside a quiver at her thigh that she¡¯d more than anything just been ying with rather than using seriously. Ath¡¯s skin was a dark brown instead of her regr pitch ck with scattered white though. Meanwhile Fay¡¯s wings, tail, horns and ck eyes had disappeared along with her white hair - revealing a still rather attractive blonde, blue eyed witch. Lastly Riven¡¯s thrall, Luke, looked exactly the same as before but without the redness to his eye.


    Before them and on the path leading alongside the river, a caravan could be seen cresting a far hill. It¡¯d no doubt take them a half hour or so to reach the spot where Riven and his crew stood, but Riven had time to burn as they waited while the members of his group chatted with one another or passed sks of water.


    Pulling up his status page, he had a level¡¯s worth of points to apply after his recent battle with those bandits he¡¯d killed.


    <strong>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 83</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty: Profane Cyclone (Tier 1 of The Path of Red and ck), Infernal, Shadow (Subserviently linked to Blood Specialty Pir)</strong></li><li><strong>Core of Original Sin - Gluttony:] (Under Construction)(???)</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] </strong><strong>Race: Pureblooded Vampire</strong><strong> (Extreme Darkness Regeneration)(Sunlight Decay)(Extreme Weakness to Silver weapons, Sun pir, and Light pir attacks), </strong><strong>ss: Warlock Adept,</strong><strong> Adrenaline Junky (Blood)(+15% to Agility), </strong><strong>Aplishment Title</strong><strong>: Bloodthirsty 1 (+5% increased blood mana from corpses, +1% dmg for blood magic)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Silvertongue (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood)(Tier 2), Blood Nova (Blood)(Tier 3), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal), ze of Profane Glory (Infernal)(Tier 3), Riftwalk (Shadow), Ping Chalgathi Artifacts (Unique)</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 113 Strength, 308 Sturdiness, 772 Intelligence, 350 Agility, 10 Luck, -497 Charisma, 227 Vampiric Perception, 209 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li><strong>Free Stat Points: 7</strong></li><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 60 Arshakai [42 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 71 Hellscape Brutalisk (Infernal Crusader Initiate) [58 Willpower Requirement]. Fay, Level 39 Subus [29 Willpower Required]. Luke Blissfallen , Level 8 High Elf Thrall (Stormrazor Battle Priest)(Warning: 73% soul decay detected)[10 Willpower Requirement].</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] Basic Caster¡¯s Cloak (5 def, 3% mana regen), Jackal (894 dmg, 305% mana regen, 8% stamina regen, shadow and blood dmg +36% with 10% decreased ability cost, ck Lightning, Gluttony¡¯s Riptide, Jackal¡¯s Lunge), Chalgathi Cultist Amulet - The Great Maw (Devour, ???), Chalgathi Cultist Pauldrons - Twin Cannibals (1290 def, +10% all stats, +60 Sturdiness, Blood in the Eyes, ???), Chalgathi Cultist Mask - Fallen Apostle (900 face def, 325 def with bloodskin, negates sunlight, all senses +40%, Identifier¡¯s use), Steel Boots (98 def), Modified Steel Breastte (120 Def), Steel Greaves (104 def), Steel Gauntlets (91 def), Steel Arm Guards (90 def), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Negrada¡¯s Modified Bag of Holding]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven nced over his stats, realizing just how far he¡¯de since the beginning. Back when he¡¯d fought that necromancer start-up in Chalgathi¡¯s trials and Ath had just been summoned for the first time, he¡¯d thought casting his first spells were awe inspiring. In some ways, it still was - but on an escted scale. Now, if he¡¯d been pitted against that man - or even against other opponents who¡¯d given him problems in the past; like the fallen satyr warlord in Negrada¡¯s hellscape or the hive mind, clown dream creature, he¡¯d utterly crush them into paste with a flick of his wrist. The power gap between them and who he was then, versus who he was now was astonishing - and even the drake he¡¯d killed in the dungeon would have a much, much harder time putting any shots on him after his ascendancy into power.


    Even so he could tell that there were weak points in his build. Namely, his closebat abilities were severelycking. He had the great boon of being able to take a lot of hits due to vampirism, especially for a mage, and he was even dawning heavy armor now that protected him even further beyond what his vampiric regeneration alone could do. However, there were other very powerful people in the world out there and in his past experiences it¡¯d been a very specific type of opponent that was most dangerous to him.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Those kinds of opponents were agility based. Be it the female orc rogue at the battle of Greenstalk, the assassin who¡¯d nearly killed him after ambush in the basement of Brightsville¡¯s hospital, and most recently - Richard, whose most serious threat to Riven had not been his hard hitting attacks but rather the speed at which he chased Riven down.


    That being said Riven¡¯s agility was pretty decent, as was his sturdiness. He also had a defensive spell in the form of Hell¡¯s Armor, and two movement spells with Blessing of the Crow and Riftwalk. So he usually didn¡¯t have much of a problem avoiding people or blocking attacks¡­ but when he DID have that problem it was a serious one.


    Looking back on his fights he¡¯d rather floundered with close range physical attacks, attempting to block or dish out any damage aside from his magic. He simply hadn¡¯t been trained in it, and he¡¯d rightfully been focusing on magic as a dominant aspect to his build. But now that he had a true tutor in Luke, his thrall, a man that could guide him with how to fight using a stave, spear, or the weapon he now had in the form of Jackal - it would probably be wise to start investing more points in Strength. His Strength stat was also one of his lowest, barely being over 100 points, and aside from the 10 Luck and 9 Faith which he waspletely ignoring - his Strength was rtively patheticpared to his other stats. Charisma was negative, sure, but that could be a good thing if dealing with the right time of race.


    Nevertheless he decided to put all 7 of his points into Strength for the very first time today. The feeling was miniscule, but he did feel his muscles tense and expand just ever so slightly after the points were added. He never intended to be an absolute full-frontal fighter, but having some umph to his physical attacks would probably be a good thing in the long run.


    A pulse of hunger radiated from his soul apparatus, from the core of Gluttony that was still under construction. A visage of the great maw over a sea of corpses, rivers of blood flowing into the sky, and a blood moon in the background imbedded itself in Riven¡¯s consciousness as his body went rigid - and apulsion of extreme hunger rapidly came and went.


    Ath¡¯s hand gently rested on Riven¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    Riven hesitated, realizing he¡¯d visibly stiffened and had let out a long gasp with all four of his minions looking his way. ¡°Yeah¡­ Yeah I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°It happened again, didn¡¯t it? Thepulsion?¡± Ath stated with a frown. ¡°That¡¯s bing more and more frequent.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s likely only going to increase.¡± Fay added with a sigh. ¡°Especially when your core is finished, but it also may be influenced by your new items. Your weapon, and three of your Chalgathi artifacts are all touched by Gluttony. Did you ever talk to Kathrine about your Sin Core? I asked my n in theher realms about it, but they got very hush-hush when I brought it up.¡±


    Riven snorted. ¡°Absolutely not. I don¡¯t feel like going around telling people I have a piece of original sin stuck inside of me is a good idea, at least for now. What if the other vampires want to dissect me and rip it out?¡±


    ¡°Very possible.¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°But unlikely. You are a prince of their empire.¡±


    ¡°Not entirely off the charts though. One of them already tried to assassinate me, remember?¡±


    Fay scrunched up her nose with a rather cute expression, but nodded in acknowledgement. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right.¡±


    From the front of the caravan, a lone man on horseback broke away from the main group and started towards them at a fast gallop. It was unusually fast for a horse, and flickers of some kind of energy radiated from the hooves of the beast as it got closer.


    Two minutes of silenceter and the man finally came to a halt and pulled on the reins, stopping about twenty feet away from the fivepanions while eyeing them suspiciously. He was a tall man with a masked cowl covering most of his face - likely to shield it from the sands. He wore a scimitar at his side that was decorated with gold, butcked any enchantments that Riven could see. He rode upon a white stallion with a golden mane, and oddly enough its eyes shone a simr gold - as did the hooves, which actually let off a yellow-gold light.


    The creature was truly beautiful.


    <strong>[Sunblessed Sand-Stallion, Level 19]</strong>


    Interesting breed of horse.


    ¡°State your names and your business.¡± The man called out, warily circling at a slow trot to get a better look at the five and gazing more intensely at Fay than the others. ¡°You are obviously foreigners here by the make of your garments.¡±


    Riven snorted, eyes shifting from the caravan back to the man as he yed the role of an old and weary traveler. He even changed his voice slightly just to sound the part. ¡°Aren¡¯t we all foreigners in thesends now? The worlds we once lived in have changed, and not for the better. Where do we call home, when our homes have all been taken from us and the system has thrust us into such odd ces such as this?¡±


    The horseman¡¯s eyes narrowed as they focused on Riven, and he briefly went over the rest of the party once before settling back on the group leader. ¡°Yes¡­ I will not disagree with you, traveler. However I must be honest, you feel very wrong to me. Even looking at you causes my skin to go on edge, and I do not think myself a coward. The smell of evil permeates the ground you stand on. Part of me wishes to flee even now, and I cannot for the life of me understand why.¡±


    It was both a statement and a question, to which Riven didn¡¯t have an answer. It could be one of three things: the first being his shard of gluttony. The second option was that this man could somehow sense pir orientations. The third and most likely of the situations, was that Riven¡¯s negative charisma was at work yet again.


    Thankfully, Riven had a pseudo-fix to this problem that he¡¯d already utilized a few times before his travels and had used even moreso while hunting the other Chalgathi participants. It wasn¡¯t a permanent thing, and it wasn¡¯t often noticeable as long as he didn¡¯t make big changes or force the target topletely obey amand. Small things like persuading someone who was already on the edge of a decision were usually easy enough to do as long as their willpower was lower than his. The risk came with the knowledge that if someone¡¯s willpower was equal to or higher than his own, or even close to his own but not quite there yet - it was possible that they¡¯d be notified he was trying to use this spell and could potentially spell disaster. Thankfully, this man in front of Riven was not of a high willpower - and entering the caravan would be beneficial both in blending in, and collecting information.


    ¡°We¡¯re of no threat to you, and can even help make the trip safer. Let me be blunt and to the point: Would you mind it if we traveled alongside you? Assuming you are a trade caravan? We are on a long journey and wish somepany along dangerous roads.¡± Riven stated, infusing words into his Silvertongue spell that he¡¯d received after binding Fay as a minion. Immediately the frown on the horseman¡¯s face ttened out into a slightly dumb expression and his eyes faded out of focus - but then he quickly shook himself like he¡¯d just woken up and nodded. ¡°Yes, of course. We can bring you along with us, shouldn¡¯t be a problem after I¡¯ve told the others I vetted you. However, which city is it that you¡¯re intending to travel to? Our caravan is headed towards Daskus, City of Canyons, Watcher of the Cube Labyrinth. If you were hoping to go towards Jerildine, you¡¯d be out of luck.¡±


    Riven grinned when he got a yful nudge of congrattions from Fay, even despite the huff of annoyance from Ath. ¡°Daskus is the way we want to go if it¡¯s in that direction.¡±


    Riven pinged the Chalgathi artifacts, sensing two of them in close proximity to one another far off in the distance where cliffs could barely be seen across the sand dunes - and where the river now led.


    The horseman looked over, nodded once, and turned his horse around. ¡°That would be the path to Daskus. The city is actually built into the cliff faces on either side.¡±


    ¡°Mind telling me what the Cube Labyrinth is?¡±


    The man gave Riven another confused look, but rephrasing the question with another influx of mana via Silvertongue caused him to not prod too much into exactly why Riven didn¡¯t know this already when wanting to travel to the city. ¡°The Cube Labyrinth is a new feature the Elysium Administrator ced within the canyon after integration as a prize for the city¡¯s king after hepleted a quest. It is a permanent fixture and a reusable maze of sorts. It can be quite dangerous, butpleting its puzzles and finding your way through it is very rewarding and has brought a lot of wealth to ournds. A person can only use it 3 times, each time the cube has harder problems, puzzles, monsters and mazes to solve. After all 3 times ofpleting the cube, you can no longer enter it again - but you get a new trait dependent on what pirs you¡¯re oriented to and how well youpleted the three trials.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised in surprise. ¡°Really¡­ Are people able to enter the cube together?¡±


    The horseman nodded. ¡°Yes, you canplete it as a group - but each group can only be up to 10 people and has their own instanced area. That means that a different pocket of unique space is created for each group and they cannot be entered by others during that time. The exception is that if someone goes in with a group numbering less than 10, others can enter the cube¡¯s maze to fill in the spots and share in the reward. However that can be rather dangerous to do without permission, because you might be killed for it - as you get a reduced reward if you have more group members and crimesmitted in the cube are not crimes at all by decree of the king. It¡¯s every man or woman for themself in there.¡±


    Huh.


    Riven pondered this for a time, but the horseman was getting impatient.


    ¡°I¡¯m off to the Caravan. I¡¯ll let them know you¡¯ll be joining us, but no trouble on the road to Daskus. If there is any trouble, we won¡¯t have any problems putting you down. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Sure. I understand.¡± Riven smiled and waved at the departing rider, only to turn fully around and face the distant cliffs. ¡°This should be interesting. I did find it odd that we had two different Chalgathi participants in the same area for so long¡­ At first I¡¯d thought they¡¯d teamed up. Do you think they¡¯re inside the maze?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± Ath irritatedly stated with a sideways re at Fay, who was pressing up against Riven¡¯s shoulder on the opposite side. ¡°Maybe we can throw the subus into the cube to find out for us while we wait outside. I think that sounds like a great n.¡±

 Chapter 154

    Chapter 154


    <strong>Chapter 154</strong>


    Daskus.


    City of Canyons.


    A sprawling fantasy metropolis located at the Y-junction between three intersecting canyons. Not only were buildings located on the ground level - the rich of the city actually had pces, manors and castles built into the sides of the canyon walls or even on crest of the canyon itself. It was a city almost untouched by the devastation Elysium¡¯s integration had brought elsewhere, pristine and well maintained, though Riven couldn¡¯t be sure just how that was. Bridges crafted from sandstone and made sturdier with magic crisscrossed the thriving, breathing heart of the city. There was even a towering Elysium altar located in the eastern branch of the intersecting canyons that looked very simr to Riven¡¯s own, but instead of the unholy attunement it was a generic one;cking the green halo of fire and being made of white marble instead of ck obsidian. And at the very center of it all, hovering in mid air with constantly rotating bs of stone panels disying variously shaped carved insignias, was an enormous puzzle-box cube.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Puzzle-Box Cube Labyrinth</strong><strong>: This stone cube is a permanent fixture on the world of Panu, granted to this city by Elysium as a prize to the popce after the king of Daskuspleted a difficult system quest with perfect marks. </strong><strong>Rules</strong><strong>: The trials are formed by utilizing monsters, mazes, and puzzles with a real possibility of death. Only 10 may enter an instance event at once, instance events that are not full may be entered by outsiders at any time as long as they are within the same tier of trial, any amount of instance events between different groups may be ongoing at any time, you do not require sustenance while inside the cube, you may onlyplete the Puzzle-Box Cube Labyrinth event up to 3 times with scaling difficulty and scaling prizes via attempt tiers 1 / 2 / 3, and you may leave the Puzzle-Box Cube Labyrinth instance events at any time - but only through the single entrance and single exit points inside. Leaving the instance event will forfeit all remaining attempts atpleting this system event or collecting its prizes. To create your own instance event or joint another¡¯s, just stand underneath the cube and focus on it while thinking ¡®Activate¡¯.]</strong>


    Riven stood on a main ground-level street amidst a bustling crowd of what was mostly humans and dwarves all dressed in clothing suited for the sandy, hot weather. He¡¯d call it ¡®Arabian¡¯ attire, with faces that often had wrapped cowls at the ready to bring up over their faces if need be - yet most of them wore as little as possible to bear the heat of the desert. Sandstone and y buildings holding apartment buildings, crafter¡¯s workshops, and general goods stores rose up on either side of the street - with the city¡¯s main trading district further ahead. There were even asional trees, though they were rather thin, very dark green, and very tall - definitely not species of nt that were native to Earth.


    As he stood motionlessly staring up at the gigantic structure that cast a shadow over the center of the city, he intently watched the individual pieces of its body when they¡¯d randomly separate themselves from the main core to twist, turn, and then settle back down in a new orientation. It was almost like a rubik¡¯s cube, but there were more squares to it and each individual cube piece had its own unique insignias that asionally glowed a bright blue before settling down to an normal stone variant like the main core of the inner body. asionally even entire faces of the structure would twist or turn, and just once Riven saw a party of 10 heavily armed people distantly channel a beam of light from the monstrous thing - only to be sucked up into the cube like a UFO would do.


    ¡°Move it old man!¡± The haggard voice of a fat, sweating dwarf merchant wearing a v-cut, sleeveless tunic stated as he pushed a small wooden cart full of vials. ¡°You¡¯ve been blockin the road since I was all the way down near Billba¡¯s Smoke Shop! Stop gawkin and move!¡±


    Riven turned to look at the dwarf, ignoring the swarms of people around them to stare back without a care in the world. In a voice not native to a man appearing the age that Fay was disying him at - Riven¡¯s cold words cut through the air. ¡°Walk¡­ around us¡­ little piggy. And don¡¯te back.¡±A very pinpoint aura of cold dread crashed into the dwarf and only the dwarf, making him gasp and keel over in wide-eyed shock. He sat there in the middle of the road, getting sneers or jeers from the other passersby as he repeatedly blinked - trying to determine what had happened.


    But when Ath turned to face the pudgy dwarf and fingered her crossbow, the man quickly got up and turned his cart around the other way - spilling numerous vials along the road and rushed back the way he¡¯de while hyperventting.


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Quest Update: Rita Fellburge has fallen in battle to Fred Talons. Fred Talons has acquired 4 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance. A new Chalgathi¡¯s Chosen will be picked within 1 hour from now as a recement for Rita Fellburge.]</strong>


    Frowning at the notification only he and the other chosen could see, Riven turned back around to stare up at the cube. Utilizing his ¡®Ping Chalgathi Artifacts¡¯ ability, he saw both lights re up to indicate the positions of the other participants of this unholy quest nearby.


    Both lights came from the inner core of the massive stone cube.


    ¡°They¡¯re inside.¡±


    Azmoth grunted, sounding very much like the hulking, bald, tattooed barbarian he was portrayed as. ¡°We go find if they with each other?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully they are.¡± Lukemented with a frown and wiping sweat away from his forehead. ¡°Otherwise it may be foolish to enter it at all, as going inside may mean one of them could exit the event and disappear ory in ambush for us to get out next.¡±


    Riven slowly nodded. ¡°Agreed. Entering at all, even if they are inside the same event, could potentially mean that. They¡¯ve been inside thebyrinth for at least two weeks because they¡¯re locations haven¡¯t changed, and I¡¯m willing to bet a lot of money that one is hunting the other. It¡¯d make sense if they both pinged each other¡¯s location and the weaker participant decided to try to lose his opponent or buy time by entering the cube.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Could it just be one man with two different pieces you need?¡± Fay asked curiously, pushing her witch¡¯s hat up an inch to get a better look at the bridges holding hundreds of traveling people criss-crossing above them between different sides of the canyon. ¡°It¡¯s at least a possibility, right?¡±


    Riven cocked his head to the side, pinged the Chalgathi artifacts again, then hesitantly shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s possible, but if that¡¯s the case he or she has split the artifacts into two separate ces. I¡¯ve heard from the locals in the caravan that this was a spacially warped event, but they¡¯re still moving in different areas even despite this. No, it¡¯s more likely that there are two different individuals.¡±


    Fay nodded in agreement after processing the logic behind his guess, then winked with a perfectly white smile and an intentional giggle. ¡°Well after we get the other pieces, I¡¯m really hoping we can finally get that suit off of you. For science, of course!¡±


    Ath let out an exaggerated sigh. ¡°Riven, why did you have to contract with a subus? Could you have not just chosen the shady beholder demon instead?¡±


    ¡°I believe it was you who decided to pick Fay over the beholder.¡±


    ¡°Well I take my decision back!¡±


    Fay licked her lips and waggled her eyebrows at Ath next, then pointed her staff towards the other demoness with a seductive hip-pop. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that! My darling Riven and I can always include you as well! In fact, I¡¯ve been thinking about that for quite a while now and I think it¡¯d be best if I was positioned inbetween the two of you when we have our first. I think you¡¯d like it, I¡¯m rather good with my tongue!¡±


    The mental image shed into Riven¡¯s head unbidden as Ath simultaneously open-mouth gawked, and hebatted a nosebleed while shaking his head in disbelief and started off into the crowds towards the floating cube without another word.


    Meanwhile a feminine screech that turned into a gurgling choke from behind told him Fay had been attacked by Ath again. Most likely by asphyxiation by the sounds Fay was making. ¡°I¡¯m going to fucking stab her, Riven! I swear to all the hells, I¡¯m about to fucking stab her!¡±


    ***


    The King of Daskus - City of Canyons, was arge and darker-skinned man with a well-kept beard who sat shirtless on his diamond-studded throne in an empty audience hall, barren of everyone except for the cored and otherwise naked brte ve woman next to him who held his tray stone-still. ves were a bit rare in the city, but they were still legal as long as you had a license to own them or were of the nobility. And the king was no exception to this rule.


    Darius Stoneshield remained in his pce positioned atop the cliffs while quietly watching the hundreds of images flickering about him. As the one who¡¯d been gifted the cube in the first ce, he was able to see the different instance events anywhere in their entirety - instead of the local popce, who only ever got to witness the end battles in thest room of thebyrinth.


    Well, if people really wanted to they could always watch it from beginning to end if they stayed underneath the cube and essed the viewing features that way. Some people actually did this if they had loved ones inside, but most people didn¡¯t have the time to spare - waiting weeks on end for people to finish if they ever did at all. There¡¯d even been a few groups trapped inside the shifting, ever-changing maze for months now - but out of all of them there was one particr instance event that was more eye-catching than all the others.


    He took a sip of wine out of the chalice at his right hand side, ced it back on the tray the nearby ve was holding for him, and steepled his fingers while focusing back on the most interesting group of them all.


    The creek of a wooden door on his left caused him to turn, and one of his advisors and a long-time personal friend dressed in gold-colored silk began walking across the room. He was of simr age, in histe 40¡¯s, sported a longer ck beard, had good posture and a thinner build than Darius had - while he carried a te, papers, and a pen. ¡°Good day, Darius! Still watching I see?¡±


    Darius casually nodded with a grunt of affirmation, then turned back to the central image that kept shifting between scenes ahead of him. ¡°You would be correct, old friend. The groups we sent in have died again.¡±


    The advisor frowned, nced up at the main image, and sighed. ¡°Unfortunate, but to be expected. They¡¯re rather powerful, almost on your level.¡±


    ¡°Almost.¡± Darius repeated tly.


    ¡°Not to be taken lightly.¡± The advisor stated with a sagely nod. ¡°Quite a game of cat and mouse they¡¯re ying, utilizing the puzzle traps like that to try and corner one another and gain advantage. And quite fascinating the skills they both possess, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    There was a lull in the conversation, and the advisor¡¯s frown deepened as Darius didn¡¯t reply. ¡°Do you intend to take the artifacts and enter the world quest yourself? Doing so would mean you¡¯d need to leave the city, no doubt about it.¡±


    ¡°And who else, if not me?¡± Darius asked, shifting his brown eyes back to his childhood friend. ¡°Even aside from the draw of power, which this quest no doubt would bring should I seed, I cannot afford for them to fail. Billions of lives are at stake here. The future of our very world is at stake here. Should I gain the power of one of the three apocalypse beasts, at the very least I will have a chance to defend my city from whatever other evils may lurk out there. The system spoke of a lich to the north, snow giants to the south, invaders from beyond, and word has it that the mer-people and naga have begun to attack coastal cities all over the world by the millions. Our allies of the Merivine have already lost two of their own cities, all of their residents being butchered down to thest child. It appears that the world quest regarding the sea-dwellers is one of genocide, but specifics were hazy and reports differ between sources. Of course¡­ you already know most of this, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Better than you, majesty.¡± The advisor replied with a softugh. ¡°Regardless, the troops you¡¯ve asked me to hide around the za have been positioned. Perhaps other groups of mercenaries or guilds will try their hand to take the heads of these Chalgathi¡¯s Chosen, but despite the increase in pay there aren¡¯t many people willing to take the bounty after so many have fallen. It is likely that we¡¯ll need to capture them with superior numbers after they actually leave the cube, rather than attempting to kill them inside with only 8 others being able to join their instance.¡±


    Darius frowned, nodded, then got up to stretch. ¡°Perhaps, perhaps not. I¡¯m still hopeful that some of the braver fools out there will strike it lucky and manage to kill one or both of them. I¡¯ve put enough money on their heads to warrant at least the desperate to keep trying.


    ncing over at the stone-faced ve, Darius looked down her bare body and then back up to her zed-over eyes. Putting one hand on the back of her head, he abruptly yanked her backwards by her hair and threw her violently onto the throne as she yelped. The chalice and pitcher of wine spilled onto the floor with a ttering sound, and Darius began to unbuckle his belt. ¡°Leave me Chagin, I want privacy as I relieve some stress. Let me know if anything interesting happens with the cube.¡±


    The advisor, Chagin, nodded and bowed before turning heel. ¡°Very well, have a good time! I¡¯ll send another one of your harem up here to rece her, assuming you break this one like you broke thest. Try not to damage her too much though, the quality of ve you ask for is always hard to find and I¡¯m tired of having to abduct locals with the excuse of treason against the crown when we run out of good foreigners.¡±


    The only response Chagin got was a high pitched scream of horrified pain behind him, and he huffed to himself just once before exiting the audience hall and shutting therge wooden door behind him.

 Chapter 155

    Chapter 155


    <strong>Chapter 155</strong>


    Usually students didn¡¯t enroll halfway through the school year. In fact in was unprecedented here at the Imperial Academy to do otherwise, but those rules did not apply to Allie. The Kingdom of Dawn, namely the imperial majesty, was bending over backwards to get her to attend to Imperial Academy at all costs - and he''d sent her a letter describing just how outright delighted he was at news of her attendance. He even said he¡¯d personallye to speak with her before winter was over to discuss how things were going, and added that he was very interested in meeting her brother whenever Riven eventually returned.


    Allie was somewhat excited about the idea, she¡¯d never attended college back on Earth and had always wanted to - but she was also weighed down by her responsibilities as queen of the necropolis and by thoughts that perhaps Riven wasn¡¯t going to make the timeline he needed in order to survive. shbacks of Jose¡¯s death haunted her, and she shuddered at the thought that she¡¯d lose another one to the ys of the system.


    But she had to have faith. Riven was rank 60 in the world on the powerdder now, stronger than her by a good margin since acquiring dao insights in Chicago, and if he couldn¡¯t do it - then no one could.


    So here she was, day one of school as an ¡®exchange student equivalent¡¯ - or so Mara called it - to start fresh and hopefully take her mind off of the shit hand life had dealt her. Insistent on going alone today, she had refused Mara¡¯spany and had graciously epted an enchanted broach from the king per her own request to change the color of her eyes to hazel. The reflection staring back at her was still pale, abnormally beautiful, and her locks of brte hair overshadowed one half of her face.


    Her head was leaned against the ss window of the decorated carriage as it drove by eloquent snow-covered gardens and fields of flowers that trailed out for miles. Snowkes drifted slowly downwards from an overcast sky, remnants of a recent snowstorm, and snow crunched underneath the wheels of the carriage as thendscape passed by. Large half-frozen ponds rippled under the light breeze to either side of the well-made road as they neared the esteemed estate of the academy on the highest level of the city, and a couple airships sailing amidst flocks of birds far overhead calmed her burdened heart. She lost herself in the vast depth of the sky for many minutes, minutes that turned to hours, until the carriage suddenly stopped at its destination.


    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the academy Lady Allie Wraithtide,¡± the driver said with a bow after opening the carriage door. ¡°Do you want me to carry your bags, miss?¡±


    She shook her head. Allie wanted to remain anonymous while here, aside from direct knowledge of the king of course, as having the pretentious title of queen on an outing like this would no doubt do the exact opposite of what she¡¯d set out to aplish - have some rxation time while she learned about the inner workings of Dawn from the perspective of a low-tier noble. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I can carry my own bags.¡±


    The carriage driver looked slightly surprised but gave a small bow and got back on his seat. ¡°Have a pleasant stay, miss.¡±Soon the man was off to pick up other customers, leaving the earthborn woman standing alone outside the shining white gates to the academy. She looked very out of ce amidst such splendor with her intentionally basic cloth trousers, leather boots, and her white linen shirt.


    Allie took a long deep breath and let it out slowly as she approached the two heavily armored knights standing quietly at the front watching her. She really wasn¡¯t sure if she should be here at second nce, and as she made it to stand directly in front of the guard on the right with her sack strung over her shoulder - she thought she may very well turn around right then.


    Why was she nervous? She¡¯d killed thousands of people and conquered cities for god¡¯s sake. This was nothingpared to something like that.


    It took a while for the armed soldiers to snap out of their trance and resume their duties. They''d been so caught up in Allie''s good looks that they''dpletely forgotten to speak, but the attitude they had towards her being here still reflected rather poorly even despite their utter shock at her beauty. Minutester when their conversation had ended and while pondering this topic, she had to question just how they''d have reacted if she hadn''t looked the way she did.


    ¡°State your business,moner.¡± The knight was obviously making a reference to the way Allie was dressed and didn¡¯t seem to like the idea of the lesser ss making an appearance here.


    A re of anger surged through Allie at the snide demeaningment, and for just a moment her body let out apulsive and reactive wave of hostile energy. Allie hadn¡¯tmanded it toe to her, but the death mana radiated out in a wave of cold mes that scorched the earth about her feet. She quickly reigned in her anger though as the guard backed away and reached for his weapon.


    The knights stood looking warily her way for some time before Allie pulled out the sealed letter of eptance the king had given her to present at this exact moment, and she handed it over without a word. The knight broke the seal and began to read, and secondster the manpletely changed his attitude.


    ¡°My apologies, Lady Wraithtide. I didn¡¯t expect someone with your reputation as ady of the court to be wearing such clothes¡­ or any student of the academy to wear such clothes for that matter. Please allow me to escort you to the headmaster.¡±


    Allie simply nodded, clutched her sack more tightly, and smiled warmly at the knight. ¡°Thank you, I would sincerely appreciate it.¡±


    Her response gave the knight pause, though Allie didn¡¯t know why, but he quickly opened the gate afterwards and motioned her to follow. Down the road they went, with the glistening white gate closing behind them - and snow-capped buildings made of marble, polished wood, and gray stone began to rise up with their approach.


    The sparring arena was the first of the buildings they passed, a monument to Dawn¡¯s achievements towering high above her with magnificent carved lions¡¯ heads bearing the symbol of the sun above every entrance. gs of the sun also waved along the top of the enormous theater and caused Allie to feel quite small.


    ¡°sses are in session so not many people are out right now.¡±mented the knight while they made their way through the pristine cobblestone street. Colorful ss windows both clear and colored decorated every roman-styled building on campus, and most of the buildings stood many stories high.


    Eventually they stopped in front of thergest of these structures. It had pirs supporting the t roof many stories above them where a living red drake was perched atop having a knight riding its back.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Admiring the drake? The letter did say you¡¯re a noble from outside of Mandon. A lesser known country noble, right?¡± Allie could hear the pride in the knight¡¯s voice as he looked up at the beast too. ¡°The breed is called a ¡®Sun Drake¡¯ after the sun god that blessed our nation long ago. They were native to this area before the integration and have been domesticated for centuries under the supervision of our military. Simr to the moremon rocs we use.¡±


    ¡°How big do they get to be?¡± Allie asked curiously. She was certainly impressed. This ¡®sun drake¡¯ was certainly big - being twice the size of the rocs she¡¯d seen knights of dawn ride on before, but it still wasn¡¯t huge. Comparing it to the size of the drake Riven had given her for a corpse - these sun drakes could have been chomped in half. They were likely just a smaller draconian breed, but then again she didn¡¯t have a lot to go on other than the dead dungeon boss in her spatial sack.


    ¡°This is their adult size. The babies are much smaller. Theye in handy as one of our primary airborne units when we go to war. They¡¯re often support units for the more heavy firepower. You see the airships above us do you not? Those are galleons of war patrolling overhead. Our aerial dominance using the drakes, rocs, and airships is the only reason wested against Tereen long enough to find allies in the Thane Necropolis to the north, otherwise we probably would have been wiped out by now. Our ground forces are simply inferior to the elvish cavalry in every way.¡±


    Mention of the Thane Necropolis got Allie¡¯s attention, and she side-eyed the knight as they started walking again. ¡°What are your thoughts on the necropolis? As you said, I¡¯m a noble from the ounds and have little experience with the undead.¡±


    The knight paused in his step, thought about it, and shrugged. ¡°Kinda creepy bastards if you ask me, I¡¯ve seen a couple personally and up close - but as long as they¡¯re killing elves then they¡¯re friends of mine.¡±


    Therge double doors were already open and they walked inside to behold two carpeted spiral staircases on either side of them with a long hallway continuing straight ahead. Velvet chairs and couches decorated the entryway with refreshments Alliedidn¡¯t recognize and a detailed map of the continent was painted along the ceiling.


    Walking further down Allie saw that most of the doors led to ssrooms with many of the ssrooms having ss windows looking out into the hall. A single ssroom was in most instances created as a small amphitheater - seating anywhere from 20 to 40 students, and every one of the students were far better dressed than she was with many of them having servants waiting along the wall or taking notes for them.


    Coming around a bend in the hallway she was taken to a dead end with a locked door. The knight knocked on the door twice and waited patiently before it swung open to reveal a pretty middle aged woman with long ck hair dressed in robes of a fine red cloth.


    ¡°Archmage Zefima Navir,¡± the knight bowed low while removing his helmet out of respect. ¡°I have a delivery for you.¡±


    The woman eyed both of them curiously for a time and took the letter Allie had given her escort. The archmage''s demeanor changed from curious to ted as she read, and she pocketed the letter to warmly hug a very surprised Allie.


    ¡°Allie! I¡¯m so d to finally meet you!¡±


    The knight was bbergasted and his jaw dropped at the warm wee, but he immediately straightened up and dismissed himself, turning around the bend shortly thereafter with a final curious look over his shoulder.


    ¡°Pleasee in so we can speak in private before you¡¯re set up with your dormitory and ss schedule!¡± The woman held the door wide open and shut it behind them as Allie entered the private office of the archmage. Books in varyingnguages and thickness lined the shelves to her right and left with an intricate wooden desk in the middle twice the size of a dining table from back on Earth. The back wall had a stained ss window lighting the room even aside from the orb glowing on the ceiling, and potted flowering nts were set regrly around cushioned chairs.


    ¡°So tell me! What¡¯s your impression of our Imperial Academy at first nce?¡±


    Allie watched the overly friendly and enthusiastic woman with suspicion, but straightened her posture and brushed her long brte hair to the side. ¡°It¡¯s very well kept¡­ the limestone buildings especially add a nice touch, and the gardens surrounding the estate miles out are very impressive. It must have cost a fortune.¡±


    ¡°Many fortunes I assure you!¡± Zefima winked at Allie yfully and took out fiverge books from underneath the desk. ¡°I¡¯ve had these all modified with more of the essential topics upon hearing you would be attending! Anything underlined will no doubt be tested on at least once, so keep that in mind and don¡¯t tell the other students I did that for you.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Thanks?¡± Allie muttered while she sat down in her own chair opposite of the archmage.


    Putting each book side by side they were titled: ¡®Fundamentals of Battle Magic,¡¯ ¡®Magic Theory Basics,¡¯ ¡®Anatomy and Healing Techniques,¡¯ ¡®A History of the Eternal War,¡¯ and ¡®Illusions, Trickery and War Games.¡¯


    The archmage tapped on ¡®A History of the Eternal War¡¯ with her brilliant smile radiating Allie¡¯s way. ¡°The other books are rtive to your sses, mostly being broad spectrum to epass many different pir orientations - but this one I thought you¡¯d take a personal interest in. Be sure to tell me what you think of it. Anyways! Our Imperial Academy is geared towards creating military personnel and officers for the army. All sses taught here are geared towards this end. This is not a normal school of magic and we go at a fast pace¡­ but your brother assured me that this would be ok.¡±


    ¡°You spoke with my brother?¡± A frown of concern crossed Allie¡¯s features and a pit in her stomach appeared. How had this ¡®Zefima¡¯ character spoken with Allie if Riven had left months ago?


    The older woman suppressed augh and nodded enthusiastically. ¡°He¡¯s quite a charmer! Even if he is a little bit scary. We had many in depth discussions and he paid for all three years of your education up front along with significant donations to our studies and research department - even aside from the crown¡¯s own intervention. Riven apparently thought it prudent to show you two weren¡¯t taking handouts¡­ and the research teams were very pleased, I assure you.¡±


    Allie raised an eyebrow but didn¡¯t press further. ¡°Alright. And what¡¯s your name again? Zefima, if I recall correctly?¡±


    ¡°Oh! I¡¯m so sorry for my rudeness! I never properly introduced myself. My name is Zefima Navir, Archmage of the academy! If you ever need ANYTHING please feel free to ask! And your identity will be kept a safe secret with me, Lady Thane. Only myself and the king know of who exactly you are, as the crown felt it prudent I intervene on your behalf should anything out of the ordinary epass your stay here. He very much values the rtionship with your necropolis.¡± Zefima leaned forward mischievously, winked, leaned back and took out a parchment. Handing it over to Allie she sped her hands together with a cockiness Allie kind of liked. ¡°Are you ready to start today?¡±


    ¡°Today?¡± repeated Allie, surprised. ¡°I don¡¯t even know where my sses are or where I¡¯m supposed to live. And I should mention that mypanion, Mara, is still taking tours of the lower levels so she¡¯ll need to be brought upter on.¡±


    The archmage smirked and pped her hands loudly twice. A couple of secondster and the door opened up and a young woman came in to bow low in a in brown maid¡¯s outfit. She was very pretty, petite, a redhead, and had lots of freckles to adorn her kind features. If she had been standing outside the door when Allie had arrived, she certainly hadn¡¯t seen her.


    ¡°I¡¯ve prepared a handmaid for you ahead of time. Her name is Sherine, and she is one of the best servants we have here. Very capable.¡±


    Allie put on a brilliant smile and gave a small wave. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Sherine.¡±


    ¡°Lady Wraithtide, the pleasure is mine.¡± Sherine curtsied and walked over to pick up Allie¡¯s books for her. She didn¡¯t smile but she didn¡¯t frown either and avoided eye contact. Perfectly straight-faced, she turned to Allie. ¡°Your second ss of the day has just started, would you want me to escort you there now? Or would you rather be shown to your room?¡±


    ¡°Sherine, dear, Allie needs to change into some new clothes. They¡¯re all ready and waiting in her wardrobe back at the dorm. Please take her there first!¡± the headmaster said politely as the servant girl bowed again.


    ¡°Very well. Lady Wraithtide, please follow me.¡±

 Chapter 156

    Chapter 156


    <strong>Chapter 156</strong>


    The za was filled with people trying to pedal goods. Weapons, armor, potions, enchanted jewelry, wards, totems, and more were all on disy at expensive looking shops surrounding the sandstone circle ced underneath the shifting stone cube overhead.


    There were also pubs and smoke shops where people congregated to eat, drink, and watch participants in the cubebyrinth try to figure their way out of an ever changing maze full of puzzles and monsters. Being this close to the cube even Riven could see many family members of participants inside the cube watching their own individual instances, saw mourners and celebrations, and saw many betting pools as money exchanged hands.


    Surprisingly enough, one of the hottest topics for the betting pools was none other than the one with both Chalgathi participants. Riven was even able to ess the live feed himself this close to the puzzle box, but instead he decided to visit one of the smoke shops where dozens of people were yelling and screaming at the video footage that¡¯d be such a popr topic of conversation across numerous establishments.


    ¡°This is where I¡¯ll be.¡± Riven stated, turning his back to the room and looking his minions over. ¡°You can all take some time for yourselves, but be back here within two hours or I¡¯ll have to collect you. Go tit?¡±


    ¡°AYE AYE!¡± Ath said cheekily, sticking her tongue out and giving a mock salute. ¡°I know we talked about it a little bit earlier, but could we get an allowance? Not having any money to spend and walking around the city just for exploratory purposes isn¡¯t nearly as fun as actually going into the shops.¡±


    Fay scowled at the other demoness. ¡°Ath, you can¡¯t be serious. We already have a great opportunity just by being here to level up without fear of a true death, to ask a warlock master for money as well? That¡¯s absurd. Especially when he has already supplied us with items of our own like the tiara you¡¯re wearing!¡±


    But Riven only smiled. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to keep your hallucinations going even at a distance across the za if we split up, right?¡±


    Fay paused, then nodded.Unhesitatingly, Riven drew out his bag - the one Negrada had modified for him before leaving to increase its space. But the only outward appearance change of the purple satin was that of an added sigil - that of a ming ck eye simr to Negrada¡¯s own. Out of it he drew four more sacks and handed one to each of his minions. ¡°Already on it. Inside you¡¯ll each find a couple thousands worth Elysium Coins, mostly kept to gold to decrease the amount of actual weight you have to lug around. There are also health potions for each of you just in case of emergencies. Go have fun, but stick in pairs of two.¡±


    Fay¡¯s eyes popped with surprise when Riven handed her a bag of her own, and Ath only cackled mischievously while fist-bumping the subus.


    ¡°Thank you Riven, it is appreciated.¡± Luke stated with a bow upon receiving his own sack of coins. He turned to look up at the barbarian at his side. ¡°Azmoth? Do you wish to apany me as we go find things to buy?¡±


    Azmoth grunted his acknowledgement, literally flinging aside a smaller drunk man that got too close and bumped into him. ¡°Yes. I follow. You lead.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Riven!¡± Ath said,ing up and hugging him before she and Fay turned around and excitedly began chatting about what they wanted to find before blending in with the crowds.


    Azmoth imitated Luke¡¯s bow and waved before the two men also started off towards other shops around the za, though Riven didn¡¯t have any time identifying them even at a distance due to the sheer size of Azmoth¡¯s figure.


    Standing alone at the saloon-styled entrance of the smoke shop behind him, Riven hummed in contentment. ncing at the groaning drunkard Azmoth had thrown into a hay bale nearby, Riven shook his head and turned around to walk into the establishment.


    It was rather well kept and very much like any hookah lounge he¡¯d ever seen back on Earth, but it had a heavy amount of drinking and drugs present as well. Scantily d maids served customers whatever kind of drug or drink they wanted, two male bartenders kept tabs on bets, and the central image conjured in the center of the room was magnified on full disy to show the two people Riven had an interest in.


    It was why he¡¯d chosen this ce to begin with.


    ¡°I¡¯LL INCREASE MY BID TO 600 ON THE LADY!¡± One of the customers called out, half high on the purple fumes he was inhaling from a hookah-like contraption. ¡°600 ON THE LADY!¡±


    A shirtless young man in a simple green linen shorts at the bar nodded, took up a piece of chalk and changed the number on the board next to the older customer¡¯s name. ¡°Noted! Cynthia, please collect the additional coins Rebbis wants to add!¡±


    A petite young woman with blonde hair trot over to the table with the better, took a hundred coin¡¯s worth of money, and then walked back to the bar to where one of five bouncers scattered across the room was located. Therge muscr man of dark skin took the cash and ced it somewhere behind the counter before settling back into a watchful position to make sure no brawls or fights erupted between the intoxicated customers.


    Riven hobbled inside while ying up the role of ¡®old man¡¯. Coming to an open seat at the bar and pulling out a stool, he huffed and yanked himself forward with exaggerated effort to the amusement of another man on his left.


    ¡°You alright old timer? Looks like that took quite a bit out of you!¡± a friendly younger warrior in studded leathers and a longsword across his back grinned over. ¡°What brings you out to the za? Looking for some good powder?¡±


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    <strong>[Swordsman, Level 13]</strong>


    ¡°You could say that!¡± Riven replied with a smile and a croak to his voice. ¡°More than anything I was just curious about the show going on! I¡¯d heard from my grandson that some intense battles were being fought between these two strapping youngins and felt like I might as well enjoy the rest of the day with a show. Name¡¯s Riven.¡±


    ¡°Tahm!¡±


    The other man extended his hand to shake, but Riven avoided the gesture by pretending not to notice and ordering a drink for both him and the swordsman. Riven had a heavy gauntlet on underneath Fay¡¯s hallucination, and he didn¡¯t want to give it away with a handshake.


    Tahm¡¯s initial frown upon not having his gesture reciprocated quickly faded when the drink arrived though, and the young man gave Riven a nod of appreciation while starting to sip on the ale - clinking sses with Riven not long after. ¡°That hits the spot! Thank you!¡±


    ¡°Not a problem!¡± Rivenughed, turning to look at therge disy of the instance event he¡¯de here for. He¡¯d already done a little bit of digging, though not much, but what he had found indicated that this particr trial had been going on for days now. ¡°Tahm¡­ I¡¯ll buy you another drink if you can give me some answers about these two.¡±


    Riven gestured up at the visage where a dual-wielding axe barbarian was trying to catch a more nimble female rogue. The axe barbarian had a band of cloth over his eyes, was quite muscr, riddled with sigils he¡¯d carved into his skin, and bulldozed over various spawning monsters inside an ever shifting room of tforms. asionally he¡¯d let out devastating attacks of unholy might, shattering entire tforms and causing the visage to shudder - while the more nimble, hooded rogue wearing goggles fired off empowered high-speed shots from a shadow-infused longbow. The rogue continually shifted between tforms, jumping up or down - dashing across chasms in the air as the swarm of tiles continued to change thendscape. It was very apparent though that the rogue was on the backfoot, as even when she did make solid hits the barbarian just healed and shrugged it off like it was nothing - and the bodynguage of the barbarian made it very obvious that he was the hunter, not the hunted.


    ¡°Another drink you say!?¡± Tahm grinned mischievously, sloshing the ale in his mug. ¡°Sounds good to me! I¡¯ve actually been here three days now waiting for my guild to take up a contract, so I should be able to fill you in. I¡¯ve got to say, your grandson is right on the money. These are probably some of the highest-level people I¡¯ve ever seen, and it¡¯s even rumored they¡¯re part of one of the world events and carry powerful artifacts. Has the betting rings in an uproar. That man with the two axes originally chased the other woman into the cube after killing a bunch of bystanders in their fight, and he''s been hunting her through the puzzle box ever since - going room to room. He''s also killed every single person who tried to get in on the action when the king has ced a bounty on their heads - increasing the bounty twentyfold for whoever brings the bodies and all their items back for evaluation. I have no idea what they¡¯re going to do even when they get out, because whoever wins between the two is going to get swarmed when they leave. In fact, I think there¡¯s another group heading inter today to try and collect the bounty. It¡¯ll be the 7th group since the bounty came out.¡±


    ***


    Ath rummaged through the materials one by one as the watchful eye of the clerk made sure she didn¡¯t steal anything. Piles of various types of threads, wools, strings, and even nt-based ropes were tossed here or there with Ath huffing and puffing about how she couldn¡¯t find what she was looking for.


    ¡°He¡¯ll love it either way.¡± Fay stated with a bright smile, ignoring the lustful looks they were getting from a group of six men at the shop¡¯s entrance. ¡°It doesn¡¯t need to be perfect you know.¡±


    ¡°BUT IT DOES!¡± Ath eximed with an exasperated moan, flinging another ball of wool to the side in irritation as others in the shop shot curious nces her way. ¡°I want it to be perfect because it¡¯s the first thing I¡¯ll give him! He¡¯s so good to us and he even gave us our own gifts already, and I¡¯ve been working on this for a long time now. It needs to be great.¡±


    Fay¡¯s smile softened, and she nodded once while walking around to another crate in order to help Ath look. They¡¯d already gone to the Elysium Altar and had zero sess, but then again Elysium Altars were more for the basics than they were anything else - at least until upgraded. And it was unlikely any Elysium Altar on the was upgraded at such an early stage in the integration process. So pushing one of her slender hands into the mix of wares, she started rummaging around as well. ¡°Fine. But I think he¡¯s going to be absolutely head over heels for it regardless of if you find that particr ingredient to use. There are many substitutes, and he¡¯ll not even notice the difference if you use one of them instead.¡±


    Ath glowered at her friend, but continued with the digging and huffing. ¡°I just want it tost, you know? I don¡¯t want it to get old.¡±


    ¡°Everything gets old Ath, especially in the realm of items like these.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want it to.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want him to ever throw it away.¡±


    Fay¡¯s smile widened, and she chuckled to herself at Ath¡¯s reply. ¡°I see. Well then I guess we¡¯ll just have to keep searching then.¡±


    Behind the two women, a gruff clearing of a throat was heard - and Fay turned to see a rather handsome older man in rich linens looking her up and down. He had many golden rings on his fingers, and he was nked by two servants in simr but less gaudy attire. ¡°Madam¡­ Miss¡­¡±


    The man bowed slightly to each of them, and then straightened again when he had their attention. ¡°Is there something you¡¯re looking for? I¡¯m the owner of this shop, and I see you may be in need of assistance. If there¡¯s something that you need and it isn¡¯t here, I can even send over one of my employees to check other merchants for you.¡±


    Fay raised a suspicious eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯d check other merchants? That¡¯s very generous of you. My friend Ath is in need of something called ¡®Kenwit Thread.¡¯ Ever heard of it?¡±


    The man hesitated, put on the fakest smile Fay had ever seen, then quickly nodded. ¡°Of course! I have heard of it, though I am somewhat unfamiliar with the properties. We may have some in the back, though I¡¯d have to take a look. Would you mind following me?¡±


    Ath and Fay exchanged nces, shrugged, and then wordlessly followed the merchant and his two servants through the store and through arge door. Following the man deeper into the establishment through arge hallway anding into a storage unit through yet another door, Fay came face to face with a rather unexpected sight.


    Hovering there above the ground and staring back at both women with many slowly blinking eyeballs was a car-sized, purple-skinned beholder demon - grinning wickedly back at them with a toothy smile.


    ¡°Do tell me¡­¡± The beholder demon stated in a deep yet sophisticated-sounding voice as the central-most eyeball dted. ¡°What in the world are a level 60 arshakai and a level 39 subus - both contracted to a master - doing in my fine establishment this wonderful afternoon? I must admit, I¡¯m quite interested to see you both here¡­ and if I¡¯m right on the money by just who you are - I have a very interesting proposition for the two of you.¡±

 Chapter 157

    Chapter 157


    <strong>Chapter 157</strong>


    The merchant and his servants bowed low, exiting the storage room full of boxes and crates to shut the door behind him. His feet pped against the store¡¯s floor until the sound of the next door at the far end of the hall opened and shut again - leaving the beholder demon alone with Ath and Fay in the dark.


    Not that any of them had any qualms with being in the dark, they were demons.


    <strong>[Beholder Demon, Level 28]</strong>


    Ath casually nced around, not seeing anyone or anything that could be a threat, then folded her arms. Fay¡¯s illusion dispelled a secondter, revealing the horns, tail and wings of the subus - as well as Ath¡¯s red eyes, pitch ck skin, and the arachnid limbs ripping out of her back.


    ¡°What do you want, eyeball? Spit it out, don¡¯t just sit there. I doubt it¡¯s about the ingredient I was looking for concerning my master''s birthday present, so whatever it is - make it snappy.¡± Ath eventually said after the two sides just stared one another down - evaluating each other in turn. She inspected her fingers that each turned into a long obsidian w, one by one. ¡°There better be good reason to call us in here like this. My friend and I are on a schedule, don¡¯t waste our time.


    Fay nodded with a more polite smile and a brief bow of her head. ¡°What she said. We don¡¯t have much time to waste. Please tell us what it is you desire from us.¡±


    Blinking a couple times from various different appendages, the beholder demon pulled up the cortex forums. From there he navigated to the main page of Panu, and scrolled through the forum posts until he found the one he was looking for. Selecting a video channel, he set up the disy for Riven¡¯s battle in Chicago. Pausing the video feed when it gave a snapshot of Fay and Ath, the beholder demon turned back to them.


    ¡°You are the same. Yes?¡±Ath rolled her eyes. ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯re not blind.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Fay confirmed.


    The beholder hovered in silence, took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly while casting his gaze downwards. His demeanor changed to that of a strange and manic glee, and he even blinked away a cascade of happy tears that came unbidden to him - which was very much a surprise to the other two demons in the room.


    ¡°My name is Brezkevix. I need your help, and the help of your master. It''s only right considering you happened to show up at the wrong ce and the wrong time... Could you not have just stayed away from the city for another day or so? That''s all it would have taken... You should have been more careful!¡±


    Ath¡¯s eyebrows raised in surprise, feeling very unsettled by the entire situation. Something about this wasn¡¯t right. ¡°Uhm... And just what can we help you with?¡±


    The beholder¡¯s mouth widened to abnormal proportions, and a hiss of hot air escaped its lips as its iris began to glow. ¡°You can help by dying for me!¡±


    With a cackle, the beholder self destructed and unleashed a maelstrom of violent, unholy energy that crashed into the other two demons like a freight train. Ath and Fay were both thrown backwards, smashing into an invisible barrier that¡¯d been erected along the walls of therge room¡¯s interior. Fay screamed in pain as ethereal chains rapidly bound her to the wall and began to burn her alive, but Ath was too quick to be caught and blurred ahead - trying to find who or what was attacking her as a plethora of spells detonated around her.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    <strong>*THUD*</strong>


    Flurries of infernal spears, globes of blood, and a swarm of ravenous insects ripped out of spatial tears that tore into her like a hurricane of violence.


    And despite how agile she was, Ath had been caughtpletely off guard.


    <strong>*RIP*</strong>


    <strong>*TEAR*</strong>


    <strong>*SPLAT*</strong>


    She was violently whipped around, half of her jaw hanging off and holes riddling her body as she gasped for air. Three of her arachnoid legs were rippedpletely off along with one of her arms, burn markings scorched her body and one femur was sticking out the side of her thigh when she mmed into the floor after the barrage was done.


    A man¡¯s voice called out above the screams and cries of the iling, burning subus. ¡°STOP! WE MUST FINISH THEM WITH A BLADE!¡±


    Ath¡¯s vision blurred, and blood began to pool around her as she tried to activate a portal back to theher realms - but it was blocked. Enchantments - having been inscribed into the surrounding stone walls, ceiling, and floor - were obstructing her passage back home. But she could still make out the robed, hooded figures of eight men and women circling her, with one of the older ones - a Japanese man with a neatly trimmed white beard -ing to the front. Two more demons apanied them as well: a minotaur, and a humanoid cthulhu abomination from the outer realms.


    The Japanese man turned to the cthulu monster, held out a hand, and was given a slender white de with ck runes that writhed with dark mes. The de was only a few feet in length, but Ath¡¯s heart nearly stopped in absolute horror when she saw the weapon. She knew what it was before the man even told her.


    ¡°Hello Ath. You put on quite a show with your master not long ago, we were all very impressed that one of Chalgathi¡¯s chosen - one of us - would havee so far in such a short amount of time. To reach the top 100 so early is beyond anyone¡¯s expectations¡­ it is unfortunate that he is not part of the cult. ¡± The old man said slowly,ing to stand over the demoness while twirling the de across his hands - spinning it, only to rest it on Ath¡¯s neck. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡±


    Ath could barely move, but her loud whimper and wide-eyed horror was all it took to get the man to let out a maliciousugh.


    ¡°This¡­ is a demon yer de.¡±


    Fay, who was still strapped to the wall with ming chains, let out a scream of absolute denial and sted out every bit of mana she had left despite her flesh being eaten slowly away by unholy power. Yet the chains soaked that up too, and she stayed there - helplessly beginning to sop - as she screamed out. ¡°PLEASE DON¡¯T! WAIT! WE DON¡¯T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BUT WE CAN BARGAIN WITH YOU!¡±


    ¡°Bargain!?¡± The head cultistughed, as did the other hooded, robed figures around the room. ¡°The sex toy wants to bargain. Isn¡¯t that funny. Let me ask you a question, subus - do you think your master would bargain with us too?¡±


    The old man grinned savagely at Fay, who¡¯s tears were actively streaming down her face as she trembled knowing full well what the weapon in this man¡¯s hands did. ¡°ANSWER ME SUCCUBUS! WE OF CHALGATHI¡¯S CULT DO NOT HAVE TIME TO PLAY GAMES WITH YOU!¡±


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    The man sank the de an inch into Ath¡¯s neck, and immediately she began to spasm and scream with absolute agony. Her very soul began to burn away, bit by bit, faster and faster as the de continued to grind down into her throat and then into her spine.


    Ath shed tears of blood, having a seizure on the ground as Fay screamed and begged for this unknown man to stop.


    ¡°ANSWER ME SUCCUBUS AND PERHAPS I¡¯LL MERELY VIOLATE YOUR BODY INSTEAD OF YOUR SOUL AS I DO TO THIS ONE!¡±


    Ath coughed and sputtered again,pletely broken on the ground, but managed to try and w at the old man¡¯s foot - only to have the boot m down and crunch onto her fingers with breaking bones. She red up at the man who¡¯s de was still stuck in her neck, managing to get only a few words out before the end. ¡°Riven¡­ *Cough* Will kill you¡­ *Cough* *Cough* He will avenge me¡­*


    The old man sneered. ¡°It is certainly possible, but I doubt it. He wouldn¡¯t be the first of Chalgathi¡¯s chosen we killed that weren¡¯t true members of the cult - and he wouldn¡¯t be thest. Yet, that being said, we don¡¯t even need to fight him¡­ we only need him distracted long enough for us to aplish our goal with the cube.¡±


    The de punched through Ath¡¯s spine, and then was ripped up into her brain - sending pieces of her face across the floor to be burned away with ck mes as motes of light started crackling and fizzling away around her. Her soulplex was breaking down more rapidly now, and she gave onest look to Fay - gasped and fell still.


    Fay let out an ear-piercing scream of denial, arms and legs still burning as the chains bound her to the wall, and then the scream faded into violent sobs and ugly-crying. Her head dropped, and the old man yanked the sword out of Ath¡¯s corpse to look at the others.


    One of the other robed men stepped forward, gesturing to the subus. ¡°What of her? We need to leave fast, before he gets here. We cannot beat him in a frontal assault or in a fair fight, and permanently killing these demons is only a temporary solution. The one you killed was a rarer and more dangerous breed, perhaps we really should keep this one for a bit of fun? That way he won¡¯t¡¯ be able to contract other demons in the meantime.¡±


    The old man scoffed with a glowering look at the crying woman restrained on the wall. ¡°There¡¯s almost no chance he could so quickly contract other demons, not in the time it will take us to set the n in motion to kill him and the other two participants in the cube.¡±


    The ring leader nced back over his shoulder to the others, only to receive looks of doubt and wariness. His eyebrows rose. ¡°You truly think he¡¯d be able to get more minions that fast?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Another hooded Chalgathi cultists stated solemnly. ¡°We only have three advantages here. First is the demoness you killed was a much more dangerous variant than what he¡¯ll likely be able to contract next. Second is he doesn¡¯t know who or what we are - or where we are, as none of us are carrying our artifacts on our persons. That however could change at any moment if we don¡¯t get out of here right now. Third, we have the subus. Perhaps we can just mute the connection so he can¡¯t track her?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s stronger than us and could just brute force the connection.¡± argued another woman from the back holding a staff. ¡°I for one don¡¯t want to end up as red paste on the ground, you all saw what he did in Chicago. He¡¯s an absolute monster. I say kill the subus too so loose ends are tied, we don''t want him finding out who did this - even if he does realize it was likely a distraction for what we''re about to do.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense.¡± replied the second cultist with a scowl and a lustful re towards the subus on the wall. ¡°At the very least let me have her for a little while, just cut the connection with that fucking de and let¡¯s move. You owe me Kenji, remember? This is what I want in return for the favor I did you. Give her to me instead.¡±


    Kenji, the group leader of this sect of the cult, scowled at his underling - but eventually scoffed and handed the de over. ¡°Cut the connection yourself. You have thirty seconds and we teleport out of here, no doubt he¡¯s already headed this way. Hopefully he hasn¡¯t realized the magnitude of what we¡¯ve done just yet, because if he has - he¡¯s no doubt rushing. God help us if he actually catches us before we¡¯re gone.¡±


    The younger man grinned wickedly, then licked his lips and headed for Fay. ¡°Fine! Prepare the portal ritual and let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll subdue the subus and put her in binding manacles in the meantime.¡±


    He turned back to Fay, crashing a fist into her gut and causing her to sputter before pinching her cheeks with one hand. ¡°Oh am I going to have fun with you.¡±


    ***


    <strong>[Your minion Ath has been in by a demon yer relic. Your minion Ath has permanently died. A demonic minion slot has opened up.]</strong>


    Riven abruptly stoppedughing at the joke the swordsman at the bar had told him, going pale and dropping his drink to crash against the wooden countertop. Was he reading this right?


    Shakily and with panic quickly beginning to set in, he rubbed his eyes and stared - beginning to full-body tremble as he lurched back from the countertop. It¡¯d only been an hour, just how the fuck had this happened?


    WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?


    His aura began to billow out. Rage quickly was reced with fear, fear was reced by anxiety, anxiety was reced with desperation, and desperation was reced with extreme sorrow like nothing he¡¯d ever known before. Even when Jose had died, it was nothing like this.


    It was nothing¡­ Like this¡­


    The mask temporarily opened up. Lurching forward and vomiting violently onto the countertop to the loud and angry or confused expressions of discontentment by nearby patrons of the bar - the hallucination around him began to flicker and abruptly stopped working altogether when yet another message appeared.


    <strong>[Your minion Fay has had her demonic contract forcibly severed. A demonic minion slot has opened up.]</strong>


    The entire bar was now quiet as his aura began to slowly climb. Red frost began to umte along the chairs, cups, walls and ceiling as he just stared - dumbfounded at the system notification. Everybody there as staring wide-eyed at the man many of them recognized from the world forums. Fully armored with a ck robe, red mana began to swirl around his body as the maw along his chest hissed with building rage to match his own. All seven eyed feathered began blinking rapidly, and the horned pauldrons on either shoulder glowed more and more brightly as the room began to shudder with power.


    Why hadn¡¯t his malignant prophecy activated?


    Was it still on cooldown from thest time he¡¯d used it to save Kathrine¡¯s life?


    But that¡¯d been three months ago? Or was it just not important enough to the prophecy for a trigger point?


    No that didn¡¯t seem right, the blonde woman he¡¯d saved in Negrada had meant nothing to him! It should have activated! WHY hadn¡¯t it activated!? IT SHOULD HAVE FUCKING ACTIVATED!


    His fingers clenched around the desk, smashing the wood to splinters underneath as he began to whisper - with that whisper turning into a scream. ¡°No¡­ Nooo, no, no, <strong>NO, NO-NO-NO </strong><em><strong>NOOOOOOOOO</strong></em><strong>!!!!</strong>¡±


    His body pulsed, and everything around him for over a mile erupted into a nova of red. Bodies and buildings were vaporized within seconds, and the resounding explosion sent a shockwave that radiated for miles as his scream reached the heavens and all activity in the city stopped.


    With it came an aura of malice and rage, and the hot sands of the desert froze over as Riven¡¯s body ripped through a tear in space as he raced towards thest location he¡¯d felt the two female demons with his soul aperture.


    ***


    He looked down at Ath¡¯s broken, smoldering body that still had ck mes trickling along her skin. Her once beautiful features were now barely recognizable, and the tiara she¡¯d prized so much - the very first gift he¡¯d ever given her - wasying covered in blood a few feet away in a pool of her own viscera.


    Riven dropped to his knees, ignoring the screams andmotion outside at the carnage he¡¯d indiscriminately wrought in his moment of panic. He also couldn¡¯t care less¡­ because right now, his very world was falling apart.


    His best friend had died, again.


    Riven let out a huping sob as he buried his face in her unmoving chest. Bringing her body up to his own, he continued to cry while rocking back and forth - shaking violently while he continued to shake his head in denial over and over again. The words he wanted to speak were garbled both in his head and as they left his lips, and he was left as little more than a mourning, bawling child - reduced to the same state he¡¯d been left in when his mother had left him all those years ago.


    From the side of a pile of crates, the merchant who owned this shop was breathing fast. His heart pounded in his chest, and he held themunication stone up to his mouth to whisper a report. ¡°Make your move to steal the cube now, he¡¯s preupied and probably will be for some time. His reaction was far more vtile than you anticipated and-¡±


    The merchant¡¯s voice caught in his throat when all seven eyes along the glowing crimson feathersing off Riven¡¯s porcin mask focused on his location.


    ¡°You cut out. Continue the report.¡± Kenji¡¯s voice came through at a hushed whisper - but even he on the other side of it stopped when a ravenous scream of hate roared across the sky - and the visage of a great maw darkened thend.


    The roof over the top of Riven and the merchant shattered, and the sandstone material it was made out of was sucked skywards as Riven found a target for his rage.


    There would be retribution for this.


    There would be pain.


    And in this realm of magic and miracles: he would find a way to bring Ath back if it was thest thing he ever did. Even if he had to tear apart the entire world to do it.

 Chapter 158

    Chapter 158


    <strong>Chapter 158</strong>


    The visage of the great maw in the sky echoed across thendscape with a roar that shook the heavens, and thendscape was painted red.


    <em><strong>¡°I demand this sacrifice¡­¡±</strong></em>


    Riven gingerly kissed the forehead of Ath¡¯s limp, bloodied corpse through his mask, picked up her tiara to put it away with her body, then slid them both into his spatial sack before slowly standing up. A boom of power tore apart everything around him - the ground, the civilians hiding nearby, the general goods store his minions had been ambushed in - everything except the merchant who¡¯d been hiding behind the barrels.


    Lifting one hand, Riven summoned wretched snares that lurched forward and snagged the quivering man who suddenly began to scream in abject horror. Those same snares ripped him forward, dragging him onto his knees to violently m face first into the ground at Riven¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Where are they?¡± Riven said, his voice only a whisper of cold fury - but it still thundered over the ruckus and chaos of the city around him. ¡°I heard what you said. Where did they go?¡±


    The merchant was panicking, screaming, and his flesh was being eaten away by the ck acidic needles. ¡°YOU ARE MISTAKEN! I DO NOT KNOW-¡±


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    Riven¡¯s ice-covered fist smashed through the man¡¯s skull with a blur, sttering his brains across the floor, and he slowly picked up themunication stone the man had been holding.Inspecting it and feeling the connection wink out, Riven¡¯s fury caused him to abruptly crush the item into dust.


    He looked left to a group of heavily armed guards rushing his way through the din of his maelstrom - spears and swords lighting up with energies as they began to charge martial arts in an attempt to stop him To stop the whirlwind of agonizing red sleet that sted everything around Riven for miles. Even now they took damage, but when Riven raised his hand and the warriors were vaporized with a whirlwind of storm des - upgraded versions of his bloody des that¡¯d incorporated the path of red and ck.


    The attacks were instantaneous, and the iing guards were little more than scraps of metal and meat within a split second.


    Something inside Riven had snapped. Something bestial had wed its way to the forefront of Riven¡¯s conscious mind, something beyond right and wrong - something that just wanted to kill. Wanted revenge. Wanted to tear the world apart.


    Seeing Ath¡¯s corpse¡­ he just simply didn¡¯t care anymore. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to kill those guards, or to kill those civilians that¡¯d been trying to hide from his storm, they¡¯d just simply been in his way.


    They¡¯d just simply been in his way.


    And he was done caring.


    <em><strong>¡°Chosen bringer of Sin¡­ I can help you¡­ if only youplete me¡­¡±</strong></em>


    Looking up to the sky where the visage of the great maw of Gluttony continued to roar down upon Daskus, the City of Canyons, Riven held out his hands wide. He could feel the tug, feel its pull, it wanted to speak to him but he just couldn¡¯t understand¡­ yet it felt important. It felt like a great hunger, a yearning for¡­ something, yet he could not put his finger on it.


    Visions of murder. Thousands of bodies. A burning city. A swarm of souls ascending into the sky. The cube¡­


    The cube.


    The maw screeched and Riven immediately turned his gaze to the cube in the distance, still hovering in the city and churning its puzzle box pieces one after the other. He could see a number of hooded figures standing on it, performing some kind of ritual as green sparks began to light up amidst the red of his storm.


    And there, bound and gagged with white glowing chains, was Fay.


    The sky fell, and all hell broke loose as his wrath descended.


    As one, his storm converged on the cube - thousands upon thousands of swirling shards of ice. Hundreds of spinning balls of ck and red storm. Thundering arcs of ck lightning. Dozens ofnces crackling with electricity - they all sped towards it with an aggression far beyond what this world had ever seen.


    The cultists atop the cube looked on in shock, and shes of light from different spells and miracles lit up the cube right before his magic struck.


    The cataclysmic impact was devastating.


    A shockwave of enormous proportions radiating out from where his storm had converged, erasing the marketce below and eradicating entire neighborhoods with cold wrath that billowed out like an atomic bomb.


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY HOME!?¡± Screeched a voice Riven didn¡¯t recognize, and Riven turned slightly to see an iing scimitar of blue mes rocketing towards him with speed that would far surpass any normal man.


    Riven¡¯s spear-staff Jackal met it with a snap of motion that broke the sound barrier and stopped the scimitar dead in its tracks. Staring back at a shirtless, dark-skinned man with a beard and wearing a crown, Riven easily deflected the next blow too despite an empowered martial art attack.


    Three more warriors of equal caliber wearing exquisite golden robes shot past the shirtless king after that to engage Riven next - but Riven backstep and then activate Jackal¡¯s lunge to double back with a cold, calcted blow. The ck spear whipped forward and the visage of a red jackal¡¯s maw opened uprge, three times the size of any man, before snapping down and instantaneously eviscerating all three men in a single strike.


    ck lightning pulsed from the spear-staff next and tore into the king, sting him across the canyon at high speed to m into the opposite wall - creating a crater that sent stone debris flying out in a cloud.


    The exchange had onlysted seconds, and Riven turned back to the cube - all 7 eyes of his mask¡¯s feathers trained on the remaining upants still alive on the stone surface. With a swift motion, he opened up a rift and shot forward - almost instantaneously stepping onto therge, floating, system-made construct to stare daggers of extreme hate at the targets before him.


    Two of the hooded cultistsy dead, a third waspletely obliterated with body parts smoldering along therge stone tforms that created the various pieces of the shifting puzzle box. One woman remained, injured and heaving in deep breaths as she bled out on the ground. It was a testament to just how strong they were that they¡¯d even survived, but the others were gone.


    Feeling the threads of blood mana around him, Closing his eyes and concentrating, he searched. Pulsing rivers of blood swirled around him in an instant, with a vision that only he could see in a state simr to that of when he watched his soulplex undertaking changes. Here though, it was solely the blood pir, the great maw above, and the whispers they spoke into his ear.


    His eyes trailed the lines, listening to gluttony resonate with his blood pir - feeling them sync as he traced the remnants of Ath¡¯ blood that still lingered on the de of her enemy.


    They weren¡¯t here.


    He looked down to the stone cube he stood on. He could feel them¡­ inside.


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    They¡¯d escaped his attack by going into the cube. Ath¡¯s killer was in there, and Fay was with them.


    A bestial scream of rage echoed across the chasm and Riven¡¯s peripheral vision saw the king of Daskus rip through the sky on wings of blue fire. He tore towards Riven¡¯s body like an angel of judgement incarnate, aura billowing out almost to match Riven¡¯s own. ¡°YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, CHALGATHI CULTIST!¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t even look the man¡¯s way, but merely opened a portal directly in front of the man and lifted Jackal to intercept.


    The king didn¡¯t have time to react when he abruptly teleported right into Jackal¡¯s de, and the maw of the blood jackal snapped down in a lunge that snapped the man in half. The king fell, lifeless, cut into multiple pieces that scattered across the torrential winds of Riven¡¯s aura.


    ¡°I can tell you¡­ *GASP* How to find them¡­ *GASP*!¡±


    Riven nced right to where thest cultist left alive on the tform was struggling for life. He began to walk slowly towards her, and she nodded - gesturing toe forward so she could speak more clearly.


    ¡°Just help me! *GASP*¡± The hooded woman said, barely older than Allie with a short pixie cut of red hair that matched the blood filling up her lungs from puncture wounds. She raised a shaky,cerated hand, reaching out for him to take it. ¡°Please help *GASP* me, and I will tell-¡±


    Riven¡¯s de snapped down, puncturing the woman¡¯s skull and abruptly ending her life. Yanking the ck de with living, flowing streams of crimson encircling the weapon - Riven turned his gaze back to the sky where the great maw continued to whisper to him.


    <em><strong>¡°Make my core whole¡­ and I will show you the path you desire¡­ You know what must be done¡­¡±</strong></em>


    Azmothnded on top of the cube next, having jumped an incredible height to get here from god knows where while holding Luke in his arms. The elf scrambled down off of Azmoth¡¯s hold, then looked around with wide-eyed horror at the carnage that was still ripping through the city around them. ¡°Riven! What is this!? Why are you doing this!?¡±


    Riven only spared the elf thrall a passing, uncaring nce. ¡°Do I need a reason?¡±


    His cold voice echoed across the canyons over the din and howl of his building storm, growing again with every body that his aura consumed as screams of the innocent beneath him cried out for mercy.


    ¡°THIS IS SENSELESS!¡± Luke howled, trying to tug at Riven¡¯s armor to get his attention - but the maw along Riven¡¯s chest opened up and a ck tongue smashed him backwards onto the stone floor they stood on - hovering in the middle of the city. ¡°WHAT IS THE PURPOSE HERE!? HAVE SOME SENSE, YOU ARE KILLING SO MANY FOR NO REASON! THEY WERE NOT THE ONES WHO KILLED ATHELA! I FELT HER CONTRACT LEAVE, I KNOW WHAT YOU FEEL, I HAVE FELT IT ONCE TOO! BUT THIS IS NOT THE WAY!¡±


    <em><strong>¡°I can save her¡­ for a price¡­¡±</strong></em>


    Riven¡¯s re did not falter, and raising his staff high above him - he began to charge a ball of mes. Hellfire surged across his body and through his staff, blinding Luke and even Azmoth as the fires of the damned roared to life amidst his storm of red and ck. They crackled, licked at his body, and created a pir many stories high that illuminated the darkness his storm cast on the world.


    A sun began to take shape. One of wicked, writhing fires and unholy might that caused the bodies nearby to melt or burn. The only reason Luke was left intact was because the mana actively avoided harming Riven¡¯s minions, and the vampire red down at his subordinate only momentster after creating a raging, condensed inferno the size of the titanic over the cube to dwarf them all.


    Riven calmly watched the violent fires of hell swirling above his head where his staff kept it focused. The weapon in his hand began to shudder, and soon the mes were too much even for Jackal to keep in one ce. Fires began to flicker down its shaft and burned Riven¡¯s own hand, but still he kept charging.


    ¡°RIVEN! THIS ISN¡¯T LIKE YOU!¡± Luke screamed above the din of the storm.


    <em><strong>¡°Are you willing to pay that price¡­ child of the blood god?¡±</strong></em>


    The pureblooded vampire smiled at the words gluttony whispered to him, then he looked down to his elf thrall with indifference. ¡°Luke¡­ You barely even know me.¡±


    There was a silence between the two as Riven stared at the man he¡¯d only recently begun to know.


    ¡°But you¡¯re a good man!¡± Luke croaked out with desperation, waving to the carnage and destruction Riven had wrought and was continuing to spill down onto the surrounding city. ¡°What''s the point of this Riven? You¡¯re killing indiscriminately because you¡¯re upset? Because you¡¯re angry at the world?¡±


    Riven slowly cocked his head to the side. Then he chuckled. ¡°That isn¡¯t true at all. Let me pose a question, Luke. Just how far would you go, just how far would you push yourself, to save the ones you love? This¡­ this is my answer to that question.¡±


    Not bothering to wait for a reply, Riven looked back up to the writhing ball of hellfire overhead - and his free hand began to move. It created a circle of mes, pushed through the center of that circle with a clenched fist, and then his forearm twisted while chanting. ¡°Rain fire upon mine enemies, cast doubt upon divine providence, and bathe thend in a ze of profane glory.¡±


    <strong>[ze of Profane Glory (Infernal)(Tier 3) - Detonate a massive ball of infernal power overhead, devastating the surroundingndscape and burning your enemies alive. This spell seeks out all living creatures, avoiding non-living material, causing soul damage as the fires of hell temper the innocent and guilty alike. 1 week cooldown.]</strong>


    The sun overhead exploded, and the supernova blew in all directions before turning into streams of me that sought out all living beings below. Trails of liquid fire dove inbetween windows, sted down doors, ripped into cers and chewed through stone to find and quench the life of every single screaming man, woman, child, and animal in Daskus. Immediately afterwards Riven¡¯s storm erupted to new heights - and a shockwave of ck and red tore through the city with a silent finality that left everything around them as still as the grave.


    Luke looked on in utter shock, suddenly finding himself in a moment of utter silence.


    The city of Daskus was gone, and in its ce was a smoldering pile of rubble and ash.


    <em><strong>¡°I am pleased. Bringer of Sin¡­ Child of the Blood God¡­ I ept your sacrifice, and I will now provide a path as promised¡­¡±</strong></em>


    <strong>[Core of Original Sin: Gluttony, has been sessfully created. Bonuses: ???. Gluttonous Sacrifice (Sin Miracle) has been created and etched into your Sin Core.]</strong>


    <strong>[Gluttonous Sacrifice (Sin Miracle): Perform a mass execution and destroy at least 200,000 innocent souls in order to bring a soul shard back from absolute destruction. Souls beyond this number will increase the effectiveness of this miracle. Cooldown: 5000 years.]</strong>


    <strong>[Gluttonous Sacrifice (Sin Miracle) has been performed. Due to low faith stat you have only managed to bring a very small sliver of Ath¡¯s soul back from nothingness. Ath¡¯s soul shard is now bound to your core</strong>.]


    Riven couldn¡¯t help but gasp in relief when a teeny tiny light was created from nothing right in front of his eyes. Beginning to weep, he held out his hands - cupping the immeasurably small and fragile thing between his fingers to cradle it as if it were the most precious treasure he¡¯d ever had. Watching it fade, he saw it bind internally to his own soul core, and from there it began to pulse.


    He didn¡¯t know how to bring her back from this state of being, but he knew it was now possible. The damage done by the demon-yer de was now at least partially reversed, and that was all that mattered.


    Ath could still be brought back¡­ somehow.


    Shivering, clutching his sides and falling to his knees, Riven began to sob uncontrobly. His masked head hit the stone floor of the floating cube - the lone remnant of the city he¡¯d so mercilessly butchered.


    Only Luke, Azmoth, and Riven remained alive in the city. Only their hearts beat within the clouds of ash that encircled them, billowing out from smoldering mes of wreckage that spanned across miles of terrain.


    But despite all that he¡¯d done, Riven wasn¡¯t finished yet. His eyes snapped open when he heard Fay¡¯s scream of horror and pain through the system¡¯s vision concerning the cube. He watched, eyes growing to a brighter crimson as she was dragged naked through another portal within the cube¡¯s boundaries.


    He watched as the remaining cultists, led by an old Japanese man, raced through the rift in space while carrying away the bodies and relics of the two participants Riven hade to hunt.


    He watched as they all disappeared from sight.


    His vision grew cold, and Riven slowly stood as the maw of gluttony in the sky disappeared into nothingness - leaving only him and two of his minions standing above the burning wreckage of a once great city.


    His breathing picked up, and the silence was permeated with killing intent that shed out of him like a tidal wave.


    ¡°We are going to hunt them down.¡± Riven said with renewed hate, getting ahold of himself now that he¡¯d secured Ath¡¯s chance at a future again. Holding out one hand, Jackal mmed into his grip. Feeling the mana leaking out of the tear in space even from somewhere within the cube, Riven knew he could trace the signal. ¡°We¡¯re entering the cube and we¡¯re taking Fay back.¡±


    Riven shuddered, ignoring the tears of disbelief streaming down Luke¡¯s shocked face. The vampire turned to Azmoth, who grinned wickedly back at his master, and the warlock began to ess the systemmands to enter the puzzle box event with growing fury. Looking up right before he selected the option to enter - he addressed the system and the viewers he knew were likely watching all around the world. He could feel their gazes on him, could feel Elysium once again targeting him as a person of interest, and he began to speak clearly - addressing the cultists who¡¯de to take what was his.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to find you. And when I do, I¡¯m going to do unimaginably horrible things to your bodies. I¡¯m going to tear your souls asunder, torture you until you scream and beg me for death. I am going to piss on each and every one of your corpses, and when it¡¯s all done I¡¯m going to hang your bodies from the tower of my capital city for everyone to see as a reminder that you do not FUCK with Riven Thane. Run while you can, enjoy the short remnants of your pathetic lives while you can, because you are not long for this world. I¡¯ll be seeing you soon, Chalgathi¡¯s Chosen. It will be me who stands at the top in the end.¡±

 Chapter 159

    Chapter 159


    <strong>Chapter 159</strong>


    High Queen Nephridi curiously watched as the armies of the invading forces began to finally breach Panu¡¯s realm. These world quests always startedter than the others due to the extreme difficulty the local forces often had in deterring professional armies of already established factions, even if there were level caps.


    Lazily ncing out over the capital city of her homeworld with buildings of eloquent designs sprawling out into the horizon, she picked up an extremely high quality fruit out of a bowl - a blood-variant dao treasure - and began to thoughtfully chew as she used it as a mere snack. Most people would want this kind of luxury for breakthroughs in the lower grades, but she merely enjoyed the taste and gained little to nothing from it.


    Perhaps Riven or Allie could have used it?


    Nephridi looked back down to the crimson, glistening fruits in a basket nearby, her long white dress hugging her slender body as she lounged on the cushioned bench. Perhaps she¡¯d prepare a gift basket for them when the integration finally ended if they lived that long.


    And although both Allie and Riven seemed to be doing wonderfully in their own progressions, that was not the case for Kathrine. Nephridi was half tempted to execute the little royal and her entire family for all the shame and failure she¡¯d brought for such a simple task.


    Bring them into the fold Nephridi had said.


    Support them in their growth Nephridi had said.


    But neither of those two very simple tasks had evene close to fruition. Instead, Riven and Allie had almost shunned the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s trading outpost entirely - forgoing any training or tutoring in favor of their own pursuits after almost being assassinated. Then things had only gotten worse when those damnable younglings Nephridi had sent failed to interrupt a simple low tier system quest, resulting in Riven being whisked away against his will while Allie raged about how ipetent Kathrine and her ilk were.It was outright humiliating for Nephridi to watch, because all of this reflected on her. Truthfully it was the first time she¡¯d felt a sensation of ¡®embarrassment¡¯ for millenia, as she usually didn¡¯t care what other people thought due to killing anyone she didn¡¯t like - but these were her favorite granddaughter¡¯s children. Nephridi wanted to impress them.


    So much for that.


    She let out a long sigh and covered her eyes with her right arm. ¡°Oh Sheline, if you¡¯re still out there somewhere - please forgive your grandmother for sending such idiots to help your progeny.¡±


    Raising her arm off her face and lowering her gaze back to the visions over the table, her eyes rested back on Riven. ¡°But perhaps they don¡¯t need my help anyways. Who would have thought¡­ A shard of gluttony, in a newly integrated world?¡±


    High Queen Nephridi snickered at the very idea of it. That snicker turned into an outright guffaw ofughter, and she had to clutch at her gut to stop herself from shaking from the forcefulness of it. ¡°Oh my¡­ How nasty things are going to get with an artifact of that magnitude present. At the very least it should be quite fun to watch! Wouldn¡¯t you agree, Jalel? Speaking of which, I do wonder why you never told me about this. Hadn¡¯t you once described Riven as - and I quote: ¡®unimpressive in all regards¡¯?¡±


    The queen¡¯s re caused her nephew to stiffen, and sweat was already beginning to trickle down his forehead from where he stood ahead of two armored elites that¡¯d escorted him here. They red at his back with crimson eyes ring, fists tightening around obsidian longswords.


    After there was a pause with no response, Nephridi humphed with amusement and then turned back to eating fruits and watching Riven try to figure out what to do. Watching these two children had be a favorite entertaining pastime for the queen, and she¡¯d forgone many of her responsibilities running the empire in order to do so. ¡°I find it very hard to believe that you intentionally held such an interesting secret from me, Jalel. But although you are not my mostpetent grandchild - you are not THAT ipetent. You would have known what it was Riven held. Jalel, you have two minutes to exin to me why you tried to hide this, and why I should not execute you and your entire house for treason. You can begin exining¡­ now.¡±


    ***


    <strong>[Quest Dispensed: Find Your Subus Princess ¨C You have found and rescued your spider princess Ath, now it¡¯s time to find and rescue Fay. Cultists have taken your minion from you by force with nefarious intent, and it is likely they will eventually kill her if you try to get her back.</strong>


    <strong>Quests aside, you know you don¡¯t have a choice. Find and rescue Fay within 21 days, 4 hours, 5 minutes to avoid catastrophe concerning Fay''s wellbeing.]</strong>


    Riven dismissed the notification almost immediately as it came, scoffing at the mere idea of having a quest for this kind of thing. He needed no quest to urge him into saving her, and anger surged inside him as he thought about what things were likely happening to her even now while sitting here; attempting to solve the riddle of the ritual these cultists had used to escape.


    Fuck the 21 days. He¡¯d do it in two.


    Beside him Azmoth was contemting Riven¡¯s recent disy of hellfire, trying to gain insights from his master¡¯s use of it to integrate those concepts into a stamina-based martial art rather than Riven¡¯s own spell form. And hunched over in a corner of the stone puzzle-box room, still in a state of shock from the things he¡¯d witnessed only two days ago, was Luke. The old man¡¯s red eyes asionally blinked, but otherwise he remained as still as a statue while trying topute the magnitude of violence unleashed by his master.


    Luke obviously had far more misgivings about the event than Riven did, because Riven had already tossed the guilt aside. He didn¡¯t have time to feel guilty, and he¡¯d fucking do it again if given the choice.


    Closing his eyes, Riven entered a meditative pose while letting his shadow pir feel out the surrounding remnants of magic used to escape this ce. That it was shadow magic he was certain of, and that it was also simr to his own riftwalk spell was also a certainty. He could feel just how the lock-and-key mechanisms these cultists used were simr in shape to his own fractals, the ones on his shadow pir when he activated riftwalk, only that here in the cube¡¯s alternate reality: the remnant ritual fractals had been brought out into the open with a few key modifications.


    They¡¯d been hard to detect at first, but he¡¯d mostly pieced them back together by now.


    Mostly.


    He¡¯d done a little bit of runecrafting in his attempts to learn totem-making early on, but that was truly the only exposure he¡¯d had up until now. This ritual used something simr, with figurines of ashy trails littering the air about him - invisible to the naked eye but present to his mana sense that resonated with his shadow pir. Eighteen in total, Riven rearranged them in different patterns and reconnected pieces to one another by manipting the remnant mana - trying to form a convergence.


    The visage of Gluttony¡¯s maw shed in his mind, letting its presence be known and incorporating itself into his aura but otherwise leaving him be¡­ interested in the proceedings as he struggled to grasp the secrets of shadow.


    ¡°This ritual is¡­ strange.¡± Riven stated from his cross-legged position in the air,pletely focused on the task at hand while sigils interchanged and the air about him shifted with passing dao fields interlocking between them for every miniscule alteration he created. His fingers steepled together in thought, and spear-staffid across hisp, Riven pondered what it was he had wrong. ¡°It is almost as if they created a wormhole without using a source of intent. My understanding of mana and spellcasting was that intent was a necessary piece, a fundamental part to any direction you wanted to take. Is this not the case?¡±


    Riven curiously nced over at the old elf thrall, and Luke blinked a couple of times to set himself out of the stupor he¡¯d been in.


    ¡°Sorry¡­ Can you say that again?¡±


    Riven frowned, but repeated the query as asked.


    Luke thought for a bit, then shook his head. ¡°You are correct in assuming that spellcasting needs intent. But for a ritual, they have none. Rituals are outside the realm of will, and function on a more mechanical nature. An example of this would be an archer. The archer can initially direct the arrow by aiming it and imbuing it with power by drawing it back, but as soon as the arrow is loosed it no longer contains the intent of the archer and can be manipted by external forces like distance, wind, and gravity.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re essentially saying that this ritual was pre-set?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. All rituals are.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that they needed a pre-disclosed location to teleport to?¡±


    ¡°That would also be correct.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Riven¡¯s gaze shifted back to the ck motes of mana he could feel in his mana field. He inspected every one of the sigils bit by bit, looking for the difference in mana signatures that would be a telltale sign.


    And he found it.


    One of the sigils had a mana signature that was older than the others. Theoretically, this would be because the mana had been dispensed and cast at an earlier time than the newer signatures. When the opposite end of the ritual linked, some of that older mana would seep over to this side, depositing itself in a very small swap of space that was a signature requirement of his own riftwalk. Prying the sigil open to expect it in more rigorous detail, Riven eventually grinned with a malicious sneer.


    Perhaps Ath had been right. Perhaps he really was gifted with the magical arts after all.


    ¡°Get ready. I¡¯ve found the way through.¡±


    ***


    Fay was utterly traumatized, her wings had just been cut off and cauterized to form stumps, and she let out another scream of agony as her back was branded with a hot iron amidst theughter of her new self proimed ¡®owner.¡¯


    ¡°WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡±


    Struggling against anti-demon bindings that kept her bound, the left side of her face was mmed into the stone floor and pressed down.


    Cackling, the blonde robed man beside her continued to press the hot iron brand against her skin. His sweaty fingers pinched her cheek, and then began to pull that cheek back to expose her teeth like one would do a horse while she brayed. ¡°This is great! You¡¯re a lot more responsive than all the others were! Oh I do love my torture.¡±


    Fay didn¡¯t know what ¡®others¡¯ this man was talking about, but she was in too much misery to ask as her lips trembled violently amidst her choking sobs. ¡°P-please let me g-go!¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°HAAAAAA-HAHAHA!¡± The man crowed and repeatedly yanked her head back by the hair to m her bruised face into the ground, causing her to loudly grunt with each impact - much to the irritation of the other three remaining cultists who¡¯d escaped with him.


    ¡°UGH! UHH!! UGGGH!!¡±


    Huffing, the old Japanese man Kenji folded his arms at the table in the center of their underground hideout while going over the loot. They¡¯d been sorting through all of the stuff they¡¯d taken off the two other Chalgathi participants in the cube - both of which had each only had one artifact a piece. But what theycked in artifacts they had made up for in wealth, with tens of thousands of coins and some enchanted ss-oriented gear for both archers and berserkers.


    ¡°Can you keep it down?¡± Kenji asked with a snarl, rigid in his posturing while he red. ¡°If you¡¯re going to continue ying with your new toy, take it out into the hallway so I don¡¯t have to hear it any longer. It¡¯s beginning to wear on my ears and this ce is cramped.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± The lone remaining cultist woman said underneath a ck cowl, distastefully watching her aplice manhandle the crying subus on the ground. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of a show for one day.¡±


    The blonde man red back at them, yanking Fay¡¯s head back up by her white hair and standing - beginning to drag her across the room. ¡°You guys are buzzkills. Fine, I¡¯ll stop the torture. I was about to get to the good stuff anyways.¡±


    Kenji muttered under his breath, sharing a look with the woman across the table from him and then ncing over to where her minotaur was standing against the wall. ¡°I truly dislike that man.¡±


    The woman nodded in agreement. ¡°He was imprisoned before the integration set in, always talks about how many girls he buried and how he did it. I think he talks about it intentionally to make me ufortable, but I also believe every word he says. The things we¡¯ve seen him do since we banded together have been very unpleasant to witness, even for me.¡±


    Kenji gave her a twisted smile, setting down one of the trinkets he was trying to inspect with a clink of metal. ¡°Funnying from you.¡±


    ¡°Being a serial killer doesn¡¯t have anything to do with torture.¡±


    ¡°Really now?¡±


    ¡°Yes. For me it is apulsion, nothing more and nothing less. I kill because I need to. Do I enjoy it? Yes, but I do not take my time to draw it out. I am quick, methodical, and careful in my approach. Always have been, that¡¯s one of the reasons why I was never caught like this imbecile.¡±


    Kenji furrowed his brows in thought, then nodded. ¡°If he wasn¡¯t so skilled in spatial magics I probably would have already killed him now myself. I can do some of what he does, but not everything. Long-distance teleports are a lot harder to¡­¡±


    He shifted in his seat, ncing over at the ritual area where candles were still lit and the fourth cultist was kneeling in meditation. ¡°Randin? Was that you?¡±


    Randin was too engrossed in meditation to reply, head bowed and in a trance underneath another ck cloak.


    ¡°Did you sense something?¡± The woman asked curiously, staring alongside Kenji with raised eyebrows. ¡°I didn¡¯t, your perception must be higher than mine. But if you did, it was like Randin¡¯s new spell - the one he¡¯s working on creating. He continually experiments with the infernal arts and has even recently been trying to create an elemental from hellfire believe it or not.¡±


    Kenji¡¯s frown did not leave his face. Standing up and ignoring the ruckus from the other side of the room where the grunting subus had been taken, he walked over to the ritual circle and continued to stare.


    There it was again. That very faint but distinctive aura of hungering dread, an absolute and cold desire to consume him ten thousand times over, an aura he¡¯d only felt one time before.


    Kenji¡¯s heart thudded in his chest, and he felt his blood run cold. Had he just imagined it? There were wards to seal this ce off from outsiders both physically and through means of scrying, there was no-


    There it was again. That brief flicker of ck mana.


    Somehow they¡¯d been found. Somehow, the portal was being reopened.


    How was that even possible?


    Kenji slowly took a step back. As calmly as he could, he put on a smile to rest the concerns of the woman at the table. ¡°Ah, it was nothing after all. No need to worry, just Randin¡¯s experiments again.¡±


    Kenji¡¯s heart was hammering in his chest. He didn¡¯t have time. Didn¡¯t have time to collect all his things, the artifacts, the money. His mind raced and he casually picked up his spatial sack with a fake yawn, beginning to put some of the artifacts into the sack - just enough for him. There was no reason to give the man further need to chase him, right?


    No. He¡¯d leave the other artifacts behind and just take a set for himself. Kenji hoped the vampire¡¯s attention would be diverted by his minion being abused on the other side of the room, and when he felt another pulse of that aura - stronger this time to his extremely high perception - he began to move more swiftly.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± The woman asked curiously and with a deep frown, crossing her arms along her chest. ¡°Why are you putting those into a spatial sack?¡±


    ¡°Organization!¡± Kenji stated with a chuckle, trying not to sweat or shudder. ¡°That¡¯s all! Just organization.¡±


    The woman across the table let out a short exhale through her nose. ¡°You¡¯d better not be trying to run off on us Kenji. You know the deal, at least two of us get sets first to better our odds at the temple. We stick together, collect the pieces together, and work together until the end where we will split the rewards. That¡¯s what we agreed on, and I won¡¯t hesitate to cut you down if you try anything.¡±


    Kenji only rolled his eyes, then hesitantly dropped the sack back onto the edge of the table. As the only other one here aside from that idiot who was securing the subus in tighter bindings near the corner, Kenji would be able to make a fast getaway through theyers of bedrock overhead. That left at least two, and perhaps even three of them to deal with the vampire when he forced his way through.


    Those brief nudges had only been probing actions before, testing the veil they¡¯d built here to ward off any rift-walkers from entering the hideout unannounced. But now they had something far more serious about to st through, and Kenji¡¯s hands began to twitch - forming various motions as he muttered under his breath the chant needed to cast his teleportation spell.


    It would be any moment now.


    The cultist across the table from him became distracted for a moment when the subus they¡¯d abducted began to sob even louder. ¡°SHUT THAT DUMB BITCH UP! God! I¡¯m so tired of hearing you two-¡±


    Kenji felt the pulse and immediately teleported out right after grabbing the sack as a st of malicious hunger roared to life over the ritual circle¡¯s center. Then he teleported again, and again and again, before running out of mana and beginning to run as fast as he could from the terrifying presence he¡¯d left miles behind.


    ***


    Riven stepped through the ck portal with Jackal in hand, streams of blood flowing all along the de and shaft before burrowing into his own body as if the weapon was a part of his arm.


    His foot seemed to echo as it touched down onto a stone floor, and time seemed to freeze as he took in his surroundings. Arge minotaur to his right, a kneeling hooded man entranced in meditation directly in front of him, and a woman sitting with an expression of disbelieving shock at a round table in the middle of the room. A humanoid cthulu demon dressed in purple robes slowly rose from a sitting position on a dresser nearby, evaluating the turn of events with more curiosity than anything else - and then finally to his left: he saw it.


    Riven just stared, at a loss for words as the blonde man standing near Fay with pliers in hand just gawked at him with mounting horror. Riven felt his facial muscles twitch with a flurry of emotions that were soon ovee by just one, and his aura sted the room around them to flood the undergroundir with andslide of cold fury.


    ¡°We meet again so soon¡­¡±


    Riven¡¯s body erupted with Blessing of the Crow - epassing him in wisps of red speckled with ck¡¯ and his armored foot kicked the meditating man straight into the jaw.


    The man¡¯s head exploded from the impact and his body was sent flying in a spray of blood.


    The woman screamed in a panic and both her minions went to protect her - the minotaur charging with horns down and the cthulhu man beginning to cast arcane spells of some kind that glowed a deep purple amidst flourishing hand gestures.


    Riven blurred, engaging with a stance taught to him by Luke only two months ago before cleaving right through the minotaur with a sidestep. Simultaneously storm balls exploded from around him to crash into both the cthulhu man and the woman who¡¯d begun to stagger back from the table.


    All three were left as mutted puddles of gore within seconds.


    To his left the blonde man had tried to summon a portal to escape, but just as the portal began to open up - Riven¡¯s cold, gluttonous aura mped down hard.


    The portal only halfway opened, not being nearly big enough for the cultist to run into, but he tried nevertheless. Screaming profanities and abandoning Fay entirely, he pushed to force himself through the tiny rift without sess.


    Riven blipped forward, still mping down and suppressing the other man¡¯s mana effortlessly. It was like an elephant stepping on a bumble bee whenparing the sheer quantities of power between the two casters, and Riven¡¯s armored gauntlet mmed onto the man¡¯s shoulder - yanking him out and flinging him like aet into the opposite wall.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    The cultist screamed, his left rib cage snapping like a series of twigs while his left shoulder and arm ttened against the stone. Bouncing off the wall with an obvious concussion, the man stumbled forward and began vomiting blood from the internal hemorrhagic bleeding he was experiencing.


    Only to be picked up and bodily mmed onto therge oak table face-first.


    Conjuring ck needle-like snares, Riven yanked his broken arm and fastened it to the thick wood. The man underneath him whimpered loudly and then screamed again with an unintelligible plea when Riven¡¯ crushed his other wrist and fastened it to the table¡¯s opposite side.


    Riven stared at the sobbing viin, hunkering down into a squatting position to be eye-level with the broken and violently coughing cultist who was no doubt about to go into shock over blood loss. Yanking the target''s chin up to look back at him, Riven snarled out thest words this man would ever hear. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re dying too fast for me to keep my earlier promises on how you¡¯d go, so this will have to do instead."


    Smashing the man¡¯s bloodied face into the table again, Riven hoisted his spear up and came back around. Aiming directly for the man¡¯s backside, Riven drew back his weapon and speared the cultist directly through the rear.


    The weapon easily cut all the way through the thick table¡¯s wood and into the stone floor below as the man shrieked like a hyena, but he was too weak to do anything other than lift his head in that garbled wail and slightly tug at the flesh-eatings bindings his broken wrists to the wood.


    Violently kicking the dying man for good measure, snapping one knee at a backwards angle while the cultist went into shock, Riven ignored the various artifacts and expensive baubles around the room. He only cared for one thing.


    And surprisingly when he did pass the quest items by, his own worn Chalgathi artifacts detached themselves. They drifted off his body and floated over to intermix with the other set pieces - connecting with them and forming a chrysalis of mana that quickly created a ball of imprable, swirling multi-colored light.


    Riven continued in stride, his armor still mostly intact, and eventually came to settle down next to the weeping woman he¡¯de to know over the past months. Her eyes were swollen shut, unable to see him like they were, and her body was absolutely broken. Bruises covered her, a brand was burned into her right lower back, she was bleeding from numerous small cuts that¡¯d no doubt been intended as torture, and her wings were cut off and sealed shut at the stumps with fire.


    He extended a hand, hesitating halfway to her when he heard her breathing pick up in fear.


    ¡°...Ri¡­ Riven¡­?¡± Fay asked with a shaky voice, tears still dripping down her bruised sky-blue skin.


    There was a long pause as he tried to figure out how to approach her. How could he face her like this? Would she hate him for not protecting her?


    Tears welled up underneath his own eyes, and he nodded with a sniffle - but his voice remained strong . ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s me. I¡¯m so, so sorry-¡±


    ¡°WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!¡± Fay began to sob again as she almost threw herself off the bed trying to get to him - still hogtied with metal chains, only missing and almost toppling onto the floor before she was caught.


    She continued to bawl as he picked her up and held her, using strings of mana to get rid of the chains binding her; the anti-demon metal snapping, crackling and popping as he angrily destroyed them with a mental lurch of power.


    The chains dissolved, and she threw her trembling arms around him and buried her face in his chest, specifically in the pocket where his maw had used to be between the parts of metal breastte that¡¯d been modified for the amulet.


    Azmoth and Luke had stepped through the portal as well, and they watched in silence as Fay uncontrobly cried, shook, and clung to Riven like a castaway holding onto a piece of driftwood.


    Riven didn¡¯t know what to say, so he didn¡¯t say anything. Choking up and holding her tightly, he just let her sob for as long as she needed to - but motioned for Azmoth to bring over a healing potion in the meantime. Azmoth did as asked and set two of them down on the nightstand next to the small bed, then bent down with another motion from Riven.


    "Take that man stapled to the table out into the hallway. Keep him on the edge of life and death with potions, make sure he feels pain." Riven whispered into Azmoth''s ear, nodding to the cultist going into shock not far off as Fay loudly sobbed. "If you''re able, if he identally dies don''t worry about it - but I want his death to be drawn out and agonizing."


    Azmoth smiled wickedly, nodded, and then stepped away to pick the speared man and table alike. Carrying it out of the room and into an adjacent hallway with Luke to give Riven and Fay their privacy - the door shut with a thud behind them.


    Eventually, after many minutes of this, Fay had only somewhat calmed down. But it was still enough to whisper to him in a muffled croak. ¡°You found me! I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t believe you found me¡­¡±


    Her fingers curled around the back of his neck, and he took this moment of rity to open her lips and pour a potion down her throat. Making her drink the second one in quick session, he saw her wounds slowly begin to heal.


    ¡°Yeah. I found you.¡± Riven let out a wavering sigh of his own, settling down into a morefortable position and knowing she wouldn¡¯t be letting go any time soon. ¡°I know that you¡¯re hurt, but things are going to be ok now. Take as much time as you need¡­ and we¡¯ll talk when you¡¯re ready.¡±


    Still keeping her eyes closed, sniffling, and nodding with quivering lips, she curled up into a ball beside him on the bed. Violently shaking she stayed there for hours, neither of them saying a word, until she finally felt safe enough to let herself go. She passed out from sheer exhaustion after that, still clinging to Riven¡¯s body with a vice-grip, and soon thereafter the violent shaking of the traumatized subus slowed to a halt.

 Chapter 160

    Chapter 160


    <strong>Chapter 160</strong>


    <strong>2 days prior¡­</strong>


    It was her very first day of school, and Allie was excited.


    Allie¡¯s living quarters were built into one of many two-story barracks behind the arena. Though she wouldn¡¯t have ever called this specific set of quarters a barracks herself as the rooms were made for high ss lords anddies of the court. She nevertheless was given one of the best avable and was stationed on the top floor, despite insisting to be treated like any other of the academy attendees.


    Following Sherine - who was doing her best to act like it wasn¡¯t a struggle carrying Allie¡¯s five heavy books, she gave an amused smirk and stopped the handmaid. Taking them from her without saying a word, Allie head-bobbed for Sherine to continue leading.


    ¡°I¡¯m-I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m so weak¡­¡± stammered the girl. She obviously was worried beyond what should be normal due to Allie¡¯s action and it showed, though Allie hadn¡¯t intentionally done so to make the girl feel put-off.


    The vampire - who now just looked like a very pale and extremely beautiful human girl - gave an encouraging smile and motioned for Sherine to lead on. ¡°It isn¡¯t a problem at all. I¡¯m naturally stronger, you shouldn¡¯t feel bothered at all."


    After entering the roman styled barracks building through a set of heavy double doors just like the one she had walked through earlier to meet the Archmage, Allie was immediately led up a spiral staircase to his front amidst avish reception area filled with red velvet couches, paintings, and a cards table. Carpeted hallways extended to his right and left with doors spaced out every twenty yards. Coming up the spiral staircase she came immediately face to face with a door having her own name inscribed on a golden namete in the system¡¯s generguage.


    Sherine pushed her red locks to the side and fumbled with a key as her eyes nced up quickly. ¡°Here mydy, this is a copy of the key to your room. I will have the spare.¡±Allie took the long delicate key and felt the cool brass against her skin. As the door opened and the maid shuffled to the side to let Allie through, a sweet aroma met her senses to match the d¨¦cor.


    It was arge well lit room with marble countertops, fine ss windows from ceiling to floor with curtains opened wide for a view of the front walkways leading to the building. There was a door leading into the less splendid maid¡¯s quarters on her left and a built-in kitchen too. Fine linens on a feather bed to Allie¡¯s right had velvet drapes around a king sized bed with a polished oak headboard. The center of the room had a rectangr dining table also created from polished oak big enough to fit eight people with chairs to match.


    ¡°Mara will like this.¡±


    She walked over to a closet that slid open to reveal numerous sets of fine noble¡¯s clothes simr to those she had seen on the women in the ssrooms. Frills, silk robes, dresses and fur coats weren¡¯t her style but she could certainly appreciate the quality of the finely made shirts and feminine pants that were in abundance in multiple colors. Vests along with well-made leather boots were also present and she was quick to pick out a basic outfit andy it on the bed.


    Sherine was standing directly beside her, expectantly, and Allie looked down at the slightly shorter woman with a confused frown.


    ¡°Just give me a moment and I¡¯ll be ready.¡±


    The girl¡¯s eyebrows furrowed and she nervously shuffled her feet. ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t want me to dress you?¡±


    Allie¡¯s frown turned into a smirk when she began to chuckle. ¡°No. I¡¯m a grown adult. I can dress myself.¡±


    Again the girl seemed worried, but Sherine nodded and stepped back. Minutester Allie had finished changing, and she nced back to look at herself in the mirror. White formfitting shirt, blue vest, pants that clung to her skin and high-top leather boots with heels.


    She looked pretty good.


    ¡°Lady Wraithtide, you put your vest on upside down.¡±


    Allie paused and looked down. It appeared to be on correctly, at least in Allie''s opinion. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m certain.¡±


    Allie sighed, facepalmed, and took it off. She threw the vest onto the bed in irritation and picked up her five books next. ¡°Ok. We can go now. What¡¯s my first ss?¡±


    "Are you not going to don something warmer?"


    "I feel very little concerning the cold."


    There was a pause, and the maid nodded after processing her words.


    ¡°Your first ss for the day is already over as morning sses start shortly after sunrise. Your second ss is currently ongoing and willst another two hours. Here is a copy of your first year schedule, I have it memorized so feel free to keep this paper for your own knowledge. This said, the schedules are simple and you may choose which ss to attend if they ovep. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don¡¯t. It depends on what the instructor decides to teach that day. sses ur every day unless the instructor for that day decides to take time off.¡±


    <strong>YEAR 1 SCHEDULE:</strong>


    <strong>Beginners Magic Theory ¨C Instructors Kremsin Bots and Ori Orumi</strong><ul><li><strong>Mornings</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Beginners Battle Abilities 1: Applications of Magic, Miracles, and Martial Arts ¨C</strong>


    <strong>Instructors Jaimest Vorvus and Thoi Jorsem</strong><ul><li><strong>Afternoons</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Beginners Battle Magic 2: Combined Warfare Tactics ¨C Instructor Mince Quarteple</strong><ul><li><strong>Afternoons</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Combined Combat ss ¨C Instructors Nester Rose, Jokzofrie Belfast, and Jupis Astirith</strong><ul><li><strong>Evenings</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Beginners Healing and First Aid ¨C Instructors Nuthak Ororin and Jan Wetzle</strong><ul><li><strong>Evenings</strong></li></ul>


    Allie grimaced as she realized there was no form of organization to it. ¡°When do we eat? And do we get any time off?¡±


    To this, Sherine let on an amused smile. ¡°You are the queen of the Thane Necropolis mydy. You can do whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s not what I mean. Nobody knows I¡¯m the queen except for you, the archmage Zefima, and the king. So pretend I¡¯m not a queen and tell me like it is if I were a normal person.¡±


    Allie would be damned if she didn¡¯t get a true college experience out of this. It was all she¡¯d ever wanted as a kid, and now this opportunity had presented itself she¡¯d not be treated any differently.


    Sherine opened her mouth to renounce the idea, but shifted uneasily upon Allie¡¯s intense gaze and nodded with a gulp. ¡°You have time inbetween each ss for meals, you¡¯ll be able to either eat in your private quarters or the academy¡¯s dining hall.¡±


    Sherine followed Allie out the door and locked the room behind them. Then she pocketed her own key and motioned for Allie to follow with a small bow - hands sped in front of her. ¡°As for time off, you¡¯ll be done with sses somewhere around an hour before sundown if you truly wish to keep the schedule. Most of the time each ss is many hours long, taking up most of every day. You¡¯re free to do what you want with the time after sses and before you go to bed.¡±


    ¡°What happens if we don¡¯t go to ss?¡±


    ¡°You are able to attend ss at your leisure, but if you fail any examination more than twice you will be immediately dismissed from the academy. Or at least that¡¯s how it is for other people, not for you. For this reason it is very rare for people to not attend ss as this school is very expensive. Even for nobility.¡±


    A beam of sunlight reflected off drifting snowkes hit Allie full in the face and caused her to squint when she exited the building. Sighing to herself and bearing the light with a grating of her teeth, she still couldn¡¯t help but feel excited and simultaneously nervous for theing day.


    Why was she of all people nervous?


    She was a god damned serial killing blood sucker mage badass!


    Yet here she was, palms sweaty.


    No spaghetti.


    Allie gave an uneasy but unnaturally beautiful smile, tossing her brown hair to the side with augh. ¡°Yeah... Well let¡¯s go. I¡¯m interested in seeing what this school has to offer me.¡±


    ***


    Unlike many of the other sses where they¡¯d been located within indoor amphitheaters ¨C this one was actually outdoors in the middle of a field with round tables set out at intervals and people asionally lining up to practice casting given spells. At the ¡®front¡¯ of the ss was a series of stacked shelves, boxes, and wardrobes with a man lecturing from a grimoire enthusiastically about the wonders of lightning when used in conjunction with water magic.


    Allie was lead across the snow-covered grasses, adding her boot prints to many others as the white field crunched underfoot. Oblivious to the cold, her blue eyes scanned the ss of perhaps 40 or 50 people excluding any servants that stood in wait.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.


    However as she followed Sherine closer and closer to the rows of tables and the lecturing old mage dressed in a burgundy robe, the ss slowly began to focus on her. Eventually the lecturer noticed his students weren¡¯t paying attention to him anymore, and huffing in irritation he zoned in on the cause of the distraction while scratching his wrinkled chin.


    Settling his eyes on Allie, even the old man stopped and stared - eyes widening with mixed expressions flitting across his face.


    But the old man was quick to recover from his apparent shock when Allie stopped in front of him beside her handmaid Sherine, evaluating the staring, ck-jawed young men around her or the hatefully ring young women.


    ¡°And who may you be?¡± Thoi asked rather rudely when he¡¯d finally gotten ahold of himself. The old mage was just starting to bald and was otherwise clean shaven with a set grimace that almost never left his face. ¡°What makes you think barging in during my lecture would be tolerated? Why are you here? Surely you can see that I¡¯m teaching my students. State your name, girl.¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyes silently shifted back to the old man as she stood with straight posture - all perceived nervousness gone. Instantly the instructor was simultaneously overwhelmed by both her extreme beauty and a sense of eerie dread in the background that he couldn¡¯t get a true hold on.


    ¡°Lady Allie Wraithtide. I¡¯m of a noble house in the ounds, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡±


    Allie already knew this would be a general reaction to her presence for those that didn¡¯t know her, which is why she recognized the conflicted signs immediately. ording to Kathrine, it was a well documented phenomenon amongst pureblooded vampires when around humans - or even with the lesser vampires to some extent.


    But Sherine was quick to intercept the angry mage and handed him a sealed letter. ¡°Master Thoi Jorsem, a letter from the archmage.¡±


    Thoi¡¯s eyebrows rose at the maid¡¯s words and he ruffled his robes to re at Allie again. ¡°Funny ent you have, girl.¡±


    He took it, quickly unsealed the letter and began to read. A look of surprise crossed the old man¡¯s face, a minute passed when he re-read the letter, and he set down the parchment to quickly turn on Allie afterwards. ¡°So she expects you to just walk in halfway through the year and be able to catch up to the others? What is Zefima thinking!? Ridiculous! I¡¯ve never heard of something so stupid before! You¡¯re an ENTIRE SIX MONTHS behind them! Who¡¯s strings did you have to pull for me to put up with your horse shit?! I will have words with the head of your house for this!¡±


    Allie was taken aback by the abrasive rudeness of the old mage and slightly recoiled. ¡°Listen¡­ I don¡¯t know-¡°


    ¡°YOU LIKELY DON¡¯T KNOW ANYTHING!¡± screamed the old mage to the amusement and curiosity of many of the students sitting around their group tables. ¡°DO YOU TRULY THINK YOU CAN KEEP UP?!¡±


    Allie¡¯s features darkened, and with massive amounts of self control she quelled her rising aura with a vice grip. Quickly considering whether or not she should outright st the man into hell right then and there, she closed her eyes - took in a deep breath, and calmed herself. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I did to offend you, teacher, but I do apologize for whatever mistake I made. If it appeases you, I¡¯ll just sit silently by and mind my own business while attending your sses passively.¡±


    Sherine was the only person there who knew Allie¡¯s true identity, and thus was the only one who¡¯d gone absolutely rigid with a pale-white face that almost matched Allie¡¯s own naturalplexion. Stuttering a whisper of something unintelligible, she raised a hand to stop the mage before he did any real damage - but she was of a much lower caste than this old man and eventually got cold feet in her brief attempt.


    Thoi sneered and crossed his arms, beginning to mock Allie by mimicking her perfect posture and sping his hands in front of himself like she was doing while holding her books. ¡°Let you mind your own business? I am paid to teach you ingrates. Every one of youes here with a big head thinking that because mommy and daddy have money that you can get away with <em><strong>murder</strong></em>. Well I have news for you, little girl! You¡¯re going to sit your ass down in the chair I assign you to and you¡¯re going to struggle like hell while trying to catch up! BECAUSE IT¡¯S MY JOB TO TEACH YOU WHETHER I LIKE IT OR NOT!¡±


    The withering elderly man spun around and gathered some materials from a series of shelves at the front of the ssroom. He walked back to therge desk at the front and ced it all on top of Allie¡¯s books. A series of vials and ingredients none of which Allie was familiar with were ced in a stone bowl, leaving her absolutely clueless.


    ¡°Which ability types do you have ess to?¡± asked the old mage.


    Allie frowned and shifted ufortably, side-eyeing the other students who were whispering in low tones to one another and quietlyughing. ¡°As in which pirs do I have an affinity for?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that.¡±


    Allie shook her head, then she began to lie. If she was going to y the part of nobody important, she was going to y it well. ¡°I haven¡¯t epted any attribute for magic yet. I was hoping to do that when I get a feel for it and can decide which of the foundational pirs I like best. They¡¯re permanent right?¡±


    ¡°DAMN IT ZEFIMA!¡± screeched Thoi in rage as he shoved the ingredients over, off her her books, onto the ground. The old man quivered in rage and was practically seething as he red even harder at the stunning young woman in front of him. ¡°IS THIS A BAD JOKE!? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WORK WITH YOU IF YOU HAVEN¡¯T EVEN CHOSEN A SINGLE AFFINITY TO MASTER!? DO YOU EVEN HAVE A KNACK FOR MAGIC AT ALL?! WHAT ABOUT MIRACLES OR MARTIAL ARTS? I AM A GODS¡¯ DAMNED MASTER OF OCEAN, STORM, AND VOLCANO - AND WILL NOT WASTE MY TIME ON THE LIKES OF YOU!¡±


    The mage spun around again in a rage now with openughter of many of the onlookers as he began to sort through his desk. Shortly afterwards he pulled out a ss cube and shoved it into Allie¡¯s hand. ¡°If you don¡¯t get this cube to light up, I¡¯m dismissing you from my ss immediately. You¡¯d better hope daddy and mommy thought this through when they assigned you to the academy. Without potential you¡¯re as good as dog shit and will be dismissed immediately even if I have to go above the archmage to do it. Now hold this cube and focus on it, pour your soul energy into it like your very future here depends on it, girl. Because believe me, it does.¡±


    Allie curiously turned the cube in her hands while Sherine red hard at the ground with a gaunt look. Allie had to assume this was an item that would indicate what affinities someone had. In fact she was sure of it when she let tendrils of her mana feel the contraption, localizing certain spots that would churn out different colors based on what type of mana was naturally produced.


    ¡°FOCUS GIRL! SHOW ME THAT YOU BELONG HERE!¡±


    Rage boiled up inside of her as theughing became more pronounced and obvious amongst the onlookers. Why was this man such an asshole? Was he trying to piss Allie off or make her look like an idiot? She looked up, stared hard into the other man¡¯s eyes and gritted her teeth.


    Should she do it?


    Considering whether or not to let out an absolutely wrathful st of death mana directly into the man¡¯s soul, Allie sighed and let the slight go. Pouring in just a teeny tiny bit of magic, she handed it over to the mage to inspect.


    ¡°Give it here.¡± Instructed the old mage, brushing off snowkes in irritation and while continuing to re. He picked up the golf-ball sized cube and set it on the table, muttering under his breath as the onlookers curiously waited for his assessment. ¡°I¡¯m going to assume you know how this works, girl. Say your prayers now, though I doubt they¡¯ll help you if you truly don¡¯t have the knack for it.¡±


    Allie just sighed, a bored expression painted across her visage, and waited.


    The old man took it as a sign of resignation and sneered in disgust. ¡°These god damned nobles think they can send just any of their filthy children here to get-¡±


    Thoi tapped the cube with his finger and to his astonishment it simply shattered with a wave of overwhelming death that followed immediately after. He gasped as the mana hit him, only a microfraction of an ounce of what Allie could really dish out, and stumbled forward to catch himself on the wood in front of him. Other students had gone wide-eyed at the disy while Allie calmly looked on, and eventually the old man got ahold of himself to stand back up. Staring at the pieces of the shattered cube, he then shook his head in disbelief. ¡°These fucking things don¡¯t work like they used to. Hold on.¡±


    He turned around and quickly retrieved another cube.


    The same thing happened a minuteter.


    And then again.


    And again.


    Upon the fourth time Thoi saw the cube shatter he raised his eyes to Allie with both suspicion and curiosity. Muttering and low whispers around them followed. ¡°Are you¡­ what are you doing to the cube, girl? Is this some sort of trick?¡±


    Allie gave the older man an annoyed stare - her usual confidence andck of empathy trickling into her words as her patience began to rapidly decay. ¡°No, imbecile. Apparently your trinkets are nothing but garbage. At least the ones at thest school I attended worked.¡±


    Thoi sputtered something under his breath, not used to having students mouth off to him. ¡°And WHERE is it that you attended girl? If you haven¡¯t even chosen a pir to follow I find it hard to believe that you¡¯ve-¡°


    ¡°Just give me a basic ritual from any of the affinities you or the students here witnessed and I¡¯ll recite it. You can see for yourself.¡± Allie insisted with a shake of her head. She had already had enough of this babbling fool and was very tempted to just head straight back to Brightsville to continue her own, much higher-level experiments while dabbling in the necromantic arts. ¡°Stop wasting my time or I¡¯ll leave to find someone who can actually teach me something. I know for a fact that the most basic rituals will still react to people even if they don¡¯t have the attribute for a ss acquired - as long as an affinity is present. Give me anything at a base level and I¡¯ll be able to perform it, and do it now.¡±


    A sneer crossed the mage¡¯s face. ¡°Quite the arrogant bitch you are''nt ya? Fine. Repeat this one brat. I¡¯m no necromancer, but since there¡¯s an obvious death attunement in here somewhere I¡¯ll give you one from the textbooks.¡±


    Allie¡¯s maid, Sherine, hid her face behind both hands and groaned in dismay on the sidelines.


    The battle of wills was on. A parchment was set on the table and the grumpy mage began writing furiously with a quill pen. The ink splotched twice with the man¡¯s sloppy handwriting but Allie was still able to make it out easily enough to sound it out.


    ¡°This is a base spell for conjuring soulme, amon element used in low and mid-tier battle necromancy. Go on girl, show me that you¡¯re not just full of proud words.¡± Thoi continued to sneer while Allie raised an eyebrow to nce down at the poorly worded ritual.


    She looked back up. ¡°You wrote it wrong.¡±


    ¡°HA!¡± Thoi pointed and began to bark a deep, gutturalugh. ¡°I THOUGHT SO! NOTHING BUT HAUGHTY ARROGANCE FROM THE LITTLE BITCH WHO¡¯S PARENTS BOUGHT HER WAY IN! YOU CAN¡¯T EVEN CAST THE MOST BASIC OF-¡±


    His words caught in his throat when Allie¡¯s ritual spun runes of teal and ck light in the air.


    Swirling discs one after the otherpounded on the original, creating the one he¡¯d given her in a bigger, better, and far grander cinematic that eventually resulted in a hovering ball of teal and ck mes the size of a bowling ball.


    It was essentially just a death ball, but arger one stabilized in ritual form. It was a spell she''d mastered, long, long ago.


    Silence followed, and Allie could hear the ragged breathing of the man while seeing the shocked expressions of all the other students who sat wide-eyed in their chairs.


    ¡°You said you didn¡¯t have any affinities¡­¡± Thoi muttered, bewildered at the disy.


    She condescendingly red his way with a snort. ¡°I lied. You not only drew the ritual wrong, which was either on purpose or you truly are an idiot, but you also didn¡¯t exin any of the fundamentals concerning basic spellcasting that would be needed even for a ritual like this. You purposely sabotaged me thinking I didn¡¯t know about the initial intent requirement even if rituals don¡¯t have asting intentter in the casting. Not only that but you failed to mention vision, you didn¡¯t talk about any of the lock and key mechanisms, you failed to distinguish between any of the other affinities I had also incorporated into the cube and assumed that I¡¯d mix them - resulting in a failure just by inherentck of pir separation. You are nothing but an old, miserable man who is quickly nearing the end of his life in more ways than one - and I doubt I¡¯ll be back. It¡¯s very apparent that you¡¯re good for nothing but insults, and I don¡¯t have time for an old fool like you.¡±


    Then she turned heel to leave.


    Turning over her words with a shocked expression, he reached out a hand to mp down on her shoulder. ¡°You little witch! Did you just threaten me!?¡±


    She stopped, nced back at him, then gave an innocent smile. ¡°You picked up on that? Good to know. Now remove your hand before I remove it for you.¡±


    The old man¡¯s mouth dropped open in disbelief, but he quickly removed his hand with a yelp when she sent a pulse of death energy through her shoulder that caused the topyers of his skin to quickly and painfully decay.


    ¡°But in the end, your drawn spell is most likely just a fraud. One made to make me look poorly.¡± Allie said confidently as the magic died down, coldly staring at the old man as he clutched at his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t ever touch me again, Thoi Jorsem, or it¡¯ll be a lot more than the topyer of your hand that you lose next time.¡±


    Surprised mutters and whispers followed Allie out amidst the embarrassed screeches and insults the old mage was flinging at her as Allie angrily walked away. But she didn''t look back.


    Her first day at school had not gone well.

 Chapter 161: The End of Book 3

    Chapter 161: The End of Book 3


    <strong>Chapter 161 - The End of Book 3</strong>


    <strong>Current Day¡­</strong>


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t wantpany? You haven¡¯t left your room since your first attempt.¡± Mara stated with worry in her voice and furrowed brows. She looked like a schoolteacher with those sses on. A lot more human and a lot less ghoulish, with brown hair andvender eyes thanks to another of the King¡¯s amulets supplied for Allie and her subordinates. ¡°I worry about you Allie. It was bad when Riven left, but now it¡¯s even worse. Forget about that old grouchy man, if anything just do what you always do and murder him.¡±


    Allie giggled slightly at the thought, finally giving her best friend a sideways grin from where she stood in the doorway to their shared room. Meanwhile Sherine, the handmaid, quietly brewed some tea in the kitchen.


    ¡°I just want some alone time.¡± Allie replied with a brilliant smile, dawning a slender fur coat and stuffing her hands into her pockets with a flip of her hair. A couple of young men a year above her whistled as they walked by, but she ignored them as Mara eyerolled hard. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a bit. Talk to you soon.¡±


    She kept her head low while exiting the barracks dormitory. Snow crunched underfoot and kes continued to fall from a gloom-ridden sky, with groups of students in their off timeughing to one another about various things on the sides of the road. There were even a few small coffee shops or cafeterias, which were social hubs of the campus. Despite what Sherine had said, a lot more students vouched to take asional days off even despite the price of attending this academy.


    Allie walked for another hour down the road, past the inner campus grounds and out into the miles of gardens. Flowers in abundance still peaked through the white, andrge trees with looming, weighed down branches cast shade along her path. She even saw two other girls her own age walking back the way she¡¯de from, and they exchanged polite smiles - but that was all.


    She continued to walk until she came upon a bench overlooking one of the small ponds that wasn¡¯tpletely covered in ice, where colorful fish drifted through crystal waters. It was a rather secluded spot with gardens still running the length of the long straight road in either direction and it calmed her knowing that she was finally and truly alone.


    The old wood of the bench felt strong as she put all of his weight on it and leaned back underneath the shade of a small tree. The breeze felt nice and cool on her skin. With only the asional ssh and churning of water, it was rather calming.A spotted yellow fish jumped out of the water to catch a some kind of ice-attuned insect gracefully in its mouth beforending back in with a ssh, sending ripples across the pond. Allie put her chin in her hands and watched them radiate out to reach the shoreline and took in a deep breath of the fresh air.


    ¡°Nice¡­ isn¡¯t it?¡± A stranger¡¯s voice said from beside her. Allie looked up in surprise, not having heard a heartbeat, to see a scrawny young man in a wheelchair who obviously had some kind of physical deformity.


    Her eyes narrowed at not having noticed him, but he looked harmless enough. If anything it didn¡¯t look like he could do harm to someone even if he wanted to, and he wore a very innocent, sheepish smile while waving back at her with one good hand. His entire left side, lower and upper limbs were disfigured. Withered down into green-ck husks of normal limbs, they looked like smoked meat - but he was able to clumsily manipte them even if at great effort while adjusting his position in the wheelchair. He had soft blue eyes, curly brown hair, and looked rather boyish in the face despite obviously being a young man.


    Allie cocked her head, intrigued. ¡°How long have you been here?¡±


    The young man gave a sheepishugh, nervously tugging at his cor as her beauty and negative charisma simultaneously afflicted him. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you since you started walking down the road, over by the hill that way. Sorry if that¡¯s weird. You¡¯re just¡­ very unique.¡±


    Allie leaned back on her bench, maintaining eye contact until the young man blushed and turned back to watching the pond in silence. They didn¡¯t say anything for a while after that, with the young man bashfully trying not to cast nces at her while she openly stared at him. Eventually he became very self aware, and he tried to hide his shriveled limbs with a nket.


    Allie huffed after a bit, annoyed at finding nothing out of the ordinary about him other than the fact that his heartbeat was just oddly gone. ¡°There¡¯s something strange about you.¡±


    The young man turned a bright red. Hanging his head low in shame, he silently turned his wheelchair around and started to attempt to push himself back towards the school grounds. ¡°I¡¯ll see myself out. Sorry if I¡¯m too hideous for you to look at.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Allie stated with one raised eyebrow. ¡°Don''t jump to conclusions, I¡¯m not talking about your arm and leg¡­ It¡¯s something else. Do you have a bloodline of some sort?¡±


    Pausing, still looking at the ground and not willing to meet her eyes, he grimaced in confusion. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean.¡±


    Sighing and seeing that she¡¯d obviously hurt this young man¡¯s feelings, probably having touched a sore spot concerning his looks and physical disabilities, Allie got up and walked over to him. Coming around to his front and standing ahead of his path, she clicked her tongue. ¡°Sorry. My name¡¯s Allie Wraithtide, what¡¯s yours?¡±


    ¡°Lahn Lucio.¡± The other man whispered, still staring at the ground.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Are you just going to stare at my feet or what?¡±


    Allie knelt down in front of the hesitant, shifting man and put a hand on one of his own - the shriveled one - and she forcefully pulled it so he¡¯d look at her. Finally getting him to stare back, she put on her most genuine, sweetest smile. ¡°Hey. I really am sorry, I didn¡¯t mean toe off like that. Can I make it up to you, Lahn?¡±


    The young man¡¯s blush began to fade, and he stared at her in wonder - jaw bing somewhat ck before righting himself in his wheelchair and nodding awkwardly. ¡°Uhm¡­ Yeah that¡¯d be great, but you don¡¯t need to. I just¡­¡±


    He trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.


    Allie grinned. ¡°How about we just enjoy each other¡¯spany. It¡¯s obvious both of us have a lot of things on our minds. Tell you what¡­ You tell me what¡¯s on your mind, and I¡¯ll tell you what¡¯s on mind. Is that a deal? We can work as each other¡¯s therapists.¡±


    Lahn hesitated, then nced around - inspecting the area about them. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ this isn¡¯t some kind of prank again. Is it?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Allie asked curiously, still holding his shriveled hand in one of her own between slender, pale fingers. ¡°How would this be a prank?¡±


    Lahn frowned slightly, then shrugged with a loud huff. ¡°My brother and sister attend this academy, and they always have their friends do mean things to me for their own amusement. They call me names, tip my wheelchair over by ¡®ident¡¯, steal my food¡­ pretend to be my friend. That one is actually a favorite of theirs¡­ so I¡¯d very much appreciate it if you¡¯d just leave me alone if this is a prank. But otherwise¡­ yes. I could use someone to talk to.¡±


    Allie couldn¡¯t help but wonder what kind of siblings would do that to their own cripled brother. The shock must have shown on her face, because Lahn gave a loud, croakingugh while shaking his head.


    If youe across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°It appears I¡¯m already talking about it.¡± Lahn said with a hopeless smile. He withdrew his shriveled hand from hers, then began to push himself back to the pond. Pausing halfway and head-bobbing to the bench, He gave her a hopeful nce. ¡°Do you want to join me, Lady Wraithtide? By the way, that¡¯s a very cool name. I wish mine was Wraithtide, instead of Lucio.¡±


    When Allie actually stood up and returned to the bench to sit beside him, it somewhat caught Lahn off guard. Though he tried to hide it as best he could, and he began to pull out bread crumbs to throw at the fish.


    Tossing one of the bread crumbs in and seeing it get snatched up, Lahn sighed. ¡°Long story short, I don¡¯t feel like I belong here.¡±


    Allie snorted in amusement at that, then nced over at him with a knowing look. ¡°Yeah I basically got in a fight with my instructor and was told to leave ss two days ago. So I get it.¡±


    ¡°Wait, that was you!?¡± Lahn gawked in obvious shock, and something close to admiration if Allie was getting it right.


    ¡°Am I that famous?¡± Allie teased with a nudge.


    Yet Lahn only nodded avidly. ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s the talk of the school! I actually attend that ss but I was sick that day, I wish I would have been there to see it myself. Wait, we¡¯re ssmates! The archmage is apparently furious, not at you but at the instructor, and he may even be sacked is what I heard. Don¡¯t know why, the instructors yell and belittle students all the time but apparently something about this is different than the rest. Who knows. Is that why you¡¯re upset?¡±


    Allie opened her mouth to reply, slowly making patterns on the ground with the heel of her leather boot, then nodded. ¡°Partly. I was really excited toe here and it feels like I don¡¯t belong¡­ just like you actually. That and I miss my brother.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s your brother?¡±


    ¡°Home.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s home?¡±


    ¡°The ounds.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Lahn gave a sageful nod. ¡°I haven¡¯t been out there yet. I don¡¯t travel well¡­ so I stick to the capital.¡±


    ¡°Well maybe you can show me around sometime, Mr. Native.¡± Allie winked, taking Lahn¡¯s breath away, and giggled to herself when he nearly fell over in his chair. ¡°Unless of course you think you¡¯re too popr for me. I understand if-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to!¡± Lahn said with delight, a little bit too excited for his own good - and another sheet of embarrassment fell over his features. He was obviously not very¡­ self confident. ¡°Sorry¡­ I just, honesty I don¡¯t have many friends here.¡±


    Allie paused to consider this. After some time, she decided to believe that he was telling her the truth. ¡°Well I¡¯d love to be your friend Lahn. Maybe we can even sit together in ss. I don¡¯t have many friends either, so let¡¯s make a pact.¡±


    Allie threw out a pinky for a pinky promise, and Lahn curiously stared back at the hand she held in front of him before raising one eyebrow.


    Sheughed. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to hook your finger around my own. It¡¯s called a pinky promise, and this one is a promise that we¡¯ll be friends. That, and you¡¯ve gotta show me to the best restaurant on campus. I¡¯ve been dying to try them out and haven¡¯t had anyone to go with except Mara - and she¡¯s been busy with¡­ administration stuff.¡±


    ¡°Mara? Who¡¯s that? She works for the school?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Allie lied tly. In reality, Mara was still running the Thane Necropolis from their shared bedroom using aptop. ¡°So how about it? Show me around?¡±


    Lahn huffed, then beamed back at her and struggled to turn his withered body in the chair so he could hook his good fifth finger around her own. ¡°It¡¯s a deal! When do you want to go?¡±


    The pinky promise was set, and Allie hummed as she let go and leaned back in her bench once more. Staring out across the gardens, she tilted her head back and forth. ¡°How about now?¡±


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Quest Updates:</strong>


    <strong>Linda Hoffman has fallen in battle to Riven Thane.</strong>


    <strong>Birch Irkwood has fallen in battle to Riven Thane.</strong>


    <strong>Thade Trendinburg has been defeated in battle and captured by Riven Thane, with his Chalgath artifact being taken from him.</strong>


    <strong>Riven Thane has acquired 7 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance. Redistribution hasmenced: Extra pieces have been redistributed to other newly appointed Chalgathi¡¯s-chosen who do not have pieces. Riven Thane now has 5 of 5 set pieces.</strong>


    <strong>Riven Thane is the 3rd person to acquire all 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s inheritance, and the 1st non-cultist to do so. Only 2 full sets remain to be imed.</strong>


    <strong>New Chalgathi¡¯s Chosen will be picked within 1 hour from now as a recement for Linda Hoffman and Birch Irkwood.]</strong>


    Allie¡¯s eyebrows rose in surprise with the abrupt notifications, then her face widened into an outright smile of glee. She almost didn¡¯t hear Lahn¡¯s enthusiastic reply before he started wheeling himself down the garden path, but she managed to get up and walk alongside him at a leisurely pace while he excitedly huffed beside her. Moving the wheelchair out this far must have been quite a struggle for him, and she¡¯d no doubt offer to help soon - but she needed to figure out just what the fuck was going on.


    Damn it, why did hermunication orbs not work at such a long range!?


    And as if on cue, the universe came knocking at her door.


    ¡°By the way, what od you think about those forum posts with Riven Thane? Have you seen them yet?! Did you get a look at the world forumstely concerning the necropolis?¡± Lahn said, breaking Allie out of her stupor. ¡°Other than your backtalk, it¡¯s been the talk of the school as well. Crazy amounts of insights are being made from people who orient themselves to the unholy pir just by watching his fight.¡±


    That definitely got her attention, and she nearly stumbled. ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°The world forums just lit up again with video feed over the past few days. Riven Thane - the king of the Thane Necropolis to our north just wasted hundreds of thousands of people to save one of his demons. It¡¯s really scary to watch, kind of evil even, but it¡¯s also kind of romantic. He must really care about that Ath person, or maybe he just doesn¡¯t value human life. Could be either.¡±


    Lahn hesitated, not sure whether or not he was boring her with theck of reply, but then became a lot more confident when he realized it¡¯d drawn in Allie¡¯s attention like a ma and she was frantically scrolling through the feeds. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen it yet then?¡±


    Allie didn¡¯t reply at first, she was too busy blowing through the world forums to find whatever it was Lahn was talking about - until she found it.


    Video footage of Riven demolishing an entire city, and the events that¡¯d lead up to it.


    Itsted over twenty minutes, with Allie and Lahn just standing entranced in the middle of the garden path. asionally Lahn wouldment on the fight, but Allie kept silent. She had a mixture of conflicting emotions about the entire thing, and it¡¯d put him on an even higher level of power than he¡¯d been prior to the destruction of the city of canyons.


    She closed the video footage and notifications only to scroll back over to the world rankings again. Still somewhat disbelieving, she stared at the top 10 list for quite a while. Whatever Riven had done concerning his core, and along with all the levels he¡¯d acquired from massacring an entire city of weaklings, it¡¯d shot him up from the 60¡¯s right to the top 10 list. He was now considered an Apex Ranker at power spot number 5 worldwide - and he¡¯d somehow acquired a second ss. The only other person on the list who had more than one ss was Chitter Teh-Sneaker, a level 120 Ratman who actually had 3 total sses.


    <strong>[27 billion current participants have been analyzed. The ranking categories are as follows: Apex Rank (Top 10), Paragon Rank (Top 1000), S Rank (Top 0.0001%), A Rank (Top 1%), B Rank (Top 15%), C Rank (Top 30%), D Rank (Top 50%), E Rank (Bottom 50%)]</strong>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Current Top 10 Native Participants</strong><strong>:</strong><ol><li><strong>Judith Marcina, Level 149 Human, Apex Rank, Angelic Fallcaller</strong></li><li><strong>Retesh Vorath, Level 170 Corpse Lord, Apex Rank, Elder Lich</strong></li><li><strong>Aren Hrall, Level 141 Snow Giant, Apex Rank, Frostmange Berserker</strong></li><li><strong>Chitter Teh-Sneaker, Level 120 Ratman, Apex Rank, Dark-de Assassin, Poison Master, Sneaky Sneak Sneaker</strong></li><li><strong>Riven Thane, Level 112 Pureblooded Vampire, Apex Rank, Warlock Adept, Harbinger of Gluttony</strong></li><li><strong>Thorman Bame, Level 134 Human, Apex Rank, Hammer of the Mountain</strong></li><li><strong>Sinthil Tuk¡¯tuk, Level 136 Lizardian, Apex Rank, Wind Storm</strong></li><li><strong>Nithkik Brutishvase, Level 105 Dark Elf, Apex Rank, Depthdweller</strong></li><li><strong>Brock Longbeard, Level 105 Sundering Dwarf, Battlemaster</strong></li><li><strong>Cherish Lightcrown, Level 104 High Elf, Everlight Witch</strong></li></ol>


    <strong>Your Status</strong><strong>: Allie Thane, Level 68 Pureblooded Vampire, </strong><strong>Middle S Rank</strong><strong>, Swarm Necromancer Adept</strong>


    <strong>Guild Rankings Currently Not Avable.</strong><strong> Guild functions are currently frozen.]</strong>


    She could only wonder at what updated notifications Riven had obtained concerning Chalgathi''s questline. Allie had zero doubt he¡¯d had updates about it, but he hadn¡¯t returned yet and she wasn¡¯t sure if he would, depending on what those quest notifications would say. She only hoped that she¡¯d get to see him soon, and wondered whether or not she¡¯d be needed.


    But maybe he really was going toe back home!


    She could only hope.


    Giddily smiling to herself and feeling a weight lifted off her shoulders, she let out a long sigh and got behind Lahn¡¯s wheelchair. Slowly walking forward and pushing him along, Allie got a startled look from the man ahead of her.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to push me! I¡¯m strong enough to do it myself!¡± Lahn protested with a growl. ¡°Come on, you¡¯re embarrassing me! If my siblings see me being pushed around by a pretty girl like you they¡¯re going to give me absolute hell, in a bad way. They¡¯d tell father about how much of acking man I am because¡­ Well, it just wouldn¡¯t be good. And why do you seem so happy all of a sudden?¡±


    Allie just hummed to herself and smiled back at the man who was shooting worried nces towards the campus grounds. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll let you take over the wheelchair again when we get closer, just let me help. And as for why I feel so happy all of a sudden? Let¡¯s just say¡­ I didn¡¯t realize things were going so well. Not until just now.¡±


    <strong>THE END OF BOOK 3</strong>

 Update at the end of Book 3: RR Break and Why

    Update at the end of Book 3: RR Break and Why


    <strong>Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed Book 3.</strong>


    <strong>I have a small update for everyone. I recently informed my Patreon audience about this already, and now it''s time all of you knew as well.</strong>


    Firstly I''d like to say I really appreciate a site like Royal Road being around, because it helps whenever I get constructive criticism as I''m able to fix both grammar and ws with the book(s). I very much engage with constructive criticism and have changed the story multiple times when stuff has been pointed out to me regarding problems with the story. It also gave me a springboard to get an audience, and now I''m finally able to pursue my dream of bing a writer. I always wanted to do this as a kid, and it lets my imagination run wild with stories that I really enjoy creating. However, I originally started this as a genuine hobby that I once upon a time loved to do - but it has unfortunately be something of a chore to write over past months.


    This inrge part is due to the somewhat brutal feedback that a small but very vocal amount of readers on Royal Road have given me. It''s the reason why I stopped responding to most of the posts here on Royal Road and focused on Patreon months ago, but over past weeks it''s just gotten worse. It came to a head very recently when people jumped to conclusions concerning Ath''s death being permanent or not, whether the event was world-breaking or not, and conclusions concerning future chapters that have already been written before reading them - only seeing snippets of the beginnings of chapters to acquire those conclusions. The amount of bacsh and anger regarding this was both unexpected and disappointing, and it only solidified my decision to take a small break from posting on Royal Road. Be that days or weeks, I am unsure, but for my own mental health I think I need to do so. If I had to guess, it''ll likelyst until my Amazon releaseter this month, but a set date for my RR return isn''t determined yet.


    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I believe that if I don''t take this break, I think I''ll probably end up quitting writing altogether. I think the quality and quantity of my writing is suffering from the asional but pretty brutal negative feedback on Royal Road, especially recently, but again this won''t be a permanent leave from this site. At least not yet. I know the author of Primal Hunter once posted about this exact subject, where he talked about how he went into a depression because of the feedback he got, and I didn''t think I''d experience it for myself - but my skin isn''t as thick as I once thought it was.


    This specifically hits hard when someone ms me with a 0.5 after having read all the way through over a hundred chapters, only to berate me and tell me how terrible the book is now. This is not just one person, but has happened multiple times now over the months. As said, the immense amount of joy I used to get from my writing has dwindled because of it. The goal is to rediscover the fun I once had while doing this - hopefully this will lead to posting more again in the future as well should that happen. When you''re more invested in your writing you do a better job, and that being said I''ve noticed the times where I have these moods I post worse chapters on Patreon by a significant margin. Sometimes I feel like the writing getszy because I feel like ''what''s the point if they hate it'' lol. Hopefully that fixes itself and hopefully I can rediscover the love I had for doing this, and hopefully that love of writinges back sooner rather thanter with the RR break.


    I will continue posting on Patreon on the meantime, and will update all of you when I decide to return to RR. It shouldn''t be too long of a break, just long enough for me to get my head back in the game and hopefully find the love for this that I once had. I think my writing will improve again when I do so.


    To those of you who have been supportive, thank you and I appreciate you. I''ll see you sometimeter this month. Until then, have a good time and enjoy the holidays.-Ranyhin1

 Chapter 162: Start of Book 4 (and Amazon Announcement)

    Chapter 162: Start of Book 4 (and Amazon Announcement)


    <strong>Chapter 162</strong>


    Riven sat in an underground room on a blood covered rocking chair, smoking a cigar, red eyes glinting in the darkness. His armor was cast to the side, having been discarded momentarily after not having felt the air on his bare skin in so long - and he looked almost ridiculous in just a pair of undergarments.


    He didn¡¯t care. Wearing those Chalgathi artifacts for so long had made him really appreciate the finer things in life - like being able to take clothes off.


    This ce was mostly devoid of light save fornterns hung along the walls that cast dim shadows over the blood and corpses of the cultists he¡¯d killed there, but that didn¡¯t bother someone like him in the least. And in the hallway nearby, the sounds and screams of Fay torturing the man who¡¯d kidnapped and abused her rang loud and clear - it was like music to his ears.


    Riven had only checked on her once, watching as she¡¯d cut off fingers one by one before making the cultist down a health potion - shattered ss and all. Giving her this opportunity was the least Riven could do after what she¡¯d been through, and he felt like even this wasn¡¯t enough.


    But what else was there?


    In front of him a swirling dark ball of mana collected energy, drawing in the shadows and the blood bit by bit from around the room in an almost phantasmal portrait. It was here that his Chalgathi Artifacts were now doing¡­ something. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what just yet, and he hadn¡¯t even seen the other two pieces he¡¯d picked up before his own gluttony-tinted artifacts had begun to change them.


    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen you without your artifacts on.¡± Luke stated absentmindedly, staring at him from where he too smoked a cigar that they¡¯d looted off the dead. The old elf thrall had calmed down a lot since Riven¡¯s massacre at Daskus, the City of Canyons, and was now back to his usual self.


    Whether or not this was because of the thrall contract Riven could not tell, but he was d for it.Riven grinned over at the man, and then at Azmoth - who was rifling through the pile of loot they¡¯d collected on a nearby bench near the cultist¡¯s ritual circle. Riven was going to take a look at the loot himself eventually, but he needed to calm his nerves after all that¡¯d happened. ¡°How do you like the cigar, friend?¡±


    Luke nced over at him again, coughed, then grinned. Pulling a hand through his silver hair and tapping the ashes of his cigar on the chair arm, he gave Riven a nod. ¡°It¡¯s pretty good. Though I must admit, I¡¯m used to smoking out of a pipe. Not thismoner stuff.¡±


    ¡°Cigars are sophisticated.¡±


    ¡°As sophisticated as a blind hag¡¯s wrinkled old ass.¡±


    The sound in the hallway ended with a high pitched squeal, a notification appeared concerning the death of another Chalgathi participant, and then it was followed by a long bout of silence. The door creaked open to reveal Fay. The blue-skinned subus let out long exhales of breath, one after the other as she panted - and she trot over with exhaustion evident. pping the severed head of the man who¡¯d abducted her on the floor next to Riven¡¯s rocking chair, she wordlessly sat on hisp and curled up in a ball with her arms around Riven¡¯s neck.


    ¡°I feel a little bit better now.¡± Fay whispered. Tears were dried against her skin, but she wasn¡¯t shaking anymore and the hours of sleep before her torture session had done her a lot of good to calm her nerves. She was still missing her severed wings, but those could be regrown after spending some time in theher realms. ¡°I left your weapon back in the hall, it¡¯s still lodged in his ass.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised, and he took another puff of cigar before putting it out and tossing the thing aside. Hugging Fay firmly, the two continued to rock back and forth on the curved arches of the chair. ¡°d to hear it.¡±


    Fay snorted a mellowugh, but closed her eyes over time - just enjoying theforting touch. ¡°Thanks again for saving me.¡±


    ¡°You say that like you think I wouldn¡¯t havee.¡±


    She nced up at him, ck eyes staring into red for a time, before nestling back in and closing them once more. She let out a deep, content sigh. ¡°Many warlocks wouldn¡¯t. Some would, and I¡¯m just d you¡¯re one of the good ones. You¡¯re the best.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    He got a jab and an amused chuckle for the snark, but grinned all the same, and after sitting in silence to calm his nerves a little while longer he pulled up the notifications he¡¯d recently received. It was a lot to take in.


    <strong>[Quest Completed: Find Your Subus Princess ¨C You have found and saved Fay, and have rebound her as a minion. A map and notes concerning the location of a dao treasure rting to Sin has been deposited in your bag of holding. The Puzzle Box Cube Labyrinth from Daskus has also been ced within your storage space as a bonus prize due to your high performance with this quest - and your first attempt at the cubebyrinth has been reset.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have grown from level 83 to level 112 after massacring an entire city¡¯s inhabitants. XP intake has been drastically reduced for all enemies below level 75 after reaching level 100. From here on out, anyone who is not at least three fourths your own level will have significantly less XP gains for killing them - exponentially scaling the lower their levels go.]</strong>


    <strong>[System Notice: You have ascended tiers and have climbed out of the Paragon rank. Elysium has assessed your level of power, and </strong><strong>you are now ranked as an Apex ranker on this world¡¯s powerdder</strong><strong>. You are currently listed at </strong><strong>spot #5 </strong><strong>on the powerdder. </strong><strong>This shift of power on the world stage is noted by Elysium, and video footage of your climb to the peak has been uploaded to the world forums along the main page for anyone to view</strong><strong>. With this increase in rank wille better opportunities for you in the future provided by the system as Panu¡¯s integration continues. Congrattions! The ranking categories are as follows: Apex Rank (Top 10), Paragon Rank (Top 1000), S Rank (Top 0.0001%), A Rank (Top 1%), B Rank (Top 15%), C Rank (Top 30%), D Rank (Top 50%), E Rank (Bottom 50%)]</strong>


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    <strong>[You have reached the level 100 marker. Congrattions! You''re now able to upgrade you ss. Please select from the following options: Warlock Summoner, or Warlock Devastator. Please click this notification for more information or visit your status page.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have acquired a Sin ss as a secondary ss slot, which may only be filled by sin-based sses. You have acquired a second and unique ss: Harbinger of Gluttony. Your Core of Original Sin - Gluttony, has been created sessfully. Bonuses: ??? Please click this notification or select your soul¡¯s Sin Core for more information.]</strong>


    <strong>[You, Riven Thane, have acquired 7 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance. Redistribution hasmenced: Extra pieces have been redistributed to other newly appointed Chalgathi¡¯s-chosen who do not have pieces. You now have 5 of 5 set pieces, are the 3rd person to acquire all 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s inheritance, and the 1st non-cultist to do so. Only 2 full sets remain to be imed. Please wait for further World Quest updates until after your Chalgathi Armor Set haspletely oriented itself to your chosen aspect: Gluttony. Your ability to ping Chalgathi artifacts has been permanently removed.]</strong>


    <strong>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 112</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty: Profane Cyclone (Tier 1 of The Path of Red and ck), Infernal, Shadow (Subserviently linked to Blood Specialty Pir), Sin Core (Gluttony)</strong></li><li><strong>Core of Original Sin - Gluttony:] Allows ess to Sin (Gluttony). Allows ess to a secondary Sin ss. (Sin ss - Harbinger of Gluttony, Currently Under Construction) Bonuses: ???</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] </strong><strong>Race: Pureblooded Vampire</strong><strong> (Extreme Darkness Regeneration)(Sunlight Decay)(Extreme Weakness to Silver weapons, Sun pir, and Light pir attacks), </strong><strong>Primary ss: Warlock Adept, Sin ss: Harbinger of Gluttony,</strong><strong> Adrenaline Junky (Blood)(+15% to Agility), </strong><strong>Aplishment Title</strong><strong>: Bloodthirsty 1 (+5% increased blood mana from corpses, +1% dmg for blood magic)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Silvertongue (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood)(Tier 2), Blood Nova (Blood)(Tier 3), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal), ze of Profane Glory (Infernal)(Tier 3)Riftwalk (Shadow), Gluttonous Sacrifice (Sin)</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 149 Strength, 366 Sturdiness, 888 Intelligence, 466 Agility, 10 Luck, -584 Charisma, 256 Vampiric Perception, 267 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li><strong>Free Stat Points: 203</strong></li><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 60 Arshakai [0 Willpower Requirement, Currently INACTIVE with lingering soul shard]. Azmoth, Level 73 Hellscape Brutalisk (Infernal Crusader Initiate) [58 Willpower Requirement]. Fay, Level 39 Subus [29 Willpower Required]. Luke Blissfallen, Level 15 High Elf Thrall (Stormrazor Battle Priest)(Warning: 72% soul decay detected)[10 Willpower Requirement]</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] Jackal (894 dmg, 305% mana regen, 8% stamina regen, shadow and blood dmg +36% with 10% decreased ability cost, ck Lightning, Gluttony¡¯s Riptide, Jackal¡¯s Lunge), Undergarments, Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Negrada¡¯s Modified Bag of Holding]</strong></li></ul>


    His weapon Jackal appeared from out of the hallway, having taken canine form. Trotting over to sit beside Riven¡¯s chair, the eerie, shadowy dogid down next to him and epted some ear-scratches while Riven reviewed the system logs.


    203 points to spend eh? And his passive XP sharing concerning the minion contracts had given both Azmoth and Luke some extra levels. That was nice, but it was far from everything. He also had to select a new ss upgrade, had to check out the second ss he¡¯d received from Gluttony, had to deposit the puzzle box back in Brightsville and eventually needed to finish it, had to sift through the cultist loot, had to wait for his Chalgathi artifacts to finish modifying so he could continue on with the world quest, had to check out the map concerning the dao treasure rting to sin, and needed to see just what the system had posted on the world forums concerning his actions. Hopefully Elysium hadn¡¯t painted him in too bad of a light, but anyone that¡¯d seen what he¡¯d done would no doubt think him a monster. It was going to be a rough ride from here on out concerning social interactions, because everyone he met would likely be afraid of an apocalyptic, city-destroying rampage should he visit. And that was only if they didn''t outright run or try to kill him on the spot, should they ever think they had a chance.


    His eyes lingered on Ath¡¯s notification. She was considered a ¡®lingering soul shard¡¯, and would need to be brought back somehow¡­ He didn¡¯t know how just yet but he¡¯d figure it out. That was a certainty, and a priority. He needed his sassy spider back ASAP.


    ¡°Jesus this is a lot of stuff.¡± Riven rubbed at his temple with one free hand while his other rubbed Fay¡¯s back. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll just start at the top. Here goes nothing¡­¡±


    Trying to get things done fast, he started with his status page. He mmed 50 points into Strength, 25 points into Willpower, 25 Points into Sturdiness, and 103 points into Intelligence.


    On to the next topic: sses.


    He pulled up his new ss, the one supplied by Gluttony.<ul><li><strong>Harbinger of Gluttony (Sin ss Title) - The Harbinger of Gluttony is the most basic sin ss specific to the original sin of Gluttony and creates a secondary self-regting soul clone to fight alongside you. Sessfullynding any offensive attack with your soul clone will cause soul-damage to your opponent, decreasing all mana, stamina, divinity and health regeneration until the enemy soul has healed. +2 sturdiness, +9 Free Points per level.</strong></li></ul>


    Riven blinked. Soul clone? Self regting?


    What did that even mean?


    He looked around, patted himself down and internally willed whatever ¡®soul clone¡¯ was there toe on out. Nothing happened. He looked at his inner soul aperture next, and although he did see that his core was fully formed with a runic sigil concerning his ¡®Gluttonous Sacrifice¡¯ miracle - he didn¡¯t find any change about a ¡®soul clone.¡¯


    Odd.


    Well he was probably going to find out eventually, so until it showed itself he¡¯d just move on. He was more than happy enough with the vast increase in free points to use, so he wasn¡¯tining one bit.


    Closing it out and examining the next set of information after clicking his primary ss options, he grinned in satisfaction at the list. This was where things got spicy¡­ as either option was a good one.


    <strong>[Level 100 ss Upgrade Options:</strong><ul><li><strong>Warlock Summoner:</strong><strong> The Warlock Summoner is a direct upgrade from the ss Warlock Adept , and even further emphasizes demonic minions. Your stat points all get a minor increase per level up, and you gain an additional 4 demonic minion slots that can be unlocked atbat levels 110, 120, 135 and 150. </strong><strong>ss Trait</strong><strong>: All demonic minions acquire a 5% bonus to all stats. Bonus structure for Staves, Cloth Armor, Willpower, and Intelligence included.</strong></li><li><strong>Warlock Devastator:</strong><strong> The Warlock Devastator is a direct upgrade from the ss Warlock Adept, but branches more into closebat than it does as a pure-mage role. Gain an additional 1 demonic minion slot. Significant increasepared tost ss concerning Strength and Sturdiness stats per level. </strong><strong>ss trait</strong><strong>: All physical strikes are naturally imbued with bonus unholy damage equal to 1% of your current total mana pool, not costing any actual mana, with the most passive damage being done at full mana capacity. Bonus structure for Heavy Armor, Two Handed Weapons, Intelligence, and any Body Enhancement spells.]</strong></li></ul>

 Chapter 163

    Chapter 163


    <strong>Chapter 163</strong>


    Warlock Summoner vs. Warlock Devastator.


    An interestingly beneficial pathway regardless of which choice he took. On one hand with the summoner option he could have an additional 4 minions, with all of his minions being powered up by 5% to all stats. On the other hand with the devastator option he was still able to acquire at least 1 more minion while focusing primarily on himself - having his passive physical damage increased by 1% of his mana pool at any given time depending on how full it was. It didn¡¯t cost him mana to use either, the effect was passive unholy damage.


    And 1% of his mana pool was nothing to scoff at. In fact, that was a very, veryrge amount whenpared to most people. It was more than enough to annihte a normal person multiple times over, and just by looking at the ss he got a very distinct notion - likely from the system itself - that he could deactivate this passive trait at will.


    Which was good, seeing that he didn¡¯t want to identally blow someone up if he gave them a teasing shove or identally stepped on someone¡¯s foot.


    This was even more the case because devastator was the one he was going to pick now that he was focusing on shoring up his closebat abilities - which had been an inherent weakness up until recently. Yeah, 4 new minions would be absolutely great, but he was quickly beginning to realize that even though they were extensions of himself - he as a person was the real power yer here. Though Ath and Azmoth were both far stronger than most enemies they came across, and Fay was a great utility demon to have on his side, he was confident in his ability to beat any of them in a fight one on one if the heavens descended and decided to see who was stronger. Though this had not been the case in the early levels of his development, back then they¡¯d been way stronger than him and had saved his life countless times.


    Even with his given weakness to rogue-like characters, Ath - who was far more dangerous than most rogues or assassins they¡¯de across, would still have a very hard time beating him if they ever went all out in a sparring match. His regeneration and massive amount of magical firepower alongside his insanely strong aura were just too far above her for the demoness topete.


    That didn¡¯t mean they were useless, they were far from useless, but in the end they truly were extensions of himself and his own power ording to the system. He had to weigh just how beneficial four more would be whenpared to the passive this devastator ss gave, and the passive was - in his opinion - better. At least for now, but that didn¡¯t mean his demons couldn¡¯t catch up to him in both level and dao insights. In fact he very much meant to do just that and invest in their own growth one way or the other when things calmed down, because he needed - and wanted - a squad that was equal or at least close to equal to his own strength. Still thinking of the early days during the integration, they¡¯d literally carried him as a weak and clueless novice warlock through hell; through thick and thin, and now it was going to be his turn to carry them to even greater heights.


    <strong>[You have selected Warlock Devastator as your new primary ss. Congrattions! You have gained 1 additional demonic minion slot: 2,863,496 demons have already applied to be your new minion prior to this notification.</strong><strong>Warlock Adept¡¯s +2 Willpower, +3 Intelligence, +2 Free Stat Points, -5 Base Charisma, -1 Charisma per level has been changed. Warlock Devastator now applies +3 Strength, +2 Sturdiness, +2 Willpower, +4 Intelligence, +2 Free Stat Points, -5 Base Charisma, -1 Charisma per level.</strong>


    <strong>Devastator Trait has been acquired.</strong>


    <strong>Devastator Trait:</strong><strong> When this trait is toggled on, physical strikes apply additional passive unholy damage equal to 1% of your current total mana pool. This trait does not require any actual mana to use, with the most passive damage being done at full mana capacity.</strong>


    <strong>Warlock Devastator ss gives additional bonuses as follows: 12% defense for all heavy armor, 9% damage for two handed weapons, +3% bonus applied to Intelligence stat, and 25% increased effectiveness to all body enhancement spells of any category cast by yourself.]</strong>


    Wow. That was¡­ a LOT of applications.


    How the hell was he supposed to go through them all? Why was he suddenly such a popr choice? What had happened between now and thest time to make it to where literally millions of demons had taken notice of him in theher realms for a chance to apply?


    It was definitely a good problem to have though. He only wished Ath was here to vet them likest time¡­ Ugh. And if any of them even thought they could rece Ath, which was a likely uing scenario, they could get fucked. He even became angry immediately upon thinking it, then realized just how ludicrous it was to act that way and began to internallyugh at himself. He really did like that crazy spider bitch.


    Fay, who¡¯d been watching his screens with him, smile slightly after seeing the number of demonic applications. Letting out a still-shaky but content sigh, and rubbed her cheek affectionately against his chest. ¡°I got in before all those other idiots realized how great you were.¡±


    Looking down and blushing slightly at just how sincere she was being, he suddenly became very aware of how this may look when Luke winked at him and head-bobbed to the demoness in hisp. Riven quickly and subtly shook his head though, this wasn¡¯t the time or the ce to even think about that kind of thing after what Fay had just been through. ¡°Thank you Fay, it means a lot hearing that from you.¡±


    Still rocking in the chair andfortingly rubbing the traumatized subus along her back, he abruptly felt a surge of unholy-vored power coalesce around his core. Internally watching his soul aperture, he saw a new wave of disjointed runes beginning to float about the soul space - not really having any pir or piece of the core acting as a true attachment. Rather, they acted to soak up mana leaking from the surrounding pirs - making his energy use far more efficient and empowering what he believed to be his new passive Devastator trait.


    Very interesting.


    Snapping his fingers and putting intent into the action, as well as toning the flow of passive power down to only a fraction of the 1% he could actually utilize before he blew up the room, he snapped his fingers while focusing on the ¡®air¡¯ as an intended source to be attacked.


    Arge spark of ck, green and a hint of red cracked over his hand just with the mere snap, and he¡¯d not used a single mana point to do it.


    Now he could only wonder just how much 1% would truly look like, and a wide smile crossed his lips. ¡°Fay, I¡¯m going to get up and see what Azmoth has looted from their wares. Is that ok?¡±


    She aggressively shook her head and tightened her hold around him. ¡°No.¡±


    He sputtered augh, grinning down at her as she pooched her lips defiantly up at him. ¡°Ohe on!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t leave.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll only be a few feet away!¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    He was about to roll his eyes and get up anyways, but quickly realized that she was being serious. When he shifted, she began to tremble again - and it was very apparent to him that she was still only barely holding on by the way her breathing picked up. She was still very traumatized after being kidnapped, and it¡¯d likely be that way for quite a while.


    He let his body slump back down from where it¡¯d tensed to get up. Eyes softening and nodding down at her, he felt her body stop its trembling secondster while her breathing slowed down to normal levels.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay right here.¡± Riven said with aforting smile, and he motioned at Azmoth with a head bob. ¡°Hey man, mind bringing that table over-¡±


    He didn¡¯t get to finish the sentence as Azmoth screamed out in victory while jumping up and down - startling everyone in the room with just how excited the huge demon had be over the course of thest two seconds.


    ¡°AZMOTH FIND IT!¡± The huge armored demon yelled, whirling around and stomping over to where Riven and Fay sat while cupping something small within two of his hands. ¡°AZMOTH FIND IT!¡±


    Reminding himself that although Azmoth was sometimes more mature than his age should indicate, this demon was still a newborn. Chuckling at the brutalisk while Fay scowled menacingly up at the armored titan, Riven nced down at Azmoth¡¯s wed hands. ¡°What is it you have there buddy?¡±


    Azmoth¡¯s razor teeth breathed a cloud of hot air, mes simmering from his mouth in excitement along the obsidian tes of his eyeless face. ¡°Azmoth¡¯s stone.¡±


    The demon opened up his hands, and to Riven¡¯s shock and surprise - revealed a small red bauble. It was slightly different than how Riven remembered it from the depths of Negrada¡¯s hellscape, but it was definitely the same thing. It justcked the inherent energy and power that¡¯d once been contained inside, and there was a crack along one edge of the red ss-like orb.


    ¡°Is this¡­¡± Riven picked up the bauble presented to him, turning it around in his hand with a curiously raised eyebrow. ¡°Wow. It is. Azmoth, have you kept this bauble the entire time?¡±


    <strong>[Dark Arts Miracle Stone (Unique) (Broken): The prayers to Jograz Metz were heard, the blood price had been paid, and he answered with this gift. This stone once housed the demon Azmoth, an infant hellscape brutalisk, before the stone was used and Azmoth¡¯s departure left the stone inadequate for proper functioning. Now it appears to only be a memento, but it does still hold faint traces of Jograz Metz¡¯s aura.]</strong>


    Azmoth took the stone back when it was offered to him, and therge demon reverently put it in his mouth before swallowing it whole - oddly enough. Sadly shaking his head, Azmoth¡¯s shoulders sagged and he gave the impression of a kicked puppy dog as he let out a long, high pitched groan very uncharacteristic of the behemoth. ¡°I not have stone. I gave to Ath as present. Cultists take stone from Ath when kill her.¡±


    He looked up, staring at Riven wordlessly until he managed to get out a slowly phrased question. ¡°Will Athe back? I miss Ath.¡±


    Riven nearly died of cuteness overload, and he reached out to pat therge demon¡¯s lower left hand. He''d not realized that Azmoth had given Ath this memento as a present, nor had he realized that she''d kept it on her person so long. It must have some significant meaning to it for them to have shared it like that. ¡°Yeah. She¡¯ll be back, I promise I¡¯ll find a way. I have that soul shard, don¡¯t I?¡±


    Azmoth hesitantly nodded. ¡°Yes. When though?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know bud. I¡¯ll have to figure that out too, but it¡¯s a priority. That I promise.¡±


    ***


    Riven wiped the blood off his lips, licking his fingers and tossing the cultist¡¯s arm to the side.


    The items these cultists had acquired outside the realm of Chalgathi artifacts were rather niche, most of them oriented towards ritualistic magic that Riven had only touched on in passing. There were some rings that Riven could use though, and some other stuff that was actually oriented towards utilizing miracles - though only a few of them were outside the realm of Unholy. Though they were scarce, he handed these items over to Luke for whenever his soul repaired to properly function.


    ¡°Horned Helm of Soothsaying, Godsent Charm Box, and the Bristled Pinewood Cloak. These are for you.¡± Riven shoved the items over to Luke across the table, who donned them one by one. A leather helm with deer antlers stuck to the front, a small wicker box with some kind of nt akin to pine cones inside, and a cloak with interwoven pine needles stitched into the fabric were given to him. Each was a miracle-boosting item, each was oriented towards the Fae Foundational Pir and the Forest Sub-pir. ¡°How¡¯s your recoverying along by the way?¡±


    Luke tightened the cloak around his waist with a cloth belt, then made sure the charm box was appropriately fastened to it. Adjusting the horned helmet one more time, the old silver-aired elf widely smiled. ¡°I can feel the soul slowly starting to repair itself, I even went down 1% in terms of soul damage on my status page. It¡¯s slow going, but changing into a thrall was the best decisionI could have ever made. It¡¯s actually healing me!!!¡±


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Riven nodded, appreciating just how happy and excited the old man was. ¡°Good to hear. I noticed it too, but I figured I wouldn¡¯t say anything yet. Do you think you¡¯ll be able to use those items when your abilities are back in business?¡±


    Luke nodded, suddenly going serious. ¡°Yes, though I specialized more in Storm than Forest. I still have a few Forest miracles however, as long as the pir etchings weren¡¯t utterly destroyed.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Riven went back to sorting the materials on the table. There were odds and ends including string, animal bones, human hair, a scalp, oddly colored salts, shriveled herbs, and a number of differently colored chalk pieces rolled up in parchment.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what any of this shit is.¡±


    Riven deposited them into his inventory nheless, not wanting to waste it as it¡¯d obviously been useful to these cultists - so it probably had SOME value. The dead cultists and the eldritch demon had also carried some caster equipment for mages, specifically warlocks, but it was a little bit below what he wanted to equip in terms of value. It¡¯d still be good to bring back to his budding empire though, as he was sure some novice warlocks would be able use the wands, gloves and two amulets he¡¯d found.


    But there were five items he did find interesting. Two were basic enchanted gold-band rings, each of them boosting his intelligence by a small amount that he slipped onto his fingers next to the witch¡¯s ring of grand casting. Then there was a basic brown ¡®Whip of Debaucherous Taming which was¡­ unique. There was also the white de with ck runes, a demon yer de, that¡¯d been used to kill Ath - and he promptly stored that for experimentation purposes to see if he could somehow defend against these kinds of weapons in the future. Andstly there was Fay¡¯s outfit that¡¯d been so kindly stored away upon her kidnapping - which they¡¯d no doubt kept for the enchantment value and which he¡¯d promptly given back to her after tearing them new assholes.


    <strong>[Gold Band of Minor Intelligence: +7 Intelligence]</strong>


    <strong>[Gold Band of Minor Intelligence: + 9 Intelligence]</strong>


    <strong>[Whip of DebaucherousTaming: 15 average damage on strike, induces pain and pleasure when struck, with an enchantment effect that causes any humanoid target to be more prone to following yourmands.]</strong>


    <strong>[Chelfine (Demon ying de): 102 average damage on strike, with the chance to apply holy burns. Utilizing this weapon against a demon can cause the demon¡¯s soul to degrade at a rapid pace, permanently killing them regardless of contract or not.]</strong>


    The whip would be a good present for Allie, considering she had her own man-harem going on. If not, well he¡¯d figure out someone who could use it. Would be a waste to simply toss it though.


    cing the whip and the de inside his bag of holding, and adjusting the rings on his fingers, he nced over his shoulder to where Fay was passed out on the bed - chest rising and falling after having put her purple witch¡¯s hat, skirt, and crop top outfit on. The feathered boots he¡¯d gotten her that helped with her flying were set beside her on the floor, and if Riven had to guess she¡¯d be out of it for quite some time even if she¡¯d slept earlier that day.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got some drugs here.¡± Luke held up a bag of herbs and tossed it over to Riven. ¡°We used to smoke that stuff as kids in the hignds near my vige back home. It¡¯s called reeter weed, makes you feel happy and hungry.¡±


    ¡°Sounds familiar to something back from my own.¡± Riven grinned, stuffing the bag of herbs into a side pocket and nodding in appreciation. ¡°We¡¯re going to get so high after this¡­¡±


    ¡°Definitely deserve it.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. This waking nightmare I¡¯ve been living in is going to run me ragged. Anything back beyond that hallway?¡±


    ¡°No. Just a small closeted room that didn¡¯t have anything of value in it and


    A faint whisper echoed throughout the chamber, drawing Riven¡¯s attention to the ck and red mass that¡¯d been swirling in an orb for the past half-day. Slowly, ever so slowly, the ball of swirling energy began to dissipate - and in ce of his items was a more unified version of the artifacts he¡¯de to know¡­ but they shifted eerily, as if not having takenpletely solid form yet.


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Personal Quest Update: 5 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance have been acquired. Checkpoint reached. Current Chalgathi artifacts have had their stat pagespletely revealed due to acquiring all 5 pieces. Chalgahi Cultist Breastte, Chalgathi Cultist Amulet, Chalgathi Cultist Pauldrons, Chalgathi Cultist ws, and Chalgathi Cultist Mask are ready topletely merge into one set item after acquiring necessary aspect from soul. As this is a system world quest, this prize is meant to be a boon to the wielder and not a detriment - thus this query is being issued: Do you wish to keep the connection between Gluttony¡¯s Sin Core with this item set? Doing so will allow the armor to evolve and grow with you, but will give youpulsions from time to time that can be overwhelming if your willpower isn¡¯t regrly increased tobat the effect.]</strong>


    Riven blinked. ¡°I increase my willpower all the time anyways and I have Gluttony already knocking at my door through the core, why would I care? Gimme that evolving armor set!¡±


    He pped the button real, real hard.


    <strong>[Connection to Sin Core has been maintained. Analyzing and configuring now.]</strong>


    <strong>[Chalgathi Cultist Amulet (The Great Maw), Chalgathi Cultist Pauldrons (Twin Cannibals), Chalgathi Cultist Mask (Fallen Apostle), Chalgathi Cultist ws (Bloodfallen Rippers), and Chalgathi Cultist Breastte (Hunger¡¯s Despair) have all converged into one item afterpleting this item set. ]</strong>


    <strong>[Chalgathi Cultist Armor Set: Messenger, has beenpleted.]</strong>


    <strong>[Messenger (Mythic Heavy Armor Set, Sin Artifact, Gluttony Aspect) (Evolving Symbiote) (World Quest Item: Panu) (Unique Soulbound Sentient): This Mythic tier armor set was created on the world of Panu during its integration cycle by the pureblooded vampire Riven Thane. Having far surpassed the realm of normalcy, this armor set has been afflicted with the original sin of Gluttony. As a messenger of sin and a holder of a sin shard, Gluttony has blessed this armor to even further heights so that the wielder may one day be the tidebringer of wanton destruction Gluttony seeks. All shall perish before the great maw, all hail the abyssal depths.</strong>


    <strong>> Devour - This amulet can use shadowy tendrils to attack and pull in prey for devouring. If bitten, a potent paralytic poison is applied to your enemy. Devouring enemies allows this item set to slowly grow.</strong>


    <strong>> Identifier¡¯s use: Wearing this item increases your ability to identify information concerning items or living creatures, being the equivalent of a low tier identifier ss. Your own basic information will be much harder to identify.</strong>


    <strong>> Blood in the Eyes: These pauldrons absorb blood mana passively from your surroundings up to a maximum of double your normal mana pool. These pauldrons act as a reservoir for your passive vampiric regeneration, this suit¡¯s Launch ability, and acts as a mana font to pull from like you would environmental resources. Once the pauldron¡¯s eyes dim, your extra resource pool has run out.</strong>


    <strong>> Ripping ws: Punching someone with the spikes of your gauntlets will cause massive hemorrhaging damage over time.</strong>


    <strong>> Launch: The back of your suit can open up, creating a st of sin energy that damages enemies and acts as a propulsion method to st you in a given direction at speeds dependent on how much energy you drain from the stored reservoir of your pauldrons.</strong>


    <strong>> +20% to all base stats</strong>


    <strong>> +300 Strength, +600 Sturdiness, +300 Agility</strong>


    <strong>> +1858 Defense to all ted Areas of Armor</strong>


    <strong>> + 965 Defense to all Bloodsilk Areas Between tes</strong>


    <strong>> Natural sunlight does not affect you while wearing this suit</strong>


    <strong>> Liquid breathing is bestowed upon you while wearing this suit</strong>


    <strong>> All senses enhanced by 40% while wearing this suit</strong>


    <strong>> Allows passage free from harm in any underverse controlled by Gluttony</strong>


    <strong>> Immediately identifies and locks on to any nearby Sins or Commandments</strong>


    <strong>> This armor set will asionally urge you to undertake feeding frenzies. Wear at</strong>


    <strong>your own risk. A high willpower is needed tobat the urges.]</strong>


    Mythic. That was one Riven hadn¡¯t heard of before. He¡¯d heard of ¡®Elite¡¯ tier and ¡®Legendary¡¯ tier, though even these he¡¯d had very little information about before now. He knew Allie had legendary tier soulwoven armor after she¡¯d sacrificed a group of people in the tutorial, but ¡®Mythic¡¯? Not even Negrada¡¯s merchants had talked to him about this.


    So¡­ He assumed that this was a pretty good armor set?


    And by the looks of the rest of the status page, he couldn¡¯t be more right. He had a little bit less than 400 sturdiness right now, and this item set not only gave him a 20% boost to those base stats - supplying him with somewhere around 75 more sturdiness points - but it also gave a t 600 sturdiness stat points off the bat. Same could be said about his strength which was only 199 right now - yet this suit gave him an additional 20% to those numbers and then another 300 t strength points? He had 466 points of Agility already, but he was ALMOST doubling it with the 20% boost and then another 300 t Agility points after that.


    ¡°Is this even fair?¡±


    Chalgathi and/or Gluttony must really want him alive¡­ or perhaps this was just how all of the Chalgathi item sets were. If that were the case, then each of the 5 people who made it to this next part of the world quest would be overpowered as all hell - just with different vors of aspects dependent on their own souls and how those souls bonded to their artifact pieces.


    Though Riven had a very hard time believing other people in this questline had an aspect as powerful or as dangerous as Gluttony was.


    Riven stopped his gawking to look up when the shimmering around the item set began to clear. Slowly the colors began to fade, and in ce of the swirling energies was apleted, single item thatbined all five of the others he¡¯d acquired. The pieces were so interlinked however, that he doubted he¡¯d even be able to detach them from one another if he tried.


    And it looked a lot more intimidating now that it was all finished, with many simrities to his original pieces but also some major differences.


    The second difference was the helmet. And it was a helmet. No longer a porcin mask, a very smooth, ivory-colored metal shimmered in the firelight. It had slits for his eyes, and was molded in the form of two jawsing together to interlink vertically down the middle like two halves had been smashed together to create the intricate helmet. The seven crimson peacock feathers had changed - morphing into what was akin to shorter neon red feathers that almost looked like desing down the spine of the helmet and along the back of the neck.


    Where the helmet stopped, a red bloodsilkyer connected it to the rest of the armor. Coming down the neck and attaching to the top of the full-body chest armor and pauldrons - it could also be seen in patches of crimson between differentyers of ting where the ivory metal extended along the armors and further into gauntlets.


    The gauntlets were absolutely wicked, with slightly elongated points at the knuckles that crackled with red and ck energies. The pauldrons were almost exactly the same as they had been - vampiric, horned skulls with brilliant glowing red eyes. The full-body chest armor had the same vertical maw of ck teeth down the center, and it had what looked like four t patches of ck metal imbedded in the ivory along the back. These ck bs each sparked with a simr energy to the gauntlets, but instead of sparks - they exuded wisps of red and ck that drifted into mist; simr to what happened when Riven charged a bloodnce.


    No doubt those ck bs were the equivalent of thrusters used for his suit¡¯s new unch¡¯ ability. How the techies working on mechs in Chicago would be so jealous of this baddie. Perhaps they could even study it? That¡¯d be neat.


    The armor¡¯s metal cut off at the waist, but it fully epassed the upper half of his body. Two additionalrge ps of bloodsilk hung down from the armor¡¯s back to cover the posterior and sides of his thighs down to where his knees would be before ending entirely. Perhaps the ps were to keep his thrusters from burning his legs? That¡¯d make sense. He walked around it, admiring the item set as he gave a low whistle. He¡¯d have to find boots and leg armor toplete the outfit, but that was certainly doable.


    Curiously enough, Jackal - his weapon now in canine form, was looking intensely at the armor set with a cocked and intense expression. When the armor set: Messenger, turned its helmet to stare back at the shadowy dog on the floor, Riven nearly keeled over in surprise.


    The staredown between Gluttony-blessed weapon and Gluttony-blessed suit armor continued for another ten seconds until Jackal gave a nod of approval and settled back down. The armor suit then slowly turned in the air where it hovered, stopping only when it faced Riven. Wordlessly the great maw split apart, as did the bloodsilk along the neck and then the two sides of the helmet where the metal looked like two jawsing together.


    The arms peeled open next, and the gauntlets turned outwards.


    The suit was inviting him in.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be trapped inside you if I wear you again. Am I?¡± Riven asked hesitantly, wanting to put the suit armor on but also not willing to trap himself again if that was a prerequisite.


    A low hiss from the armor echoed through the room, but the suit armor eventually turned its ivory helmet back and forth in a ¡®No¡¯ gesture.


    Riven nodded in approval. ¡°Very good then.¡±


    Stepping forward and turning around, he let himself walk backwards into the armored suit. The breastte snapped shut with the teeth interlocking on his chest, then the bloodsilk along his neck zipped up. The helmet came after, letting his red glowing eyes look out through the slit in the metal, and his arms and gauntlets were after that. Lastly, a bloodsilkyer began stretching down along his legs, over his undergarments, and all the way down to cover his feet. Immediately he felt a rush of power flood his body, and Riven gasped at the immense weight of all this newfound energy he felt bounding through his muscles.


    He felt like he was a fucking god.


    He was... the GOAT.


    ¡°You really need to put on your metal boots and leggings.¡± Lukemented while stroking his chin, only to have Azmoth agree with a nod. ¡°Amazing up top, but it also looks like you¡­ what was the phrase Ath used earlier. Skipped leg day at the gym one too many times, I believe?¡±


    Azmoth snickered, and Riven gave Luke a frowning re.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll go put on the leggings, but now the colors won¡¯t match. Damn, I¡¯ve gotta find some ivory colored spray paint so I can color code this outfit.¡±


    ¡°Color code?¡± Luke repeated, the corners of his mouth lifting up with ill-hidden amusement. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d hear the day a vampire started talking about color coding their outfits.¡±


    ¡°Well how many vampires have you known? I bet they ALL like to color code. I¡¯ll tell you this-¡± Riven held up one ivory-encased finger. ¡°The vampires at the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s trading post are all very fashionable.¡±


    Luke snorted and rolled his eyes. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re right. Now, what¡¯s the n? Do we head back to Brightsville after this? We still have the option to teleport to your guild hall, right?¡±


    ¡°That or we can use Jackal, my weapon has the ability to create portals too and one of them is registered to Riven¡¯s Eye - the world-spanning wormhole.¡± Riven gestured down at the shadowy dog who silently stared up at them from beside the severed cultist head. ¡°I¡¯m a man of culture, my dear friend Luke. I have not one, but two methods of getting us back home. Problem is it¡¯ll still take a bit to channel the effects. But 24 hours from now, we¡¯ll be right as rain.¡±


    "And the demonic contract you can acquire?"


    "That''ll wait for now... I''d preferably want Ath to be here when I do it, but we''ll see. I''ll talk to Allie first and decide when we get back home."


    "And the dao treasure map? Weren''t you going to check on the world forums?"


    "Oh for fuck''s sake grandpa just let me have some time, ok!?"

 Chapter 164

    Chapter 164


    <strong>Chapter 164</strong>


    <strong>========================================================================</strong><ul><li><strong>World Quest 2, The Apocalypse Beasts:</strong><strong> Ah, this is one of my personal favorites. I present to you the apocalypse beasts! Your world has been cursed with 3 tyrannical creatures of astronomical power that are currently being incubated and grown into their adult forms. Each of these absolute monstrosities is able to turn the world on its head, demolishing countries in their path and tearing the very fabric of reality apart. Know that if these creatures are allowed to awaken you will likely not live much longer than the 5 years¡¯ limit. Each of these monsters have cultist worshipers from your owns, given knowledge of these creatures before the integration even begun. They will try to awaken the monsters¡¯ adult forms to destroy your world entirely, leading to astronomical amounts of power as a reward for the cultists in their sess for when they leave the smoldering wreckage of Panu. Your goal is to stop and kill their cult worshipers, and find out where these creatures are being incubated so that you will have a world to live on when the 5 years of time runs out. </strong><strong>Current Threat Level: </strong><strong>Extremely High. </strong><strong>Catastrophe upon failure ofpletion when 5 years has passed:</strong><strong> Nekra, the Skeletal Devourer will be unleashed onto Panu. Chalgathi, the gue Dragon will be unleashed onto Panu. Chubin, the ss Kraken will be unleashed onto Panu. </strong><strong>Advanced Details Have Been Unlocked:</strong><strong> Uponpleting this quest and finding the incubation chambers of any given apocalypse beast, you may either kill them before they¡¯re born for an item of immense power or im their eggs for yourself. Killing them will bless you with a unique tier 50 Spirit Item, while iming their egg for yourself will link them to you as a minion. iming them as a minion will not produce them in their adult form, but rather they will begin as an infant version of themselves and must be cultivated to higher grades of power over time beforeing into their true potential. You have already been in contact with Chalgathi¡¯s starter quests, thus you will soon receive an update on his particr questline now that the World Quests have been distributed.]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>========================================================================</strong>


    <strong>[Chalgathi, The Apocalypse Beasts World Quest, Panu, has updated:</strong>


    <strong>Congrattions on being the 3rd person to collect all 5 Chalgathi artifacts. Now that all artifacts have coalesced into one item set, you are to be given eventual ess to the sub-event: The Altars of Despair and Hope.</strong>


    <strong>The Altars of Despair and Hope are exclusive areas designated by the Elysium Administrator, where only the chosen of the apocalypse beasts who¡¯ve acquired the 5 needed artifacts, as well as abducted involuntary participants from across the multiverse, may enter. This applies to all apocalypse beasts, not only Chalgathi. Here at the Altars of Despair and Hope you will be divided into two groups: Cultists and Non-Cultists. As previously described, the oues of this world quest differ greatly depending on which of the chosen acquire the prizes for these quests. Thus, cultists will be pitted against non-cultists when reaching these altars. Non-Cultists across all three apocalypse beast categories will arrive at the Altar of Hope, and Cultists across all three apocalypse beast categories will arrive at the Altar of Despair. It will be highly incentivized to work together with your given team upon arrival, and severe punishments will be handed down to those who intentionally harm any others within your own category while involving yourself in this sub-event of the questline; with more details to arrive upon event initiation.</strong>


    <strong>The Altars of Despair and Hope will first open with an event initiation in 4 months, 1 week, 3 days, and 5 hours from now</strong><strong>. Upon opening the altars: the next phase of World Quest 2, The Apocalypse Beasts will begin. You can expect to enter an alternate pocket realm at that time along with other various people, ces, artifacts, and events drawn in from around the multiverse; and can be expected to be gone for approximately 1 year¡¯s time. Participants who do not collect all of the necessary apocalypse beast artifacts upon event initiation will still be able to join the Altars of Despair and Hope sub-event uponpletion of the item sets.]</strong>


    It looked like he had some time before the next set of events concerning the world quest. That was if he didn¡¯t get assassinated in the meantime by other participants who could no doubt track his location with the ¡®ping Chalgathi artifacts¡¯ ability.


    Then again, perhaps his growing and sinister reputation would cause the others to fuck right off. That Japanese man had certainly tucked tail and run, leaving hispatriots to be ughtered when Riven had appearedst time.His red eyes zed over the information for the third time since it¡¯d appeared. Silently closing the notification, Riven continued to meditate in a hovering position with steepled hands - cross legged in the air. He wore his new upper-body te armor: Messenger, and had put on his dark steel leggings and boots. Meanwhile his weapon, Jackal, continued to channel the portal ability as it created an orb of multi-colored light above the de in the center of the room. It was almost time, but he had another five minutes until they were able to teleport back to Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole near Brightsville.


    Using this time to his advantage while his minions got ready, he pulled out the map that¡¯d been deposited in his spatial bag concerning the sin-rted dao treasure.


    Unlike most treasure maps, this one was actually a 3-dimensional hologram. It was created out of a small metal cylinder, with the top of the cylinder creating a very intricate diagram of a part of Panu from a zoomed-out view.


    The hologram disyed a tropical ind with a volcano at its center. It had a very distinct boot-shaped protrusion that formed a cove on one side, with trees and other features on the ind so tiny that they were smaller than a pinhead but still somewhat discernable. The map spanned many meters across in any direction from the cylinder, and he was even able to get up and walk through it - identifying a glowing dot underneath the volcano through arge sprawling set of ancient ruins that were built into the ground underneath the ind. There, where a ruined cityy long forgotten by the looks of how decimated the architecture was, were flowing rivers of magma that eventually led to an odd-looking temple.


    It was here, at this temple, that the icon continued to sh.


    It had no description otherwise, no details, only the outline of the ind, the ruins, and the path down the magma rivers leading to the temple where the dao treasure of sin was located. The veryrge problem he now had though was that he had zero clue where this ind was. It could literally be anywhere, and he had no doubt that thebination of three mergings would only make it all the harder to find.


    ¡°At least it¡¯s a start.¡±


    He looked up from the slit in his helmet, neon red feathers along the spine of his helmet shing slightly when the portal ahead of him finally materialized. His weapon, Jackal, returned to his hand when he stretched his arm out - and looking through the ovoid gate he could see that it was likely afternoon or early evening on the other side. The location was directly outside of Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole, and he could not only see thousands of people traveling between the Elysium altar, downtown Brightsville, the ve farms, and Chicago on the wormhole¡¯s other side - but he could also see patrolling helicopters and fighter jets in the sky through a very thinyer of mist that¡¯d be prevalent in his unholy-taintednds. The silver grasses, ck-wood trees with simrly silver or neon teal leaves, and the red vines were very distinct.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He stepped through shortly afterwards without a word, metal boots ttening the grass underneath him with the wormhole¡¯s brilliant white-blue lights churning to his left.


    ¡°FREEZE!¡± a military man in uniform called out, turning around with others under hismand to raise a gun Riven¡¯s way. ¡°STOP RIGHT THERE!¡±


    The man¡¯s squad was a rather odd thing to look at. It was a mixture of two cyborgs, a man and a woman with orange and yellow lines of power lighting up their arms, guns and eyes. There were a couple soldiers as well, a two-story humanoid mech which sported sma cannons on its back that looked like it¡¯d been pulled out of a manga, as well as two skeletal unholy mages with staves and a whole slew of goblins that looked rather different from the ones Riven was used to.


    Riven couldn¡¯t quite ce it, and he stared at the little green men for quite some time while ignoring the startled soldier and his squad. The goblins were slightly bigger, but that wasn¡¯t it¡­ they looked more self aware. Intelligent even by the way they weren¡¯t picking their noses and dawdling about, or by the way they interacted with each other or the passing travelers.


    Or by the way one of those goblins was the first to recognize him before any of the others did.


    The goblin at the forefront of the mixed squad, a small green creature wearing body armor native to earth about three and a half feet tall, was warily clutching at his own daggers. The weapons had obviously been enhanced by Chicago¡¯s engineers due to the way the tips of their des were sma-based, but the little man¡¯s buggy eyes went wide when he saw Azmoth and Fay step out of the portal beside Riven.


    ¡°YOU FUDGING IDIOT! THAT IS OUR KING!¡± The goblin promptly mmed a booted foot into the soldier¡¯s shin, causing hismanding officer to fall with a cry of surprise before others of their unit abruptly took in the goblin¡¯s words. ¡°HOW DARE YOU RAISE A WEAPON TOWARDS HIM!¡±


    The red eyes, Riven¡¯s weapon, and the minions recognizable from video footage. The armor was too, but only to a certain extent. The maw across the front was obviously the same, as were the pauldrons and the bloodsilk connecting various te armor pieces, but everything else was different. The helmet and te armor surrounding his torso were vastly different, as were the ivory gauntlets he wore, and the ps of bloodsilk out behind Riven¡¯s waist were also far different from the original look he had. He didn¡¯t wear a cloak either, but rather remained in full te armor as the ridge of feathers along the top of his helmet wouldn¡¯t allow it.


    The goblin quickly bowed with an apologetic and wary smile, and soon the entire squad followed suit. Even the mech took a knee, its pilot saluting Riven from the cockpit in the central body, and travelers who¡¯d been vanishing into the wormhole oring back outpletely stopped their foot traffic to look at him as Riven¡¯s own portal closed from behind. Ratkin traders from Deepnest, humans from Dawn and the Necropolis, the undead created from Allie¡¯s bone garden, green skinned orcs and goblins alike - they all quickly came to a hushed silence when he appeared.


    Many of them fell to their knees in silent respect - prostrating themselves. Others gave hushed whispers and avoided being seen by hiding behind trading carts, cargo trucks, or nearby buildings on the perimeter of the wormhole. It was very apparent that Riven inspired respect here, but he also inspired a sense of fear.


    The soldier on the ground, a man who no doubt came from the military units of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Rockford, shakily put his head to the ground. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my king, I did not realize it was you and I¡­¡±


    His voice trailed off into a hushed whisper, and it was obvious by the way he shook that he was terrified.


    Riven frowned. ¡°Has it really been long enough that you forgot what I did for your city? I¡¯m not some crazed lunatic out to kill everyone, despite what the world forums paint me as. You don¡¯t have to be afraid, you did nothing wrong.¡±


    The soldier gave a relieved shudder, but remained prostrated just as the crowds of silent people behind him. Out of everyone present, it was only the high elf ves that remained standing in the immediate area. They red daggers at him, silently seething with hate while shackled and cored - forced into manualbor against their will. There were hundreds - no, thousands of them now just in the immediate area across the farnds on either side of the main road leading to the trading hub at the Elysium altar. It was very apparent that the number of high elf ves had grown, no doubt from Allie¡¯s war efforts due to the towns and one major elf city she¡¯d conquered in his absence.


    He¡¯d read the updates in the local forums about it.


    But even the high elves fell to their knees when his eyes turned their way, shuddering with fear as his aura softly pulsed out over the crowds on a subconscious level. He hadn¡¯t even realized he¡¯d been doing it until then, but he didn¡¯t bother retracting the aura either. Nor did he feelpassion for the enved elves anymore. He had too much to worry about, too many lives were at stake across the world to give a damn about the many tens of thousands of inherently racist people who¡¯d started wars and fights they couldn¡¯t finish.


    Perhaps if they¡¯d not been so intent on elvish supremacy, perhaps if he¡¯d not been betrayed in Greenstalk, perhaps if these high elves hadn¡¯t kept human ves of their own - he may have more sympathy. But now, they were merely cattle. Property of the empire, fuel to be used for the country¡¯s growth.


    He paused as this thought passed him by. How different his outlook was now¡­ Why was that?


    Numerous reasons really. An additive effect over time after his poorly based assumptions about the world had been whittled down little by little through proof of actions. His morals from the old world were almost entirely dead now, though in his opinion he and Allie could have been a lot harsher on the captives they¡¯d taken. And he still had ideas concerning programs to re-integrate any of the high elves thatplied and became productive members of society, it¡¯d just take a bitto implement them. Those that stuck to their guns of being racist, violent bigots could stay ves for all he cared.


    Turning heel and walking through the crowds, Riven began to make his way to his manor. Fay had been wanting to see her brother Tupper, and he was curious how Genua¡¯s training wasing along. He¡¯d given Tupper expressmands to turn her nonpliant bad attitude around in Riven¡¯s absence, and he was still salty about how she and her family had made him feel so at home before trying to murder him.


    No, she was the only one remaining of the people he¡¯de to trust before that betrayal. She would bear the humiliation for her dead family as an atonement for their transgressions. Though Riven couldn¡¯t help but wonder how Len was doing, and how far the little girl hade along in her ¡®re-education¡¯.


    He pulled out hismunication orb, modified with Machine-Pir tech before he¡¯d left to extend to a longer range. The ck bauble with mechanical ribbing on its outer shell pulsed in his hand when he infused mana into it - and he felt the connection settle ten secondster when Allie picked up on the other line.


    Riven smiled. ¡°Hello little sister.¡±


    ¡°RIVEN!¡± Allie¡¯s excited voice came over the line. ¡°YOU¡¯RE BACK!¡±


    He chuckled, passing another group of ratkin traders carrying sacks who all gave him a deep bow of respect. ¡°It¡¯s good to hear your voice. We have a lot to talk about. Where are you?¡±


    There was a pause, then the sound of shuffling papers on the other side.


    ¡°Getting ready for an exam!¡± Allie¡¯s voice called through the orb. ¡°I¡¯m attending that academy we talked about before you left. I¡¯ve even made a friend! You should meet him, he¡¯s really nice.¡±


    ¡°He?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, He. Why is that important?¡±


    ¡°Just curious. How¡¯s your man-harem doing?¡± Riven looked down to his bag where the enchanted whip he¡¯d foundy in wait, and he shook his head with another chuckle. ¡°I have a present for you.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re fine, but I haven''t really seen any of them sinceing here. Hey, do you think you¡¯d be able to meet up for coffee in Dawn¡¯s Capital sometime? Bring a disguise. I don¡¯t want you scaring everyone here shitless after the stunts you pulled in that canyon city.¡±


    Riven raised his eyebrows, giving Fay the thumbs up to fly ahead in order to meet her brother - watching the subus take off over the crop fields infested with chained elves using nt-based magics or their guards. ¡°A disguise you say? Very well. When did you want to meet? I was going to drop in and take a nap at the manor though. I¡¯m exhausted, and I could really use afortable bed for once.¡±

 Chapter 165

    Chapter 165


    <strong>Chapter 165</strong>


    Things had certainly changed at the guild hall manor in Riven¡¯s absence, and it left Riven wondering why Allie hadn¡¯t told him about it.


    Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th, eldest daughter to the Duke and Dutchess of House of Crushada, 107th in line for the vampiric throne was somehow standing at the front of Riven¡¯s multi-story home in a pristine ck dress adorned with bright red flowers. Her brown hair was swept to one side, elegantly shining in the light of numerousnterns that now illuminated the outer walls of the manor. Therge metal fences had soldiers encircling the area around the front courtyard where arge pond encircled by beautiful death-attuned flowers, and along the back of the garden where even more of the soldiers guarded hispound. Two banners hung from the upper balconies, one of them disying the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s sigil of a red crescent moon on a ck backdrop. The other was just blue with a ck question mark.


    Beside Kathrine stood Tupper in a butler''s outfit, who was engaged in deep conversation with his sister Fay - and there were a number of very pretty high elf ves present too. They were almost all female, dressed in far more scantily d outfits than Riven had ever remembered the previous maid outfits to be. They essentially wore enchanted iron cors signifying their rank, were lined up with hands in front facing ahead, had been outfitted in ck skirt-bikinis and thin slip-on shoes - and they all wore expressions of nervousness as Riven slowly approached while taking in the scene. In fact the only males Riven saw were the ones Allie had taken into her man harem - which made Riven wonder where the other men who¡¯d been in line to be butlers had gone.


    He stopped ahead of Kathrine, leveling his red gaze to meet her own while she stood ahead of the others. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you could leave the confines of your tradingmune. Tell me, what brings you to my home?¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s visage of confidence briefly faltered at his cold tone, but the young woman remained in good posture as she addressed him with chin held high. ¡°You¡¯re a busy man, Riven Wraithtide.¡±


    ¡°Riven Thane.¡± Riven corrected with a slow blink of his eyes.


    Kathrine hesitated, then nodded. ¡°Very well. Riven Thane it is. Our elder High Queen Nephridi has informed me that my efforts to make contact with you and form rtions have been less than adequate, and told me I needed to redouble my efforts. Because I am unable to contact you outside of themune¡¯s borders under most circumstances, I asked your sister Allie if it would be alright for me to assign myself as an attendant.¡±


    There was an awkward silence following her words.¡°And Allie said yes?¡± Riven asked, pulling up the status page of his guild hall that was connected to his own status page as guild hall owner.


    <strong>[Guild Hall: Stone Manor (Unnamed)</strong><ul><li><strong>Assigned Guild: Unassigned. Owned by Riven Thane, Administrative Privileges also set to Allie Thane.</strong></li><li><strong>Homeward Teleportation: Very long channel time. Only hired attendants or guild members can utilize this teleportation function. Currently there is no guild assigned to this guild hall, and there are no attendants, so the teleportation function is limited to Riven Thane.</strong></li><li><strong>15 attendant spots avable, 600 Elysium Coins per month per active attendant are taxed by the system administrator. You may either mentally link this guild hall to the nearest friendly Elysium Altar that you have ess to in order to hire attendants from the general store, or may hire attendants from associated factions at that altar.Attendants Currently Enlisted (2/15): Tupper (Incubus Butler), Kathrine Vonsi Crushada (Pureblooded Vampire Diplomat)</strong>


    <strong></strong></li><li><strong>3 mile exploration radius for attendants before forced retrieval back to guild hall</strong></li><li><strong>Core Sturdiness: Moderate</strong></li><li><strong>Defensive wards: None</strong></li><li><strong>Change Guild Hall Location: 1 year of channeling needed.]</strong></li></ul>


    Allie had guild hall privileges as he¡¯d set it to be that way, but he was surprised he¡¯d not been notified. He nced back up to see Kathrine nervously fidgeting, and his eyes narrowed. ¡°Answer me honestly. Why?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Kathrine replied, brows furrowed.


    ¡°Why go out of your way now? What¡¯s changed? Why leave the rtive safety of all your guards, servants, and immediate ess back home through yourmune portal in order to be here?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not sure what you mean. I¡¯ve been trying to get ahold of you-¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ve actively been ignoring your efforts, yes I know.¡± Riven stated tly, stepping forward again and causing Kathrine to cringe. ¡°What makes it so important to you that you¡¯d leave thefort of yourvishmune to be here - a mere popper¡¯s hutpared to what you have at the altar?¡±


    Kathrine frowned, her hands tightening around one another as she huffed. ¡°You underestimate your importance as a prince in the empire.¡±


    Riven wasn¡¯t buying it. ¡°You¡¯re 107th in line for the throne. I¡¯m only, what - 30th? 35th? I can¡¯t even remember. I¡¯m not an immediate heir and we haven¡¯t even been to the Blood Moon Requiem.¡±


    ¡°You are the son of the queen¡¯s favorite granddaughter, and you are a holder of the gift.¡±


    ¡°Malignant prophecy?¡±


    Kathrine nodded. ¡°As previously stated, not many within the empire¡¯s royalty have that ability. It is a key asset, one that is valued above all others. The fact that you and your sister both have it is a tremendous boon, one that cannot be lost to us.¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°I see.¡± Riven gave his distant cousin a wary up-and-down look. She seemed very nervous. ¡°Kathrine¡­ What happens if you fail to establish good rtions with me?¡±


    At this, Kathrine nched. She stuttered at first, then calmed herself and cleared her throat. ¡°I will be executed. Along with my entire family. None of us possess the gift¡­ and although we are technically royalty, we¡¯re only barely so.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised. Sighing to shake his head, he mentally willed his helmet to dislodge from his face so he could rub at his temple to relieve his building headache. The helmet peeled back and hung off the back of his neck, revealing his face to the abrupt inhale of many of the ves nearby.


    Stopping mid temple-rub, he nced up at the wide-eyed ves who were gawking and staring with surprised expressions. Frowning, he looked down at this outfit, then back up. One of the ve girls was even covering her mouth subconsciously.


    ¡°Am I really that scary?¡± Riven asked with an exhausted, deting hunch of his shoulders. His eyes fell to Kathrine, and even she wore a simr expression - which was unusual as she¡¯d met him before. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°You look¡­ rather good. Better than I remember.¡± Kathrine eventually said hesitantly, stepping in closer to get a better look. ¡°Do not take this the wrong way, but¡­ Perhaps you should look in a mirror.¡±


    He snorted, then turned to Azmoth and Luke. ¡°Do I look any different? What are they talking about?¡±


    Luke and Azmoth both simultaneously shrugged.


    ¡°Whatever. Anyways I¡¯m off to take a nap. Kathrine, you¡¯re more than wee to stay and we can talk about ways to ¡®build rtions¡¯ter. I won¡¯t let you or your family be executed and you can tell the queen that I¡¯m interested in maintaining a positive connection with the empire, but I¡¯m rather busy. I just haven¡¯t had time to deal with diplomacy when I have a series of world-ending events I need to deal with, especially since I¡¯m now in the top 10.¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s features brightened immediately with relief, then confusion. ¡°Top 10?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m rank 5 on the world power boards. I have a responsibility now, more than ever.¡±


    Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, then delight. ¡°The queen will be pleased to hear it, we don¡¯t have ess to the ranking boards of integrating worlds as outsiders - but it is a great honor to be shown as such. If you don¡¯t mind, I do have some important matters to talk to you about before you go to sleep¡­ The incubus and I actually have a dinner prepared for your arrival. Would it be alright if we-¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t wait?¡± Riven asked impatiently, ring down at his distant rtive with exasperation. ¡°I don¡¯t think you realize how awful thisst trip was for me. I really just want to pass out.¡±


    Kathrine hesitated, then shook her head. ¡°Hours matter. It involves your off-world estates, ones that you and Allie technically own as heads of the Wraithtide household. Large amounts of wealth, and numerous lives will be affected by your decision orck thereof. Allie¡­ has been less than cooperative dealing with this matter as she¡¯s busy at her academy. Beyond that, you¡¯re the elder brother and the inheritance technically belongs to you.¡±


    Riven groaned. ¡°Lives are going to be influenced? Numerous? What does that even mean?¡±


    ¡°The Wraithtide household is in a state of disrepair and other nobles are seeking to absorb your assets by bribing lesser members of your house. You need to sign a decree so I can take it to themune and transport it back to the empire from there through a messenger, establishing yourself as a present entity and denying ess to those who would seek to sell and buy your rightful property in your absence.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying other members of my distant family are trying to pawn off my inheritance?¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    Riven scratched chin. ¡°Doesn¡¯t really bother me that much. What exactly is it that I technically own?¡±


    ¡°Your inheritance is that of a single high-grade, a trading hub in the Vartesh sector named Luteski. Because your parents have been gone so long the house of Wraithtide has fallen to lesser nobility, and they see your return as a threat to their own wealth. They wish to sell what they can now before you return before relocating.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I own a?¡±


    ¡°You do, and you lord over all its inhabitants - dictating whatws are established there as long as they do not conflict with the high queen¡¯s own. The inhabitants of the number at over 50 million vampires and 11 billion ves, and your worth is¡­ rather high. For lesser members of your family to pawn it off is not technically illegal, but the high queen wanted me to inform you that you should take matters into your own hands now if you wish to keep the inheritance.¡±


    Riven¡¯s jaw slightly dropped. ¡°I see. That does sound slightly important¡­ alright. Let¡¯s talk about this inside.¡±


    Kathrine bowed, smile widening moreso than he¡¯d ever seen before. ¡°As I said, Tupper and I prepared you a meal. But since you are tired perhaps we can discuss this in your room and bring the food to you as you rest?¡±


    Riven pondered this, grinned, and nodded. ¡°I do believe that sounds rather nice. Dinner in bed. I¡¯ll see you up there.¡±


    ***


    The insides of the manor that¡¯d once been unfurnished were now absolutelyvishly decorated. Sculptures of different animals lined the hallways, beautiful paintings adorned therge receiving room, and chandeliers glowed faintly in orange-yellow light. While waiting for the meal to be brought up to his room, he was shown around by the incubus concerning all the amendments they¡¯d bought. The furniture was especiallyvish, and it looked like he¡¯d just entered a victorian-age mansion out of an HBO TV series.


    ¡°My lord.¡± Tupper said as they approached the spiral staircase leading to the third level. He turned, ck eyes narrowed slightly underneath tiny ck horns very simr to his sister¡¯s own. He nced back over his shoulder to where Fay and Kathrine had briefly stopped to talk to Luke about the decorations, and then turned his attention back to Riven with a bow. ¡°I wish to express my utmost gratitude for what you did for my sister¡­ When I heard she might notst, I¡­ I nearly decided to end my life. Without Fay, I have nothing left. She is the only family that cares about me, and that you went out of your way to get her back and save her life means more to me than anything else ever could. Thank you for caring, and I hope the man who took her died painfully..¡±


    The incubus stood up, gave Riven a quivering smile that he quickly calmed down after a deep inhale, and gave a firm nod - extending his hand to shake. ¡°I know it means little to someone like you, but you¡¯ve earned a life debt from me.¡±


    Riven smiled, ncing over to where his subus wasughing alongside Kathrine. Then he took Tupper¡¯s hand and firmly shook it with a nod of his own. ¡°Of course. Fay is important to me, as are all the demons I¡¯ve bonded with.¡±


    Tupper stared, tightened his wings closer to his body, then cleared his throat to break his building emotions. ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°By the way.¡± Riven gestured over to where one of a dozen different scantily d ves stood at attention, the silver-haired young woman was carrying a tray of refreshments and shooting him wary nces from time to time while putting on a very obvious disy of swaying her hips whenever she walked by him.


    He followed the elf as she walked by, then nced back over to Tupper who stood at attention beside him. ¡°I do appreciate the obvious eye candy you¡¯ve invested in concerning¡­ the ve girls. God that sounds bad¡­ but why did you do it? You do realize I have no interest in using them like that. Right?¡±


    Tupper immediately smirked, and leaned over as if talking about a conspiracy. ¡°No doubt my sister would be quite jealous if you did, but Allie insisted on it.¡±


    ¡°Allie?¡±


    ¡°Yes. She said word for word: <em>¡®Riven hasn¡¯t beenid in over a year now, fill up the mansion with a bunch of pretty girls and see what happens.¡¯</em> She was quite insistent.¡±


    Riven sputtered augh, chuckling to himself and rolling his eyes. ¡°That sounds exactly like what Allie would do. She should know better though, I¡¯m not going to force myself on someone like she does.¡±


    Tupper opened his mouth to reply, shut it, thought for a moment, then held up a finger. ¡°If I may, your majesty. I don¡¯t believe any of them would need to be ¡®forced¡¯ into doing something like that.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± The incubus gestured over to where another of the cored young elf women d in a ck skirt-bikini was tantly staring at both of them before being caught in the act, and she underwent a deep blush while going back to cleaning the mantles above a firece before shuffling out of the room. ¡°They might be ves but that doesn¡¯t mean they don¡¯t find you as suitable. Did you not see the way they all looked at you when you took off your helmet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d thought they were just scared of me like everyone else.¡±


    Tupper paused. ¡°Yes, that is likely part of it. No doubt your negative charisma and position of power do intimidate them to a drastic degree. However, just like my own kind as an incubus - you vampires, especially purebloods have a very enticing figure. Not only that but they likely see you as a meal ticket out of their current situations.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t inspire me to act.¡±


    The incubus shrugged and noted a signal from Kathrine - the other pureblooded royal. ¡°Take it as you will. I am merely following orders. Anyways, the food preparations are likely ready now. As a vampire I know your kind has special interests in blood, and I had Katherine help me prepare what she deemed as an eptable course for a royal like yourself. Please, follow me your majesty - Kathrine is very adamant on discussing this subject of your inheritance before the vultures swoop in.¡±


    Following his incubus butler up the stairs, Riven eventually reached the third floor and came out the door that he¡¯d taken as his own room. Three of the ve servants bowed low and then stood at attention - awaiting orders right outside.


    Azmoth and Luke had stayed downstairs, with Luke being shown to his own room by one of the girls and Azmoth having gone to the nearby chapel adjacent to the manor on the guild hall property.


    Tupper came to the door, opened it, and bowed again with a swooping gesture of his hand to let Riven in. ¡°After you, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Call me Riven.¡± He replied, stepping inside anding to a quick halt only a few feet in the room.


    His quarters had definitely changed. Allie no doubt had pinned up a bunch of posters concerning different anime and manga he¡¯d been into pre-system integration, which he thought hrious, and it was a stark contrast to the red-gold sheets and draped bedding on what had to be an emperor-sized fluffy bed. Two couches, an ornate wooden table, a long mirror and two dressers were inside along with the adjacent bathroom. There was even a TV that actually worked - which was very surprising to him. It was ying out a news story concerning some kind of bandit activity along the outskirts of Milwaukee, where a human reporter was interviewing a group of skeletal skresh body-hunters assigned to track the bandits down.


    But what really caught his attention was the food disy.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Kathrine asked as she came inside, standing next to Riven who was stunned into silence. She grinned rather proudly, then looked back over to the disy that¡¯d been brought in. ¡°We usually dine like this in the Blood Moon Requiem, though ours are a little bit more exotic than even this. I was told you don¡¯t like eating humanoid meat if you can help it, and that you like to treat your ves well, so we didn¡¯t butcher any of the ves and included only pork and venison. I hope it is to your liking - I did the artwork myself.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know how to reply or what to say to that. In front of them and at the center of the room between two couches, on top of the table was Genua - and Riven wasn¡¯t sure whether or not to be turned on, impressed, or utterly sickened.


    The elf was certainly alive, but was stripped down to no clothes and hogtied while kneeling on arge tter made of solid gold - surrounded by brilliant red flowers. A bright green apple had been stuffed into her mouth that very much resembled how medieval kings would disy a butchered hog for their feasts. Her long blonde hair was tied in a knot to tightly attach at her bound wrists positioned at her curvy lower back, cranking her neck backwards at an awkward angle as her nostrils red while staring ahead and exposing her chest.


    Some kind of sauce, no doubt infused with blood by the smell of it, was thered onto the naked woman¡¯s entire body below the neck. There were also patches of artwork using hardened chocte along her skin in a very thinyer, creating various depictions of mythical creatures, warriors, and cities with incredibly intricate detail. A tower of stacked fruit surrounded by flowers had been ced in a bowl on her back as well - stabilized on either side by the hair tightly tied to her wrists, with four hot wax candles having been melted onto her skin on either side of the fruit bowl - burning and flickering with yellow light.


    On either side of the kneeling, hogtied ve were other disys of food. Threerge bottles of blood-infused wine, a cabbage sd disy cut into the shape of flowers, numerous bs of meat, cubes of different cheese, and loaves of simmering fresh bread were all there as well. tes and utensils, enough for two, were ced on one side of the table as well.


    ¡°She volunteered.¡± Tupper quickly stated when Riven shot him a cold look. The incubus raised both hands. ¡°Genua volunteered for this. She¡¯s been taking her training very well, and wanted to show you that she¡¯s submissive, subservient to your will - and she¡¯s ready for you to feed on as live cattle right here on the table, instead of the more stale options otherwise presented if you wish it. I know you vampires like your blood fresh. Her previous attitude problems havepletely vanished over the time you¡¯ve been gone, enough so that we¡¯ve even started to keep her here in your room - as she is your personal attendant and a source of blood for your feeding after all.¡±


    Tupper guestred over to the other side of the bed where arge cage had been ced, cor and chain included.


    Riven blinked, noted how Fay had abruptly stiffened on his left, and merely sagged his shoulders. ¡°...Fine.¡±


    He was surprised at his ownck of caring. Once upon a time, a sight like this would have infuriated him. Once upon a time he¡¯d also never have consideredying waste to an entire city to meet his own ends either. Once upon a time he¡¯d been more trusting andpassionate, and he¡¯d have been infuriated at the mere idea of ves even if they had been criminals of war.


    Now however, he just didn¡¯t care. He was physically and mentally exhausted. He was constantly on the move trying to figure out what to do next, was involved in world-ending events - many of which hadn¡¯t even presented themselves yet, and had been hunted down for what he was. He¡¯d been betrayed by Jalel and the elves, he and his sister had nearly been assassinated by other nobility of the Blood Moon requiem, they¡¯d had a holy war waged against them by the man called ¡®Prophet¡¯, he had some kind of strange entity called Chalgathi always fucking with his life¡­ Riven simply just couldn¡¯t find it in his heart to give a shit anymore.


    Sighing with true exhaustion, he only shrugged and proceeded to the bed where he set his spear-staff down on the thick covers. Then he peeled off his armor, which did so merely at his bidding, andid it next to the weapon before ncing down at his bare chest. He¡¯d be rather athletic, admired his own abdomen for quite a while and then noiselessly approached the table.


    Kathrine went around to the other side and sat down, only to raise her eyebrows when Riven pulled his own chair out and gestured for Fay toe sit.


    The subus wordlessly paused, blushed, and smiled before taking his invitation and sitting down in the chair he¡¯d presented her. Pushing the chair in as Fay sat down, Riven went out to the balcony where another set of chairs were and he brought one in. ncing at the TV which was still talking about the current events surrounding Milwaukee, he faintly smiled and pulled his seat up to the table at the end between both Fay and Kathrine - reaching over for a bottle of blood-wine and popping the cork before chugging.


    He belched, grinned at Fay when she rolled her eyes, and set the bottle down. ¡°Alright Kathrine. Let¡¯s talk about this inheritance of mine.¡±


    Kathrine smiled widely across her pale face, disying her fangs underneath her bright red eyes. ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯d also like to discuss the tutoring proposition as well, and potential training. We want you to seed even more than you know, Riven Thane. If it is within my power to help you do so, then all the better. Now, as for the inheritance¡­¡±

 Chapter 166

    Chapter 166


    <strong>Chapter 166</strong>


    ¡°So your inheritance, or the of Luteski, is a very prominent trading hub that manages transported goods throughout the Blood Moon Requiem and a number of our allies. This is inrge part due to three different reasons. The first is that the has a natural shadow alteration built into its atmosphere, I¡¯m not sure on the exact details but it allows the inhabitants to easily create or redirect wormholes.¡± Kathrine gave Riven a knowing look. ¡°This means that it¡¯s both easy to defend, and easy to invite people in - a double positive. It also allows those with high shadow affinities to cultivate there more easily, which is a very good thing for many of us vampires who often have high shadow affinities. Not only that, but it¡¯s located on the outskirts of the empire but in a rather safe quadrant. Not only do our own forces defend the, but so do many of our allies who are heavily invested in trading with us due to the easy ess and expedient travel time it allows them. It is a gold mine, frankly.¡±


    ¡°Why not just use Elysium altars and tradingmunes?¡± Riven asked curiously.


    Kathrine smiled and pulled out a pipe, lighting it up with a conjuration of infernal mes and started to smoke. She puffed out a cloud, then crossed her legs in contemtion. ¡°The short answer to that question is twofold. First and foremost is taxes. The system taxes on trade are incredibly high when you usemunes, and you can avoid taxes to the system altogether by just traveling there yourself through ships or portal.¡±


    ¡°Spaceships?¡±


    ¡°We call them by a variety of names, but essentially yes. They travel through space.¡±


    ¡°Neat. What¡¯s the second reason?¡±


    ¡°The second reason is thatmunes have limitations on how much you can buy or sell per year. It won¡¯t matter to you on this because it¡¯s in the early stages of integration, but whens start to develop and trade starts to pump out there¡¯s a farrger scale of goods being exchanged - and these are limited by the system. So when you hit that limit, the altar goes stale until the next year.¡±


    Riven leaned back in his chair and took another swig of the blood wine, identally spilling some of it down his bare chest. Choking slightly and wiping his mouth with one arm, he set the bottle back down and picked up a b of meat - sharing a te with Fay with a warm smile when she pushed it halfway between them to start eating. ¡°I see. That¡¯s good to know, I wasn¡¯t aware there was a limit on the altars but I suppose it makes sense. So the name of the if Lutseki, it has 50 million vampires and 11 billion ves, it¡¯s a profitable trading hub, it has a shadow affinity, and my punk rtives are trying to sell it off. What else can you tell me about it? Who are they trying to sell it to?¡±Kathrine cocked her head and picked a peeled fruit off the bowl atop Genua¡¯s back. Rubbing it in the blood sauce covering the bound elf, Kathrine bit into the fruit to slowly chew. ¡°As I said, they¡¯re trying to sell it to other nobles who are looking to capitalize before your eventual return into the fold. It¡¯s not just one, but many different major households that are looking to buy different establishments or parts of the. The transactions can be stopped, but you must act now.¡±


    The royal held out a hand and activated a ring on one finger, lighting up a ck gemstone with white light before a scroll appeared over her hand. Unfurling the scroll, a very fancy document adorned with different wax seals and exquisite ink handwriting appeared - and as she unfurled the item it also portrayed a series of changing pictures along with it.


    The images shifted one by one every couple of seconds. First it was a dark orbiting a white dwarf star, with swirling clouds of ck and green in the atmosphere that only allowed brief glimpses of the continents below. Next came images of various cities under dark clouds that glowed with orange and yellow lights, each with sprawling metropolises and towering skyscrapers that had fleets of alien airships docked or sailing overhead. Some of the airships looked very simr to normal ships from earth, but those were far and few between. There were armored capsules, enormous creations made out of living flesh or nts, tiny sleek silicone jets, and other innumerable types of ships that were often grouped together by design depending on where they hailed from. After the fleets of ships and cities, the images of his showed vastworks of mines, inhabited by humanoids with pale eyes, purple skin, white hair and two smooth antennae that looked rather soft, fleshy and malleable as opposed to those of insects. One of these depictions showed a deep crevice splitting the earth, with dim lights illuminating a vastplex stretching miles down where hundreds of thousands of these humanoids worked to acquire minerals under their vampire overseers.


    ¡°Those creatures are called Sarak, and they were the natives on this before it was conquered by our empire almost two millennia ago.¡± Kathrine noted when he took particr interest in thest photo, but then she pped the paper on the table and pushed it his way. Leaning forward, she dismissed the images by tapping on one of the wax seals along the top of the parchment. ¡°You need to read and sign this today. Doing so will establish that you are the acting head of the household unless your parents return, and that you retract any of the lower tiered members of your house that are trying to pawn it off. I have also added some amendments stating that funds that¡¯ve been going the lower nobility will be rerouted into your own personal coffers from here on out, as they¡¯ve been stealing oundish amounts of money from your parents already. The problem is your parents are assumed dead and you weren¡¯t known to have existed, so what they did was treading a fine line between legal and illegal means of acquiring their wealth. If you wanted to, you could have their case heard in the upper courts as it is your right - but you cannot outright kill them either. Not without punishment, because their lineage still a carrier for malignant prophecy even if they don¡¯t have the gift themselves. It would likely be up to the queen if you wanted to pursue vengeance for theft.¡±


    Riven snorted, then shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to kill them. For all they knew, I wasn¡¯t even around and my parents were dead. Just reroute the funds to my own coffers, wherever they are off world - and if they try to sell my stuff again or cheat me in some way then notify me. I¡¯m counting on you entirely for this Kathrine, because I don¡¯t know anything about it..¡±


    Kathrine nodded, then began to amend the document with a quill that magically rearranged some of the wording on the parchment below. ¡°Very well. I will notify the courts. Before signing, there¡¯s also the topic ofws.¡±


    Kathrine pointed to another section of the parchment down below, clicked one of the highlighted subjects in ck ink, and an entirely new disy appeared on the parchment like it would a system screen - only it was now medieval-vored. ¡°These are all the currentws on Luteski. You have the right as head of your household and owner of this to modify them as long as they do not contradict with the queen¡¯sws. Change what you want, if you want to, and I¡¯ll let you know if there¡¯s a contradiction. It may take a while, so let¡¯s get at it.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Protection for children, one day of rest each week, no childbor, no more forced diator battles between ves, torture without reason is prohibited, butchering is prohibited in favor of regr blood drains that don¡¯t outright kill the ves¡­¡± Kathrine looked up from his list with a frown. ¡°You even have a smallpensation built into our taxes for ves who donate more blood than others do over the course of a year. These are rather hard boundaries to set and you¡¯re going to upset a lot of the vampires under your banner if you do this.¡±


    ¡°Do any of them contradict the queen¡¯sws?¡±


    Kathrine hesitated, then shook her head. ¡°No¡­ But this is going to have a major impact on the society there. I haven¡¯t heard of any in our empire with such protectivews concerning our ves. You do realize that we regrly kill and eat these creatures like you would cows or pigs. Right? The Sarak are cattle. We literally breed and keep some of them in pens to fatten up so we can eat themter.¡±


    ¡°Are they intelligent?¡± Riven asked curiously while wiping another b of meat across Genua¡¯s naked body, soaking up more of the sauce and chocte before ripping into it rather ravenously. His voice was beginning to slow, and he could feel the intoxication setting in. ¡°This shit is really good by the way.¡±


    On the sidelines Fay was drinking herself further and further into a silent but drunken stupor, and while she was at it she was practicing how to withdraw her wings into her back to look more human - and the subus seemed rather happy at having achieved it.


    But Kathrine was deeply frowning at Riven, and she gave a low hum of disapproval. ¡°The Sarak are rather stupid.¡±


    ¡°How do theypare to humans?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re about equal in terms of intelligence. Equally stupid.¡±


    Riven snorted augh, a little too amused than he¡¯d normally be concerning the situation. ¡°Tough shit then. These are thews I want. These ¡®Sarak¡¯ are innocent and have been for dozens of generations, so just be happy I¡¯m not some kind of wannabe savior. At the very least I can give these people lives worth living instead of the garbage that you¡¯ve presented me with. They¡¯ll still be forced to work the mines there and I¡¯m not even restricting the use of personal ves, but I want their quality of life to get better.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯d have an outright riot on your hands if you changed those particr things.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m not doing it, I realize that.¡± Riven gave her a t look, cup of wine touching his lips. ¡°I know how the vampires there will likely view me after Ie in out of the blue as some unknown and start uprooting their way of life. But think of just how unfair it would be, being born into a race of intelligence people who are enved across your, only to be used in the mines while you¡¯re health andter you get eaten alive as food for your vampiric masters when you get older.¡±


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Kathrine let on a cringe alongside a deep sigh, and slunk her shoulders in defeat - then huped and took an entire bottle to drain thest of it with a belch unbing of vampire royalty. ¡°I¡­ will let theary guard know of your changes to theirws. At the very least it¡¯ll be interesting¡­ I¡¯ve never heard of anything like this before. Are there any other changes you¡¯d like to make? Any announcements you want coupled with thesews?¡±


    Riven paused, then nodded. ¡°You said theary guard are the ones who¡¯ll be enforcing these, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And they are loyal to my house?¡±


    ¡°To your house second, but first to the queen.¡±


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll ept these terms if I¡¯m not personally there to oversee it?¡±


    Kathrine hesitated before answering. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Probably half-heartedly.¡±


    ¡°What if I bribed them?¡±


    She raised her eyebrows. ¡°How would you do that?¡±


    ¡°By setting aside 50% of the profits through trade and mining over the course of the next 5 years and giving those profits to theary guard; instead of my own coffers or any of the other nobles. Let them know it¡¯s an investment to make sure thesews are followed.¡±


    Kathrine smirked, then bobbed her head side to side - almost causing herself to fall over as Riven and Fayughed. Shortly correcting her posture and flushing a bright red, she straightened up and tried to get control of her body once again. ¡°It is possible that they¡¯d be more willing that way¡­ But you need to include that amendment in the document.¡±


    She scribbled new text down and rearranged it again with a magical influx through the quill in her hand. Pushing it back over to Riven, he read it over and signed yet again.


    ¡°There¡¯s my royal decree.¡± Riven smirked with a dismissive wave of his hand. ¡°Let me know how it goes.¡±


    ¡°I certainly will.¡± Kathrine noted with another nod, leaning back and putting the parchment away before taking another long inhale with her pipe. Blowing the smoke out towards the ceiling in a cloud of purple-gray, she passed the pipe over to Fay who¡¯d been listening quietly throughout most of the conversation. ¡°Do you mind going over a nned schedule for tutoring and martial training next?¡±


    Riven yawned while the alcohol continued to ovee him, covering his mouth with one arm before standing up anding over to where Genua¡¯s neck was cranked back at an awkward angle due to the way her hair was tied to her wrists. Leaning down and extending his fangs, he abruptly sunk his teeth into the middle-aged woman - causing her to loudly squeal through the apple in her mouth as her eyes went wide and her nostrils red even further.


    The elf quivered under his grip, tears welling up under her eyelids but otherwise remaining still as she let her owner drink her lifeblood. Kathrine and Fay remained silent while Riven sucked, and eventually he pulled out with a satisfied sigh to wipe the blood off his face as Fay passed the pipe back to Kathrine.


    The small puncture wounds onlysted for a little while before slowing sealing up. Vampiric venom naturally healed the wounds over time if there wasn¡¯t any trauma, allowing a vampire to repeatedly feed on victims that weren¡¯t outright killed multiple times over.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, live food is better.¡± Riven chuckled mercilessly and roughly rustled Genua¡¯s hair before flopping back down into his seat. ¡°Especially when I have no qualms about feeding on this particr person. It is¡­ invigorating, and freeing.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Kathrine asked, puzzled as she threw both of her long pale legs up on the table while leaning back in her chair with the smoking pipe in one hand. Her neat dress already had spots where food and drink had identally spilled, but she was too drunk to care.


    ¡°I grew up a human. Feeding on people does note naturally to me, and I felt a sense of guilt whenever I¡¯d thought about it before.¡± Riven gestured to the hogtied elf. ¡°But her, I feel no remorse. Anyways, enough about that. As I¡¯ve already said I don¡¯t have a lot of time to spare, but I suppose I could carve some out once in a while before I leave for the Chalgathi questline in 4 months. Got anybody who¡¯s a master with the spear?¡±


    ¡°We certainly do.¡± Kathrine replied, and she giggled with a slightly buzzed smirk while pulling out a small bag of green powder. cing it on the table, she took a very small spoon from within the bag and snorted the powdery substance for good measure - clutching her head with one hand while her smile spread. Winking at Riven slyly she nudged him with a foot under the table. ¡°Want to try some? It¡¯s good stuff, the highest quality.¡±


    The vampire passed the powder over to Fay first, who curiously looked down at the bag and small spoon with hesitation. Huping and peering down harder, she eventually shrugged and without question snorted a small spoonful of the powder just like Katherine had.


    ¡°Good, right?¡± Kathrine mused, a silly smile across her lips as the subus began to giggle. ¡°I wish I could do this back home without my parents intervening.¡±


    ¡°Is this illegal back on your home world?¡± Riven asked curiously, poking at the powder and watching when Kathrine took a veryrge spoonful and whispered into Genua''s ear. The elf''s eyebrows raised on the questioning words Riven couldn''t hear, but then she hesitantly nodded. The princess smiled in approval and then roughly shoved the powder up Genua¡¯s nostrils - violently smushing it against the sputtering elf¡¯s face until she was satisfied.


    Kathrine then nced back, her eyes narrowing wickedly his way. ¡°No¡­ But my parents still wouldn¡¯t be happy with me knowing that I have it. Hey¡­ did you know that we¡¯re not technically real cousins? Funny fact.¡±


    Riven frowned, noting that Fay was beginning to salivate and Genua¡¯s eyes were beginning to ze over. ¡°What do you mean we¡¯re not cousins? That¡¯s not what you told me earlier.¡±


    Kathrine rolled her eyes with exaggeration - then she began to count on her fingers. ¡°I mean, we¡¯re as much cousins as you are to any other vampire. We¡¯re all rted to the blood god, but aside from that¡­ I suppose our great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents were siblings. Hold on¡­ Yeah, that many generations.¡±


    ¡°How many?¡±


    ¡°Thirteen generations ago we sharemon ancestors.¡±


    Riven pooched his lips. ¡°Interesting. Why are you telling me now though?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m tutoring you!¡± Kathrineughed, nearly tipping out of her chair again before Riven caught her fall. Pulling herself up his arm, she reached for the bag again and snorted another small spoonful - eyes rolling back while giggling profusely. ¡°I have lots to tutor you in! We¡¯re going to be great friends, you and I. Now try this!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is.¡±


    She shoved the bag his way, then scowled when he gave her a skeptical look. ¡°If it was poison, the three of us would already be dead! It¡¯s just a drug specifically meant for vampires! It¡¯s like¡­ what did Allie say about it¡­ Like catnip for vampires I believe!¡±


    ¡°Allie¡¯s tried it too?¡± Riven, who was still quite buzzed, nced over to where Fay was giving him a side-eye. She had a deep flush now, and was still salivating with deep breaths. Genua was in a simr position, drool literally dripping from the apple in her mouth while her head bobbed up and down in an attempt to keep it upright. ¡°It looks like it works on other people aside from vampires too.¡±


    ¡°Pussy.¡± Kathrine cackled, jabbing him under the table again with her foot. ¡°Just do it! You have armed guards outside and there¡¯s no way that you¡¯re in any danger¡­ Come on!¡±


    She grabbed his wrist, sliding her hand up his arm to where his bicep was. ¡°Your sister said you needed some rxation time, so just go ahead and rx! We¡¯ll be here with you!¡±


    Riven was about to ask about what it was again, but thought it over again. Up until recently he¡¯d been so up tight about everything. It was almost his motto it¡¯d gotten so bad because he always felt like he was the one responsible for the lives of others. His choices affected hundreds of thousands of other people on a daily basis, and if you included the world quests - they¡¯d effect far, far more than that. Billions even. Stack the new he apparently owned on top of that and it emphasized the problem even more.


    Well, Fay and the other two women hadn¡¯t died yet. They seemed more jovial than usual even, and when Fay pushed the bag over in his direction with a flushed grin - he couldn¡¯t stop himself.


    ¡°Fuck it. But if I die, I¡¯ming back to haunt you Kathrine.¡± He chuckled at theughter of the other vampire, then took the small spoon and snorted some of the green powder with a brief inhale.


    The affect was immediate. The room around him became more sluggish to movement, and he had a spike of dopamine m into his brain with the weight of a freight train. Everything became better instantaneously, and¡­


    And Kathrine¡¯s soft hand felt really good on his arm.


    Looking up, he saw her shoulder dip as one half of Kathrine¡¯s dress began to slide off - exposing pale, bare skin underneath. Fay growled in irritation immediately after that, then stood up with arms straight out at her side.


    The subus twitched her tail back and forth with hesitation, but the drugged state she was in won over - and irritation was quickly reced again by a giggling fit. Slowly removing her skirt and letting it drop to the floor - exposing athletic thighs, she stepped over Riven¡¯s legs to straddle him - locking her arms around his neck while flushing violently against her usually sky-blue skin. ¡°You¡¯re pretty cute Riven¡­ did I ever tell you that? Or was it just in my head?¡±


    The subus nuzzled her nose against his own, then slowly nted a warm kiss along one cheek to hold it there.


    ¡°It was an aphrodisiac. A really good one!¡± Kathrine sloppily drawled, starting to get up only to trip and fall over her own feet when she tugged the other side of her dress down to expose her perky white breasts -nding on the other two and knocking both Riven and Fay to the floor in a pile of bodies.


    She grinned slyly,ying on the other two and pressing her body against theirs and letting the silence drag on for a while amidst their staring - hands starting to grope one another between the three of them and legs intertwining as the seconds ticked by.


    Dragging her hand over to Fay¡¯s, and then bringing it down to Riven¡¯sher regions - the vampire and subus simultaneously looked up at a rather stunned but obviously excited man underneath them. It only made Katherine¡¯s breathing pick up when she noticed. ¡°Oops! Sorry¡­ Didn¡¯t mean to. I promise!¡±


    ***


    Riven woke up the next morning to the sounds of chirping birds. Apparently they were still had flourishing poptions here even in the unholy-orientednds surrounding his altar, and he blinked with a loud yawn to clear his head.


    God did he have a headache.


    But the events ofst night were still mostly there¡­ they were just a little fuzzy.


    All four of them were absolutely naked, and thankfully it wasn¡¯t cold enough to matter that they didn¡¯t have any covers on. Kathrine was on her side facing him, drooling into a pillow to his right,pletely fried and almost dead to the world by the way she was snoring. Fay was on top of him, her very round blue breasts pushing into his chest with her bodyweight while she slept with a content smile - her two long legs encircling one of his own in a vice grip. On his left the elf ve Genua still had herrge ass propped up where she¡¯d passed out - face down in a pillow and wrists still bound, but he could at least remember that she¡¯d liked and even volunteered for it. She''d even said yes when asked if she wanted to partake of the drug.


    Riven¡­ didn¡¯t know what to think about what¡¯d happened. Nor did he really put much effort into figuring it out after a mental grin when he thought about what Jose would have said after seeing him like this. Fuck he missed that guy.


    It was a nice one night stand, and it¡¯d definitely blown off steam. He doubted it¡¯d happen again but he had no regrets, and it¡¯d be a memory he probably kept until the end of time. It was a damn good one.


    Getting up and letting the passed out subusy in the spot he¡¯d previously been in, he yawned and winced at the bright rays of sunlighting through the balcony. Sighing and picking Genua up, he dragged the still-sleeping older woman into the box cage set out for her. He cored the elf, locked the barred door after putting a pillow inside, and went over to tuck the other two women into bed.


    Coming over to a desk and pulling out some paper, he borrowed Kathrine¡¯s quill and wrote out a letter to let them know where he was going. Yawning one more time and exiting the balcony, he looked for one of the patrolling helicopters that often circled this area.


    It was time to pay Dawn and his sister a visit.

 Chapter 167

    Chapter 167


    <strong>Chapter 167</strong>


    Riven¡¯s stomach churned, and a seed of doubt had been nted. It was both unexpected, and unwanted, and he¡¯d forced the helicopter to turn back around only half an hour into their trip after telling Allie that he¡¯d beter than expected.


    ¡°Fuck I¡¯m such an idiot!¡± He mmed an open palm into his forehead and grit his teeth, scouring the isles of the Brightsville herbalist¡¯s market in search of a perfect set of flowers. ¡°God damn it, the first time I do this and it¡¯s on fucking drugs. She was just held hostage by some other guy and I¡¯m too much of an idiot to even think about staying!? FUCK me!¡±


    Azmoth patted his shoulderfortingly, trying to calm him down while people nearby gave him gawking stares or wary nces. ¡°It ok Riven. You¡¯ll be fine, she like you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah well I probably made her feel like shit after just up and leaving like that, I was just in too much of a hung over haze to even think straight and now¡­¡± He threw up his hands and spun around on hisrge armored summon, shaking his head in wonder at his own stupidity. ¡°Man, I¡¯m not even sure if she would have done what she did if she wasn¡¯t high on drugs herself. She might not even like me like that¡­¡±


    Doubt overshadowed him. He nced over at the bouquet of blue flowers positioned on a nearby stall, nervously fidgeting with his hands and looking like a schoolboy who¡¯d made a huge mistake. ¡°It might have just been the intoxication.¡±


    Azmoth let out a loud snort at that remark. ¡°Doubtful.¡±


    ¡°What if I fuck this up Azmoth?¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t.¡±¡°I might. And I might look really fucking stupid when I walk in there with flowers only for her justugh at me.¡±


    ¡°Riven.¡± Azmoth took ahold of both shoulders this time, then rapidly shook him back and forth like a rag doll. ¡°Stop. This. Now. Get flowers, go ask her. Just because subus does not mean she want only sex. Does not mean only drugs. Need ask, and assume the best.¡±


    Dim daylight trickled through gray clouds overhead, amon phenomenon due to his transformation zone of unholy attunement. ncing down at his fidgeting hands, Riven took in a deep breath and let it out to calm himself. ¡°I¡¯ve done far harder things than this. Get ahold of yourself man, grow a pair of balls.¡±


    Turning around and stalking over to the cashier who wore a frightened, pale look - he picked up three differently colored bouquets: one blue, one white, and one purple. ¡°How much for all of these?¡±


    ¡°M-my king¡­¡± the cashier stuttered with a bow, her portly frame nearly tipping over in the act. ¡°No need to buy-¡±


    He didn¡¯t have time to waste. mming a sack full of coins onto the counter that spilled out with gold and tinum, he leaned over with a fierce look in his eye. ¡°Tell me where the best date spot is for a first date. I''m talking an EPIC first date. Can you do that?¡±


    The startled woman¡¯s eyes went even wider, and she quickly nodded. ¡°Y-yes, there¡¯s a nice little restaurant on the river back near Baker¡¯s Bend¡­ Do you happen to know where that is?¡±


    ***


    Fay was curled up in her own room, alone. She¡¯d not wanted to talk to her brother at all after what¡¯d happened, and Kathrine had walked back to the altar as right as rain with a skip in her step to leave Fay - unknowingly - to think rather depressed thoughts.


    It wasn¡¯t that the sex had been bad. It¡¯d been beyond great, and it¡¯d been fun to involve Katherine and Genua too. But Riven had just gotten up and left the next morning without saying a word, like it was no big deal¡­ and to Fay, it was a very big deal. She¡¯d only spent less than half a year with Riven, but during that time she was quickly starting to care for him on a much deeper level than she¡¯d ever expected to before the contract had been signed. He was kind, he had a good heart, and he treated her like a person with real feelings. It was a first for her, and she¡¯d never had this kind of connection with her previous summoner. To her previous summoner, she¡¯d only been a sex toy.


    Maybe that¡¯s what she was to Riven too.


    Tears welled up under her eyes. She vividly remembered the feeling she¡¯d had upon realizing Riven hade to save her in that undergroundir where she¡¯d been abducted by Chalgathi cultists. Her heart had mmed in her chest so hard that she thought it¡¯d pop out and burst. He hadn¡¯t needed toe get her, he could have easily left her for another subus or another demon, but he¡¯d not onlye - he¡¯d alsoforted her. He¡¯d cared.


    Yeah, he¡¯d¡­ He¡¯d cared.


    Or maybe she was just being stupid.


    Sniffling and drawing up the covers to cover her face, she let out a sound akin to a dying cat amidst a stifled sob. ¡°I¡¯m so fucking stupid! Fucking, fucking, <em><strong>FUCKING</strong></em> stupid!¡±


    She sobbed again and punched the pillow with an angry, balled up fist, and then pped herself three times as self punishment for believing something that obviously was a falsehood. If Riven wanted to use her like that, it was his right. He was her summoner and she was a subus, she should expect this. Emotions weren¡¯t involved, she just had to swallow that fact and ept-


    A loud knock at the door interrupted her thoughts, and she sniffled again with red-rimmed eyes to re over her shoulder under small ck horns. Her voice quivered angrily as she spoke, but despite her attempt to hide the hurt she felt - it was still obvious she was very distraught. ¡°I s-said get lost Tupper! I¡¯m trying to sleep, ok!?¡±


    To her mounting rage, the door creaked open. With the fires of anger lit under her soul, she ripped herself off the bed and stormed over to the doorway to fling it open the rest of the way. Then she began to screech. ¡°TUPPER! I SAID-¡±


    Fay came to an abrupt halt mid sentence, her snarl leaving her lips while tears clung to her face. In the doorway, Riven stood holding three bouquets of very pretty flowers to his chest. He looked at her with shame, face turning a shade darker as he held his breath, and his crimson eyes slunk to the floor.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ Fay¡­ I need to talk to you. Can Ie in?¡±


    She remained speechless, still not fully dressed and only in undergarments. ¡°Aren¡¯t¡­ aren¡¯t you supposed to be seeing your sister?¡±


    Her words came out as a whisper, and she searched his face for a time before her eyesnded on the flowers again.


    Shamefaced and guilty, Riven avoided her stare until he mustered up the courage to speak again. ¡°I was supposed to, yes¡­ but I think this is more important. What happenedst night¡­ I wanted to talk to you about it. But, if I¡¯m being stupid and you don¡¯t feel the same way-¡±


    ¡°Feel what way?¡± Fay cut in, her voice cracking with pent up emotions as one hand clutched at her stomach.


    Hesitantly he looked back up. ¡°I¡­Well, these are for you.¡±


    He pushed the flowers over to her and stepped back, unsure of how she¡¯d react.


    Even she was unsure of how to react, and she took them in both arms while continuing to stare out at him - tears beginning to dry on her light blue skin.


    ¡°For me?¡± She repeated in a whisper, lips pursing together as her face scrunched up in an attempt not to cry again.


    Riven nodded, nervously clenching and unclenching his hands as he stood in the hallway. Taking in a deep breath, he settled his nerves and cleared his throat. ¡°Uhm, can I be blunt?¡±


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Fay slowly nodded, lips quivering.


    He let out another breath. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if what happenedst night was anything important to you, but I wasn¡¯t thinking straight when I left this morning. I was still hung over and the drugs were still somewhat in my system, and I was tired so my mind was hazy anyways. But on the chopper ride over I began to realize that I really care about you. And¡­ I mean if you don¡¯t feel that way too I can back off and pretend like this never happened, but¡­¡±


    He met her eyes again, losing his momentum when she didn¡¯t react. She hadn¡¯t reacted at all.


    She only stared. He paled beyond what was normal even for him, and his shoulders sagged. ¡°Sorry. This was a really, really stupid idea.¡±


    Giving Fay a half-hearted smile, he nodded once and stepped back. Clearing his throat one more time, he turned to go.


    And she let him go.


    Fay watched him wordlessly while he slowly meandered down the hall to where the spiral staircase was located. She watched without action as he muttered about how stupid he was under his breath, and watched as he mmed a palm into his face to drag it down his cheek before exiting the hall into the stairway.


    ***


    Riven was utterly defeated. His heart hurt, and the rejection had been so utterly brutal that he couldn''t even believe it.


    Jesus. He¡¯d really fucked this one up. Sighing and leaning against the outer wall of his manor, he lightly banged a fist against the wall and shook his head in silence. He¡¯d even made her cry because he¡¯d overstepped so badly. To think that she¡¯d had such a terrible reaction as one to fucking cry because he¡¯d wanted to ask her on a date was just devastating, and he turned his back to slide down the wall with a thud next under the shade of a nearby tree.


    Further into the garden, he saw Jose¡¯s tombstone. Giving it a thumbs up and a halfheartedugh, he caught the lump in his throat and covered his face with one hand. ¡°God damn it Jose. I¡¯ve always been terrible with girls. I wish you were here man. I wish you were here to give me that dumbass advice you always used to give, and even though it never worked it always was such a fucking self esteem boost!¡±


    He let out trueugh this time, still feeling the pit in his stomach like a thousand pounds of weight settling in to curl like a massive ball of anxiety. ¡°Damn. She might not even want to be contracted to me after this. Fuck man I didn¡¯t realize just how much I liked her¡­ and Ath is going to kill me when she gets back and realizes her friend doesn¡¯t want to be with us anymore because I¡¯m a creep. God damn it.¡±


    The sounds of birds continued to chirp overhead, just like they had earlier that morning. No doubt some sparrows had built a nest in the tree above, and from underneath the hand he was using to hide his face in shame - he felt bird shitnd on his boot.


    Looking down at the liquid white dung, he felt it an appropriate punishment for his stupidity. Fay was way too pretty to be with someone like him anyways. Wherever he went people lusted after her, so why the fuck would someone like that want to be with someone like him?


    A light breeze rustled his hair, and a momentter he felt the light touch of soft fingers on his hand alongside a nearby heartbeat. ¡°Riven?¡±


    Startled slightly, he looked up -ing face to face with Fay.


    ¡°Oh! Hey¡­¡± Riven awkwardly, nervously grinned back up at her before avoiding her gaze. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, for bothering you like that. It waspletely out of line. I shouldn¡¯t have¡­ I mean¡­ I was going to ask you on a date after I gave you the flowers and¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop.¡± Fay held up one finger to his lips, shushing him when he began to protest, and she slid down the wall to sit next to him with a quivering, uncertain smile. Her wings retracted into her body, and her thin ck tail flipped nervously from side to side. ¡°Just¡­ be quiet for a moment. Ok?¡±


    Riven promptly shut up, and his gaze faltered again.


    The two of them sat there, looking out over the garden in the shade of the trees and the manor under a slight breeze. He could still feel deep regret and shame flooding his mind, could still feel the bitter bite of that shocked look she had - and the utterck of response on her part after he¡¯d very stupidly confessed he¡¯d had a crush. All those times she¡¯d yed around with him, they¡¯d just been teasing. It¡¯d all just been fun and games with the littlements she¡¯d made here or there. She was a subus, he should have expected as much, and now he¡¯d made things very awkward between the two of them. She only wanted the sex, and nothing more.


    ¡°Riven, what do you see when you look at me?¡±


    Riven''s eyes narrowed, and he turned his gaze fully on the woman beside him who stared back at him with big, ck, doe eyes. ¡°What do I see when I look at you?¡±


    He repeated the question again in a half whisper, uncertain of what she was getting at, but she stayed silent. ¡°I see one of my good friends, and I see a girl way out of my league.¡±


    He gave an apologetic smile, this one being genuine. ¡°Fay¡­ I truly am sorry about earlier. I didn¡¯t ever mean to make things awkward. I had a stupid thought enter my head when we had sexst night and I just jumped the gun, but I promise it won¡¯t happen again. Please don¡¯t leave because of this¡­ Ath would kill me if you did.¡±


    Fay wordlessly continued to stare, mouth slightly opening - only to close again as she took in air and pushed her long white hair over one ear. Arms wrapped around her knees, she slowly turned to look at the ground in front of her feet, and tears began to trickle down her face again before she squinted her eyes shut hard.


    The ball of anxiety quickly returned to Riven¡¯s throat and gut. ¡°Hey¡­ I can go if you want me to. I can give you space, I just really-¡±


    Fay¡¯s hand whipped around and pped him full across the face, leaving a hard red handprintid out across his pale white skin. She was fuming, tears continuing to stream down while her hands shook at her sides. Getting up into a kneeling position, she red daggers at him like he was something she had nothing but hate for - and her breathing became loud and ragged within seconds.


    Shock, despair, and humiliation. Those were the three emotions that quickly crossed his mind, and all he could do was slowly nod without any words. Holding one hand to his bruised cheek, he began to climb to his feet - only to be yanked back down by the scruff of his shirt with one of Fay¡¯s slender hands.


    He let her pull him back, hitting the ground with his knees to stare in confusion back at her. No words were spoken while she fumed, continuing to shake and cry, only for her to gently reach up and touch his bruised face with a quivering hand.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± She muttered under her breath with a croak, using a voice that sounded like it¡¯d been crying too hard and too much for her to properly speak. ¡°I just needed to get that out.¡±


    Then she cupped his cheeks in both hands, drew herself into his embrace, and locked lips while softly pushing him into a sitting position.


    The warm touch of her skin on his as she kissed him was like a tidal wave of mixed emotions. First there was shock again, then confusion, and then finally a deep-set warmth and happiness that spread up through his abdomen and into his chest. His arms wrapped around her scantily d body, pulling her in more closely as she pushed herself towards him to straddle him.


    Gasping for breath secondster, she pulled back a few inches to stare into his eyes - searching for something in his returned gaze. ¡°You were really going to take me on a date?¡±


    Snapping himself out of his dumbstruck stance, he blinked a couple times and nodded. ¡°Yeah¡­ I was. Fay, please don¡¯t do this if you¡¯re just trying to appease me. Ok?¡±


    He tilted his head and gave her the most sincere, but also hesitant look he¡¯d ever given anybody. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this just because I¡¯m your contracted warlock. That¡¯s¡­ not what I¡¯d want.¡±


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    She hit him full across the face again, leaving a bruised handprint on the other side of his face to match the first.


    ¡°You¡¯re a fucking idiot!¡± Fay said, voice quivering as she reached down to his shirt and yanked. The fabric ripped, then it ripped again and then it finally tore. Pushing Riven violently to the ground, fay¡¯s tail whipped about her back and forth as she aggressively pressed her lips against his again - this time sticking her tongue into his mouth while her hands traveled across his toned chest and abdomen.


    When her own clothes started toe off and the moaning started, that¡¯s when the four onlookers from around the corner of the manor all started to snicker.


    Well, at least they gave their own versions of a snicker. Jackal¡¯s ears just pped up and down in its shadowy dog form, Azmoth gave the childish ¡®Tehehe¡¯ugh he used to do in earlier days back during his travels in Negrada, Luke just slowly pped with a grin.


    Jackal quickly followed, and Azmoth came next. But Azmoth had toe back and yank the old elf thrall away, before the sounds became even more passionate only ten secondster.


    ***


    Riven yet againy naked with Fay on his chest, only this time he was outside and underneath the shade of the garden''srgest tree. Running his fingers in and out of Fay''s silky white hair, she hummed in contentment while her own fingers traced his left bicep.


    ¡°So¡­ Are you still wanting to go?¡± Riven asked after a long time of rxation, turning his head to kiss her as she snuggled up into his arms. ¡°On the date I mean?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do silly! Just let me know when you¡¯ve got it nned.¡± Fay grinned widely back at him, then furrowed her brows before jolting upright. ¡°Wait, do you mean today!?¡±


    He let out a loudugh, nodding and sweeping the hair out of her face while tracing her cheek with one hand. ¡°That¡¯s what I meant, yes.¡±


    ¡°WELL OF COURSE I WANT TO GO! WHAT ARE WE STILL DOING HERE!?¡±


    Shooting to her feet, Fay almost fell over as she attempted to put on her panties and bra again. Cursing to herself under her breath, she swatted at him with her tail and red at him over her shoulder while he continued tough. ¡°You OWE ME for making me cry! So where are we going!?¡±


    Sighing with a smile, he let her pull him up and took her into a hug again while she jumped up repeatedly on her tiptoes like a little kid at a candy shop. ¡°I¡¯ve reserved a ce¡­ It¡¯s waiting for us now. Perks of being a king, or a prince, I guess. I don¡¯t want to ruin the surprise until we get there, and I¡¯m kind of bad at this dating thing¡­ but I think you¡¯ll like it. If this works out¡­ do I get to call you my girlfriend?¡±


    Riven wiggled his eyebrows enticingly her way, and she snorted augh before pinching him and shoving him back. ¡°First you have to get on something presentable, then you can try to woo me again afterwards. Go on! I expect only the fanciest outfits! And you BETTER NOT wear that ghastly armor of yours, it¡¯s scary. Even for me.¡±


    She lifted herself up on her tiptoes one more time, kissed him for the millionth time in the past hour, and winked. ¡°HURRY UP! We¡¯ve gotta go, and I''m super excited!!!¡±

 Chapter 168

    Chapter 168


    <strong>Chapter 168</strong>


    Allie stood in her usual soul-woven bone armor, staring with red eyes out of a skull mask with her thrumming wand twirling around in her hand at blurring speed. She¡¯d gotten the hang of flipping it around absentmindedly between her fingers and could now do it with one hand and not even bother looking.


    It was just a neat party trick, nothing more.


    Vin and Nin - the skresh necromancers stood beside the ghoul Mara in an underground cave a dozen miles outside Dawn¡¯s Capital: the city of Mandon. Therge cavern was easily big enough to house an entire legion, but that wasn¡¯ the purpose of this ce. Instead, it was merely aboratory - one that was hidden from the view of the normal popce, and a safe house for her to retreat to in case Dawn was less than trustworthy in days toe should she need a ce toy in hiding. It had dozens of tunnels through the underdark, found by some of her allies from Deepnest at her request, and essed the outer rim of Tereen¡¯snds as well. Most importantly one of these tunnels was incrediblyrge, and had been artificially dug all the way out to the surface to a hidden pit in a nearby forest.


    The size of that particr tunnel was going to be very important for what she had nned.


    Concerning Dawn: she could honestly say that the rtions with this human kingdom were going quite well. Trade had drastically increased, and the two kingdoms were more or less dependent on one another for certain valuable resources each had. The Thane Necropolis provided Dawn with numerous alchemy ingredients that could only be found in the unholy affiliatedndscapes surrounding Brightsville, such as death attuned herbs or feral ghoul body parts. Chicago also had arge amount of mana-infused salts along their coastline that were very good for improving enchantments on weapons. Then there was the direct ess to Deepnest, which provided both the Thane Necropolis and Dawn with valuable minerals in exchange for weapons and mercenaries for their stalemated war against the dwarves.


    On the other hand, Dawn was providing her forces with two things the Thane Necropolis very much wanted outside of the normal goods pedaling merchants often carried in their caravans. The first was something called ¡®Sky Ink¡¯ by the system, a treasure in its own right that allowed her mechanical units from Chicago to operate at a much higher level. Any mechanical units like cyborgs, machines, or even weapons would have their basic functions increased by a veryrge margin - though she didn¡¯t know where the king was getting this strange blue fluid either. Whatever the source was, Dawn had hidden it. The second thing they were trading were roc eggs - with each oneing at a very steep price in Elysium coins.


    But it''d be worth it one day when she was able to have her own roc riders flying overhead. Therge golden birds were just as fast as many of the helicopters and they were able to grow levels too, and some of them were inherently born with storm martial arts that produced lightning attacks.


    And that was all aside from all the elf and dwarf ves to man their farms, and bodies Allie had acquired from the wars. Both the war with Tereen elves, and the war with the dwarves in the underdark had resulted in massive amounts of casualties that further fueled her undead acquisition. The amount of undead that she¡¯d created from the bone garden had skyrocketed, and their necropolis was now numbering in the hundreds of thousands of undead due to the violence. It only served to make the necropolis all that much stronger - and the bone garden all that much more valuable.Not that her bone garden was a normal one. It also produced avenues of ess to off-world undead who weren¡¯t affiliated with any of the other multiverse major factions, ones that were below a certain level threshold, due to early quests in their war against prophet. It had been upgraded three times now, and losing it would mean a drastic decrease in undead output if she had to build a recement. A new one simply wouldn''t do as well, as these upgrades were all system-unique. There was the upgrade to allow off-world undead toe over, an upgrade she''d gotten for being the most notable native undead faction on the Panu that allowed for far less resource consumption per undead produced, and an upgrade she''d acquired for finishing a quest to sacrifice a city''s popce to the death pir. Thisst upgrade had been achieved using one of the elf cities, and though she didn''t like losing all those ves - the upgrade she''d got was more than worth it and allows for spontaneous upgrades to random undead who were within a zone of influence ranging 50 miles out around Brightsville.


    She snapped out of her thoughts when Gurth¡¯Rok and Dr. Brass entered through the tunnels, leading another five of Gurth¡¯Rok¡¯s own orc warriors along with another unfamiliar seven orcs with them. The unfamiliar warriors all wore blue painted feathers in their braided hair, and their tusks were slightly smaller than the orcs of the Yellow Skull Tribe that¡¯d been incorporated into the necropolis.


    Passing the huge pile of rotting bodies, skeletons, and the alchemyb set up that bubbled and hissed inrge vats and cauldrons to their right - the seven new recruits warily sidestepped a pair of heavily armored cyborgs that carried enchanted sma des on their backs and automatic rifles in their hands.


    ¡°All clear.¡± Came the voice of a scout on the outer lip of the entrance through the walkie talkie at Allie¡¯s side.


    Allie gestured for the seven orcs to step forward, passing some of therger vats of green bubbling liquid casting eerie light along the walls. Stopping alongside Mara, she pushed her wand and her hands into the dark pockets of her cloak.


    ¡°Kneel before our queen.¡± Gurth¡¯Rock said, his red eyes glinting in the dim light of the cavern and his wooden cobra staff mming into the stone floor.


    The seven neers did as he told them, getting on their knees to prostrate themselves. They did not speak until spoken to.


    ¡°Your tribe is called¡­ What was it¡­¡± Allie said, kneeling to examine some of the blue feathers adorning their braids by picking one up in a gauntleted hand. ¡°The Blue Hawk Tribe? Is that right? You may rise.¡±


    She let the feather and the man¡¯s braid go, standing as they did. She peered up at the taller orc chieftain in front of her, and curiously hummed to herself while circling him with light steps.


    ¡°Queen Allie Thane of the Thane Necropolis-¡± The orc chieftain bowed low, a very muscr man with a strongest jaw who carried an axe at his side. ¡°I am humbled that you would spare time to meet with me personally. Your reputation precedes you.¡±


    Allie giggled slightly,ing back around to stop in front of him with another twirl of her wand. ¡°And what reputation is that?¡±


    The orc chieftain didn¡¯t skip a beat, giving her a menacing smile. ¡°Your brutality, bloodlust, and ruthlessness. They are all qualities we desire in a leader - especially when they¡¯re directed towards high elves.¡±


    The other greenskins chuckled ruthlessly, and the orc chieftain gestured to two of his men. Together they dragged the body of a blonde elf man forward, still covered in blood and wearing what had once been pristine clothing that was now shredded. The pointed ears were still intact, but his eyes had been gouged out and the expression rested in a silent scream while a deep wound was torn across his chest. ¡°I present to you the prince of the Tereen. My n and I ambushed his honor guard when crossing the twin rivers to the northwest.¡±


    Allie took the body in her free hand, noting the tattoo of the royal family on the man¡¯s neck. Turning to Mara, she gestured to the marking while prodding it with her wand. ¡°Have our sources confirmed the prince¡¯s death?¡±


    Mara nodded. ¡°They have. That is the genuine article.¡±


    In response, Allie pulled out a sack of coins from her spatial bag and pped it into the outstretched palms of the orc chieftain representing the Blue Hawk tribe. Then she stored the body of the prince forter use. ¡°Very good. Here¡¯s your bounty, run along now.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­ My queen.¡± Gurth¡¯Rok interrupted, bowing low and hesitating with a nce the other orc chieftain¡¯s way. ¡°What about the other matter?¡±


    ¡°Other matter?¡± Allie asked, puzzled. She blinked twice, then snapped her fingers in realization. ¡°Oh yes. They can join the necropolis if they want to, but it¡¯s your responsibility to make sure their tribe amodates just like yours did. You¡¯ll be speaking for them Gurth¡¯Rok, I don¡¯t want any more incidents like thest one where your soldiers were caught torturing a ve. I¡¯d hate to hang more of them from the tower as another disy of what happens to those who damage the property of the crown.¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    Gurth¡¯Rok grimaced slightly, but nodded - and the other orcs present remained absolutely silent while he spoke. ¡°Of course your majesty, I will make sure they understand the consequences of damaging any of your ves again and I will let them know what the norms of our country are. Do I have permission to take funds and build another residential area?¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Likely renovated buildings from Brightsville itself.¡±


    ¡°Then yes you do.¡±


    ¡°And the other stipend? I had promised the chieftain of the Blue Hawks tribe that he¡¯d be paid for integrating his people, as is your policy. They bring another two thousand orcs ready to serve you, most of them being civilians as their numbers were culled by the Teleen.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. Sorry, my mind has been elsewheretely ever since I enrolled in the academy.¡± Allie pulled out yet another bag of coins, this one much bigger than the first - which she tossed onto the ground for the greenskin leaders to pick up.


    ¡°Thank you my queen!¡± Gurth¡¯Rok replied happily while the other greenskins of both tribes both grinned widely. They were just happy to have more of their own kin now, as both of their tribes had been almost decimated during the early integration. It was the fourth orc tribe to join, and their numbers were growing fast. ¡°You will not regret this! Our people are steadfast in our loyalty and your kindness will not go unreciprocated! Now if you do not mind, I need to attend a hunt. My people are tracking Locust Wraiths spawned in the outer reaches of ournds, and they rapidly breed with other feral undead to produce small swarms if not put down.¡±


    Allie nodded, then waved them away with a shooing motion rather impatiently. The orcs packed up and left,ughing to one another and speaking excitedly about what to expect when moving into the suburbs of Brightsville that were being rebuilt and renovated as more people moved in from the surrounding wilnds or other less well-protected areas.


    Then when they¡¯d finally left, Allie motioned to the two elite cyborgs nearby. One was female, the other was male, and both wore very stern looks of hardened military veterans with various metal pieces incorporated into their bodies. ¡°Follow the Blue Hawk leadership after Gurth¡¯Rok lets them depart. If they seem to be galivanting off with the money given to them and don¡¯t take a route headed towards the necropolis, assassinate them and bring the money back. I don¡¯t want a repeat of the Bloodhound Tribe¡¯s treachery where they stole a bunch of money and ran off with it.¡±


    Both cyborgs silently nodded, then activated stealth fields and disappeared entirely. The only reason Allie knew they were there was due to their heartbeats that continued to disappear down the cavern and then out a tunnel exit the way the orcs had departed.


    ¡°Back to the drawing board!¡± Allie turned heel towards the center of the cavern, and as she did her friends Vin and Nin activated the sigils that¡¯d been ced there. ¡°Is it ready?¡±


    The sigils on the stone floor glowed a faint neon teal, shimmering with ck wisps as death mana poured into the magical construct and bs of stone began to rise at intervals akin to an evil stone-henge.


    The loud bubbling of the chemical vats nearby came up an octave when lines of power connecting them and the sigils began to intertwine, and Vin nodded expectantly while rubbing his skeletal hands together. ¡°Yes Allie, we¡¯re good to go! Do you have the corpse?¡±


    Allie nodded, walking over to the circle - lifted a hand, and withdrew a small bauble. One that Riven had gifted to her after defeated and containing the dungeon boss after saving Hakim¡¯s team across the.


    Then, smashing it between her fingers almost effortlessly, the corpse appeared before her.


    The drake was enormous, farrger than she¡¯d thought it would be - an it almost instantly took up half the cavern. It was only just big enough to fit on the runic sigils and inbetween the pirs of stone, and she nodded approvingly at the scaled blue behemoth while noting the wounds still kept fresh by the time freeze her spatial sack had.


    ¡°Riven killed this thing huh?¡± Allie muttered, rubbing at her neck and giddily skipping backwards to the edge of the runic circlets while pping her hands together. Then, with hand stretched to the right, Mara ced a soul stone they¡¯d crafted together just for this particr asion from abination of soul shards.


    With a recent breakthrough Allie could now say that - though she couldn¡¯tpletely resurrect people yet without damage to the original soul, she could mix-and-match different pieces of souls and imbue these newly created true souls into bodies. It was a grand step in the direction ofplete revival, and was supposedly not often done even in the outer reaches of the multiverse.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know of anyone who canpletely revive a soul from true death without immense cost to themselves.¡± Kathrine had told Allie months ago when she¡¯d asked.


    Well fuck that. Not just anyone had a 100% affinity to the death pir either. Other people might not be able to do it, but Allie was hellbent on figuring out a way.


    Mara nudged Allie with a wide smile. ¡°Good luck! I¡¯m excited. To your first ¡®Captain¡¯ undead!¡±


    Captain Undead minion slots were those reserved by Allie¡¯s swarm necromancer ss. She had two of these slots. The ¡®captains¡¯, which she hadn¡¯t sessfully created until now, were supposed to be intelligent and could control the other undead shemanded alongside giving her swarm amand stat buff whenever they were nearby. However, she¡¯d failed every time when trying to create a ¡®captain¡¯ type undead, as it required the soul to remainpletely intact while simultaneously controlling them.


    But that problem was now gone. Mostly, anyways.


    ¡°Here goes nothing.¡± Allie cracked her neck, then concentrated on the unique soul she and Mara had infused into the soul stone sped between her fingers. The stone lit up, bing a bright neon teal that red and pulsed over and over again with each infusion she channeled into it. Cracks started appearing on the stone one after the other, little pieces of crystal chipping off of it and falling to the ground until eventually - suddenly - it burst.


    Blinding teal light roared to life as the uniquely crafted soul - a true chimera masterpiece created from their most deadly enemies - was let loose and directed into the body of the drake. Power flowed and pulsed, charging forward and mming into the huge blue-scaled monster.


    The corpse shivered and trembled.


    The ground shook with the infusion of necromantic power.


    The runes along the stone pirs and cavern floor lit up and pulsed from teal to white.


    Scales began to fall off the massive dead beast, leaving behind exposed flesh that crackled and tore at the air with smoldering necromancy. Diseased flesh rotted away and was reced with thick cords of ck miasma. Membranes along the wings decayed and fell away, only to be reced with a simr ck power that stretched between exposed bones - integrating little trickles of neon teal light like blood vessels would do.


    The drake then opened its eyes to reveal a dull gray-white color, and the undead creature slowly rose to its feet.


    <strong>[You have created a new minion with additional boost enchantments to the soul aperture. New minion¡¯s soul has been fed numerous other souls to strengthen its core. Affinity with body is still intact due to 43% of current soul being utilized from previously deceased drake. Your minion¡¯s affinity to the Death Pir has increased after being imbued with your blood. New Captain Minion has been applied to your status page and can control all other minions you possess as long as those orders do not contradict your own:</strong>


    <strong>Undead Drake, Level 60, Unnamed</strong>


    <strong>Ability Synopsis is shown below, see individual status page for this minion for more details:</strong><ul><li><strong>Deathfire st - Breath death-attuned mes at your enemies</strong></li><li><strong>Winds of Rot - Cast a billowing torrent of ck winds that rot away your enemies, or use it to boost your own speed</strong></li><li><strong>Wraithflight - Increases flight movement drastically by turning your body into a wraith¡¯s form, can move inbetween thend of the dead and the living at will at high mana cost, affects any adjacent items or riders</strong></li><li><strong>Pulsating Roar - This martial art sends a shockwave of kic energy at your enemies and potentially silences them for a short time</strong></li><li><strong>Unholy sh - Imbue your ws with unholy energy, empowering your sh attack for additional speed and physical damage]</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°Bravo.¡± Mara muttered under her breath while slowly pping, watching the titanic monster stand to its full height - though it had a hard time stretching its wings out without touching the cavern ceiling. ¡°Bravo, bravo, bravo¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah baby!¡± Allie humphed triumphantly while the other undead around the room cheered or gawked, and let the drake¡¯s enormous skeletal head drive itself forward to get a better look at her.


    A deep rumbling sound came from the monstrous, zombiefied, skeletal drake - and it breathed a brief bought of mes out its nostrils while side-eyeing her when it turned its head. The eye itself wasrger than she was, but it centered on her position with intent.


    When it spoke, the noise was like a demonic hiss that echoed through the caves and tunnels beyond. ¡°You are¡­ Master.¡±


    ¡°Allie Thane, and yes. I am the one who created you.¡±


    The drake picked its head up to look at her from another angle, then let off another rumbling sound. ¡°Allie Thane¡­ is a good name. My memories are¡­ jumbled. My understanding of this world is¡­ limited. Please advise me on what my purpose is, and what I was created to do.¡±


    ¡°Your purpose is to serve me.¡± Allie replied, staring up at therge creature with a devilish gleam in her eye. ¡°And your first order of business is to educate yourself.¡±


    Allie gestured over to Vin and Nin, the two skeletal humanoids. ¡°They will be your tutors here in the cavern while I¡¯m gone. Learn about what our situation is, about the world outside, and I will be back to im you in due time. As for the rest of you¡­¡±


    She turned heel to stare at the others who¡¯d gathered here in the cavern, witnesses to her new mount¡¯s birth. ¡°Prepare yourselves for an assault, you¡¯ll all being with me in uing days. Riven will be too, but he¡¯s currently on a long-needed date and I have my own ns at the academy. So it¡¯ll wait. The assault will take ce in two days.¡±


    ¡°Assault?¡± Mara asked curiously, shoving her hands into her pockets with another side-eye at therge draconic creature looming over them. ¡°This is the first time I''m hearing about it. Who are we attacking? Are you and Riven going to break the front line stalemate with the Tereen?¡±


    Allie shook her head. ¡°No, we¡¯re going to let our own forces continue that fight. They need the levels, the system rewards those who kill and champions will rise from this war. No need for myself or Riven to get involved because we¡¯d simply end a good opportunity. No, we are going to be attacking the dungeon who is supporting the Tereen. Dungeon Alibast, and I hear it has lots and lots of treasures.¡±

 Chapter 169

    Chapter 169


    <strong>Chapter 169</strong>


    The barely present drizzle sshed along the cement pathway leading them along the river¡¯s edge. A metal railing separated them from a small drop off into the water below, and numerous restaurants that¡¯d re-opened along the riverwalk were now in full bloom with people sitting underneath umbres while eating or drinking. Flowers even lined the roadside, and there was a guard patrol in case any monsters managed to make it this far into the city.


    It was a rarity now that the city was underplete control, but the city was big and a lot of the poption had been culled upon integration - so there were still a few spots here or there that just simply hadn¡¯t been swept yet.


    That being said, Brightsville was pretty safe since the Thane siblings had taken over. There were even human kids running around and ying on a nearby yground with their parents¡­ and this in turn made Riven think of the little elf girl Len.


    Fay¡¯s hand tightened around his own, and she pulled him closer while they walked - catching a lot of attention from other couples taking a stroll or people dining nearby along the riverwalk. ¡°Are you ok? We¡¯ve been having such a good time! Why so down!?¡±


    Taking arge bite out of the chocte ice cream cone and tugging on Riven¡¯s hand to get his attention, she leaned over and kissed him with a wide smile. ¡°And the restaurant was really nice. Thanks for the date Riven, this has been a great experience. I hope to repeat it again. Also - the suit really fits you well!¡±


    Yeah. Now was not the time to think about the elves. He¡¯d just need to introduce those programs and get it rolling so it was out of his hands.


    Turning to face the beauty beside him, he let go of her hand while they walked and slung his arm around her shoulders to bring her in - passing by another couple who shot them wary smiles. Then,ing up to a bench where they could sit, Riven motioned for her to sit after wiping the bench off of rain as best he could. Holding an umbre out so they wouldn¡¯t get wet, he joined her shortly after and sat down to take in the view. ¡°Thanks Fay. I¡¯ve got to admit, I haven¡¯t worn a suit like this in many years now.¡±


    He grinned, gesturing to the red tie and ck suit jacket he had one while crossing his legs. ¡°Many years.¡±¡°But why!? You look so good in it!¡±


    Riven snorted and out of nowhere ripped the icecream cone out of her hand - causing her to gasp as he snarfed thest of it down.


    ¡°HEY!¡± Fay jabbed him in the rib while he began to cackle through mouthfuls of food, her jaw hanging down in fake disbelief before she too began tough. ¡°You jerk! You owe me another!¡±


    ¡°Fay you¡¯ve already had three! You¡¯re going to get fat, I¡¯m just saving you from that fate by eating all your calories for you.¡±


    ¡°AM NOT! Have you ever seen a fat subus?!¡±


    ¡°No but I don¡¯t usually meet many subi, so you can¡¯t hold me to that standard!¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯ll have you know that I won''t get fat no matter WHAT I eat! MY METABOLISM IS GOD LEVEL RIVEN! GOD LEVEL!¡± She gave him a rather rude gesture with one middle finger and then licked some chocte remnants off his face before shoving him off the bench and into the rain. Snatching the umbre as heughed, she humphed and crossed her legs while ring down at him. ¡°Oh get up! You¡¯re going to make me look bad if you just sit there, all these people are going to think I¡¯mmitting treason or something by attacking you.¡±


    He covered his face to subdue a belch, then stood up and brushed off his suit while enjoying the slight drizzle. ¡°Maybe I should call the guards over and have you arrested. Oohhh¡­ They could handcuff you and stuff you in my room so I could deal with youter.¡±


    ¡°I actually kind of like that idea.¡± She winked, then pat the bench and took on a more serious expression. ¡°Hey, Riven¡­ Can we talk?¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows lifted, then he nodded and came to sat next to her. ¡°Yes?¡±


    Fay fidgeted for a bit, then huffed and turned her entire body to face him with one knee tucked under her body. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about¡­ us. And about what happened - HEY! Stop that sad expression RIGHT NOW! That¡¯s not what I mean!¡±


    She pooched her lips and scowled until his frown departed, and she reached out to grip his hand tightly while leaning forward. ¡°Don¡¯t even think I¡¯m trying to put you down easy. That¡¯s not it at all and what we talked about earlier is true. But there is a topic surrounding this that we need to discuss, and it¡¯s an important one. It¡¯s Ath.¡±


    ¡°Ath?¡± Riven repeated, unsure of what to think. ¡°What does Ath have to do with¡­¡±


    His words trailed off as she stared at him, and he eventually shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think she likes me like that.¡±


    ¡°Riven, don¡¯t be an idiot.¡± Fay cocked her head to the side and her lips thinned into a straight line. ¡°You love her. I saw the video footage where you said you did.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Is that what this is about?¡± Riven shrugged helplessly. ¡°Well I do love her. She¡¯s my very best friend. I¡¯d die for her without a thought if it came down to a choice. Is this a jealousy thing because I¡¯m close with her?¡±


    Fay leaned back, closing her eyes and gathered herself. ¡°Yes, Riven, I know. And I don¡¯t expect that to change. What I¡¯m saying is that she¡¯s got her sights set on you.¡±


    ¡°Doubtful.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious.¡±


    ¡°Has she ever even once told you so?¡±


    Fay hesitated, then shook her head. ¡°No¡­ but I can tell.¡±


    Riven smirked, then leaned back to put his arms behind him over the rim of the bench. Looking out over the river, he stayed motionless for a time while pondering what to say next. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re right. She probably has some actual spider lover in theher realms.¡±


    ¡°And what if I am right?¡± Fay asked bluntly. ¡°If Ath came to you tomorrow, if she told you that she wanted you to be with her instead of me¡­ What would you do? Would you pick me - or her?¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows furrowed, and he stared at Fay for a long moment. ¡°Fay¡­ Ath and I aren¡¯t like that-¡±


    She held up a hand to silence him, pushing her fingers up against his lips. Huffing again, it was her turn to shake her head - causing her long white hair to flow back and forth. ¡°You asked me earlier if you could be blunt with me. Now let me be blunt with you. I like you a lot, Riven. I¡¯m falling in love with who you are. But let¡¯s be realistic, I¡¯m a subus and you¡¯re a summoner-¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°That has nothing to do with anything.¡± Riven said angrily, pushing her hand away and ring at her. ¡°How can you even say that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that we can¡¯t have a rtionship of some kind.¡± Fay rified, keeping eye contact. ¡°But I am saying that putting abel on it so early would be bad. I know you joked about calling me your girlfriend, and honestly my heart just wanted to jump right out of my chest and hug you for it! But it¡¯d be idiotic to do that. To make it exclusive would put a target on my back, and if I¡¯m right about Ath she¡¯d never forgive me for stealing you when we find a way to bring her back.¡±


    Riven¡¯s scowl deepened, but he didn¡¯t get mad or raise his voice despite being irked by her words. He hesitated, then shook his head again as his eyes fell. ¡°Was bringing you here a mistake?¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± Fay eximed, gripping his arm hard and tugging on him to get his attention. ¡°Stop it! Fucking stop it, ok!? That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying¡­ God damn it. Please just listen and stop interrupting, ok?¡±


    Riven looked up, still frowning, but remained silent and waited for her to finish.


    She huffed once more, straightened her shoulders, and held her head high. ¡°Here¡¯s me being blunt. You are a prince of an intergctic multidimensional empire run by some of the most powerful vampires in existence. You are a prince of an S-grade faction, and I¡¯m not talking about S-grade like how you were S-grade here or how Allie is S-grade now. Those areary grades. I¡¯m talking about S-grade by multiverse standards. Riven, I¡¯d be assassinated within a year if you let it be known that I was your official girlfriend - let alone wife. And it¡¯d be a permanent assassination, likely from some other woman who wanted to get your attention whoes from a rich and powerful family much farther up the foodchain than my own. A prince of the Blood Moon Requiem is a very steep prize to attain, and you¡¯re going to have a lot of women try to draw your attention.¡±


    Riven opened his mouth to protest, but she shut him up again with another finger to his lips.


    ¡°Nope, not finished.¡± She stated with a sad smile. ¡°Let me give an example. You already have Kathrine here who is DEFINITELY trying to gain your favor, and by the way she skipped off this morning so full of energy after havingid with you;st night is no doubt in her mind a political sess.¡±


    ¡°Kathrine wouldn¡¯t have you assassinated, Fay.¡±


    ¡°Oh she wouldn¡¯t!?¡± Fay drew her hands back and ced them on her hips, letting go of the umbre only for Riven to catch it and hold it upright. ¡°Let me ask you this Riven, why wouldn¡¯t she? Untilst night she¡¯d utterly failed at establishing a connection with you, she¡¯s a very minor princess of a branch family WITHOUT the gift of malignant prophecy, and if she doesn''t seed here by their high queen¡¯s standards - she and her entire family will be executed. Killed. Murdered forck of results. I have zero doubt in my mind that if she thinks I¡¯m in her way, she¡¯ll not even think twice about getting rid of me one way or the other. You may not THINK it¡¯s her when I¡¯m dead, but that wouldn¡¯t change the reality of it. She is going to be doing everything in her power to get you hitched, engaged, whatever you want to call it - or at the very least she¡¯s going to want to be your concubine.¡±


    Riven snorted augh and rolled his eyes. ¡°I think she has higher sights set than bing someone¡¯s concubine. As you said, she¡¯s princess of-¡±


    ¡°A MINOR princess! She isn¡¯t anyone of importance on the grand scale of things! At least not whenpared to you! You just don¡¯t see it now because you¡¯re stuck on this little rock of a, you haven¡¯t seen the scale and gravity of the empire your family rules over!¡± Fay stated loudly, holding her hands out to either side to emphasize her words. ¡°Look, Riven, I¡¯m not going to sit here and argue with you about this. All I¡¯m saying is that putting an officialbel on it would be bad for multiple reasons. I absolutely adore you and I want to be with you, but making me the sole recipient of your affections would mean a very bad time for me.¡±


    Riven blinked. ¡°Fay, are you telling me that I should also be sleeping with other women?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s precisely what I¡¯m saying.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be jealous of that?¡±


    ¡°Did I seem jealous when you were making love with Kathrine and Genuast night?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow, and Fay started to blush profusely before folding her arms and ring at him.


    ¡°OK I might have been a little bit jealous from time to timest night, I admit it. But still - I¡¯m not stupid enough to officiallybel myself and then get myself killed. All I want from you is your affection, your genuine affection, and¡­¡± Her voice trailed off, be faint while her blush grew stronger and her eyes darted to the ground.


    ¡°And what?¡± Riven asked, somewhat amused.


    ¡°And for you to love me. Eventually, I mean. I know you probably don¡¯t love me NOW, not yet anyway¡­¡± Fay gave him a sheepish smile and sped her hands in front of her chest. ¡°But I want to get there, one day! Beyond anything else, I just want true emotion involved. Emotion between us, a real connection - and for you to not view me as just a thing to use. I want to be loved, and I want to love in turn. Eventually.¡±


    He snorted, and reached out to pull her into a hug. Rubbing her back and feeling her sigh in contentment, he leaned back again and brushed the hair out of her face while continuing to maintain eye contact. ¡°Fay¡­ I¡¯m not really sure about all that.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean that, although I¡¯m certainly not entirely opposed to the idea of being with multiple women - what straight guy wouldn¡¯t like that¡­ I just don¡¯t know if it¡¯s what I really want in the end.¡± He gave her a shrug, then put his hands on his knees and sighed. ¡°It¡¯d be great for the bachelor¡¯s life, and god knows my sex life has beencking. Last night was amazing. But when ites to truly dating someone, and starting a genuinely caring rtionship with someone, I¡¯ve always wanted to be with a person who knows me intimately. I¡¯ve always had a vision of growing old with that person and having kids, and not needing to worry about being cheated on or lusting after other women. I want a soulmate, not just someone who I get to fuck. So to reiterate: although I did have a great time yesterday and wouldn¡¯t mind repeating it here or there, I am looking for someone who I can give my all to as a lifelong partner.¡±


    ¡°But what if you could have that with more than one person?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I could. Maybe, but it feels dirty to think about it.¡±


    ¡°What if it did work though, theoretically? That you could feel that way about multiple people at once?¡±


    Riven pondered this for a while and scratched his chin, waving to another passing family further on the path. ¡°Theoretically it would be fine, except that I wouldn¡¯t want those people bing jealous of each other either. Realistically I don¡¯t feel like it¡¯d be an easy thing to find because one person or multiple people are always going to feel like they¡¯re being neglected. I¡¯ve had friends who were inmitted ¡®open rtionships¡¯ before, and they almost always fell through because one person would always get jealous. OR, even worse, one person would fall out of love and find someone else.¡±


    Fay hesitated. ¡°I see. I¡¯m not entirely disagreeing with you either. Just¡­ keep an open mind for now. I want you, and I want to be with you, just¡­ let¡¯s keep it out of the public eye for now until you, I and Ath have a chance to talk about it together. Bare minimum. Then after that, we can discuss things like Kathrine, the tens of thousands of other subi currently asking to be your familiar right now, and intergctic politics that will involve themselves in the form of hungry brides wanting a bite out of an S-tier faction prince.¡±


    Riven shot her another wary look. ¡°I like you a lot Fay, but I¡¯m not entirely sure I want the same thing you do. I¡¯ll do as you say and keep an open mind for now¡­ and I¡¯ll talk with Ath even knowing she doesn¡¯t feel that way about me. But is this about something else? Like, are you into girls? Is that it?¡±


    Fay rolled her eyes dramatically. ¡°Somewhat, but that literally has nothing to do with what we¡¯re talking about. Riven, Do you trust me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then trust that everything I¡¯ve said is the absolute truth.¡± She squeezed his hands and pulled him into another kiss, getting an exmation of ¡®EWWWW¡¯ from a little boy who¡¯d been walking by - only to have his parents quickly usher him away while others on the sidelines chuckled.


    Fay pulled back, gave Riven another peck on the forehead, and softly pinched his cheek. ¡°I¡¯m falling for you, hard. I have been for a while. Trust me, this is not me pushing you away. I want you more than you know, it¡¯s just that¡­ things are moreplicated because of who you are. Now, are you ready to take me on that big wheel in the sky over there or not?¡±


    Riven grinned, then gestured for her to stand. ¡°It¡¯s called a ferris wheel, and yes. I¡¯m ready. Let¡¯s grab another two ice cream cones though.¡±


    She held up three fingers with gusto. ¡°THREE ICE CREAM CONES!¡±


    Heughed. ¡°Three it is then. Nowe on, there¡¯s a lot more to show you about human Earth culture.¡±

 Chapter 170

    Chapter 170


    <strong>Chapter 170</strong>


    YEAR 1 SCHEDULE:


    Beginners Magic Theory ¨C Instructors Kremsin Bots and Ori Orumi<ul><li>Mornings</li></ul>


    Beginners Battle Abilities 1: Applications of Magic, Miracles, and Martial Arts ¨C


    Instructors Jaimest Vorvus and Thoi Jorsem<ul><li>Afternoons</li></ul>


    Beginners Battle Abilities 2: Combined Warfare Tactics ¨C Instructor Mince Quarteple<ul><li>Afternoons</li></ul>


    Combined Combat ss ¨C Instructors Nester Rose, Jokzofrie Belfast, and Jupis Astirith<ul><li>Evenings</li></ul>


    Beginners Healing ¨C Instructors Nuthak Ororin and Jan Wetzle<ul><li>Evenings</li></ul>


    Lahn Lucio put his parchment away in the bright lighting of the academy hall, stuffing the schedule into his bag with his right hand as he struggled to maintain bnce with his left despite it being shriveled and weak. His matted brown hair was damp from the rain, and the family maid assigned to him had been pulled off her duty to attend to his brother instead - per his brother¡¯s request. No doubt to cause Lahn even more trouble getting to ss on time, as his two siblings were always trying to find ways to make his life harder. For what reason: Lahn didn¡¯t know. Perhaps they were embarrassed he was here, perhaps they were just malicious, but regardless of the why - the results were always the same.At the very least they were years ahead of him, so his sses were devoid of their harassments. Mostly.


    He¡¯d gone to his Beginners Magic Theory and Battle Abilities courses earlier that morning, and had been disappointed to see that Allie¡¯d skipped out again. She usually skipped Beginners Battle Abilities 1 after the incident with Instructor Thoi Jorsem, but the other courses she often attended. asionally she¡¯d miss due to ¡®family matters¡¯, as did many of the other nobles who were inheriting their parent¡¯s estates, but she was certainly an outlier for how often it happened.


    And seeing as she was one of only a few people who gave him the time of day and didn¡¯t shun him outright, Lahn had grown very fond of his new friend - always disappointed when he ended up sitting in ss alone.


    So he took in a deep breath, alreadyte to Combined Combat ss - as if HE would ever seebat, and rattled the door.


    The metal knob squeaked and turned, and it took a good bit of effort he managed to push the door open and wheel the rolling chair he used into the crack before it shut. Inside he could already see that the ss had started - with numerous people getting into groups and firing off basic projectiles of different sources towards a target at the back of the gymnasium.


    ¡°Late again, Mr. Lucio?¡± A motherly voice called out from the right, and he managed to push himself through the door entirely when the teacher strode over and helped open the heavy wooden obstacle.


    Instructor Nester Rose was the kindest of the three Combined Combat instructors. She was middle aged, redheaded, and was a verymitted teacher - even for someone like him. ¡°Come now Mr. Lucio, we can¡¯t have you always beingte just because your siblings steal your help. You need to leave earlier. Ovee, adapt, and struggle against the odds - I have faith you will one day see sess.¡±


    These were some of the kindest words he¡¯d ever heard from his teachers, and she always told him thus any time he camete. She knew what he was going through, and he gave a smile of appreciation to the encouragement. ¡°Thanks Instructor Rose, I appreciate it.¡±


    The middle aged woman wiped down her finely made, richly colored blue robes and nodded with a thin-lipped smile. ¡°Very good. Now, find a group to join and get started. We¡¯re practicing projectile magics today. I know you have at least one.¡±


    Lahn sighed and nodded with a grimace. ¡°Yes Instructor Rose. I do.¡±


    ¡°Very good. Now move along, you¡¯ve already missed a third of the ss.¡±


    Nodding and wheeling himself further into the room, the instructor left to go attend to other trainees in the gym. Half of the ss was on his right, half was on his left, and they were all facing away from him as they practiced their various spells and miracles. There were even a few martial arts being practiced, but most of these included projectiles like arrows that were infused with power rather than an outright energy projectile that the other types of energy produced.


    Though there were always exceptions to every rule.


    He scanned the room, looking for a very particr person, until his eyesnded on her. His face brightened and he quickly began to wheel himself towards the back left corner where Allie was currently leaning against a wall, looking bored as would-be male suitors of various noble houses tried to talk to her and gain her attention. They looked like flies drawn to a corpse the way they swarmed her, and the reason it¡¯d taken Lahn so long to find her was because of just how packed it was over on this side.


    That and he was in a sitting position and it was hard to get a good view.


    ¡°This spot is taken.¡± A snobby female voice sourly called out when he neared one of the groups to pass them by, an orange-haired young woman in bright yellow judgingly ring at him as he gave a sheepish smile and continued on.


    It wasn¡¯t like he was wanting to ask that group anyway. He knew Preci was a jerk and wouldn¡¯t have taken him unless he groveled.


    Struggling and breathing hard now after the exertion of wheeling himself across campus with only one arm, asionally needing to correct his direction by reaching over to the other side and take the left wheel with his right hand. It truly was a struggle.


    Huffing and puffing, he came across another young man who only red down at him, refusing to move, so Lucio had to wheel around him and then tried to make for a straight line in Allie¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Allie!¡± Lahn called out excitedly, getting a few res or mockingughter from some of the men surrounding her position. He ignored them. ¡°Hey Allie!¡±


    The room was loud, and she didn¡¯t hear him despite his two attempts while she continued to watch in boredom while some of the other young men tried to impress her with disys of their own fireballs, tiny icences, holy smites, or sparks of electricity. Instead, one of the men who was already looking disgruntled by being shoved to the back of the crowd around her took notice.


    It was none other than Gleetus Nefrand.


    God how Lahn hated this guy. But Gleetus¡¯ own frown of annoyance quickly turned to wicked malice when noticing Lahn, and his pristine victorian-styled jacket -plete with buttons and a frill - was adjusted quickly before Gleetus began walking in Lahn¡¯s direction. Gleetus took ab and touched up his already perfectly gelled brown hair, eyes narrowing like a snake ready to strike, before stopping directly in front of Lahn with a sneer.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Gleetus asked in a low hiss, his hands sped behind his back and his chest puffed out arrogantly. One finely made boot tapped on the gymnasium floor, as if impatiently waiting for an answer even though he¡¯d only just asked. ¡°Lady Wraithtide is busy. You¡¯ll have toe backter after more suitable men speak with her first. If you are trying to woo her, don¡¯t bother. No one would want to court a cripple like you - Lucio.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to woo anyone! She¡¯s just my friend!¡± Lahn retorted in a half snarl, barely containing his anger. He tried to wheel around Gleetus, only for the bigger man to step in front of him again. ¡°Get out of my way Gleetus! Allie and I always partner up!¡±


    ¡°Hardly.¡± Gleetus said down the bridge of his nose in a nasally sigh. Then he inspected his nails, one by one, enjoying every second of being in a position of power over Lahn. ¡°You barely know her. Do not act like she is your friend. I realize you¡¯re desperate for any kind of social interaction, even your maids don¡¯t want to be near you. I feel sorry for your siblings, having the family name marred by one such as you. Your lies about being on good terms with Lady Wraithtide only further insult that name. Begone, before I report your misgivings to your elder brother again. I¡¯m sure he¡¯d not want to here you¡¯re dragging their reputation through the mud once more.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not desperate.¡± Lahn growled through gritted teeth, ring up hatefully at his long-time nemesis. ¡°And I¡¯m not trying to court her. I know she wouldn¡¯t want to be with someone like me, I am merely her friend. That¡¯s all. Just because you¡¯re at the back of the line and can¡¯t get a good spot with all these other guys jockeying for position doesn¡¯t mean you need to take it out on me.¡±


    Lahn had obviously hit the nail right on the head, by the way Gleetus froze in ce and began to redden in the face.


    Stepping forward menacingly and hissing low so that only Lahn could hear him, his eyes were barely slits - and his hands trembled. ¡°Watch your insolent mouth, Lucio, or I will break that other leg of yours so you know your ce.¡±


    ¡°LAHN!¡± Allie¡¯s voice called out excitedly from behind, and Gleetus abruptly straightened and turned around with a wide, bright smile to intercept.


    ¡°Lady Wraithtide!¡± Gleetus said sweetly while stepping in front of her as she pushed her way through the crowd. ¡°I¡¯d been hoping-¡±


    She merely walked around Gleetus,pletely ignoring him like he wasn¡¯t even there, and knelt in front of Lahn¡¯s wheelchair with a brilliantly white smile. The way she walked, the formfitting leathers she wore that were far different than mostdies of the court, the way her hips moved, the way her perfect features shown like the sun and her blue eyes twinkled were enough to captivate any man¡¯s heart - and Lahn felt himself flush a bright red when she got down on her knees to put a hand on his own. She was utterly stunning, an angel having taken human form - there were no other words for it.


    ¡°My favorite person! I¡¯ve been waiting all day for you!¡± She said with augh, brushing her silky brown hair to the side and tilting her head. ¡°Have you been practicing with those tips I gave you!? The way you form your intent when casting?¡±


    Lahn was very aware of all the hostility oozing out from the dozen or so other young men, and he gulped while avoiding their gazes - but kept this eyes locked onto hers. ¡°Uh, yeah! I¡¯ve been practicing¡­ can¡¯t say I¡¯m all that great at it. But I¡¯ll get there! And there is NO way you¡¯ve been waiting all day. You¡¯ve been skipping again.¡±


    A sly grin etched itself across her features, and she shrugged - standing up and getting behind his wheelchair to push him forward through the group of nobles to the front. ¡°Well I can¡¯t say you¡¯re wrong. I¡¯m a cker.¡±


    A fakeugh from one of the other men, and Lahn was almost shellshocked to see it was Braden Rooze. Braden was probably the most popr man in their year. He was incredibly handsome, muscr, had a father who was a front line war hero who¡¯d even achieved the prestigious A-ss category on the world power boards, and his family was filthy rich due to owning many of theboratories in Dawn used to create potions for the war effort. That being said, Braden had never been mean or vile towards Lahn - so Lahn didn¡¯t necessarily think poorly of the man either.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that you¡¯re a cker, Lady Wraithtide.¡± Braden cut in with a swish of his blonde hair, stuffing his hands into his pockets. ¡°From my perspective, you¡¯re just more advanced than the rest of us and don¡¯t need to attend those sses. And hello Lahn. How are you today?¡±


    A small pit of jealousy built inside Lahn¡¯s gut, but he quickly pushed that back down. He knew there wasn¡¯t anything between himself and Allie anyways, and Braden would make a great suitor for someone like her. So instead, he put on a warm smile and reciprocated the friendly gesture with a wave. ¡°Hello Braden. I¡¯m doing well, though I¡¯m obviously a bit wet from the rain.¡±


    Braden chuckled warmly with a nod of understanding. ¡°Yes, that tends to happen when you have¡­ ack of help. Lady Wraithtide has been telling me a lot about how she¡¯s teaching you tips and tricks. It must be nice to have such a beautiful tutor. I tried to get her to teach me too, but she said she doesn¡¯t have time and we merely settled on lunch.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Lahn cought Allie¡¯s brief smile, one directed towards Braden, and his heart sank even though he know it shouldn¡¯t. ¡°Oh! You had lunch together?¡±


    ¡°We did.¡± Allie nodded in confirmation, putting a hand on Lahn¡¯s shoulder and directing him to the marked line where people would stand to cast spells. ¡°Braden is slightly less insufferable whenpared to many of the other people here. It was a nice chat.¡±


    Braden¡¯s victorious smile cut like a knife, not only to Lahn - but to many of the other nobles present too. Four of them wordlessly left right there and then, with two more following shortly thereafter - admitting defeat without even a word.


    Allie seemed to not notice, and she focused on coaching Lahn instead. ¡°Alright, so show me what you¡¯ve got. Remember the intent part is far more important than anything else, and the imagery of what you need should be incorporated simultaneously when you channel the power through your Holy pir. Got it?¡±


    Swallowing the lump in his throat, Lahn nodded and began to cast. Raising his good arm forward, he closed his eyes and focused inwards on his soul apparatus. He could see the faint sparks of white energy channeling up the pir, could see them etch themselves into the foundation, and slowly he opened his eyes again to see a small sphere of brilliant light forming in front of his outstretched hand.


    ¡°GREAT!¡± Allie eximed excitedly, jumping up and down just once and pointing towards the target carved into enchanted stone at the end of the gymnasium. ¡°Now fire!¡±


    Lahn concentrated, imagining the arc the holy bolt would need to take, and the orb began to move forward.


    Only it veered left.


    mming into another projectile further down the gymnasium, he saw his small holy projectile get crushed by a flurry of ice and snow - torn apart instantaneously by another more proficient caster who began to shriek in outrage.


    ¡°GET AHOLD OF YOUR MAGIC, LUCIO!¡± A shrill, high pitched scream from Preci echoed through the room - getting a bout ofughter from multiple groups who¡¯d seen the two magics collide. Her face was flushed red in irritation, and her yellow dress swayed when she pointed his way. ¡°I had PERFECT MARKS until your stupid sphere made contact! Now look! The marker is going to record my attempt as a miss!¡±


    Lahn visibly recoiled. ¡°Sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Fuck off bitch.¡± Allie called out with a dismissive wave of her hand. ¡°It¡¯s not like that pissant attempt at an ice flurry would have killed anyone anyways.¡±


    This resulted in even moreughter, and Preci¡¯s red face almost matched the color of her orange hair as she stomped one foot into the ground. ¡°I have had PERFECT marks thus far, Lady Wraithtide! Unlike you, who fails to even attend the most basic schedule of sses! It is apparent that only one of us is taking our training seriously, and we¡¯ll see just who is superior by the end of the year for it!¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± Allie called back with a bored yawn. ¡°Just shut the fuck up and stop screeching in the meantime, you¡¯re annoying voice is nearly making my ears bleed.¡±


    Even moreughter erupted from different parts of the audience, and Preci¡¯s anger was visibly rising. Strutting across the room right over to where Allie stood looking back at her with an impassive expression, Preci stopped directly in front of her and pointed a finger in Allie¡¯s face.


    ¡°If you¡¯re so confident, you low ss country bumpkin, I challenge you to a restricted duel.¡±


    Excited muttering quickly reced theughter, and even the instructors were now looking over to see what themotion was about.


    Allie nced over to Instructor Nester Rose, and then instructor Jupis Astirith. ¡°Is that allowed here? Or do we need to take it out to the colosseum?¡±


    Instructor Rose waltzed over, her thin-lipped smile quirked in amusement as she gazed down at Lucio as if telling him she knew he was the cause of this dispute. Perhaps she did know and had seen it from beginning to now. ¡°We can do it here, though we¡¯ll have to take up one side of the gymnasium to do it. It appears everyone is rather interested to see the end result anyways. Is that alright with all of you?¡±


    Everyone¡¯s attention was now drawn to the dramatic scene where Preci was heaving angrily every breath she took, and Instructor Rose got a unanimous answer in the form of ¡®Yes¡¯ by the audience.


    ¡°Very well. Everyone spread out, the other instructors and I will set up a mana field.¡±


    ¡°Allie!¡± Lahn hissed under his breath as muttering began to pick up around the room and Preci stomped off to be with her friends. ¡°She¡¯s really good! Probably just as good as you are, you don¡¯t need to do this! You could lose!¡±


    Allie¡¯s amused giggle made her eyes sparkle, and she covered her mouth with a warm expression directed his way. ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡±


    Gleetus sneered at them from the sidelines after watching the friendly interaction, then muttered something under his breath to a friend who only nodded with distaste in Lahn¡¯s direction.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the instructors to set up a rectangr mana barrier, epassing a field about half the size of the gymnasium with everyone present watching the proceedings. They¡¯d had very minor practice bouts with pseudo-sparring sessions in the colosseum before, but Allie had never faced Preci before and they were arguably two of the mostpetent people in the room alongside a few others.


    Instructor Rose began the usual speech. ¡°As usual, these restricted duelse with protective gear. Neither of you can or should remove the bracelets we dispense to you, unless you want to identally die. They are meant to save your life in case of an attack to potent, and will heal any wounds you receive afterwards within reason. Any wounds that the bracelets do not heal can be dealt with by us, or by the medical bay staff should it be severe. Outside of mortally wounding your opponent, you can do whatever you want to do in order to win - but you must stop if the instructors pause the fight. Failing to stop when instructed to do so by our staff will result in immediate expulsion. Any equipment damaged during a fight is not our problem, and it is your responsibility to get it repaired if you need to do so. Do I make myself clear?¡±


    Allie nodded calmly with her arms crossed. Meanwhile, Preci continued to snarl and drew out a very decorated wand with gold trimmings and diamond studs.


    ¡°Very well. Are there any further questions or words you¡¯d like to have before the fight begins?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Preci raised her hand to garner the attention of the ss. She smiled wickedly Allie¡¯s way, then raised he nose up as if in disgust. ¡°I¡¯d like to make a bet.¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyebrow quirked up in amusement. ¡°What kind of bet?¡±


    Preci paused, dramatically looking Allie up and down and then gesturing with an upturned lip at Allie¡¯s outfit. ¡°I would like to have a wager of wealth on this fight¡­ though I¡¯m not sure how much you can afford to bet concerning how poor your family is.¡±


    Laughter yet again echoed from around the room at Preci¡¯s jab at Allie¡¯s outfit.


    Preci paused, waiting for theughter to sink in. ¡°I know your family is from a poor, and poorly known country estate. Based on how you dress I am concerned you may not be able to match me, but if you can - I¡¯d like to bet my wand.¡±


    Preci held the sparkling, gold and diamond encrusted wand out for the admiration of everyone else. ¡°It is worth at least a hundred tinum, if not two hundred tinum. Do you have anything to match? Anything at all?¡±


    The nobledy in training cocked her prominent hip out to one side and rested her free hand on it, waiting expectantly with a confident smirk.


    Allie hesitated for a moment, tapped her pointer finger on her chin, then shrugged. ¡°I might.¡±


    Allie first made a disy of rummaging around in her spatial sack, as if searching for a time. Spatial sacks were very rare and of high value in of themselves, and no one had known up until now that it even was a spatial sack. They¡¯d though it merely a bag she carried around. But when Allie pulled out a book that was farrger than the sack itself, two realizations hit the ss simultaneously.


    The first realization was that the bag was indeed a spatial sack and worth more than the wand itself. The second realization was that this book was of even far greater value, and although not many of them had identification sses or items to help them do so - the basic description of this book along with the way its aura pulsed through the room made things very obvious.


    <strong>[The Prophets Call (Holy Grimoire, Legendary Holy Relic): ???]</strong>


    Brilliant white and gold inscriptions were written into the back, front, and spine of the hard silver cover. It was ratherrge, and magic literally danced around the object like a thin cloud of radiance. The book¡¯s presence was palpable, spreading warmth through the room like a cozy campfire on a cold winter¡¯s day, and many of the people there felt not only rejuvenated - but energized just by looking at it.


    ¡°I believe this should suffice as reasonablepensation should I lose the bet.¡± Allie said inly, handing the book to Instructor Rose - who just gawked at the item. ¡°Though I highly doubt I¡¯ll lose. I do believe that wand will look rather nice strapped at my hip.¡±


    Preci¡¯s eyes wererge, round with greed, and her fingers twitched while almost reaching out across the room as if to take the book now. ¡°What is an unholy-based caster doing with such an item? That book is obviously not meant for you.¡±


    Allie grinned, remembering how she¡¯d stripped it off Prophet¡¯s corpse. ¡°Let¡¯s just say it was a gift. Now are you going to stop gawking? Or do I need to wait?¡±


    Turning back to re at Allie despite the murmurings of admiration concerning the relic, Preci nodded with a fire in her eyes. ¡°Instructor Rose, please let us know when to proceed. I have a lowly country bumpkin to squash and a bet to win.¡±


    Instructor Rose, who¡¯d been turning the book over in admiration, quickly cleared her throat and stepped back from the wall of mana that epassed the twobatants. ¡°Very well. Are you both ready to begin?¡±


    Both women nodded. Allie remained silent with folded arms while examining the protective bracelet meant for dueling, and Preci took a casting stance with wand pointed in Allie¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Then BEGIN!¡±


    Instructor Rose made a chopping motion with her hand, and Preci immediately went on the offensive.


    A st of ice and snow simr to the one Lahn¡¯s tiny projectile had interrupted crossed the space between Preci and Allie over the course of two seconds. Lahn took in a quick inhale of breath when he thought it was going to collide with Allie¡¯s face, only to let out a sigh of relief and shock when the ice magic shattered and dispersed.


    Preci blinked rapidly, not understanding what had happened, and she swung her arm around in the air dramatically for another casting. Ice yet again billowed out and shot Allie¡¯s way, only this time the rebuttal was more obvious.


    Death mana, radiating out in waves of neon teal and dark ck energy, briefly pulsed from Allie¡¯s figure when she began to casually walk forward. The energy rebuffed the ice immediately, whipping forward and crushing the cial magic in an instant.


    ¡°Is that an Aura?¡± Braden Rooze asked one of his acquaintances in a shocked whisper. ¡°How does someone at this level already have an aura!?¡±


    Bing enraged, Preci conjured a different spell. This time, a spike of ice three-fingers in diameter jutted out from the ground right behind Allie and ripped forward towards her left calf muscle.


    Yet the same thing happened, and the ice shattered the moment it made contact with the aura surrounding Allie¡¯s figure.


    ¡°What kind of treachery is this!?¡± Preci shrieked, trying yet again as Allie continued to casually approach.


    The ice shattered for the fourth time, leaving Preci in shock and building dismay. But things changed even more dramatically when Allie took out her own wand next.


    It was a thin instrument, longer than most other wands and created from ck wood and ivory bone - with a very sharp end to it with jagged edges on one side akin to small vertebrae. The weapon was drawn out from her spatial sack, and the moment it appeared an overwhelming aura of dread overtook the entire room simr to what the book had done. This aura was far more malicious though, and it literally staggered not only Preci - but many of the watching nobles too with one of them even keeling over right there and then. It was as if their very souls had been humbled in the wand¡¯s presence.


    The weapon hissed, and then it let out an ear-piercing shriek when Allie lifted it to point in Preci¡¯s direction.


    Lahn¡¯s jaw dropped as a billowing cloud of ck and teal mes roared to life around Allie¡¯s wand-holding hand, then her arm. Her silky brown hair whipped backwards with the explosion of power, and an uncharacteristic, malicious grin spread across her face as sheser-focused on Preci in front of her.


    The four walls of the containment field shuddered and cracked, and with another piercing scream from the wand in Allie¡¯s hand - dozens of ming strings tore forward to attack the other caster.


    Preci screamed in horror and anguish as she was prated all across her body. Needle-like threads of death mana ripped open her skin along her abdomen, neck, face, arms, legs and feet in a simultaneous sh of darkness. Preci crumpled, seizing on the ground with dozens of burn marks as the attack immediately ceased. Her yellow dress was utterly destroyed.


    The ssroom remained silent aside from the calm footsteps of Allie¡¯s boots. She came to stand over the seizing girl with a look of utter disgust, bent down, and ripped the diamond studded wand out of Preci¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Oh my! How pathetic!¡± Allie said with a giggle, a hand daintily covering her mouth, her malicious intent having gone as quickly as it hade. She attached the diamond studded wand at her hip, nodded in approval as she spun around, and then walked over to the barrier wall between her and instructor rose. Tapping the mana barrier with a finger just once, the magical construct the instructors had created shattered into a million pieces and drifted away into the air. Taking the holy relic out of Instructor Rose¡¯s hands, she turned heel and sauntered over to where Lahn was gawking. ¡°I think I¡¯m over this ss today. How about we go get some food? I¡¯m hungry!¡±


    Braden Rooze was quick on the uptake, nudging past another admirer and putting his handsome self at Lahn¡¯s side. ¡°I would be d to apany you for another meal in his stead if you don¡¯t mind, Lady Wraithtide! Your disy was quite remarkable, and I do believe I¡¯d like to continue the conversation from earlier!¡±


    Braden put a hand forward and touched Allie¡¯s lower back, a little thing but something with tremendous weight behind the gesture. Lahn didn¡¯t fail to notice it, and his eyes faltered, but was surprised when Allie took a step away from Braden with raised eyebrows.


    ¡°My dear sir.¡± Allie said with a soft smile, tisking at him and removing his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t get so frisky. I¡¯m not spoken for yet, but that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re the man to do the job.¡±


    She turned back to Lahn, smiled, and then knelt. ¡°You ready to go? I have some stuff I want to talk to you about, and we can practice together in a more private setting in the colosseumter!¡±


    Lahn gulped and nodded, watching as some of Preci¡¯s friends helped her back up and carried her out of the room towards the medical bay. ¡°Yes, I¡¯d love to go! But don¡¯t you want to stay and keep practicing?¡±


    The question was absurd after what he¡¯d just witnessed. He and everyone else there knew it, but he couldn¡¯t help but ask. He felt obligated to do so out of respect for Instructor Rose even despite Allie¡¯s utter disy of dominance. It was obvious that she didn¡¯t need to be here, and she was likely only here - if Lahn had to guess - for political connections.


    But if that was the case, then why had she chosen him? He was a nobody. Maybe she wanted to connect with his family?


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, and I¡¯d much rather have a scone.¡± Allie mused with another light-heartedugh,ing around to Lahn¡¯s back and beginning to push him forward out of the room. ¡°As long as you have no objections, I¡¯d actually onlye today so that I could meet up with you and then leave. I¡¯m very much wanting to try those new cream-cheese dumplings too¡­ or the candied applies. This ce has all sorts of tasty treats and I haven¡¯t experienced even half of it yet!¡±

 Chapter 171

    Chapter 171


    <strong>Chapter 171</strong>


    The food courts at the academy were truly something to behold, and were actually lined up corridors of individual restaurants set up on two different zas. There was one in the East and one in the West. Allie had chosen to take them to the Eastern za.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone I¡¯d like you to meet!¡± Allie eximed excitedly while rolling Lahn down the cobblestone pathways lined in marble that¡¯d been swept free of snow. ¡°I¡¯m stoked!¡±


    Lahn looked back over his shoulder and gave an interested smirk. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure anyone would be all that excited to meet me, but I¡¯ll do my best to give a good impression for whoever it is.¡±


    Allie only rolled her eyes.


    Coming up to one of the restaurants where two butlers and a maid in very high-life style uniforms greeted them, Allie stopped when they gave her a bow. The entrance was created from elegant crystal, the floors were made of polished wood lined with gold, and it had to be the gaudiest ce Lahn had ever seen.


    ¡°Mydy, my lord. We¡¯ve been expecting you.¡± The foremost butler gave a low bow, then gestured them inside.


    Lahn looked over his shoulder again. ¡°They were expecting us? What exactly is this ce?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t get out much do you?¡± Allie asked with a chuckle - following the man inside where numerous flowering nts were in full bloom and illusionary butterflies soared through the air. There was even an artificial sun overhead, burning with a dull warmth in the main lobby that had a glittering pool underneath with multi-colored fish - and it was surrounded by numerous tables on the bottom and top floors of the two story establishment.Lahn gawked, looking around and seeing numerous high-profile people he¡¯d seen his father talk to in the past while at house parties - though Lahn had never once been introduced to them himself. Still, he got recognizing nces from time to time due to his unique look, and even one wave from a high ranking general that oversaw the recruitment of new officers into their military from this very academy.


    ¡°What is this ce?¡± Lahn repeated as they circled around, following the butler into a secluded hallway that led to a double-door twice the size of a normal man on either side. Two heavily armored soldiers in heavy te armor bearing the king¡¯s sigil of a sun on their breasttes stood at attention on either side of the hallway, but they shifted at Allie¡¯s approach to open the doors and let her in.


    Inside was a private room. The scent of sweet aromas lingered in the air, an artificial sky overhead showed bright blue with clouds dotting the ceiling, more illusionary butterflies permeated the air here as well - and there were at least a dozen different servants all wearing butler and maid uniforms standing along the walls. Three personal chefs were cooking food in front of a small group of onlookers sitting at a square table, where two men and a woman sat eating.


    The first man was familiar to Lahn. He had a short, neatly trimmed beard with red hair and a wide happy expression,ughing alongside the other man while downing a swig of very expensive alcohol from a golden bottle. He was burly, roughly mannered, yet wore exquisite clothing with the king¡¯s sigil on the front of his shirt as well.


    The second man was very pale, extremely good looking, wore a basic ckbat robe, and Lahn could immediately guess at who he was. He had to be a rtive of Allie¡¯s, possibly even a brother, because he had the same striking blue eyes and the same strange amulet around his neck that she did.


    Thest at the table was also extremely pretty - even giving Allie a run for her money in the looks department. She was blonde, fit, with a striking silver dress and proportional curves with a nearly perfect face. Lahn couldn¡¯t see a single blemish on her, and she had both hands wrapped around the second man¡¯s hand - as he¡¯d left it out on the table for her to hold.


    ¡°Lady Allie Wraithtide!¡± The first man called out with a wide grin, beckoning her toe join them at the square table and motioning at a servant.


    Immediately one of the servants pulled out a chair, but hesitated when they saw Lahn.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sitting next to him.¡± Allie stated simply with a gentle nod, and she pushed the chair over a tad in order to make room for Lahn. Putting Lahn''s wheelchair in ce and pulling the chair back behind her she slumped down and immediately started picking at some of the exquisite fruit disys that''d been thoroughly decorated with chocte. ¡°Hello your majesty. How are you this afternoon?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m quite well!¡± The bearded man said with a hardyugh, pping the pale rtive of Allie¡¯s on the shoulder as they smiled at one another. ¡°Especially since getting to know this fine young man. Your brother is quite the guy!¡±


    Lahn¡¯s heart immediately dropped into his gut as he realized just who the first man was. This was the king. King Arthur Brix, the man who¡¯d sat on the throne of Dawn for well over two centuries now. He didn¡¯t look a day past 40, and Lahn had a very faint memory of meeting him once as a child at a pce party.


    Lahn stuttered when the king¡¯s eyes rested on him, and he attempted to wheel himself out for kneeling and bowing as was proper - but he was immediately stopped by Allie as she firmly caught his wrist.


    ¡°You¡¯re fine. This is a private meeting so there are no needs for formality. Right, your majesty?¡± Allie stated with a look of intent to Lahn, then ncing over at the king.


    ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± King Brix said with a grin, then he gestured to Lahn¡¯s chair. ¡°I remember you. You¡¯re that Lucio boy, the second son. Is that correct? Your father is a close friend of mine.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s eyes went wide, and he immediately caught a lump in his throat. Clearing his head, he took in a deep breath and nodded mechanically just once. ¡°Yes, your majesty. I am sorry for my improper attire, I was not aware that I¡¯d be meeting you today!¡±


    He shot Allie a re, who just smirked back and teasingly poked his ribs.


    King Brix watched the interaction with interest, though he feigned ignorance when Lahn¡¯s gaze returned to him and downed more of the alcohol. Passing another entire bottle of the gold over to the second man and woman who were still holding hands, he gestured to them next. ¡°Have you both met Mr. Lucio yet? Or is this your first time?¡±


    ¡°Travis Wraithtide.¡± Riven said, extending a hand to introduce himself with a warm smile of his own. He shook Lahn¡¯s hand, then pulled it back to look at Fay as she held his other one.


    She only looked back, blinking rapidly and then furrowing her brow in confusion.


    ¡°You can let go of my hand now. I promise it¡¯ll be here when you''re done introducing yourself.¡± Travis stated, amusement creeping onto his lips as she immediately flushed a bright red.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± Fay said in her illusionary form of a blonde woman - and she extended her hand out rather aggressively to shake Lahn¡¯s own a secondter. ¡°My name is Fay Wraithtide! Er- not Wraithtide, just Fay!¡±


    The admission of herst name caused her to blush an even deeper red. Her eyes went wide, and she squeaked something inaudible under her breath as Allie and Travis both loudlyughed.


    ¡°This is my brother.¡± Allie said, pointing to Riven - or ¡®Travis¡¯. ¡°He¡¯s kind of a knuckle head but I love him. This is his new¡­ Friend? Girlfriend?¡±


    Allie raised an eyebrow in question, and Fay covered her face with both hands while groaning.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been giving her shit about that all day.¡± Travis said, pouring himself fine wine out of the bottle and into a crystal ss. ¡°Apparently she¡¯d rather just be my hoe.¡±


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    ¡°That is NOT what I said!¡± Fay demanded, pping his thigh and getting an ¡®OW!¡¯ from Travis. ¡°I SAID, that I just need time to think about how I can avoid ASSASSINATION frompetitors if I¡¯m dating you!¡±


    ¡°That is definitely not what she said.¡± Travis mused, swirling the wine in his ss and sipping at it while staring back at Fay - who only glowered back at him in an unsaid threat. ¡°Honestly I don¡¯t think she knows what she wants.¡±


    ¡°Travis! Stop it, that isn¡¯t true!¡±


    ¡°I do believe it is.¡±


    Allie and the king exchanged looks.


    ¡°Is this how it¡¯s been since he got here?¡± Allie asked King Brix rather curiously, giving Lahn aforting nudge when she realized he¡¯d gone nearly as pale as she was.


    The king smirked, nodded, and made room for a te of food that¡¯d been freshly cooked in front of them. Venison thered in hot butter, steaming vegetables decorating a mashed potato half-sphere, and finely cut fruits creating a cylindrical tower made of ice cream were the first course. ¡°Yes that¡¯s how it¡¯s been since they got here. Riv-Ahem. I mean Travis has been telling me all about how he and Fay went on their very first date only for her to not want to really date him. It¡¯s been quite a¡­ what was it you called it? A soap opera?¡±


    ¡°That is not how it is!¡± Fay eximed, mping hard onto Travis¡¯ hand so that her knuckles turned white. Tears were welling up under her eyes and her lips were pouting, it looked very much to Lahn like she was going to cry. ¡°It was just a misunderstanding and I¡¯m worried! Stop teasing me, this isn¡¯t funny!¡±


    Allie side-eyed the subus, shrugged, then pointed to the king¡¯s te as she got one of her own set ahead of her.. ¡°These are quite interesting first courses.¡±


    ¡°Travis told me you were more informal and that desert alwayses first with the meal. Is that not true?¡± King Brix asked curiously, only to get a smirkingugh from Travis a momentter.


    Allie sputtered her ownugh and shook her head, sighing dramatically and leaning over to put an elbow on Lahn¡¯s shoulder. ¡°My brother has always eaten desert at the exact same time as the normal meals. It¡¯s weird.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t dip your sausage-egg muffins in ice cream if you don¡¯t have the ice cream with the muffins!¡± Travis chided Allie from across the table, getting a scoff of disgust from one of the chiefs andughter from another. Travis then pointed to the chef who¡¯d scoffed. ¡°And you stop giving me attitude Jerrard! I¡¯ve had enough of your shit for one night! I eat as I please!¡±


    This time the entire room with the exception of the man who¡¯d been singled out erupted intoughter, including the king and all the servants. The rather thin chef who¡¯d been called out muttered something under his breath after that. ¡°No self respecting person would dip sausages, eggs or muffins in ice cream. It is a disgrace.¡±


    Travis belched in the king¡¯s presence, to Lahn¡¯s horror, and he got up while gesturing to a back hallway. ¡°I¡¯m going to hit the restroom. I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡±


    ¡°Take your time!¡± King Brix said with a chuckle, watching Travis go until he disappeared - then he turned around to face Allie. ¡°I do believe I very much like him. Reminds me of one of my sons, certainly not what I expected.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s brain was still trying to catch up to the present. Just who were these people? Who was Allie truly affiliated with, in order to get a seat here so informally with the king of Dawn? Was their family somehow rted? Were their parents childhood friends of the king? Why was he, Lahn, invited to this luncheon as an absolute nobody? His mother might congratte him for finding a way here, but his father and his siblings would have had heart attacks thinking about how many different ways Lahn would bring disgrace to the family name in their absence at such an important social viewing.


    All eyes at the table turned to Fay next when she let out another low groan, putting her elbows on the table like no properdy would do, and swept her hair back to stare at the food that¡¯d justs been ced in front of her. ¡°I screwed up that date so badly.¡±


    There was a pause.


    Then Allie took the bait. ¡°Why? What happened?¡±


    Looking over her shoulder to make sure Travis wasn¡¯t back yet, Fay smacked herself upside the forehead in a form of self punishment.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s healthy.¡± Lahn said with worry tinging his voice. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m anything but ok!¡± Fay muttered. Then, raising her eyes to Allie, she let out a long sigh. ¡°Allie, I know we don¡¯t know each other very well but I need your help. The date was just¡­ perfect, until I screwed it up.¡±


    ¡°Yes but you haven¡¯t said what you did¡­¡± Allie muttered with furrowed brows and steepled fingers. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem upset¡­ What did you do?¡±


    Fay red up at Allie from underneath the hands supporting her forehead. ¡°The very short version is that I told him I didn¡¯t want to be his girlfriend publicly, because I¡¯m afraid someone like Kathrine would eventually assassinate me to get me out of the way. When I tried to tell him why, I could tell he got upset even if he didn''t say it¡­ and then I brought up¡­ the other girl he¡¯s close with.¡±


    ¡°Why would you be assassinated just for dating someone?¡± Lahn asked hesitantly, getting looks from the others but no outright answer.


    Fay turned to Allie again. ¡°I talked about how the other woman¡­ she¡¯sing back, and that she¡¯d be angry if I went ahead and took Travis for myself.¡±


    ¡°But do you want Travis for yourself?¡± Allie asked curiously, putting her chin on her hands with a confused stare.


    ¡°Of course I do!¡± Fay hissed in irritation, throwing up hands to either side as the king chuckled and continued to drink or pick at his venison. ¡°That¡¯s the problem! He¡¯s a very important person and if I¡¯m seen as an obstacle, I¡¯m as good as dead! Not necessarily by that other particr person, but by ANYONE in the future who sees him as an opportunity! So I told him he should also court other girls, that way I wouldn¡¯t be a target!¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyes rose in shock, and she frowned a little more deeply than she had been. ¡°You don¡¯t think Travis could protect you?¡±


    Fay huffed, looking rather conflicted as her eyes darted back and forth, and then she hung her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯d hope so, but the kind of people he¡¯s going to be mixed up with are far beyond what you two can manage right now. It¡¯d be safer for everyone if I remained a background character. But I don¡¯t want to be a background character!¡±


    Lahn¡¯s brow silently furrowed. If they knew the king to talk with him so informally, couldn¡¯t they just ask him to help with potential assassins somehow? Surely that would be the case.


    Allie churned over the information bit by bit, putting the pieces of the puzzle together while twirling a fork in her right hand. ¡°What I¡¯m getting out of it is you¡¯re upset that you want Travis for yourself, but believe you can¡¯t realistically or safely have it that way. Yet, you¡¯re the one pushing the agenda of remaining a background character, and not to be his actual girlfriend - or the woman he is ¡®courting - from an official point of view. Because you¡¯re afraid of being killed, and because you¡¯re afraid of hurting that other particr woman¡¯s feelings when she returns from¡­ her extended vacation.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still confused.¡± Allie said bluntly. ¡°Is Travis truly upset about this too then?¡±


    Fay growled under her breath, fingers clenching the wooden table in a vice grip. ¡°The problem is that I don¡¯t actually WANT him to see other girls because I WANT him for myself! But I¡¯m scared. And when I told him as much, he took it to mean that I am not interested in dating him but rather am just wanting him for other reasons.¡±


    ¡°Like?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! But I could immediately tell that he was put off by the idea! At first I¡¯d thought letting him see other women while also dating me would be something any normal man would want!¡±


    The king raised a toast to that. ¡°Here here.¡±


    Fay ignored the king despite a snickeringugh from Allie. ¡°But instead, Riv-uhm-Travis gave me a speech about how he¡¯s wanting to find a soul mate! And that it might not be me, because we want different things! But I DO want only him and I want him to only want me, and I think that he doesn¡¯t want me anymore because he doesn¡¯t think I want him the same way! I WAS JUST SCARED AND THOUGHT HE¡¯D WANT TO BE WITH OTHER GIRLS WHILE DATING ME TOO!¡±


    The very end of her admission went up an entire octave as she sped her lips with both hands and let out a squeal of despair, tears starting to stream down her cheeks while the king across the table tried to hide his amusement.


    Meanwhile, Allie just tly stared back at the subus with a puzzled expression - and the king outrightughed.


    ¡°THIS ISN¡¯T FUNNY!¡± Fay screamed before hiding her face in her hands again and letting out a sob. ¡°I¡¯m genuinely upset!¡±


    "Fay, you''re overthinking things." Giving Fay a pitying look, Allie noticed ''Travis'' was standing in the hallway now, listening to their conversation while leaning against the wall with a soft expression directed at Fay''s back.


    Clearing her throat, Allie then touched Fay¡¯s arm and urged her to look up. ¡°Hey. Perhaps instead of spilling this to us, you should just talk to him about it again to clear the air.¡±


    ¡°Ah, to be young.¡± King Brix stated before munching on some chocte covered fruit. ¡°But yes, I do believe the topic of conversation has arrived.¡±


    ***


    Fay had been taken to the back by ¡®Travis¡¯ where they could have a private conversation after her mental breakdown, leaving Allie, King Brix, and a very nervous Lahn to eat on their own.


    Lahn¡¯s hand trembled slightly, still very nervous that he would do something stupid in front of their kingdom¡¯s legendary leader, but Allie was speaking to King Brix almost as an equal. As if they were even friends to some extent, though Lahn knew that couldn¡¯t be the case. No, there was something more to this odd scenario that he just hadn¡¯t grasped yet.


    But his thoughts were snapped out of the trance-like state when he heard his name brought up.


    ¡°So Lahn is the one you¡¯re bringing to the Royal Ball?¡± King Brix asked, intrigued as he leaned back in his chair to re-evaluate the young crippled man across the slew of food and drink. ¡°Very¡­ Very interesting. I¡¯m sure that his father will be proud to know he¡¯s attending such a grand event after all, especially with such an esteemed guest.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s face twitched with confusion. ¡°Did you say Royal Ball?¡±


    He turned to look at Allie, who was fondly smiling back at him from a chin resting on two hands.


    ¡°That¡¯s what he said.¡± Allie replied with a wink. ¡°As long as you¡¯re up for it. I hear that the rest of your family is already invited, so you¡¯ll know at least a few of the people there.¡±

 Chapter 172: (Edits incoming)

    Chapter 172: (Edits iing)


    <strong>Chapter 172</strong>


    King Brix stood on the balcony of the academy¡¯s finest restaurant, watching the four younger men and women depart through snow swept streets while animatedly talking about some kind of prank Riven had once pulled on Allie when she was young. He stroked his short red beard with mild amounts of curiosity, and smiled with a chuckle as he thought about the recent luncheon. ¡°Certainly not what I expected of the rank 5 vampire on our world roster. Wouldn¡¯t you agree, Kassius?¡±


    Kassius, the king¡¯s spymaster, unhinged himself from a nearby shadow and took human form - warping from obscurity into the light of day. He wore a ck outfit, a veiled mask, and his face waspletely hidden as his gloved hands sped themselves behind his back. ¡°Yes, your majesty. I can honestly even say that, as long as he¡¯s wearing that amulet you provided him, he¡¯s very likable. It really is a shame that he has such a high negative charisma, one day he¡¯ll need something much stronger than your gift to hide amongst the human masses in order not to scare them half to death just by walking by.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the truth!¡± King Brix bellowed augh and pped Kassius on the back. ¡°He was downright scary when we first met him!¡±


    ¡°Do you think it is wise to let him travel our city alone though?¡± Kassius muttered absentmindedly, following the group of four until they passed out of sight around a bend in the road - heading towards the barracks. ¡°I may like his character when it was set to neutral, but he did murder and entire city in order to bring one of his demons back. Half a million souls or more by current estimates were wiped out in the blink of an eye. We don¡¯t want that to happen here should he be enraged for some reason.¡±


    King Brix raised one eyebrow and side-eyed the other, slender man. Folding his arms over the sun crest on his tunic, King Brix gave a loud humph. ¡°And what would be the alternative? Following him would let him know that we don¡¯t trust him, should he find out. No, I do believe it is better to make friends and to not give him or his sister reasons to distrust us. Without their help, we very well could have fallen to the Tereen and their sted spirit-saints by now. Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll even be able to pawn off one of my daughters or granddaughters to wed him as a bride. And if not¡­ perhaps that Lucio boy will surprise us when concerning Allie. I would find it hard to believe from an outside perspective, but there¡¯s always hope.¡±


    ¡°You hope to make ties by blood?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. Whether or not that can be done is to be seen, but I have very high hopes. Not many civilizations will survive this integration, Kassius, but some will rise through the ashes at the end. I intend ours to be one of them, and those two vampire siblings would be a great set of allies to have on our side in the long run - not just for this war with the elves.¡±


    ***Of Mandon¡¯s 10 city levels each spanning over a hundred miles of stacked earthenyers, the top 7 were above ground and 3 existed underground. They werebeled by the popce as Lower 3 through Lower 1, and Upper 1 through Upper 7. The lower the floor, the poorer the citizens usually were - so here on the highest level it was a given that most of the most expensive items Dawn¡¯s capital city had to offer could be found.


    ¡°Drak¡¯s Magical Emporium, the ce where all your wondering wizardful whimse true.¡± Riven, or ¡®Travis¡¯ read off with a doubtful expression cast over his shoulder while standing in front of therge 3-story building. ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡±


    Fay tugged him inside therge, bustling, upper floor shop with a loud giggle; passing many gawking well-dressed customers that stared at any one of the three abnormally attractive people with mixed emotions. ¡°Come on! You said you¡¯d start a magical tinkering with me! You need to teach me all about totems and runes and how to make them. Even Allie said she¡¯d help with the soul imbuement!¡±


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t do that, you know I¡¯m only barely experienced!¡± Travis chuckled and motioned to Lahn. ¡°Don¡¯t let her make you think I¡¯m any kind of pro, I¡¯m barely a beginner.¡±


    Grinning and leaning forward to kiss Fay in the doorway, he let the beautiful blonde woman in her silver dress pull him through and followed her into a series of disys that had various different gadgets lined up for sale.


    Pushing Lahn inside, Allie followed after them - with the wheels of Lahn¡¯s wheelchair bumping over the doorframe¡¯s bottom ledge. ¡°Doing ok, Lahn? You look down!¡±


    From where he sat in front of her, Lahn¡¯s mind was indeed in darker ces than normal. He couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly what it was¡­ but should he need to say it out loud - it was probably a mixture of a couple things.


    Here he was, having one of the best days of his life up until his sudden epiphany. He¡¯d had Allie stand up for him in ss - beating Preci handedly in a restricted duel. He¡¯d gone out on what was almost - at least in his mind - a luncheon date with one of the most if not the absolute most beautiful girl in the entire academy, when she¡¯d picked him over none other than the ss stud Braden Rooze. Lahn had then been taken to one of the most expensive restaurants on Academy grounds, of which was abnormal for him because his father and siblings didn¡¯t want to be seen with him in public - yet he¡¯d gotten to meet the king and talk to him on a very personal level. Then Allie had asked him toe along on a double date.


    She¡¯d literally called it that.


    <em><strong>¡°Come on Lahn!¡±</strong></em> Allie had said with the most beautiful smile, teasing him with a jab at his ribcage again while looking down at his crippled form. <em><strong>¡°My brother and his new ¡®Girlfriend¡¯ are going shopping. Let¡¯s make it a double date, you shoulde with me as I tag along! It¡¯ll be fun! Who needs ss anyways, right!?¡±</strong></em>


    He¡¯d been so shocked and so excited to hear her say those words that he¡¯d nearly fallen out of his wheelchair. But now, after rethinking things over, he was sure this was just Allie being nice or trying to get into touch with the rest of his family. There was little to no chance that she, realistically, was interested in someone like him. So Lahn dwelt and internally stewed, wondering if it was his father¡¯s connections or his brother¡¯s inheritance that she was after. He wondered just when this daydream was going to end, how it was going to end, and how harsh the disappointment of losing his only friend would affect him when this window into a happier life copsed around him.


    Surely, to leave Lahn alone once more.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± Lahn said with a fake smile, but it was the best he could muster given his current state of mind - and he cleared his throat while redirecting attention from himself to a couple of stone engravings on tes to their left - each square in shape and about two by two feet in size. ¡°Those are some good models to use for runecrafting if your brother is interested. They¡¯re beginner¡¯s guides, and there¡¯s even an unholy type! Maybe we should grab it for him?! Hopefully it¡¯s not too expensive¡­¡±


    For a moment, Allie came around to his side to scrutinize him suspiciously, but she eventually nodded and pushed him forward to where the stone tablets were located. Pushing some of the square stone bs aside and grabbing the one that Lahn had pointed out. cing it in hisp, Allie let her fingers trail over his withered left hand with a light touch that made him quiver. ¡°Nice find Lahn. He¡¯ll definitely like it. Now, as we continue to browse¡­ Tell me about this little animal sanctuary you¡¯re working on.¡±


    Lahn nched, then looked up in shocked surprise while clutching the stone b in his good hand. ¡°How do you know about the animal sanctuary!? No one knows about that!¡±


    Allie¡¯s mischievous grin quirked at the side of her mouth. ¡°I have my ways.¡±


    ¡°Are you spying on me!?¡±


    ¡°... Perhaps.¡± Allie chuckled low and wickedly, rubbing her hands together for a show while Lahn caught his breath.


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    How had Allie known about his animal sanctuary?


    The very first day they¡¯d met, when Lahn had seen her at the pond in the gardens beyond the academy, Lahn had actually been traveling between his sanctuary and the school¡¯s inner grounds. He went once a day with his maid, or even sometimes by himself, bringing a bag of food for the animals he picked up on the lower levels.


    Going from pale to a bright pink, Lahn felt his ears grow hot as deep embarrassment set in. ¡°Do I really have to talk about it? I know it¡¯s peasant, feminine work and I don¡¯t like the idea of being made fun of by you too.¡±


    Allie¡¯s expression went from teasing to shocked. ¡°Peasant work? Feminine? Lahn, creating a secret animal sanctuary is one of the cutest, most adorable things I¡¯ve ever heard of! Are you kidding me?! Who on Earth badmouthed you like that for it!?¡±


    Lahn¡¯s brows furrowed, and he gave Allie a curious once-over. ¡°Who on Earth? That¡¯s an odd expression. But it was my brother, Parius Lucio and my father, Lord Nik Lucio who told me so. I had another animal sanctuary back home, because animals¡­ they¡¯re kind. They¡¯re innocent. Especially dogs, and they made me happy to work with.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s face fell into a soft, contemtive smile, finally losing the hard edge he¡¯d had concerning doubtful thoughts on Allie¡¯s intentions. ¡°I, uhm, go down to the poorer floors of Mandon. The capital¡¯s lower levels are very thick with stray dogs, so I pick up what I can and bring them back to take care of them. I got permission from Zefima, the archmage of the academy, to keep them far out in the gardens in a gated area I made. It was very nice of her¡­ and it makes me happy. Before you came along, I had no friends and the dogs were the onlypany I had.¡±


    There was a pause as Allie digested this information, and the voice of her brother cut in from behind Lahn as Travis walked around to stand at her side.


    ¡°I personally like dogs more than most humans.¡± Travis said with a nod of approval. ¡°I totally get it. Would you like help taking care of them?¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyes brightened, and she gave Travis a warm smile with a silent ¡®thank you¡¯ when Lahn wasn¡¯t looking - continuing to stare at his feet.


    But then Lahn¡¯s head snapped up, as if struck, and he stared back at both Travis and Allie with curious surprise. ¡°You want to help me? You want to help take care of stray animals?¡±


    Allie nodded enthusiastically, sping her hands together in front of her and leaning into Travis with a nudge. ¡°Absolutely! That sounds so fun!¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re not afraid to be made fun of for doing peasant work?¡±


    ¡°Since when is taking care of sick and homeless animals peasant work?¡±


    Lahn¡¯s face grew doubtful. ¡°It¡¯s always been peasant work. Nobles don¡¯t do that kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°You do.¡± Allie protested with a humph, folding her arms in front of her.


    Lahn¡¯s face fell and he let out a deep chuckle, shaking his head. ¡°I am not what you would call normal, and I¡¯m only barely nobility. I¡¯m sure that if it weren¡¯t for my loving mother, my father would have cast me out into an orphanage to live out my days by myself. I am nothing like the rest.¡±


    Another customer, a plump man sporting arge mustache, a cane, and a top-hat that looked like he¡¯d been dragged out of a Victorian steam-punk magazine, snorted loudly at them while tapping his cane on the floor. His voice was high pitched and nasally, and he had two servant girls far younger than he was carrying books, manuscripts, and various odds or ends that were obviously quite heavy. ¡°You four! You four right there! Move yourselves, so that I may pass through! You are taking up the entire aisle!¡±


    Slowly, Riven and Allie looked over to re at the man. The aisle was only halfway filled with more than enough room for him to get through, and the two vampires wordlessly shared a look before Riven stepped around to confront the man.


    ¡°No, it was easily big enough for you to go around.¡± Riven stated, stepping up to spread his stance; towering over the man with the cane who took a step back at his approach. ¡°You see where I am now? This is me taking up the entire aisle. Go the fuck around.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s eyebrows raised in surprise. He was very much a non-confrontational, he hated confrontation, and yet Allie had confronted Preci earlier that day and Travis was confronting this man he didn¡¯t even know in the store like they were made of toughened steel. Both of these siblings truly had guts, because Lahn would have just been cowed and moved without a word.


    The man with the mustache sputtered something unintelligible, then picked up his cane and menacingly jabbed it into Travis¡¯s gut. ¡°I dare say! You should know when to respect your-¡±


    Travis whipped his hand forward with a blur so fast that Lahn couldn¡¯t even follow the motion, ripping the cane out of the man¡¯s grasp and snapping it in half before tossing it to the ground before the man with the top-hat could blink.


    A few eyes from around the store settled on the scene, silently watching the two men stand off, until the man with the top-hat grew redder in the face and lost his nerve. Shaking with balled up fists, he stormed out of the establishment and into the street - losing himself with his servants amongst the high-ss crowds in this section of the market.


    After that the mood quickly went back to normal, and the shopkeeper at the front desk let out an audible sigh of relief.


    ¡°Travis¡­¡± Lahn asked hesitantly when Allie¡¯s brother came back from kicking the pieces of cane out the door. ¡°You¡¯ve seenbat. Haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Travis said curiously, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his ckbat robe. Then he looked down at his outfit, and chuckled.


    ¡°Are you a warrior?¡± Lahn pressed, even more curious now. ¡°Do you serve in the army?¡±


    ¡°... You could say that.¡± Travis waved up at Fay who was rummaging through bookshelves on the second level near a balcony railing, and she blew him a kiss while scurrying around trying to collect things that they could use for practicing runecraft. ¡°God she¡¯s so pretty.¡±


    ¡°GAG!¡± Allie gasped, poking a finger into her throat and making a vomiting noise to theughter of both Travis and Lahn. ¡°Ooh god you¡¯re gona make me puke!¡±


    From the stairway leading up to the second level, a familiar voice called out to Lahn - one he hadn¡¯t heard in quite a while now but one that he instantly recognized. ¡°Lahn!? Is that you?!¡±


    Turning his wheelchair with the one good arm he had, his heart sank and he felt like he wanted to crawl under a rock. There at the bottom of the stairs stood not one, but two people he knew. One of them he knew very well, and the other he¡¯d only met in passing once when his mother had tried to set him up with a potentialdy of the court to wed.


    The voice that¡¯d called out to him was none other than Marsia Bortrost, daughter of Lord Armando Bortrost and Lady Niltini Bortrost - the friends of his mother. Marsia had been the young woman who¡¯de over via carriage to specifically meet him at the bidding of both their parents, only for her to - in private and not so nicely - tell him that she was by no means interested in even pretending to court him.


    Marsia, a woman of 19 years of age, was in her prime years to get married to another of the court. She wasn¡¯t spectacr to look at for most people, but she certainly wasn¡¯t ugly; having brown hair andrge dimples just like her parents while wearing a bright green dress.


    And she stood with a shocked expression right beside Lahn¡¯s older sister, Lin Lucio.


    His sister was quite pretty, from what Gleetus often said about her when rubbing in salt to the wounds he brought upon any interaction that asshole could get with Lahn. And honestly Lahn couldn¡¯t disagree. Lin was blonde, unlike Lahn¡¯s own chestnut hair, and she was tall with a thin but very symmetrical frame. She was wearing a simr green dress to match Marsia, and they had three man-servants in suits following them at a few paces behind to carry their luggage.


    Lin remained quiet with her dainty hands sped in front of her lower waist just like Marsia did, but she wore an equally surprised expression to that of Marsia while quietly evaluating both Lahn and thepany he held.


    ¡°Lahn, is that you!?¡± Marsia eventually said again, stepping forward with perfect posture - her brte hair pulled up in a bun while her high heels clicked against the polished floor. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you¡¯d hired new help!¡±


    Allie and Travis shared a nce, then they both burst intoughter - clearly amused at the obvious probe for information concerning who they were.


    ¡°They are not hired help¡­¡± Lahn said in an exasperated tone, letting out a deep sigh and already dreading this interaction. ¡°This is Lady Allie Wraithtide and her brother Lord Travis Wraithtide. They¡¯re nobility as well, and Allie attends the academy too. She¡¯s in my sses, that¡¯s how we met.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Allie asked, casually resting a hand on one hip and giving Marsia an unconcerned re upon seeing Lahn¡¯s cringing reaction to the women¡¯s presence. ¡°Friend of yours?¡±


    ¡°Family friend.¡± Lahn muttered, then he gestured with his good hand to Lin. ¡°That¡¯s my sister, Lin.¡±


    Lin curtsied, then took the opportunity to join the others while giving ¡®Travis¡¯ a once over. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize Lahn kept such goodpany. Usually he is found mingling with the lower ss. Are you attending the academy too? I dare say I would have noticed someone like you if you were walking around. Your features are quite striking.¡±


    Lahn inwardly cringed again at the flirtatious jab oriented towards Travis, as well as the fluttering eyshes his sister gave Allie¡¯s brother. ¡°He doesn¡¯t attend-¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t speaking to you, Lahn.¡± Lin quickly cut him off with a scornful re, then returned a flirtatious smile on Travis again. ¡°Let Lord Wraithtide speak for himself.¡±


    Travis¡¯ eyelids dropped slightly, unamused by the interaction. ¡°As Lahn was about to say, I do not attend the academy.¡±


    ¡°Then what is it you do? Are you running a family estate of some sort? What exactly does your family oversee since the integration began? I assume you¡¯re one of the newly risen nobles, after the politicalndscape was oh so rearranged given the merging of worlds?¡± Lin took another step forward, a little close forfort, to get a better look at him. ¡°You smell wonderful by the way.¡±


    Lahn could almost hear Allie¡¯s cringe to match his own, but it got even worse when Marsia did the same.


    ¡°He does smell good!¡± Marsia eximed happily, almost pushing herself past Lahn¡¯s wheelchair in order to get in close. ¡°We saw your interaction with that snob from earlier. You were quite fast! Are you a soldier!? Have you fought in the war?¡±


    ¡°My father, the esteemed Lord Nik Lucio is on the front lines.¡± Lahn¡¯s sister Lin eximed with a proudly puffed chest - head held high. ¡°He¡¯s an A-ranker. Perhaps you have heard of him?¡±

 Chapter 173

    Chapter 173


    <strong>Chapter 173</strong>


    ¡°I¡­ have heard of your father.¡± Riven replied slowly. He hadn¡¯t heard GOOD things about Lin¡¯s father, but he was also Lahn¡¯s father - and he didn¡¯t want to overstep by saying something rude. ¡°A-ranker huh¡­ that¡¯s¡­ impressive.¡±


    Lin beamed with pride, and smoothed out the front of her green dress to try and emphasize her curves. ¡°Indeed it is. He¡¯s even a personal friend of the king, believe it or not. Not meaning to brag, of course, but I have even had the opportunity to personally deliver the king a letter - and he acknowledged my family¡¯s house name in passing. So we ARE known to him!¡±


    Lin let out a proud humph and her chin raised even higher.


    ¡°You¡­ delivered a letter¡­ to the king?¡± Riven replied, a little dumbfounded and not sure if this was supposed to be impressive. ¡°That¡¯s very¡­¡±


    ¡°Honorable, I know.¡± Lin smiled brightly and flipped her blonde hair out to the side. ¡°My little brother Lahn probably wouldn¡¯t know this because he is unable to attend such events, but my father was even given tokens to attend the uing royal ball next month. If you¡¯d like, I could extend you an invitation¡­¡±


    She let the words trail off, waiting for the expected reaction of shock and awe to set in. Instead, she got something else entirely. And not from Riven, or ¡®Travis¡¯, but rather from Allie.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t Lahn able to attend?¡± Allie asked, confused and more than a little irritated.


    Lin frowned, barely cast Lahn a nce in his wheelchair, and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? He¡¯s a cripple - and a cursed one at that. How is he supposed to dance and mingle in the crowd when half his body is afflicted with some kind of obscure cursed rot? I do truly feel bad for him, but we aren¡¯t allowed to bring our own servants into the royal pce and none of us real family members can spare the time to babysit him.¡±Lahn¡¯s face fell, but he remained silent.


    Allie was torn. Torn because she wanted to violently kill the dumb bitch for being so mean, and because she wasn¡¯t sure if that¡¯d upset Lahn due to Lin being his sister. She also wasn¡¯t sure if telling Lin about her own invitation to Lahn as a date to the ball would be met with further problems for him, so she merely scowled and kept silent.


    ¡°I know you must feel bad. I used to as well.¡± Lin said with a fake pout and a tut. ¡°But Lahn here has a different path in life. If I could change it I would. But I can¡¯t, so why bring shame to the family name by dragging him out in public? It would only lead to embarrassment for him anyways. Better he be a librarian or something like that, instead of dealing with the politics of the noble houses or war efforts against the Tereen. Since you¡¯re at the academy yourself I can assume you¡¯re also interested in either political or military aspirations, so be honest with yourself. Do you ever see Lahn fighting on the front lines against the elves when he can¡¯t even walk properly?¡±


    Both Wraithtide siblings remained silent, and Lin took this as the go-ahead for her to continue - and that they agreed. ¡°The only reason he¡¯s here is because mother has a soft spot for him. We all know it, and we all know it¡¯s a massive waste of time. Father was furious about the entire ordeal and it took weeks of mother arguing with him in order to even let him leave the house, much less attend the academy. I¡¯m sure she spent many a night on her knees in order to woo father so he¡¯d do as she asked.¡±


    She let out a dramatic sigh and rolled her eyes at thatst statement, to which Lahn got visibly angry. Shaking in his chair and face flushed red, he pointed his one good hand up at his older sister with a wavery voice.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare talk about mother like that!¡± Lahn hissed. ¡°She¡¯s your mother too!¡±


    Lin hummed with amusement, hands sped in front of her while other high ss people in the shop continued to move around them while browsing. ¡°Truly, she is. Though I do believe you¡¯re misinterpreting my intentions when concerning mother. That woman is a true master of maniption and seduction when ites to father, one I aspire to be like.¡±


    Lin gave Travis a wink, and let her eyes linger on his. ¡°So what do you think? Would you like to attend the royal ball with me or not? Do not dawdle, it would be a great opportunity for connections and I will only extend the invitation once.¡±


    Marsia Bortrost, the young woman who¡¯d shunned Lahn all those months ago at the Luciopound, did not like being put on the backburner. Even if it was by her friend and peer, Lin. ¡°Lin - I do believe you have already offered your apanying spot to Lord Bortrude¡¯s son, did you not? Perhaps Lord Wraithtide should go with me instead as I have not given my extra token away yet.¡±


    Lin shot Marsia a look that could kill, and her fingers tightened around one another with venom clear in her words. ¡°Lord Bortrude the Second will have his offer retracted if Lord Wraithtide so wishes, as it was mere charity that allowed my initial exchange in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Marsia asked inly, ignoring Lin¡¯s frown and pushing further into Travis¡¯ personal space to pull out an invitation. ¡°Well it just so happens that I have my extra invitational spot with me. Do you have yours?¡±


    Lin froze, and a building stormy re centered on her peer while her eyes darkened. ¡°I happen to have left it at home.¡±


    Travis remained unconcerned, with his hands stuffed in his pockets. ¡°I already have an invitation.¡±


    Both women turned immediately, shocked into forgetting their brief squabble.


    ¡°You have an invitation to the king¡¯s ball already?¡± Lin pressed with a frown. ¡°I¡¯ve never even heard of your house before. How would a small house such as yours gain such a boon?¡±


    In response, Riven pulled out a letter with the king¡¯s seal. Opening it and letting them read it for themselves for only a few seconds, he ripped it out of Lin¡¯s grip when she reached for it and stuffed the letter back into his pocket. ¡°My sister and I will both be attending.¡±


    ¡°How¡­¡± Marsia began, but she was cut off by Lin who beamed at the opportunity to deny Marsia a win.


    ¡°Then perhaps we can both n to meet there!¡± Lin stated with a wide smile, pushing past Marsia and getting up right next to Travis who now had his back pressed to a shelf with arms folded. ¡°I¡¯d love to show you around! As a neer to the political ambitions of the kingdom, I¡¯d be a lot of help navigating the socialdder-¡±


    The sound of books and supplies crashing into the floor interrupted their chatter.


    ¡°TRAVIS!? Is that you!?¡± Fay¡¯s singsong voice called out from behind the manservants near the stairwell, and everyone turned their heads to watch as the subus in disguise made her appearance.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    She looked just like she had at the king¡¯s luncheon earlier that day: wearing the guise of a blonde young woman with extremely pretty features and a form-fitting silver dress that put both of the other girls attempting to woo Travis to shame. In truth it looked almost exactly like she normally did, only that her skin color had gone from sky blue to a mild tan, her demonic features were missing, and her hair wasn¡¯t a bright silky white in her current state.


    Coming over from where she¡¯d dropped an entire arms-full collection of supplies she¡¯d intended to use with ¡®Travis¡¯ in their ns to learn runecrafting and totem making together, shepletely ignored both of the other young women and even pushed between them. Wrapping her slender arms around Travis¡¯ neck, she nted a long, drawn out, passionate kiss on his lips to the shocked inhales of Lin and Marsia.


    Allie only snickered in delight at their reactions.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking all¡­ over¡­ for.. you¡­¡± Fay said, booping him on the nose flirtatiously at every pause she made during her sentence. Again kissing him briefly with another peck, she turned to look at the two stunneddies of the court with raised eyebrows - giving each of them a once-over and solidifying her spot next to Travis by wrapping her left arm around his waist. ¡°Travis, have you been trying to pick up the local whores again? I¡¯ve told you, no more prostitutes! EVEN IF THEY¡¯RE PUSHY! You have me now and that should be enough.¡±


    Marsia gasped in horror and outrage, eyes wide at the sheer audacity this neer had in calling them both prostitutes - and Lin¡¯s eyes narrowed with a tightening grip along the seams of her lower dress.


    ¡°Did you just insinuate-¡± Lin began, but Fay cut her off with a loud giggle.


    ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m sorry if I offended you two. I didn¡¯t mean it! You were just both pressing yourselves up against my man in the aisle and I assumed you were trying to sell yourselves.¡± Fay rolled her eyes yfully, reached around and smacked Travis to grope his ass - making him yelp in surprise while grinning dangerously back at Lin while maintaining eye contact. ¡°Unfortunately this fine specimen is taken by someone better - being <em><strong>me</strong></em>. Go along and find yourselves another man. For someone like you two - I¡¯d suggest a pimp of some sort.¡±


    Marsia let out another exaggerated and shocked gasp of disgust. ¡°HOW DARE YOU!¡±


    ¡°How dare you!!!¡±¡± Fay repeated in a high pitched and whiny voice while poofing out her cheeks, and she poked her fingers into the sides of her face, creating impromptu dimples that were far exaggerated from what Marsia had - but the point was taken. It was a mockery. Absolute mockery.


    ¡°MY WORD!¡± Marsia huffed, now red in the face and stamping down a heeled foot with trembling hands sped in front of her in an attempt to maintain as much of adylike appearance as possible. ¡°HOW IMMATURE!¡±


    Lin looked from Travis to Fay, from Fay to Travis, and kept her frown to a thin-lipped look of discontent. ¡°Is this one yours, Lord Wraithtide?¡±


    Travis looked down at Fay, who suddenly became sheepish under his gaze - something that Lin definitely caught. Then he smiled warmly. ¡°Yes. I am courting her.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Lin tly replied, ring back at Fay - who¡¯d just be public enemy number one. ¡°Well then. I am Lady Lin Lucio, daughter of Lord NIk Lucio - high inquisitor of his majesty. Who might you be?¡±


    ¡°Why should I share my name with you?¡± Fay replied, gaining herposure now that she¡¯d turned her attention away from Travis - but also feeling bolstered and glowed with a new warmth as his hand came to settle on her waist. ¡°I have no desire to do so.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well seeing that I¡¯ve never seen you at any of the public events - I¡¯m rather tempted to say that you¡¯re not nobility at all. You¡¯re amoner, aren¡¯t you?¡± Lin let the question hang in the air, and when she didn¡¯t get a reply back - she grinned wolfishly. ¡°Yes. As I thought. Lord Wraithtide has decided to take a prettymoner over her betters, diluting the gene pool for superficial looks rather than good gics with high affinities for the pirs or good heritage in wealth. A tragedy, but that¡¯s how men work I suppose.¡±


    Fay¡¯s nostrils immediately red, and she took an aggressive step forward -ing within Lin¡¯s personal space and meeting the other woman eye to eye. Travis couldn¡¯t exactly pinpoint what had set Fay off, but something in that line of sentencing had flipped a switch. Something Lin had said not only made Fay mad, but truly triggered her to a degree that Fay looked like she was going to strike the girl down.


    How curious.


    ¡°And what if I am not nobility?¡± Fay asked curiously, green eyes narrowed with a venomous smile - fingers twitching and almost ready to cast a spell. ¡°When I be Lord Wraithtide¡¯s bride one day, I will be then. Won¡¯t I? Does that hurt your pride, knowing you are being bested by a meremoner? My name is Fay. I don¡¯t need a house name and daddy¡¯s money in order to secure a man, unlike you little t-chested whores that continue to run ragged attempting to take other women¡¯s belongings.¡±


    Lin held up one dainty hand,ughing dramatically into the back of it with her head thrown back. ¡°Quite the fangs on you! Well then,moner trash. How about you put your bluster to the test. A bet, perhaps? One that is system-enforced by Elysium itself - we could even get a magistrate to recite the rites.¡±


    ¡°And what did you have in mind for that?¡± Fay asked with a fake smile that twitched at the edges. ¡°I do love tests, especially if it involves putting you in your ce.¡±


    Lin snapped her fingers, summoning one of her man servants over while not looking away from her newly found arch nemesis - and held out a hand for her man servant to deliver a small pristine card.


    Checkmate.


    She took the small white card,ced with tinum trimmings, and extended it to Fay with a smug smirk. ¡°This is a pass that allows you into the High Tide Women¡¯s Tea Club. I wouldn¡¯t expect you to know anything about it seeing as you¡¯re lowlymoner trash, but it¡¯s a well known establishment here on the top level of the capital. Inside, 7 days hence, we will have apetition between the two of us. It will involve things that properdies of the court and wives of the nobility must know how to do properly, in order to satisfy their men. Seeing that you are oh so desperate to be one of us, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t shirk your duty to show us all just how superior you really are¡­ right? If you have any questions about what I mean, of which I¡¯m sure you will, perhaps you can ask my crippled brother about it. He should at the very least be able to tell you that much, even if he is otherwise useless.¡±


    Allie scowled on the sidelines, and was about toe up and smack a bitch - but Lahn reached out to grip her wrist with a pleading nce.


    Fay nced down at the card, stiffly sping it between her hands while ring at the other blonde woman. ¡°And what is it that you intend to bet, harlot? What exactly could you entice me with so that I would attend such a senseless kind ofpetition? What do I have to gain?¡±


    ¡°What is it you want?¡± Lin said with a wicked sneer - and by this point the clerk at the counter was spellbound, fascinated by the verbal catfight taking ce in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m sure that I coulde up with something to appease someone as poor andckluster as you.¡±


    Fay raised her eyebrows, thought about it for a moment, then grinned in satisfaction as her eyelids narrowed. ¡°You obviously have the upper hand in this bet, so why not make the winnings all that more dangerous? If I win this pathetic littlepetition of yours, you have to work cleaning cow shit out of the stables for a week. It would be a fitting ce for you.¡±


    Silence followed.


    Lin paled slightly, but regained her sneeringposure when Fay began to snicker. She straightened, and to everyone¡¯s surprise she agreed. ¡°Fine. I ept, on one condition.¡±


    Fay¡¯s grin grew wider. ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°If I win, I get to take your man to the royal ball on a date."


    Fay¡¯s smile immediately dropped, and Allie butt in a momentter. ¡°You can¡¯t pawn my brother off like that.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t I?¡± Lin asked curiously, sizing Allie up before checking Travis out again with a grin. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯d do a much better job making him happy than thismoner could. Perhaps I¡¯d even be able to steal him afterwards, just as this ¡®Fay¡¯ has used me of trying to do. I think I¡¯d like that very much.¡±


    Fay hesitated, and her face grew dark with anger. ¡°I can¡¯t do that. We''ve already made ns.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Intimidated? Getting cold feet now after all that false bluster? How pathetic!¡± Linughed, then turned to wave at her man servants in the back. ¡°Well if you change your mind, do let me know. I¡¯ll be there in 7 days¡¯ time, waiting for you at noon - just in case!¡±


    ¡°We can make another bet.¡± Fay stated promptly, only getting a side-eyed and demeaning look of one who thought themselves superior.


    ¡°No my dear. We can¡¯t. You¡¯re obviously not quality material, not confident enough in yourself to win against someone like me - as it should be. You are not worthy of someone like him, and it is a sad thing to see indeed. Sad that nobility like him would fall for trash like you.¡±


    They red at each other, both seething under their falsely polite smiles, before Lahn¡¯s sister turned heel. With a humph and a straightening of her shoulders, Lin walked out of the store with Marsia and all of their servants carrying luggage quickly in tow - only looking back to blow Travis a kiss and seductively wink his way.

 Chapter 174

    Chapter 174


    <strong>Chapter 174</strong>


    Lahn¡¯s little animal sanctuary was positioned in the gardens on the outskirts of Dawn¡¯s Royal Academy - located between hills and secluded from the surrounding area. Enclosed by a tiny wooden fence only big enough to keep the rescued dogs inside, it was adjacent to a pond with a couple heating stones positioned in tiny wooden doggy homes to keep the animals warm during winter months.


    There were about two dozen dogs there, half of them being puppies, and as he pushed open thetched wooden fence they came barreling over to him with yips, yaps and happy tail wags as heughed andughed andughed.


    ¡°Jesus that¡¯s so cute!¡± Allie whispered to the others with a warm smile,tching the fence behind her as they all stepped inside - getting assaulted by the licking, panting dogs themselves soon thereafter.


    Riven reached down and picked up a tiny brown mut that looked like a cross between a basset hound and a weaner dog. It was only a few months old at most, and the excited licks, barks and pawing at his arm was more than enough for him to appreciate what Lahn had done.


    ¡°You little rascal! I didn¡¯t give you that,e back here!¡± Riven said with anotherugh as he chased the tiny puppy around the enclosure after it snagged one of the many treats they¡¯d brought in paper bags.


    Fay watched him go, clutching at her waist where Riven had held her for the entire trip to the sanctuary in order to hold her close. Smoothing out her silver dress andying the paper bags down, she began to pull out bones, chew sticks, and various dried meats - distributing them to the ferocious pack of yipping puppies, strays, and even a few older hobbling dogs that were more than friendly. Many of them nuzzled up against her, and she even had one of the older dogs yawn andy down on herp while beginning to go to sleep.


    ¡°This has GOT TO BE the CUTEST FUCKING THING I¡¯VE EVER SEEN!¡± Allie eximed while being bombarded by the animals.


    Lahn meanwhile was introducing the individual animals by name to Allie, or at least the names he wanted to give them. Only a few of them actually responded to their given names, but it was adorable nheless.Though he paused to consider Fay after a while of ying with the dogs when seeing that she looked rather down. ¡°Fay? Are you doing alright?¡±


    Fay, who was now staring at her own reflection and kneeling along the side of the pond, jolted out of a thoughtful stupor. ¡°Oh! Yes, I¡¯m fine. This has been quite fun! Why do you ask?¡±


    Lahn nced over to where the Wraithtide siblings were having a very serious discussion about puppy adoptions and ying fetch with some of the toys Lahn had brought. ¡°I feel bad about the interaction you had concerning my sister. I¡¯m sorry you had to deal with her like that. Don¡¯t feel bad, there¡¯s nothing wrong with being amoner and you¡¯re far prettier than she is anyway. She¡¯s just jealous.¡±


    Fay¡¯s eyebrows rose in surprise, then she grinned. ¡°Thanks! And it¡¯s ok, nothing that you did to warrant an apology. I came off a little aggressive too when I saw her hitting on Travis and I think she only responded so poorly because of my initial prompting. I was rude too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah but it was nice to see someone finally say those things to her. The evil bitch.¡± Lahn wheeled himself up to the pond, tossing some bread into the water and smiling as beautifully colored fish came up to the surface - nibbling at the bread before diving back down again. ¡°It must be nice, having a sister that actually cares about you. I¡¯m jealous of Travis by a lot.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious Allie cares about you too you know. Which brings me to my question - just what DID you do to get her attention?¡± Fay asked, contemting the possibilities and giving him a curious smirk.


    Lahn blushed furiously, shaking his head from side to side as snowkes began to slowly fall against his skin. ¡°I think you have the wrong idea! We¡¯re just friends. There¡¯s no way she¡¯d be interested in me like that.¡±


    ¡°I do believe you¡¯re wrong.¡± Fay stated with a simple shrug. ¡°But believe what you will.¡±


    There was a very long silence after that as Lahn considered her words. He nced up from his hand to look over the pond towards Allie, then looked back to Fay - brows furrowed. ¡°Why do you think she¡¯s interested in me like that? It seems almost impossible.¡±


    Fay held her hands out to either side. ¡°I¡¯d thought it would be impossible for her to settle down at all. She has a lot of suitors. A LOT of suitors. And she¡¯s¡­¡±


    Fay held her tongue, wanting to say that she¡¯d acquired thralls to use as sex ves one after another until recently. Fay wanted to tell him that Allie had abruptly stopped visiting her man harem after she¡¯d started talking to them about Lahn. Fay wanted to also tell him that although she didn¡¯t know Allie very well - she¡¯de to view Allie as a bloodthirsty, ruthless killing machine and a cutthroat queen that was very much reversed into a blushing schoolgirl in Lahn''s presence - but Fay couldn¡¯t say any of that. Nor could she voice her more personal thoughts - such as she didn¡¯t know why Allie would take a liking to Lahn either, but then again the more time Fay spent with Lahn the more likeable he became. Perhaps Lahn¡¯s personality really had won Allie over.


    ¡°She¡¯s¡­ what?¡± Lahn pressed, frowning at Fay¡¯s hesitation.


    Fay sighed, then began giggling when a snoopy hound started nuzzling its nose under her arm to begin licking her hand. Petting the dog, her shoulders lost their tension. ¡°She just seems different. I think you¡¯re good for her. It may not be romantic, but it also may be that way, I don¡¯t know. At the very least I do believe it¡¯s possible - so keep your chin up. I can tell you¡¯re very hard on yourself because of your disabilities, but you shouldn¡¯t be. After all, it¡¯s not your fault you have an Azagnitide Rotworm living inside you.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s face nked. ¡°What?¡±


    Fay¡¯s smile widened mischievously. ¡°I said it¡¯s not your fault you have an Azagnitide Rotworm living inside of you.¡±


    Lahn blinked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Fay pointed to his left arm, then his left leg - where the flesh had withered and shriveled into ck and green, almost mummified limbs. ¡°It¡¯s eating you away you know. You¡¯ll likely die within three years, and I¡¯m surprised you¡¯vested this long. You¡¯re getting sick more often, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Lahn¡¯s face scrunched up in confusion, and his mouth opened and closed repeatedly while trying to find the words to reply. ¡°Yes, I have been getting sick more frequently. How did you know that? I never even told any of you that I had bouts of sickness. Do you know what my condition is? Have you seen it before?¡±


    His voice picked up an octave, hope shining in his eyes. ¡°No one has ever found out the source of my sickness! Do you have a clue about how to treat it?! And what is an Azagnitide Rotworm?¡±


    Fay slowly and sagely nodded, standing up to brush off dog hair from her formfitting silver dress. ¡°Oh yes I am very aware of your predicament. You see, I¡¯m a curse specialist. I only have a few spells under my belt but I was schooled in many different theories and I know a lot of the lore. One of my lore lessons, taught to me by my mother, talked about your condition in detail.¡±


    Fay reached out, touching his withered mummified hand. ¡°Essentially, your life force is being slowly drained over time to fuel a void beast. It first takes parts of your body, then at the end of your life it takes your soul and eats that too. Azagnitide Rotworms are verymon parasites in the void, but elsewhere¡­ Not as much. They use high-grade curses of flesh-melding to blend in with your body - disguising themselves from healing magics to avoid purging. I¡¯m not sure how you ever came into contact with one but it is possible to cure your condition entirely. Allie actually asked me toe along today in order to evaluate your condition after hearing that you thought it was a curse, and I¡¯m d to say that I think I¡¯ll be able to get the resources together for a sufficient ritual. It may take a while, but it¡¯s certainly worth a shot.¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Lahn''s breathing picked up dramatically, and he nearly jumped out of his chair due to the excitement; which ended up causing him to fall over. Fay had to catch him as he sputtered a reply, but she calmed him down - getting curious nces from the Wraithtide siblings as they started to walk around the pond to Lahn¡¯s location.


    ¡°You can CURE me!?¡± He asked, heart mming inside his chest - which was very evident to the two vampires nearby. ¡°You¡¯re not just saying that!?¡±


    ¡°Whoa now!¡± Fay stated with a stern re. ¡°I am NOT making any promises. I am merely saying it¡¯s possible and that I¡¯ll try. First I have to get the right ritual set up, and that¡¯ll require some digging through old texts from my mother¡¯s library. I¡¯ll have to pay her a visit. Then I¡¯ll have to collect the right ingredients and we¡¯ll have to have a healer on standby - because by the hells, if it works, the purging of that worm is going to be a very painful process.¡±


    ***


    Allie wheeled Lahn right up to his dormitory, right outside the first floor entrance where other fledgling lords anddies of Dawn¡¯s high society bustled in and out. Many stopped to stare at the three immensely attractive people talking to Lahn, but not a single one of them paid him any attention at all.


    In fact, they treated him like he was some sort of gue-ridden ghost - even going out of their way to avoid him most of the time.


    ¡°Those puppies you saved are adorable, and I¡¯m d we got to meet them today.¡± Allie said, getting on one knee and sping his good hand in her own. ¡°And try not to think so much about what Fay said! I know you¡¯re excited, but we aren¡¯t sure if it can be done yet.¡±


    Lahn, meanwhile, was staring back at her the same way he stared at his mother all those years growing up. He suppressed a sob, clenched her hand harder, and tried to swallow a ball that was building up in his throat. His voice was shaky, and it was all he could do not to cry and embarrass himself in front of everyone there. ¡°No one has ever done anything like this for me before. No one but my mom.¡±


    He promptly shook his head to cut her off when she began to protest. ¡°No, I mean it. I¡¯ve only known you a rtively short time and you¡¯re already one of the best things that has happened to me since I was very little. I couldn¡¯t ask for a better friend. Thank you for at least trying Allie, and even if it doesn¡¯t work - the mere fact that you tried says and means more to mean than you can ever imagine. Thank you.¡±


    Lahn then loudly coughed into his withered hand, getting disgusted looks from one of the other noble brats walking by. Sheepishly putting his bad hand back in hisp, Lahn¡¯s eyes shifted towards Allie and the others again. ¡°Sorry. Anyways, thank you all. Fay, I appreciate your efforts no matter how it goes. I¡¯ll be waiting eagerly to try, but I need to be off. I have to study for tomorrow¡¯s test¡­ Are you going to be there to take the test tomorrow, Allie?¡±


    Allie smiled, pressed her hands against his, and stood to shake her head. ¡°No. Family business calls, my brother and I have some things to do.¡±


    Lahn immediately looked disappointed. ¡°Things?¡±


    ¡°It involves the war effort.¡± Allie stated, then winked. ¡°ssified.¡±


    ¡°Against Tereen?¡± Lahn said, opened mouthed. ¡°Wait, are you really caught up in the war already? That would exin why you¡¯re so strong! Are you already an officer? What are you doing here!?¡±


    Travis and Allie both chuckled.


    ¡°She did say ¡®ssified.¡¯¡± Fay stated with a wink. ¡°Do you need one of us to help you to your room?¡±


    ¡°NO! No, that¡¯d be embarrassing.¡± Lahn replied with a reluctant exhale. ¡°Fine! Keep your secrets! I¡¯ll figure them outter anyway!¡±


    With a teasing grin, Lahn turned his wheelchair back around and headed into the dormitory. Waving at Allie and his two new friends, he turned left and started wheeling himself towards his room. It was only a couple doors down from the main entrance, intentionally ced there for easy ess, and he ignored the stares he got from other academy students while fumbling with his keys. Finding the correct one and inserting it into the lock, he looked down the hall the way he¡¯de as if to see whether or not Allie had followed.


    And of course she hadn¡¯t.


    He gave a wistful sigh, turned the key, and entered the room.


    His maid wasn¡¯t there. She¡¯d probably been called off on an errand for his brother again, as she did technically serve the entire Lucio household and not just Lahn. Locking the door behind him and strenuously pushing himself into the main dining area, Lahn approached the bed where he took out the royal ball invitation Allie had given him. Peeling open the parchment imbued with the king¡¯s sigil and reading the golden texts, his excited smile was apanied by a lightugh of disbelief.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± his sister¡¯s familiar voice called out from the dark interior of the kitchen, and Lahn whirled around as fast as he could in his chair to give a set of three figures a startled look.


    There, sitting or leaning against the countertops in the kitchen were his brother, his sister, and none other than his arch nemesis: Gleetus Nefrand. Gleetus wore a look of malicious glee, cracking his knuckles and ring down at him while Lin hopped off the counter to coldly jut her nose upwards in Lahn¡¯s direction.


    Meanwhile, his elder brother Parius Lucio stalked forward with slow steps - his boots thunking against carpeted floor. Parius was one of the most handsome men around, and always had flocks of girls trying to catch his eye. He was blonde, a lot like Lahn¡¯s sister Lin, and wore his hair in a ponytail. Much like Gleetus, Parius also wore a victorian-styled buttoned coat with frillsing up off the cor. His blue eyes red down at Lahn between the other two figures, obviously the alpha in this situation, and he snatched the invitation to the royal ball out of Lahn¡¯s hands with a sneer.


    Then, as his eyes traced the lettering amidst the dead silence of the room, his eyebrows lifted. Parius flicked the page twice with his pointer finger, and turned his attention back to his crippled younger brother. ¡°Who did you steal this from, little brother?¡±


    Lahn paled. ¡°I didn¡¯t steal it from anyone! It was given to me!¡±


    ¡°By who?¡± Parius questioned again.


    Lahn¡¯s fists curled. ¡°Lady Allie Wraithtide!¡±


    Gleetus, who¡¯d remained silent up until now, sputtered in exaggerated disbelief. ¡°No, no, no. Parius, your little brother has been stalking that poor girl ever since she arrived here. Allie Wraithtide is a new, beautiful, rather rich youngdy of the court and is quite popr in our sses. No doubt during one of his attempts to stalk her he snatched this invitation from her bag when she wasn¡¯t looking.¡±


    ¡°I can attest to that.¡± Lin said with a snobbish flip her hair. ¡°I saw him stalking the poor girl and her brother at the magic shop in town just earlier today. It was rather pathetic, if I may add. She wanted nothing to do with him and he continued to follow her like a kicked dog.¡±


    Gleetus snickered.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t true!¡± Lahn said desperately, using his eyes to plead with his older brother as he extended a hand for the parchment back. ¡°That is an invitation for me! She personally gave it to me so I could attend with her!¡±


    ¡°AS HER DATE!? HERS?!¡± Gleetus roared withughter, and even Lin seemed genuinely amused this time. ¡°THAT¡¯S OUTRAGEOUS! Now I¡¯m CERTAIN he stole it from her! Parius, if you saw this woman for even a moment you¡¯d understand just how absurd it would be for someone like her to ask him to the ball.¡±


    ¡°Agreed!¡± Lin spat, with her arms crossed. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know better-¡±


    Parius snapped his fingers, still ring down at Lahn, and the other two people in the room quickly shut up. Folding the invitation into his coat pocket, he pat it twice and sped his hands behind his back. He let out a weary sigh, shook his head, and began to slowly exit the room. Coming to the door leading out, he stopped and briefly nced back. ¡°I¡¯ll be heading out to return the invitation you stole, Lahn. Your very existence is already shame enough to the family, as your performance at this school has been. I will try to correct this and make amends before even more shame is brought onto the Lucio name by returning the invitation to her, and in the meantime I urge you to reconsider just what it is you¡¯re trying to aplish here. Gleetus, you may proceed.¡±


    Turning the knob to leave the room, Parius quickly exited and locked the door behind him with a click.


    Lahn just stared at the door shut behind his older brother, abination of embarrassment, fury and despair sinking in as tears welled up under his eyes.


    ¡°Oh, are you going to cry now?!¡± Gleetusughed alongside Lin, who began tough behind a hand covering her mouth. Cracking his knuckles and walking over to where a fire poker was set next to the dormant firece at the end of the room, he picked up the metal object and gave it a few swings. ¡°Well don¡¯t get too hasty now. Do you remember what I said to you in ss? About how I¡¯d break your legs if you kept that attitude of yours up so that you¡¯d remember your ce?¡±


    Gleetus turned around, smiling menacingly at the crippled young man in the wheelchair. ¡°Well now you¡¯re about to find out that I¡¯m not all just bluster after all!¡±


    Gleetus dashed forward, and Lahn yelled out in surprise and fear as Gleetus swung the fire poker as hard as he could - mming the metal object into Lahn¡¯s good leg.


    There was a snap of bone, a shrill scream, and Lin began to outwardlyugh.


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?¡± Lahn yelled, falling out of his chair as he tried to escape and bleeding from a gash wound along the leg that didn¡¯t want to hold his weight anymore. ¡°HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!¡±


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    The metal object mmed into the back of Lahn¡¯s thigh, tearing out a small strip of flesh whip it as Gleetus started to angrily and repeatedly hit Lahn¡¯s good leg as hard as he could. Over and over, Gleetus struck the downed man while Lin watched from the sidelines, and over and over - Lahn let out horrified whimpers and screams for help.

 Chapter 175

    Chapter 175


    <strong>Chapter 175</strong>


    <em>The creature was exactly as the hologram had depicted her - arge red and ck spider that was a rather pretty creature for an arachnid, which was odd considering how he¡¯d always thought most spiders looked disgusting. Ath¡¯s blood-tipped legs tapped rapidly in excitement as it looked around, and as her two red eyes settled on him ¨C she lifted the two front legs and spread its fangs while getting up on the hind legs. ¡°Hi there, master! How¡¯s your day going?¡±</em>


    <em>Riven was taken aback. The spider could talk? The voice was high pitched, feminine, and was the equivalent to a soft summer¡¯s breeze or wind chimes. It was nice, pleasant to hear, and he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. Not only was the spider very pretty for an animal, but even its voice was pleasant and friendly?</em>


    <em>He gave Ath a mixed expression of confusion and amusement, before getting up and walking over to the dog-sized arachnid. Extending a hand and shaking one of its rather cold, sharpened front legs ¨C he smiled down as it clicked its mandibles together. ¡°You¡¯re rather cute. How¡¯d I get so lucky with my minion choice?¡±</em>


    <em>He could have sworn that the spider flushed pink for a moment before it shook his hand vigorously with dramatic affect.</em>


    <em>¡°Now, now, human; I can¡¯t have you hitting on me right after summoning me. We¡¯re different species and it wouldn¡¯t¡¯ work out.¡±</em>


    <em>***</em>


    Riven blinked, and the memory faded.


    Chopper des whirred overhead, creating a symphony of beating metal against the wind as two dozen apache attack helicopters and a couple transports zoomed over the forestedndscape beneath. The birds of prey hade to roost in the dying light of sunset. Their destination had been set to Dungeon Alibast.A burning vige, a battalion of marching undead, and ruined battlegrounds passed them by. The front lines were fast approaching, and once they even encountered an elvish strike squadron on horseback running down men from Dawn¡¯s armed forces - only for the apaches to annihte the elves in a storm of gunfire imbued with power from the machine pir. The apaches had been modified by system engineers, ssers that could upgrade mechanical units various ways - the equivalent of mages for the machine pir. Thus, the imbued arrows and lightning strikes that did manage to connect with the helicopters only burnt out and fizzled away when the sma shields activated - lighting up the mechanical runes along the sides of the machines¡¯ heavy armor.


    The attack finished just as fast as it began - ending in an abrupt bloodbath, and the men of dawn below cheered their thanks while the apaches rapidly passed them by.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised they haven¡¯t surrendered yet.¡± Riven said through a microphone incorporated into his ¡®Messenger¡¯ helmet by one of Chicago¡¯s engineers. His red eyes shifted over to Allie, who merely shrugged andughed back at him through thes.


    ¡°Most of their elite troops have been wiped out, but they¡¯re far from done putting up a fight.¡± Mara yelled over the whirring of the helicopter des through her own mic, gripping the side of the transport helicopter with white knuckles. ¡°It¡¯s only guesswork as to why they haven¡¯t given up yet, but some think they¡¯re too proud - and others think their king has gone mad. Either way, it means more bodies for us from both sides of the conflict and they have a lot of soldiers left.¡±


    ¡°But if this goes right, they might even surrender today.¡± Allie chimed in through the mic. ¡°Regardless of if they choose to or not, we still win. When the war is over we¡¯ll split thend between Dawn and the Necropolis with a third of their empire going to Dawn and two thirds going to us, and I¡¯ve alreadyid im to the capital. It¡¯s a prize I won¡¯t give up, the city is supposed to be full of natural treasures and has an enormous poption we can use to our own ends.¡±


    ¡°It is very generous of you to even give them a third, my queen.¡± Gurth¡¯Rok, the vampiric orc chieftain cut in with a harsh cough. ¡°We did most of the work in this war. If it was up to me, I¡¯d have given Dawn nothing. It was prize enough to save them from eventual disaster and envement.¡±


    Allie¡¯s chuckle rang clear. ¡°True enough, but it is nice to have a real ally for once. Think of it as an investment. We can¡¯t just go kill and conquer everyone we see, and lending an olive branch now may prove useful in the future.¡±


    ***


    The transport choppers ended upnding two miles from the dungeon on a secluded teau at the end of the mountain range, dropping off their loads and quickly making a break back towards the necropolis with their apache escort.


    Riven watched them go, but eventually turned around when they¡¯d been lost out of sight beyond the mountains in the northeast. He then abruptly found himself being watched - by everyone.


    They expected him to lead.


    Fay leaned over and nudged him with a chuckle, tipping her witch¡¯s hat and spreading her wings to epass his body -armor and all. Meanwhile, Azmoth just stood beside him with all four arms folded and his massive molten warhammer head-down on the ground. Allie and Gurth¡¯rok came to stand beside him in solidarity, both turning around with Allie¡¯s hands sped behind her back and Gurth¡¯rock putting weight on his cobra staff.


    ¡°So this is our best and brightest.¡± Riven said aloud, evaluating them one by one. ¡°I only very briefly introduced myself earlier, but I¡¯m sure you all know me. Now it¡¯s my turn to know all of you. You were all rmended by Allie, Gurth¡¯Rok, or General Bruner - so I expect great things. Tell me about yourself and what you can do, we¡¯ll start down the line. Brief descriptions only.¡±


    The group consisted of a mix-and-match of different races, sses, and abilities. Each of them were in the low to high A-tier brackets - being between levels 49 and 56, and introductions didn¡¯t take long. Including Riven and his two demons, there were 36 of them total.


    There were three cyborg sharpshooters with modified silenced sniper rifles and sma swords for closebat - but they were primarily for long range fighting and picking off dangerous targets from afar. Each of them had various and different pieces of their previously human bodies interchanged with technological equivalents, brought about by their pir orientations and sses, and they each wore form fitting ck nanotech armor that was self repairing by nature.


    Two hackers and onebat engineer followed next - with the energy hackers being able to not only track energy signatures, but were able to indicate what type of iing attack would target their group if they identified it fast enough. Sometimes they were even able to misdirect enemy energy signatures and use it to their own ends - meaning they could turn enemy spells and martial arts around on their casters - hence the ¡®hacking¡¯ aspect of their ss. Meanwhile thebat engineer wasyered between tes of metal in a medium-sized mech a little bit bigger than Azmoth, with various utility gadgets attached to different appendages that included repair kits, healing rays, arge miningser, 3D mapping technology and tracking beacons, utility arms for rapid construction, and a couple of self-defense measures that mostly included short range burst fire from a machine gun on one arm. What was most unique to Riven about the mech though, was that this mech was actually integrated into the machine pir and sub pirs this man had - bing an extension of himself by default. It wasn¡¯t something he could just give up or give away, which wasn¡¯t always apparently the case - but doing this made his mech all that much more powerful because he could level it up.


    Twelve warriors in enchanted heavy te armor made up the front line:prising of seven muscr orc death knights and three ghoul death knights - who¡¯d actually obtained the real ss of deathknight rather than what Allie had referred to her minions as previously, and two hulking flesh golem unholy-berserkers with exposed muscture and metal tes or spikes protruding from around their red-and-white bodies.


    Two skeletal skresh assassins, a single ghoul assassin, two human rogues and a lone goblin thief were all present on the subterfuge department - being outfitted with varieties of equipment that gave stealth bonuses. Each of them had various sma daggers - which were quickly bing a staple of the Necropolis forces, enchanted crossbows, silenced pistols, handheld energy bombs supplied by Chicago¡¯s engineers, and a variety of shadow-pir abilities that attributed to stealth.


    Then,stly, were the mages - not including Riven, Gurth¡¯rok, or Allie.


    There was obviously Mara, Nin, and Vin - all of them necromancers and dark arts practitioners. But there were a couple infernal-based bombardment mages in their ranks too - three humans to be exact, and a defense-oriented orc shaman that was able to cast healing spells and air-based defensive domes - having forgone the transition into the unholy foundational pir at Riven¡¯s altar in favor of keeping the fae foundational pir. Healers were a rarity, so it turned out, thus the shaman was highly valued - as was Gurth¡¯Rok the orc chieftain and the utility-basedbat engineer concerning his mech¡¯s healing rays.


    Unlike the shaman though, Gurth¡¯rok HAD taken the plunge into the unholy pir. He¡¯d had to after his vampiric heritage shed with his Fae pir, and it¡¯d meant he¡¯d had to relearn a bunch of new spells. However, the transition hadn¡¯t been aplete reset - because many of his old spells had been mutated or warped into unholy versions of their fae counterparts. This ended up giving Gurth¡¯Rok a lot of blood-rted spells that were actually healing oriented, and Riven in hindsight probably would need to learn at least one of them from the orc in time. The problem was that his blood pir was filling up in terms of runic space, and they¡¯d even started transitioning to etch themselves into his soul core rather than the pir itself. He had room for potentially one to three more blood based abilities in his pir - depending on runic size, and a few more in his core from any orientation. Not all spells took up the same amount of space. When the blood sub pir filled up, Riven wouldn¡¯t be able to create the sigils needed for lock-and-key ess to new spells unless they were of different pir orientation - as the other pirs he had could ce their own oriented spells on their part of the soul aperture, but they wouldn¡¯t allow spells oriented to other pirs to be drawn onto them - unlike his core which was a free for all. He currently had Bloody Razors, Crimson Ice, Blood Lance, and Blood Nova - with the two particr spells Crimson ice and Blood Nova taking up enormous portions of his blood sub pir just by themselves whenpared to the others. Not immediately, but soon if he wanted to learn new blood spells after his core filled up: he¡¯d need to start sacrificing other abilities to learn them.


    If youe across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    So he had to choose wisely on which new abilities he wanted for the future.


    ¡°Let me be clear.¡± Riven said, mming the butt of his spear-staff into the ground with the ck de pointing upwards. ¡°I am here to help ensure your safety, but I want this experience to go to all of you. I will intervene if I feel it is absolutely necessary in order to save your lives, but I cannot promise you won¡¯t die. I¡¯ll do my best, but theing world quests will need more than just me to see them through. We have liches, snow giants, invaders from out of this world and more that we don¡¯t even know abouting to fuck our day up.¡±


    He let his words sink in, watching the firm expressions of his soldiers unwaveringly stare back at him. Riven nodded in approval. ¡°We are entering this dungeon for the same reason we are allowing this senseless war with Tereen to continue: it is because we are in the business of raising this world¡¯s elites tobat the bigger threats of the future. Conflict breeds heroes in this new multiverse, and though I¡¯m sure not all of you will make it that far - I¡¯m willing to bet that some of you will. This venture into the dungeon is going to be on all of your shoulders. From this expedition andter expeditions: Allie and I will select future guildmates to apany us regrly to participate in only god knows what when the guild system finallyes. I am told by our allies in the Blood Moon Requiem that guilds have arge part to y in uing events across the multiverse, even beyond this, so do your best to impress us. Think of this almost as a tryout. You¡¯ll be evaluated the entire way through - but all of you already knew that when you signed up, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    He got nods and grunts of acknowledgement from the party in front of him.


    ¡°Dungeon Alibast, as many of you know, has been supplying Tereen with many of its dungeon creatures to fight alongside the elves in the war. By estimates, it should have a couple thousand creatures inside it even right now despite sending most of its forces to help aid the enemy.¡± Riven continued, red blood-silk ps off his lower back armor rustling in the breeze. ¡°I do not intend to outright destroy the dungeon. This dungeon will be temporarily put down in favor of looting the wares it has, and if all goes well - we¡¯ll be able to do so a few times before it either relocates entirely or bes a training dungeon for us. We¡¯ll see how things go. Now, aside from myself you¡¯ll all be participating - including my sister Allie, my minions who need the levels as well, and Gurth¡¯Rok. There maye a time where we split up into teams, but only for short intervals. No need to senselessly waste such good talent on a training expedition - so most of the expedition is going to be together where I can intervene if need be. Any questions?¡±


    ¡°No sir!¡± One of the cyborg sharpshooters called out, and many of the others shook their heads in silence.


    ¡°Good. I expect great things from all of you. Now let¡¯s move out.¡±


    ***


    The dungeon¡¯s entrance was an enormous cave, built into the side of thest mountain in the chain; where a couple dozenrge nt-like humanoids were ying cards with high elf sentries. The nt-like creatures were called ¡®Lesser Dryads¡¯ even by the system, and they were the dominant dungeon creature that Dungeon Alibast produced. Aside from that, there¡¯d been a number of other nt-type monsters that ranged from carnivorous walking trees and flowers, to living, rolling masses of vines that sucked the blood and bile right out of your body. There¡¯d also been a few reports on greater dryads too, though they were patchy and contradicted one another at the best of times.


    ¡°Stealth team A is in position, targets have been eliminated on the eastern slope.¡±


    ¡°Stealth team B is position.¡±


    ¡°Overwatch team is in position.¡±


    ¡°Bombardment team is on standby and ready to nuke em.¡±


    Riven clicked his tongue, watching from the hillside where a dead elf archer was held by his snapped neck - one of many that would be raised from the dead to act as temporary cannon fodder by the necromancers. He mentally activated hiss. ¡°Begin.¡±


    Immediately three of the sentries standing around the table watching the card game were decapitated in single-strike sts of targeted gunfire. The shock from the dryads as well as the elves was only short lived, but it was enough time for the sniper rifles to take out another four of their number.


    ¡°WE¡¯RE UNDER ATTACK!¡± One of the elves, a young man with blonde hair and a white longsword yelled out while drawing it from a scabbard.


    He was quickly cut down by a skeletal hand wielding a dagger as one of the skresh assassins ruptured from a nearby shadow.


    The defenders died within seconds, and Riven nodded in appreciation at the skill these soldiers showed whileing down from his hiding ce at a vantage point.


    Stopping near the man who¡¯d called out to try and raise the rm, Riven frowned. He wondered just what kind of lies he¡¯d been told, what kind of pay he¡¯d been enticed with, what morals he held that allowed him to stay here and fight this war. Perhaps the young man wasn¡¯t all that different from himself, or at least he might not have been before bing a corpse.


    ¡°They started this war.¡± Allie reminded him upon seeing his gaze linger on the dead young man - barely older than a boy. ¡°They weremitting atrocities, purging entire viges and towns - enving people from Dawn without cause and treating those ves a lot more brutally than you allow us to do with the elvish prisoners of war. Remember that.¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t look back, and instead he turned towards the cave entrance - peering into the darkness. ¡°Yes. I know.¡±


    ***


    George Kalsky¡¯s yellow bionic eye zoomed down the iron sight of his silenced sniper rifle on thought. Positioning on a ledge that overlooked the roaring battle below, he took a moment to soak in the field.


    As a previous Navy Seal, he¡¯d had his fair share of warfare. But this was a lot more intense than what he¡¯d been used to back on his mission in the Middle East and southern Asia. The line of heavily armored, fully ted death knights were beating back a horde of carnivorous vines akin to snakes, as well as a multitude of their nt-like dryad masters that looked like people carved from wood, stems and flowers or other different nts. Heavy metal tower shields were held out in front of the knights as each of them wielded swords that let off soul me of neon-teal and ck energies. The death magic ripped through the nts, and various body-enhancements were obviously in full glow as they carved through the dungeon¡¯s defenses like a meat grinder, but their main job was to tank for the real damage doers in the back.


    ck holes overhead soaked in both light and life as the necromancers continued to suck in enemies and raise the dead - sending the undead creations back into the still living dryads in a never ending wave. sts of fire akin to mortars and bombs tore holes in the hundreds of racing enemies charging their position - decimating the underground caverns that¡¯d once been littered with flowering nts. Stealth-based ssers vanished in and out of the shadows on the sidelines, killing stragglers or enemies that¡¯d been separated from the main groups - while also looking out for enemy stealth types that were few and far between but still asionally present.


    Feeling the pulse of his armaments pir, re in his soul, George set his sights on one of the backline druid casters and began channeling the tier 2 martial art: ¡®True Shot¡¯ - one of the most basic, but one of the most useful abilities of his ss.


    The silenced sniper rifle, a magnificent sleek ck gun half the size he was, shimmered with pale light and let an infused projectile rocket out of the chamber. Tearing through the air, the bullet infused with ¡®True Shot¡¯ passed by an erected energy shield and made contact with the first physical item behind it - the shaman¡¯s heart.


    <strong>[You havended a critical hit. Max Damage x9.]</strong>


    The dryad¡¯s chest blew out the back, showering his allies in gorey nt matter to the enraged screams of the other defenders.


    Grinning wolfishly, George turned his closely shaved head to the next target and readjusted his aim. This time it was a mutant treeant, arge, hulking humanoid created out of thick bark, branches, and enormous limbs. It was gigantic, racing straight for the front line and shrugging off ming bolts of fire and darkness that the backline casters, but it wasn¡¯t about to get there alive.


    He channeled another True Shot and fired. The bullet howled through the air, mming into the tough defenses of the treeant¡¯s hide andpletely ignoring the outeryer of energy shielding the creature - but the thick bark was more than just for show. The bullet, as fast as it was, only lodged in half an inch and caused the treeant to stagger.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    Getting to one knee and making sure that there wasn¡¯t any enemying up from behind, he exposed himself to activate another ability: sma Cannon.


    It was the very first skill he¡¯d acquired from the Armaments pir, and it temporarily shifted his arm into a weapon. Holding out his right hand in a straight line, his entire arm began to change. Metal pieces quickly shifted, churned, rotated and clicked into ce as his fingers were reincorporated into his body and a long hollow steel barrel glowing with orange light reced it. Neon lights etched through lines of power across his entire extremity, and a whirring noise began to rumble within the limb as small fan-like des began to rotate inside.


    *THRUM*


    The orange energies congregated, forming an orb inside the small cannon attached to his arm - and he took a more careful aim as he felt the sma begin to charge. A percentage counter began ticking up, letting him know what kind of energy output he¡¯d unleash.


    178 V.


    204 V.


    267 V.


    305 V.


    He didn¡¯t know what the ¡®V¡¯ stood for, but it definitely corrted to the power output of his cannon - and when his arm started to shake and overhead around 509 V he let the cannon rip.


    The ball of orange energy roared forward and rocked the room, nearly blowing him backwards with an aftershock as the ball of sma collided head on with the iing tree giant.


    The monster roared as half its body shattered into splinters of wood. It fell over, crushing many of the dryads underneath it that were madly rushing ahead - and George¡¯s arm began to simmer with heat as it cooled down.


    ¡°Fuck yeah!¡± He muttered to himself with a smile, narrowly dodging a wooden spike that wasunched in retaliation from the enemy backlines


    And that¡¯s when he heard the crunch of wood on stone behind him.


    Eyes narrowing he whirled barely seeing the iing root before he dodged left.


    The root passed him by and skewered the stone he¡¯d beenying on, then whipped back around and retracted into a green woman with vines for hair and a pink flower for her left eye that covered half her face. She wore a long dress made of interwoven leaves, and her legs trailed with roots that supported her weight and helped her move as if her feet were hovering a few inches above ground.


    She hummed with amusement and held up a hand as George raised a pistol - deflecting numerous bullets as the semi-automatic weapon chipped away at the bark shield she conjured. ¡°Quite the little rascal, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Her voice was like honey, too human for George¡¯s liking, and he quickly drew out a sma knife from his belt that red to life with neon light. Yellow rectangr runes of the machine pir began to light up his arms and legs as body empowerment abilities activated, and he set himself into abat-ready stance for closebat.


    <strong>[Greater Dryad, Wood Priestess, Level 70 Elite]</strong>


    The notification glowed in golden mes, signifying the ¡®Elite¡¯ Status that he¡¯d heard rumors about but hadn¡¯t actually seen until now. And she was level 70 to his level 55.


    This did not look good.


    But he steadied himself anyways, ready to match her attack as she simply smiled and blinked back at him through the roar of battle.


    Then another figure appeared from the hallway from whence the expedition hade. And then another, and another, and then even more. They poured in, silently evaluating the battle from the ledge George had decided to use as a vantage point - and his body grew cold when he saw thest of the figures emerge from around the bend. She was only a little girl and looked a lot like the dryads did. She had vines and leaves for hair and half of her right arm was covered in bark, but her small body was otherwise created from green stalk and dozens of small flowers.


    <strong>[Greater Dryad, Wood Priest, Level 61 Elite]</strong>


    <strong>[Greater Dryad, Flower Priestess, Level 72 Elite]</strong>


    <strong>[Greater Dryad, Earth Shaman, Level 69 Elite]</strong>


    <strong>[Reincarnation of Gaia, Earth-based Demigoddess, Level 103, Legendary]</strong>


    The little girl looked up to George, studied him through narrowed hazel eyes, and frowned. ¡°George¡­ Why are you attacking me?¡±


    Caught off guard by the monster knowing his name, George abruptly took a step back. ¡°Huh? Do I know you?¡±


    ¡°I know all of the people who were born on my world¡­ or at least I used to.¡± The little girl put on a sad smile. Then she walked over, unperturbed by the violence below, and stood to watch the massacre of her people. ¡°George¡­ Can you bring Allie and Riven to me so I may speak with them?¡±


    She turned around, a bastion of innocence. ¡°I do believe there has been a misunderstanding.¡±

 Chapter 176

    Chapter 176


    <strong>Chapter 176</strong>


    Riven stared at the young girl sitting across from him a few feet away, red eyes narrowed through the visor slit, and vertical jaws along his ivory te armor hissing from time to time. Jackal had taken its dog form, a shadowy canine that red over at Gaia¡¯s reincarnation wordlessly as its body shimmered with ck wisps of shadow. ¡°So let me get this straight. You¡¯re saying that you¡¯ve been quarantined here, unable to control any of the monsters you create-¡±


    ¡°I do not like to refer to them as monsters.¡± Gaia replied sweetly, a smile adorning her lips while new flowers began to bloom from her outstretched palm. ¡°They are my children, just like you.¡±


    Riven blinked. ¡°Right¡­ You are unable to control your children outside of this dungeon because the elves have¡­ What, mind controlled them somehow by using nature-attuned magics?¡±


    ¡°That is correct. My children are very susceptible outside of my dungeon realm, and I cannot leave this dungeon myself until I have matured.¡± Gaia stated with a nod - letting the flower grow into a fully formed crystalized multi-colored rose, shimmering with light, and plucking it to set the flower on the floor between them. ¡°This is for you as a sign of good faith. I know you better than you think you know yourself, Riven Thane. Being born on my world before the integration I knew you even better back then, and there are both many secrets that I can share - as well as many boons that I can give you, should you help me.¡±


    The fighting had stopped entirely now. Gaia¡¯s treeants, nt creatures, and dryads had all retreated to a safe distance on the opposite end of the cavern from where Riven¡¯s own forces were currently located. Gaia imed that no harm had been done because she could resurrect any of these creations with their souls intact as long as they didn¡¯t leave Dungeon Alibast, whose avatar was actually one of the greater dryads watching over the goddess reincarnate. The elves, apparently, had been taking the dryads regrly from the dungeon to use as cannon fodder in the war - abducting them to warp their minds with some kind of ritualistic magic Riven was unfamiliar with. Due to the high affinities of the Fae pir that these elves had, and the high affinities these dryads had to it as well, the dryads were very susceptible to this kind of mental attack and were even identified as minions to the elvish masters by Elysium¡¯s status pages. This made Gaia very angry, because once they left the dungeon and died outside of this dungeon - there was no way to bring them back to life. They were gone for good, and thus the elves of Tereen had essentially kidnapped and murdered many of her newly created children.


    Riven hesitated, then picked the glittering rose off the center of the floor that¡¯d been covered in softyers of moss over thest few minutes just by being in Gaia¡¯s presence. He personally didn¡¯t feel any different, but many of the still-human soldiers he¡¯d brought along and the orc shaman who¡¯d remained unaffiliated to the unholy pir imed that they¡¯d felt rejuvenated just by seeing her.


    It was¡­ interesting, to say the least.


    ¡°Do you know what happened to my parents?¡± Riven asked slowly while Allie caught her breath on the sideline, waiting expectantly for Gaia¡¯s answer. ¡°Since you are apparently the mother nature of Earth on our old world reincarnated, perhaps you could let me know?¡±Gaia slowly shook her head. ¡°Unfortunately I am unable to tell you exactly what happened because they were not born on my body, but elsewhere. I did not have a connection to their spirits as I did yours, or Allie¡¯s, or the others prior to integration. However, I did have eyes and ears. The nts and animals spoke to me even then, and I do have snippets of the things that passed before they left my body together.¡±


    ¡°Together?¡± Riven repeated, eyebrows raised. ¡°My father left years before my mother disappeared, and I was half convinced they¡¯d died. You¡¯re saying they not only left alive, but they left with each other?¡±


    ¡°That is correct.¡± Gaia said with visible empathy etched into her features. ¡°I am sorry. I know how thoroughly it broke the two of you at that time. I would have been more involved in situations like yours if the gods of Olympus hadn¡¯t banished me and worked with other pantheons to steal the magic of our, but s that isn¡¯t the case. All I could do was watch as my children, like you two, suffered unjustly.¡±


    That response brought a lot more questions than he¡¯d originally had. ¡°The gods of Olympus are real?¡±


    ¡°As are many of the other pantheons you humans considered mythology.¡± Gaia replied sweetly. ¡°They were all banished to their own versions of reality when the magic left, after they failed to harness the world¡¯s power properly. It is why Earth was devoid of magic and why magic was a myth to you when the other two worlds Earth merged with during the integration already had some knowledge of the subject. I believe that now many of them will be making an appearance just like me, likely secluded to different dungeons or instance events the administrator has created until¡­ Until we are deemed ready to leave into thebined world of Panu.¡±


    ¡°Back to our parents-¡± Allie cut in, irritated that the subject had gotten off track. She stepped forward, only to be met with res of power from the greater dryads and Dungeon Alibast¡¯s dryad avatar - each having auras that matched Allie¡¯s own.


    She stepped back, grunting in irritation and ring down at the little flowering nt girl. ¡°Why did they leave? Why couldn¡¯t you see them and why don¡¯t you know where they went or what happened if nts and animals in their area told you!? That doesn¡¯t make sense!¡±


    Gaia looked up to Allie, sighing softly and shaking her head - causing the vines creating her hair to shift. ¡°I don¡¯t know why your father left you all those years ago, but he remained on my body until he left with your mother muchter. When he left you, he entered aplex of some kind that shielded my gaze - it was underground, with unholy auras permeating the structure. I only ever saw him when he came out to feed on my other children. Eventually when your mother was being chased by¡­ some kind of otherworldly creature not native to Earth, she killed the beast and made preparations for the two of you. She wiped clean any traces connecting her to her two children, and headed for the sameplex your father had stayed at all those years. It was then attacked by simr shadowy creatures, and I felt a rip in space as a portal activated. Soon after that the presence of your parents disappeared and theplex blew up to stop the monsters from pursuing. That is all I can tell you.¡±


    ¡°What did the creatures look like?¡± Allie pressed, concern evident while she bit her bottom lip.


    ¡°I cannot say.¡± Gaia stated again with a helpless frown. ¡°My state at the time was weakened, and I could not make out their true bodies. All I know is that they were shadow-oriented creatures of some kind, and that they were dangerous. They killed many of the other people in your father¡¯s facility before the undergroundplex exploded, and they were dragging the bodies out by the many dozens to use their parts as sacrificial rituals of some kind before everything was purged with infernal mes. I apologize for not knowing more.¡±


    Allie paused, taking in the information, but let out a shaky breath and slumped. ¡°Thank you anyway. It¡¯s more information than we¡¯ve ever gotten before.¡±


    Riven took Allie¡¯s hand and squeezed reassuringly, then turned his attention back to the flower. It looked crystalline in nature, was multicolored and shimmered in the light. He couldn¡¯t get a read on it even with his suit¡¯s low tier identification ability, so he held it up and asked. ¡°What does this do exactly?¡±


    Gaia turned her gaze from Allie to Riven, and then to the brilliant crystal flower she¡¯d plucked from her palm. ¡°That is a piece of my soul.¡±


    Riven stared. ¡°Why would you give me a piece of your soul, exactly? What use do I have of this?¡±


    ¡°Do you not have someone you love waiting to be revived?¡± Gaia asked, a small grin creeping up onto her face. ¡°Think of this as an upfront payment. Do not worry, my soul will regenerate over time as long as the core piece is intact - and Ath¡¯s core is what attached itself to your own soul aperture. What do I want in return? Free my children from this quarantine the elves have ced on my home, destroy the runic glyphs that siphon my power to keep my growth stagnant, destroy the seals that keep us inside, stop Tereen¡¯s king from mind controlling my children by taking his head - and you will have a lot more than this. That, I promise you. And you will have made an ally of me as well. I cannot leave the dungeon myself yet even if you do destroy the glyphs, but I will be able to do so eventually. When that timees, you will need me for the invaders that seek to take this new for themselves.¡±


    Riven barely heard the words she spoke after the first sentence. ¡°This can help Athe back?¡±


    Gaia nodded. ¡°It can. It will also impart a gift to her in the form of my own power, should she choose to take it. The art of soul mending is a thin line between utter failure and creating a new being - but this rose already has themands programmed into it that would allow Ath¡¯s soul to regrow properly while keeping Ath as herself.¡±


    The little girl held up a finger before Riven could speak. ¡°I also suggest that you are very careful about letting in too much aspect in, concerning the sin of gluttony you have acquired. Ath¡¯s soul was created out of nothing by the power of your sin shard, from what I can gather by looking at it. Is that correct?¡±


    ¡°That is correct.¡±


    ¡°Then Ath will be very in tune with Gluttony¡¯s power when she revives. Be very careful that Gluttony does not consume her outright in an attempt to im my gift, and that the core of her soul remains intact. If done right, she will likely take both the power of Gluttony and my own gifts tobine them into something unique - but it will be up to you to hold back the greed and hunger Gluttony represents when that shard realizes the gift I have given you isn¡¯t for yourself - but rather for your minion. Eat the flower now, and within one week¡¯s time - your minion will be back in yourpany. Lastly, I would heavily advise against trying this again with her or with anyone else. Soul mending can go very wrong, as I have mentioned, and you could very well destroy the essence of who she is if it isn¡¯t done right. An example of this would be even now, should you fail to keep out Gluttony¡¯s shard from devouring my pre-set sigils of power, you could very well lose Ath entirely.¡±


    ¡°... Is there not a safer way?¡± Riven asked hesitantly, ncing down at the flower.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Gaia gracefully held out one hand to either side. ¡°Probably, but not a way I personally know of.¡±


    ***


    While Riven, Allie, and the others were destroys the sigils and various magical constructs left in ce by the elves surrounding Dungeon Alibast, Fay decided to enter theher realms. She¡¯d been dreading going back home to see her family after what¡¯d happened with Tupper, but she wouldn¡¯t simply stand by and watch her rtives torture her brother for what they considered as ¡®improper behavior.¡¯ It was just ludicrous.


    Personalher realms were avable to all demons. Just like angelic races, it was an inherent part of what they were. Fay could retreat to her own personalher realm and create a small space where she was able to rx, devoid from harm or fear, untouchable to the greater universe beyond. But whenher realms were shared entities between groups of demons like ns¡­ that¡¯s when things got a little tricky. They became more physical and real in nature, and it was also a lot less safe.


    Stepping out of her portal, she touched down onto arge stone temple adorned with flowers andrge marble statues depicting different incubi and subi with various lewd poses. Her feathered boots hit the floor, and her ck wings pped twice before settling into a folded position behind her. Various demons were talking, eating drinking, or outright mating with one another right there on the temple grounds - which was pretty typical for her breed of demons. Unlike the variously colored subi and the incubus she¡¯d seen at Dungeon Negrada¡¯s tradingmune, her n were all like her - having short ck horns, ck eyes, a ck tail, silky white hair, and characteristic sky-blue skin.


    ¡°Wee back home to the Sojavi n¡¯s nest, dear sister!¡± A familiar light-hearted voice called out as Nitidi, Fay¡¯s favorite older sister came skipping through the crowd of various bodies from a temple doorway.


    Fay¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Nitidi! One of only two people I want to see today!¡±


    Her older sisterughed, and quickly they embraced int a strong hug. Nitidi was pretty tall for a subus and her horns curled slightly more than fay¡¯s did. Her thighs were slightly thicker too, but otherwise the two sisters looked very simr to one another.


    ¡°I see you¡¯ve brought back some fashion statements!¡± Nitidi teased, letting go of Fay and flicking the witch¡¯s hat before motioning to the feathered knee-high boots and the torn, purple skirt outfit. ¡°You really need to get that skirt and top reced. You can have some of mine, I¡¯ve been collecting clothes just for you while you¡¯ve been gone¡­ It¡¯s the least I could do to make you feel better after what happened.¡±


    Fay¡¯s body suddenly went rigid, but she yed it off with a cough and another friendly smile. No doubt Nitidi was talking about how Fay had been kidnapped, tortured, and used by the cultists, and it wasn¡¯t a fond memory to think of. Fay had seriously thought she was going to die, permanently, after seeing Ath get cut down and the sheer pleasure that blonde man had taken from seeing Fay in pain.


    She looked down at her outfit, which - even though it did have some minor self repair enchantments, hadn¡¯t mended itself properly after being torn apart a couple times. ¡°Uhm¡­ Thanks Nitidi. It is appreciated.¡±


    An awkward silence ensued, and then Nitidi perked up with a nudge to Fay¡¯s side. ¡°But hey! That new man you¡¯ve got¡­ I¡¯m jealous! What a hottie, right!? And the title of GIRLFRIEND!? Now THAT is something you¡¯ve got to tell me about! How did you manage that!? Most guys just want to use us for fun, but emotional investment?! Mother is most pleased.¡±


    Fay¡¯s deep blush said it all, causing Nitidi to chuckle viciously.


    ¡°Is mother truly happy with me?¡± Fay managed to mutter under their breath as they began walking towards the temple¡¯s entrance. ¡°I was afraid she and the other elders would be angry after I helped Tupper escape.¡±


    Nitidi scoffed, brushing thement aside with a flip of her hair. ¡°Not at all. They¡¯re happy to be rid of him, I think it was best for all parties involved.¡±


    Fay let out a deep, long sigh of relief. ¡°Good. I was afraid of what they¡¯d say.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like they should care anyways. Just let Tupper do what he wants to do and let it be - no need to pressure him to follow the family line of work.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I agree.¡±


    Stopping at a small windowless room on the left, Nitidi quickly picked up a couple stacks of clothes and deposited them into a sack - then handed them to Fay with a wink. ¡°I included some edible lingerie so you and Riven can have some fun.¡±


    Fay pped a hand over her face and the blush deepened. ¡°Nitidi! Stop, you¡¯re embarrassing me!!!¡±


    ¡°Fay you¡¯re a subus, get used to the idea!¡± Nitidiughed, poking Fay in the stomach and let her younger sister carry the bag as they continued down the hall towards Mother¡¯s library.


    Finally getting to therge door and opening it, Fay stepped inside and beheld the massive amount of books her n had collected.


    The room was huge. Utterly massive. It contained different textbooks, novels, documentaries, maps, lore, scrolls, and other ancient texts from numerous worlds across the multiverse. Most of them had been taken from previous warlock masters their n had bound themselves to at one point or another, while others had been traded for, stolen or bought while on the job. Fay¡¯s mother, Saemi, was a book fanatic and as one of the n elders had ordered the library be added onto whenever they got the chance.


    ¡°Fay!!! You¡¯ve finally arrived!¡± Saemi eximed upon seeing her youngest daughter, getting up and pushing off one of her bare-chested incubus suitors, rudely shoving him and gesturing for him to get lost as he scurried out of the room. Saemi smiled widely down at Fay and took her head in both hands, turning Fay¡¯s face back and forth before kissing Fay on the cheek. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering when you¡¯de back to talk to me! I got so worried¡­ but I¡¯m d to see your summoner cared enough to save you."


    Saemi raised one eyebrow, her finger tracing down Fay¡¯s chest to the poorly repaired top she wore. ¡°We need to do something about this. This just simply will not do. Nitidi, did you get Fay some new clothes with seduction enchantments as discussed?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re in the bag, they all have depravity associated boons too. I made sure of it.¡± Nitidi replied with a smile, plopping down onto one of the many cushioned chairs in the library and crossing her legs to swing her foot back and forth while watching her mother and sister interact.


    Saemi nodded approvingly and took a step back to further evaluate her youngest child. Saemi was somewhere between Fay and Nitidi in height, wore the equivalent of a belly-dancer¡¯s outfit - colored white against her sky blue skin, and didn¡¯t have any shoes on. It was obvious where Fay got her looks from. ¡°I simply can¡¯t believe how well you¡¯ve done! You¡¯ve struck gold, daughter! Securing a prince of the Blood Moon Requiem as a master - you¡¯ll be his servant and have the opportunity to grow for millennia - if not far longer! Vampires do not age after all!¡±


    ¡°I think he wants her to be more than just a servant¡­¡± Nitidi cut in with a low chuckle, causing Fay¡¯s eyes to hit the floor and avoid her mother¡¯s gaze.


    But Saemi¡¯s smile only widened. ¡°Yes¡­ I saw that. Very interesting. As I said, you¡¯ve done splendidly. Be sure that even if you don¡¯t feel the same way about him, not to let him know. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity even for us demons who live eternal lives should we not get murdered.¡±


    Fay¡¯s fingers clenched. ¡°But I do feel the same way about him.¡±


    There was a brief pause, and then Saemiughed and pulled her daughter into a hug. ¡°Of course you do! You¡¯re so adorable, I¡¯m sorry! I didn¡¯t mean that to sound bad. I almost forgot that he¡¯s only your second summoner - and hopefully thest! Who knows, right? By the hells, this is SUCH an upgrade from yourst warlock!¡±


    Her mother winked down at her before letting Fay go again. ¡°Perhaps your brother will take some lessons on obedience from you while under your care¡­ I can only hope. Anyways, is there a particr reason you¡¯re returning today? Or was it just to catch up?¡±


    Fay¡¯s eyes brightened, and she turned to look up at the soaring stacks of books along many hundreds of extremely tall bookshelves. ¡°I was hoping to find information regarding Azagnitide Rotworms. Riven¡¯s sister has a friend who is afflicted with one, and I was wanting to get a ritual to bring back so we could get rid of it.¡±


    Saemi¡¯s eyes narrowed, and she bit her lower lip while tapping a finger along one cheek. Turning her head up to inspect a particr bookshelf further down the way - she gestured for Fay to follow. ¡°Perhaps I already know where to look. Come now, follow me and we can discuss things further. You too, Nitidi - this conversation involves you as well.¡±


    Launching herself up off the floor, their mother began soaring into the massive pathways between bookshelves - taking a sharp right with her two daughters quickly flying behind her.


    Saemi¡¯s grace was unnatural. Some people in the n oftenpared her to the angels and how they used their feathers to better adjust with wind currents, but that¡¯s what you got when you had many tens of thousands of years under your belt to practice flying and to acquire new traits that would assister her in the act.


    Zipping inbetween the bookshelves a couple dozen yards up off the ground, Saemi eventually came to a stop along one of therge wooden tforms that they used in the library to stand on when up this high. Adjusting a lever and moving the tform to the right a little ways, Saemi stopped the contraption and reached out to pick out two separate leather-bound books.


    ¡°I believe these two volumes are exactly what you¡¯re looking for.¡± Fay¡¯s mother stated while extending them out to Fay with both hands. However she withdrew them a momentter, a clever smile painting her lips. ¡°But there is something you must do for me before I hand these to you.¡±


    Fay, who¡¯d been reaching for the books to put in the bag Nitidi had gifted her, frowned. ¡°What trickery are you up to this time, mother? I hope you¡¯re not scheming again and trying to prank me like thest time. You know I get embarrassed easily.¡±


    Nitidi and Saemi both loudlyughed at her innocent usation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean by that, Fay! I¡¯m only looking out for the n¡¯s welfare and growth!¡± Saemi replied with another low chuckle. ¡°Those slugworms were harmless, it¡¯s not MY fault you reacted the way you did. Anyways! I was hoping we could have a quick chat about Nitidi here.¡±


    Fay lifted her gaze, just as confused as Nitidi was by the look they exchanged. ¡°What about her?¡±


    ¡°Well she finally escaped that foul man who was using her in sacrificial blood orgies.¡± Saemi stated with a prompt huff. ¡°Took forever to use that contractual loophole but we managed to get her out.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Fay said with an excited bounce on the balls of her feet - still holding the sack of clothes in her arms. ¡°Congrattions Nitidi!¡±


    ¡°Yeah it¡¯s way better now.¡± Nitidi admitted with pooched lips. ¡°But what does my old master have to do with Fay?¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s obvious, isn¡¯t it?¡± Saemi said simply. ¡°You need a new one, and Riven has an open slot. Does he not? Last I checked there were over 3 million demons vouching for that single spot, we need it to go to our n. Not another.¡±


    There was a pause of silence that followed.


    ¡°You want Nitidi to bind to Riven too?¡± Fay said, skeptically. ¡°Why? Not that I¡¯d mind, but I¡¯d thought you wanted our influence spread out more across different sectors for information umtion. Our n is an information broker after all.¡±


    ¡°Riven is not a normal summoner, the benefits of binding two daughters to him outweigh the benefits of binding you to separate warlocks.¡± Saemi said simply. ¡°If I were low enough level to meet the requirements, I¡¯d bind to him myself. But unfortunately I can¡¯t, as you well know I¡¯m well above level 4000 now. System regtions won¡¯t permit it - and it¡¯s not often any summoner at all manages to make it that far anymore. Unfortunate, truly. Now if I wish to gain ess to the mortal realms I have to beat my way through the hells to do it, and we all know how that usually goes for subi like us. Those damnable devils are truly barbaric.¡±


    Fay grimaced and wrinkled her nose, but hesitated afterwards when her mother gave her an expectant look.


    ¡°Are you¡­ being protectively jealous?¡± Saemi asked, amusement creeping into her voice while rolling her eyes. ¡°Come on now. I know you had fun with that vampire princess and elf ve woman, didn¡¯t you? It wouldn¡¯t be much different than that.¡±


    Fay huffed with irritation. ¡°That was a little bit different than this. And no, I¡¯m not opposed to the idea of Nitidiing if Riven wants to do so, but I won¡¯t speak for him and I¡¯ll need both of you to respect any boundaries I set. Riven is mine. He belongs to me. I¡­ I¡¯m very much attached to him and I don¡¯t want any other woman taking his heart from me.¡±


    ¡°AHHH!!!!¡± Nitidi gasped with hands on either side of her cheek. ¡°That¡¯s so cute! You really DO like him!¡±


    Saemi once again rolled her eyes, then extended the books once more. ¡°Well at least ask him, you know how hard it is to find a decent summoner. It doesn¡¯t have to be sexual, I¡¯ll leave that decision up to you since you¡¯ve already made a im on your prince charming, but do let us know. Go on and rid that other poor soul of the Azagnitide Rotworm, I do hear they¡¯re rather foul and I believe the rituals you need will be within the pages of these texts.¡±

 Chapter 177

    Chapter 177


    <strong>Chapter 177</strong>


    Lahn¡¯s body¡­ hurt. It was painfully obvious to Lady Shovi Lucio, his mother, whenever she looked at him; and her fury had never known such heights. Not until the day he¡¯d withdrawn from the academy a physically and mentally broken man


    ¡°YOU NEED TO DO MORE!¡± Lady Shovi Lucio, Lahn¡¯s mother, screamed at his father - the esteemed Lord Nik Lucio right outside Lahn¡¯s room through an open door. Furiously throwing a vase at the wall and causing it to shatter into hundreds of tiny porcin pieces, Lahn¡¯s mom heaved with a red face - shoulders raising and hands quivering violently with ill-contained rage. ¡°GET OFF YOUR ASS AND FIND OUT WHO DID THIS!¡±


    mming the door as hard as she could in front of her shocked husband and not bothering to even look back at her other children - who¡¯d done nothing but make jabs about Lahn¡¯s situation since he¡¯d withdrawn from the academy, Lady Shovi Lucio sank into a chair next to his bedside and tried to contain a sob with cupped hands over her mouth.


    Her glistening, watery eyes slowly lifted to match his own as he struggled to breathe. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Lahn. I won¡¯t stop until whoever hurt you is found.¡±


    Lahn didn¡¯t reply. He couldn¡¯t. Or he could, but he didn¡¯t want to. He imed to not know who the culprits were. He¡¯d expressionlessly watched his sister sneer at him from the hallway when he¡¯d been wheeled back into the room with his good leg and good arm both broken in multiple spots - something her mother had noticed and honed in on with a suspicious re, but she had no foundation for any usation thus far.


    How had she ever raised such uncaring, pompous brats? Out of the three children she¡¯d raised, only Lahn had ever showed anypassion or interest for anything other than their own wellbeing. Inrge part she med the man she married, but she also knew she was partially to me for not failing to correct such behavior. Now, as they¡¯d reached young adulthood, she feared it was far toote.


    She turned her eyes back to her broken, kind, loving son on the bed. His jaw was shattered, his ribs were broken. The beating was so bad in fact, his arms were so mangled after the brutal beating he¡¯d received, that she didn¡¯t even know if he¡¯d have ANY ¡®good¡¯ limb after it was all said and done - and the good healers were all on the front lines helping keep people alive. The ones left here in the capital were either absolutely swamped with more serious cases than his, or simply inadequatepared to the ones who¡¯d usually tend to his injuries - so the healing had been subpar at best. He was still in a massive amount of pain any time he attempted to budge, and it¡¯d caused her to sob uncontrobly at random times throughout each day since he¡¯d been back.


    Rearranging the pillows he wasying in and making sure Lahn was asfortable as he could be under the thin sheets of his bed, Shovi stepped back to the window and opened it for some sunshine. It was still winter and sunshine wasn¡¯t all that abundant, but it was better then nothing. She took out a brush and nervouslybed her brte hair like she usually did whenever she was upset, staring out across their courtyard, only to notice a new carriage had parked itself sometime over the past ten minutes right outside.Curiously frowning down at it, she heard a knock at the door - and wondered who it could be.


    ¡°Lahn¡­ I believe we havepany.¡± Shovi said in a shaky, hoarse voice from all the screaming and crying she¡¯d done over past days. Clearing her throat and ttening down her green dress, she sped her hands and put on as kind a smile as she could while trying to catch the gaze of her broken son.


    He only barely acknowledged her with a brief nce, then turned his lost gaze back to the window - not moving for fear of causing himself more pain.


    Not knowing what else to say, she excused herself and started for the main hall where talking was already starting to echo throughout the house. Stepping gracefully to the first tform overlooking the entrance hall where a painting of her and her husband was set up the first flight of stairs, she furrowed her brows even further when she saw the new guests.


    There were three of them. None of which she recognized. One was an extremely attractive, extremely pale man with startling blue eyes and an athletic build - dressed in very basic yet a stylish vest, shirt and pants. Beside him on either side were two startlingly beautiful young women, one tan and blonde with green eyes and a silver form-fitting dress - while the other was brte, pale, and blue-eyed just like the man; probably a sibling. Thisst woman wore a very bright red dress, and it hugged her body to reveal otherwise hidden toned muscture along her hips and abdomen with her shoulders bare. She also wore long red gloves that came up her arms while leaving her fingers bare, and had a strange amulet strung around her neck simr to the man beside her - likely a family sigil if Shovi had to guess.


    They were talking to her husband, and there were two maids on standby along the right wall.


    ¡°You¡¯re here for Lahn?¡± Her husband asked curiously, his deep voice echoing throughout the room as Shovi made her way down. ¡°What were your names again?¡±


    Lord Nik Lucio, High Inquisitor of the king¡¯s court, was a very thickly built man and more resembled his eldest son Parius than anyone else. Nik was blonde, hazel-eyed, with a neatly trimmed beard and a short stylized haircut. Whenever he was out of his armor and not on the front lines, he could be seen in attire that most of the nobles wore - frilled, victorian style jackets over white long-sleeved shirts with military-esq pants and boots.


    ¡°Lady Allie Wraithtide is my name.¡± The stunning woman in the red dress said politely, though by the way she nor either of the others smiled or even attempted to address Lord Lucio properly in his home made it obvious she was not in a friendly mood. ¡°I¡¯ve said that twice now. Where is Lahn?¡±


    ¡°Are you friends of Lahn?¡± Shovi asked, hurrying down the hall and bing excited at the prospect of Lahn having made friends. He¡¯d always struggled with that, and although this wasn¡¯t likely the case - Shovi could hope. Lahn could use all the positive energy he could muster¡­


    Allie¡¯s eyes settled on Shovie, and the piercing gaze was oddly unsettling.


    Coming to stand beside her husband, who was frowning at the three people in their entryway, Shovi put a hand on Lord Lucio¡¯s wrist to squeeze meaningfully. ¡°What business do you have with my son?¡±


    Lady Allie Wraithtide paused, her gaze almost calcting while she coldly evaluated both parents of the household, before sping her hands behind her back. ¡°He is my ss partner. I was on a family business trip and heard he was beaten half to death¡­ Lahn and I have be close. I was hoping to speak with him.¡±


    Lord Nik Lucio¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, giving the young woman a once-over - and Lady Shovi Lucio¡¯s breath caught in her throat.


    ¡°You¡­ are close with my youngest son?¡± Lord Lucio responded, skeptically. ¡°And you are an academy attendant? I have not heard of House Wraithtide before.¡±


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    ¡°Father? Who is that?¡± a young male voice called from the kitchen area on the first floor, and soon Parius came into the light from beyond the next corner. He was very handsome, confident, with a very straight posture and muscr build - very much like his father. Strutting over with a rather cocky attitude often found with the sions of noble houses, he nearly tripped when heid eyes on both Allie and Fay. Then his gazended on Riven, and it was as if he was a peacock that''d gotten its tail feathers in a tussle.


    Immediately assuming an air of better-than-thou-ness, Parius walked directly up to square off with Riven, evaluating the man of equal height with a piercing gaze as Riven casually stared back.


    ¡°I do not believe we¡¯ve met.¡± Parius said, extending a hand to Riven for him to shake. ¡°Parius Lucio, heir to this house.¡±


    Riven nced down at the extended hand, back up to Lahn¡¯s brother, and without smiling - shook it wordlessly. ¡°Travis Wraithtide.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re being rude, Parius.¡± Shovi sighed. ¡°You cannot just barge into the middle of a conversation like that.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. Mind your manners, boy.¡± Lord Nik Lucio said with a crisp tone, getting a wince from his son.


    Parius abruptly nodded, but spared both Fay and Allie sidelong nces. ¡°I apologize. I was just so taken with the looks of these young women that I forgot myself.¡±


    He gave his most charming smile, of which neither woman returned the expression - outwardly throwing him off as he sheepishly stepped back in line.


    Lord Nik Lucio let out a long sigh and ced his hands on his hips. ¡°Excuse the rudeness of my eldest. As for my other son, Lahn, he is not well. It is true that he was severely beaten, but he has not identified the perpetrators and the matter is being investigated. It is best if you leave him be.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense.¡± Shovi said with a growl, stepping forward and reaching out to stand beside Allie with an approving nod. ¡°My boy would love to have visitors, you must tell me about how the two of you met. He hasn¡¯t brought many friends over to our house before! This is good news!¡±


    Meanwhile, Parius Blinked in confusion. ¡°That¡¯s because Lahn doesn¡¯t have any friends, mother¡­ Wait, what are your names?¡±


    Allie gave an exasperated sigh, gritting her teeth and closing her eyes. ¡°Lady, Allie, Wraithtide.¡±


    ¡°OH!!!¡± Parius eximed, his fist smacking into his other open palm. ¡°I have heard of you from my sister, Lin! You¡¯re the girl Lahn was stalking at school!¡±


    Lord Nik Lucio immediately stiffened at the news, flushing with anger and embarrassment while giving a sideways re up the stares to Lahn¡¯s room. Meanwhile, Shovi¡¯s heart sank.


    ¡°Stalking¡­?¡± Lady Shovi Lucio repeated with an awkwardugh. ¡°Surely not¡­ Lahn wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°He would.¡± Parius shot back, irritation showing in his flick of the wrist to motion in the same direction his father had red up at only a moment ago. ¡°You know how desperate he is for attention, mother. You of all people should know. You need to stop babying him. Lahn even went as far as to steal an invitation to the royal ball from this young woman! Is that not true, Lady Wraithtide?¡±


    Parius stared back at Allie eagerly, pleased that he¡¯d made the connection, and let his eyes wander across her body rather thoroughly in ill-hidden lust. ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the real reason you¡¯vee, is it not? Lahn admitted to stealing it and handed it over to me, I actually have it stored in my room - I was going to find and give it to you to make amends. Would you like it back?¡±


    Allie blinked, the clockworks ticking rapidly in her mind as the other two people with her silently red Parius¡¯ way. Then her demeanor abruptly changed, and Allie shifted from being outwardly cold to being very polite and charming. She put on a fake but convincing smile, fluttered her eyshes, and stepped in close with an extended hand. ¡°I would certainly like it back.¡±


    Parius nodded, blushing at her close proximity and clearing his throat. ¡°I will retrieve it then! I should say that, although I¡¯ve never met you before, I¡¯m excited to think about you attending the ball! I¡¯ll be there as well. Perhaps, giving the ticket back that my little brother stole will earn me a dance?¡±


    Allie didn¡¯t reply, only keeping her hand extended expectantly - and Parius then cleared his throat to quickly walk away and up the stairs towards his own room on the opposite side of the house from Lahn¡¯s.


    Shovi was utterly crestfallen. While her husband remained blushing with shame over what Lahn had done, she was pale and felt like all the hope she¡¯d had about potential friendsing to visit her crippled boy was out the window. ¡°We¡­ Uhm, we apologize for our son¡¯s behavior.¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡± Allie asked Shovi with a raised eyebrow.


    Lord Nik Lucio barked a scoffingugh, shoving his hands into his pockets and muttering to himself while ring at Allie, then up the stairs towards Lahn¡¯s room again, before huffing to turn back to Allie once more. ¡°Of course we speak of our youngest boy. I¡¯m mortified to think that he¡¯d stalk you, much less steal something so valuable from you. I was confused at first at your appearance, but it appears Parius and Lin know who you are and intervened in time to reacquire your invitation. I am d for it. Invitations to social events like that are in high demand and I can understand why you came personally to fetch it. You have my most sincere apologies. I am sure that, should time permit it, I will break time away from the king to speak to your parents on my family¡¯s behalf to also offer my apologies to them in turn.¡±


    Allie stared back at Lahn¡¯s father, the fake smile still stered there for many seconds. ¡°Lord Lucio, I am afraid you¡¯re mistaken.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s father shuffled slightly, then raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh? How is that?¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyes narrowed in turn. ¡°That invitation was given to your son so he could attend the ball as my date. Lahn never stole that invitation, which begs the question as to why your daughter Lin used him of stealing it - and why Parius has it now. I¡¯m quite curious.¡±


    Dead silence filled the entrance hall.


    ¡°You¡¯re taking Lahn? Lahn, my youngest son? To the royal ball?¡± Lord Nik Lucio sputtered, disbelief written inly for all to see. He gestured up and down at Allie. ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all you got out of what I just said?¡± Allie asked, her words nowing out venomous as her anger began to rise. Her teeth clenched again, and for a brief moment her eyes shed a brilliant red as the amulet around her neck abruptly cracked. But it came so fast that neither of Lahn¡¯s parents were sure that it¡¯d actually happened. Rather, their attention was drawn down to the amulet where a tiny piece of the oddly shaped sigil had chipped and fallen to the floor.


    Shovi didn¡¯t know what to think. On one hand she was internally reeling that this stunning young woman would go out of her way to ask Lahn to the ball. A mysterious youngdy of the court, an academy attendant, and one as gorgeous as her? Shovi couldn¡¯t ask for more concerning her youngest boy, but what exactly was Lady Allie Wraithtide implying here? Surely she didn¡¯t think that Lahn¡¯s siblings had anything to do with his beating. Lin and Parius weren¡¯t bastions of innocence and had grown up into poor excuses for adults, being spoiled all their lives and being taught by their father that they were better than everyone else, but to im that they were involved in Lahn¡¯s current state? That was preposterous. There was certainly another reason why Parius had the invitation, and Shovi could think of many possibilities off the top of her head even now. Perhaps Parius had acquired the invitation after the beating, finding it in Lahn¡¯s room and assuming he¡¯d stolen it. Perhaps Lahn had given it up out of shame when the incident had urred. Perhaps Lahn knew he couldn¡¯t go to the ball and had spun a lie to his brother and sister so they¡¯d take the invitation and put it to good use. There were many, many reasons Parius could have acquired that invitation.


    Parius¡¯ footsteps came thudding back under the heels of his leather boots. The young nobleman proudly disyed the invitation to Allie¡¯s outstretched hand, and Allie snatched it from the man without a word.


    ¡°Well? A promise to a dance?¡± Parius asked eagerly, folding his arms, sucking out his stomach and puffing out his chest to make himself look bigger than he naturally was. ¡°I¡¯d love to take you as a date, if you don¡¯t already have someone attending the ball with you!¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyelids dropped. ¡°I¡¯ll have to decline. I¡¯m attending with your brother.¡±


    There was a pause. Then Parius nearly choked, and his eyebrows narrowed in confusion. ¡°Huh? Surely this is a jest¡­ Wait, are you being serious? Is this out of pity for what happened to him? He won¡¯t be able to attend the ball the way he is anyways! He¡¯s a cripple, and he¡¯s been so badly beaten-¡±


    ¡°Then I will sit with him in his room as he recovers and simply forgo the ball.¡± Allie replied tly. Turning away from the shocked father and son duo, Allie smiled Shovi¡¯s way. ¡°Please take me to Lahn. I have a lot to talk to him about. I hope it doesn¡¯t feel like an intrusion.¡±


    Shovi nearly choked as well, but her reason was far different than her eldest bbergasted son. ¡°Not at all! Oh my, Lahn will be so excited to see you! Come! Come, he¡¯s up the stairs to the left.¡±

 Chapter 178

    Chapter 178


    <strong>Chapter 178</strong>


    The portal between worlds opened, and legions spilled forth.


    Hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers marched in columns through fiery gates, singing songs of war to the beat of thousands of drums. The sky was filled with the fleet of the Empire of Dying Suns, bearing the g of an angled sword piercing a ball of mes on a golden backdrop.


    The time for the invasion of Panu had finally arrived.


    ¡°Captain Vros Kinal.¡± The general addressed him as they stood alongside the king on a gship in the sky - watching their armies venture into unknownnds to conquer whatevery in wait. The old man¡¯s piercing gaze caught Captain Vros Kinal off guard by the tone of his voice, and the general stroked his chin while inspecting the younger, muscr man before abruptly saluting. ¡°Good luck. May you bring glory to the Empire of Dying Suns, may you find victory upon the boundless path of eternal war, and may you bring this new world of Panu under control for the glory of our empire. A lot is riding on this expedition, captain. I hope you realize that.¡±


    Captain Vros Kinal abruptly saluted back, armored gauntlet mming into his pristine breastte as the robed, elderly king stepped forward to ce a hand on his pauldron.


    ¡°Captain.¡± The king said with a smile. ¡°You are the best we can afford to send. You will encounter 4 other invading forces there aside from the locals, as well as whatever otherary quests the system decides to throw down as a gauntlet for the inhabitants to bypass. You will need to crush them all. Do so by the end of 5 years and the is ours, but if ites down to it - you merely need to hold on and root yourself into position, keeping the beacon intact until then so reinforcements can arrive. Survival trumps supremacy, but supremacy will bring great honor. Do you understand what I am telling you?¡±


    The captain abruptly nodded, piercing eyes shining under the barbute helm he wore. ¡°Yes, my king!¡±


    The old man smiled, letting go of the other man¡¯s pauldron. ¡°Good. Now go, the other factions who have acquired invasion tokens will no doubt be looking for a ce to nt their own beacons too. Find out where they are, dispose of them early, and smash the locals into submission. For the glory of the empire.¡±¡°For the glory of the empire!¡± The surrounding officers repeated in unison.


    ***


    <strong>[World Quest 3 Update, Invaders from Beyond: Other factions of the multiverse have greedily been watching your small, wanting its resources for themselves. Be it mass very, genocide, forced societal integration, or being farmed as literal food - your¡¯s people are in danger. Invasion tokens have been distributed, and the invasion portals have finally been opened.</strong>


    <strong>Invading forces have until the end of the 5 integration years to either conquer Panu entirely, or alternatively survive that long in order to acquire reinforcements from the homnd. Any invading force left at the end of 5 years will have free ess through system portals until a victor is decided. To rid this of an invading force, you must destroy their beacon - which will be highlighted by a marker in the sky above its location with the symbol of their empire. Maximum level cap for entry invaders has been set to level 80, with growth still enabled after arrival.</strong>


    <strong>Invading Forces:</strong><ul><li><strong>The Empire of Dying Suns</strong></li><li><strong>Pagaroth</strong></li><li><strong>The Kingdom of Shatterstone</strong></li><li><strong>The ck Sky Azag Hive Cluster</strong></li><li><strong>Rippenvire</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Prepare yourselves, natives of Panu. The enemy ising.]</strong>


    Allie dismissed the notification almost as quickly as it¡¯de. She had other, more important things to worry about. It was a far different reaction than Lahn¡¯s elder brother and father, who immediately exited the manor to head for the pce.


    Even Lady Shovi Lucio was troubled, and she hesitated at Lahn¡¯s door on the second floor of their household to read the world quest update twice over before ncing Allie¡¯s way. ¡°Do you need to get back to your family?¡±


    Allie didn¡¯t even blink. ¡°No. I¡¯d like to see Lahn.¡±


    Nodding in appreciation, Shovi opened the door - letting Allie, Riven, and Fay inside.


    Allie had hardened herself to extreme degrees since the integration had begun, so she didn¡¯t flinch when she saw the broken body on the bed. Lahn was bruised, swollen, with his two good limbs having been wrapped in soft casts and some kind of ointment being spread along his jaw and ribcage. The extent of the damage was obvious, and there were even a couple of isted areas where the fire poker that¡¯d been used to beat him half to death left imprints of the shape of the item.


    There were even a few open, oozing wounds - though most of those had already been closed by the mediocre healers that¡¯d been avable here in the capital with all the good ones out to help in the war.


    Riven, Fay, and Shovi watched from the door in silence as Allie approached, and she came around the bed to sit on the side where the window let light in. She nced down at him as he stared absently through the ss, then looked out alongside him. Wordlessly they sat together, until she reached out her hand and sped his own shriveled one.


    Tears began to umte under his eyes and his lips began to quiver at the contact. He managed to get out a hoarse whisper after that, and rapidly started blinking to try to control his emotions. ¡°Thank you foring. But¡­ why?¡±


    She turned to look at him, kindly squeezing his hand in her own. ¡°Why what?¡±


    He choked back a cough, still only whispering through his teeth in order to keep his broken jaw from hurting. ¡°Why did youe?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re my friend. Of course I woulde.¡±


    ¡°Why though?¡±


    ¡°Why are you my friend?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Allie paused considering his question. ¡°Because you¡¯re genuinely kind. You are internally strong. You deserve to have friends, don¡¯t think otherwise.¡±


    Lahn scoffed, then winced as his jaw moved in a way that caused the fractures to grind against one another. ¡°I am not any of those things.¡±


    ¡°Why do you think that?¡±


    ¡°Because being kind and internally strong are the defaults I am forced to abide by. Being weak makes me act that way, I don¡¯t have a choice. These are not admirable qualities. If I were to have power, if I were to be physically capable, and then I were to act the way I do with kindness - then it would be admirable. But being weak and therefore not having a choice in how I act should not grant me the same kind of admiration that a truly powerful man should get, because I don¡¯t have that choice.¡±


    Allie shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not true. Not true at all. Those stray dogs you keep in your little animal sanctuary are proof of that. Even how you are now, you still have power over those helpless animals. Do you not?¡±


    Lahn looked like he was going to protest, but he ended up not doing so - instead deciding to remain silent.


    ¡°And can you honestly tell yourself that you¡¯d be a different person should you be granted power today?¡± Allie asked curiously, his shriveled hand still clutched in her own.


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    Lahn let out a sputum filled cough, then managed a barely visible shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯d probably be the same, but that¡¯s something I¡¯ll never know. Not after this. The injuries are too far gone, even the best healers we have - should theye back from the front lines - won¡¯t be able topletely heal me when the bones reset the way they are now. Even if you do manage to get rid of that worm, whatever you called it, and cure me¡­ I¡¯ll still be a broken man.¡±


    Shovi immediately furrowed her brows, contemting whether or not to ask about this ¡®worm¡¯ and ¡®cure¡¯ he was talking about - but didn¡¯t want to ruin the moment and chose to stay silent. She was just happy someone had cared enough toe, and happy that he was willing to finally talk with someone. Watching the child that she loved not have any support at all aside from her had broken her heart - so this was an incredibly wee surprise and it made Shovi¡¯s heart swell to watch.


    ¡°I agree with you about one thing, you¡¯d probably still be the same.¡± Allie said, pushing his hair out of his eyes to get a better look at his bruised face. Her expression turned sad. ¡°I haven¡¯t known you for long, but I can honestly say that I¡¯m pulled to you. I haven¡¯t met anyone like you before, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s just because you¡¯re weak.¡±


    To this, Lahn began tough. It was a sardonicugh. Even despite his injures he just couldn¡¯t help it, and with everyugh came a wince. ¡°Drawn to me. I don¡¯t understand. Truly, I don¡¯t. Don¡¯t get me wrong, Allie, I¡¯ve loved being around you¡­ but you could have such better friends. Friends that don¡¯t hold you back and friends who don¡¯t need to be pushed around in a chair just to follow you into a cafe. Friends that have higher social status than me. Friends that have brighter futures than a cripple like myself that will hold no true position of power in the ruling sses despite my noble birth. I have nothing to offer you, and I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re wasting your time. You have everything, Allie - you¡¯re incredibly kind, stunningly beautiful to the point that you make all the other girls jealous, and you¡¯re talented. You have a far brighter future than I do. Being friends with me will only push away potential suitors that would no doubt make your family proud, as they¡¯d probably get the wrong idea about your intentions and find spending time with me inappropriate - even if it is innocent and just as friends.¡±


    Allie threw up her hands in mock despair. ¡°Oh god! Not that! Whatever will I do should the suitors decide to go away!?¡±


    Riven failed to hide his grin.


    Then Allie gave Lahn an exasperated but still kind stare. ¡°Come on Lahn. Catch a hint.¡±


    Leaning down and brushing her long brown hair behind one ear, Allie slowly pressed her lips against his - kissing him to a sharp and excited gasp from his mother who was still standing next to the door.


    Letting the kiss linger, Allie eventually pulled back and poked a very confused and very bright-red Lahn in the chest - getting a wince from him when she forgot that he had broken ribs. ¡°Oh, sorry! I forgot you¡¯re injured.¡±


    She winked. ¡°And you look like an apple right now you¡¯re so damn red. You almost match the color of my eyes or my dress.¡±


    The silence was palpable, and it took a while for the young crippled man to gain his bearings again as Allieughed and the other two women held hands over their mouths with grins underneath.


    ¡°Your eyes are bright blue! They¡¯re not red!¡± Lahn said snarkily through clenched teeth, trying and failing to hide his growing, giddy smile as his heart hammered loudly in his chest to the ears of the vampires in the room. ¡°But yes, I can see why you¡¯d¡­ Uhm¡­pare my face to your dress. I kind of daydreamed this would happen¡­ but I never thought you¡¯d actually be interested in someone like me. Why me? You have so many other options.¡±


    Allie flicked his nose. ¡°Does it matter?¡±


    ¡°It does. I want to understand. You¡¯re just so¡­ you¡¯re everything I¡¯m not. As I said before, you¡¯re kind, beautiful, talented, and I just don¡¯t see what you see in me. And mother, please! You¡¯re embarrassing me! Stop making those cutsie noises!¡±


    Riven chuckled while Shovi mumbled an excited but hushed apology.


    Allie raised an eyebrow, the smile fading. She turned to face him on the bed with one knee bent and tucked under her other thigh. ¡°Lahn¡­ I have been called many things since arriving on Panu. Kind is not one of them.¡±


    Lahn blinked. ¡°Huh? What are you talking about, you¡¯re one of the nicest people I¡¯ve ever met!¡±


    Shovi was eating this up like an old woman watching mid-day soap operas with both hands still sped over her incredibly wide smile - eyes wide and taking it in second by second. She was so, so excited for her son and she¡¯d been desperate to get him to find someone - but not many people had been interested in pitching their daughters to a crippled man like him. Yet here Allie was - far better than anything Shovi could have hoped for, and it made Shovi just as giddy as Lahn to see it.


    Allie straightened on the bed, her back bing stiff, and she hesitantly nced over to Riven who gave her a nod of encouragement. Then her hand wrapped around the amulet around her neck, and her grip tightened. ¡°No. I¡¯m not a good person, Lahn. In fact I¡¯m probably one of the worst people you¡¯ll ever know.¡±


    Confusion struck him like a freight train. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Allie gave him another sad smile, and she pulled away slightly. ¡°I like you, Lahn. I like you a lot. You inspire me to be a better person, I want you to know that. I admire you, in many ways, and you remind me of my brother back before he was forced to change. Perhaps that¡¯s why I like you so much. Anyways¡­ I¡¯ve done some terrible things and I think you should know before you get too excited about - well, me.¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t a lot that you could tell me that¡¯d change my mind.¡± Lahn replied with a lightheartedugh. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re a mass murderer, Allie. What did you do? Embezzle funds? Bribe some officials? Is your family caught up in the syndicate or something? Because if that¡¯s the case then - yeah, that¡¯s bad, but¡­ but I¡¯ll work through it. I was thinking you and your brother were kind of odd in that way - mysterious even. I doubt whatever you did is unforgivable though.¡±


    Allie¡¯s face had be rigid as he spoke. She let out a deep breath. ¡°No¡­ No, I''m not part of any kind of syndicate. I didn''t realize there was an organization like that here to begin with. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s far worse than that. Lahn, I <em><strong>have</strong></em> killed people.¡±


    Lahn blinked. ¡°Oh! Like, in the war¡­ right? Is that what this is about? I forgot you went on that trip concerning the elves¡­¡±


    His voice trailed off as she shook her head.


    ¡°I mean¡­ yes, I¡¯ve killed a lot of elves too.¡± Allie said hesitantly.


    ¡°A¡­ LOT of elves?¡± Lahn repeated, concern etched into his face. ¡°Too?¡±


    Allie nodded. ¡°Yeah. Funny that you mention it, but I actually am a mass murderer. I think I¡¯ve killed well over ten thousand people just by myself, and I¡¯ve ordered many, many more to die too. Some people I killed out of need or revenge, but I¡¯ve killed other people because it¡¯s fun.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s confusion and concern matched Shovi¡¯s own as his mother stood stiffly in the background. None of this was making any sense to either of them.


    ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d better recognize me as Queen Allie Thane of the Thane Necropolis, Vampire Princess of the Blood Moon Requiem, or by what the elves are calling me: ¡®Butcher of Carnis¡¯ - rather than Allie Wraithtide. Wraithtide is my parent¡¯s family name, while Thane is the name Riven and I used growing up.¡± Sighing and firmly tightening her hand onest time on the amulet around her neck, Allie gave it a tug - snapping thetch strap in the back and putting the item on the bed. Within a matter of seconds, her eyes began to go from bright blue to a bright crimson, and her vampiric aura along with her vast negative charisma hit the room like a cannon.


    It was as if Shovi and Lahn had both been physically pped, and the reaction only got more pronounced as Allie¡¯s red dress faded away into her spatial sack, only to be reced by a very famous set of soul-stitched bone armor. Boots, pauldrons, cuirass, gauntlets, underlying bone-linked chainmail, ck robe, and finally - the skull mask appeared on Allie¡¯s body one after the other. When the mask finally came to rest on Allie¡¯s face and her crimson eyes gleamed out at him, she took it off and ced it on Lahn¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Tell me, Lahn.¡± Allie said with a hesitant smile, disying her small fangs. ¡°What do you think of me now?¡±


    Shovi was as pale as the sheets on Lahn¡¯s bed, and slowly her eyes traced across the room tond on Riven. Putting one and two together, she started to literally shake - and her thoughts were only confirmed a momentter when Allies poke.


    ¡°Riven¡­¡± Allie said softly, still maintaining eye contact with the broken young man on the bed - still softly holding Lahn¡¯s withered hand in her own slender fingers. ¡°What do we do, to the people who harm our friends?¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his amulet shattered as a pulse of his aura rocked the entire manor in a sheen of red - causing Shovi to stumble and catch herself against the wall while maids downstairs could be heard screaming. ¡°We brutally kill them.¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyes slowly lifted to Riven¡¯s own as his aura began to fade. ¡°I agree. Would you do me a favor and bring me the lordling Gleetus Nefrand? I do believe he has a very special role to y today after our ritual isplete. You know where to find him.¡±


    Riven grinned. ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy this.¡±


    ¡°Really? You¡¯ve changed, Riven. Perhaps destroying that city was good for your character after all, you no longer balk when circumstancees calling.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but I very much approve of your proposed methods concerning this scenario. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Riven raised a hand, and a shadowy rift red to life in front of him. Stepping through it, he disappeared and closed the portal behind him.


    Fay began to walk around the bed, stopping beside Allie and dismissing her illusion to show what she truly looked like - which was pretty much the same, only that her skin color changed to blue, her eyes turned ck, her hair turned white, and her demonic horns and tail were on full disy. She kept her wings retracted. ¡°Hey Lahn! I found some textbooks regarding the ritual we need to get rid of that worm¡­ the problem is that it¡¯ll be very painful, and normally we¡¯d have to battle it when it gets out. Thankfully I believe Allie should be able to handle it rather easily and it¡¯ll only be a very minor struggle, so there isn¡¯t any need to switch locations. Are you ready to begin?¡±

 Chapter 179

    Chapter 179


    <strong>Chapter 179</strong>


    Scented smoke filled the room and where sunlight through a ss window illuminated various books, chairs and a central table the three men sat at. Otherwise it was pretty dark, as there was only one window and the room was ratherrge.


    Gleetus belched loudly over theughter of his two friends while giving them a rude gesture, yet he smiled too. ¡°Just because you can¡¯t do it doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t do it!¡±


    ¡°She is out of your league my friend!¡± Another of the young men said with a cackle, smacking the ass of a passing nearby maid. The young woman yelped, angrily scowled at the man, and then hurried out of theke house with moreughter following her.


    Gleetus grumbled to himself and held a ss of wine to his lips, sipping on it out of frustration and thinking back on the newdy of the court he had a crush on. ¡°I just don¡¯t understand why Allie wastes her time with that maimed twat! He¡¯s useless to everybody and the only person she ever talks to is him!¡±


    ¡°I heard even Braden Rooze was shot down. She must be a real looker.¡± The other of Gleetus¡¯ friends said thoughtfully, smoking on a pipe and blowing out rings of smoke. ¡°Either way, at least you taught Lahn a lesson to stay away from your girl. Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s from a poor country household and I¡¯m sure your father¡¯s influence will be enough to pressure them into some kind of courtship.¡±


    Adjusting his frilled, buttoned jacket looking out the window onto the shimmeringke nearby, Gleetus only grunted. ¡°Yes you¡¯re probably right. I¡¯ve already told my father about it and he said he¡¯d look into house Wraithtide soon. Perhaps I¡¯ll be able to meet with their head of household sometime to apply pressure this week if lucky.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. We¡¯re already here.¡±


    Gleetus nearly fell out of his chair in surprise and one of the other lordlings screamed just as an aura of extreme malice mmed into them like a sledgehammer. The third man abruptly vomited, puking all over the table.Gleetus, who cried out as red frost began to umte along the surroundings and even along his skin - shoved the chair back and scrambled in a panic to wheel around. But there was no one there. ¡°What the hell!?¡±


    The sound of bone on wood cracked the silence, and Gleetus wheeled around again to see his twopanions slump to the floor on either side of a hooded man d in ck, feet up on the table in a rxed position. He stared out at Gleetus with glowing crimson eyes, face otherwise shadowed in the light of the single window and arms crossed.


    They just stared at one another, the unknown intruder very calm while Gleetus felt his heart rapidly pounding in his chest. He didn¡¯t know who this guy was, but his soul roared at him to run - telling him that this man was dangerous. How had he not heard this person enter? Why was Gleetus¡¯s mana noting to his call? Why was the air so frigidly cold?


    There was only one option. Gleetus was the definition of a coward, thus he decided to abandon his friends to their fate. Shakily, Gleetus made his move - bolting for the door only to stagger and fall when crimson ice swept up one leg to hold in him ce.


    Gleetus flopped forward, hitting the ground and breaking his ankle with a shrill scream when the ice halfway up his foot didn¡¯t budge and the rest of his body kept going under momentum. ¡°HELP! HELP WE HAVE AN INTRUDER! GUARDS! GUARDS COME NOW!!!¡±


    ¡°Your guards have been¡­ incapacitated.¡± Riven said, not having moved from his spot on the chair between the two crumpled men on either side of him. ¡°Let me introduce myself¡­ I am Allie Wraithtide¡¯s brother. My name is Riven Wraithtide, also known as Riven Thane.¡±


    Gleetus, who¡¯d been bawling and wailing on the ground while intermittently calling out to the soldiers his family hired as personal security - froze upon hearing Riven¡¯s words. His eyes went wide, and his breathing picked up between tearful coughs of pain. ¡°Wait¡­ What?¡±


    The shock was apparent, but Riven didn¡¯t say it again. Instead, Riven slowly lifted a finger - and abruptly a spike of crimson ice shot up from the floor and punctured Gleetus in the left thigh.


    Again, Gleetus screamed.


    ¡°Allie sent me to collect you.¡± Riven stated, only whispering but infusing his voice with mana to amplify the sound over the wails of the bleeding man on the floor. ¡°For what you did to Lahn.¡±


    Again, Riven lifted a finger and another spikenced out from the frost-covered floor to skewers Gleetus in the right shoulder.


    ¡°I DON¡¯T KNOW WHAT YOU¡¯RE TALKING ABOUT!¡± Gleetus yelled between choked sobs. ¡°WHAT IN THE HELLS IS WRONG WITH YOU! WHO ARE YOU REALLY!?¡±


    Another finger lifted, skewering him this time in the left hand.


    Gleetus iled, writhing about and trying to rip his body off of the magics while his heart beat like a cherokee drum in a panic.


    ¡°No¡­ No that will not do.¡± Riven said, getting ready to lift another finger. ¡°Admit what you did, and tell me why - so that I can upload this recording to the Dawn forums. We were going to get Lahn to do it, but we found out that he¡¯d already tried. Apparently subterfuge is still somewhat protected unless certain circumstances are met, that use covers your little stunt in the barracks the other day. So I¡¯m going to continue torturing you until you tell me in vivid detail what it was you did that day - and why.¡±


    Another finger lifted, another crimson spike skewered Gleetus¡¯s arm.


    ¡°I¡¯M INNOCENT!!! I WASN¡¯T THE ONE TO-¡±


    Another spike skewered his pelvis.


    Gleetus screamed. ¡°FINE! FINE IT WAS ME!!! I BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM WITH A FIRE IRON! BUT I WAS ONLY TEACHING THAT LITTLE CRIPPLED BITCH THAT STALKING YOUR SISTER WAS-¡±


    Another spike skewered his good ankle, causing Gleetus to break down into violent sobs. Blood was everywhere, and he¡¯d pissed himself halfway through the exchange. He couldn''t even move properly anymore with the amount of spikes sticking through his extremities.


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t stalking my sister at all.¡± Riven said tly, kicking his legs off the table and leaning forward with a chuckle. ¡°If anything, my sister was stalking him. She had a crush, you see, and it even appears you and those twat siblings of his stole the invitation to the royal ball that she¡¯d given him - after you beat him half to death. I¡¯m convinced, by the looks of him, you actually meant to murder him right then and there. It was only luck his maid came in time to get some help. He would have died if she hadn¡¯t - which brings us to now¡­ You tried to kill Allie Thane¡¯s friend. That was a very big mistake. So tell me the real reason why you did it? Not some made up hocus pocus about stalking - because we both know that¡¯s a lie.¡±


    ¡°M-My family w-will-¡±


    ¡°Your family will do nothing, unless they want to join you in hell after you¡¯re dead.¡± Riven said, cutting him off with narrowed eyes. ¡°You pathetic little meatbag.¡±


    Riven started channeling energy through his unholy pir, and the next words he used were infused with the ability of ¡®Silvertongue¡¯. His voice reverberated unnaturally, and Gleetus seemed to shrink back when Riven spoke. ¡°Give me the real reason you decided to try and kill Lahn.¡±


    <strong>[Silvertongue (Unholy): Soak your words with unholy mana to briefly capture the minds of lesser beings, allowing only those with a less Willpower than you to be affected and enabling you to persuade them more easily. This spell scales with both Willpower and Negative Charisma, as well as the amount of mana you put into it. This spell may be developed into a better version of itself by acquiring the ''Depravity'' subpir. Extremely high mana cost, low cooldown.]</strong>


    Gleetus¡¯s eyes zed over, his words became drawled as if he was drunk, and his body became rxed despite the numerous red spikes skewering his limbs. ¡°I did not mean to kill him, I only meant to beat him badly - but I got carried away when he started crying. It was just too easy, he was such an easy mark to pick on. It made me look better in front of the other nobility, and it was fun - especially when his sister urged me to go on during the beating. Lahn spoke back to me in ss not long ago when your sister was there, he was the reason why your sister ignored me. So I took care of him to get the attention of your sister - and even if it was bad attention, I¡¯d have used the threat of potentially ending him next time to manipte her to sleep with me. My father is a powerful man, and he could have shielded me from a small noble house such as yours. At least I had thought so until now, I did not realize who she really was if what you say is true.¡±


    Riven let the spell drop, and the distant far-off look on Gleetus¡¯s face vanished - only to be reced with the pained horror of what was happening when he began to scream again.


    Another finger rose, another spike punctured the floored victim, and Riven sneered when Gleetus began to beg.


    ***


    Fay continued to draw out the ritual circle, once in a while taking time to evaluate the sigils, runes and diagrams in the books her mother had given her before going back to the chalk she was scribbling with on the bedroom floor. asionally she¡¯d take an item from a pouch at her side, such as an odd marble, a roden¡¯s skull, and some of Lahn¡¯s hair - circling them with different diagram outlines before continuing on with the rest.


    She was trying not to smile at the two on the bed. They were fucking adorable, and Lahn¡¯s reception of who she was had gone over very well. He¡¯d been obviously surprised, but otherwise hadn¡¯t changed his opinion of Allie in the slightest.


    Alliey there next to him, still armored up, eyes locked and holding hands while whispering to him. asionallyughing at whatever he was saying in reply, the two had fallen into their own little world even despite Fay¡¯s presence or Lahn¡¯s mother - Shovi - who¡¯d taken up residence in a chair in the corner of the room after guaranteeing the maids of the household that everything was alright.


    Shovi didn¡¯t know what to make of this situation, and it was obvious. On one hand Shovi was incredibly happy for her son, not only because he¡¯d found a friend and a potential lover - which were both long shots for him prior to now given the social circles he was introduced to alongside his condition - but this was very dangerous waters he was treading. Not only for himself, but for the family. Shovi had often heard rumors of Queen Allie Thane, Butcher of Carnis, the she-devil that struck fear into the hearts of Dawn¡¯s enemies while striking awe into the most veteran soldiers of the king¡¯s men on the battlefield. Up until now neither Allie nor Riven had any footage that Shovi had seen disying their faces - perhaps there was some obscure video somewhere, but even after going back through the forums it hadn¡¯t been found. How was Shovi supposed to know these two abnormally pale siblings were the Thane siblings?


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    With a snap of their fingers either one of them could spell disaster for the Kingdom of Dawn. Allie wasn¡¯t as powerful as Riven but she was still a walking disaster, and she was the primary figurehead of their allied, primarily-undead kingdom to the north. While her brother was just a gods-damned monster who had literally wiped out an entire city with hundreds of thousands of people if not more than that over the course of a few minutes when he¡¯d be enraged.


    Yet here Allie was¡­ snuggling up to Shovi¡¯s crippled son on the bed and giggling at his stupid jokes while asionally giving him giddy pecks as kisses. Meanwhile Riven¡¯s demon - <em>THE Riven Thane¡¯s</em> demon - was creating a ritualistic cure of sorts for her boy. What would her husband say after learning of this? What would he do? Would he finally acknowledge Lahn if things changed for the better? Daring to look up and watch Allie crinkle her nose with another high-pitchedugh at Lahn¡¯s whispers, Shovi blushed with pride and unbridled glee - but quickly averted her gaze uncertainly and abruptly when Allie looked her way.


    ¡°Do you wish to pull up a chair, Lady Shovi Lucio?¡± Allie asked with a bright smile as she propped her head up on one elbow. ¡°Come tell me about what your husband and eldest son are likely up to. I know they left for the pce due to the announcement of foreign invaders, but I know little of what internal politics and military mindsets are here in the capital. It was one of the reasons why I even epted the king¡¯s invitation toe - I wish to be acquainted with your people to get a better idea of who you all are.¡±


    Shovi¡¯s eyebrows lifted in surprise, and she abruptly stood up to curtsy in respect before pulling the chair she was sitting in behind her and walking over to the edge of the bed - being careful not to step on any of Fay¡¯s chalk drawings. Sitting down with an elegant re of her green dress, she parked herself nearby and spared an excited wink to her blushing son. ¡°Well I can¡¯t tell you too much because I simply don¡¯t know. My husband, Lord NIk Lucio has always been rather tight-lipped about the happenings of the capital. Though I¡¯m sure if you wanted to know more, otherdies of the court could fill you in at our regr gatherings. Other husbands are more liberal in what they say - so they potentially have some insight that I would not.¡±


    Allie began to grin - disying her small fangs just barely, and Lahn visibly rolled his eyes. ¡°I see. Are you inviting me to one of these¡­ gatherings, then?¡±


    ¡°Precisely so! It isn¡¯t anything important, just tea time and gossip with some good food.¡± Shovi beamed, pping once with a delighted nod. ¡°Oh I¡¯m so very excited to actually get to meet and speak with you! It¡¯s truly an honor, your majesty!


    ¡°Oh please! Call me Allie. And certainly, I¡¯d love toe. When¡¯s the next one?¡±


    Lahn huffed. ¡°Don¡¯t let her wrangle you into those boring tea parties, they¡¯re dreadful. I¡¯ve had to sit through them myself and I nearly want to roll my chair off the deck to end it all whenever my attendance is required!¡±


    ¡°LAHN!¡± Shovi eximed to theughter of her son and Allie both, putting her hands on her cheeks in mock anger. ¡°How could you say something like that!? All my friends just LOVE being around you!¡±


    ¡°They treat me like a broken puppy dog.¡± Lahn stated with a knowing look. ¡°But yes, at least they¡¯re nice to me. Could certainly be worse.¡±


    ¡°Indeed it could. And don¡¯t you ruin this opportunity for me to show off your newdy friend to my posse! That¡¯s just rude!¡± Shovi paused mid sentence and hesitated, then lifted a finger of inquiry. ¡°May I ask¡­ Would it be too forward to assume that you and my son are courting?¡±


    ¡°MOTHER!¡± Lahn eximed, only to get moreughter from Allie while she blushed.


    ¡°That¡¯d only be correct if Lahn wants it to be so.¡± Allie replied warmly, having dismissed her gauntlets to wrap her slender fingers around Lahn¡¯s own again - not withdrawing in disgust at all like so many others had before her when his withered flesh touched her own. ¡°I personally was aiming for that, but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m good enough for him.¡±


    ¡°Allie, shut up.¡± Lahn stated tly - getting a wide eyed re from his mother.


    But the reaction Allie had showed Shovi just how close the two had be in such a short time. It¡¯d only been a few months that Lahn had been enrolled in school, and things had been a roller coaster since then - but they¡¯d turned out brilliantly here at the end.


    Shovi cleared her throat, and her nerves calmed as she realized that not only did Allie not take offense, she even enjoyed the banter and the fact that he¡¯d teasingly told her to shut it. Perhaps telling her son to be extremely respectful would be a bad idea, but it¡¯d been the first knee-jerk thought Shovi had when finding Allie¡¯s true identity out. No, she¡¯d not interfere in any major way and just let it take its road. He obviously was doing something right by the way Allie looked at him. ¡°So how did you and Lahn meet, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±


    Allie opened her mouth to reply - but a ck portal appeared and a sh of ck propelled both Riven and Gleetus into Lahn¡¯s room. Riven was hauling Gleetus by the cor, yet the limp, whimpering man that Riven tossed to the ground with a st of blood was far from what Allie remembered Gleetus to be.


    The young lordling bully was broken, far worse than what Gleetus had even done to Lahn. His legs and arms were snapped backwards in multiple ces at awkward angles, and he looked like a bloody pincushion with dozens of spikes sticking out of him. The blood that did seep out of his body was being rerouted back into his vessels as Riven manipted it to do so - keeping him alive, and he smiled widely at his sister with a thumbs up when he appeared.


    ¡°I just learned my first healing spell! Er... Perhaps healing isn''t the right word for it. Maintenance of life spell, perhaps?¡± Riven said with augh. ¡°It¡¯s pretty decent actually. If people can¡¯t go into shock because of blood loss, they don¡¯t die. Simple, but effective. I¡¯ve essentially kept this asswipe alive for the past hour by mapping out his blood vessels to replicate them, whereas any normal person would bleed out in minutes.¡±


    Pulling up a screen and ignoring the horrified, shocked looks of Shovi and Lahn, Riven showed Allie the new spell. Though he did note that the shock and horror was quickly reced by rage in Shovi, whereas Lahn was ovee with an emotion Riven couldn¡¯t quite ce when looking down at the man who¡¯d tormented him for years.


    <strong>[Voodoo Doll (Blood)(Tier 2): Scan your target to map out their vessels and infuse your mana into their bloodstream. You then gain the ability to replicate their bloodstream regardless of whether or not they have extensive wounds - enabling you to keep them alive as long as their brain remains intact. You may also use this ability on hostiles to form painful blood clots. Heart attacks caused by this ability do critical strike damage. Dependent on both Intelligence(90%) and Willpower (10%) stats. Medium cooldown. This is a channeling ability and will not work if interrupted by using other spells.]</strong>


    Allie¡¯s eyes widened and she shifted off the bed, putting her boots on the floor and eximing her excitement with augh - hands on her head. ¡°Riven! That¡¯s so good! Can you show me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m showing you right now.¡± Riven stated, confused. "I can cancel it and reshow you if you''d like to see the hand gestures, if that''s what you''re getting at. I''ve done it a couple times already when casting portals to jump across this capital city. Uhm... Mandon is the name of this city - right?"


    ¡°No! I mean yes - it is called Mandon, but no! I meant the blood clots!¡± Allie stood up and walked over to the sniveling man who was coughing blood intermittently on the floor and shaking violently. ¡°Give him a heart attack and watch him squirm a bit before saving him again! You can do that right?¡±


    Riven thought about it a moment, scratching his chin, then underwent the proper motions for his new tier 2 spell. He red his fingers - spreading them apart before pointing his open palm in Gleetus¡¯s direction in a grasping motion to test it out.


    Immediately Gleetus began to gasp, turning white and spasming on the ground even more violently than he¡¯d been choking up blood. Allie began tough and p her hands, violently kicking Gleetus in the rib cage to the sound of snapping bones that sent the lordling mming into a far wall - still spasming.


    Riven shifted his hand slightly, and Gleetus gasped for air - beginning to violently sob. ¡°He¡¯s like a little porcupine! Isn¡¯t he cute!?¡±


    ¡°Allie¡­ Can you please stop?¡±


    Both vampires turned curiously back to where Lahn was trying to sit up on the bed. He was giving it quite the effort, and his mother next to him had turned pale.


    ¡°Our house is going to be in a lot of trouble if you murder him¡­¡± Lahn said hesitantly, ncing over to his mother where she was beginning to have a nervous breakdown by the way her mouth and eyebrow twitched while scraping her nails against her thighs. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill him. Gleetus has a very powerful father who-¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll kill his father.¡± Allie said with an upbeat, chipper tone, bending down to pull gleetus up by the hair and bringing his wide, bloodshot eyes to meet her own as he dangled limply under her strength. She gave Gleetus a wide, fanged smile. ¡°That¡¯ll be after we kill Gleetus first though! When we change you into a vampire Lahn, your first meal will be this guy!¡±


    Allie roughly shook the man, sending droplets of blood everywhere like a dog would shake off water - but they quickly retracted and sank back into the streams of blood across Gleetus¡¯s ruined, torn body - flowing outside of his severed vessels in many ces due to Riven¡¯s magic.


    That¡¯s when Gleetus began to beg. ¡°P-Please Allie! I didn¡¯t know-¡±


    Her other fist mmed into his gut, causing Gleetus to lose the air in his lungs before her hand ripped out part of his lower intestine. She flung the organ to the floor, sneering at the man in her grasp. ¡°You don¡¯t get to talk! No, no, no¡­ You¡¯re just-¡±


    ¡°Allie!¡± Lahn called out, timid but also fearful. ¡°Allie you¡¯re scaring me! Please stop!¡±


    For the first time since Riven had met Allie after the integration started, Riven saw doubt and uncertainty in her eyes. She nced over to where Lahn¡¯s chest was heaving despite broken ribs, and her eyes softened.


    ¡°Allie¡­¡± Lahn said warily, grimacing due to speaking too fast after Gleetus had broken his jaw. His eyes fell to the sobbing face of Gleetus when Allie flung him across the room with another st, before Lahn took in a deep breath. ¡°Allie, for me¡­ please don¡¯t kill him.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Allie said, frowning. She took a couple steps towards the bed, past Lahn¡¯s mom who was pale and staring at the entrails that¡¯d been ripped out of the young lordling, and sat beside her crippled friend. ¡°Why? He hurt you, severely. He tried to kill you Lahn. I¡¯d thought you would want this¡­ and you¡¯ll need to feed if you be a vampire. When the change urs, you be crazed because you start out starved! When I turn you-¡±


    ¡°Allie!¡± Lahn said, exasperated - trying to hold up a hand but grimacing as he did so. ¡°Allie, you¡¯re amazing and I appreciate that you¡¯re trying to protect me - but this isn¡¯t what I want. I don¡¯t want to¡­ to feed on him. You never even asked me Allie - you just assumed. But I don¡¯t want to be a vampire.¡±


    He gave her a sheepish smile, and Allie¡¯s face froze in shock.


    ¡°You see!¡± Gleetus gasped with a horrified, blood-flecked rattle to his voice. He was frantic, despite all his injuries, and he grasped onto Lahn¡¯s words despite the shock of what was going on in this situation and all the things he¡¯d learned in the past hour. ¡°He doesn¡¯t want me dead! You don¡¯t need to do this! Spare me!¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up.¡± Riven, who was standing nearby, kicked him with a blur of motion so fast that neither Lahn nor Shovi could follow the motion. In turn, Gleetus¡¯s head was literally snapped off his body - hitting the ceiling and bouncing down onto the floor.


    Shovi screamed.


    Lahn went pale.


    Fay giggled.


    Allie sighed. ¡°Riven! He just said that he didn¡¯t want us to kill him!¡±


    ¡°Oh he¡¯s not dead.¡± Riven casually gestured to the head where blood was still streaming into the arteries of the decapitated neck. ¡°I haven¡¯t stopped channeling yet. This voodoo doll magic is really neat! I figured that¡¯d work, just wanted to see for myself - but his brain cells aren''t dying because I''m still supplying them with blood.¡±


    Indeed, Gleetus¡¯s shocked face with a smashed-in nose and unhinged jaw was blinking rapidly - eyes darting around to let out a silent scream. But he didn¡¯t have lungs, and although the blood streams were drawing his head back towards the rest of his body - he wasn¡¯t able to utilize anything below the neck where Riven had kicked his head off.


    Allie gawked for a moment, shook herself out of her stupor, then turned back to Lahn. sping his withered hand in her own - she returned his sheepish smile with one of her own. ¡°I¡­ guess I got ahead of myself. I¡¯d just assumed you¡¯d want to be like me¡­ it¡¯d make you a lot stronger, and we¡¯d be able to fit together better because of it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to be a vampire to fit together with you, as long as you¡¯ll have me as a human.¡± Lahn replied, having let himself drift back into a thick pillow underneath his head. Sighing, he closed his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s just a very, very big decision to make. Maybe I¡¯ll change my mind one day, just¡­ just don¡¯t throw it on me so fast. Is that ok?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s absolutely ok!¡± Allie said in turn, smiling gently down at the young man she¡¯d fallen for. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I was being stupid. And I also kind of wondered how you¡¯d react¡­ so we have a backup n to feeding Gleetus to you. Fay, how¡¯s the ritualing along?¡±


    Fay red up at Riven, pooching her lips and humphing to point to where some of Gleetus had smeared the chalk diagrams. ¡°It¡¯d be done if Riven hadn¡¯t bounced Gleetus¡¯s head onto the drawings. I¡¯ll have to redraw it, it¡¯ll take another two minutes tops.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± Allie replied, rubbing her hands together wickedly to re daggers at the ruined man on the floor. ¡°Time for n B!¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡± Riven asked curiously.


    ¡°Well we¡¯re going to take Lahn¡¯s worm and shove it up Gleetus¡¯s ass of course! What else is there if Lahn isn¡¯t going to eat him!?¡±

 Chapter 180: (Marked for slight editing)

    Chapter 180: (Marked for slight editing)


    <strong>Chapter 180</strong>


    ¡°yfather, the advance force hasunched their assault on the natives.¡± Peskus bowed at the waist, ck tailcoat billowing in the wind as he and his superior officer stood atop a huge half-flesh half-machine abomination that was burrowing itself into the coastal cliff face. It mutated and convulsed, but took care not to dislodge any of the many tens of thousands of people still inside the construct.


    It was a living fortress created from abination of unholy and machine foundational pirs, with huge spires, battlements, guns and steam-punk defensive tech mounted at intervals all along the outer wall. Tunnels were being dug, causing the ground to shudder while the drills went to work - but soon the entire cliff would be one big defensiveyer that would be almost imprable to any army without immense casualties.


    The yfather nced back from underneath his ck tophat, red eyes narrowed while he supported himself with his intricate cane. Not that he needed to, it was more of a fashion statement than anything else. ¡°Are the harvesters with them?¡±


    ¡°They are.¡± Peskus said, keeping himself bowed and blinking through one monocle. ¡°The first order of business, as you instructed, was to acquire a food source. That¡¯s what they set out to do. We sent them to a merfolkir to the north, and after that they are to travel to a coastal city run by humans. Our scouts indicate it¡¯s prime real estate with lots of cattle for the picking, and I do know how you like your humans.¡±


    The yfather grinned, disying his vampiric fangs. Holding up one steampunk gauntlet, that ticked with apass of some sort in the backside of his hand, he nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Oh I haven¡¯t had one of those in days¡­ that sounds rather good right now. Once they¡¯re back, bring me the fattest, most plump human you can find - I feel like gorging myself right about now and I am oh so weary of the nargles we¡¯ve had to settle with due to food shortages back home in Rippenvire.¡±


    ***


    At Lahn¡¯s request, Riven had force-fed Gleetus a couple healing potions and stabilized the man while Allie and Fay performed the ritual. It was a lot of chanting, sitting, praying, and hand gestures that Riven simply found boring.


    But it was working.He casually watched from the sidelines next to a cowering, sniveling Gleetus on the floor. Hands sped behind his back, Riven stared at Lahn¡¯s body as the young man groaned and asionally whimpered in pain - yet his necrotic, unnatural rot was beginning to fade away. It was being reced with new skin, and his mother Shovi was hysterically crying in the hallway - having removed herself after being ovee with emotion that her son was going to be cured of the ailment that¡¯d gued him nearly his entire life.


    Internally ncing at his soul aperture where the crystal flower he¡¯d recently eaten - a piece of Gaia¡¯s soul - was wrapped around Ath¡¯s core piece, he saw the piece re with pulsing light again. It¡¯d done that a few times now, and her soul piece was beginning to growrger - exponentially so. Whereas it¡¯d only been a spec when he¡¯d first got it, the soul piece was now a fourth of the size of his core.


    Riven smiled. He was excited to see his friend again.


    A draconic roar, and then the sound ofrge talons crashing into the ground outside caused Riven¡¯s head to turn slightly. Casually walking to the window, he saw Allie¡¯s undead pet drake. Its ck wings were marked with glowing neon-teal veins, bones created most of its body with ck strings of mana and neon-teal miasma shimmering off of the huge creature. He¡¯d remembered that fight - before it¡¯d be an undead toy. It¡¯d been a hard thing to kill, but what was it doing here?


    ¡°Allie isn¡¯t that your new pet?¡± Riven asked with a sidelong nce, but Allie shushed him even despite the lumbering creature that shook the ground with every step - causing the people downstairs to scream in horrified echoing cries. ¡°Allie, seriously your pet is here.¡±


    Allie huffed loudly in irritation and stood up, ending the chant while Fay continued on with it almost in a trance-like state. Walking over to the window as Shovi looked open-mouthed at the huge skeletal dragon head staring in with one eye taking up the entire viewpoint - Allie pushed the ss open and angrily grumbled at the monster. ¡°Tyranus, this better be good! You KNOW you¡¯re not supposed toe here in broad daylight - even if the king DID tell the fleet to let you through! And you¡¯re SUPPOSED to be guarding Dungeon Alibast so the elves stop enving dryads!¡±


    Tyranus? So that¡¯s what she¡¯d named it.


    Riven chuckled at the dumb expression the creature gave her for being chided, but perhaps that was all in his head. Gleetus screamed and wet himself when he saw the huge drake after sparing a peaking nce - and one of the maids ran up the stairs to report the huge monster in a panic only to swoon when she saw the huge head staring into Lahn¡¯s room.


    When the drake spoke, his words were deep and raspy - but boomed loud enough for everyone in the house to hear them. ¡°I was told toe by Gaia, to send you a message.¡±


    ¡°Well spit it out then. What¡¯s Gaia¡¯s message?¡± Allie said, tapping her foot impatiently.


    The drake paused, cocking his head as if trying to remember what the fae goddess had imparted to him. ¡°A new enemy approaches.¡±


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    Allie and Riven both exchanged looks.


    ¡°That¡¯s surely not all she said.¡± Riven stated tly. ¡°What else?¡±


    The drake¡¯s pale eye shifted to Riven, then back to Allie. ¡°A wave of death unsettles thend, imbnces nature, and culls the living. She says that you are needed on the coast, that an independent city state is now fighting for their lives against something called Rippenvire - one of the outworld factions. They are here, and soon they will head ind to ughter our own citizens if you choose not to take the fight to them now. Gaia says they are strong, and many, and that if you cannot defeat them - that perhaps seeing what they are capable of is itself a boon to use forter when the time is right.¡±


    Allie frowned deeply, rubbing at her chin. ¡°One of the invading forces is already at our southern coast? Isn¡¯t there a town there controlled by Dawn?¡±


    ¡°T-There is¡­¡± Shovi cut in from behind at the doorway, still hesitantly peaking in due to the huge skull-faced drake at the window.


    ¡°But the city being attacked is independent?¡± Riven asked, confused. ¡°Do we know of any city states along the coast nearby?¡±


    No one said anything, until Shovi cleared her throat. ¡°There was a recently confirmed report of such a city further south¡­ but it¡¯s over two hundred miles from here. That¡¯s what my husband told me, we don¡¯t know much about them yet.¡±


    Again, Allie and Riven exchanged nces.


    ¡°Tyranus¡­¡± Allie said slowly, turning to therge beast in the window. ¡°Do you know where it is, exactly?


    ¡°I do not.¡± immediately replied the drake.


    Frowning, Allie sighed. ¡°Alright. Riven? Want to join me on a little scouting expedition?¡±


    Riven nodded. ¡°Certainly. Tweedle, John, you¡¯re to stay with Fay and make sure her ritual goes ording to n.¡±


    Out of the shadows, a skresh assassin alongside a human rogue nodded and knelt.


    ¡°Yes my king.¡± The skeletal skresh assassin said, bone hand sped against his heart and hooded head bowed. ¡°Nothing will befall her.¡±


    ¡°The boy will continue the ritual as nned. We will take care of the worm when it arrives¡­¡± the human rogue trailed off, setting his eyes on Gleetus who sat dumbstruck that there¡¯d been two other stealthed people in the room without him even knowing. ¡°And if this one causes problems, I¡¯ll just cut out off his head.¡±


    ¡°I very much like that idea.¡± Riven replied with a chuckle. Walking over to where Fay was ring up at him, giving him a pouting expression despite continuing to chant and make motions with her hands amidst flickering lights in the air - he bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. ¡°Keep safe. When I get back, let¡¯s go for a nature walk. Or fishing. Or something outdoors. I think it¡¯d be fun.¡±


    Fay blushed, nodded, but kept doing what she was doing as he turned to jump out the window. Allie said something to Lahn and Shovi, talking to them for a few minutes before following Riven out.


    ¡°Ever ridden on a dragon before?¡± Allie asked with a giddy smile, mbering up the monster¡¯s huge back to where a pair of saddles were stationed between spines. ¡°It¡¯s pretty funnnnn!!!¡±


    Riven snorted and followed her up, strapping himself in as his clothes were changed out by warping them between his spatial sack and the stuff he had on his body. Soon, Jackal was in spear-staff form and the heavy armor set ¡®Messenger¡¯ was also epassing his body with a ivory-painted pair of steel boots and leg armor. ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever ridden one, no. But I¡¯m d to see you¡¯re putting my hard won victories to work - now show me what this guy can do. Let¡¯s go see just who and what ¡®Rippenvire¡¯ actually is.¡±


    ***


    Ath¡¯s eyes opened, and once again she found herself before her new god.


    Gluttony, the great maw, hovered over her a thousand timesrger than she was while hissing down at her. In an abyssal ck hell, Ath was utterly nothing inparison to this ancient entity that¡¯d existed even at the dawn of time.


    ¡°HEY!¡± Ath snapped, angrily shaking a fist up at the toothy bastard. ¡°SEND ME BACK AND STOP INTERFERING WITH MY RESURRECTION! You fuck¡¯n toothy BABY BACK BITCH! You KNOW the system won¡¯t stand for this rule breach!¡±


    She gave the great maw a sideways re, and she felt it mentally reach out to her again - but she humphed and turned away. ¡°NOPE! NOT happening! I know what you want and you aint gonna get it!¡±


    There was an ominous pause, and the maw¡¯s hissing stopped.


    <em>¡°You do not have a choice¡­¡±</em> Gluttony muttered - the ancient voiceing in from all directions in a way that made even Ath¡¯s bones shudder. <em>¡°You do not¡­ have a choice¡­ I will pay the price for defying Elysium, but you will obey me on this¡­ it is a certainty¡­¡±</em>


    Ath, for all her posturing, was terrified. She felt the cold pressure of the original sin weighing down on her mind, breaking her mental defenses like they were nothing. She felt the sensation of icy tendrils wiggling their way into her body and semi-formed soul aperture.


    She was scared, but she swallowed the pit of fear forming in her throat and squinted hard to fight the presence off - to reim herself, and to stop it from getting what it wanted.


    Ath would not betray Riven. She would not do it, not even to save herself. She¡¯d rather stay dead than have that happen, so despite the mental anguish that abruptly wracked her brain as her mind was pulled apart - she held on for what felt like the millionth time. Time, after all, worked differently here - but she kept going no matter what.


    Because one day, she knew she¡¯d get to see Riven again.


    That little twirp had iting after all the shit he put her through.


    She would see him again¡­


    She would see him¡­


    She would see¡­


    She would¡­


    She would eat him.


    Ath¡¯s eyes lifted to the maw in the sky, where a crystalline flower was slowly emerging from Gluttony¡¯s mouth.


    She would devour everything in her path.


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    She smacked herself across the face as hard as she could, shaking herself rom her stupor. ¡°NO! NO, NO, NO!¡±


    Ath shook her head back and forth like a wet dog. ¡°Come on,e on,e on, stay sane - stay sane - stay sane! I just have to wait until Riven gets me out of here and I¡¯ll be fine, I just have to hold on¡­ Hold on¡­ Hold¡­ on¡­¡±


    She needed to¡­ to feed¡­ On Riven¡¯s core¡­ To take the¡­ the¡­


    Ath¡¯s mind went dark, but then a distant light began to brighten her otherwise fading consciousness. The blooming, crystal rose showed itself to her once more, and she felt a warmth spread over her as petals began to sprout along her skin.


    Gluttony shrieked in rage with a roar that trembled the heavens.


    Her demonic soul shivered with greed.


    The rose wrapped itself around her, and she was finally at peace - awaiting the day that she would return home.


    <strong>[You have acquired the trait ¡®Fae-Unholy Hybrid.¡¯ Gluttony has been punished by Elysium for attempting to circumvent its rules. You have stolen a shard of Gluttony, original sin.</strong>


    <strong>Evolutionary changesmencing.]</strong>

 Chapter 181

    Chapter 181


    <strong>Chapter 181</strong><blockquote><em>The huge African guy that¡¯d first dove into the fray was covered in shallow cuts andrge bruises, but he stood tall and limped over to where Riven was panting. Holding out a hand of friendship, he bowed his head in appreciation. ¡°Thank you for doing what others would not. You are a good man. What is your name?¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>The man¡¯s voice had a thick ent, Nigerian maybe ¨C but Riven couldn¡¯t be sure.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>Riven gingerly collected the hatchet from the corpse at his feet, casually smiled, and took the man¡¯s handshake with a nod of thanks. He had to look up just slightly in order to meet the man¡¯s eyes even though Riven himself was over six feet tall. ¡°Riven. My name is Riven¡­ what¡¯s yours?¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em><strong>¡°FEARRRRRR MEEEEEEEE!!!!!¡±</strong></em></blockquote><blockquote><em>The dancing spider was hopping up and down on its six hind legs while wiggling its front ones up in the air and gnashing its teeth. Ath was chittering loudly as she did it: bouncing around, moving her butt up and down, and hissing every couple seconds while decorating herself with the innards of the men she¡¯d killed. She was wearing a head-dress made of intestines, and all Riven could do was look away and pretend not to know her.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>¡°Hakim.¡± The man said with a small smile, releasing Riven¡¯s bloody hand without a second thought. ¡°You were very brave. Is that your pet?"</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>¡°Nope. I don¡¯t know her.¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>¡°Are you sure about that?¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>¡°Uh¡­ Yes. I mean, no. Ok she¡¯s mine. Don¡¯t call her a pet though, she doesn¡¯t seem to like it.¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>¡°Should I call her a demon then? Identifying her says she¡¯s a level 3 Blood Weaver demon.¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>Riven gave the spider a sideways nce. ¡°You guessed it.¡±</em></blockquote>


    ***


    Riven was quite enjoying himself, hands behind his head as he was strung along for a joyride unlike anything he¡¯d experienced before.


    Wind whipped Allie¡¯s face and her hood violently pped due to the speed they were going. Tyranus¡¯s wings beat slowly but powerfully, each time sending them forward with another small increase to their speed for but a moment. Mountains had turned to sprawling forests, forests had turned to ins, and the coastline was reached soon thereafter before making an abrupt change from south to southwest as they followed the beach.


    ¡°How are you doing down there!?¡± Allie screamed through thes over the roar of wind as the sun began to set on the horizon.


    Riven whooped loudly and gave two thumbs up, being strung along by a long, thick cord of wretched snare that he¡¯d used to connect himself to the dragon instead of sitting directly behind her. The snare had held easily, and it was almost as if they¡¯d decided to go inner-tubing - where Tyranus was the boat, and the wretched snare was the rope pulling the inner-tube behind. That and they were high up in the sky soaring through clouds, versus being on ake.


    It was slightly more intense than the normal version. Even Jackal was enjoying the ride, sending pulses of excitement through its connection to Riven while it remainedtched to Riven¡¯s back


    ¡°Ah man¡­ Ath would love this kind of joyride.¡± Riven sadly smiled, but dismissed the emotion soon after. She¡¯d be back. Her soul was already forming, but the spunk she always brought to the party was sorely missed. He¡¯d probably cry like a little girl when she finally did get back, and if he did she¡¯d no doubt make fun of him.


    The snare he¡¯d attached himself to was firmly secured around his waist. The thick heavy gluttony-infused armor, Chalgathi¡¯s 5 piece set that¡¯d now turned into the item ¡®Messenger¡¯, was much more indifferent to the experience than Riven or Jackal were. The red feathers down the center of the helmet asionally swayed back and forth, and the eye sockets in his horned vampiric pauldrons red whenever a nearby bird passed. Sometimes even the maw along the front of his breastte rumbled and hissed, but it wasn¡¯t anything other than grumbling about wasting time as they hadn¡¯t killed anything in quite a while now. Messenger was bing impatient.But the coastline was truly a sight to behold, especially from this far up. With the sun setting, brilliant orange, red, and yellow hues lit up the horizon like a painted masterpiece. Allie had to avoid the sight by keeping her hood down, but Riven¡¯s armor gave him the ability to watch without being afflicted with the vampiric debuff pertaining to sunlight. So watch he did, as he was dragged along far behind the huge drake and his sister with a rxed sigh. He even started to doze off after another hour of it being like this, until he heard a sharp cry from in front.


    ¡°RIVEN! LOOK!¡±


    He yawned, blinked, and squinted - looking down the coast and then out to sea. His eyes widened in shock, and Allie¡¯s drake Tyranus came to a slower drifting flight while adjusting their trajectory more ind to ride the outskirts of the catastrophe that no doubt awaited them.


    There was indeed a city, but arge portion of it burned with ongoing explosions that could be seen even from here.


    Thousands of airships, the details of which were hard to distinguish from this distance, soared through the sky. But it did look like they were firing on the city at this distance. Far morend forces had umted too, having epassed the city perimeter entirely as itid siege. Then, further out too sea, there was moremotion as more of the airships were being engaged by what looked like huge krakens along with various creatures flinging magics up from the depths.


    Were those merpeople?


    Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be a human city?


    Drawing himself up along the long rope of his wretched snare, he mbered back onto the drake and sat behind his sister while they flew closer.


    ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± Allie asked over her shoulder while Riven stared out towards the ongoing battle. ¡°Just a scouting mission, right? Nomitments? We don¡¯t know how strong these invaders are supposed to be, but if there are only 5 of them and they¡¯re supposed to conquer the¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re likely far stronger than the natives, yes.¡± Riven said solemnly. He gestured to a group of hills to the north of the city just on the outskirts of the battle. ¡°Let¡¯snd there. We can leave Tyranus and go on foot, we¡¯ll be less likely to be noticed that way. Tyranus is huge.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡± Allie trailed off, obviously not liking the idea. ¡°I mean, yeah¡­ He is. But I think you should stay with him. Stay as my backup in case I need it, you¡¯ll be close by and I can do the scouting myself.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Riven asked rather curiously.


    Allie chuckled. ¡°Because you¡¯re too much of a hero for your own good. If I go in there and see innocent people dying, I¡¯ll stick to the n and not endanger us to help them. You on the other hand? You¡¯d go guns zing. Even if you are rank 5 on this¡¯s leaderboard, that doesn¡¯t mean the invaders won¡¯t stack up to you. We need to know how strong they are first and we need to be smart about it before you get yourself killed. In the end, that¡¯s the smarter thing to do even from a saving-people perspective - because if you die, you won¡¯t be able to save anyone elseter on. And yes, if it looks like we can help the natives without risking our lives then by all means you can go agro on their sorry ass. Agreed?¡±


    ¡°No, absolutely not. I¡¯m going in with you, don¡¯t be stupid. Now let¡¯s see about where we can park this baddie¡­ We have a battlefield to explore.¡±


    ***


    Theynded without issue, touching down inbetween tworge hills that only barely hid Tyranus¡¯srge frame when he intentionallyid down. The creature was massive, but thankfully he was more than ok with taking a rest break after the long flight.


    Allie hopped off, hitting the ground with a thud before she wasnded on with an *UMPH* when Riven intentionally plopped down onto her. ¡°You fucking cuck! Get off of me!¡±


    Riven cackled and violently ruffled up her hair to the screeches and protests of his little sister before getting up and lending a hand. ¡°I just have to remind you who¡¯s big bro from time to time, miss queen bee.¡±


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    ¡°God damned turd nugget¡­¡± Allie grumbled, taking his arm and pulling herself up to her feet with a humph - then brushing her bone armor off. ¡°Alright - so, wanna escort me to the border of the fight?¡±


    Riven paused, then nodded. ¡°Sure. But I¡¯ming in with you no matter whether you like it or not. I wouldn¡¯t be able to live with myself if you got killed in there, and we don¡¯t know how strong these guys are.¡±


    ¡°No I¡¯m sure, you¡¯ll start world war 3 up in this bitch if you follow me. I guarantee there are things in there where you wouldn¡¯t be able to just stand by, and it¡¯s important we do that. Frankly I¡¯m more ruthless than you are and it¡¯ll be something I can live with, whereas you won¡¯t be able to do that.¡± She gave him a yful nudge on the shoulder where one of hisrge pauldrons was.


    Riven, however, was adamant. ¡°I will literally fucking drag you back to the necropolis and go in myself if I have to argue my point abouting inside to make sure you¡¯re ok. Got it?¡±


    ¡°Bleh. FINE! Just keep your head on your shoulders and don¡¯t go killing things just to y hero, ok!?¡±


    With that she turned heel and walked away, through the crevice between hills and to the right - where the sounds of magics, gunfire, and distant explosions could be heard a few miles away.


    Riven nced down at his boots, then up to Tyranus. The undead, skeletal drake only stared back, probably not even knowing that it¡¯d been Riven who¡¯d been responsible for killing the previous inhabitant of that body. ¡°We¡¯re gona take a walk. Catch yater big guy. Stay hidden.¡±


    The drake only grunted with a re of teal mes out its nostrils, closing its eyes and curling up with a yawn.


    Pulling out Jackal in its weapon form, Riven went to follow his sister - who was waiting around the bend at a distance.


    The space they traveled was truly nds, rolling fields of grass and wildflowers with only scattered trees all the way to the coastline where a raging battle was ensuing. Missiles flying through the air in both directions - both magical and mechanical. Barriers and shields of various shorts behind barricades on either side of the quarantined city would re and deflect oing barrage - but it was apparent that the aggressors had the upper hand due to the airships raining down hell throughout the city from a much higher point.


    The only reason why this city likely hadn¡¯t been bombarded into dust already was twofold by Riven¡¯s guess. One, what was the point of taking a city if you didn¡¯t want to leave SOMETHING intact toy im to. Two, the ocean was in an uproar where creatures and what were probably merpeople had begun shooting down the airships these invaders had brought. Rippensire had thus been engaged on two fronts. The airships themselves were for the mostpart very big, thick, bulky things made of metal and what he assumed to be flesh - looking almost like upside-down turtle shells with attached cannons sprouting out their bottoms.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be tough getting inside at this angle. Airships arending on the coastal edge of the city where Rippenvire looks to be in control.¡± He pointed over the army surrounding the city, past the northern front lines ofbat towards what appeared to berge transport versions of the vampiric airships on the southern side. ¡°Looks like they¡¯ve set up a temporary headquarters that way. That¡¯s where we¡¯ll probably be able to observe the most valuable information.¡±


    ¡°Remember no unnecessary risks.¡± Allie chided with a growl.


    ¡°We¡¯re about to walk into a city full of hostiles, potentially from both sides as they won¡¯t know whose side we are on.¡± Riven shot back with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You got any stealth spells?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then we do our best without them. Lets¡­¡± Riven¡¯s words paused as he caught sight of two small children racing across the ins in their direction. They¡¯d somehow gotten past the battlefield and were crying, screaming, and running for their lives from a group of two six-legged dog creatures and their masters in ck uniforms just as one child fell. The other, a little boy, tried to pick the little girl who¡¯d fallen up - only to have his head ripped apart by the dog a secondter.


    Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed and his grip clenched. ¡°Mother fuckers.¡±


    ¡°Oh, god DAMN it Riven! This is EXACTLY what I was talking about!¡±


    ***


    ¡°RUN, CHILDREN! DON¡¯T LOOK BACK!¡±


    Sister Anita¡¯s voice echoed in Sara¡¯s ears, and she wept. The old woman had tried to fight the bad, red-eyed men off with a kitchen knife and her cain. But they¡¯d eaten her, Sister Anita had been too weak - and her screams and sobs haunted Sara¡¯s mind while the little girl raced as fast as she could into the foothills outside the city. Their orphanage was somewhat disced from the rest because the nuns had believed it would be good for the children to experience nature - and the governor had even supplied them with guards to fend off animal attacks.


    But animals hadn¡¯t been the only things that¡¯d attacked that day. It¡¯d been far worse.


    Though there were those mean dogs that¡¯d eaten Sara¡¯s friends. They were still probably chasing her, and the thought scared her so much that she covered her face with Teddy to stop herself from seeing as she sobbed and sobbed and sobbed.


    Her flip flops rapidly snapped against the bottoms of her feet, and her pink short tore on a bush when she tripped and fell - screaming tond shoulder-first onto the hard dirt beneath.


    Her friend, Sam, quickly caught up and huffed to try and pick her up. ¡°SARA GO! WE CAN¡¯T STAY HERE, THEY¡¯LL EAT US TOO!¡±


    But Sara was too scared to move. Instead of getting up, she covered her face and just continued to cry and shake despite him trying to tug her to her feet. It was hopeless, the bad men and evil dogs were almost here.


    And a momentter Sam¡¯s scream right next to her was abruptly silenced when the snarling of a hound and and ripping sounds caused Sara to hold Teddy even more tightly against her face. She didn¡¯t want to see it. She didn¡¯t want to see what¡¯de to eat her. She was so scared, and her short blonde hair was abruptly cached in warm liquid - from where she didn¡¯t know.


    She felt hot breath on her cheek, and heard the panting of an animal along with the deep chuckle of an approaching man.


    ¡°She¡¯s burying her head in a toy! That¡¯s hrious!¡± One of the bad man cackled to another of hisrades. ¡°It¡¯s even kind of cute! Too bad they said we have to feed the dogs this way, but they¡¯ve gotta eat too. Have at it¡­¡±


    The man¡¯s voice trailed off, and a deep chill settled over Sara¡¯s body.


    The dog abruptly yelped, and there was another ssh of warm fluid - this time covering her legs. The hot breath went away though, and so did the panting.


    But Sara did not move.


    She could not move.


    She was just too scared.


    ***


    Riven red at the five vampires chasing the children and their¡­. What exactly were these things?


    <strong>[Tiki Hound, Level 32]</strong>


    Well whatever the fuck Tiki Hounds were, they were ugly little shits. The remaining beast he hadn¡¯t already killed was essentially a 6-legged dog, with a mouth that opened in 3 directions a lot like the sand wyrms in the ¡®Dune¡¯ movies did. The maw produced squirming, writhing tentacle-like appendages that came out of its hissing throats as the creature backed up - obviously sensing the danger and not wanting to engage since he arrived.


    ¡°So much for subterfuge.¡± Allie followed to stand beside Riven with a sigh, casually examining the oing vampires behind the hound.


    If all the enemies Rippenvire wasposed of were like this, then Rippenvire was essentially an army of steampunk vampires. Another group following behind the first that¡¯de with the hound also sported simr dogs, but their various pets had warped versions of machines inserted into their bodies, and Riven had already seen them cutting down the defenders systematically at a distance.


    Riven shifted his thoughts back to the present, turning his glowing crimson eyes to the sobbing little girl burying her head in her teddy bear - with her little dead friend next to her. If he wasn¡¯t so shocked at theplete brutality of it all, he¡¯d likely have already killed the vampires who¡¯d chased her down along with their strange tiki dogs. He thought he¡¯d been bad, but this?


    He knew he was being hypocritical. He was sure he¡¯d killed children when he¡¯d wiped out that city in the canyons, but it¡¯d been detached and it was very quick. This felt very real, it was far more brutal than a purging fire - they were feeding these kids to their animals.


    It made him physically sick to think about.


    As he was thinking, the five other vampires just stared - awestruck at his and his sister¡¯s presence. One of them even knelt before them, and he was soon joined by a second and a third. Each of them wore styled dark coats with buttons and top hats, along with various mechanical gadgets infused with unholy, blood, death, and shadow powers of various sorts. Riven also felt various types of ¡®Machine¡¯ pir influence as well. Though he was less attuned to thetter, it was still unmistakably Machine Pir after having spent so much time in Chicago. They also wore different shades of tinted goggles, but their eyes were still unmistakable red. Though their eyes also didn¡¯t glow like his, and instead of a bright crimson they were rather dull in color. Perhaps another breed of vampire?


    <strong>[Lesser Vampire, Restrainer, Level 62]</strong>


    <strong>[Lesser Vampire, Restrainer, Level 75]</strong>


    <strong>[Lesser Vampire, Animal Tamer, Level 41]</strong>


    ¡°My apologies¡­ I didn¡¯t realize the nobility had sent one of their sions to the field¡­¡± One of the restrainers hesitantly stated, taking a step back to reach for a pirate-style pistol and eyeing the ck spear-staff that pulsed with writhing streams of blood along its surface. ¡°I do not mean offense. If you wish to take that one as your own meal, or as a meal for yourpanion, then do so - but this is a sanctioned war effort. Killing us or our charged hounds needlessly will be punishable, even for a sion such as yourself. The council demands results, and infighting is prohibited. You know this.¡±


    Riven¡¯s re was interrupted by a blink.


    Oh. So that¡¯s what it was. He¡¯d almost forgotten - he was a pureblood, as was Allie. That¡¯s why this man likely thought them to be sions of Rippenvire¡¯s elite.


    He merely shook his head, with pools of blood beginning to swirl around him as the ground started to freeze over for dozens of yards in all directions. ¡°Oh no. I do believe you¡¯ve got this all wrong. I¡¯m not from Rippenvire. I¡¯m a native, and I¡¯m about to tear you guys a new asshole. I don¡¯t use lube.¡±


    The ground shook with power, causing the others to fall back in confusion, and ck lightning tore through Jackal as he twirled the staff around to point at the oing invaders. ¡°Prepare yourselves.¡±

 Chapter 182

    Chapter 182


    <strong>Chapter 182</strong>


    Jestus was a tall, greater vampire, and like so many others of the Rippenvire faction he preferred a tophat and suit jacket with coat tails as his primary attire. Gold trimmingsced a vest underneath with a pocket watch, a pocket protector, and two ornate pirate-styled pistols holstered under either arm. He wore tall ck boots up to his knees, dark baggy trousers, and his red eyes glowed slightly brighter than all the lesser vampires he lorded over on this harvesting expedition. One thing the vampires always faced as an initial trial on these world-conquering invasion missions was ack of food - because unlike other factions that could just bring their food with them, vampires also required mortal blood. That gave Rippenvire two options - either decrease the amount of vampiric soldiers they could bring with them to conquer a in order to bring cattle, or bring as many vampires as they could and just kill or enve the local poption to feed on. Rippenvire always chose thetter, often settling on a mass execution of anything and anyone around their initial breach point to secure their borders and have a reserve supply of blood without needing to use other more basic but still valuable food supplies other than blood to feed the ves. After Rippenvire secured a foothold they¡¯d then start enving rather than just mass ughtering for blood. They simply didn¡¯t have the early resources for keeping arge supply of ves or cattle just yet.


    ¡°Those merfolk really didn¡¯t like it when we came and harvested that outpost of theirs, did they?¡± Jestus Bloodrain said with a chuckle, swirling the red wine of his goblet while casually observing the battle over the ocean underneath his gship. ¡°Truly pesky little things.¡±


    His lieutenant nodded, staring over the gship¡¯s steel rails at a kraken that¡¯d been tamed by the natives while its limbs reached skywards to try and pluck at their airships. ¡°We could always pull our fleet over to the city in its entirety to avoid a double-sided battle, your excellency.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. More merpeople means more bodies we can harvest from the sea - and they are quite terrible at attempting to kill us. Wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡± Jestus snorted and sipped at his wine as the bowl-like undersides of the flesh-metal hybrid airships continued to carpet bomb the merpeople ruthlessly while they in turn did their best to use various water-based magics to strike out at the vampiric fleet. ¡°In fact, I do believe-¡±


    An ominous feeling of dread spread over Jestus right before an explosion echoed across the battlefield from across the besieged city; and a pulse wave of power crashed into the enormous gship. rms immediately began ringing and he was nearly thrown off over the rail into the sea before a nearby soldiertched onto his ankle. The sky turned into an ominous red and ck as crimson snow tore into the fleet, and dozens of the domed airships of metal and flesh were tipped over entirely - spilling many of their crew into the waiting hands of the merpeople far below.


    ¡°WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS HAPPENING!?¡± Jestus roared over a torrent of power that even now continued to push down on him, making him feel small and almost helpless in a way he¡¯d never experienced in real battle before. Red eyes wide and holding onto the railing for dear life, the gship slowly tipped back to right itself as a ck cloud dispersed overhead to nket the sun.


    Normally that would be a wee sight, but not this time. The teal, ming eye of some unknown god opened up to reveal itself through hundreds ofrge spatial tears in the masmic cloud - ring down on the besieged city and everything around it to judge the unworthy.


    Jestus screamed, his body began to tear apart in dozens of ces right before the defensive shields of the ship sprang to life. He abruptly hit the deck, gasping and spitting blood while leaking fluid from numerous wounds as the shields red in response to some kind of death-attuned attack.He didn¡¯t even have time to question it as his eyes lifted to see another of the airships with its turtle shell-like bottom, cannons still sting, rocket towards therge gship with half its hull missing. He watched in real time when a torrent of red and cknces ripped through the ship momentster, then felt the jarring impact of simrnces crash into the shields right before the allied airship did with the sound of snapping ligaments and tearing metal.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The allied airship had been caughtpletely unaware, not having had time to activate their own shields which left it only as a heaping chunk of metal and muscle that crunched and sagged against the unholy barrier surrounding Jestus and his men.


    He watched as soldiers on the other ship who¡¯d somehow miraculously survived until this point were smashed up against those same shields, watched their bodies stter, and he hastily made his way back into the innermand chamber while other officers scrambled and rms continued to re across other ships of the fleet.


    ¡°Your excellency!¡± One of his underling officers called out, pulling up a 3D image of the battlefield, which was now inplete chaos whenpared to the rather controlled scenario he¡¯d had under his thumb only twenty seconds ago. ¡°Two enormous mana signatures are on the northern end of the city¡¯s edge! OH GODS! THE ENTIRE GROUND FORCE HAS BEEN WIPED OUT, THEY¡¯RE ALL JUST GONE! ALL GONE! AND WE HAVE INCOMING!¡±


    ¡°Iing!?¡± Jestus spluttered, his dead heart beating fast in his chest as he stared ck-jawed at the two mana signatures on the hologram. They were both enormous, with even the weaker signatures being leagues above anything he¡¯d seen anyone at his level of 80 perform before. The sensors of the gship wereparing one of these readings to fluctuate around 1400, while the other was now even surpassing a power level of 3000¡­ and it was continuing to RISE. ¡°IMPOSSIBLE! CAPTAIN, SEND WORD FOR REINFORCEMENTS IMMEDIATELY AND ROUTE ALL POWER INTO SHIELDS! GET US ABOVE THOSE DAMNABLE FISH AND WITHDRAW THE FLEET-¡±


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The gship shuddered - sending Jestus sprawling onto the floor as another volley of SOMETHING sted into its shields. A wave of heat along with infernal mana bathed the shields that began flickering as one by one: airships on the hologram began to melt away and dissolve amidst a burning cloud of hellfire.


    Orders were sent out over themunication as he picked himself up, and soon the engines started upticking while cannonfire from the main guns continued to re.


    ¡°FIND OUT WHO OR WHAT THOSE MANA SIGNATURES ARE!¡± Jestus screamed while officers yelled over encrypted lines to the main base - calling in for backup. His eyes then shifted to the ¡®iing¡¯ dots racing towards his fleet. First it was five, then twelve, then twenty - and the number just kept growing. ¡°AND ACTIVATE THOSE GODS DAMNED TOTEMS - WHATEVER IT IS ATTACKING US ISN¡¯T PLAYING AROUND AND WE¡¯RE GOING ALL OUT!¡±


    ***


    Thebined storm of death, blood and shadow energies Allie and Riven wove together was astronomically devastating. The entire ground force of Rippenvire on this side of the city had been wiped cleanly off the face of the within twenty seconds, all of their defensive barriers and talismans having been oriented the opposite direction from where the two Thane siblings stood. It¡¯d been like taking candy from a baby, and now theirbined storm was focused on the fleet on the opposite side of the city.


    Allie¡¯s unholy obelisk sang overhead, the teal eye of some foreign behemothser-focusing all enemies with a crushing wave of oppression. Crimson ice spun with crackling arcs of lightning that shattered machine and flesh alike. Airships warped and tore, bodies began falling into the sea and the entire harvesting strike force of the invaders was upended in a violent disy of power. Massive amounts of weaker enemies were quite easy for area of effect mages to deal with, they were essentially just XP fruits for the picking - so this kind of battle with the enemy backs turned in closely knit formations was exactly the kind of scenario both she and Riven would excel at.


    Riven stood in full gluttony-attuned te armor at the central eye of the storm, atop a mound of corpses to look over the field of death; his ck weapon ring with streams of blood magic as he cradled the sobbing young girl in his arms. She still held her teddy bear close, but was beginning to calm down while answering Riven¡¯s questions and even asking some of her own as she became morefortable with the idea that she was safe.


    Allie cackled as the level increases raced in, squaring her shoulders and typing furiously into herptop while hovering a few feet in the air cross-legged -municating with the approaching squadrons as officers one by one checked in.


    ¡°Alpha team on lock.¡±


    ¡°Bravo team on lock.¡±


    ¡°Charlie team on lock. Now that our two walking tactical nukes have done their deeds - I hear these so called invaders have a good amount of oil to plunder, and that they could use some good old fashioned freedom! Aint that right, mydy!?¡±


    ¡°FUCKING RIGHT! I want these motherfuckers liberated with some red, white and blue!¡± Allie crowed over chat, having had this conversation with the squadron leaders before on other raids against the elves. Laughter from the fighter pilots echoed across thems channels, and the modified F-35 fighter jets were soon seen on the horizon in seven V formations. 81 of these things had been produced with shield upgrades, radar upgrades, and weapon boosts since integration had begun - and each of them was a terror of the skies. If Earth had beencking in magic, it¡¯d more than made up for it when finding ways to kill each other using technology. This was only emphasized even more since the system hade into y. ¡°We¡¯ll take the storm down a notch right when you arrive, go guns zing gentlemen and do the necropolis proud. No risky moves, we want you all to level up your piloting sses and we can¡¯t have you die on us early. Gain your XP, bail or eject if you have to, and give them hell. Good luckdies!¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    ¡°For the necropolis!¡± Came the simultaneous call over the mainms before each squadron separated into their own respective chat channels. Allie watched them spread out overhead in the sky.


    Riven had turned around and casually walked to stop near his sister, looking down at her with a crimson re under his feathered helm as the storm thundered around them. ¡°This little girl¡¯s name is Sara. I¡¯m going to drop her and her teddy off with Tyranus, then we¡¯re heading in for the big kahuna.¡±


    ¡°Yup. So much for the stealthy approach, we¡¯re all in now. Whatever happens by the way - this is your fault.¡± Allie gave a thumbs up, still looking at the screen and sending private messages to different squadron leaders. Priority targets had already been selected by drones sent by engineers who were currently piloting them from Brightsville. There were a few heavy-hitting artillery flesh golems on the enemy side that had built in siege cannons along their arms or chests, and these were for the mostpart actually located within the city after the outer perimeter had been wiped clean. They would be a problem and a danger for her jets and the drones were currently pinging well over twenty of their locations even now - with some other very fast and agile vampiric rogues that¡¯d already been seen wiping out skybound human-made missiles from the defenders of this Earth-originating city on the coast. If these melee fighters were fast enough to take out missiles mid flight by slicing at them with daggers while acrobatically flipping around in mid air, as ridiculous as it was they¡¯d likely be dangerous if the jets got too close to the ground.


    It was just something to keep in mind concerning warfare with how the system worked now. Though it may seem to be stupid not to solely use long-range spells or weapons fire during a fight, she¡¯d already seen numerous instances of ssers who were built around sturdiness both in this battle and battles against the elves - they¡¯d often been able to just blow off explosions, bullets, cannon fire, magical sts, or other ranged onughts entirely if they were high enough level. She¡¯d seen her own flesh golems or bone giants charge into a swarm of elvish magic-infused arrows or wind storms without so much as a blink, and she¡¯d seen elvish griffons tank bombs with barely a scratch before tearing off the heads of her ghouls. It was why she was creating a front line legion of death knights back at the capital, as they¡¯d be used as line breakers and shock troops in the future for quarantined siege situations exactly like this one had been.


    Before Riven got back, Allie sent a final deration over theptop for the drones to redistribute across all Machine-pir rtedmunication lines. ¡°The Thane Necropolis has imed this city as part of its empire, starting now. Should Rippenvire give an immediate unconditional surrender andy down its arms, we will spare you. Otherwise, prepare to meet the afterlife. Veni Vidi Vici motherfuckers. - Signed Allie Thane, Queen of the Thane Necropolis and Princess of the Blood Moon Requiem.¡±


    ***


    <strong>[Jackal (Ascended Legendary Weapon. Type: Vampiric Artifact, Sin Artifact, Sorcerer¡¯s Spear-Staff): 894 average damage on strike with each physical strike dealing additional shadow damage. Each physical strike steals health from the enemy and heals you and repairs this item. Mana regeneration is increased by 305%. Stamina regeneration increased by 8%. All Shadow and Blood abilities cost 10% less mana while dealing 36% additional damage. This item has an abnormally high endurance and is hard to destroy. Requires Vampiric Heritage and a piece of Gluttony¡¯s Original Sin to wield.</strong><ul><li><strong>Sacrificial Kill:</strong><strong> Killing strong opponents has a chance to imbue this weapon with additional attributes, stats, or bonuses.</strong></li><li><strong>Gluttony¡¯s Riptide:</strong><strong> Passively builds up an elongated de of sin energy that can extend by swinging this weapon in an arc. Recharge rate and damage output depend on control and insight concerning Gluttony.</strong></li><li><strong>ck Lightning:</strong><strong> This staff can passively build up charges of ck lightning. Power of ck lightning depends on the amount of charge emitted.</strong></li><li><strong>Jackal¡¯s Lunge:</strong><strong> Point this weapon in any direction and activate this innate and unique martial art, charging the de with blood mana to create the visage of a jackal¡¯s maw and sting forward. When your de strikes an enemy, the red jackal will close down on them to deal additional blood and sin damage.</strong></li><li><strong>Portal Master:</strong><strong> This weapon can sync to any stabilized portal you permission to use by the maker and master. Current locations avable for ess: Dungeon Negrada, Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole. Takes 1 week of channeling in the same ce to use this ability.</strong></li><li><strong>Beastform:</strong><strong> This weapon can turn into a shadow jackal. This form is not offensivelypatible, but is a way for the weapon to experience the world around it outside ofbat - matching the will of the de.]</strong></li></ul>


    Space split apart and Riven tore through a portal, exiting out the other side to clear the distance instantaneously before the other vampire even knew what¡¯d hit him. Blood frost bloomed in the air all around, and ck lightning thundered along Riven¡¯s curved de as his spear staff blurred ahead with the roar of a thousand storms.


    The ground shuddered.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    The city buildings around the twobatants exploded as the Rippenvire officer¡¯s legs snapped under Riven¡¯s strike. His weapon barely held, blocking the blow just as another Rippenvire rogue came in from the side to slip a dagger into the underside of Riven¡¯s armor where the temail was gone and only bloodsilk remained.


    Yet the stamina-infused dagger strike didn¡¯t pierce even that, sliding off of ¡®Messenger¡¯ with sparks flying before Riven¡¯s armored elbow crashed into the rogue¡¯s face - snapping his jaw 90 degrees to the left in a clean break with teeth flying everywhere.


    ¡°I fucking HATE ROGUES!¡± Riven snarled, blurring left to slice through the stunned man¡¯s torso and backflipping over a mana attack simr to his own bloodnce. Quickly identifying the two vampire mages that¡¯d targeted him, he swung his spear staff and activated Gluttony¡¯s Riptide.


    The image of Gluttony¡¯s maw roared behind him, paralyzing his targets with fright as dark sin magics shed forward - instantly ripping apart the two men and the buildings behind them for many blocks.


    The docked Rippenvire transports were continually being downed by Necropolis F-35 jets, being priority targets that were marked by drone pilots whenever they did manage to get off the ground - and the remaining Rippenvire forces that¡¯d entered the city were now scrambling in a panic. Allie and Riven, along with Azmoth and a legion of undead who¡¯d been summoned not long ago to help guard from any would-be assassins, were quickly tearing through the poorly entrenched vampires after their frontline gains across the city had been bulldozed. The swarming undead were kept in the back surrounding Allie and chasing down any nearby enemies while she focused on cleaning up ships in the sky to support the fighter jet squadrons, and Riven took the very front with Azmoth as a spear-head effort to break any enemy lines that tried to form a defensive hold.


    So far, Riven could honestly say that these Rippenvire vampires weren¡¯t pushovers.


    They were certainly not a match for him and Alliebined, at least not here and now, but if this was just a part of their invading army - which he assumed to be the case - the Thane Necropolis would have a hard time beating them should they muster their true forces. Already he¡¯d met multiple level 80 vampires that¡¯d put up real fights against him even despite being lower level by a good amount. True, he was focusing on honing his closebat abilities and was also utilizing his magics and aura to rip into the fleet above as a distraction - but he was still surprised with the quality of these enemies nevertheless. As usual the rogues and stealthy types were the ones that gave him the most issue - but there were a few heavily armored knights wielding ymores that he¡¯d alsoe to respect.


    They had regeneration abilities simr to his own, werepletely covered in very thick mechanical body-suits, and were massive - obviously somehow augmented by both blood and armament subpirs. How this was possible he didn¡¯t know, but he intended to find out - and it was five of these Azmoth-sized vampiric beings that now stood in front of him withrge ymores drawn. They red out at him, suits sparking with electricity and unholy miasma, unblinking in the sunset as the fleets overhead crashed into one another amidst a storm of magic. They were some of Rippenvire¡¯s elites, and Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed as he read their descriptions.


    <strong>[Greater Vampire, Bloodborg Pdin, Level 85]</strong>


    <strong>[Greater Vampire, Bloodborg Pdin, Level 81]</strong>


    <strong>[Greater Vampire, Bloodborg Pdin, Level 78]</strong>


    <strong>[Greater Vampire, Bloodborg Pdin, Level 80]</strong>


    <strong>[Greater Vampire, Bloodborg Pdin, Level 86]</strong>


    Azmoth snapped the neck of another enemy, cackled, and stomped over to settle in beside his master while giving a demonic smile towards the fiverge enemies ahead of them. ¡°Azmoth take two. Riven take three. Deal?¡±


    Riven grinned underneath his helm, and his aura of malice exploded forward like a physical entity that caused the five brave warriors ahead of him to stumble. The crowds of fleeing vampires boarding transport ships simultaneously stutter stepped or fell overpletely, and a sign on one of the buildings with Chinese lettering snapped off entirely to crash to the ground.


    ¡°Deal.¡±


    Azmothunched himself forward with his ¡®Propulsion¡¯ martial art, sending mes behind him in the dash as he mmed into both of his marks with a heavy four-handed swing of his giant stone maul.


    Riven on the other handunched a dozen storm-razor balls at his enemies and rift-walked to teleport along their side, smashing magics into his three marks before activating ¡®Jackal¡¯s Lunge¡¯. His curved de shimmered with sin energy, and the red maw of a fanged jackal roared ahead of his weapon when he pointed it towards the lined-up targets who¡¯d braced against his initial magic strike.


    The jackal¡¯s maw snapped and he sted forward - hitting all three at the same exact time his red and ck storm-razor balls collided against the enemy vampires.


    The first body tore apart effortlessly, but the second and third heavy frontliners turned with amazing speed to almost match his own. The first ymore he came into contact with blocked and paired his strike using a defensive shielding ability, but sent the man stumbling to the left just as hisrade activated his own martial art - ymore glowing red with blood magic that left a red ribbon in its wake and crashed into Riven¡¯srge pauldron.


    Riven was sent rolling, crashing through a concrete wall only to whirl about to catch an iing sword strike that clipped his staff. He snarled at the oing pdins, striking back in a flurry of blows as his weapon collided with the other two ymores in a blur of metal, sparks, blood magic and ck lightning. The building around them was blown apart under the furious assault, and Riven soon found himself locked into a meleebat of epic proportions. Concrete shattered and explosions of power sent debris flying as the threebatants went at it - with Riven beginning to smile from underneath his visored helmet.


    Should he dismiss the storm overhead to deal with these two?


    No. That would leave the squadrons at a disadvantage and cost lives.


    And he¡¯d almost forgotten what it was like to struggle. This was kind of fun.

 Chapter 183

    Chapter 183


    <strong>Chapter 183</strong>


    Lahn gasped, lurched, and screamed as Fay¡¯s mana tendrils literally ripped the worm out of his skin. The sightless brown creature was long, the width of Fay¡¯s arm, wicked looking with numerous thorns, and had a gaping sucker that pulsed and slurped at the air using its tongue. Lahn¡¯s mother Shovi gasped in horror-stricken awe, and even the two rogues assigned to escort Fay were a little unnerved by the sight of the disgusting creature. But the subus reached out a slender blue hand to grasp the thing by its throat as it wriggled, not thinking twice and smiling victoriously as she held it aloft.


    ¡°I told you so! There it is!¡±


    The magics of the ritual circle died away, and she quickly pulled out two healing potions to pour onto Lahn¡¯s numerous wounds where the worm had been taken out of his withered side. They were pretty high grade, kept in ss vials with cherry-red liquid that smelled quite nice as they washed over his skin. She also had Shovi help feed him another one so it¡¯d work from the inside out, and within seconds - Lahn¡¯s body began to heal.


    It was literally right before their very eyes. His shriveled limbs remained skinny due to years of muscle atrophy, but they were covered in new HEALTHY skin without the shriveled look. He gasped, almost seizing on the bed as his mother and Gleetus just gawked - but when Gleetus made a move to leave he was abruptly kicked in the gut and sent sprawling back along the floor.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere.¡± The skresh assassin said as a faint whisper, its skull chattering as a de twirled in its hand. ¡°Mydy Fay? Do you wish us to proceed as nned?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Take him to the designated spot for now. Allie wants to do it personally.¡± The subus nodded, handing the worm over to the human rogue before the two stealth personnel dragged Gleetus out of the room kicking and screaming - while also carrying the odd squirming creature she¡¯d ripped out of Lahn.


    Shovi only stood, dumbfounded, staring with tears in her eyes at the young man in the bed ahead of her. Reaching out and touching Lahn¡¯spletely cured left arm, she pulled down the covers to reveal his leg was the same. The bed was soaked in blood and potion, but neither she nor Lahn cared as he continued to sweat and pant in a puddle of his own sweat. ¡°Lahn¡­ Lahn you¡¯re healed! YOU¡¯RE HEALED!¡±


    Shovi screamed and barreled into theying young man, hugging him and sobbing as Lahn grimaced - but even he had tears in his eyes as he shakily examined his left hand.¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know what to even say¡­¡± Lahn muttered shakily, voice quivering. He hugged his mother back, then nced down at the foot of the bed where Fay was warmly smiling at him. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been thinking a lot about the first time I met you and Riven at that dinner. A lot of what you said now makes sense.¡±


    Fay blushed with embarrassment and rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes, well¡­ I¡¯m a bit obsessed over Riven. I will admit it.¡±


    The strode over to the bedside and sat down on the edge - caring to give Lahn and Shovi their space as she straightened out her silver dress. Night was falling now, it¡¯d been many hours since the ritual had begun and still Lahn¡¯s father and brother hadn¡¯te back. She stared out at the night sky, up above at the starlit heavens, and snorted at the memory of her mental breakdown. ¡°Sorry if I came across as crazy.¡±


    Lahn smiled and shook his head. ¡°No. Not crazy. Just stricken, and even if you were crazy - I wouldn¡¯t care anyways. Not after what you did for me.¡±


    Fay turned her face in the candlelight of thenterns around the room. Her small obsidian horns glistened, and she tucked her long white hair behind her ears with a smooth dual motion of her hands. ¡°I appreciate that.¡±


    There was a moment of silence as Lahn let his mother continue sobbing into the bed while sheid on top of him to hug him tight, but then he cleared his throat and looked around - realizing finally that Allie was gone. He¡¯d been so out of it and in so much pain during the hours-long ritual that he¡¯d lost track of time, and his frown deepened at the note of her absence. ¡°Hey Fay¡­ where did Riven and Allie go?¡±


    Fay cocked her head to the side, amused. ¡°You really don¡¯t remember?¡±


    He shook his head.


    ¡°They¡¯re fighting right now.¡± Fay replied absentmindedly, turning her gaze back to the starlit sky. ¡°Spearheading the fight against one of the invading forces on the southern coast of this continent.¡±


    ¡°The invaders!?¡± Lahn asked, bewildered. ¡°They¡¯re already here!?¡±


    Fay raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh yes. They¡¯re here all right, though this particr group I believe bit off a bit more than it could chew having selected this area of the world to start in.¡±


    ***


    The heavens roared with conflict, and the battle raged to new heights.


    Riven and Azmoth both crashed through the deck of the gship as it began to fall from the sky. Sinewy flesh snapped and metal ominously creaked, fires raged and the injured screamed.


    Rolling to his feet he blurred to unleash a wall of crimson ice that blocked an iing scimitar. The weapon smashed halfway through the wall, lodging itself into the magic before he countered with bloody razors that quickly morphed into their storm-ball variant - tearing through the air and smashing into the lightning-fast de of the vampire expedition leader.


    ¡°I AM JESTUS BLOODRAIN, SON OF THE GRAND DUKE AND A SION OF RIPPENVIRE - YOU INSOLENT WELP!¡± Jestus screamed in rage, wisps of ck exploding out of him in a cloud that rapidly hid his location right before a torrent of bloodnces blew holes in the ship where he¡¯d just stood.


    The voice of Jestus echoed out again through the unnatural darkness that even Riven¡¯s eyes could not see through. ¡°I WILL TEAR YOUR HEAD FROM YOUR BODY AND FEED IT TO MY DOGS!¡±


    Azmoth cackled and charged four more pdins that rushed them through the ck, colliding with one via a shoulder charge and snapping another man¡¯s head with a maul strike. Riven¡¯s wretched snares rapidly incapacitated the remaining two pdins, leaving them as easy prey for the brutalisk to tear apart as Jestus leaped from a position behind Riven¡¯s own.


    The scimitar whistled forward, and the vampire¡¯s red eyes gleamed underneath his tophat as he struck out at Riven¡¯s neck.


    Riven¡¯s own body exploded with crackling lightning and blood-wisps as he activated Blessing of the crow, forming a smoothly flowing cloud of energy that rippled along his armor and shot him left before a supersonic counterstrike with Jackal caused the enemy leader to stagger.


    des collided, and Jestus found his arm missing a secondter in a spray of blood.


    The vampire screamed, and then cursed even more furiously when Messenger¡¯s maw opened up and shot out ck tendrils to wrap around one of his legs. ¡°NOOOOO!!!¡±


    Unhesitating, Jestus cut off his leg to get rid of the snaring gluttonous armor and kicked off the floor tounch himself up into the air by twenty meters - before freefalling overboard to be lost from sight.


    Riven grimaced, tisking in annoyance as he lost track of his enemy in the madness surrounding him. Fires continued to re up and the gship was still creaking ominously as it fell from the sky. Not far off, Allie¡¯s drake Tyranus was breathing neon-teal sts of me onto any ships that remained - or she¡¯d downrightnd on them and let the drake have a buffet as it gorged itself on the screaming vampires. F-35 jets raced through the retreating enemy fleet, a few less than they¡¯d started when entering the fray but stillrgely intact across all squadrons - and the merfolk were ravenously picking off and killing any of the invaders that fell overboard into the ocean.


    Riven¡¯s peripheral vision and an uptick in a nearby heartbeat caused him to turn and block an iing sword strike - catching the de in his free hand while ring out at the vampiric female officer as she hyperventted.


    Yanking her sword out of his hand while he stood watching her with apathy, she screamed and drove the de forward again - only for him to catch it yet again, rip it out of her hand, and behead her in a single swift motion.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    The woman¡¯s body staggered and fell, and her head spun through the air to bounce along the metal floor.


    <strong>*CLANG*</strong>


    Riven grunted and spun as a bullet mmed into the back of his helmet, bouncing off of itpletely and giving him a slight headache. Seeing another man in a buttoned coat stationed on a deck above with arge, ornate, wooden rifle simr to the pirate-styled pistols so many of the others carried - Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed.


    He began to activate ¡®Launch¡¯, an inherent ability his suit had, and sin energy began gathering along four panels at his back. ck and red churned and writhed in streams of power, building up and then bursting into red mes as the suit torpedoed him through the air first-first into the man¡¯s face.


    The blow would have been enough on its own topletely tear the man¡¯s head off, but with the ¡®Ripping ws¡¯ buff attached to his gauntlets - the vampire quite literally was torn apart in a blur and explosion of rage.


    Riven exited the falling gship the same way he¡¯de - in a ze of profane glory and red mes while his suit torpedoed him through the air like a jetpack. Air whistled by and he narrowly dodged another falling ship, zipping over Allie as she rode her dragon through the mess of skybound debris and giving her a thumbs up before readjusting his trajectory towards the half-destroyed city. There were still a lot of Rippenvire survivors, including their expedition leader - the self-proimed duke¡¯s son, and he was intent on finding and killing them all.


    <strong>[Messenger (Mythic Heavy Armor Set, Gluttony Aspect) (Evolving Symbiote) (World Quest Item: Panu) (Unique Soulbound Sentient): This Mythic tier armor set was created on the world of Panu during its integration cycle by the pureblooded vampire Riven Thane. Having far surpassed the realm of normalcy, this armor set has been afflicted with the original sin of Gluttony. As a messenger of sin and a holder of a sin shard, Gluttony has blessed this armor to even further heights so that the wielder may one day be the tidebringer of wanton destruction Gluttony seeks. All shall perish before the great maw, all hail the abyssal depths.</strong>


    <strong>> Devour - This amulet can use shadowy tendrils to attack and pull in prey for devouring. If bitten, a potent paralytic poison is applied to your enemy. Devouring enemies allows this item set to slowly grow.</strong>


    <strong>> Identifier¡¯s use: Wearing this item increases your ability to identify information concerning items or living creatures, being the equivalent of a low tier identifier ss. Your own basic information will be much harder to identify.</strong>


    <strong>> Blood in the Eyes: These pauldrons absorb blood mana passively from your surroundings up to a maximum of double your normal mana pool. These pauldrons act as a reservoir for your passive vampiric regeneration, this suit¡¯s Launch ability, and acts as a mana font to pull from like you would environmental resources. Once the pauldron¡¯s eyes dim, your extra resource pool has run out.</strong>


    <strong>> Ripping ws: Punching someone with the spikes of your gauntlets will cause massive hemorrhaging damage over time.</strong>


    <strong>> Launch: The back of your suit can open up, creating a st of sin energy that damages enemies and acts as a propulsion method to st you in a given direction at speeds dependent on how much energy you drain from the stored reservoir of your pauldrons.</strong>


    <strong>> +20% to all base stats</strong>


    <strong>> +300 Strength, +600 Sturdiness, +300 Agility</strong>


    <strong>> +1858 Defense to all ted Areas of Armor</strong>


    <strong>> + 965 Defense to all Bloodsilk Areas Between tes</strong>


    <strong>> Natural sunlight does not affect you while wearing this suit</strong>


    <strong>> Liquid breathing is bestowed upon you while wearing this suit</strong>


    <strong>> All senses enhanced by 40% while wearing this suit</strong>


    <strong>> Allows passage free from harm in any underverse controlled by Gluttony</strong>


    <strong>> Immediately identifies and locks on to any nearby Sins or Commandments</strong>


    <strong>> This armor set will asionally urge you to undertake feeding frenzies. Wear at</strong>


    <strong>your own risk. A high willpower is needed tobat the urges.]</strong>


    ***


    Jestus Bloodrain watched in horror-filled fascination from a rocky outcropping along the coast while his body regenerated. Watched his fleet, the one his father had vouched for him tomand, burn to the ground in what was probably one of the most humiliating defeats of any integration invasion mission to date. Rippenvire hadn¡¯t ALWAYS conquered thes they visited, but they¡¯d never been defeated so soundly in any battle that¡¯d been recorded to his knowledge.


    Simply put, he was doomed. He was no doubt going to bring his house shame after this major blunder, and although this had just been a rtively small harvesting force of the military might Rippenvire had brought with them - that wouldn¡¯t be an excuse he could use.


    The huge gship hit the ins with a brilliant plume of me, the shearing sound of metal tearing across thendscape in an ear-piercing screech. Jestus had to cover his ears and winced when a shockwave of radiation tore through the ground and into the ocean, no doubt caused by therge generator meant to power the shields of that behemoth.


    The same shields those fucking monsters had ripped through like it was nothing.


    Specifically, the armored vampire who¡¯d nearly killed him.


    Thinking back to the brilliant crimson eyes of his opponent, Jestus shuddered. That was, without a doubt, a pureblood. How one even existed on this, and as a self-proimed native was an absolute mystery to him. How the natives here knew of the Blood Moon Requiem to make false ims about their origins was an even bigger mystery¡­ and it made him second-guess himself concerning their true origins.


    Perhaps the message that Allie bitch had sent out was true. Perhaps she really was a princess of the Blood Moon Requiem and the man with her had been one of her champions¡­ but that simply didn¡¯t make sense. Invasion tokens were public knowledge and the Blood Moon Requiem hadn¡¯t been one of them. Not only that, but that kind empire would never allow their sions - especially their princess, to engage in a world-conquering activity like this. Their bloodlines were too valuable to risk due to the heritage of Malignant Prophecy, and entire sector-ending wars had been started in order to retrieve their lineage from the hands of other forces millennia past. There¡¯s no way the high queen of the Blood Moon Requiem would allow it.


    So who the fuck were those two?


    A slight breeze, a ripple in space, and a cold sensation tearing down his spine sent Jestus into an abrupt panic. Whirling around and limping when his still injured leg hit the rock he was hiding behind, his eyes darted left and right. But at his back had only been the slowly crashing waves of the ocean.


    Sending out tendrils of mana, then divinity, and then stamina - he didn¡¯t catch any significant signs of life¡­ so he began to rx. Turning back around to watch the rest of his humiliating defeat at the hands of these unknowns, he-


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    <strong>*SNAP*</strong>


    <strong>*RIP*</strong>


    Jestus fell limply to the ground, a hole in his chest where his heart had been and his skull caved in withrge w marks torn through his bone and brain. And there, standing over him, was a woman with pitch ck skin. Her brilliant red eyes bore down into the dead manying at her feet, and six de-like limbs gently brought the man¡¯s heart to her opening mouth - utterly silent - before she chomped down onto it. Raven hair billowed in the wind while she absentmindedly chewed, staring at her victim with distaste.


    Looking towards the city where she felt the tangible presence of her master, Ath wanted to run to him. She wanted to find him, to hug him, to cry in his arms¡­ to tell him how she really felt about him. To let him know that she was back, and to grovel in the reaction she knew he¡¯d have once he saw her. And her feelings only welled up to greater heights when she reyed the video of the moment he¡¯d confessed. The video that was circting Panu¡¯s cortex like wildfire, one that she would not put aside now that she knew how he felt.


    <em>¡°But you¡¯re a good man!¡± Luke croaked out with desperation, waving to the carnage and destruction Riven had wrought and was continuing to spill down onto the surrounding city. ¡°What''s the point of this Riven? You¡¯re killing indiscriminately because you¡¯re upset? Because you¡¯re angry at the world?¡±</em>


    <em>Riven slowly cocked his head to the side. Then he chuckled. ¡°That isn¡¯t true at all. Let me pose a question, Luke. Just how far would you go, just how far would you push yourself, to save the ones you love? This¡­ this is my answer to that question.¡±</em>


    <em>Not bothering to wait for a reply, Riven looked back up to the writhing ball of hellfire overhead - and his free hand began to move. It created a circle of mes, pushed through the center of that circle with a clenched fist, and then his forearm twisted while chanting. ¡°Rain fire upon mine enemies, cast doubt upon divine providence, and bathe thend in a ze of profane glory.¡±</em>


    She watched Riven burn that city in the canyon to ashes, sacrificing his morals and all the people there to save a small piece of her soul so that she would one day return. He¡¯d killed them all¡­ for her. She smiled with giddy and warm sensations she¡¯d never experienced before now, emotions that boiled up to a precipice inside her evil little heart. Then it clenched, and a livid rage overtook her when her thoughts turned to Fay.


    ¡°That bitch.¡± Ath sneered, wed fingers curling, turning her athletic hips to walk down the coastline along the beach - northwards, to where she knew the other contracted demoness was. Since Ath¡¯s mutation into an archdemon, she could hide her presence from the others. She was simply that powerful now, and had even blinded Riven¡¯s own sight to her return after wanting to surprise him. But what she¡¯d found was¡­ was this pretender, this subus cunt that¡¯d stolen Riven while Ath had been dead.


    This would not stand. Riven was HERS.


    Ath¡¯s body began to crack, snap, and shift - rapidly mutating from her stealth variant into her new siege variant. She grew to be thirty timesrger, dwarfing even Azmoth and equaling the size of a small house. She retained the upper body of a beautiful woman, though she grew another set of red eyes for a total of four and her entire body became a brilliant bright white - a stark contrast to the otherwise pitch ck of her original form. Her lower body in turn grew the abdomen and legs of a spider, and crystalline flowers began blooming all along her body and the path she walked. Arge, crystalline, vertical maw erupted across her lower abdomen and won into her arachnid half - groaning as she hungrily rumbled across the beach. Picking up speed and summoning the power of blizzards and wind to her - she raced northwards towards her new target in a storm of fae magic.


    Fay had known how Ath felt. Ath had seen their interactions through Riven¡¯s memories in her time dead, and Fay hadn¡¯t tried very hard to correct Riven¡¯s assumptions that Ath wasn¡¯t head over heels for him. The subus very well knew what she¡¯d done, and thus had whatever punishment Ath could deviseing.


    Fay had crossed a line.


    She had thising.

 Chapter 184

    Chapter 184


    <strong>Chapter 184</strong>


    Metal creaked and groaned as cogs in the gigantdstrider continued to churn. They were the only sounds left now in the dark interior of the council¡¯s room - only lit by a faint blue hologram spread out as a map along the tabletop. Peskus shifted nervously in his seat, his eyes meeting the yfather¡¯s only briefly before rapidly descending to look at the metal table in front of him.


    Other officers of Rippenvire were the same, not wanting to be the targets for the wrath or ire of theirmander.


    Pale hands steepled in front of the man at the head of the table, and he took in a deep breath to let it out very slowly as he closed his red eyes. ¡°That report was from five minutes ago. A fourth of our entire fleet, lost within a little over a day of arriving on this. That is not eptable, and I do not intend to be held responsible for such humiliation when I return back home. I assume you all feel the same way, unless you want to each be shunned for the remainder of your lives for such a blunder.¡±


    Peskus nodded in agreement. ¡°If I may, your excellency.¡±


    The yfather curiously nced left, then leaned back in his chair and motioned for Peskus to continue. ¡°Go on.¡±


    Peskus cleared his throat. ¡°Those same reports also indicate that we know from whence these vermine. The battle is only now finishing, and although we may not be able to reach the remnants in time to clean up - we can use this opportunity to strike back.¡±


    Murmuring agreements echoed through the dark room over the next dozen seconds.


    ¡°I propose we strike now.¡± Peskus continued, growing in confidence from the audible support he was getting. His fingernded on the hologram. ¡°This should be their capital, and I doubt they are advanced enough to have any kind of protections against portaling in. There is no doubt in my mind that the ones who attacked our harvesting fleet are the strongest they have, I would have thought it impossible to encounter such strong natives this early in the integration - but I am more than certain they do not have more. We should strike now and hit their home base before theye back, and then when they arrive to see the smoldering ruins of their great city upon a return home - they will truly know what it means to attack Rippenvire.¡±¡°AGREED!¡± One of the other officers roared out, standing to his feet. ¡°KILL THEM ALL!¡±


    One by one the officers stood shouting their encouragement and urging their leader to take action as they began to chant ¡®kill them all¡¯ over and over again.


    The yfather held his hand up for silence, and when the room became quiet he too stood up and tipped his top hat in Peskus¡¯s direction. ¡°I suppose it wouldn¡¯t be a bad start. In the meantime, collect what information you can on the name ¡®Allie Thane.¡¯ Send a message back to the homnd and seek out whether or not her ims concerning the Blood Moon Requiem are true. As all of you know I am highly skeptical that a princess of their empire would be here on a frontier integration, but it is better to be certain. The fact that a native even knows of their name is somewhat concerning, and although it is likely a bluff - thoroughness in all things is a virtue. If it¡¯s true, if by some miracle she really is who she says she is, taking her as a prisoner for breeding purposes so we can acquire the bloodline for ourselves is a new and top priority. Prepare the legions and the fleets.¡±


    Peskus saluted. ¡°Yes, your excellency. Which ones?¡±


    The yfather raised an eyebrow and tapped his cane on the metal floor with a resounding crack of sound. ¡°All of them.¡±


    ***


    Fay leaned over her cup of tea, cooling it with a soft whispering puff of air - then sipped. The warm amber liquid was gentle on her tongue, with traces of scented herbs mixed into a sweet and soothing taste. ¡°This is quite nice. Thank you Shovi.¡±


    Lahn and his mother both smiled back at her, sipping on their own tea as they sat at a wicker table on the backyard porch of their estate - overlooking arge garden with a flowing brook full of brilliantly colored fish simr to the ponds in the gardens of the academy. This ce had a nice view, as the Lucio estate was positioned on a hill overlooking some of the other well-kept neighborhoods of middle to upper ss citizens - and little tiny lights dotted the streets along the roads where merry nightlife was still in abundance.


    Shovi yawned, and she nced up at the starry night sky where airships of the royal fleet were gathering in abundance a few miles out. There were thousands of them, mostly created from wood and styled in a way that would allow them to act as regr ships of the sea should they need to let their engines cool down. Smaller drakes and rocs along with their riders were also swarming the area -nding onrge t hover tforms to join the gathering horde. ¡°I wonder¡­ It is not often to see such arge amount of the fleet here at one time.¡±


    ¡°News of the invaders is quite a topic on Dawn¡¯s forums, especially here in Mandon - the capital.¡± Lahn said softly, giving his thin but now healed left arm a once-over again. ¡°They speak of the legions assembling, retreating from the front lines and heading home. I am not sure if they expect an attack or not¡­ but it is certainly concerning. To just give up all the ground we fought for overnight¡­¡±


    The quick pping steps of a hired maid rushing through the house became louder when the back door quickly opened - and a young woman came to bow before Shovi. ¡°Mydy! News from your husband - a quarantine is about to be announced and all people are to shelter on the lower floors! The academy and the pce are both being evacuated! Your husband is joining the fleet as we speak, and your two children are being escorted with the other academy students on campus to floor 6!¡±


    Shovi deeply frowned. ¡°Quarantine? Take shelter? We are on the 7th upper level, the very top of the city. Why would we go down? Are we expecting an attack from the sky?¡±


    The maid hesitated. ¡°I am not sure mydy, it is merely the message your husband sent via letter. He says it is important, and-¡±


    The hired maid¡¯s voice was cut off by the ring sound of rm bells just as a booming echo radiated out from overhead. High up in the sky and a few miles to the left, a gigantic vortex began swirling about with yellow and red light. Warhorns sounded next, sting out from the fleet across the city as the thousands of airships began to take formation and magics red to life. Shields, barriers, and swarms of individual aerial riders made themselves visible and the glowing sigil of Dawn¡¯s sun illuminated the scattered clouds.


    Lahn¡¯s jaw dropped and Shovi gasped in horror along with the other staff members nearby. The sound of a ttering tray and shattering porcin tes was heard nearby, and an enormous *BOOM* from the swirling, ominous portal sent shockwaves across thendscape. Ayer of hot air billowed out rustled the nts nearby, sending Fay¡¯s hair into a frenzy as the subus stood up - and it nearly knocked Shovi overpletely.


    There, far above and distant to Dawn¡¯s own fleet, was another - unknown swarm of iing airships. These ones were far different from the wooden galleon styled ships of Dawn, and instead they were made of metal and flesh. Many were domed with cannons hoisted up on mounted turrets - bottom and top. Others wererger, more boxy, illuminating the ocean of dark figures on the other side of the portal with red lights. And there was one in particr that dwarfed all others¡­


    It was an absolute mammoth of a construct, and spanned many hundreds of yards in all dimensions. Looking like an enormous spiked ball, there were hundreds of levels where figures illuminated by red lights were outlined on battle stations. Huge turret guns and a few sma cannons beginning to charge up along the forward side glowed in the darkness, and huge writhing appendages made from metal and muscle stretched out like the arms of an octopus - letting off sparks of yellow lightning that crackled and simmered against the dark backdrop of the huge construct.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.


    The ring war horns and moring rm bells of Dawn¡¯s forces were met in turn with a deep, ominous boom of a single echoing horn from the gigantic spiked ball miles out. The portal expanded, and behind it came many thousands of more airships. Quickly these neers began to double, triple, and then quadruple Dawn¡¯s own numbers as their slow advance was set and spread out across the skyline - iing red lights dotting the horizon.


    ¡°By the gods¡­¡± Shovi whispered with wide eyes, her voice shaky as she staggered to her feet. Then she whirled. ¡°GET THE CARRIAGES READY! GET LAHN¡¯S CHAIR, HE STILL CAN¡¯T WALK YET! WE LEAVE FOR THE 6TH LEVEL STAIRWAY IMMEDIATELY! GET EVERYONE, AND ONLY TAKE WHAT YOU NEED! DO IT NOW!¡±


    Fay watched as dozens of bright crimson torpedoes rocketed out of the enemy ships. Considering their trajectory was not at the royal fleet but rather at the city itself, and considering that these brightly colored torpedoes were only a couple dozen inparison to the many thousands of airships - it confused her. That wasn¡¯t nearly enough to do any real damage to the city¡¯s top level, was it?


    Her mind quickly changed when she saw what they did.


    One, two, and then three more explosions sounded out upon impact with various points along the cityscape, with apanying res of red and neon light in the distance. Fay¡¯s eyes went wide as she realized that they were even more portals. They were smaller versions of the one bound to the sky, but the problem with these was that they were located directly on the city¡¯s 7th floor. One of them had even appeared in a nearby city street down the hill where mercy nightlife had been in abundance with music and drinking only minutes before.


    And within moments, surging hordes of mechanical abominations, fleshy hounds, and red-eyed steam-punk vampires began to pour out in a blitzkrieg. The neighborhood was quickly set to me, and the screams of the innocent filled the air as they were burned to ash, eaten alive, and butchered to the tune ofughter and mayhem.


    ***


    The sky was alight withbat as the two fleets shed, sounding like rumbling thunder over a decimatedndscape.


    And Shovi¡¯s attempt to run with her son, Fay, and hired servants had been put to rest - at least temporarily.


    The nearest stairway to the 6th floor was jam packed with refugees trying to flee the luxurious, uppermost 7th level. Tens of thousands of people trying to cram down one spiral staircase that only fit a few hundred people at one time led to infighting, stampedes, and outright panic while city garrisons tried to keep the citizens safe in a desperate attempt to hold the vampiric hordes back.


    This particr stairwell was also next to the central most city waterfall, the one that spanned all 7 upper floors and the lower floors before the water was recycled and reused through pipes and aqueducts after being cleaned. Hundreds of people had already been pushed off the edge or had outright jumped in order to avoid the vampires who¡¯d been able to break past the local garrisons where fighting was most fierce - only to find the soft underbelly of untrained, panicking women, children and elderly that died like flies in a nest of spiders.


    ¡°We can¡¯t get through!¡± Shovi coughed out with a desperate squeal of panic, looking out the carriage window where her driver was trying to control the horses amidst the absolute madhouse of running people. ¡°Gods damn it!¡±


    Lahn remained quiet, shocked into silence as two of the other maids, a butler, and Fay rested across or next to him in their seats.


    Fay was quietly summoning and discharging curse traps,ying them in the path of any oing enemy that blindly rampaged through the crowds. Flickering runes of green light would ebb and fade away, only to be tripped by anyone she considered an ¡®enemy¡¯ - blowing them to smithereens in showers of gore or torn metal from a distance. Unfortunately she wasn¡¯t able to use her curse of rot, because should she try - she¡¯d likely bathe the entire area in a cloud of death and cause all the civilians nearby to rot away before she even got close to the vampires.


    And she dared not leave the carriage. The enemies still had quite a ways to go before carving through the crowds before they got here. Not only that but she needed to stay and protect Lahn for Allie¡¯s sake¡­ at least that¡¯s what she was telling herself. Yet she couldn¡¯t help but know internally that wasn¡¯t the only reason. She was afraid, torn between leaving Lahn and his mother entirely to fly away to safety. She still remembered what¡¯d happened thest time she¡¯d fought someone - she¡¯d been abducted, tortured, and¡­ and things had not ended well for her. Not until Riven hade to safe her from the fate she otherwise would have endured until death. She¡¯d be so broken, and shuddered outwardly at the memory before she turned her attention back to the hordes of vampires illuminated by burning buildings. The enemies screamed bloodthirsty cries while they shed against lines of human mages, firing archers, and armored city guards, trying their best to join what other of theirpatriots had found a way around to the terrified, fleeing citizens.. What little organization the defenders did have was minimal at best, and only avable to them because the portals that¡¯d ripped open along Dawn¡¯s top floor were spread out and disorganized themselves. It¡¯d be a vast free for all, the city had been breached, and every man was for himself as far as the nonbat citizens that lived there were concerned.


    Shovi rapidly ducked back inside the carriage when a galloping man on horseback skidded along the side of their carriage, running people over in an attempt to save himself while clutching the limp, bloodied body of a young boy to his chest. She took in a sucking breath and shakily sped her hands, rocking back and forth with tears welling up in her eyes. ¡°Fay? Does Riven know what¡¯s happening? Are Allie and Rivening to save us?¡±


    She looked up, hope still present but the fear obviously apparent while she and the other upants tried not to panic like everyone else outside.


    Fay nodded, clutching amunication stone in her hands while staring out the window. It was so, so loud, and the fighting was getting closer. Her unholy runes kept popping up and exploding, and she¡¯d gained numerous levels since this event had taken ce, but she was constantly on the verge of running out of mana - even after having downed numerous mana potions while in the carriage. ¡°They know. They¡¯reing, as are reinforcements from the necropolis. Even Deepnest is sending one of their hive swarms to help defend the city, but the fastest of them will probably take a few hours before arriving.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s closest?¡± Lahn asked, a mixture of relief and worry crossing their faces.


    Fay hesitated. ¡°Uhm¡­ let me ask¡­¡±


    A shrill scream erupted from overhead and the ground beside the carriage split apart as arge, twelve-foot tall gargoyle with leathery wings and red eyes skewered a man right outside. Shrieking in delight and tearing out the man¡¯s neck, people abruptly began to scatter in the immediate vicinity - only for the gargoyle to abruptly trigger a nearby rune and explode in a shower of gore. The horses bucked and charged, bulldozing another couple people with the crunch of bodies underfoot.


    Fay sighed ufortably as Shovi and the other maids screamed, but they quickly calmed themselves when they realized the threat was dealt with and the horses were brought under control.


    ¡°T-Thank you, Fay..." Shovi muttered under her breath, violently trembling now and reaching out to take Lahn¡¯s hand as she cowered against the wooden carriage wall.


    Fay looked out the window again, frowning, and then gestured to the sky. ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet. I think we may need to forgo the stairway altogether¡­ things aren¡¯t safe here.¡±


    Immediately overhead more of the gargoyles shed with rocs, small dragons and their riders - blood magics colliding with holy and fire spells as the smaller aerial units of both fleets duked it out over the crowds of civilians. Bodies began to fall more and more frequently, and a couple hundred yards away a smoking galleon spiraled down to crash into a pub with an explosion of fire.


    Then, then the chanting could be heard.


    It grew louder, starting as a faint echo and building into a roar as the vampires withdrew to congregate along a city street. The marching footsteps of leather boots, the sounds of rifles and pistols going off, the sh of sword on sword and the snarling barks of vampiric hounds rose up like a wave.


    That¡¯s when Fay saw them. Thousands of enemies, led by one of the gigantic vampire pdins wielding a huge ymore, marched in a mob towards the defending lines. Arrows bounced off of him, magics sshed against his mechanical armor, but he just kepting in a steady, monotonous rhythm of heavy footfalls.


    But then, he abruptly stopped and turned. His eyes went right, and the chanting died down as he gave an obviously perplexed look of surprised. The defenders and what civilians that weren¡¯t frantically trying to rush down the spiral staircase or simply couldn¡¯t fit followed his gaze - all settling on the same area.


    There,ing out between buildings, were shadowy cloaked figures. Fay¡¯s heart skipped a beat and she let out a quivering sigh of relief when she saw them, though it was far from over and she wasn¡¯t sure if they could win. Still, it was hope totch onto, and despite being a contracted demon Fay was still traumatized with the very real experience of almost true death not long ago.


    Did that make her a coward?


    Absolutely. But she didn¡¯t care.


    There,ing out into the open to face the vampiric horde from the side where Mandon¡¯s defenders and the advancing vampires were standing off from one another, was a swarm of undead. Zombies, skeletons, and flesh golems - many of which gave off clouds of pestilent green gas or flickered with shadow magics came to a silent halt. Three necromancers, all cloaked and hooded, held wands at the ready. Two skresh and a beautiful, pale-eyed ghoul woman.


    Mara¡¯s dead eyes shifted to the carriage where Fay and Lahn were kept, and she nodded once before raising her wand. Teal wisps of light began to gather around her as her body red, and the other two skresh necromancers followed suit with the same exact spell.


    Then the horde of undead charged, the vampires roared to meet them or continued their mad dash into the human ranks, and all hell broke loose.

 Chapter 185

    Chapter 185


    <strong>Chapter 185</strong>


    Carnage erupted behind them, and they¡¯d had to abandon their carriage in favor of walking due to the crowds. They¡¯d even lost all of their hired servants who¡¯d either been pushed aside, behind, or had simply gone off on their own to try and force their way to the enormous spiral stairway and ramps leading to lower floors. But they¡¯d finally made it, given time by the defenders of this city sacrificing their lives - and the timely intervention of Mara who even now continued to battle topside in a violent struggle against the vampire hordes.


    Fay¡¯s guilt was building because of it. She¡¯d even flown over to assist for a time, but had been yelled at by the ghoul necromancer - telling her to get back to help Lahn walk and escort his mother down to the next level. So Fay did just that, flying back andnding in the startled crowds before morphing back into the figure of a normal human woman to avoid attention as much as possible.


    And it was true. After the servants had been separated from Lahn and Shovi, only Shovi was there to help Lahn get down the stairs while simultaneously trying to avoid being trampled. Her son was still weak, though his flesh was not withered any longer on the left side it still had significant muscle atrophy from years of disuse. So Fay took up the burden of supporting him instead, urging Shovi to focus on herself due to the significant struggle she was showing just to remain upright with all the jostling of the crowds.


    The slope of the spiral staircase and adjacent ramp was not steep, traveling deeper into thend mass holding up the 7th city level; but it was veryrge with long, drawn out arcsing around the spiral in order to maintain something of a t but nted surface so people wouldn¡¯t simply roll down if they identally fell. It was also wide enough to fit a couple hundred people across at one time, but even despite this there were still dozens upon dozens of bodies underfoot that¡¯d been trampled to death in the mass panic taking ce.


    ¡°Are you ok!?¡± Fay asked, yelling over the booming, thunderous crash of powers up above as the chunk of tectonic te this 7th level of the city had been built upon shook around them. ¡°Do we need to stop!?¡±


    The echoing screams filtered through the rtive darkness, with onlynterns along the stone walls illuminating their surroundings. Shovi had stuttered and almost fell, but¡¯d caught herself on a bigger man in front of them before righting herself again with a shake of her head. She was panting, high heels cking on the stone floor, and Fay wished it was only one of them that she had to babysit - because at least that way she could fly that person down.


    But here she was.


    And she was rtively sure Allie would not be happy if she let either of these two people die.¡°We need to keep moving!¡± Shovi yelled over the booms and screams, brte hair stered with sweat across her face. ¡°We can¡¯t stop! We¡¯ll be run over!¡±


    Fay merely nodded, considering whether or not she could fly them down one at a time - but shook her head. She¡¯d already had to physically beat off people from steamrolling both of them, Mara was right - she couldn¡¯t leave them alone and if she did she wasn¡¯t even sure if she¡¯d be able to find the other again in this mass of running bodies should she fly back up.


    Twenty minutes passed before they finally made their way through thendmass and into the sky of upper level 6.


    The stairway continued to spiral down, with nearly a mile of space between their position and the floor. Far below them, various subsections of city with parks, industrial buildings, manors, residential neighborhoods and market ces were scattered out as far as Fay could see. This capital city, Mandon, was truly enormous - but even so there were scattered areas of burning buildings even here. How many people did Dawn have under its thumb? Thousands of people were filing down this staircase alone, asionally showing people being identally pushed off or falling to their deaths in the mad rush, while other enormous staircases to their left or across the central waterfall on either side also showed simr events. One of them even showedrge amounts of fighting halfway down, with vampiric soldiers rushing along the steps after civilians to cut them down by the dozens every second.


    Fay grunted when Lahn tripped again, and themunication bauble in her pocket started vibrating furiously. Pulling it out, she held it to her chest with her free hand that wasn¡¯t supporting Lahn¡¯s left side - and pushed mana into it for the contraption to work. ¡°Hello?!¡±


    ¡°YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THAT STAIRWAY NOW!¡± Mara¡¯s voice screeched through the ck bauble. ¡°WE WERE UNABLE TO HOLD THEM BACK! THEY¡¯RE PREPPING A-¡±


    A shrill gasp, an audible scream from Mara, and a *SHUNK* cut through the noise before the connection cut off entirely.


    Fay looked down, wide eyed, shock apparent. Had she just heard Mara die?


    Fay¡¯s gut formed a knot and she looked up behind her where crowds continued to roll down therge stone construct, but shes of eerie light radiated from the tunnel of tectonic te and ominous roars echoed out to follow their advance.


    And then it came.


    A wave of redva that devoured everything in its path, blindingly hot, roared down the steps like an avnche down the face of a mountain. Fay¡¯s eyes widened as she saw hundreds of people swallowed and engulfed in the molten metal over mere seconds, and the flood of destruction was rapidly descending on her position.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    Grabbing Shovi by the cor as the older woman screamed and yanking Lahn to the side where the edge was nearby, she decided on the long shot. She didn¡¯t have much of a choice, and jumping over the waist-high barrier - she dove off the stairway and into the air.


    Just in time.


    The rolling wave of molten metal washed over everyone that¡¯d been around them in a ssh of heavy, searing hot pain - muffling their screams as soon as it swallowed them up. Even despite this the enormous wave of magma was also beingunched off the sides of the stairway due to the sheer volume of the material, sshing Fay¡¯s left wing mid flight and causing her to swerve with a pained grimace as Lahn clutched onto her - pale faced.


    Meanwhile Shovi shrieked in horror, squirming in a panic in Fay¡¯s grasp as they fell towards the ground a mile down.


    ¡°STOP STRUGGLING! I¡¯M GOING TO DROP YOU BY ACCIDENT!¡± Fay screamed over the roar of wind while they plummeted. ¡°I NEED TO GET A BETTER HOLD!¡±


    Shovi only continued to panic, and levels of the spiral staircase blurred by as their speed picked up.


    During this time, despite the panicking woman, Fay closed her eyes to go over the options she had. Her magically infused, bat-like wings were not strong enough to carry both Lahn and Shovi, but it was still possible to blunt thending or perhaps drift for a very short time before the strength of her wings gave out.


    It was really her only option, otherwise¡­


    Fay sensed the stamina signature before she actually saw the creature, and she quickly elerated their fall with a burst of speed to avoid the tearing ws of a gargoyle¡¯s empowered sh. Looking up, the subus saw the following monster as it howled in a rage - joined quickly by three other of its kin as more of the beasts swarmed out of the upper levels to descend on the 6th city level below.


    She sneered.


    Plumes of ck clouds tore out of her outstretched hand as she momentarily dropped Shovi, hitting two of the pursuing gargoyles head on. They shrieked and banked left, their bodies starting to decay while the subus turned her attention back to Shovi - wrapping her arm around the other woman¡¯s waist and altering their trajectory to avoid another dive-bomb swipe from another of the monsters.


    Fay dodged expertly, then created a dreamwalker zone around her - burning through her mana to create hallucinations that would hide them from the gargoyles that continued to grow in number while simultaneously sending out diversions of what looked to be her.


    The gargoyles scattered, following the hallucinations off into different directions while screeching and roaring their hate with thick gray skin flexed and talons open.


    Rapidly approaching the bottom of the staircase and aiming for ake, Fay managed to infuse as much mana as she could into her wings with a monumental effort. Pulling back and feeling the mana channels in her muscture almost pop, she screamed in pain and felt one of her wing membranes tear on the right side before ripping into the deep end of the waters below.


    Cold fluid engulfed them, but the angle was right and the pullback was enough that no serious damage was done to anyone. Gasping when she came up for air, she managed to pull Lahn up with her while Shovi wildly doggy-paddled to the surface and began to cough violently.


    Fay felt her mana flicker and die in that instant,pletely running out of juice, and her hallucinations ran dry to dismiss the decoys and her more human form. She also wouldn¡¯t be able to fly, so she retracted her injured wings and began to tug on Lahn - kicking and paddling to the shoreline while shrieks of gargoyles, screams of civilians, and the thunder of pouringva was heard overhead.


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    ¡°Come on Lahn! We have to move!¡± Fay gasped,ing up beside Shovi while the older woman coughed up lungfuls of water on the shore. Lahn wasn¡¯t in too good of shape either, he¡¯d used all the strength he had with his right side just to hold on - and he¡¯d been nothing but deadweight since abandoning the carriage. Only having one side of his body to use made him strained at best, and his breathing was ragged from the ache in his muscles.


    A thundering roar reverberated from above and the ground beside them quaked when an enormous body hit the sand below. Fay staggered, identally dropping Lahn to the ground to catch herself - only to look up with wide eyes when she saw a gaping maw looking back at her.


    There, only a couple feet in front of her, was an enormous red-eyed gargoyle. It was far, farrger than most of the others that¡¯d been pursuing her, but it was certainly one of them. Saliva dripped from its mouth, and huge talons extended from its hands and feet while gray rippling muscture flexed in anticipation. Wings outstretched, it stood to its full height of twenty feet tall and snickered down at the three smaller individuals.


    ¡°I havee¡­¡± The gargoyle began with a wicked grin, pointing a wed hand directly at Fay while other gargoyles began to swoop down -nding behind their bigger cousin with roars of their own. ¡°... To try my very first piece of subus meat. I have heard it tastes quite nice¡­ I hope you do not disappoint!¡±


    Fay nched. Even though she likely would be sent to theher realms should she die, the other two people next to her would not. They¡¯d be permanently dead, and even despite all this - she felt her legs began to shake in fear. Trauma from recent events was still fresh in her mind, and she began to silently cry while her body shook.


    And as the gargoyle¡¯srge maw opened up with a snarl, lunging forward in a sh of speed - another, evenrger figure crashed down onto the gigantic gargoyle.


    Blood sshed everywhere as the huge monster screamed in anguish, its bones cracking and lungs bursting while one enormous, white, arachnid limb skewered the gargoyle like a kabob.


    The other gargoyles backed up in shock, and Fay had to wipe away the monster¡¯s viscera from her face in shock before being able to see properly. Her eyes traveled up, staring wide-eyed at the creature looking down at her.


    Fay felt a mixture of emotions when she recognized the face looking back at her. It was a mixture of fear, of shame, regret, sadness, happiness, and relief all jumbled around into one condensed moment. Fear, shame and regret for having betrayed Ath¡¯s trust to pursue her own wants. Sadness knowing that Ath was likely very, very angry at her by the way this arachnid was ring down - and that they¡¯d been good friends for a few months before Ath¡¯s death. Happiness and relief that Ath was resurrected, if not having been very much changed since doing so. Because even if Ath was angry, and even if Ath would potentially find a way to take revenge, Fay truly liked her and was d to see her back.


    But all those emotions quickly gave in to awe after the initial shock of seeing her co-bonded demoness acquaintance.


    Ath now stood as tall as a house, with the upper body from the waist up of a beautiful young woman with four narrow crimson slits for eyes. The lower body was that of a gigantic spider, with a vertical maw along her front simr to that of Riven¡¯s ¡®Messenger¡¯ armor - but this one was made of crystal or ice. Even now it breathed out swaths of frostbitten air, chilling the area around them and causing frost to umte on anything it touched, with simrly crafted flowers blooming spontaneously along Ath¡¯s huge body like shimmering white-translucent roses.


    The rest of her body was also a bright white, which was a stark contrast to the pitch ck of her previous form. Even her hair was a bright white, and when she sneered - so too were the rows of sharp fangs that bared down at the subus in a hot rage.


    ¡°Ath¡­!¡± Fay eximed, hesitantly taking a step back as did the other gargoyles to Ath''s turned back. They were all very aware just how much stronger this new demon was by the way she¡¯d ttened theirrgestpanion like a pancake, and by the billowing aura of absolute malice exiting her while she stared Fay down. ¡°Ath, I didn¡¯t realize you¡¯d be back! Is Riven here too!?¡±


    Ath continued to stare, and as one of the gargoyles gained enough courage to shriek and lunge with ws outstretched - a dismissive backwards wave with one of Ath¡¯srge arachnid limbs sent a spiraling crash of elemental chain-lightning that instantaneously eviscerated all of the dozen or so gargoyles that¡¯d been lined up on a perimeter around them.


    Their charred husks fell to the ground in pieces, flesh peeled from bones and streaks of smoking earth thered in gargoyle body parts. It¡¯d been so effortless, and the fact that Ath had just shown off an ability that was without a doubt from the Fae Foundational Pirpletely shocked the subus into silence.


    Demons should not have ess to the Fae Foundational Pir or its sub-pirs at all.


    Ignoring the two humans, the house-sized demoness approached the smaller subus to tower over her - and with one feminine hand, Ath reached down and grabbed Fay by the waist.


    Bones snapped and Fay screamed as she was brought to eye-level with the ring arachnid, which was no doubt some advanced variation of Dryder - but far more powerful than what was normal.


    ¡°You¡­ little¡­ cunt¡­¡± Ath bit the venomous words off one by one, sharp and distinct from the others. Her grip tightened, and another rib snapped - causing Fay to scream in pain yet again.


    Overhead and to the west, one of the spiral staircases blew up - showering the distance cityscape in thousands of tons of rubble amidst a wave of fire. Rippenvire airships were beginning to descend through the gigantic hole in the center of the city where the waterfall rushed down, either entering the 6th cityyer or passing it by entirely to travel to the lower levels to wreak havoc there too.


    ¡°Please!¡± Fay gasped for breath, shuddering when one of her fingers snapped under Ath¡¯s grip. ¡°You¡¯re hurting me!¡±


    ¡°LET HER GO!¡± Lahn screamed up at the arachnid, not knowing who or what Ath was while Shovi frantically tried to drag her son away.


    Ath turned her head, all four red eyes settling on Lahn and his mother with confusion before it clicked after faint memories she¡¯d umted through her bond to Riven¡¯s soul materialized. ¡°Ah¡­ You¡¯re Allie¡¯s new ything. She does have unique tastes, doesn¡¯t she? Well, little one - this has nothing to do with you. This is between Fay and I, demonic sisters of the same warlock master. We have a score to settle¡­ do not worry, I will take care of you and make sure youe out safe. But as for Fay¡­¡±


    Ath¡¯s four red eyes narrowed, and her grin widened to disy the rows of dagger-like teeth while Fay struggled to breathe. ¡°Do you have anything to say for what you¡¯ve done?¡±


    Her grip loosened around the subus, and Fay shuddered as air finally found its way inside her lungs. Meanwhile the carnage and chaos around the city only continued to escte.


    Fay grimaced, but her determined look had resolve etched into it. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Sorry you got caught upon my return, without Riven to be here to stop me?¡± Ath mused thoughtfully, one slender finger tapping at her lips. ¡°Or perhaps, sorry that you betrayed my trust - knowing full well how I felt about him, yet deciding to use my temporary death as an opportunity to take him away from me? Do tell.¡±


    Fay huffed, but she couldn¡¯t manage to feel angry even despite the broken bones and bruises she¡¯d been given. She understood how Ath must feel, and if anything - there was only guilt in Fay¡¯s heart. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I hurt you, and I¡¯m sorry that I likely lost a friend. I¡­ I was weak. When I nearly died that day and Riven came to save me, all that pent up emotion just came out and it never left¡­ It was the first time I¡¯d ever felt that way so deeply. About anyone.¡±


    Ath raised an eyebrow. ¡°Do you regret what you did?¡±


    Fay hesitated, then slowly shook her head. ¡°I regret that I hurt you¡­ but no. I don¡¯t regret my actions. I am falling in love with Riven. I want him, even if it means¡­ even if it means that you¡¯re angry with me. I care about him, a lot. And I care about you too, I just¡­¡±


    Fay¡¯s voice trailed off, and Ath¡¯s re grew more angry.


    With her free hand, Ath lifted a palm - presenting a shimmering block of ice. That ice began to fade away, and her smile returned as the item within the ice began to present itself to the world.


    Fay¡¯s face nched, and true fear overcame her when Ath¡¯s grip tightened.


    There, in Ath¡¯s palm as the arachnid gave the subus an evil smile, was the demon-ying sword Ath had been killed with.


    ¡°I took this from Riven¡¯s bag without him noticing beforeing this way¡­¡± Ath mused, letting the sword hover there over her hand while Fay began to puke in fear as she realized what was about to happen. ¡°You know¡­ I have two bodies now. This one, which is more geared towardsrge scale battles, and the other¡­ a modified version of my original arshakai body. That version of myself is very adept to stealth and assassination, even more than it was before, so stealing something like this was merely childsy. Who¡¯d have imagined that I of all demons would ascend, bing an archdemon by passing through the veil of death? By defying one of the original sins itself? To gain the boon of a fallen fae goddess? It is bothughable and absurd¡­ but it happened. So here I stand - a demigod amongst my lesser demonic peers.¡±


    Icy tendrils connected to the sword from Ath¡¯s bright white palm, taking the hilt and turning the de to approach and point at Fay¡¯s neck. The weapon drew just the barest hint of blood from Fay¡¯s sky-blue skin, and the subus began to convulse as she thrashed and screamed in a panic while searing pain erupted along her soul aperture.


    The amusement waspletely gone from Ath¡¯s cold stare, and her grip tightened to crunch down again. ¡°You may have thought me weak¡­ or a pushover, because I would act silly in Riven¡¯s presence. Perhaps you thought I wouldn¡¯t actually find a way to strike back at you without Riven protecting you when I got back¡­ but let me tell you something, you little scheming bitch. I am far more malicious, cunning, and vile than you will ever know. To take something that is precious to me¡­ leaves me with only a few options. The most forward of these options, right now, is to simply kill you. To sentence you to an evesting death, and if Riven is not here¡­ even if his skill wasn¡¯t on millenia-long cooldown¡­ how would he then save you like he saved me, hmmm?¡±


    Fay was hyperventting, sobbing, and quivering in Ath¡¯s grip - but slowly the sword began to pull away, bing encased in ice again before the block of ice vanished into a mist of frost.


    Ath still glowered, but eventually her features softened and she let out a long and defeated sigh. ¡°But that¡­ would unfortunately make Riven angry with me. Riven is¡­ important to me. So permanently killing you would be a self-defeating thing to do, even if you do deserve it. I just wanted to let you know that, if I wanted to, I could have easily ended you right here and now. Forever. Do those big breasts you use for brains understand that?¡±


    Fay, who was still crying but not nearly as violently, nodded - humbled with wide, wet eyes. She involuntarily shuddered. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then you¡¯ll also understand that this is a deration of war. I will have Riven for myself, and I will attempt to get him back.¡± Ath cocked her head to the side, waiting for Fay¡¯s reaction, but the subus only let her gaze sink solemnly to the ground beneath them. ¡°No words, eh? Very well. Then,stly, I have one more thing that I need to do.¡±


    Fay¡¯s eyes hesitantly blinked, then lifted again to therge demon holding her. She sniffled. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    Ath grinned jovially. ¡°Well I¡¯m not going to permanently kill you, Riven will no doubt resurrect you soon, but I¡¯m certainly going to show you how I feel about all this!¡±


    Opening up her mouth to disy a gaping maw of sharp teeth, Ath chomped down on the abruptly screaming subus. With a rip and a tear, Ath tore off Fay¡¯s upper body and swallowed Fay¡¯s head and chest in a single gulp.


    She pulled off Fay''s boots to give back to the subuster, knowing they were one of Riven''s gifts to Fay and were important. Tossing Fay¡¯s lower half to the side and licking her lips, she turned to Shovi and Lahn who remained on the ground - gawking up at her. ¡°What are you two looking at!? It¡¯s personal business, and don¡¯t worry! I¡¯m sure Fay will be back in the next day or two. Now, let¡¯s find the two of you a nice ce to hide so I can go kill some stuff!¡±

 Chapter 186

    Chapter 186


    <strong>Chapter 186</strong>


    Gurth¡¯Rok jogged at a fast pace, his green skin sweating from the exertion he¡¯d put out in getting here with the rest of the legion behind him - but he was far from too tired to fight. The sounds of war drums beat into the night sky where shing fleets continued to battle it out over elevated bs ofnd stacked on top of one another for each city level. The nk of heavily armored death knights or heavy orc berserkers, many hundreds strong, led the way with dark-arts assault mages, necromancers, archers, sharpshooters, and swarms of more mindless undead minions on either side of the column. Further back and catching up quickly were two regimens of tanks and heavy assault mechs - humanoid in form but very thick, each standing as tall as the bone giants that took up the rear of the undead columns. Behind the tanks came another column of support mages, system engineers, mana hackers and arge group of cyborg elites that¡¯d been utilized as a strike force against the elves not long ago.


    And that was just the beginning. More forces were pouring in from the north, including two more undead legions, another three armored divisions from Chicago¡¯s side of the portal, a fleet of modified apache helicopters numbering well over 150, more of Dawn¡¯s own armies withdrawing from the front lines against Tereen, and swarms of ratkin from Deepnest. However these forces were going to be dispersed over the course of hours, and Mandon held over a million civilians over the area of its 10 city levels with the majority of them beingpletely nonbat rted. Already it¡¯d been reported thatplete ughters were taking ce, and it was unknown just how many of the civilians their forces could save even if they should win this battle.


    Then there was the fleet to the south, with Allie and Riven heading at breakneck speed to this location. Gurth¡¯Rok wanted to do them proud before they arrived, and he bared his vampiric fangs in a grin as he clutched his cobra staff and rushed headlong towards the first level, the ground level, of Dawn¡¯s capital.


    Even here, only a few hundred yards away, Gurth¡¯Rok could see them fighting. Dozens of red-eyed vampires with various pistols, sabers, hand cannons, methrowers, mechanical gadgets that produced various qualities of force fields, and numerous flesh-machine hybrid abominations of various sorts. Some were hounds, others wererge flesh golems with iron spikes and steel skulls, ripping apart any human who got close.


    Here on the city¡¯s edge as civilians screamed, ran and scattered - many of them heading towards the oing forces of the Necropolis in an attempt to gain sanctuary, attempting to outpace their pursuers while their city burned behind them in various ces.


    Gurth¡¯Rok gave the first signal with a wave of his cobra staff, illuminating it with blood magic to send off a re as his heartbeat picked up in excitement. The forces behind him began to spread out, swarms of mindless skeletons and ghouls racing left and right while the death knights - fully kitted in heavy dark-gray te mail - began to pulse with unholy power. Their towershields lifted in unison, and their longswordswere unsheathed.


    A warhorn blew out from where the battalion of enemy vampires were wreaking havoc amongst the civilians at the edge of the city, and quickly the vampires began to gather upon seeing the forces of the necropolis approach from down blood-stained cobblestone roads.


    ¡°GET IN LINE AND WAIT FOR MY COMMAND!¡± One of the vampiric captains, also wearing a top-hat, screamed at his men. Top-hats seemed to be a status symbol amongst these ck-coated, red-eyed, pale looking people. ¡°SMIDGES TO THE FRONT AND SIDES!¡±Civilians were quickly disregarded as the vampires stopped giving chase, forming lines and raising their pistols, rifles and hand cannons to take aim - some of them ignoring themanding officer and firing at the oing horde early as more and more of the vampires gathered. They took care not to hit their own units while dozens and then hundreds of barking split-faced hounds, along with mecha-flesh golems, began taking a frontline stance.


    ¡°SHIELD WALL!¡± Gurth¡¯Rok called out, backing behind the frontmost line of heavily armored foot soldiers while they sprinted ahead. The shields linked together, fused with stamina energies and abilities each of these warriors now possessed after training in the yards together over past months. The towershields reinforced one another holding a long line of seemingly imprable metal with barriers of death energies roiling in front of the charging row. Metal boots thundered on the ground, and supporting caster mages in the very back flung up additional buffs to aid their passage forward.


    The rumbling of the undead swarm turned into a roar, muffling the enemy vampire captain¡¯smand as the first volley was unleashed into the necropolis forces just as Gurth¡¯Rok¡¯s second signal bloomed in a red burst overhead.


    The mad rush of their cannon fodder charged to the right and left of the death knight column, a wave of mindless carnage sprinting headlong into bullets, bombs, and various blood magics that¡¯d been infused into different thrown gadgets.


    Bullets and blood or death energies also crashed into the line of death knights and orc berserkers, most of them bouncing off harmlessly against the reinforced shield wall and the barriers of death mana immediately ahead of them - but a few of the repeatedly hit frontliners went down. One man¡¯s helmet exploded right next to Gurth¡¯Rok when a torpedo of some kind wasunched over the horde of skeletons and ghouls - crashing into the eye socket of the orc berserker with a squelch of brain matter. A skeletal skresh death knight hissed in rage at his friend¡¯s untimely demise, and he roared - pulsing with mana and anger that was quickly joined by the others.


    The Rippenvire frontline charged, red hounds and golems crashing into the cannon fodder swarm to defend the vampires at their backs - just as the final re went up from Gurth¡¯Rok¡¯s staff.


    Dozens of infernal suns each the size of a car bloomed behind them, created by numerous assault mages working together in conjunction with one another before they ripped forward into the vampiric ranks with explosions of melting, searing heat. The vampires retaliated with barriers and exchange fire of their own, but well over two hundred of them were left as piles of ash or charred corpses while dozens more continued to scream and writhe - ming on the ground.


    Gurth¡¯Rok roared over the din of battle, pointing down the middle of the fight where the two swarms of cannon-fodder had left an opening. ¡°RUSH THEM NOW!¡±


    In conjunction the tower shields red, and as one - the front line of death knights utilized ¡®Shield Charge¡¯. res of deathly energies roiled when the martial art activated, and they blurred ahead - clearing the distance and smashing into the poorly organized enemy ranks like a steam roller.


    *BOOM*


    The vampiric captain screamed as his lower body was torn off of him when an assault mech, standing twenty feet tall with huge steel metal tes tore into him with a 9-foot sma de extending out of a metal forearm. The blue sword shimmered and hissed when the vampire¡¯s blood hit the searing energy, the pilot cackled in delight through speakers on its side - and then the mech lifted a huge mechanical foot to smash down onto the disbelieving captain who¡¯d beenpletely caught off guard from the side.


    The vampire¡¯s skull crunched, and the death knights tore through the Rippenvire golems and hounds like a scythe through wheat; their bloodthirsty rage pulling them forward to where the backline vampires continued taking pot shots. More mechs raced ahead in a pincer attack, thundering with each step or using thrusters from their backs to jump or even fly briefly -nding amidst dozens of enemies and tearing them down in a brutal disy of carnage.


    Tanks barreled through a defensive blockade to the right, speeding further into the city as dozens of them cleared a path while booming out explosive shots and machine gun fire - their objective being the closest stairwell leading to the second floor.


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    Gurth¡¯Rok¡¯s own blood magic continued to heal those around him, making sure the injured front liners were ok before turning his attention to asional sts of simmering red orbs that tore into some of the hounds that tried to run. ¡°This¡­ this is what we have been waiting for!!! COME ON BOYS! WE HAVE SOME OUTLANDERS TO KILL!¡±


    The orcs, undead, and human forces alike roared as one and continued to beat back the enemy - routing this particr section of Rippenvire forces and iming the edge of Mandon¡¯s ground level for the necropolis.


    ***


    Peskus cursed internally, watching in silence as he began to sweat along the pale skin of his palms - still clutching hisrge saber and trying to calm his nerves.


    Why had the yfather chosen HIM to lead the spearheading charge into the city¡¯s lower levels? Why couldn¡¯t he have just stayed topside on the 7th where they had support of the fleet?


    The greater vampire, along with the many dozens of other vampiric heirs and pdins of their order, shuddered in fear as the creature continued to approach.


    The massive figure moved through the mists like a reaper of death, no doubt a demon - but unlike any that Peskus had seen or even heard of before. It was some kind of unique variant that somehow essed Fae and Unholy pirs simultaneously, and his identifiers had told him it was some sort of archdemon - but what would an archdemon be doing here in an integrating world? What kind of summoner had been able to even BOND to an archdemon so early?


    Was this some kind of sick joke?


    The monster screeched out an ominous giggle, causing Peskus to flinch involuntarily while her huge frame cast shadows from inside clouds of mist and ice. The monster¡¯s huge, sleek, pointed legs crunched onto the mountain of corpses underneath her, the elemental frosted mists obscuring most of her body while radiating out of the many crystalline flowers along her skin that asionally glinted through the foggy backdrop, and four brilliant red eyes locked onto him from a shroud of white and gray.


    The head of General Brimblood, a vampire almost on equal terms with Peskus himself, was flung from the mists and bounced once, twice and three times to roll to a stop in front of his feet.


    Peskus blinked twice, going pale even for one of his own race, and red magic red along the polished wooden pistol he carried. He looked up again, examining her as best he could through the shimmering cloud surrounding her.


    ¡°Sir¡­¡± One of the pdins warily asked in a low whisper, eyes flitting back and forth as eerie figures darted back and forth in the mists surrounding the enormous, shrouded monster staring them down. ¡°I believe a retreat is in order¡­ If General Brimblood is dead, that means¡­¡±


    ¡°That means this abomination wiped out all eight strike groups under hismand.¡± Peskus finished the sentence for him, looking around at the mutted bodies of his kin that painted the surrounding road, buildings, andndscape with their entrails. ¡°Fuck. What are the odds¡­¡±


    His voice cut off and he abruptly stiffened - yanking his empowered pistol and activating ¡®Red March¡¯ with a st of energy. Encasing his body with blood magic that shimmered and flickered in the mists that continued to surround their 90 or so elites.


    Just in time to empower himself enough to dodge a quickly movingnce of ice.


    <strong>*WHIP*</strong>


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    Dozens of ice pirs tore through the mists to violently impale numerous vampires at once. Crackling thunderbolts tore out from different directions, not just from where the demon was standing, and nearly twenty of the vampires died outright in an instant from the sheer force of the brutal attack.


    Instantly the vampires returned fire with their own weapons,unching blood-pir infused projectiles and various magics, with five of their pdins exploding forward with mecha-based movement martial arts.


    The monster giggled andughed, letting the attacks hit her one by one without so much as moving - many of the projectiles outright being rebuffed by the icy mists surrounding her. Others bounced off her silky, graceful skin like pebbles mming into a concrete wall, and when the five pdins made it to her - the scythe-like arachnid limbs blurred so fast that none of them could react in time.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    <strong>*SNAP*</strong>


    ¡°AHHHHHHHHH!!!¡± The cry of thest pdin quickly snuffed out when another arachnid limb skewered his skull.


    And then the creature was gone.


    Peskus frantically looked around, not even recognizing the creature had left until it was alreadypletely obscured due to the absolute shock of having lost so many of their elites in such a short amount of time. Other vampires under hismand sent out radiating waves of death mana, hoping to disperse the mists around them, but they were rebuffed effortlessly even despitebining spells to stack onto one another.


    ¡°GODS DAMN YOU!¡± Peskus roared, empowering his pistol and firing off explosive rounds that decimated buildings one by one - but every time the blood magic would explode to disperse the mist, the icy fog would merely float right back to where it¡¯d been secondster - filling in the gap and leaving them blinded again.


    Then a man was yanked out of their formation, screaming in horror before he too was cut off with an ear-splitting squelch.


    A giggle came in from the opposite side where another vampiric officer, a woman with a long ponytail, was yanked by her hair into the mists and gutted ruthlessly to the pained screams echoing out where she¡¯d been taken.


    The vampires panicked, utilizing different methods, magics, gadgets, bombs defensive wards, enchanted talismans, or martial art abilities to st everything around them. They didn¡¯t know what they were hitting if they were doing anything at all, and above the building ruckus - the feminine giggle of the archdemon continued to rise like a gleeful child.


    Chittering sounds began whispering through the mists next despite the bombardment, and in the periphery - just outside of the range of their attacks, a set of four blue eyes snapped open. Peskus centered his attention on this set of eyes, quickly snapping his pistol up and firing - hearing a squelch and a screech of pain. His heart lurched in excitement when he realized he¡¯d hit something, only to see another set of four blue eyes settle to his left.


    He fired again, but this time the eyes disappeared back into the mist and three more sets of four eyes appeared on his right.


    The chittering grew in volume, still whispering all around him until the whispers ovepped one on the other into a torrent of ill-fitting sounds not meant for this world. The remaining vampires all backed up to cluster around one another, forming a tight defensive circle as more and more of these blue eyes red out at them from the mists - bodies obscured through the haze of frost.


    Then the single set of red eyes appeared, farrger and higher up than the smaller, more numerous sets of blue. The monster appeared before them now, stepping out of the fog to put her entire body on disy.


    She was truly beautiful, but utterly terrifying, as the vertical crystalline maw along her front crunched down onto one of Peskus¡¯s men - casually eating him while she slowly walked forward. Her upper half was humanoid, her lower half was that of a giant spider, and crystalline flowers that¡¯d been producing the mists cut off making the fog - letting some of it disperse to reveal their surroundings at a limited extent.


    As the fog began to very slowly move away, the figures behind the blue eyes were revealed next. Dozens, then hundreds, and then thousands of dog-sized, crystalline spiders chittered eagerly and hissed in the direction of the vampires. They screeched in anticipation, an ocean of them all around as Peskus¡¯s heart dropped in horror.


    There were so many.


    The enormous archdemon clicked her tongue, letting out an amused hum while keeping her nose arrogantly up - intentionally looking down on the smaller vampires from herrge height. ¡°I do believe I¡¯ve stomped babies sturdier than you¡­ Do you have anyst words, meatlings?¡±


    A man beside Peskus screamed in rage and charged - only to be sted with a crackle of lightning so powerful that it didn¡¯t even leave a single remnant of his mecha suit intact. His body exploded in a shower of flesh and metal, creating a crater in the ce he¡¯d been only a second before.


    ¡°We cane to terms!¡± Peskus tried, his voice catching in his throat as the hissing spiders began to advance all around him. ¡°Please! Whatever you¡¯re doing here, we can offer you or your master rpense! We can strike a deal!¡±


    It was a far fetched gamble, and one that did not pay off.


    And Ath only hummed in amusement. ¡°I¡¯m afraid¡­ not.¡±


    With a snap of her fingers, the horde of crystalline spiders roared forward like a tidal wave onto the small ind of remaining vampiric elites - cutting down their people to the screams, wails, and futilest efforts to fight back as barriers and abilities were broken down.


    Standing over the vampires her children were eating alive, Ath tisked and turned her attention to one of the nearby massive stairways leading up to the next city level. She could sense someone or something very powerful approaching her, something¡­ not familiar. A vampire, certainly, she could tell that much by the aura it gave off, but it wasn¡¯t Riven or Allie either.


    Smiling to herself and wondering whether or not this one would finally be a match, one that could push her new body to the limits to see what she could truly do with it, herrge arachnid limbs carried her forward.


    It was time to meet a true champion of these puny, pathetic creatures. It was time to show them just what a spider princess could truly do.

 Chapter 187

    Chapter 187


    <strong>Chapter 187</strong>


    Lahn watched in silence beside his mother Shovi and other refugees hiding here in a pub¡¯s lower cer. Funnily enough, he even noted how a small group of other students from the academy were here - no doubt having fled down the stairway long before he did to make it down here without flying. But overall it was the locals - the pub owner and his family, a farmer and his three sons, a couple women from the local brothel and a few merchants with their kids.


    They were all terrified to stay here given the battle raging right outside, but options had run out. There was nowhere left to go with almost every level of the city experiencing some kind of fighting, with exception of the lowermost levels underground - but there was no way Lahn and his mother could make it there. They were on upper floor 6, and by foot it¡¯d take one or two hours just to get down a single flight of stairs between levels.


    The forums were lit up with activity, with various people in Mandon streaming things that were happening while begging for help or coordinating evacuations or rescues. But it was dire, and people were beginning to lose hope. The king had been critically injured in the battle with some guy called ¡®The yfather¡¯, and had to be evacuated from the fight in the air to a more secure location at the cost of many lives. The royal fleet had lost half of its total numbers and was on the back foot, being hard-pressed to assist anyone else and being unable to intercept therge blocky transports that shuttled down invading strike groups to the lower floors along the edges of the city. People were dying by the tens of thousands, being outright butchered or being set up in containment areas with shackles and ve cors - no doubt prizes to be brought back to Rippenvire¡¯s home base after the battle was won.


    But not all was lost even despite this.


    Reinforcements continued to flood in through the lower levels as front line fighters who¡¯d beenbatting the elves retreated home. Legions from the Thane Necropolis were already securing most of the ground city level, but fighting was still fierce even here. News of armies from Deepnest was also circting, headed by the ratkin queen herself, and most important of all - Riven Thane was reportedly heading here now.


    Lahn¡¯s eyes fell as he thought back to having met the man. He liked Riven, or ¡®Travis¡¯ is what he¡¯d called himself while hiding his identity, but he didn¡¯t know what would happen when Riven got here. Past events showed Riven was quite literally an army and city killing machine, specializing in massive area of effect magic that could potentially be the saving grace of Dawn. But what kind of damage would take ce in the city should Riven go all out?


    And what if Riven wasn¡¯t enough?


    ***yfather Tikus, a man with a long silver katana and a tophat in a billowing ck suit-coat, continued to calmly walk off the stairs onto tnd - his hundreds of undead thralls tearing into enemies ahead of him so that he merely had to continue raising the dead. So far, the only man he¡¯d really had to put any effort into was the king himself, who was now fleeing across the 6th level and almost out of sight.


    No matter. It wasn¡¯t as if they¡¯d escape. It was merely a feeble attempt at prolonging the inevitable.


    His pale lips curled up into a grin to expose his fangs when one of the king¡¯s guards desperately tried throwing an empowered, electrifiednce of holy light his way - but yfather Tikus smashed the weapon in a swift stroke of his katana in an effortless flick of the wrist.


    Weak.


    But he paused as he came across the corpse of a man he knew. Just a lieutenant in the Rippenvire army, but still more real to him than any of the other deaths he¡¯d seen so far. His brows furrowed in irritation, that man had given him a sense of real promise.


    Looking back up to the fleeing, severely wounded king and his king¡¯s guards, across bloodied cobblestones and hundreds of bodies, past burning buildings where screams of the dying echoed over the cityscape - the yfather locked onto the limping leader of this city.


    This city of cattle, cattle that would be butchered and used for food to fuel Rippenvire¡¯s expansion into this sector of the multiverse.


    Tikus narrowed his eyes. Perhaps taking his time finishing this would indeed be¡­ unwise of him. After all, he wouldn¡¯t be able to call in reinforcements from the homnd for years from now - so why not put in the effort and save the lives of his men by just helping them out a bit?


    He sighed, and with another flick of his wrist - the undead thralls around him exploded into red orbs of blood magic. Thebined power of their sacrifices thrummed and then sted across the two-hundred yard gap between himself and the king, and with cries of rm the king¡¯s guard set up a shield formation right before the wave of red crashed into them.


    The impact was devastating.


    Half of the heavily armored guards were ripped apartpletely, two more knocked unconscious with severe wounds, and only five of them maintained their stands in a flood of prating power.


    The king and the man helping him limp away were both crushed, mming them through a brick wall and out the other side where their mangled bodies remained barely breathing and bleeding out on the ground.


    A blur of silver and his katana caught an assassin¡¯s attack to his left, ying the semi-invisible man alive with an audible squelch over the roars . Tikus sneered down at the assassin, clutching his throat as fluid spilled out, and Tikus put a foot on the man¡¯s chest to push him onto his back. ¡°I have heard your heartbeat for well over two minutes, imbecile. If you¡¯re going to hide your presence against a vampire, and a greater vampire at that, you need to do more than just¡­¡±


    yfather Tikus slowed his speech, abruptly noticing that his thralls weren¡¯t making noise anymore. In fact, the entire area around him had gone eerily silent¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    He blinked. His eyes lifted slowly from the dying man in front of him, taking in a scene that very much confused him. All across the two hundred meter gap between himself and the remnant king¡¯s guards who were desperately trying to get to Dawn¡¯s leader, were the bodies of his undead minions.


    They were dead. All dead, and for good this time. He hadn¡¯t even heard them drop, but their bodies were scattered about like someone had just run them through a meat grinder. And there, sitting on top of a central pile of them, was a small spider.


    Small was a rtive term, but rather it was a littlerger than half the size of the vampiric hounds Rippenvire had brought with them. The spider was ck and red, with two eyes and twelve legs. It was¡­ a demon, if he wasn¡¯t mistaken. One called a Blood Weaver he¡¯d seen in textbooks before, even a favorite of vampiric warlocks if he remembered correctly due to their high affinity for the Blood Pir; and it wore a ck, ruby-studded tiara on its head while simultaneously wearing a cape of fresh entrails. It stood proudly, almost humorously staring at him with mandibles syed open in a spider¡¯s version of a wide grin. The creature¡¯s heartbeat and power signature were both absolutely and utterly hidden, and if yfather Tikus didn¡¯t see the creature with his own eyes he¡¯d not have believed it was even there.


    That was disturbing.


    But what really got his attention were the five heads it¡¯d impaled on a stick. That stick was being held much like a staff, toorge for the spider¡¯s size but the implication was clear - and Tikus recognized each of these faces immediately.


    They were five of his generals.


    Five of seven generals. The best men of this conquering expedition aside from himself. Some were even his friends.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    All were beheaded and strung up like a kabob.


    That¡­ That got his attention. These events during the invasion were on full disy for his homeworld to see, for all of Rippenvire to watch as the invasion unfolded.


    What shame had they brought to their houses by dying so fast? What shame had they brought to him and his house, considering they¡¯d been under hismand when they¡¯d died?


    yfather Tikus rarely felt anger, but when he did - his enemies knew it. Power slowly began to build with his aura, a field of ominous death energies whirling about him as his teeth gritted in rage. Slowly he pulled out the pistol at his side, the weapon ring with blood magic as his silver katana began to radiate with ck and teal death energy. The aura billowed out and roared to life around him, red eyes ring as he focused his rage and intent on the creature in a disy that caused the topyer of ground to explode with debris and rot away.


    But the spider remained in its stance atop the bodies of his thralls, mockingly wiggling the kabob staff his way.


    ¡°HELLO PLEBIAN WELP!¡± Ath called out in her blood weaver form, bouncing her arachnid rump up and down while prancing back and forth amidst the aura of death that epassed this area. She wiggled the kabob staff of stacked heads his way again, cackling with a chitteringugh. ¡°ARE YOU THE LEADER OF THIS BAND OF MERRY MISFITS!? I¡¯m supposed to save that king you know, you gotta get past me if you wana get him! AND I¡¯VE BROUGHT YOUR FRIENDS TO WITNESS YOUR DEMISE - HOW NEAT!!!¡±


    yfather Tikus narrowed his red eyes, warry that his aura had no effect on what was supposed to be a lower tier demon species. But perhaps her level was just that high. Species didn¡¯t mean everything. He took a step forward, suit-jacket coat-tails billowing in the winds of his aura¡¯s power. The ground cracked underneath his weight as he walked, and torturous thoughts of what he would do to this little arachnid bastard crossed his mind in a thousand different ways - making his angry snarl turn into a crazed, malicious grin with bared fangs. ¡°I certainly am the leader of this invasion. Congrattions, you¡¯ve found me. You¡¯ve found your death. yfather Tikus, at your service... Now¡­ Tell me who it is you are, or who you serve, so that I may know the names of the people I will so ruthlessly y before feeding your corpses to my dogs for murdering my men.¡±


    Dramatically Ath whipped her entrail cape out to the side and stood proud on her hind legs while crossing her front ones over her chest - with exception of the two legs holding the kabab staff. ¡°VERY WELL! I shall introduce myself. I am <strong>PRINCESS</strong> Ath! I AM THE MOST RENOWNED BABY STOMPER THERE EVER TWAS, TEHHHH GREATEST SMASHER OF SUCCUBI WELPS, TEEHHHHH BRINGER OF CHAOS! I am¡­ ATHELA FUTURE CONQUERER OF WORLDS! MWAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!¡±


    She jiggled the kabob staff once more and flung back her head, tiara gleaming in the firelight of burning buildings around them while cackling to the heavens. ¡°ALL SHALL FEAR TEHH GREAT SPIDER ATHELA, BABYSTOMPER CONQUERER EXTRAORDINAIRE!¡±


    Abruptly her face whipped back down, mandibles dripping with dark green venom as her red eyes matched his own with a glint of frenzied insanity. She pointed two of her sharp, arachnid legs at the advancing vampire with a screech. ¡°Now¡­ DIE!¡±


    Time froze, and yfather Tikus was almost floored by the notification that appeared next. His mind reeled, and he suddenly began to take this a lot more seriously than he had been just moments before. Because for the system to consider this a boss fight, for HIM¡­ Well, boss fights outside of dungeons only not only gave huge boons if you won them - but they only urred when you had a very real possibility of losing and usually had the odds stacked against you.


    This was not what Tikus had been expecting to see.


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WORLD QUEST BOSS FIGHT: ARCHDEMON ATHELA (3 FORMS), CUTE WITTLE BLOOD WEAVER / GLUTTONOUS ARSHAKAI / GLUTTONOUS FAE DRIDER, PRINCESS BABYSTOMPER AND FUTURE CONQUEROR OF WORLDS, HAS BEEN INITIATED. YOU MUST KILL ALL 3 FORMS TO WIN THIS FIGHT.</strong>


    <strong>[This fight is now being broadcasted to Panu¡¯s cortex, front page, and all local channels.]</strong>


    <strong>ELYSIUM HAS SEALED OFF YOUR POINT OF EXIT WITH A DIAMETER OF 5 MILES UNTIL THE BATTLE IS COMPLETE, THOUGH ENEMY AND ALLY FORCES CAN STILL ENTER THIS ZONE DURING THE BATTLE UNTIL ONE OF YOU IS KILLED DUE TO WORLD QUEST AND INVASION PARAMETERS.</strong>


    <strong>[50 million Elysium Coins, a custom legendary item, and a legendary dao treasure rting to blood will be provided to the victor.]</strong>


    <strong>BEGINNING BATTLE IN</strong>


    <strong>5¡­</strong>


    <strong>4¡­</strong>


    <strong>3¡­</strong>


    <strong>2¡­</strong>


    <strong>1¡­</strong>


    The system had the audacity to name this creature ¡®FUTURE¡¯ conqueror of worlds!? What the-


    Time resumed, a white sheet wall of power from the system closed off a five-mile area, and the spiderunched itself off the pile of bodies with an explosive force that made Tikus reel.


    ¡°YOU SURLY, UGLY LITTLE COW!¡± Tikus barely had time to raise his pistol and fire with a blur of speed that caused the air to crack with the effort, sending an explosive round right into the spider¡¯s trajectory - only for the demon to veer left with flurries of webbing that extending in all directions from various legs.


    It pulled her left, up, and then back around while maintaining momentum as she veered into him with a gleeful cackle. ¡°GOTCHYA BITCH!¡±


    <strong>*CRACK-CLING-CLANG-WHIP-BOOM-SNAP*</strong>


    Ath¡¯s sharpened legs blurred, smashing against the vampiric general as he backpedaled while cursing and focusing his aura into the silver katana he used. Just as quickly he¡¯d fire off bullets every time she gave him room, bullets and de meeting arachnid legs and sprays of red webbing or acidic venom clouds in movements so fast that the viewers around the city watching the exchange could only gawk at the sheer disy of power and speed.


    The ground tore up beneath them, building with momentum as the crazed spider continued cackling, jiggling the kabob of heads, exchanging attacks with the yfather on equal footing. It absolutely enraged him.


    Sending out a shockwave of death energy in all directions that gave him some space, Tikus snarled and summoned two shadow lords - elemental void creatures of the beyond to fight for him. Each was twice his size, looking like cloaked wraiths made of ck wisps that tore through the air towards the spider - but Ath merely crackled with green light and sent a shockwave of her own energy back at the creatures.


    The wall of green rapidly expanded and burst, colliding with the shadow elementals and causing them to scream as their bodies turned to clouds of pink flower petals. Those same flower petals quickly sharpened, and in a flurry of thousands of tiny little des they expanded to all sides before copsing on the yfather¡¯s position.


    FAE MAGIC FROM A DEMON!?


    Tikus cursed in shock and disbelief, activating a martial art called ¡®Danger Sense¡¯ that prioritized iing attacks based on lethality - giving him an edge to concentrate and defend on what was important. Then he activated another martial art: ¡®Soulsaint Swordstorm¡¯ that sent a thousand silver cuts empowered with death energy at the wall of petals in front of him. Translucent des tore through the air and scattered the petals only to-


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    Tikus reeled backwards, holding his nose when the kabob spiraled through the air and crashed into his face. Blinking rapidly and staring dumbfounded at the decapitated heads on a stick that¡¯d smacked him upside the skull, he turned his angry red gaze to re back at the loudly cackling demon that pointed his way while dancing around in a victory circle. He¡¯d not seen iting because he¡¯d been too invested via his ¡®Danger Sense¡¯ on the truly lethal strikes of the petals, but being smacked upside the head with the decapitated faces of his friends was humiliating.


    ¡°<em>I will teach you to mock me</em>!¡± Tikus said under his breath, spitting blood and wiping it away from his broken nose just before it snapped back into position and healed. <em><strong>¡°You will regret making a fool of me!¡±</strong></em>


    Ath had resorted to making turkey-gobbling noises hopping up and down on her hind legs and wiggling her cape of entrails around behind her while her tiara bobbed up and down a few dozen yards off. ¡°SOME VAMPIRE YOU ARE! I¡¯D THOUGHT VAMPIRES WERE HOT SHIT AFTER BONDING TO MY MASTER, BUT IT APPEARS I WAS MISTAKEN! YOU¡¯RE JUST A BLOODSUCKING FAIRY WITH A BIG EGO!¡±


    ¡°CURSE YOU BACK TO THE HELLS, FOUL DEMON WENCH!¡± Tikus blurred forward and unleashed a ¡®Trickshot¡¯ martial art, causing multiple blood-infused bullets to swerve left and right before veering back to take Ath in the sides as his front carved down with the silver de.


    <strong>*CHING-CHING-CHING-CHING-CHING*</strong>


    Ath¡¯s legs met his attacks almost simultaneously, sounding like a gatling gun with the rapid exchange before spraying acid all over the yfather¡¯s face.


    Tikus screamed, and then he felt one of her legs rip through his chest.


    Immediately he exploded into a cloud of blood, reforming three dozen meters away and snarling at the chest wound in his vest that dripped blood. ck-green venom beganbatting his natural regeneration, and the skin on his face sizzled with the acid that slowly began to fade away under his vampiric healing qualities.


    ¡°I do believe I underestimated you in the beginning, little one¡­¡± Tikus said, slowly taking off his top hat and tossing it aside. Ripping off his ruined coat, and then his vest, he exposed his pale and muscr chest to the air while baring his fangs. Dropping his sword and gun, veins began to pulse and bulge all along his arms, abdomen, and upper body until his red eyes buldged out of his sockets. ¡°But I won¡¯t make that mistake again. BEHOLD! MY ULTIMATE FORM!¡±


    Ath¡¯s cackling came to an abrupt halt as the area around them exploded again in a massive surge of power. The city shook under the immense weight of the vampire¡¯s strength. Blood and death energies intermixed as a roaring howl reverberated around their white-walled enclosure many miles wide, and the vampire began to change before her very eyes.


    Wings sted out of his back in a spray of blood. His skin darkened from bright white to a deep gray. Hair sprouted along his back, nostrils erged and became vertical slits. His jaw protruded, withrge pointed teething up and down from top and bottom of his mouth - emphasizing his fangs most of all; and his fingers becamerge scythe-like talons. The body also becamerger, three times the size of the man he¡¯d once been, and bones cracked as his legs reverted to a more T-rex like figure that rippled with muscle.


    He was huge, menacing, and bat-like.


    And Ath was caught off guard as the yfather broke the sound barrier to engage her once again. In an instant, her small body was ripped asunder, sending her upper and lower halves scattering apart to skip along the ground¡­


    Before her next body began to reform from the pieces.

 Chapter 188

    Chapter 188


    <strong>Chapter 188</strong>


    Despite the abrupt surge in power, despite revealing his ultimate form tobat this demonic arachnid, Tikus felt both inferior and small when the creature began to reform. His gray wings sagged, his flex ws that¡¯d so recently torn the spider¡¯s body in half stiffened, and his eyes widened in shock as he beheld the creature¡¯s new body recreate itself before his very eyes.


    Bones snapped. Scythe-like legs each bigger than he was snapped out and crashed into the ground. Four narrowed red eyes looked down at him like he was some kind of bug to squash, and a smile of jagged teeth smiled wide.


    What was once a small, dog-sized spider had now rapidly warped from the pieces of its mutted body and grown to hundreds of times its original size. ck flesh turned to white, crystalline flowers bloomed along the creature¡¯s skin, and a drider farrger than any should ever be grinned down at him with teasing malice as Ath licked her lips.


    She oozed power. The very air around her became frosty, and asional sparks of lightning crackled around forming snowkes as a crystalline maw down her lower midsection opened with a hiss - tendrils of ck and blue snaking out in his direction with slow, monotonous intent. She was beautiful, but also a creature that could be torn out of nightmares, and her own aura of something primal - something that reached out to him with a hunger at the most basic essence of conscious thought tore into his very soul with probing feelers.


    Tikus took a step back without thinking, whispering under his breath. ¡°What in the hells!?¡±


    A warhorn echoed to his left, and both Tikus and therge demon took a moment to look. Marching towards them, over five hundred vampiric pdins wielding ymores and mechanical armored biosuits were rushing their way - activating various buffs, speed boosts and martial arts in preparation for battle. They were some of Rippenvire¡¯s elites, and the yfather¡¯s heart grew firm with resolution. He still stood a chance.


    Though the demon¡­ughed, and she didn¡¯t seem intimidated or worried at all.


    Ath lifted up one arm, and the ground shuddered when a pir of ice tore out of the ground in front of her. Red runes intermixed with deep ck, writhing along the pir that continued to rise out of the ground like a monument to her glory. Ice sculpture carvings, figurines of beautiful women and men, demon and fairy alike, but most of all - hundreds of spiders all climbed atop one another to try and reach the summit while being weighed down by rune-inscribed chains of red-ck me. Half the zone within the 5 mile battle bubble began to simultaneously burn and freeze, spiraling around her in a great cycle that interchanged in waves of elemental fae ice and sin-based me.Her hands raised higher, the pir climbed, the ice sculptures screamed out as one - and the great maw along her midsection roared with a pulse of energy that breathed a storm of destruction. It interwoven into the cycle, creating a huge tornado of ice and dark fire that roared and shook the earth with voluminous, expanding, ripping force.


    Tikus red his wings, channeling his mana as the pdin elite of his homeworld joined him in solidarity. One by one they saluted him and formed a line, awaiting his orders with red eyes ring alongside their auras. ¡°MEN OF RIPPENVIRE!¡±


    ¡°YES SLAYFATHER!¡± The hundreds strong soldiers yelled back, ymores simmering with unholy light - and as one they conjuredrge towershields that crashed into the ground with a resounding boom.


    A defiance in the face of the immense power this archdemon faced. And Tikus? He couldn¡¯t be more proud of them.


    Towering over the others and drawing a battle formation, the equivalent of dozens of sigils and empowered circles of dark mana, that reinforced a given area for all defenders inside it - therge winged vampire snarled at the oing tornado that continued to build. The formation boomed and roared, unleashing a wall of miasma that tore through the sky of the enclosed system-made dome - and Tikus pointed. ¡°YOU WILL FALL, DEMON! THE MEN OF RIPPENVIRE WILL NOT FAIL HERE! AND I WILL MOUNT YOUR GIGANTIC HEAD ON MY WALL!¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ hmm-hmmmhmm-haaahahahahaAAAHAAHAHAAHAAA!!!!¡± Ath¡¯sugh grew and her hands weaved tapestries of intricate keys, unlocking the mechanisms of her spell until a gigantic single celtic-styled rune ripped the sky overhead. The pir of ice, ming chains and climbing sculptures with red and ck sigils made contact with the skybound mark - and as soon as it did, the earth thundered.


    *CRRASSSSSSHHHHHH*


    It was like an atomic bomb had gone off. Rows of buildings froze, burned, and crumbled. Fire tore through the earth, ice froze the very air, and the barrier erected by the vampiric elite crumbled in a sh.


    Tikus screamed in fear when he realized what that strange energy really was. Watching pieces of his hand alight as he kept an arm over his eyes, he felt pieces of his very soul apparatus begin to chew away.


    He hadn¡¯t been sure before, but now he was certain. This was SIN energy.


    This creature had somehow acquired a piece of original sin¡­ and now that he was sure of it with mounting horror, he saw that giant vertical maw along her front for what it really was.


    This was a harbinger of Gluttony, and an instant after the area of effect attack went off - the giant creature was amongst them.


    <strong>*WHIP*</strong>


    <strong>*SNAP*</strong>


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    Blood sprayed everywhere.


    Ath¡¯s scythe-like legs tore through the vampiric pdins like they were a child¡¯s dolls. If he hadn¡¯t known better, Tikus would never have guessed these were the strongest soldiers of their level prior to being let into this newly integrated world. This was not how things were supposed to go, this was not how the invasion was supposed to proceed. How could he let himself die within less than a week of arriving on this new?


    How had this happened?


    The demon¡¯s hands rapidly underwent motions, summoning magics that crashed into her surroundings as dozens, then hundreds, and then thousands of spiders poured out of her giant maw like an avnche. It was so fast that the vampires nearby were buried within seconds, and only their screams were heard as the dog-sized white and blue arachnids - a variant of blood weavers - poured over the vampiric invaders like a wave of hunger.


    Electrified snowkes rippled and swirled,tching onto the mechanical armor of the pdins and stunning them for the spiders to attack - and thick, icy mists rapidly bloomed out of the flowers all along Ath¡¯s body as she moved three times faster than any of the vampiric host could.


    Tikus coughed blood and then screamed as he felt one of the thousands of spiders tear into his leg, but he smashed the ice-made creature with a single blow.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Only to have three moreunch themselves his way - taking him down with frenzied screeches and biting fangs that spread frostbite all along his body.


    It would have been his final moments,ying there being devoured alive by the archdemon¡¯s summoned minions, but then something odd happened.


    Time froze yet again, simr to when the world-boss fight had started, and a new notification appeared with screens blipping into existence in front of all participants currently locked inbat within the dome.


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>A JUDGEMENT DESCENDS.</strong>


    <strong>THREE HARBINGERS OF GLUTTONY HAVE COME TO JOIN THE BATTLE. THEY SEEK TO CLAIM SHARDS OF SIN FOR THE GREAT MAW, READY TO TAKE BACK WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY OWNED BY THE HUNGERING ONE. ALL WILL SUFFER, ALL WILL PERISH, ALL WILL BECOME FUEL FOR THE TIDE OF THE HUNGERING CHOSEN.</strong>


    <strong>DESPAIR.</strong>


    <strong>BEGINNING BATTLE IN</strong>


    <strong>5¡­</strong>


    <strong>4¡­</strong>


    <strong>3¡­</strong>


    <strong>2¡­</strong>


    <strong>1¡­</strong>


    Tikus felt numb, his chest burst and split, and before his very eyes - tendrils of darkness ripped out of his heart and buried themselves into his limbs. His mind faded into the background as something else, a new, sinister entity overcame his thoughts - overpowering his will and creating nothing but a husk of the man that¡¯d once been yfather of the Rippenvire invasion fleet.


    And in his ce, a monster began to rise.


    ***


    Ath watched in silence as her own shard of Gluttony screamed at her to eat and devour the three neers; the three apostates that would dare defy the maw¡¯s will.


    Odd, that this particr piece of Gluttony viewed other pieces as nothing but food for its own growth - but so was the will of the great maw. Until only one remained, they would eternally be in conflict, trying to devour each other until a singr entity finally remained.


    Her spiderlings withdrew, the wave of white and blue spreading out rapidly through the mists as her four red eyes narrowed into slits. She took a step back when the three bodies, each of them previously having been ranking vampires of the Rippenvire, exploded in showers of gore. Vertical maws ripped out of their chests and screamed to the heavens, ck tendrils ripping out from the void and tearing into any biomass nearby to quickly devour it - fueling the transformation of the three harbingers while their bodies rapidly grew.


    The first was a giant burning stag with a skull for a face, sightless and horns radiating even more brilliantly than the rest of its body.


    The second grew into a grotesque abomination, fat and full of rolls with various arms, legs and eyes. It had two main humanoid legs and the same could be said for the arms though, while it carried arge morning star with a shadowy spiked ball on a chain.


    The third was more human in shape and size whenpared to the giant abominations who first appeared, but this one was by far the most powerful. A creature built of shadow, this was without a doubt a dread-wraith. A void creature, partially built of spirit and partially built from empty space itself - dressed in ck robes with a ck hood and ck scimitars. In fact it was so ck that the only thing giving off any true definition was gluttony¡¯s maw up and down the front of its chest.


    Which was a simr trait that the other two shared as well, though each of these maws had their own unique characteristics. Gluttony¡¯s maw on the dread-wraith was created from shadow, Ath¡¯s was created from crystalline ice, the abomination¡¯s maw breathed out toxic rotting fumes and leaked flesh, while the stag¡¯s was made of infernal mes.


    Each monster emitted auras that matched Ath¡¯s own, each was a true powerhouse just as she was, and each of them hungrily eyed her as the four seeds of gluttony roared and screeched at one another in anticipation of the fight toe. It also appeared that because the stag particrly had imed the Rippenvire yfather as a temporary host, Ath couldn¡¯t end this event without killing the creature inhabiting him too.


    ¡°Ath¡­¡± The shadowy wraith spoke her name as a whisper, but the voice was so filled with power than her very body trembled involuntarily. It took a step forward and held out a hand to her, ck des forming in either palm and pointing one of them in her direction. ¡°We havee to im your soul¡­ In the name of the great maw, we have judged you unworthy. Prepare to¡­¡±


    The wraith¡¯s head turned left, and within only seconds the entire domed arena Elysium had set up shook and quaked. A feeling of utter rage set upon them all, red frost beginning to coat the ground rapidly from the point where this malicious aura crept from. The sky of the event dome turned red, then bright crimson, and through the wall of shimmering light - Riven walked through.


    His ted foot touched solid ground with a resounding boom, his own maw across messenger¡¯s ivory breastte screamed in anticipation, and red eyes red as he leveled the de rippling with ribbons of blood at the three monsters aligned against his friend. The weapon roared, the seeds of gluttony all simultaneously screamed, and the city shattered under his feet when heunched himself forward.


    ***


    High Queen Nephridi cackled with delight on her balcony as she watched her great grandson demolish the Rippenvire fleet over the course of mere minutes. And the fact that it was Rippenvire, a vassal of The Blood Moon Requiem''s most prominent but still friendly rival, only made it even sweeter. And hrious. Entire squadrons fell in the blink of an eye, torn asunder by powers far beyond anything that should be expected at this level. Clouds of des, torrents of crimson ribbons, and thunderous clouds of ck bolts vaporized absolutely everything that got in his path.


    Truly her grandson was something special. In the beginning, Nephridi had higher hopes for Allie - and although her granddaughter had still shown incredible promise, it still paled inparison to her brother now.


    If Riven continued to grow this rapidly, if he continued to gain insights this fast, if his seed of Gluttony was able to absorb the other pieces here, then she had no doubt that he¡¯d be almost unstoppable when thrown against the other forces on this. Riven was developing into an army killer, one that did better againstrger numbers than he did against smaller groups of concentrated power. Each death fueled him even more, if only temporarily. She was already betting the other invaders were avidly hoping for his downfall here against the unforeseen judgement, but should he live¡­


    Should he live, the only way to kill him with the forces they¡¯d mustered would be to make sure he didn¡¯t engage their united armies. They¡¯d have to take him out with fewer numbers of elites, perhaps some supreme treasures if they¡¯d brought any, in order to make sure his power didn¡¯t grow to exponential heights like it had now. The umtion of death and blood in the area had empowered him to match even the harbingers of gluttony in a one on one battle at the moment, but it was only temporary. It was a boon granted to him by all the carnage he¡¯d created amidst the weaker members of the Rippenvire fleet, now reduced to hundreds of thousands of mangled corpses that would no doubt feed his sister¡¯s army of undead. All that blood energy mixing in with a man who had a 100% Blood affinity was just astronomically terrorizing, and she had to give it to him - he¡¯d been the first to have that particr affinity reach 100% ever since herself.


    It made her wonder just how alike they¡¯d be in terms of how they handled Blood mana, and she was interested to find out should they ever meet.


    Turning her attention to Allie and her own activities concerning that human boy, High Queen Nephridi¡¯s smile faded into a frown. She tisked, and caught the attention of her man-servant who held a tray of tarts to her side while overlooking the capital city. ¡°I do hope she doesn¡¯t fall for that welpling¡­ There are so many others who¡¯d literally kill to take her as a bride. Even now, bidding for her hand in marriage has begun - and I¡¯d hate to break it to her the hard way that she now belongs to The Blood Moon Requiem.¡±


    Her manservant raised an eyebrow, red eyes shining almost as brightly as hers. Though he was merely a servant, to serve the queen meant he had to be at minimum a pureblooded vampire himself - lest he tarnish her presence with his filth. ¡°Do you not feel the same way about your grandson?¡±


    ¡°What about him?¡±


    ¡°His rtionship with¡­ that subus. The people of the empire watching these events unfold on the frontier are eating it up rather nicely, I must say. Many are cheering for her, but then again - many are rooting for Ath too.¡±


    High Queen Nephridi giggled, then loudlyughed while watching the battle unfold between five harbingers of Gluttony - a rare sight indeed. ¡°No dear, those are demonic contracts. They are toys, nothing more, so he can y with them however he chooses. Do not worry, we will find Riven a good, pureblooded wife. And I do believe that, ording to Kathrine¡¯s reports, she¡¯s already managed to woo him once. Her family is delighted, and the bidding wars on him are already raging just as fiercely¡­ though should she im his heart before integration ends, I have already told her that she may have the spot regardless of who wins the bidding. We will see how it all unfolds, and five years from now when we bring them to their family¡¯s inheritance - I hope to see them both bear us children. They both have the gift, and chances of passing the prophecy on to future generations is exponentially increased by ones who are more than just passive gic carriers.¡±

 Chapter 189

    Chapter 189


    <strong>Chapter 189</strong>


    Despite the Rippenvire fleet having been wiped out, at least for the most part, many hundreds of dropships hadnded troops across differentyers of the stacked city and were continuing to wreak havoc. The royal fleet belonging to Dawn was also decimated, and their forces were already engaged at numerous points. The vampires continued to ughter civilians as fast as possible, either out of spite or simply because they didn¡¯t know they¡¯d lost yet. But the fact remained that without the surging hordes of allied reinforcementsing up from the lower levels, this city would have certainly been lost. Even now forces from both Brightsville and Deepnest had reimed the first three upper levels and two under levels, with another four contested city pieces to go.


    Though honestly when Allie had flown over floor 7, there¡¯d been almost nothing left. The entire topside was a ruined husk of what it¡¯d once been, littered with smoking corpses and broken airships, while the academy she¡¯d been attending was nothing but rubble and me.


    Allie¡¯s footsteps echoed through the long hall, the corpses around her twitching and rising in silence as wisps of teal light trickled out of her body to animate the dead. Ahead of her, two more vampiric sets of eyes red back at her through the dark, leveling pistols her way before firing.


    The bullets sizzled and hissed through the air - exploding on contact when Allie¡¯s wand shot forward and eradicated them in an instant. Not speeding up or slowing down, she continued her monotonous walk while more of the bullets continued peppering the walls around her.


    ¡°BLOOD TRAITOR!¡± One of the vampires screamed, drawing out a scimitar and dashing forward when he realized the bullets weren¡¯t doing anything.


    Hispanion soon joined him in the frontal assault, and Allie conjured four ming skulls before letting them loose like cannonfire.


    The walls on either side of her shuddered in the darkness, only illuminated by the deathly mes as the skulls screeched forward and exploded on impact. The two vampires immediately died, and she effortlessly stepped over their charred remains while casually continuing on towards her goal.


    ¡°Insects¡­¡± She hissed turning right and approaching a barricaded door where one of the vampiric hounds was digging its way through the old wood into the room. On the other side, screams of civilians and the weeping of children were heard.The monster didn¡¯t even know she was there, too obsessed with the scent of nearby prey, and it too died in a sh of death mana that left it dropping to the floor with a loud yelp.


    ¡°Is this it?¡± Allie asked, turning to Mara -who was in terrible shape and missing an arm along with half her lower torso.


    The ghoul necromancer, along with the skeletal brothers Vin and Nin, all nodded. Mara held up a hand, and out of the darkness a shadow elemental in the form of a rat tore itself off a wall tond on her outstretched palm. ¡°He is here.¡±


    Ignoring the screams and sobbing on the other side of the door, Allie turned back to the old, thick wood and unleashed thin threads of power. They dug into the hinges, the locks, the perimeter of the wooden outline and in a second tore the door off the wall to fling it aside. Then they continued to fling pieces of debris and junk, stuff that the people on the other side of the door had piled up against it as a barricade, and the screaming grew louder.


    She stepped inside, looking around the dimly lit room under candle light with red eyes through her skull mask as one man brandished a dagger threateningly towards her. There were a couple dozen people here, all scattered throughout a cer.


    But another pair of people, a middle-aged husband and wife, quickly recognized her with a gasp when she didn¡¯t move to attack anyone. Immediately they got down onto their knees and prostrated themselves, and the woman began to call out to her. ¡°Queen Thane of the Necropolis!¡±


    The mood immediately shifted, but everything else that was said filtered out through one ear and out the other when Allie¡¯s shoulders sagged in relief. In one corner of the room, still alive, was Lahn and his mother Shovi.


    They locked eyes, and without another word Allie picked up her pace while taking off her mask. Lahn tried to stand up, but despite his recent affliction being healed he was still weak - and he stumbled to catch himself against the wall right before Allie¡¯s arms were flung around him.


    ¡°Good on you for not dying.¡± Allie said softly, sighing when she felt his returned embrace as the room went silent. ¡°That would have made me very sad.¡±


    Lahn, somewhat speechless with tears welling up under his eyes, nodded just once. ¡°Thanks foring. But don¡¯t you have better things to do, other than rescue me?¡±


    She smiled, then shook her head. ¡°No. This is the most important thing, and if I hadn¡¯te you¡¯d have been dead within a few minutes from now when the vampires broke down that door. We need to move you and your mother to a more secure location, then Tyranus and I are going to join Riven in his fight against the harbingers.¡±


    Her red eyes shifted to where one of the people had a system cortex screen up disying the fight, and already it was bing a fight of the ages. She ignored that for now, Riven would be fine until she got there.


    ¡°My queen.¡± Mara said under a ck hood, looking over her shoulder where Nin and Vin had left upon the sounds of shing metal and screams further back. ¡°The vampires are approaching in great numbers. We cannot stay, another of their elite groups are sweeping this part of the city and fighting them would stall you even longer from reaching your brother. We need to leave unless you want to get locked into a drawn out conflict.¡±


    Allie abruptly nodded and let go, seeing Shovi sniffle and give her a wide, shaky smile. ¡°Come on everyone, you heard Mara. We can¡¯t stay, so let¡¯s get going.¡±


    ***


    Malice.


    Hate.


    Rage.


    These were the feelings coursing through him when his eyes locked onto those who would dare try to rip Ath¡¯s soul apart to acquire her newly found shard of sin. These motherfuckers didn¡¯t know who they were messing with, and there was no way he was about to let these would-be thieves take Ath away from him only after she¡¯d just gotten back.


    A giant ming stag.


    A fleshy, fat abomination wielding a morning star il.


    A shadowy, dual-scimitar wielding wraith.


    He was going to crush them all into paste.


    His foot exited the dome of light,ing into the other side of the five-mile wide system-made arena. His aura roared for blood, shaking the very ground he stood on as his entire being radiated with fury as his eyes locked onto the three interlopers.


    <strong>[You have entered an event: World Quest Boss Fight - Tikus, yfather of Rippenvire, vs. Archdemon Ath, Baby Stomper and Future Conqueror of Worlds.</strong>


    <strong>Warning - This event has been modified. yfather Tikus and the forces of Rippenvire have been either devoured or possessed by three Harbingers of Gluttony. This event will not end until either the three harbingers have perished, or Ath dies.]</strong>


    Oh, there would be some perishing all right.


    Wisps of blood condensed around his weapon and a red, gaping jackal¡¯s maw roared ahead of his outstretched weapon. ck and red wisps lit up along his body, smoldering with power under the upgraded version of Blessing of the Crow. The back of his thick ivory te armor bloomed with torrential amounts of red mes, and a lightning strike five timesrger than he was epassed him in a protective shell as he prepared the move.


    Then the city shattered underneath Riven¡¯s feet as heunched himself forward faster than the speed of a hypersonic bullet.<ul><li><strong>ck Lightning:</strong><strong> This staff can passively build up charges of ck lightning. Power of ck lightning depends on the amount of charge emitted.</strong></li><li><strong>Jackal¡¯s Lunge:</strong><strong> Point this weapon in any direction and activate this innate and unique martial art, charging the de with blood mana to create the visage of a jackal¡¯s maw and sting forward. When your de strikes an enemy, the red jackal will close down on them to deal additional blood and sin damage.</strong></li><li><strong>Launch:</strong><strong> The back of your suit can open up, creating a st of sin energy that damages enemies and acts as a propulsion method to st you in a given direction at speeds dependent on how much energy you drain from the stored reservoir of your pauldrons.</strong></li><li><strong>Blessing of the Crow:</strong><strong> Activate this ability up to once per day for an hour¡¯s worth of increased stamina regeneration with a significant boost to agility.</strong></li></ul>


    Riven collided with the ming stag, his jackal¡¯s maw snapping down onto its skull as the de skewered its brain. But it wasn¡¯t enough to kill the creature even despite this.


    The stag roared, blooming with retaliatory fire and forcibly being torn off the ground by the immense impact. The huge monster was sent careening with Riven¡¯s de impaling it, screeching in pain and rage as a storm of blood magic ripped through its body while it tried to regain a footing against the uncontrolled, thunderous roll it¡¯d spiraled into.


    The fight was on.


    Thousands of crystalline spiders screeched and rushed forward, swarming towards the fat flesh abomination with hundreds of hungry mouths as it charged her. Meanwhile Ath¡¯s cloud of frost became a blizzard, intermixing with electrified snowkes that whirled about her as she opened her maw of Gluttony to unleash a cannon st of fire, ice and lightning at the wraith.


    But the wraith vanished, leaving Ath only a moment to counter the iing scimitars aimed at her neck as the shadowy figure roared with zing torrents of void energy - smashing into Ath¡¯s outstretched hand that blocked the attack. But her scream of pain as blue blood began pouring out of the deep wound gave Riven pause across the battlefield.


    Ripping his weapon out of the stag¡¯s skull and turning only briefly, he saw Azmoth¡¯s armored, ming figure crash a huge stone maul into the back of the wraith.


    ¡°AZMOTH SAVE TINY ATHELA!!!¡±


    The wraith was floored in a shower of shadowy wisps, mes and debris; but immediately recovered even under the enormity of that strike with a quick flip and blur of shadowy des as it created five more illusions of itself. Snarling, it began the assault - exchanging ces with its illusionary bodies from time to time and making it hard for the two demons fighting it to pinpoint its exact location. Each strike it made was met with thunderous ps of discharging shadow, and in turn the frosted scythe-like legs of Ath and Azmoth¡¯s ming maul creating shockwaves of their own.


    The multi-mouthed flesh monster was roaring and smashing aside dozens of spiders at a time, only being weighed down temporarily by the swarm of spiders and not taking much if any damage from them - but at least it was being held back for now to buy them time. Clouds of noxious green fumes were spraying from the many mouths and its huge sickly belly jiggled with every thunderous step it took to crush more spiders under foot; il spiraling in the air and sending out sprays of earth every time the weapon crashed into the ground with storms of arachnid body parts.


    Riven didn¡¯t have much more time to look, needing to trust in his two minions to deal with the wraith. He needed to finish off this stag before the abominationid waste to the arachnid swarm.


    ¡°RUK-RUK-RUK-RUK-RUK!¡± The stag in front of him had regained its legs, letting out an odd, bellowing call with its mangled mouth towards the sky and antlers lighting up an even brighter orange-red as the mes pulsed. A circle formed in the sky above them, and Riven¡¯s eyes widened when a circle of mes opened a portal - conjuring swarms of ming, molten chains that spiraled down towards him like snakes.


    And they were fast.


    Riven¡¯s maw along his chest opened and unleashed a torrent of ck tendrils to intercept the first few, but he was forced to riftwalk backwards to avoid the collision of the molten storm.


    The ground thundered upon impact, and the chains began spiraling out to chase him down while the stag charged.


    *CRASH*


    Sparks ignited along Riven¡¯s de and left pauldron as he stood his ground and took the hit, ming antlers smashing into his smaller figure and causing the surprised stag to stumble and trip. Counter attacking with a wide swipe of his weapon and simultaneously conjuring dozens of Bloody Razors that rapidly morphed into ripping storm balls through Profane Cyclone¡¯s Path of ck and Red, he split the stag¡¯s side open in numerous ces and sent it staggering once again.


    His weapon radiated amidst the screech of the ming maw across the stag¡¯s chest, and right before the swarm of chains connected with him - the visage of Gluttony appeared behind him as he unleashed his attack.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.<ul><li><strong>Gluttony¡¯s Riptide</strong><strong>: Passively builds up an elongated de of sin energy that can extend by swinging this weapon in an arc. Recharge rate and damage output depend on control and insight concerning Gluttony.</strong></li></ul>


    Before the stag hit the ground, a torrential amount of sin energy cut down with the swing of his de and tore through the line of motion hundreds of yards out. The ground was torn asunder and the stag¡¯s internals were sent spraying-


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    Riven was hit head on with the swarm of molten chains, causing him to reel backwards and scream as searing heat began working its way through the slit in his helmet. Abruptly activating hell¡¯s armor, the pain went away and he sighed in relief due to the fire resistance, but his eyes were burned out and he couldn¡¯t see until his regeneration kicked in.


    Cursing and using his mana to feel out the remaining-


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The stag¡¯s horns mmed him into the ground, and he felt a hoof twice the size he was repeatedly stomp him into the ground with radiating kic energy - causing some of his bones to shatter even though his armor didn¡¯t give. Messenger was holding firm, but so too was his Hell¡¯s Armor that gave him an additionalyer of obsidian tes along with an infernal shroud of me and heat resistance.


    Somehow that stag had survived the attack after being cleaved in two.


    <strong>*BAM-BAM-BAM*</strong>


    The stomps kepting, with force that would no doubt crush armored tanks barreling into him repeatedly.


    He coughed blood, but managed to fight through the pain with his regenerative properties as ring blood mana rippled up his arm. Forming his hand into a wing motion, the bloodnce tore out of his body - passing through the Path of ck and Red to imbue it further with ck lightning. He infused as much power as he could within those two seconds, and the torpedo blindly crashed into the body of the stag that resulting in an echoing scream.


    He kicked off the ground with a burst of blood energy out of his pauldron reservoirs, tearing through the binding chains that shattered under the mental flex and sending himself out of the crater he¡¯d been smashed into. Landing a ways off and shaking his head to clear it of the ringing, his eyesight slowly started to return. Cursing he ripped away some of the magma that was still glued to his face, his red eyes red out through the visor and he blinked rapidly through the mes of hell¡¯s armor and wisps of Blessing of the Crow, settling his gaze on the creature before him.


    This monster was no pushover.


    The huge, hellish stag was now in one piece again, though some of the wounds from his earlier attacks were still present. How that was possible he didn¡¯t know, but the way his body ached and the still broken bones mending told him one thing - he probably shouldn¡¯t try to fight this monster up close. It was physically stronger than he was, and he¡¯d have the advantage if-


    The monster rocketed towards him in a st of me simr to Azmoth¡¯s own gap-clearing martial art, causing Riven to stumble back and throw out another ck lightning strike the size of his thigh.


    But the creature barreled through it heedlessly,ing at him like aet from the heavens and smashing into him again.


    Riven wasunched through the air at high speed, mind going in and out due to the massive strike until he regained consciousness mid-flight and activated the thrusters on his armor.


    Steadying himself mid air and barely avoiding a crash into the domed wall a few hundred feet up, he held out his armors to either side. ¡°You motherfucker¡­¡±


    The air around him swirled and roared, tearing apart the buildings underneath him while a storm of red began collecting like a cyclone about his body. Dark lightning, red ice and shrieking winds howled as he poured mana into his ¡®Crimson Ice¡¯ spell and his aura. He poured all of the blood energy he¡¯d umted after tearing through the Rippenvire fleet - causing the dome they were epassed into tremble under his power.


    He lifted his hand, and like a god condemning a mortal to a life of damnation - he let the magic go. ¡°Let¡¯s see what you think about this.¡±


    A tidal wave of roaring power soared through the air directly towards the stag from all directions, causing the ground to quake and shudder under the approaching strike.


    The stag backpedaled with wide eyes ,panicking with a cry of fear, and a halo of fire bloomed over its head as the iing storm of red and ck rushed forward. A blinding sh lit up from the halo, illuminating the entirebat zone in a quick instant - and Riven had to blink away the afterimage of the halo exploding.


    The storm of his mana was gone. The halo was gone. The remaining molten chains were gone. The noxious clouds of the titanic flesh abomination were gone. Even Ath¡¯s swarm of crystalline spiders were gone.


    The stag had dispelled all of the active attacks in order to save itself from the impending collision, but the way the monster sagged made it obvious that it¡¯d expelled almost all of its own energy to do so.


    Riven gawked. ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be fist fucking me!¡±


    Then, to his amazement and brief confusion, he saw the flesh abomination tear out towards the stag to swing itsrge spiked il directly at the creatures head.


    The weakened hellstag only had a moment to scream before the huge ball of spikes crushed its skull entirely, obliterating its brain and sending the monster¡¯s ming body into a spasm before it too exploded in a storm of fire.


    Despite the explosion, the flesh abomination roared with all its many mouths in triumph - letting its own visage of Gluttony send out spiraling tendrils that dug into the body and soul of the stag within seconds.


    Riven watched, both horrified and fascinated, as the abomination¡¯s shard of Gluttony ripped and tugged - pulling out the stag¡¯s own while beginning to devour it. The visage of the maw that it yanked out of the stag¡¯s soul was simr to the visage Riven had seen back in Negrada¡¯s hellscape when he¡¯d first acquired it out of that jar, a ghostly maw of red and ck, but this time it was the one being eaten.


    Eaten by another piece of itself.


    The maw screamed and roared in rage as the other piece of Gluttony chomped down, splitting it apart and absorbing it like a leech would suck down blood out of prey.


    And as soon as it was done, the flesh abomination began to shiver. Its aura rose, and the monster screamed in glee before itpletely disappeared in a sh of light.


    His eyes narrowed. That certainly made things easier on his end, but it left a lot of disturbing questions¡­


    He turned his attention to Ath and Azmoth where they were battling the wraith. It was fast, very fast, and its strikes were on par with anything that any of them could throw out to boot. A storm of strikes from the two scimitars whirled around it as the wraith flipped, teleported, dashed and ducked between the two demons like it was nothing.


    Ath¡¯s body was covered in deep wounds that red with ck wisps, draining out blood as she tried to pinpoint where the wraith was inbetween the fading figures of its illusions.


    Azmoth on the other hand was worse off, missing three of his arms with only one remaining. He¡¯d dropped the maul in favor of using his ws now that he couldn¡¯t wield the weapon properly, and part of the armor covering his face had been ripped away to reveal a deep, oozing wound underneath against the side of his obsidian skull.


    Riven calmed his nerves. Despite having lost most of his mana in that recent, failed attack on the stag, his mana regeneration was quite good. He waited another couple seconds,nding on one of the rooftops that was still somehow standing despite the absolute destion surrounding him. He mmed his de into the rooftop beneath, wed his fingers, and conjured a bloodnce to take aim.


    Back in Chicago, Riven had acquired the ¡®Snipe¡¯ upgrade for his Blood Lance ability as a reward for defeating the Azag Hive Cluster. He¡¯d not had a good time to use it in battle until now, but given the circumstances this would be a perfect opportunity to try it.


    The crimsonnce shimmered in the light, crackling with ck lightning courtesy of his path and forming a wretched snared along its back for additional propulsion via his sling-shot method. Strings of mana were sent out, feeling for the enemy¡¯s true position as his eyes closed, and then time slowed when his vision changed from that of his eyes to that of thence itself.


    It was like looking down the sight of a barrel.


    His vision zoomed in during that frozen moment, identifying one of twelve figures that could be the wraith. It was still mid transition between illusionary bodies, but Riven was pretty sure this was the right one based on how his mana strings couldn¡¯t prate this particr body.


    Activating the second stage of his ¡®Snipe¡¯ ability, the bloodnce was empowered. It sharpened, bing thinner and sleeker than its previous form, and the tip of thence darkened. The air around it shimmered, condensed, and the bloodnce pulled back on his wretched snare slingshot for an additional boost. Everything else around him still remained frozen, which made him wonder what other people would see when watching this from an external perspective, and then time resumed.


    Thence tore through the half-mile almost instantaneously, leaving a long linear tear through space itself as it crashed into the chest of the wraith.


    ck goop sprayed out the other side of the creature, causing it to gasp as a hole in its body was left crackling with Riven¡¯s power.


    This was capitalized on by his two demons, and they moved in unison to charge the wraith during its staggered moment of vulnerability. Ath¡¯s shriek of glee echoed through the dome as one of her legs ripped into the body of the wraith, leaving a line of frost in her wake just as another sh of light erupted from behind her.


    Riven¡¯s heart nearly stopped when he saw that it was the abomination he¡¯d assumed had left. Be it illusion, spatial warping, or some kind of other means to mask its presence - the creature was still here, and its many mouths grinned ominously as the giant morning star il crashing through all three of thebatants in front of it.


    And this time, it imbued the strike with a massive amount of unholy energy.


    Azmoth died on the spot.


    The wraith died too.


    And Ath? Her house-sized body was crushed into the ground - smashing her brains across the rubble as the abomination began to cackle furiously.


    Riven screamed, and he sted forward with what little mana he had left - throwing his arm back and heaving Jackal forward to throw it like a spear.


    The weapon wasunched forward, smashing into the huge abomination and tearing a hole through its chest that caused it to howl in anger and turn towards him.


    *CRACK*


    The il spun around so fast Riven didn¡¯t have time to adjust his trajectory, and he felt his ribs all snap at the same time with the groan of metal when the weapon impacted his armor.


    *BOOM*


    Hended in a cloud of rubble, gasping for air and watching from a limp, prone position while the abomination began consuming the wraith next.


    Unearthly screeches tore out of the wraith¡¯s soul as it tried to escape, but it could not. The huge fleshy, abnormally fat monster roared in victory once again as its maw of Gluttony ripped and tore at yet another shard, sending the monster¡¯s aura spiking even more than it¡¯d done the first time.


    The ground underneath it tore apart, pieces of earth and rubble rising into the air all around it while it continued to scream a victory cry - hands raised above while unholy power radiated around it. And soon it turned its attention to Ath next, wanting to consume her soul too, but it paused with a multitude of frowns when it realized she wasn¡¯t there.


    Then, appearing beside its neck on top of one massive shoulder, the slender form of Ath¡¯s Arshakai body blipped into existence.


    It was the form Riven was most ustomed to now. Long, slender ck legs, ck hair, two red eyes and a very feminine, humanoid figure. Six arachnoid des ripped out of her back, and an evil smile focused on one of the fleshy, bloodshot eyes that the creature had stationed along its body. ¡°Looking for me?¡±


    She ripped into the eye and dove into its body, a whirlwind of des digging a tunnel into the monster¡¯s neck before she ripped out the other side in a spray of gore.


    The monster howled, clutching at its neck and swatting her away with a massive p - but she easilynded with a backflip and gracefully flung the monster¡¯s fluids off of her in a single motion that defied logic.


    Riven managed to get to his knees, then pushed himself up with effort to stand. Their eyes locked, and Ath¡¯s wicked grin faltered into something else - having some kind of emotion pass over her that he could not pinpoint.


    With a nod, she blurred forward again, being far faster than she¡¯d ever been and crashing into the sh abomination with whirlwinds of strikes - using her long ck tongue, necrotic poisons, ws, des, and blood thread needles to attack therger monster mercilessly. All the while, she dodged attack after attack as the abomination spewed clouds of acidic smog, smashed down with its il and tried to body m or stomp her to death.


    From what Riven could tell just by watching, Ath¡¯s current body had mostly remained the same with two key differences. The first was that it was far faster and more agile than she¡¯d been previously, by a scale of double or triple her previous power - while the second change was a little less obvious.


    From time to time Riven caught glimpses of Gluttony¡¯s visage on her body, opening up along random ces in various sizes to suck away the smog orsh out with necrotic tendrils - before the maw would vanish into her body like it¡¯d never been there before.


    If he had to guess, it was somehow utilizing her ¡®shapeshifting¡¯ abilities this body had to hide itself and appear as needed in different ces.


    He held out his hand and Jackal soared back into its rightful ce. Spinning the weapon around once and having let his vampiric regeneration fully heal him once again, he charged.


    *CRASH*


    *THUD*


    *BOOM*


    He struck and shed at the monster over and over again, drawing its attention away from Ath as best he could to provide a less mobile but sturdier target for the monster to focus on.


    And the enraged monster took the bait.


    Roaring and giving up on catching Ath for now, the creature tried body mming Riven underneath a mountain of flesh - crashing into the floor with a resounding boom that shook the earth right after Riven riftwalked away to put distance between them.


    He re-engaged, smashing down with Jackal into the creature¡¯s exposed shoulder and tearing out a good chunk of flesh before the il connected with him yet again in a blurring crash.


    But reinforcing himself with crimson ice that kept him in ce, gluing his legs to the ground, he was able to take the hit head on by bracing himself. The weapon smashed against Messenger, and despite feeling his legs snap - so too did the spiked ball.


    The il shattered amidst Riven¡¯s scream, and Ath took the moment to go for the monster¡¯s brain.


    Rapidly digging with the ¡®Flurry¡¯ martial art on repeat, she was able to carve a five-meter hole into the monster before another cloud of acidic gas caused her to retreat. Flipping up over the monster¡¯s back, she dove for the backside as ity prone and activated the martial art ¡®Backstab¡¯ with all six of her sharpened de-like legs.


    The effect was immense, far more than she¡¯d anticipated. Critical strike notifications bloomed before her eyes and torrents of kic energy mixed with shadow energy rippled along the monster¡¯s back - causing it to scream and il. Internal organs ruptured and she quickly dove off when the abomination rolled - only to be flung sideways with a shockwave of force when the creature simultaneously belched of all things from all its mouths.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Riven cursed when he saw Ath thrown aside, and he began charging up another snipe with a conjured bloodnce when a ripple in the dome above caught his attention.


    And with a roar, Tyranus dove through the dome.


    The giant skeletal drake dive-bombed the other monster with outstretched ws, deathly mes billowing from its mouth while Allie summoned hundreds of deathly globes that shot forward to bombard the creature below. The drake roared, sending one martial art after the other as it activated ¡®Pulsating Roar¡¯ in waves of kic energy to knock the struggling creature back down - ttening it and sending ripples of its fat belly jiggling to all sides. Then the ¡®Deathfire st¡¯ came next, barreling towards the creature after Allie¡¯s bombardment in an immense storm of teal and ck mes.


    The hundreds of death balls peppered the monster with tiny explosions and the drake¡¯s firest smashed into the screaming monster, burning it alive before Allie and her drake crashed into the smoldering wreckage of the beast underneath.


    ws and teeth tore into it, and Allie¡¯s wand lifted to send outcerating strike of death mana ripping all across the beast¡¯s surface.


    Riven didn¡¯t think twice and immediately started firing off more of his bloody razors, and Ath dove back in with a scream of glee.


    The flesh abomination struggled against the equallyrge drake atop its body, but it was weakened now. Even despite being higher leveled and more powerful than the drake would be in most circumstances, the damage the flesh abomination had taken was too great.


    Acid spewed up onto Tryanus¡¯s bone ws, but the undead drake ignored it and continued tearing into the monster with wreckless abandon while its wings pinned down the abomination¡¯s arms. Then, when therge gluttonous maw across the abomiantion¡¯s chest opened up to let loose dozens of tendrils to try andbat the drake - Tyranus reared back and fired a st of me directly into the maw.


    The abomination bellowed, puffed up, and exploded in a shower of gore that threw smoldering body parts everywhere.


    Then as the victory notifications began to seep in and the dome began to fade away; Tyranus with Allie on his back lifted his enormous body up on his hind legs - spread his wings, and roared to the heavens in victory as ck and teal death energies burned all around it.

 Chapter 190

    Chapter 190


    <strong>Chapter 190</strong>


    The seeds of gluttony inside the flesh abomination called to him, but they might as well have been whispers on the wind - thest thing on Riven¡¯s mind.


    Because standing there next to therge eviscerated corpse¡­ was Ath. Staring back at him with a vulnerable, almost sheepish nce before her eyes hit the ground.


    <em><strong>It was really her.</strong></em> How had he not known she¡¯de back?


    He''d choked back his emotions upon first seeing her to maintain a clear head, masked them with anger during the fight, but now that things were calmer¡­


    Riven began to step forward, slowly at first but with increasing speed. He threw Jackal to the side as it warped into its canine form, and his helmet was peeled back and flung off his face to hang from the bloodsilk bindings along the back of his neck.


    Riftwalking through a portal anding within ten yards of her, he stopped dead on to stare at Ath with wide, wet eyes.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ Hey, Riven.¡± Ath meekly said, hands nervously sped in front of her, eyes searching his face for clues on what he was feeling. ¡°I¡­¡±


    He broke into a run - crashing into Ath with a muffled sob as he gripped her tightly, eyes shut in a futile attempt to block out tears, his entire body shaking with both arms wrapped around her lithe smaller frame. His voice only came out as a whisper. ¡°<em>Back in the City of Canyons, I thought I¡¯d lost you forever. Ath, I missed you so, so much¡­ I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m d to have you back.</em>¡±Ath didn¡¯t reply, but she pursed her lips into a tight line, eyes squinting with unbidden tearsing to her as well. Burying her face in his chest and clinging to him with her arms around his torso - she let out a long, high pitched, drawn out whimper thatsted for a couple seconds before beginning to quietly sob.


    Allie watched silently from atop herrge skeletal drake, standing guard over them with a warm half-smile across her lips - though she didn¡¯t know how Fay was going to feel about how intense and raw the emotion during this reunion really was. Where was Fay anyways? Allie felt like she needed to leave to give them some space, but with three or more shards of Gluttony within the corpse underneath her draconic mount - as well as the enormous pile of Elysium coins and the glowing dao treasure that¡¯d appeared as event prizes for Ath¡¯s victory, Allie just couldn¡¯t bring herself to leave. She knew that given their reunion, it was very unlikely that either of them would realize it if someone came up and started stealing under their very noses. They¡¯d simply be too invested in each other to care, so it was now up to her to make sure these treasures remained guarded until Riven and Ath got their heads on straight.


    ¡°Riven¡­¡± Ath said with a quivering voice, sniffling and keeping her head against his chest as they embraced. ¡°I need to talk to you. I have an admission to make, and I also did something bad¡­ but I don¡¯t regret it. And I need you to know why I did it, which may have something to do with the original admission. You might be mad at me.¡±


    Riven shook his head, holding onto her for dear life - arms tightly wrapped around her. ¡°There¡¯s nothing you could have done that I wouldn¡¯t forgive you for. I¡¯m just happy to have you here with me.¡±


    Ath paused, letting the words sink in as the feelings of happy butterflies and wavering dread intermixed. She didn¡¯t want this moment to end, but she peeled out of his grasp to stand a foot away - still holding him by the hands. ¡°Promise me?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. ¡°Of course, silly. I promise.¡±


    Another pause was taken before Ath gained the courage to go through with what she was about to do, with a deep inhale and slow exhale. ¡°Alright. Close your eyes.¡±


    Riven wiped away a tear with a happy but confused smile, cocking his head to the side with red eyes staring into her own. ¡°Close my eyes? That¡¯s an odd request. Weren¡¯t you going to tell me something?¡±


    ¡°Just do it, idiot!¡± Ath meekly replied in a soft, wavering voice. She crossed her long, slender, pitch-ck legs; avoiding his gaze for a moment before giving him a pleading look. ¡°I have to tell you with your eyes closed. Please trust me.¡±


    The sound of explosions echoed in the distant city, but neither of them turned to look.


    Riven blinked just once, sighed with a gentle smile, and did as she asked. He felt Ath¡¯s hands let go of his own, and then felt her arms gracefully glide around his neck before the warm press of her lips met his.


    Up on her tiptoes, pulling him in, she held the kiss for a long, long time before letting go. ¡°I love you, Riven.¡±


    ***


    ¡°THAT WRETCHED BITCH!¡± Fay flung a vase to shatter across the wall in the Sojavi n¡¯sher realm, then screamed at one of the lower ss members of theirrge family to get out before slumping down into a huddling position to sob against a stone wall - head in her hands.


    Fay¡¯s sister, Nitidi, sat down next to her with aforting armid across her shoulders.


    ¡°There is a saying from his homeworld¡­¡± Saemi, Fay¡¯s mother stated while sprawled out on a couch with a frown - watching the events on Panu unfold. ¡°All is fair in love and war, I believe it was. She yed her cards well.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not helping, mother!¡± Nitidi scolded the older subus before turning to hug Fay more tightly while the blue skinned subi continued to upy the inner library sanctum. ¡°This is not over Fay. You¡¯ll be back and can set things right. She¡¯s just taking advantage of you not being there-¡±


    ¡°Like I did to her!?¡± Fay spat back, self loathing and venom in her words while still clutching her face - digging her nails into her skin. ¡°DAMN IT! This could NOT have gone worse!¡±


    Saemi frowned at her youngest daughter, giving Fay a once over before loudly sighing. ¡°What exactly did you expect for her to do after she came back? Just roll over and let you take him? You have to fight for what you want, Fay. It is thew of the multiverse, and in the arena of lust and love - you of all people have an advantage. You are a subus, stop acting like such a spoiled child.¡±


    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Fay looked up to re at her mother, but Saemi didn¡¯t back down. ¡°This isn¡¯t aboutpetition, mother. This is about how Riven sees me for ME, and not as a SEX OBJECT like all of<em><strong> your </strong></em>previous masters. You wouldn¡¯t understand.¡±


    Fay winced when the n elder, her mother, snapped forward with her tail to whip Fay across the face. It left a long red mark on one cheek, and the younger subus immediately went silent.


    ¡°You will not talk of my previous masters, little girl.¡± Saemi stated with gritted teeth, but settled back down on the cushioned couch a momentter with a calming breath. ¡°There were a couple of them that I liked very much. Just because you are hurting, child, doesn¡¯t mean you need to inflict that same emotional pain on others.¡±


    The anger towards her mother immediately simmered down, and Fay nced up to see there was genuine hurt behind Saemi¡¯s eyes. Fay had struck a nerve, probably a half truth or even a full truth, and she immediately felt guilty. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you. As you said, I am just¡­ I am not ok.¡±


    Fay¡¯s quivering voice hupped, and she tried to let out another calming breath while warm tears streamed down her cheeks. Looking up at the ceiling and wrapping one of her own arms around her silent sister sitting next to her - returning the embrace - Fay let out a wry chuckle. ¡°I suppose I deserve this.¡±


    There was a long pause, and Saemi gave her daughter a sad smile. ¡°Child¡­ you have a long, long ways to go on this road if you ever wish to find sess. A minor setback like this is nothing in the grand scale of the true game.¡±


    Fay sniffled. ¡°And what would the true game be, exactly?¡±


    Saemi smiled, but did not answer that question. Instead, she waved her hand to summon the image of The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s capital city. Gesturing to it, she began to speak. ¡°Did you know that both Riven and Allie are being sold by the high queen as breeding horses?¡±


    Fay sniffled yet again, wiped her eyes, then frowned with furrowed eyebrows. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean that, just like all the ones who have the active gift of Malignant Prophecy, their marriages are being auctioned off to other pureblooded royal houses at a young age. To be wed to the most prominent supporter and highest bidder.¡± Saemi¡¯s gaze remained fixed on Fay.


    When her daughter didn¡¯t reply, only staring back at her in silence, Saemi continued. ¡°To have a better chance at creating more just like them. Simply put, he is property of their high queen. The Blood Moon Requiem has destroyed entire empires and hasmitted genocides against trillions of people over even a slim chance of letting that gift of prophecy fall into the wrong hands, and in equal measure it seeks to create more users to solidify their station of power in the multiverse. If you really wish to pursue this man and don¡¯t wish to simply find another, perhaps you should consider whether or not you¡¯re able to recognize that you may never have a choice in the matter of being the only woman with him. Even if that¡¯s what he wants, the high queen could and would simply force him into arranged marriages or worse. Bidding for his hand in an official marriage has already reached absurd heights, going as far as offering up threes and a treasure trove of supreme dao treasures to the crown for the chance at acquiring his genes and house name. The same can be said about Allie, but for her it is even more an unfortunate circumstance. She can only bear one pregnancy at a time, while Riven can have many children at once. This in turn means that the high queen will be less intrusive into your own rtionship with the man, while Allie¡­ Allie will likely be prohibited from seeing anyone else at all - aside from the person the high queen picks for her. Be happy that Riven is a man, Fay, because if it¡¯d been Allie you¡¯d fallen in love with and if you were an incubus - there¡¯d be no hope for you whatsoever.¡±


    ***


    <strong>[You have abnormally high amounts of stat points to spend. Be advised that it is in your best interest to invest them soon.]</strong>


    Riven watched, mind elsewhere, as his shard of Gluttony violently consumed the three other shards one by one out of the monstrous corpse remnants ahead of him. Ath had told him how Fay had betrayed her trust, how Ath had just been hesitant to ruin their friendship by making a move, and how she¡¯d recently killed Fay (temporarily) in order to get some time alone to tell Riven all about what¡¯d happened. To tell Riven how she felt about him.


    Fay had originally made it seem like she wasn¡¯t certain of Ath''s intentions, yet she¡¯d lied to Riven about that too. Which bothered and angered him. He was also bothered and angered by Ath¡¯s admission about eating and killing Fay, because Fay had already been recently traumatized and was in a fragile state as it was.


    To boot he didn¡¯t know what to even think at this point. He was currently dating Fay, but when Ath had admitted how she¡¯d felt about him on the world stage¡­


    He sighed, eyes distant amidst the violent ripping and tearing his own original shard of Gluttony as enduring while feasting on other shards. Funnily enough, the changes mostly didn¡¯t portray itself on his own body - but rather had a true link through the armor and weapon he wore. It was inside his soul, sure - he could even see it there as it connected to the other shards and grew in size; but the stats of his armor and his weapon both increased by leaps and bounds for every other shard consumed - rather than his own body being changed like the harbingers or Ath.


    Well, there was one odd change he noted on his body - but it wasn¡¯t anything out of ce. Instead of a new arm, a mouth growing out of his chest, or some weird tail extension - he got a tattoo.


    It was a sleeve tattoo, covering his entire right shoulder and traveling all the way to his fingertips. There were a couple of stationary Sin-affiliated glyphs along with various Unholy affiliated runes - but most of the pitch ck tattoo was actually fluid in motion. Patterns crossed, weaved about one another and shifted randomly all along the inner part of his tattoos borders - and a cold, chilling sensation continued to seep into his bloodstream from the ominous ck ink over time.


    <strong>[You have absorbed 5 Pieces of Gluttony. </strong><strong>Mark of the Sinner</strong><strong> is under construction.]</strong>


    Five?


    His vision turned inward. He only saw four, all rotating about his Sin Core¡­ until he noticed the faint connection between Ath¡¯s shard in her own soul aperture and his own.


    Five it was then.


    And if that¡¯s how it was going to work¡­ perhaps he should distribute his pieces across all the minions he had.


    Which brought him back to needing to fill hisst demonic contract slot, which he still hadn¡¯t done. He¡¯d been waiting this entire time for Ath to get back, wanting her opinion above all others before choosing, but now¡­


    Ugh. He loved Ath, and he was attracted to her, but did he love her the same way she loved him? He¡¯d never thought about it romantically before. Not only that, but what about Fay? He was dating Fay, wasn¡¯t he? How would she react to all this? Did he even want to date her after she¡¯d kept such sensitive information to herself before making a move - knowing it¡¯d hurt Ath?


    ¡°That was¡­ somewhat expected.¡± Allie said softly, standing beside him as helicopter squadrons patrolled the skies overhead. She looked back over her shoulder the way Ath had left, giving Riven the time he needed topute what had just happened.


    <em><strong>¡®Take all the time you need, I¡¯ll be waiting. I don¡¯t need an answer now, I just¡­ I just need to know soon.¡¯</strong></em>


    That¡¯s what Ath had told him before going, and she¡¯d given him another hopeful kiss before disappearing into the dested city to find vampires to kill. What did that even mean?


    Riven shook his head and let himself fall back onto his ass with a thud, not bothering to catch himself when he sprawled out. Closing his eyes and spreading out his arms, he couldn¡¯t even be bothered to snort. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m supposed to do, Allie. What should I do?¡±


    It was Allie¡¯s turn to sigh, and she plopped down onto the ground beside him - poking at the shifting tattoo on his right arm with mild amounts of curiosity. ¡°Do what feels right. Don¡¯t feel obligated to either of them. Don¡¯t act out of a sense of right or wrong. Just¡­ pick whoever you feel would be best for you. Pick the one who you think will love you the most, the one who you could love the most, and hope that it doesn¡¯t go wrong. And give it your all, because if it fails - you want to make sure that you have no regrets. Other than that, it¡¯s up in the air. I¡¯m no good at this rtionship stuff. I had a man harem up until recently, remember? You might be asking the wrong girl.¡±

 Chapter 191

    Chapter 191


    <strong>Chapter 191</strong>


    Captain Vros Kinal, champion of this expedition to Panu, harbinger of The Empire of Dying Suns, was quite amused. ¡°How long has it been now? A few days?¡±


    The other officers in te armor cackled or snickered while drinking the rum of conquered locals as they sat atop a keep on arge hill - making the new scantily d ves dance for them as they talked about recent events.


    ¡°You¡¯d be correct!¡± One of Kinal¡¯s subordinates called out. ¡°How pathetic! This is hrious! Rippenvire is done here! No doubt they¡¯ll be off the and out of our hair in a few days, having abandoned Panu due to their embarrassing defeat.¡±


    ¡°I give it a single day!¡± Another officer yelled over theughter - chugging a ss of ale.


    ¡°Two days!¡± Another one cried, mming his fists merrily into the polished wood as scenes of the battle over the Panu Cortex circted.


    Captain Vros Kinal grinned, sipping at his own drink and adjusting some of the documents in front of him before pushing a stack over to the previous queen of this newly conquered country. He mmed a finger into the top paper and gave the beautiful brte woman a knowing look - then head-bobbed over to where he¡¯d hung her husband from a support beam down the way. ¡°These are the public decrees you¡¯re going to make, and you¡¯re going to make them today. Don¡¯t give me any more attitude or you¡¯ll end up like your husband, and we¡¯ll move on to your children next. Do we have an understanding?¡±


    The woman¡¯s head nodded and she smoothed out her dress, but she¡¯d been crying so hard that she wasn¡¯t able to actually speak any words. Instead, she just took the papers and pulled them closer to her, beginning to read while trying to maintain a semnce of dignity.


    ¡°Good.¡± Kinal said while leaning back in his chair. ¡°Believe me, your ¡®majesty.¡¯ This is better for everyone involved, this way we don¡¯t have to ughter your people to make an example of them¡­ in due time, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll alle around to see the light.¡±***


    <em><strong>14 dayster¡­</strong></em>


    <strong>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 130</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty: Profane Cyclone (Tier 1 of The Path of Red and ck), Infernal, Shadow (Subserviently linked to Blood Specialty Pir), Sin Core (Gluttony)</strong></li><li><strong>Core of Original Sin - Gluttony, 5 shards collected:] Allows ess to Sin Pir (Gluttony). Allows ess to a secondary Sin ss. (Sin ss - Harbinger of Gluttony, Currently Under Construction) Mark of the Sinner: Under Construction. Bonuses: ???</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] </strong><strong>Race: Pureblooded Vampire</strong><strong> (Extreme Darkness Regeneration)(Sunlight Decay)(Extreme Weakness to Silver weapons, Sun pir, and Light pir attacks), </strong><strong>ss: Warlock Devastator,</strong><strong> Devastator ss Trait (physical strikes are imbued with unholy damage equal to 1% of damage being done at full mana capacity). Adrenaline Junky (Blood)(+15% to Agility), </strong><strong>Aplishment Title</strong><strong>: Bloodthirsty 1 (+5% increased blood mana from corpses, +1% dmg for blood magic)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] Blessing of the Crow (Unholy), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Silvertongue (Unholy), Bloody Razors (Blood), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance (Blood)(Tier 2), Voodoo Doll (Blood)(Tier 2), Blood Nova (Blood)(Tier 3), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal), ze of Profane Glory (Infernal)(Tier 3), Riftwalk (Shadow), Gluttonous Sacrifice (Sin)</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 217 Strength, 427 Sturdiness, 1063 Intelligence, 538 Agility, 10 Luck, -638 Charisma, 274 Vampiric Perception, 328 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li><strong>Free Stat Points: 126</strong></li><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 127 Archdemon (Unique, 3 forms, Cute Wittle Blood Weaver / Gluttonous Arshakai / Gluttonous Fae Drider) [190 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 95 Hellscape Brutalisk (Infernal Crusader Initiate) [66 Willpower Requirement]. Fay, Level 48 Subus [29 Willpower Required]. Luke Blissfallen, Level 17 High Elf Thrall (Stormrazor Battle Priest)(Warning: 29% soul decay detected)[10 Willpower Requirement]One open demonic slot is avable. Current amount of offered contracts: 36,799,092</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] </strong><strong>Jackal</strong><strong> (1390 dmg, 305% mana regen, 8% stamina regen, shadow and blood dmg +36% with 10% decreased ability cost, ck Lightning, Gluttony¡¯s Riptide, Jackal¡¯s Lunge), </strong><strong>Messenger</strong><strong> (1858 def / 965 bloodsilk def, Devour, Identifier¡¯s use, Blood in the Eyes, Ripping ws, Launch, +20% all stats, natural sunlight does not afflict debuffs, liquid breathing, senses enhanced 40%, passage through Gluttony¡¯s realms, Sin and Commandment identification), te Leggings (257 def), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Negrada¡¯s Modified Bag of Holding]</strong></li></ul>


    His heavy te armor glinted in the midday sun, his eyes unaffected from the bright light of early spring


    Riven sat on the southernmost mountain¡¯s peak, looking out over the distant city of Dawn¡¯s capital - Mandon. Smoke still billowed out even from here, and although the armies of Rippenvire had been thoroughly crushed - remnants of them still remained somewhere on the. Interrogations had led to the finding of their original base location, but the fortress they¡¯d brought with them had¡­ moved itself. Apparently.


    ¡°I am surprised you don¡¯t want to be there with your sister.¡± Gaia said, the little dryad girl ying with a flowers that weaved and moved to dance on the ground in front of her. She nced up at her partner in meditation, looked over the status screen he¡¯d left up for well over an hour now, and sighed. ¡°My child, it is unhealthy for you to seclude yourself like this.¡±


    Riven spared the smaller figure of Gaia a brief nce. It¡¯d only been a couple days since she¡¯d been able to exit her dungeon, but he was d to have her present here. Despite isting himself from Ath, Fay, and Allie after recent events for introspection and some soul searching - he couldn¡¯t deny that her insight and wisdom was appreciated. ¡°Allie is giving her speech today. For the fallen who died fighting to save the city. The people love her, they¡¯re obsessed with her. She is an ever present figure that symbolizes change and an improvement in their lives, with only a few exceptions - namely for the elvish ves. As for me? I¡¯m merely a figurehead, an unsaid threat. A weapon to be used in the background. People fear me for what I did in the City of Canyons, and I can¡¯t say I me them. My presence will not be missed, I have no desire to stay in the spotlight beyond what is necessary, and I needed to clear my head after¡­¡±


    His words faltered, and his gaze slid to the ground - red eyes piercing the dirt through the visored slit in his feathered te armor helmet. The bloodsilk around his body rippled, and aforting, soothing notion from both Messenger and Jackal in hisp oozed through him.


    It was nice seeing that his two items were there for him, though he did find it odd that this was the case considering what they were at the core of their beings. Ever since thepletion of each item, they¡¯d been nothing but supportive both in battle and with mental fortitude. It was like having two quiet guardian angels sitting watch on either shoulder at all times, and ever since his acquisition of the other shards of Gluttony - that presence of there¡¯s had increased drastically with the increase in their stats.


    Speaking of stats¡­


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    He turned back to his status page. 126 stat points to assign, and over 36 million demonic contracts to sort through. How was he supposed to dig through all of that on his own?


    He wished Ath was here to help him decide.


    But he still needed to process everything that had happened. When Fay had arrived back on Panu, the two women had screamed and shouted at one another until Fay left crying and even Ath remained a little shaken. Riven didn¡¯t know what the hell to do.


    If he was being honest with himself, he cared a lot about both of them. But¡­


    Fuck. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to say it.


    Shouldn¡¯t he be consoling one or the other, or both of them in their time of crisis?


    Yet here he was, sitting atop a mountain, avoiding the entire situation of needing to choose between them. It was very apparent to him that should he take one wrong move, he might very well lose one or both of them.


    He wished he could go back to the days where they were all just friends.


    To him, it¡¯d be worth it. Then he wouldn¡¯t have to be so terrified of seeing one of them leave.<ul><li><strong>Stats:] 217 Strength, 427 Sturdiness, 1063 Intelligence, 538 Agility, 10 Luck, -638 Charisma, 274 Vampiric Perception, 328 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li><strong>Free Stat Points: 126</strong></li><li><strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 127 Archdemon (Unique, 3 forms, Cute Wittle Blood Weaver / Gluttonous Arshakai / Gluttonous Fae Drider) [190 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 95 Hellscape Brutalisk (Infernal Crusader Initiate) [66 Willpower Requirement]. Fay, Level 48 Subus [29 Willpower Required]. Luke Blissfallen, Level 17 High Elf Thrall (Stormrazor Battle Priest)(Warning: 29% soul decay detected)[10 Willpower Requirement]</strong></li></ul>


    He sighed and did the math again. After Ath¡¯s massive evolution her Willpower requirement had spiked to 190 points. Adding them all up, including Luke - who he hadn¡¯t seen in a while after leaving him back in the Brightsville manor, he had 295 of his Willpower stat points utilized in containing his minions. That left 33 avable points for a new demonic contract.


    That wouldn¡¯t be enough. Not if he had such arge amount of demons to choose from, as he had no doubt the best and brightest of them would be far more of a tax on his Willpower than that.


    So he pushed all 126 of his free stat points into Willpower, making it rise 454 and giving him 159 Willpower points to work with concerning the new contract he was going to make.


    ¡°Hiding here will not make your problems go away.¡± Gaia eventually said after Riven was caught staring off into space yet again. ¡°You have yet to focus on your cultivation since experiencing insights during thest battle, you have made little to no progress concerning the two women you have feelings for, Ath has been waiting for you to use her dao treasure as it requires a bonded partner, you have yet to enter the cube you took from Daskus - the City of Canyons. News from The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s outpost here talks of ve rebellions on your inherited in another sector, probably a farce and a political y from enemies you don¡¯t even know you have yet - with details from that vampiric princess Kathrine otherwise being withheld until she speaks to you specifically. You need to acquire your new minion. After seeing your disy on Mandon, the elvish kingdom of Tereen has surrendered and are wanting to be your vassal in exchange for an end to the war and the return of their people - with talks still on hold because you¡¯re sitting here in seclusion. The King of Dawn has continually tried to contact you for unknown reasons and you simply ignore him, which could have political ramifications. Allie also wants to teach you about the Death Pir before the timees to enter Chalgathi¡¯s next trial. If it was anyone else, I would tell them to take the time needed to clear their heads. But you are an important person, Riven, and you cannot afford to sit around and waste time if the goals you have are real. If you don¡¯t figure your own personal problems out now, you will bring that stress and anxiety with you into events that will effect the lives of billions. Please consider this, just as I asked Ath and Fay to consider it in your stead.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow, looking over at the dryad demigoddess while perched on their ledge. ¡°You asked them what, exactly? What do you mean by that?¡±


    Gaia gave him a warm smile. ¡°I just gave them some insight as to what this internal strife they caused has done to you. They are waiting for you to speak to them, back at your manor in Brightsville. I think you should go, it has been long enough already and pushing this confrontation back even further will only make things worse. It is time for the three of you to decide what happens next, for better or for worse, so that you can all move forward in your lives and allow for some much needed healing.¡±


    ***


    There was both celebration and mourning in the city of Brightsville as Riven slowly made his way through the crowds like a zombie - dreading the confrontation he was about to have. Upon seeing him, people prostrated themselves - calling him a hero aloud while keeping their distance and giving him fearful nces as he passed them by.


    He ignored them. Not because he didn¡¯t care about their wellbeing, but because he knew they were more scared of him than anything else. He was a monster now. There was no point in making himself feel good about false praise.


    In the huge markets now set up around the Elysium Altar was the giant cube, shifting hundreds of feet overhead very much like a rubix cube did from time to time withrge blue runes - already having lines of people try their hand at acquiring power from the trials it held at the risk of their lives.


    He got some shoutouts from various representatives of both the Blood Moon Requiem and Negrada when passing along the perimeter of the tradingmunes at the Elysium Altar, but these too he tantly ignored. Instead he continued his trudging death march towards the manor a few miles away on the southern edge of the city, beyond the farms where elf ves tended the fields.


    God how he hated the fact that they kept ves.


    And if Tereen¡¯s proposal was right, if they were able to maintain a vassal state with the elves under their thumb, Riven was sure to get rid of those ves as long as their people were re-educated to fit the bill. They needed peace, not more hate, and if that meant indoctrinating the elvish children then so be it.


    The rest of the trip seemed like a blur, and Riven eventually came to a stop in front of the manor where arge group of people already awaited him. And some of the people here were certainly a surprise to see - most of which were the King of Dawn in te mail with some of his bodyguards, and Genua¡¯s daughter - Len, who wore a familiar reed dress and held her mother¡¯s hand tightly to the far side with wide eyes.


    He didn¡¯t know if they¡¯d all been told by Gaia, but that''d probably been what happened upon his descent from the mountains. The pure blooded vampire heiress Kathrine, a line of uniformed maids - including Genua and her little girl, Fay¡¯s incubus brother Tupper, Dr. Brass, Riven¡¯s thrall Luke Blissfallen, Gurth¡¯Rok the orc chieftain turned vampire, Allie, Mara, Vin and Nin the skresh necromancers, Lahn, Lahn¡¯s entire family - including the two sibling brats Riven seriously disliked from the stories he¡¯d heard, General Bruner, the new mayor of Chicago, and his minions were all there.


    Azmoth stood with four folded arms inbetween Ath and Fay, with both women staring fixated on his position and having various emotions crossing each of their faces. Nervousness, anxiety, fear, hope, love¡­ they were all present.


    But why was Allie here? Shouldn¡¯t she be giving that speech in Mandon? And the King of Dawn too?


    Riven¡¯s shoulders sagged when Gaia walked out of the backline, escorted by two of her greater dryadpanions, and stopped at the very front with a calming aura filtering in the air around her. ¡°Thank you foring Riven. I took it upon myself to get everyone here to help ease the transition of things needed to be done. Otherwise it may take many more weeks than we have to get situated. Now, first and foremost - Fay and Ath are going to lead you inside to your room and have a discussion about your future together. I am sorry if I am acting like an overbearing parent here, but I believe it is needed.¡±


    ¡°The king and queen of Tereen have also surrendered, and are being escorted here now by our troops. They should arrive by the end of tonight.¡± Allie chimed in from the side.


    Riven couldn¡¯t give two shits whether or not the leaders of Tereen wereing, and the bodynguage he had apanied by the expression he wore even underneath his helmet was an obvious takeaway on exactly how he felt.


    Silence reigned.


    And it was Azmoth who eventually broke that silence. ¡°Ie with you. We all speak inside. Follow me and we fix this.¡±


    Therge obsidian demon akin to a hellspawned pdin of legend stepped forward, gesturing for the maids to create a path as the doors to the manor swung open. Kathrine looked like she was about to speak too, but quickly shut up with a re from Allie.


    Ath and Fay both turned to follow, but each of them nced back to make sure Riven wasing too before entering therge three-story stone manor.


    Hesitating only for a few moments, Riven silently walked through the crowds of his friends, servants and acquaintances until he was at the staircase leading up to his room on the third floor. Then, following Azmoth and his other two demons into his private chambers - the four of them shut the door to have a private conversation about the things that¡¯d happened over the past couple weeks.

 Chapter 192

    Chapter 192


    <strong>Chapter 192</strong>


    Ath sat on the bed, a downcast expression on her face while she fiddled with the crown Riven had given her as a gift months ago.


    Fay remained standing, nervously shifting her weight from foot to foot while asionally giving him sideways nces.


    Meanwhile, Azmoth took it upon himself to direct Riven to a stool near the bathroom someone had brought into the room during his long absence. It¡¯d been a while since he¡¯de home, and the balcony windows were closed shut by Azmoth after a few seconds of listening to helicopters passing by overhead.


    The resounding silence was long and awkward. Riven would much rather be in a life and death situation than something like this, and he inwardly cringed at just what he had to do if these two forced his hand.


    He didn¡¯t want to face the music. Not like this.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ Riven?¡± Ath asked softly with a shaky voice, getting a vengeful re from the subus nearby. ¡°I know this is hard¡­ but can you talk to us please? We need to know.¡±


    Fay cleared her throat, anxiously stepping side to side as he stared at his feet. She took in a deep breath, and folded her arms to hug herself tightly. ¡°I agree. I can¡¯t keep going on like this, thest two weeks have been a living nightmare for me. I keep thinking about¡­ about you choosing her and¡­¡±


    Fay¡¯s words trailed off, eyes settling on the ground.Riven dismissed Messenger, the armor peeling itself off of his body and floating to the side - only leaving a thin linen vest on as he took in a deep breath of his own. He looked up to meet each of their gazes one at a time, a sad smile on his lips. ¡°I really wish that you two hadn¡¯t done this to me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s HER fault!¡± Fay began, pointing to Ath with venom in her words. ¡°She should have taken what she wanted, not waited until I started dating you to decide she would act! This is so utterly-¡±


    ¡°You knew I was going to tell him.¡± Ath cut in, voice soft but firm and eyes glued to Riven as the subus red her way. ¡°You knew, Fay.¡±


    ¡°AND YET YOU DID NOTHING ABOUT IT!¡± Fay shrieked, tearsing to her eyes as her voice quivered. ¡°And now that he is mine, you¡¯ve chosen to try and steal him from me! Can you not see how miserable you¡¯ve made him!? Can you not see how happy we were!? And you came in to ruin it!¡±


    Fay choked back a loud sob, and Ath finally met her eyes. Only this time it was Ath¡¯s time to start crying. Her pitch ck lips quivered, and tears started forming under her red eyes while her fists clenched and her whole body began to lightly shake.


    Ath shook her head. ¡°I couldn¡¯t live with myself if I didn¡¯t tell him how I felt. You waited until I was dead, not telling him-¡±


    ¡°I DID TELL HIM!¡± Fay screamed, motioning to where Riven sat watching the two of them in silence. ¡°I told him that I thought you may like him and-¡±


    ¡°May?¡± Ath asked, bing visibly angry when she aggressively got to her feet - only to be sat back down by a hand nted on her shoulder by Azmoth. She red up at the armored demon, brushed his wed hand off, and snarled back at the subus. ¡°I thought you were my<em><strong> friend</strong></em>. You had an absolute knowledge that I nned to tell him how I felt, do not act like you didn¡¯t know. There was no ¡®maybe¡¯, no ¡®may¡¯ about it. You knew. Yet you betrayed my friendship anyway to get him for yourself when I wasn¡¯t around. You stabbed me in the back, Fay.¡±


    Riven cleared his throat, getting the attention of all of them while three heads swiveled to meet his face. He took in a deep breath, gave a defeated half-heartedugh, and rubbed his fingers along the sides of his temple. ¡°I believe this is partially my fault.¡±


    No one said a word, waiting for him to continue.


    Riven met their eyes again, a lump forming in his throat while thinking about just what was going to happen when and if he was forced to break the news. ¡°It may be entirely my fault. I¡­ I hadn¡¯t known you felt the way you did, Ath. Fay tried to tell me, and though she didn¡¯t outright say she knew - she did hint at it. We can at least give her credit for that.¡±


    Fay seemed to calm somewhat at his words, while Ath¡¯s face creased in worry.


    He continued. ¡°I don¡¯t know what was said between the two of you before Daskus when Ath died and Fay was kidnapped, but Fay did tell me it may be possible you felt that way. I just didn¡¯t believe it, because¡­ I don¡¯t know why. I just didn¡¯t realize it was the truth. I¡¯d always looked at you as my best friend, rather than someone as a potential romantic partner.¡±


    Ath¡¯s face scrunched up with emotion, and she tried to reply - but all that came out was a choked muffled sound while her hands clenched tightly around one another; tears streaming down her face again as she began to shake.


    Riven paused, gritting his teeth. ¡°Honestly, if it were up to me¡­ we¡¯d all go back in time to the way things were. Before all of this happened and the conflict between the two of you started, before either of you admitted your feelings for me. That way I wouldn¡¯t have to choose. Let me ask you both¡­ What happens if I choose the other?¡±


    The silence was palpable once again, and this time itsted for a full minute before Fay spoke up.


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked my mother to cut my contract forcibly with an artifact if you choose her over me.¡± Fay stated softly, a sad smile ying across her lips. ¡°It isn¡¯t that I want to punish you if you do choose her, it¡¯s that I couldn¡¯t stay if you did. I¡¯m falling for you, just as Ath has. I intimately understand how she feels about you because I feel the same way. I wouldn¡¯t mind if¡­ if you even slept with other girls. But not her. She¡¯s a threat to my bond with you, because I want to be the one that is most important to you. Physically we subi and incubi are very involved and the drive is high, sex is only sex, but emotionally¡­ I want that emotional connection. If you choose her over me, it means your heart is with her rather than me. I know you love her, I¡¯ve heard you say it, but I believe it isn¡¯t a romantic love. Is it? I¡¯m hoping not, because I want to be the only romantic love you have.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d really just leave? Just like that?¡± Riven asked in a whisper.


    Fay nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes stared up at her for a moment, then turned to Ath. ¡°And what about you? What happens to you if I choose to continue dating Fay?¡±


    Ath slowly opened her mouth to reply, hesitated, choked back a weak sob and cleared her throat while rapidly blinking. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not sure.¡±


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    She paused, mulling over her tumultuous thoughts. ¡°Riven¡­ do you really love me like you said you did back in Daskus? After I was killed, when you ughtered all those people to bring me back?¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes softened. ¡°Of course I do.¡±


    ¡°But it wasn¡¯t a romantic love, then? As Fay implies?¡±


    He hesitated, then slowly shook his head. ¡°No, it hadn¡¯t been.¡±


    Ath¡¯s lips quivered. ¡°And¡­ and do you think there¡¯d be any chance of that changing?¡±


    Riven did not reply.


    She took in deep breaths over the course of the next few seconds, trying to calm herself while tightly closing her eyes shut. ¡°Perhaps this was foolish of me after all.¡±


    She let the words hang in the air, and her shoulders sagged - handsing up to hide her face while she rested her elbows on her knees in a hunched position. ¡°Honestly I¡­ I don¡¯t think I know. I would try to stay if you choose her, I really would, I just¡­ my feelings towards you have changed since we first met. I can¡¯t help it¡­ I just am so infatuated with you, I get butterflies just being around you, and I''ve worked so, so hard to try and build up the courage to talk to you about it¡­¡±


    Ath bit her lip to stifle another sob, voice quivering, letting out a feminine whimper as blood trickled down her chin from where her teeth dug into flesh. ¡°I just¡­ I had worked so, so hard¡­ to get the courage. And when I finally have it, I am betrayed by someone I thought a friend. It¡¯s hard¡­ hard to wrap my mind around. That I am losing not only a friend, but the man I love. Losing him to that person I previously thought a friend. It hurts a lot more than I thought it would. It¡­ it feels like my heart is going to rip out of my chest. I don¡¯t know how to handle this¡­¡±


    ¡°Ath¡­¡± Riven began, but she held up a hand to stop him - sniffling as she straightened her posture and blinked away more tears.


    ¡°No, I have more to say.¡± She sniffled, wiping her face oof with the backs of her hands and forcing a smile as wide as she could. ¡°No matter what happens, I want you to choose whoever is best for you. But I hope that it¡¯s me, I want to be the one that you marry one day. I know it may seem silly,ing from a demon, but the idea makes me giddy. It also makes me physically sick thinking you¡¯d want to be with someone else other than me. Ever since we first bonded back in Chalgathi¡¯s trials, I knew that I¡¯d likelye into a humanoid form. I have many aunts and uncles with humanoid forms, it is just part of the evolutionary process¡­ and the day you saved me from being eaten in Negrada was the first day that I really considered it. But over time that feeling grew, and it grew fast. I remember the day we went clothes shopping in Brightsville after we trudged through that sewer, covered in gore and sludge after the fight with the worms¡­ I remember how bad we both smelled.¡±


    She gave a littleugh, thinking back on the past. ¡°I remember how you told me that the dress I¡¯d picked out would look good on me, and how you hugged me¡­ and how it felt to have your arms around me. I remember being so jealous of that elf, Ethel, and thought how I¡¯d never measure up to someone as pretty as that. Humans have a thing for elves after all and I didn¡¯t have blonde hair, I was naturally violent and my demonic side was perhaps too ugly for you - but I wanted to believe you¡¯d one day see me as a woman; rather than as a pet.¡±


    Ath turned her eyes on Fay, bing stiff when the subus¡¯s re made contact with her own. ¡°And I was so intimidated when we ended up choosing Fay as the third minion, you wouldn¡¯t even believe it. Fay is so pretty, unnaturally so, just like all of her race. It¡¯s what her kind is good at, wooing mortals, but I told you to choose her anyways because she was the right fit for you. It was better than that overgrown eyeball of a demon who tried to trick you into signing a bad contract, and I don¡¯t regret that decision even now. Because Fay and I became friends. Or at least I thought we had. But now¡­¡±


    Ath¡¯s words trailed off, and a look of guilt overcame Fay when the subus winced.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯d probably leave too.¡± Ath eventually said with a mournful expression, downcast gaze hitting the floor. ¡°I¡¯d try to stay, I really would, I want you to be happy. But it might be too painful to watch you continue on this path with her, when I want it to be me instead. The dates you had, the dinner you took her to, the way you held hands and the love you made with her¡­ I wanted that. I still want that. I want to be the one woman you love forever, and if not¡­ then perhaps it is time for me to finally move on. Maybe I¡¯d enter the wars in Hell as an independent mercenary and cut all ties, or maybe I¡¯d just stay in theher realms until I calm down enough toe back. I just don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t think I will know until the timees.¡±


    Ath avoided his gaze after that, sullen and downcast on the bed with her hands sped in front of her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t abandon me¡­¡± Fay whispered under her breath, eyes wide as she stepped closer to Riven with a hand hesitantly stretching out. ¡°Please¡­ These have been the happiest months of my life. You showed me that I don¡¯t have to be a sex object like my sisters, aunts and mother all were. You treated me like a real person, you are so different from thest summoner I had¡­ and I have found true happiness. Don¡¯t take that away from me.¡±


    Ath couldn¡¯t even manage to re at the subus again, instead just choking up on the bed.


    Riven took a shaky breath, then slowly stood up. He took Fay¡¯s hand in his own, wrapping his fingers around hers, and gave Ath a sad look as the arachnid demoness returned a teary-eyed nce. ¡°Ath, I really wish you would have told me sooner.¡±


    Their eyes locked, Ath¡¯s expression pleading as she silently mouthed the words <em>¡®I love you¡¯</em> as she began to violently shake.


    ¡°Please leave the room Ath.¡±


    Ath¡¯s eyes went wide, and she broke out into a loud sob before she rushed out of the room - mming the door behind her with a loud bang.


    Sighing and heart clenching, Riven turned to Fay - who looked up at him with an emotional smile - hand still wrapped around his own as she began to press up against him - arms wrapping around his chest with a shaky sigh of relief.


    Until he stopped her short.


    She gave him a confused nce, but was brought down to a sitting position on the bed as he joined her to face her head on - tears of his owning to his eyes while gathering the courage to do what needed to be done.


    Deep breaths.


    ¡°Fay¡­ the time we spent together was special. It still is special. You are special to me.¡± Riven said softly, feeling her touch pull away as her expression began to change. He stayed strong, having prepared himself over the past two weeks for this, and outwardly shuddered. ¡°You mean a lot to me. Honestly, this fucking sucks. This entire situation sucks. I wish it¡¯d never happened.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t abandon me¡­¡± Fay whispered again, beginning to break down with choking sobs as her eyes squinted and she withdrew away from him on the bed.


    Riven¡¯s gaze hit the floor, a lump forming in his throat. ¡°You two are forcing me to choose. It isn¡¯t fair, and I don¡¯t want to do it. Is there any way that the three of us could work this out? You and I are dating now, but¡­ maybe we could make it work with the three of us. You said you¡¯re ok with me sleeping with other women, why make me choose between you and her? I¡¯ve told you that I always wanted the one, a soul mate to grow old with, but this is cruel. What the two of you are doing to me is cruel. I¡¯d rather not lose either of you, and despite what I want - I¡¯d rather try it with both of you first.¡±


    Fay stared at him for a time, mixed emotions crossing her features, but she shook her head to reply with a whisper. ¡°No. Neither I nor Ath want that. We both want to be the one your heart is bound to, the physical stuff isn¡¯t much of an issue - but not with her. Not with an emotional threat like that. You could end up loving her more than me. I couldn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t do it. You don¡¯t even want that either, you said it yourself many times now - and you just said it again; you want a soulmate just like we do. You need to choose.¡±


    Riven¡¯s expression fell, and he took in a shuddering breath. His shoulders sagged. ¡°Alright then. If that¡¯s how it is, then I have to choose Ath. I¡¯m sorry Fay, I really am.¡±


    It was as if he¡¯d pped her across the face. She remained sitting there, stunned, before letting out a final muffled sob. Violently shaking and stumbling to her feet - she nearly fell over. She then began taking off the feathered boots he¡¯d given her - setting them down clumsily on the floor while streams of water poured down her cheeks while her lips trembled. She then let out a whisper. ¡°Please let Tupper stay. I hope Ath makes you happy¡­ Mother, take me home.¡±


    In a sh of light Fay was gone, leaving Riven speechless on the edge of the bed. When he saw the notification appear before his very eyes, he began to silently sob, his shoulders heaving up and down while clutching his face in his hands to try and keep the tears back.


    <strong>[Fay¡¯s contract has been forcibly broken. A demonic contract slot has opened up. 2 of 4 demonic contract slots are now avable.]</strong>

 Chapter 193

    Chapter 193


    <strong>Chapter 193</strong>


    Tupper gulped, nervousness oveing him while he traversed the halls of his n¡¯spounds. He was already getting res from numerous members of his family, but as long as he found Fay before his father found HIM then he¡¯d be fine.


    Hopefully.


    Cringing at the memory of how thatst encounter with his father had gone, he mentally brushed it aside with supreme will and headed towards his mother¡¯s chambers. Fay wasn¡¯t in her room, and he needed to make sure she wasn¡¯t making a huge mistake.


    Passing by another subus-incubus couple sitting on a couch and turning left down the pristine hall of this sharedher realm pocket dimension, Tupper came up to therge doors that signified the n mother. Taking in a deep breath and looking around to make sure no one else was there, he knocked.


    ¡°Come in Tupper, we¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±


    Tupper¡¯s face paled. We?


    Hopefully that wasn¡¯t who he thought she meant.


    Gathering his courage and entering the room, he let out an audible sigh of relief when he saw his sister Nitidi and Saemi, his mother. His father was nowhere to be seen. But he still noted the look of distaste Saemi gave him before she gestured for him to sit on one of the nearby beds.He took a seat, the usual suit he wore back on Panu gone in favor of a more free flowing robe with arge slit down the middle to reveal his chest - a chosen garment many of their kind wore. His ck eyes met his mothers, and he shuddered. ¡°Hello, Saemi. I was hoping you¡¯d know where Fay went.¡±


    His sister Nitidi frowned, exchanging a look with the older subus before Saemi leaned forward with hands sped together. ¡°We know exactly where she went. Why would you want to know?¡±


    Tupper blinked, then firmed his will. ¡°I believe she is making a mistake by leaving. I am¡­ just confused. Confused as to why it was said she used an artifact to leave, for one. I know there¡¯s no chance any of you would ever use an artifact to cut her contract like that unless she was in mortal peril. Is there an exnation for why she would say that to Riven?¡±


    Saemi raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°No it isn¡¯t, but it is the first of a few questions.¡±


    ¡°I believe you just want her there because you¡¯d miss her, rather than it being the right choice.¡±


    Tupper¡¯s mood immediately darkened. ¡°Of course I¡¯d miss her, but-¡±


    Saemi cut off his words with a raised hand, leaning back against a stack of pillows with a snort. She turned left, picking up some fruit and beginning to chew softly before swallowing - then nced back at her son. ¡°I did not use an artifact.¡±


    ¡°Then how did she break the contract, and why would she lie?¡±


    This time, it was Nitidi to chime in. ¡°It¡¯s because her contract stated that in order for her to stay, Riven could not harm her. Why she lied about it? We don¡¯t know.¡±


    Tupper¡¯s eyes widened, and a look of shock overcame him. ¡°He was hurting her?¡±


    ¡°Not physically. But emotionally, yes. It was enough for the system to consider it torture, mental anguish can bring even more pain than physical. So it allowed her to break the contract on the spot.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s utterly ridiculous!¡± Tupper eximed, standing up with hands outstretched. ¡°This makes no sense! She¡¯s acting out of emotion only, and not thinking logically! Riven still cared for her, I know he does. There was still a chance for her to make things work if she¡¯d just stay, instead of forcing him into choosing between her and ATHELA who Riven has been with since the beginning of the integration! He had even said he cared for Ath in a non-romantic way, and for all Fay knows it may be like asking him to choose between his love interest and a family member! Fay has known him for half the time she has, and he¡¯s going to be used as a prized stallion for the Blood Moon Requiem to breed with anyways - whether he likes it or not. She does realize this, right? WHY force him to choose!? He told me on his way out of the manor that he even asked her to try and work a rtionship with both of them should Ath agree!¡±


    Nitidi rolled her eyes, but nodded in agreement. ¡°We already told her this almost verbatim before she took such rash action. Neither of us are pleased either, Tupper.¡±


    ¡°Well then let me talk to her so I can speak some sense into her, if you two couldn¡¯t!¡±


    Again, Nitidi shared a look with her mother. ¡°Unfortunately she isn¡¯t here.¡±


    ¡°What do you <em><strong>mean</strong></em> she isn¡¯t here? Where else would she be, since she¡¯s not on Panu?¡± Tupper asked, brows furrowing in worry. ¡°You don¡¯t mean¡­¡±


    ¡°She impulsively took the first demonic contract that became avable to her due to grief, she has a new master now. She¡¯s in the Drig sector on a middling.¡± Saemi replied, irritatedly throwing thest piece of fruit across the room with a loud huff. ¡°Fay is now bound to some crime lord, a cruel nobody with a sick obsession for abuse. I''m not sure if she did it out of self hate, as a form of self punishment, or she simply was just stupid enough not to modify the base contract in her grief. And I¡¯d had such high hopes for that daughter too.¡±


    ***


    The other leaders, gathered from Dawn, Chicago, Brightsville, the kingdom of Tereen, and very recently even Deepnest - they¡¯d have to wait until tomorrow to have any real talks concerning him. For now they¡¯d been instructed to do what they could without him, and that he¡¯d meet with them tomorrow after he cleared his head.


    He already missed Fay. It was like he¡¯d lost a family member. How things had spiraled out of control like this was beyond him, but honestly there wasn¡¯t much he could have done without knowledge of the things happening behind the curtains. And now that he¡¯d been forced to be honest with himself, now that he¡¯d been forced to choose - he was certain in his decision that Ath was one of only two people he cared for more than Fay.


    That still didn¡¯t make it any better.


    He¡¯d hoped to talk them into something less traditional as a way out of this, particrly when he and Fay had talked in his room before she¡¯d abruptly got up and left, but he understood why neither of them wanted it. He couldn¡¯t me them for that either, he''d not wanted something like that either until only very recently - and only because of what the consequences were if he chose otherwise.


    Riven stepped down off the ledge, dropping onto a t expanse of mountainside. To his right, the ruined gas station they¡¯d teleported to out of Negrada was in even worse shape than it¡¯d been in months ago. The view was also a lot different, due to thendscape being terraformed into an unholy version of its old self. Various kinds of wild undead, as well as other creatures of the night, stalked in the shadows - but even they were very aware of just how dangerous it¡¯d be to approach him on his way there due to his aura. So he¡¯d been left alone, absolutely unhindered.


    Continuing to walk forward and wiping away the moisture from his eyes, he came to stand behind the woman he¡¯de to love. She was curled up with her knees tucked into her arms and her head resting on her knees while continuing to silently cry - her pitch ck skin only barely reflecting any of the starlight that sometimes prated the fog of these haunted woods.


    ¡°Out of all ces, you chose toe here?¡± Riven said softly, sitting down next to her and startling her.


    She looked up at him, shocked to see him there, and blinked her red eyes rapidly while wiping them away and sniffling. ¡°Riven, I¡¯d like to be alone for a while. Please.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±


    She shot him a re that could kill, not even bothering to answer.


    He stared back with a soft expression, trying to keep down the burning emotions he had before reaching out and putting a hand on one of her knees. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°OF COURSE I¡¯M NOT OK!¡± Ath screamed, tears bursting out again before she pped him hard across the face, shuddering and getting to her feet in a huff. She opened her mouth to scream at him again, but abruptly calmed herself and took in a deep breath while closing her eyes - retracting the ws that she¡¯d produced instinctively before straightening. ¡°I¡­ ept¡­ your decision. I just need time to think about it before I decide on what I want to do. Please, respect me enough for that and give me some space. Please, Riven.¡±


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Riven touched the bruised spots on his face, part of her ws had evene out in the pe and blood trickled down one cheek before his vampiric regeneration quickly sealed the cut. He looked up at her, sighing and standing up before putting both hands on her shoulders while her lips trembled and snot began to leak out of one nostril.


    He wiped it away with his sleeve and she didn¡¯t bother stopping him. ¡°Your version of ugly crying is something else. Ath, Fay left - she cut the contract and disappeared. I didn¡¯t tell you to leave the room because I¡¯d chosen her.¡±


    His voice cracked upon his admission, and Ath¡¯s eyes widened yet again - but this time much wider than previously as she took in a shuddering breath. ¡°Ath¡­ I just needed some space to let her know that I chose you.¡±


    Hurt was obvious in his expression, and he bit his lip to try and keep from crying again. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m angry with both of you for forcing me to do this. I¡¯m not going to lie Ath, I liked her. A lot. Telling her was one of the hardest things I¡¯ve ever done. But if there¡¯s anyone on this other than my sister who I care for even more than her, it¡¯s you. I¡¯m not willing to lose you, Ath, and if you want to try this out¡­ If you really want to date and maybe one day marry me, then after everything we¡¯ve been through together - I owe it to you to try.¡±


    Ath¡¯s body remained stiff in a state of shock. ¡°You chose me over her?¡±


    He nodded once, trying to maintain a quivering smile but failing. When she noticed with a frown of her own, he gave an apologetic shrug. ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s just¡­ it was hard. Not that it was even a choice, I love you Ath. I¡¯ll just miss her. I hope you can understand and give me a bit toe to terms with it.¡±


    She slowly nodded, biting her lip with mixed emotions and continuing to stare at him unblinking. Then, suddenly, she threw her arms around him and started wailing with pent up tears exploding from her face while she shook and hup-sobbed.


    ¡°Riven I¡­ I love you so, so much¡­ I won¡¯t forget this for as long as I live. I promise you, you didn¡¯t make the wrong choice¡­ I''ll show you, I promise!¡±


    Riven held her close, kissing her on the forehead and began rubbing her back to calm her down while a feeling of warmth overcame him. In this moment, seeing his partner in crime like this, it made his soul settle down even despite all the emotional trauma they¡¯d all recently undergone. ¡°I love you too, Ath. I love you too.¡±


    ***


    The next morning, Riven woke up to a knock at the door with Ath buried under one arm with her headying on his rising chest. It was brighter out today, and sunlight managed to shine through an open window while he looked her over.


    Dr. Brass had been right all those months ago. Ath had always worn an exoskeleton over the top of her body, a very thin and formfitting one - but Riven could certainly tell the difference now that she was naked and pressed up against his chest. Watching her shed the thing like a tight suit had been a very interesting sight to behold, before she¡¯d aggressively pounced on him in an emotional love making he¡¯d never forget.


    She twitched in her sleep, groaning and pulling him in tighter before mumbling something inaudible. A silly smile was stered on her face, and she gave off a soft giggle before drifting back off into dreams.


    The knock repeated itself, and Riven responded with a call for whoever it was toe in - after he¡¯d drawn up the covers to make sure Ath¡¯s backside wasn¡¯t exposed.


    The door opened with a click, and Genua walked in with two other elf maids and her daughter in tow. They each carried a variety of tters with refreshments for breakfast, along with a goblet of blood. They were all silent and left quickly with the exception of Genua, who curtsied and kept her eyes lowered.


    ¡°Allie said we needed to wake you. I hope you¡¯re not angry with us for obeying orders, but here¡¯s your breakfast. She says you need to eat ande down stairs, because the other leaders are waiting and it¡¯s nearly noon.¡±


    Riven chuckled at her words, but nodded - only stopping her when his vampiric senses picked up on the strange but familiar smelling off of the woman. ¡°Wait. Genua, why do I sense vampirism on your person?¡±


    Genua stalled, then her eyebrows raised. ¡°Oh. That is your sister¡¯s doing, while you were gone for those many months I told her that I¡¯d take your offer up to be a thrall. I¡¯m not one yet, but I¡¯m mostly finished with the transition. I¡¯ve been drinking the blood of your sister, and sometimes Gurth¡¯Rok in order toplete the transition. I believe it was their n to let you do thepletion at the end though, in order to acquire me as a thrall for yourself. I was told your other thrall, that old man Luke, does not supply enough blood and that I would likely be needed. Does that satisfy you?¡±


    Riven thought about it, rubbing Ath¡¯s bare back as she groaned again beside him and adjusted her position. ¡°Yeah. It does.¡±


    Genua nodded with a nd smile. ¡°I must say, the transition is going well. I feel¡­ happier. I¡¯m told it¡¯ll only get better when itpletes.¡±


    ¡°Because you get to see your daughter now?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But also I believe the vampiric effects of bing a thrall are shifting my mental state. It was needed, I was in a severe depression after my family¡¯s betrayal - and after you killed Ethel and my husband. Now though, I can honestly say it stings a lot less. If I am to be in this position, I¡¯d rather do it as happily as I can - at the very least for the sake of Len. Is that all, master?¡±


    Riven¡¯s gaze drifted to the ceiling. The way she phrased it made him feel¡­ evil. Viinous. The previous raw emotions he¡¯d had towards Genua and her family were fading away now that many months had passed them by, and he didn¡¯t really know how to feel about their betrayal in an attempt to murder him anymore. Not after what she¡¯d just said.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re feeling better about it.¡± Riven finally said. ¡°I¡¯m d you and Len are back together.¡±


    Genua nodded and curtsied again. ¡°Very well. If you are ever in need of my blood, or my body again, please feel free to let me know. Thest time we had intercourse was quite enjoyable, likely due to the drugs and my mind changing - but nevertheless I¡¯d like to repeat it sometime. Perhaps Ath would like it too, I believe I find her more attractive than I do you actually. As for the cage¡­¡±


    Genua looked over to the cage that Tupper had been keeping her in along the corner of the room. ¡°I was told to stay out of this roomst night by Tupper, but if it is ok with you I¡¯d like to continue rooming with my daughter across the hall.¡±


    Riven blinked. His heart clenched when he remembered the first night he and Fay had engaged in promiscuous activities, and he had to forcibly push those thoughts away while nodding. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. The cage was a bit overboard anyways in my opinion. You can stay across the hall with your daughter regrly - and if Len ever needs anything let me know. Just be sure she continues attending those re-education sses.¡±


    Genua gave him a warm smile, brushing her locks of blonde hair behind her pointed ears. ¡°Thank you master, I will do so. I¡¯ll be leaving now unless you need anything else.¡±


    ¡°Nope. That¡¯s all, tell the others I¡¯ll be down there within the hour.¡±


    ¡°I shall do so. Have a good breakfast, Riven.¡±


    ***


    The eastern wing of the manor was filled with people. Elf servants and ves rushed around in maid uniforms under the direction of Tupper - who looked rather downtrodden after Riven had given the news to him yesterday. There were various guards posted along the halls and all around thepound outside from the Thane Necropolis - a mix of different species but mostly undead, humans from Dawn, ratkin from Deepnest, and even some of Gaia¡¯s dryads.


    Inside the eastern wing, the inside pool wasn¡¯t in use - but the kitchen and dining areas up on the elevated tform beyond the pool were a quite busy with people seated around a veryrge circr redwood table that¡¯d reced the previous rectangr ones.


    Kathrine, the vampiric princess sat next to her counterpart Allie. Beside them in turn were Mara, Lahn, Vin and Nin, Shovi and the rest of Lahn¡¯s family who all looked rather pale. King Arthur Brix, his spymaster Kassius, and Lord Nik Lucio - Lahn¡¯s father were all in deep discussion about something or another. Dr. Brass and Gurth¡¯Rok were there, having be prominent figureheads in the running of the necropolis during Allie¡¯s absence. General Bruner sat beside them along with the new mayor of Chicago that Riven still didn¡¯t know. Snagger and his sister Mesha - the ratkin were there, along with Rashtalia the brood mother of Brood Tarrow in Deepnest City; representing the ratkin queen. Gaia and a couple of her greater dryads were also present, and beside them were two nervous, blonde elves in very fancy but scant clothes that showed off their bodies with blue paint decorating their faces and arms. No doubt these were the king and queen of Tereen, the elvish country that¡¯d just surrendered and hade to negotiate on the behalf of their people.


    There were two chairs still vacant, no doubt for Ath and Riven, with Azmoth standing beside the open spots to gesture them in. ¡°You two arete.¡±


    The room went silent when Azmoth¡¯s promation was heard, and all eyes turned to Riven - who stared at the group of individuals present before being gently tugged along by Ath. She held his hand, leading him forward and sat down beside him with a gushing smile towards Allie when Riven¡¯s sister gave her a wink.


    ¡°Now that myzy brother has finally decided to make an appearance¡­¡± Allie loudly said, getting augh from the table - some of them nervous and others genuine. ¡°I believe it¡¯s finally time to get to the heart of the issues we couldn¡¯t discussst night. First and foremost, let¡¯s bring up the topic of integrating Dawn and Tereen as vassal states into the necropolis. Do you have any objections to this, Riven?¡±


    Riven blinked, then he shot a look over to King Arthur Brix. ¡°I¡¯d been expecting Tereen to fold, but why Dawn? You want to be our vassal?¡±


    The rest of the room became silent as the king stroked his short, well cut beard, and he let out an audible sigh before putting his sped hands on the table. ¡°It became very apparent to me when Rippenvire invaded that we are not up to standards with what canpete, concerning the aggressors from beyond. Our own fleet is decimated after the attack, over half of our forces are dead. It will take decades to regain what we lost, to repair our city and to get our fighting forces back in shape to what they once were. Without the intervention of the necropolis, I know without a single doubt that it would have been an absolute ughter. Not only do I want our country to be a vassal to yours because of the military protection it would provide, but also out of thanks for what you did for my people. This world is changing, fast, and we wish to be under the umbre of a greater power for these trying times.¡±


    Riven considered the man¡¯s words, slowly nodding. ¡°Then it is agreed.¡±


    Allie beamed victoriously, then stood to gesture to the elves sitting on Riven¡¯s right. ¡°That was fast, I like it. Moving on, this is King ssleaf of Tereen and his wife, Queen ssleaf of Tereen. They said they would only negotiate when you were present, and I believe they have a proposal to make concerning the terms of their surrender.¡±


    Riven¡¯s red eyes shifted over, a simple stare as King ssleaf pushed a nervous, shaking hand through his long blonde hair. His wife grasped his hand firmly to squeeze before he stood up, a green and blue robe of minimal proportions showing off a lot of his body simr to many elvish garments. His green eyes settled on Riven, then traveled back to Allie, before he cleared his throat.


    ¡°I am King ssleaf, leader of Tereen, and I havee to negotiate on behalf of my people. I would like to repeat the same words I spoke yesterday, that if either me or my queen fail to return from negotiations our country will continue to fight under the orders of our generals until thest man - and that we havee in good faith that we will be treated fairly. Our offer, at the core concept, is that we be the vassal of your Thane Necropolis in an exchange for the end of this war and the return of our people that you have enved. What particrs you wish in return for this end are on the table, are negotiable, and I am hoping we cane to an agreement before my wife and I leave this meeting.¡±

 Chapter 194

    Chapter 194


    <strong>Chapter 194</strong>


    Riven tapped his fingers against the wood, acknowledging the elvish king with a nod before gesturing for the man to sit. ¡°Please rx, you look rather stiff.¡±


    The older man did as Riven asked, and the two men stared at each other in silence until King ssleaf lowered his eyes to the table.


    ¡°Let me ask you a question.¡± Riven stated, picking up a piece of cheese that Allie unceremoniously slid across the table with a loud squeak. Chewing on it and swallowing, Riven lifted a finger. ¡°Tell me, what exactly makes you think that we are afraid of your people continuing to fight?¡±


    There was a long drawn out silence after that, and the elvish king merely blinked Riven¡¯s way while bing paler by the second.


    Thus Riven continued. ¡°You make it seem like, should I not allow you and your wife to leave here, that your people <em><strong>¡®fighting until thest man¡¯</strong></em> would be something of a problem for us. Let me be very up front by saying that I could, by myself, go and crush the remnants of your country without much fuss. We all know this, don¡¯t pretend to think otherwise. The fact that I have not already done so is twofold. One, conflict itself breeds up anding warriors that we¡¯ll need in the trials toe. I couldn¡¯t force you to surrender but while you didn¡¯t, some of my own soldiers were gaining levels at the expense of lives. Two, I don¡¯t ughter people mindlessly - despite what the world seems to think of me after I tore apart Daskus. That was¡­ a special case.¡±


    Riven nced over at Ath and touched her hand, and he could have sworn that she blushed while averting her eyes - getting him to grin. Though concerning the color of her pitch ck skin¡­ it was hard to tell. ¡°I am not saying this to intimidate you, Mr. ssleaf. I am merely making it very clear that this war is over whether you like it or not, and meeting you and your wife is merely a formality to make the transition go more smoothly. Allie and I had considered just killing both of you when you arrived, but doing so would likely make the popce of your old kingdom inherently rebellious and would leave us with the choices of either mass envement like we¡¯ve already done, or a ughter to use their bodies to create more undead. Thetter is what Allie wants to do, I can tell you now.¡±


    ¡°It would be a lot easier.¡± Allie nodded in affirmation, getting a choking sound out of the elvish queen, but Riven held up a hand to stop them from replying.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already told her I¡¯m not going to allow that. Allie may run things here in the Thane Necropolis but there are things I put my foot down for, and as I said earlier I will not just wantonly ughter your people without good reason. This would mean, however, that your people would need to be introduced into re-education sses - specifically the children who will be set up in camps for a good amount of time separated from the adults, and there would be an almost absolute reduction in any military capabilities your people could have while working as a vassal under our state. This would meanying down all arms and handing them over to us as we apply newly appointed city guards from the necropolis. Instead your people will be pushed into things like farming and agriculture, construction to rebuild your country - which is now OUR country, and other various crafting trades; at least for the time being, and people will be able to apply for exceptions depending on the situation. I am in agreement with your proposal to let your people that we¡¯ve captured go, and your people would be allowed to pursue fulfilling lives. However, anyone that has proven themselves as an enemy to our cause, or that has <em><strong>already</strong></em> proven themselves that way, will be sentenced to continued very as long as their crime is not punishable by death. For now we will set the equivalent of a martialw in your country for the first three months in order to make sure you aren¡¯t trying to attempt anything sneaky, and depending on how that goes we will discuss potentially withdrawing our troops. We will need all the ves you took from Dawn¡¯s borders to be given back to them as well, as I know that when you started this war there was a lot of that going on concerning taking human ves from Dawn¡¯s borders. Lastly you will be my direct subordinates should anything of significant concern arise. You will report to myself or Mara, not Allie, as I know there is a lot of bad blood concerning the ughters she orchestrated on your people and I want this to go as smoothly as possible. I have very little leeway and wiggle room to negotiate on these topics, but if there are any disagreements let me know now so that we can start moving forward.¡±The elf queen hesitated, then cleared her throat to speak. ¡°My only concern is the children being separated from their parents. This is concerning, on many levels, and I¡¯m not sure our people would abide by this. It would result in mass panic.¡±


    Riven shifted his gaze to Mara in the background. ¡°How is iting along in the re-education camps we have now? Are you having any problems?¡±


    Mara shook her head. ¡°No, sire. But that situation was far different than this one. The elves we have already taken were taken by force, integrating the remaining cities and vigemunities that Tereen stillmands would be far harder unless we actually put them all in chains.¡±


    ¡°Do you feel confident you¡¯d be able to handle it your own way then?¡±


    Mara nodded. ¡°As long as I have the backing I need.¡±


    ¡°Then do it.¡± Riven turned to the two leaders of Tereen with a nk expression. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    Queen and King ssleaf hesitated yet again, muttered to one another briefly, then King ssleaf shook his head. ¡°Other than the specifics of each of those topics you mentioned¡­ It seems fair. When can we expect the return of our people?¡±


    ¡°One month at most. We¡¯ll need to fill the spots that they were keeping as ves on our farms or in our mines. Those that havemitted crimes to be kept as ves will be branded along the tops of their hands to show their status as kept ves by the crown.¡±


    King ssleaf nodded again, resting back in his chair with an expression of mixed anxiety and relief. ¡°Very well. I would also like to propose that perhaps we could seal this pact by blood, perhaps this would strengthen our rtionship over time.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow. ¡°By blood?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± King ssleaf said with another anxious nod. ¡°I have a daughter, Princess Shay ssleaf, who is about your age and would make a fine wife or concubine-¡±


    Riven held up a hand to cut him off. ¡°I refuse. Allie, please move on.¡±


    Disgruntled, the elvish king sat back in his chair as his wife gave his hand aforting squeeze, and Allie chuckled while pushing the next topic forward. ¡°Next we have to decide on what to do with the vampiric prisoners of war.¡±


    Riven frowned. ¡°We have prisoners of war?¡±


    This time, it was King Arthur Brix that spoke up - and he stood to bow Riven¡¯s way before straightening his posture and putting his hands behind his back. ¡°Hello again Riven. I believe I can answer this in more detail than anyone else at this table can. Most of the prisoners of war were taken during Rippenvire¡¯s invasion of our capital city, Mandon - and were ced in various holding cells across the decimated upper levels. Records show we have a little over seven thousand of them after they started surrendering near the end of the battle.¡±


    General Bruner raised a hand and grunted his acknowledgement. ¡°Along with another two thousand or so prisoners under ourmand.¡±


    Riven met Allie¡¯s gaze. ¡°Can you exin to me why they¡¯re still alive?¡±


    Allie returned a mischievous grin. ¡°How¡¯d you know it was my doing?¡±


    He only gave her a t look back.


    She snorted, crossing her arms to lean back in her chair. ¡°They¡¯d make good foot soldiers if they were absorbed into our forces. Think about it. Why not?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Riven repeated, shaking his head and letting out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Because there are thousands of them and they all require blood to feed on, because they still haven¡¯t left the as a faction yet, and because their base - nor their beacon were ever found. Keeping them around is asking for a prison break after they showed they can portal in like that.¡±


    Allie held up both hands to either side with a shrug. ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted your opinion on the matter. Many of them are offering allegiance to us after figuring out who we are.¡±


    There was a long pause.


    Riven nced back over to King Arthur Brix, who wore a grim expression and remained standing but said nothing. ¡°How many of your citizens died that day? How many of your troops died that day?¡±


    He looked to General Bruner next. ¡°How many of our own died that day?¡±


    ¡°An estimated 6,400 of our own troops died taking back Mandon, my king.¡± General Bruner replied tly.


    King Arthur Brix kept his gaze fixated on Riven, but he slowly shook his head as his jaw clenched. ¡°I don¡¯t even know the number yet. We haven¡¯t had the opportunity to count or even make estimates, but the number is within the hundreds of thousands.¡±


    Riven nodded, motioning for him to sit. The king did so, and Riven looked over Allie¡¯s way. ¡°Screen them for anyone really useful. Execute the rest.¡±


    ¡°My prince¡­¡± Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th, eldest daughter to the Duke and Dutchess of House of Crushada, 107th in line for the vampiric throne and outer sect princess of the Blood Moon Requiem stood up. She smoothed out her ck dress with red flowers and curtsied respectfully. ¡°Perhaps it would be wise to keep our brethren alive as a sign of good faith to our neighbors. Rippenvire is an underling state, subordinate to one of our friendlypetitors concerning vampiric power in the multiverse. Not butchering their promising young ones would be¡­ appreciated.¡±


    Riven nced her way with a frown, then pulled up the world quest time concerning the invading forces just to confirm his thoughts.


    <strong>[World Quest 3 Update, Invaders from Beyond: Other factions of the multiverse have greedily been watching your small, wanting its resources for themselves. Be it mass very, genocide, forced societal integration, or being farmed as literal food - your¡¯s people are in danger. Invasion tokens have been distributed, and the invasion portals have finally been opened.</strong>


    <strong>Invading forces have 5 years to either conquer Panu entirely, or alternatively survive that long in order to acquire reinforcements from the homnd. Any invading force left at the end of 5 years will have free ess through system portals until a victor is decided. To rid this of an invading force, you must destroy their beacon - which will be highlighted by a marker in the sky above its location with the symbol of their empire.</strong>


    <strong>Invading Forces:</strong>


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.<ul><li><strong>The Empire of Dying Suns</strong></li><li><strong>Pagaroth</strong></li><li><strong>The Kingdom of Shatterstone</strong></li><li><strong>The ck Sky Azag Hive Cluster</strong></li><li><strong>Rippenvire</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Prepare yourselves, natives of Panu. The enemy ising.]</strong>


    He nodded. ¡°Alright. Then have them withdraw from the, and I will do so. Destroying their beacon should evict them, yes?¡±


    Kathrine hesitated, then shook her head. ¡°Not necessarily¡­ The invasion tokens are a one way ticket. The only way to get back home would be to either win the quest early, or wait until the 5 years passes after keeping their beacon intact. Otherwise they stay on the even if the beacon is destroyed.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying we should keep them alive for five years to appease these¡­ pseudo allies of yours?¡±


    ¡°Of <em><strong>ours</strong></em>.¡± Kathrine corrected with a frown of her own. ¡°And they aren¡¯t necessarily allies¡­ they¡¯re more like acquaintances, but they¡¯re still our kin.¡±


    ¡°Well letting them keep the beacon intact is out of the question, there will be no portals between this world and their own. And how much blood does a small army of approximately nine thousand vampires need regrly to survive?¡±


    Kathrine grimaced, but her gaze turned on the elvish queen and king. ¡°We could use their people as cattle.¡±


    ¡°You did not answer my question. And even if we did, is it sustainable for that many vampires at one time?¡± Riven cocked an eyebrow and leaned forward in his chair. ¡°I know for myself that I drink from either Luke or Genua at a bare minimum of once every three days - and they often alternate when they begin to get sick fromck of blood. That would mean we¡¯d need to bleed about 9000 people once every three days, but would need even more than to make sure they weren¡¯t being drained. Perhaps 14,000 elves, and they¡¯d possibly be out ofmission concerning any work in agriculture orbor intensive positions. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°You are probably correct, yes.¡±


    Riven¡¯s lips formed a thin line. ¡°And this is hinging on the idea that they killed thousands of my own people, and won¡¯t rebel against us, and will ept our proposal to destroy their beacon.¡±


    Kathrine hesitantly nodded. ¡°Yes, but¡­ I am not exaggerating about the ramifications it would send across our social circles in the wider multiverse. For a high prince of the Blood Moon Requiem such as yourself to show mercy on them would be¡­ a needed change, in my opinion. I know it is a hard pill to swallow, but even someone like me as a dutchess of my noble house and as an outer sect princess of the requiem would not have such asting impact should it be my decision - versus a decisioning from you.¡±


    Riven red her down. ¡°Allie, how much money in Elysium coins did we make by killing all those vampires over the course of the battle? And will it be enough to sustain an entire poption at current capacity with food for at least three years until our agriculture settles into a rhythm?¡±


    He looked left to his sister. ¡°If we have enough, then put the vampires in concentration camps. We will then sift through them and systematically execute all those who we deem as threats. We will incorporate those we can find useful and who swear new allegiance. If we don¡¯t have enough money to do that by using the Elysium Altar to sustain us, then kill everyst one of them and disy their corpses on pikes along the roadways. Which will it be?¡±


    Allie exchanged nces with Kathrine, and she smiled. ¡°We have more than enough. I will begin putting them into concentration camps and killing those who won¡¯tply.¡±


    The king of Dawn deeply frowned at this news, but gave an affirmative nod that he¡¯d ept the decision when meeting Riven¡¯s eyes. Kathrine looked thoroughly relieved and even a little bit happy, and Allie seemed excited.


    Riven closed his eyes. ¡°What next?¡±


    ¡°Trade routes and diplomacy concerning new alliances, republics and kingdoms on this side of the portal and on the other as well.¡± Allie replied when flipping another paper on her stack over to take a look.


    ¡°Not interested. Figure it out yourself, I have faith in you. Next?¡±


    Allie turned another page. ¡°The war with the dwarves in the underdark is hitting a climax. Deepnest calls for aid, and vampire diplomats from another native underdark sect havee forth to deliver a message concerning news on the vampiric elder god world quest.¡±


    At this, Snagger stood up with a wave - getting frowns from Katherine and some of the others in the room at the perceivedck of respect. ¡°Snagger sees-feels Riven has grown-stood strong sincest seen-met! Am happy to see-observe your growth-gains!¡±


    Riven smiled lightly, having forgotten how the ratkin of his underground friends talked. ¡°Ah, yes. Good to see you too man. Let¡¯s definitely catch upter over drinks, but for now - what¡¯s the deal with this war you¡¯re requesting aid for?¡±


    Snagger¡¯srge rat face, brown fur and all, turned to look at his sister Mesha - a smaller white ratkin woman and then to their broodmother Rashtalia. Broodmothers were essentially the equivalents of nobility under the ratkin queen, and she was just as Riven remembered her to be during their brief visit to the underdark.


    Rashtalia was slightly taller than Riven was, standing at 7 feet akin to Snagger¡¯s height, and wore the same tinum ne that hung down over her chest that he¡¯d seen her wear when visiting. She was thinner than him, with brown fur and was dressed in a form fitting white robe. Her long bare tail, the wed hands and feet, and her mouse-like ears and face were a stark contrast to any women Riven had ever known - but he could still tell she was feminine for a rat person.


    She bowed low, her twitching nose almost touching the table before straightening as Snagger took a seat. ¡°Rashtalia is honored-relieved to be stand-sitting in presence of great batkin such as you-yourself! Alliance-friends with Thane Necropolis has made-created much wealth-loot for Deepnest, and your armies-troops have kept-made our trade routes safe-sound. But now that we-us push dwarves back-dead into their hole-tunnels, they grow-rage fiercer-strong. Defensive holds-castles in the underdark stop-prevent us from moving-getting further. Us-we ask for Riven-Allie friend-kin to help lead swarm-armies to battle, to crush-kill enemies and take their gold-stone for ourselves! Queen is willing-hoping to pay-trade for help, and will attempt-try to make it worth to you-us mutually!¡±


    Despite only having gone to Deepnest once himself, Riven was very aware of how the conflict between their allies in Deepnest and the dwarves had started and how it¡¯d proceeded up until now. The dwarves had essentially tried tomit a genocide against the ratkin for more resource-richnd to expand into, pushing them back and even attempting to y Riven once upon his initial trip into the underdark. Even now, Deepnest provided the Thane Necropolis - and primarily the engineers in Chicago - with an absolute abundance of minerals those on the path of the Machine Pir could utilize to create different weapons and machines of war; like mechs, tanks, jets and helicopters. This alliance of theirs had quite literally be an absolute gold mine, along with other minerals, and he had no reason to say no to their request for help.


    ¡°I¡¯ll personally attend the war effort myself.¡± Riven eventually said after mulling it over in his mind, getting an overly excited squeak from the broodmother who nearly mmed her head in another low bow upon his words. ¡°It¡¯ll be another week or two, but I¡¯ll be there. Let your queen know I¡¯ming, and I¡¯ll likely bring some of our more weathered and experienced troops too.¡±


    Rashtalia eagerly nodded before sitting down. ¡°This one is very happy-merry to hear it and will see-tell queen of Deepnest this happy-good news! You are great-good ally-friends, oh great batkin!¡±


    Riven smirked, then waved at Allie to get on with the tedious task of being leadership figureheads. ¡°Next. Didn¡¯t you say something about the vampiric elder god world quest?¡±


    Another squeak from Rashtalia caught his attention, and she stood one more time. ¡°Oh yes! They wait-seek you in Deepnest, wanting to meete to their aid-help and address such things-omens there!¡±


    ¡°So the diplomats aren¡¯t here then?¡±


    Allie and Rashtalia shook their heads simultaneously.


    ¡°Very well. On to the next then, I¡¯ll talk to them when I go to help against the dwarvish incursions in the underdark.¡±


    The course of the meeting delved into a variety of topics after that. Questions on how to set up the governing structure now that the Thane Necropolis was head of this small alliance were at the forefront. Talk about paving roadways with patrols and culling various wildlife in the area to help caravans was another issue. Just like King ssleaf of Tereen tried to pawn his princess daughter off on Riven, so did King Arthur Brix of Dawn - but Riven quickly made it very clear that he wasn¡¯t interested in either offer. As it was he had Ath, and that was enough. If she wanted to y around with other women then she¡¯d let him know, until then it was a no fly zone and that conversation hadn¡¯te to pass yet as it had with Fay previously.


    There were talks about regting ess to the cube, which he intended to ess himself this week after going over the details concerning that odd artifact one more time.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Puzzle-Box Cube Labyrinth</strong><strong>: This stone cube is a permanent fixture on the world of Panu, granted to Daskus, the City of Canyons by Elysium as a prize to the popce after the king of Daskuspleted a difficult system quest with perfect marks. Afterwards it was stolen and taken to the opposite side of Panu after Daskus was destroyed. </strong><strong>Rules</strong><strong>: The trials are formed by utilizing monsters, mazes, and puzzles with a real possibility of death. Only 10 may enter an instance event at once, instance events that are not full may be entered by outsiders at any time as long as they are within the same tier of trial, any amount of instance events between different groups may be ongoing at any time, you do not require sustenance while inside the cube, you may onlyplete the Puzzle-Box Cube Labyrinth event up to 3 times with scaling difficulty and scaling prizes via attempt tiers 1 / 2 / 3, and you may leave the Puzzle-Box Cube Labyrinth instance events at any time - but only through the single entrance and single exit points inside. Leaving the instance event will forfeit all remaining attempts atpleting this system event or collecting its prizes. To create your own instance event or joint another¡¯s, just stand underneath the cube and focus on it while thinking ¡®Activate¡¯.]</strong>


    Riven declined to monitor it beyond making sure people weren¡¯t being *forced* into attempting the trials for other people¡¯s benefit. Who was he to stop people from pursuing power in a world like this?


    Taxation was brought up.


    So was an official written script ofws to be published for everyone to read across thends the Thane Necropolis now controlled - including Dawn¡¯s borders, Tereen¡¯s borders, Brightsville¡¯s surroundingnds and those on the other side of the world across the Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole where Chicago, Rockford and Milwaukee were located. Most of this was set up for Dr. Brass to handle, and he¡¯d taken a very keen liking to administrative duties.


    Though he and Riven didn¡¯t talk much anymore.


    More and more, on and on for over twelve entire hours the talks dragged on until Riven called it and said they¡¯d continue this meeting the next morning. Thankfully Ath had taken to spoiling him with deep-tissue back rubs and back scratches, and food had been delivered multiple times over with a couple of breaks, so it hadn¡¯t all been bad.


    Standing up at the end of the day when the meeting was dismissed and the sun had long since set, Riven let out a groan and turned into a kiss from Ath - putting one hand on her left cheek and smiling down at her before a mischievous grin crossed her face.


    He raised an eyebrow in suspicion. ¡°What¡¯s that look for?¡±


    She only grinned wider and pushed her body up against his, groping him and causing his eyes to go wide as she whispered in his ear. ¡°Can we go have some fun now? I¡¯m horny!¡±


    ¡°AHEM!¡± Azmoth interrupted, pushing them apart and turning them both around to look Allie¡¯s way. ¡°Lady Allie want talk. Both go. Sleeze timeter.¡±


    Ath snarled at the bigger demon and started muttering under her breath, but Riven began tough and tugged Ath over by the base of her neck to kiss her again before heading forward. ¡°Come on Ath, I think I know what this conversation is about. And it¡¯s been a long timeing, if you ask me.¡±


    ***


    Up in the private quarters of her supersized bedroom where Allie had once housed her numerous male concubines, she closed the door behind the other upants and locked it with a click. Turning heel to face the room, she smiled at Lahn and Shovi before turning her gaze to Riven and Ath. ¡°Thanks foring. I wanted you to be here in case I got out of control¡­¡±


    She didn¡¯t even bother looking over at Lahn¡¯s father, siblings, and bully who were all sitting at a table - very pale, to her right. Lord Nik Lucio wore a typical frilled shirt and vest, well made with fine threads and gold trimmings. His son and daughter in question also wore victorian style outfits of their noble rank, with Parius Lucio - Lahn¡¯s brother staring at the floor. Meanwhile Lin Lucio, Lahn¡¯s sister, had not stopped gaping at Riven ever since recognizing him for the man she¡¯d hit on in the store a while back.


    Back when Fay and Riven had still been together.


    The thought obviously troubled Riven and Allie could tell, but she ignored it. This was her time for vengeance and justice, and she was going to draw it out long and hard until she was satisfied that things were officially dealt with.


    That made her turn to thest person in the room¡­


    Gleetus Nefrand, the bully who¡¯d shattered Lahn¡¯s good limbs in an act of spite. He¡¯d somehow survived the vampiric purging, much to Allie¡¯s satisfaction, because if anyone was going to brutally murder this motherfucker¡­


    It was going to be her.


    A wicked smile with protruding fangs illuminated her beautiful features as she stepped forward to where Gleetus remained bound to his chair - the only one who was tied up. She leaned over, smile widening and red eyes shing to meet his gaze as he pissed himself with trembling lips. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve been waiting for this day for a long, long while. I believe it was interruptedst time, but now we get to finish the job. Don¡¯t we? The question of the evening is this¡­ will anyone be joining you? That, my friend has yet to be found out - and I have some curiosities that need to be settled here in front of Lahn and his lovely family in order to make those decisions final. If you¡¯re helpful, you might not experience as much pain before you pass.¡±

 Chapter 195

    Chapter 195


    <strong>Chapter 195</strong>


    Gleetus broke and admitted to everything immediately after his left kneecap shattered. Everything from picking on Lahn regrly for fun, to sabotaging his efforts to make it to ss on time, to eventually beating him nearly to death at the request of Lin - though he had admitted to going a bit beyond what Lahn¡¯s siblings had originally asked. Shovi was absolutely horrified and sat speechless throughout the interrogation, giving her other two children rigid and infuriated res, while Lahn just looked sad.


    The begging and screams of horrified pain Gleetus let out only grew louder and louder as his insides were ripped out and stered against the wall, much to the terror of Lahn¡¯s family - and even Lahn himself to an extent. Allie was an absolute maniac when she got mad, and she didn''t hold back at all while butchering the young man who''d dared hurt her friend. Though Riven could tell that both Lahn and Lady Shovi Lucio, his mother, were far less bothered by the sight than were Lahn''s two siblings.


    Meanwhile, Lord Nik Lucio - Lahn¡¯s father, was rather stoic about the whole thing and just continued to watch while asionally adjusting his frilled shirt and vest like he had an impulsive need to scratch an itch.


    ¡°Are you quite done?¡± Riven asked after a while as Allie¡¯s bloodied, slim figure stood panting over the ruined remnants of what had once been a young man.


    She held up the parasitic worm, squirming in her right hands, and tossed it into a small cage she¡¯d prepared before clicking the lock shut and turning around. Funny that they''d gone to all that effort to shove the worm into Gleetus only to rip him apart not long afterwards on a whim.


    Pushing fingers through her matted hair and sighing in satisfaction, she turned to the pale upants of the room. Parius and Lin, Lahn¡¯s brother and sister, sat rigidly still with sweat beading down their faces and nostrils ring as she turned her gaze to them. ¡°Not quite.¡±


    ¡°Allie.¡± Lahn protested, finally getting up and grimacing at the bloody sight on the floor - putting himself inbetween the vampiric queen and his siblings right when she started towards them. He gave her a stern look, then shook his head slowly. ¡°Please. Let it go.¡±


    He could barely hold himself up. He was struggling, still weak on his left side due to muscle atrophy over many years, but he managed.Allie¡¯s red eyes red, and she was about to protest with hands raised when she caught Riven¡¯s raised eyebrow. Shoulders slumping and ncing back to Lahn, she let out a long exhale and nodded. Wiping blood off her shirt and stepping forward to give him a peck on the cheek, she red over his shoulder at the siblings - and then to Lahn¡¯s father. ¡°We¡¯ll talkter, bitches.¡±


    Getting Lahn¡¯s wheelchair now that everything was out in the open, she wordlessly pushed Lahn into it and angrily kicked the door open before wheeling him out - with Lady Shovi Lucio in tow after a nce.


    The three of them left, leaving only Riven, Ath, Parius, Lin, and Lord Nik Lucio sitting awkwardly in Allie¡¯s room where a bloodied, messy pile of flesh was scattered on the floor between them.


    ¡°I¡¯d say you guys all got off pretty well!¡± Ath chimed in happily with a p of her hands. ¡°Be excited, you three get to live after all! Riven and I were taking bets. Riven lost.¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes, but let himself be yanked out of the chair with a tug of Ath¡¯s hand. ¡°You¡¯re all dismissed back to your rooms. I wouldn¡¯t remain here to be present when she gets back, Allie gets rather violent when she''s in bad moods nowadays."


    Parius and Lin immediately got to their feet, avoiding the gaze of their father and powerwalked out of the room shoulder to shoulder. Meanwhile, Lord Nik Lucio shook his head and slowly stood before shoving his hands into his pockets, taking a backwards nce at the remnants of Gleetus, and gagging once before exiting out the door behind his children.


    ¡°Do you think there¡¯s still going to be a Royal Ball?¡± Riven asked absentmindedly while watching them leave and take the spiral staircase down to the second floor.


    Ath¡¯s warm body pressed up against his, hands groping his chest with a content hum. ¡°Don¡¯t know, but if not we need to have our own! Maybe that¡¯d be a good idea considering all those other factions want to meet with us. It¡¯d be a good opportunity to undertake politics, and it¡¯d give me a reason to wear that dress I bought so long ago!¡±


    ¡°Bought?¡± Riven repeated with a raised eyebrow and a sly smile. ¡°Are you talking about the one we found in Brightsville when we first arrived? We looted it out of a broken down clothes shop.¡±


    Ath¡¯s lips pooched and she poked him in the forehead. ¡°Same thing! Now, as I was saying earlier, I¡¯ve been very deprived. Come, take me back to bed - I¡¯ve been stuck daydreaming for so long and now that I finally have you, I¡¯m taking full advantage of it!¡±


    A twinge of sadness overcame him when thoughts of Fay came unbidden, but he brushed them aside with a massive amount of willpower.


    And thinking about recent events concerning the night prior, he couldn¡¯t help but smile slyly. ¡°You gona do that thing with your tongue again?¡±


    Ath¡¯s long ck tongue flicked out and licked the side of his face before she pulled him down the hallway. Then she winked. ¡°Absolutely. I loved seeing you squirm.¡±


    ***


    Daylight streamed through cracks in the otherwise dusky cloudscape of the haunted woods surrounding Brightsville, and leaves cracked underfoot as Riven and Ath walked under the branches hand in hand. It wasn¡¯t too far away from the city¡¯s edge because Kathrine couldn¡¯t leave the 3 mile radius surrounding his guild hall, but it was far enough that they had privacy. Kathrine kept pace beside them with her own hands clutching something akin to a tablet, cycling through videos that she disyed as holograms ahead of their path while they walked.


    One such hologram she produced was that of arge, sleek tower crumbling and falling over - crashing to the ground as vampires fled and ves cheered. The ves were that of the humanoid Sarak, which had pale eyes, purple skin, white hair and two smooth antennae that looked rather soft and fleshy as opposed to those of insects.


    ¡°ve rebellions happen from time to time, but this one is no doubt orchestrated by yourpetitors.¡± Kathrine said, flipping through the images to settle on a burning manor. ¡°It is true that there are only 50 million vampires on Luteski, and there are 6 billion enved Sarak, but even a tenth of the vampiric cohort there could overpower these weak ves within days. Your fleet, and your legions, are no doubt being held back by those in power there.¡±


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Riven raised an eyebrow, ncing over at the vampiric princess as a brisk wind brushed her brte hair behind her. ¡°Why? What¡¯s the point?¡±


    ¡°It makes you look bad. It makes the decisions you made look bad.¡±


    ¡°The ones where I granted those ves more basic freedoms than most would get?¡±


    ¡°Correct. The vampiric nobility don¡¯t like it, and they¡¯re trying to make you look like a fool. No doubt some of these attacks are orchestrated by the vampires on other sects of vampires in your faction, rather than it being entirely done by ves. The weapons, coincidences, andck of a coordinated suppression of the insurgence are all indicators of this.¡± Kathrine looked up from her tablet to frown his way. ¡°It is very much impacting trade efforts there. The registered corporations residing on your are having to step in, and they¡¯re calling forplete area lockdowns and possibly even an embargo on your trading hub if things aren¡¯t quelled soon.¡±


    Riven snorted with irritation. ¡°Well I¡¯m here and not there, and I know very little about vampiric politics. Tell me Kathrine, how would I go about fixing this? You¡¯re far more experienced than myself and I trust your judgement.¡±


    ¡°As a prince: Openly going against you is going against the crown unless they can prove absolute negligence, or ipetence. Thetter is what they''re trying to frame you for. They can only take actions in the shadows or under pretenses, they cannot oppose your will directly unless they hold a simr rank.¡± Kathrine replied promptly, dismissing the holograms with a wave of her hand. ¡°There is good reason to believe the same people who tried to sell your inheritance beforehand are rted to the ones now upending the way of life on Luteski. It is your, your birthright since your parents went missing, and these branch families of your lineage have gone on far too long assuming they¡¯d be the ones acquiring ownership of the. They are ungrateful for what was provided for them, they did a poor job of running the highly lucrative trading hub in your absence, and they sabotage your efforts to make life for the ves YOU own better. If it were me, I would do two things: make an appearance to speak with the general of House Wraithtide¡¯s forces via hologram transmission to address these problems, and publicly execute the troublemakers. Then go back to quelling the uprising however you deem fit.¡±


    There was a pause, and Riven stopped in his tracks to think about what she¡¯d just said. ¡°It is odd¡­ thinking that I own an entire with over 6 billion ves there. That I rule over 50 million vampiric citizens there. The numbers are beyond my trueprehension, I can only fathom that it is a lot.¡±


    Kathrine gave him a sympathetic smile. ¡°Yes, I understand. My parents sometimes throw me to the wolves concerning one or two of thes my own house rules over, and it¡¯s always a staggering experience.¡±


    ¡°How would I make an appearance via hologram? And would you apany me if I did so?¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s features immediately brightened, and she gave him a quick nod and blinding white smile. ¡°Of course! Back at the tradingmune we have a formation that was just built, and it can be used to talk between worlds! Of course the use is incredibly expensive at this distance and we won''t be able to use it often given the difficulty of operating such a mechanism, but it is possible. If you¡¯d like, I can take you there now?¡±


    Ath got up on her toes to whisper in his ear. ¡°She wants to use you to further her own political agenda, but it isn¡¯t such a bad thing.¡±


    This was obvious to Riven as well, and he gave a quick nod of acknowledgement when Kathrine was looking the other way. ¡°Yes, that¡¯d be great Kathrine. I¡¯d like that very much.¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s excitement only grew, and she quickly changed course to head towards the Elysium Altar in the distance - outlined by its green halo of me surrounding the ck spire¡¯s tip. ¡°Fabulous! I¡¯ll certainly join you, but I must ask - would it be too early or are youfortable with meeting my parents? Perhaps the high queen? They¡¯ve been wanting to talk to you for some time but felt that they should hold off until you and I became more acquainted. Now that we¡¯ve¡­¡±


    Her eyes flitted to Ath, then back to Riven, and she cleared her throat. ¡°Experienced each other¡¯spany, perhaps now would qualify?¡±


    ¡°I know the two of you slept together, you don¡¯t have to hide it.¡± Ath stated tly, unamused.


    Riven chuckled at the blush oveing Kathrine and waved a hand to clear the air. ¡°Yes, I am fine with meeting my grandmother. As for your parents, perhaps that can wait. I¡¯m very busy and don¡¯t have much time.¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s demeanor lost some of her enthusiasm, but she was still overall happy. ¡°Very well. I¡¯m sure the queen will be pleased! After that, we can go back to talk to the general overseeing your and-¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Riven cut her off with a swiping motion. ¡°We go to talk to the general overseeing Lutseki first. I don¡¯t want to waste any time as people die and unrest unfurls on a I¡¯m apparently inheriting. We will settle that matter immediately, and then I¡¯ll meet this grandmother of mine that I keep hearing about.¡±


    Kathrine hesitated, but not for long. ¡°As you say, Riven. As you say.¡±


    ***


    The small castle that acted as a tradingmune for the Blood Moon Requiem was immediately in an uproar as soon as Riven arrived. They¡¯d gone so long without having actual contact with the lost prince or princess that Riven almost had to swat off the young nobility who¡¯d remained there in an attempt to try and garnish his favor, and the vampiric servants were in a frenzy trying tost-second make things more presentable the moment his foot touched the interior of the entrance hall.


    Just likest time the disys were over the top extravagant, but it¡¯d been changed up a bit. Gold ting decorated the paintings and hallways, red-crystal chandeliers decorated the rooms, and heavy-te mail guards were on full attention with dark armor glistening in the dim light - red eyes straight ahead while he walked by.


    ¡°It is so nice to see you¡¯ve finally arrived back at themune!¡± Duke Blemrich, the tall, muscr vampiric nobleman with a ck ponytail stated in a grin while quickly trailing his advance down the hall behind Kathrine. ¡°Perhaps we could discuss things in private concerning a business opportunity, or the whereabouts of your sister?¡±


    ¡°You look absolutely handsome today my lord!¡± The vampiric Lady Muren said with a low bow when she turned the corner to see him, long orange hair swept to one side and over her shoulder while wearing a seductive, revealing red dress. ¡°What a surprise to see you here! When the guards informed me of your presence I didn¡¯t believe them at first¡±


    Lord Carsion, the blonde nobleman in a purple vest and walking with a cane, loudly sighed and red at the others while continuing to trail behind Riven just like Duke Blemrich. ¡°I apologize for the vultures, my prince. Do you wish me to send them away?¡±


    Lady Muren and Duke Blemrich both scowled Lord Carsion¡¯s way, but Riven only chuckled and waved it off with his free hand while tugging Ath along in his left.


    ¡°I wish you¡¯d ALL be sent away.¡± Kathrine Vonsi Crushada muttered under her breath, and the vampiric princess stopped at a pair of double doors - waiting for the guards to open it for them and step aside.


    Through the babbling of the excited nobles peppering Riven with questions andpliments, and after the quiet swing of the double doors let in a cold gust of air, Riven saw through into the next chamber where an odd disy of differently colored crystals were lined up in circr patterns that ovepped with one another in odd diagrams. Runes etched into stones glowed bright purple in the center of each circle, and mages dressed in robes all stood in a line - bowing when Riven and Kathrine entered the room second ter.


    ¡°We received your message, princess!¡± One of the mages stated reverently before righting himself again and gesturing to the crystal formation. ¡°We¡¯ve prepared the room as instructed. Do you need us to set up a silencing array for the babbling trio?¡±


    The old vampire mage pointedly looked past Kathrine to the three nobles, all of which red back, and this in turn got a loud chuckle from both Riven and Kathrine in unison.


    ¡°Not needed, but thank you dius. You¡¯ve done more than enough, I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t be so stupid as to make noise while our prince deals with internal matters regarding his inheritance - and then the high queen.¡±


    At the mention of the high queen, all three young nobles shut up and took a step back - though they kept inside the room, even if it was at the outer edges, to watch.


    Kathrine nodded to Riven and then pointed to one of the circr formations, stepping into an adjacent one herself. ¡°Follow my lead, and keep your feet nted. The experience is a bit jarring at first and you¡¯ll see double, one here in this room and the other on your gship orbiting Luteski. I already had dius contact the military brass of House Wraithtide, and they¡¯ll no doubt be waiting for your orders when you arrive. The connection should take a few minutes to establish as long as we don¡¯t have anyone try to jam the signal, so hold still and be patient. The more you move the longer the connection will take.¡±

 Chapter 196

    Chapter 196


    <strong>Chapter 196</strong>


    A pale, thickly built man stood on the mainmand deck of an enclosed gship owned by House Wraithtide of the Blood Moon Requiem. His body was covered in heavy te armor, decorated with seals and ornaments disying his rank - with the sigil of his house etched into the center of his breastte: an orb wreathed in deathly me. It was smaller than the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s own sigil and was disyed below it, subservient to the empire¡¯s own crest, but nevertheless it distinguished which house he belonged to. Red eyes stared out at the beneath him through a huge ss window,rge screens were set on disys to his left and right, and military officers in simr red-ck armor gathered information about the surface as well asings and goings of corporation fleets in the area.


    General Viku was a hardened man with a couple small wars under his belt, all of which had ended in victory. Some of them were against other noble houses when conflicts ended in blood feuds, others were border wars concerning core kingdoms that didn¡¯t know not when to push their luck. Still, others were against pirates or ve uprisings that spiraled out of control.


    And in all his years, he¡¯d not been so tantly held back by the elders.


    He stood there, watching neighborhoods and towns burn while citizens were murdered in the streets. He stood there, watching aswlessness and anarchy erupted in ces across the of Luteksi that were what the elders considered ¡®expendable¡¯ to make a point. He stood there, unable to do anything, just so that this new fledgling prince would have a light shone down on his ¡®ipetence¡¯.


    It made him sick.


    Not only did this reflect poorly on the young prince, who¡¯d given these ves new rights that¡¯d been unheard of in the empire before, but it reflected poorly on himself as well. General Viku knew very well that this reflected almost solely on him rather than the elders who were the ones really pulling the strings, but what could he do about it?


    Mutiny?


    Insubordination?He shook his head. He¡¯d served long under the banner of House Wraithtide, and he would not throw away his position just to save face or prove a point. He needed this position, for more reasons than one, and despite his pride being stripped from him - he would choose the job over the pride any day.


    His daughter depended on it.


    The cube in his hand gave off a steady vibration again, and then began to blink. It drew his red eyes down to stare at it, and from underneath his helmet - a small smile crept over his lips to disy his fangs.


    Finally.


    ¡°General Viku!¡± One of the house elders, a man by the name of Baron Orimus Wraithtide called out while walking onto the elevated tform of themand deck. His wiry posture moved like a practiced snake in burgundy robes, and his eyes glinted mischievously under slicked-back chestnut hair while ring at the screens on the general¡¯s sides. ¡°I see the rebellions are going well. The agents we nted are supplying as necessary, not too much but enough to cause trouble. Are the damages being quarantined to the designated areas?¡±


    General Viku nodded gravely. ¡°Yes. The production facilities and mining operations are all still under our protection, we¡¯re letting the ves sack the Bezin and Norcof districts where our poorer citizens reside. It¡¯ll be enough vampiric blood to get quite a reaction out of the rest of the empire, they¡¯ll be calling for a culling.¡±


    His eyes shifted to the other, well groomed vampire as Baron Orimus Wraithtide nodded in approval. ¡°Do you really think it wise to go against a high ranking prince like this? Sheline¡¯s son, of all people?¡±


    The baron scoffed indifferently, watching as cargo ships from other sectors in the gxy warp in through a spatial gate before changing course to dock at the space station nearby for check in. ¡°Sheline is dead, and her son made it very clear to the rest of us that he can¡¯t be trusted to lead the family when he gave those sarak cattle rights. Can you believe this list of changes to thews that we have to abide by? Just listen to this!¡±


    General Viku rolled his eyes while turning his head so the baron wouldn¡¯t see. He knew very well what the changes were, and to him they weren¡¯t all that big of a deal - but to an old timer like Baron Orimus Wraithtide it appeared to be the end of the gods damned multiverse.


    The old vampire pulled out a list, then put on a pair of reading sses while loudly clearing his throat and staring at the hastily scribbled on parchment down the bridge of his nose. ¡°Ahem! Where is it¡­ Ah yes. Just to BEGIN the list, we have protection for the cattle children!¡±


    Baron Orimus Wraithtide raised an eyebrow and scoffed again in disbelief, ncing at the general who continued to stare down at the from their perch on the gship¡¯s deck. ¡°Do you realize what that means, Vikus? It means no childbor which cuts down production by an entire 9 percent worldwide. No delicacies at the Rouge Cafe that I so frequently visit or ANY OTHER high end establishment on the. No training them for unique positions such as concubines or ve warriors. No pets for our own vampiric children. It¡¯s absurd! Utterly absurd! And that¡¯s just the CHILDREN of these cattle!¡±


    The baron smacked the paper again with mouth agape, shaking his head violently and huffing loudly. ¡°No diator battles between ves, no torture without reason, oh - here is one of my favorites - NO BUTCHERING CATTLE IN FAVOR OF REGULAR BLOOD DRAINS!? IS THIS MAN SERIOUS!? I nearly got up and left THAT VERY DAY after reading this ridiculous list! We literally BREED SARAK in some specialty lineages to be fatter so we can EAT THEM! WE HAVE TO SPARE THEIR LIVES AND JUST USE THEM AS RENEWABLE BLOOD BALLOONS? THIS IS RIDICULOUS!¡±


    General Viku stared straight ahead, trying to give off apathy, but inside he was struggling very hard not to smirk. He¡¯d never liked Baron Orimus Wraithtide very much, but since the rulingdy of the house left many years ago never to return - the baron was one of three of the house nobility that was in contention for Patriarch of Matriarch due to Lady Sheline¡¯s absence. It was Viku¡¯s great misfortune that he had to listen to this idiot babble, otherwise he would have hung him from a tree many months ago due to political games ramping up when Riven and Allie had first appeared.


    The baron continued to rant, jabbing an old wiry finger into the paper with each thing he listed off. ¡°We have improved ve housing which has cost us trillions,pensation built into our tax system for ves who donate more blood over the course of a year than others, ability to attend NEWLY BUILT CRAFTING SCHOOLS that also cost us a fortune, FREE HEALTH CARE, and a use that allows ves to own basic property? HE MIGHT AS WELL MAKE THEM HONORARY CITIZENS! And that doesn¡¯t even BEGIN to touch upon the fact that he and his sister are being auctioned off to the highest bidder AS WE SPEAK, with the conclusion of the bids ining months allowing a FOREIGN vampiric noble house the rights to be WED to them?! We might as well just hand away the keys and pack up all our belongings now! I hear that House Crushada is especially invested in obtaining Riven and has even managed to get their daughter to seduce him on that integrating! This is the end for our lineage if we don¡¯t do something about it now, Viku! And I¡¯ll be damned if it happens while I¡¯m still alive! It may take a couple underhanded schemes and maybe a couple years but eventually if we¡¯re able to prove ipetence we can petition the crown and have him removed. If it were anyone else without the bloodline, I¡¯d just have him assassinated, but the queen would have my head faster than you could say sarak cattle shit if I even tried. So though I do not want to go up against a prince of our own house, I do not believe I have a choice in order to maintain our way of life. Sometimes, dark deeds must be done to correct for the greater good of the family.¡±


    The baron reached out and put a hand on General Viku¡¯s shoulder pauldron, patting him twice. ¡°I know I can count on you to do the right thing, Viku. Just remember what we¡¯re fighting for, and why we¡¯re letting this happen. I expect your full cooperation in this matter, and in future ones. We cannot let outside forces like House Crushada interfere in our internal affairs, unless we want to be absorbed by them. I know they¡¯ve been in contact with you, and I hope you see past their lies. Do you understand?¡±


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    General Viku spared the old man a nce, keeping eye contact and clicking his tongue before turning heel and beginning to head down the bridge. The cube in his hand was vibrating again, and he had an appointment to keep.


    ¡°General Viku!¡± Baron Orimus Wraithtide called out, a little more harshly than usual, and he rushed to catch up to therger man while deeply scowling. ¡°I expect an answer! Let me hear you say it!¡±


    ¡°Say what, exactly?¡± Viku said with an exasperated sigh, turning to face the smaller, thinner man as officers from along themand bridge curiously shot nces their way. Viku brushed the hand Baron Orimus Wraithtide put on his shoulder again, and he gave an irritated grunt. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for me to turn my back on the head of this house, you have me mistaken for a blood traitor - Baron.¡±


    The baron¡¯s eyes went wide, and his pale face deeply reddened while he took a step forward. ¡°I would watch your words, general. You are essentially calling me a blood traitor by association, and I do not take such offense lightly.¡±


    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± General Viku¡¯s figure met the shorter man, towering over him as his hand drifted to the broadsword at his hip. The weapon hissed when his skin touched the metal, and a neon red red along the scabbard with an aura that drenched the room in death.


    He stood there ring down at the Baron, and the older man¡¯s eye twitched - looking to the general¡¯s hand on his weapon. Other soldiers in the room were now dead silent, watching to see whether or not the baron would keep his head on his shoulders. Viku was an A-grade warrior, having taken millenia to cultivate himself to that level. It was nothing to be scoffed at by anyone, an impossible feat by most, so if Viku wanted the baron dead - the baron would no doubt be dead very soon.


    ¡°Let me make something very clear to you.¡± General Viku said with a visible sneer between the gap down the middle of his helm. ¡°It was not you who elevated me to this position. Nor was it any of the still living elders of this house. This house is a shadow of what it once was, thanks to you and people like you. Now that the main bloodline has finally returned, I no longer have to answer to you. My position is due to Riven¡¯s mother, a true leader, and I owe her everything that I am. Everything that I have is due to her, and here youe years after she disappears to threaten what is rightfully her children¡¯s inheritance? In what world did you think I would agree to such schemes? Ask yourself one more time, Baron Orimus Wraithtide, is what you are doing wise?¡±


    ***


    Riven blinked, finding himself seeing two versions of reality just like Kathrine had warned him about. He had his normal body back on Panu in the crystal formation, and then he had this ghost-like hologram that he was now using to stand in a barren metal room.


    It was an odd sensation, splitting his senses between the two ces, and it gave him a bit of a headache - but it wasn¡¯t anything he couldn¡¯t manage. Flexing his ghostly fingers back and forth in front of his face and only barely ¡®feeling¡¯ the ground underneath his feet, his attention was brought upwards by Kathrine¡¯s own ghostly apparition when she cleared her throat.


    ¡°Riven, my prince, this General Viku - leader of the legions and fleets of House Wraithtide.¡±


    She gestured over to a tall man in a heavily decorated ck and red te mail armor set simr to the soldiers at the Blood Moon Requiem''s trademune, helmet off to reveal a bald glistening head that was bowed while he kept a fist over his chest in a salute.


    ¡°General Viku, it is a pleasure.¡± Riven stated while straightening, reaching out to shake - but realizing that probably wouldn¡¯t work very well and withdrawing it a split secondter. ¡°My name is Riven Thane - or Riven Wraithtide, I suppose. I hear you knew my mother and father.¡±


    It was both a statement and a question, and the bald middle-aged vampire smiled. ¡°Of course. Lady Sheline Wraithtide and Lord Timvar Wraithtide were always kind to me. They raised me to what I am today, and I owe them my life. Because they are now gone, that debt is passed on to you.¡±


    The bald warrior bowed low in respect, and he held the bow for a solid few seconds before straightening again to look Riven in the eye.


    Timvar. It¡¯d been a long, long time since Riven had heard that name uttered. Timvar was his dad, also known as just ¡®Tim¡¯ back on Earth, and he¡¯d disappeared many years before his mother jumped ship.


    Hearing that name caused Riven''s chest to tighten.


    ¡°I see.¡± Riven said with a quick nod, regretting having brought his parents up. ¡°I¡¯ll be counting on you to inform me of what is going on, and why. Kathrine here has been kind enough to help me to the best of her ability, but does not have the necessary insights or power regarding House Wraithtide to give me much more than theories. Perhaps you could enlighten me as to why I am told a ve uprising is being let loose on my parent¡¯s home, while our fleet remains in orbit and our legions within their military bases?¡±


    The general¡¯s lips twitched upwards. ¡°My lord, it would be my absolute pleasure to tell you exactly why in very vivid detail. Unfortunately my hands have been tied this entire time due to house politics, but after I personally supplied House Crushada with the required materials for that array you¡¯re using - I am happy to say that I can take orders directly from you.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised, and he shot Kathrine a look. ¡°You never said it was him that gave you the crystal formation. Based on context clues, I¡¯m assuming this particr long-distancemunication is rare?¡±


    Kathrine gave a half-heartedugh and nodded, side-eyeing the now scowling general who red her way. ¡°Yes, yes, it is quite rare. In fact, it¡¯s incredibly expensive to get and even more expensive to operate. My house doesn¡¯t actually have the materials needed to create one of these formations, it was entirely General Viku¡¯s hand that guided this into operation.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I¡¯d thought it was you or the queen that set this up.¡±


    There was a dramatic pause, and Kathrine sheepishly stepped back to give General Viku the floor.


    The bald man snorted. ¡°No, my prince. Outside of the system''s own methods, it is very hard to create passage between different universes in therger multiverse. This was actually acquired using my own personal money, and money taken out of House Wraithtide¡¯s coffers. I had to me it on a profit error when the elders found out so they didn¡¯t reroute the funds or confiscate the equipment, as I''m sure by now you know some of your house is rather averse to the idea of your return. At least, Kathrine said she''d pass that along. This gship, inside this sequestered room with the crystals surrounding you, is one of two pieces of a limited formation that allows us to talk between universes. It will allow you to travel around the ship within a a few miles in any direction Doing that, speaking between entire universes, is a very hard feat indeed. You can¡¯t just get on a ship and fly to another universe, after all the multiverse is filled with numerous universes, and the cost is astronomical while the resources are extremely rare. But I do believe it was needed in order for you to retain your hold on your inheritance, otherwise the vultures would take what is rightfully yours. It is a long story, filled with boring details of petty squabbles between cheats. Before anything else though, perhaps you would want to take your first look at the your parents left you? We are in orbit now, and the view is quite beautiful.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes lit up at the suggestion, and a wide grin spread across his ghostly face. ¡°That actually sounds very neat. I¡¯d love to, please - show me the way.¡±


    Viku bowed again, then opened the thick metal door to whisper to four guards standing right outside. He motioned for Riven to follow, then started a grand tour of the ship while making their way to the main deck.


    The gship was absolutely enormous.


    Many thousands of vampires called this ship home, with the central docking bay holding many hundreds of small, sleek dog-fighting craft that could beunched outrge bay doors leading into space. From the first angle Riven got, he nearly fell over because he thought he¡¯d get sucked into space.


    It caused Kathrine tough and General Viku to grin, because not only was there a force field inbetween himself and the vast canopy of stars and celestial bodies outside, but he wasn¡¯t even really there to begin with.


    It¡¯d just startled him to see it like that.


    The hangar doors put on full disy the absolute might of House Wraithtide¡¯s fleet outside. Tens of thousands of ships, some small and somerge, hovered in space and peppered the starry sky behind them with a vast neb in the near backdrop. Some of the ships were absolutely enormous, beingrger than the biggest skyscrapers back on Earth, while others were as small as the dog-fighting craft docked here in the hangers on different levels - each big enough to fit one or two pilots inside. They all shared the same basic design though with only a couple of variations, most of them being made of dark gray steel and obsidian - with asional red metals or paint thrown in for decorative purposes. Most of the ships were very sharp, angted, and sleek - almost looking like daggers; with only a handful of very, very big vessels having the other shipsing and going from ports like the one he now stood on.


    ¡°This vessel is a super carrier, the pride of the Wraithtide armada.¡± General Viku stated proudly while he followed Riven¡¯s hologram to the edge of the bay where the forcefield stopped them from falling out into the void. ¡°Those other carriers you see out there? They are only half the size of the one you stand in now. The otherrge vessels guarding the carrier are cruisers and battle ships, the bulkier ones are transports and cargo, and the t circr ones are utility ships outfitted with high end scanners and barrier fields. The smaller ships are fighters and scout craft. They¡¯re all yours.¡±


    Riven let out a low whistle, amazed at the sight, and took a long time toprehend that he really was seeing this. ¡°This is incredible.¡±


    His words seemed to please the general, and Viku puffed his chest out with pride while officers and fighter pilots behind him were slowly gathering in a perimeter while speaking in hushed and excited tones - pointing or gesturing Riven¡¯s way.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you like what you see.¡± Viku said with arge grin. ¡°But you have yet to actually see the, the warp gate, the space station, or the corporation trade fleets. None of that is viewable from this location, all that you see before you is the actual Wraithtide armada, but I think you¡¯ll be just as impressed with everything else on the other side of the gship.¡±

 Chapter 197

    Chapter 197


    <strong>Chapter 197</strong>


    General Viku had been right.


    Riven¡¯s mirage body stood on the bridge, with arge ss half-dome in front of him. It gave arge view of the, the warp gate, numerous fleets of merchant vessels from different parts of the multiverse, and the space station.


    That cube-shaped space station was the most eye-catching sight. It was the size of a small moon, about a 50th the size of the below - which in turn was absolutely enormous. It wasyered with dozens of enormous many-mile wide docking stations which each had enough room for a small fleet on its own. Even now there were thousands of shipsing and going at any moment, looking akin to a beehive in some respects.


    Screens along the ss dome identified the different fleets or individual ships in turn, which showed Riven there were at least thirty two different factions present in front of him - with many private corporations from within the Blood Moon Requiem itself. The makes and models ranged fromrge energy bubbles with solid cores, to insectoid carapaces and living vessels, to hulking steel creations remnant of what he remembered viewing on Battlestar Gctica as a kid.


    ¡°Azag Hive Cluster?¡± Riven asked, pointing to the screen that identified one of the insectoid fleets iing from the warp gate. ¡°I killed a bunch of those fuckers back on Panu.¡±


    ¡°I remember.¡± Viku chuckled with a shake of his head. "Some of your feats are disyed on your equivalent of television here. That was one of them. You''re quite powerful for an F-grade mage, a prodigy even."


    ¡°Is the requiem allied to the hive clusters?¡±


    ¡°There are numerous hive clusters, so yes and no. Some of them yes, others no. Politics with that race are alwaysplicated, it¡¯s a long story. This particr hive cluster is called The Blue Venom Azag Hive Cluster, while the one invading your integrating isn¡¯t even in this sector of space and is called The ck Sky Azag Hive Cluster.¡±The below was dark in nature, slightlyrger than Earth had been, orbiting a white dwarf star with swirling clouds of ck and green in the atmosphere. The clouds only allowed brief glimpses of the continents below, which was probably a good thing considering vampires ruled the now. Even the sarak seemed more or less acquainted with the dark, given they were natives of this ce.


    Thenstly, with the backdrop of the neb present to the left of where he now floated on House Wraithtide¡¯s gship, was the warp gate.


    The entire thing was likely created from either some kind of magic, or was just using some very magic-dense materials along the outer perimeter where it glowed with blue light. It was shaped into a ring, being many miles across in diameter, with a swirling orb of condensed energy in the center. The ring activated every ten or fifteen minutes to either bring a merchant fleet here, or let a merchant fleet leave back to wherever it was they came from. When the warp gate activated, the central ball of energy would expand and then connect to the outer perimeter of the ring before twisting in the center like a whirlpool and blowing a hole in the side of space to create a wormhole.


    It was truly fascinating to watch.


    After a time, General Viku cleared his throat and looked left to where Riven was still gazing out the side of the carrier. ¡°I had hoped we could do more to help you back on Panu, but unfortunately the system is rather stingy about what we can send. Even this takes an enormous tax for every attempt atmunication, and Elysium only barely allows this method. I just wanted to apologize that we haven¡¯t done more.¡±


    ¡°No need to apologize.¡± Riven said with a smile. He nced over to Kathrine, and then back to the general - turning his body around with hand sped behind his back. ¡°Let¡¯s get down to business shall we? Tell me about these rebellions, and what we can do to fix them.¡±


    ¡°Fixing them will take a matter of days. Rest assured. I am just concerned about recurring problems due to the source.¡± Viku replied with a frown. ¡°This inrge part is happening due to certain ves being given weapons and magical items that can cause a lot of mayhem, mostly being sourced from your own family¡¯s vaults. As I am sure you¡¯re already aware, this inrge part is due to disgruntled family members. Firstly because you¡¯re taking what they see as ¡®rightfully theirs¡¯, which in itself is ridiculous. Secondly because they don¡¯t like the changes you¡¯ve made by giving them certain luxuries that most vampires would deep over the top.¡±


    ¡°Do you think my ideas are over the top, general?¡±


    Viku shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother me one way or the other.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Riven turned back to watch another iing fleet sh through the portal. ¡°I would have thought the sarak would appreciate my efforts, rather than try to kill and destroy civilians shortly afterwards.¡±


    ¡°It is likely they don¡¯t even know it was you who did that. Nor do most of them know the very nobles who wish to keep them down are plotting against you. They have a very limited scope of knowledge because they don¡¯t have much ess to newsworks, information hubs, or the cortex.¡±


    ¡°Would opening those channels of information up be a problem? Would I be able to send a message to the entire in an address?¡±


    The general hesitated. ¡°Not at all, but gathering the newsworks and transporting the propermunication arrays that are specific to this would take some time. Perhaps a week.¡±


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    Riven nodded. ¡°Then the first step is to do that. I¡¯d also like my entire extended family to be here, please. I¡¯ll be addressing them separately.¡±


    ¡°All of them?¡± Viku asked curiously.


    ¡°All of them. And make sure you have your strongest soldiers on board as an escort. In the meantime, I want you to quell the uprising with as little bloodshed as possible.¡±


    General Viku¡¯s grin widened. ¡°That can and will be arranged, my prince.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now let¡¯s talk specifics on what I intend to do, and what I need to know. Then I¡¯ll see you in a week¡¯s time when all the necessary items are gathered, and we can figure out just how to go about fixing this whole mess to stop it from ever happening again.¡±


    ***


    The trip to Luteski was an enlightening one, and it lit a fire under his ass to get a move on all the things he¡¯d been neglecting. To get his life together. Even now there were still talks at his manor going on between Allie and some of the independent factions surrounding the Thane Necropolis on either side of the portal - but he didn¡¯t intend to interfere with those talks unless necessary. He simply had too much on his te to do otherwise, and Allie enjoyed politics more than he did.


    Instead, Riven first visited a couple ces around the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s tradingpound with Kathrine. First stop was to meet Instructor dius - a well known schr and one of Kathrine¡¯s teacher. He¡¯d been the same mage to set up themunication array General Viku had sent them, and was thrilled to finally be told his services would be needed.


    ¡°I hear you tutored Kathrine growing up.¡± Riven said while shaking the older man¡¯s hand. ¡°I look forward to taking your lessons too, and I apologize for any offense I gave by not attending sooner. I¡¯ve just had a lot on my te, and it¡¯s been rough trying to fit it all in - but after the trip back to my parent¡¯s, I realized there¡¯s a lot that needs to be learned.¡±


    The old man bowed enthusiastically with a wide smile, disying his fangs. ¡°Of course young prince! I do not take offense at all, an am very excited to begin our lessons in earnest! When can I expect you to be here?¡±


    Kathrine looked on from the sidelines with both amusement and eager approval, before interrupting her instructor with a quick raise of her hand. ¡°Do not push the issue tius, I know you¡¯re excited but we can hardly expect him to keep a thorough schedule. He¡¯ll be here as much as he can be - though he did say he¡¯d try attending his first lesson this week.¡±


    That appeared to be more than enough for the old man, who started talking about various topics concerning politics, magical theory, economics and history lessons that they could talk about when Riven got back.


    Next stop were the other nobles who¡¯de to try and get acquainted with the heirs to the Wraithtide Household. Duke Blemrich, the taller man who always had his hair in a ck ponytail, was quite surprised and relieved to see Riven intentionally go out of his way to talk and was just happy to hear Riven would be making an attempt to get to know them better over the course ofing weeks. Lord Carsion, the shorter blonde man with a sharp nose, was eager to talk trade agreements concerning Luteski - which he exined was a very exclusive arena to trade in and one his family would pay handsomely for to achieve ess. Lady Muren, the rather pretty vampiricdy of the court whose family had sent her here to try and woo him - did very little other than attempt to get Kathrine to leave so they could talk privately.


    Of the three nobles, Lady Muren was the one Riven liked least. But he would not make hasty judgements just yet, and told them all he¡¯d be back to talk more in detail soon.


    Afterwards came the final stop at thepound: an instructor. Kathrine told him the name of this instructor was Captain Rusof, a very capable young man a little older than they were who had excelled at the academies and on the battlefield back home. He was level 90 and still in F-grade just like Riven was, which was the level cap for this tier of trading hub. Regardless of Riven having surpassed him inbat level, Kathrine assured him that Captain Rusof was skilled in both martialbat and magicalbat - and that she suggested he give a shot at sparring with the man.


    To this end Riven was led into arge magically reinforced padoga on thepound grounds where numerous soldiers were engaged in training exercises. Many of them bowed and moved out of the way respectfully when seeing Riven, but many didn¡¯t realize he¡¯d even appeared and continued to sh in brilliant disys of battle that left Riven in awe. Despite his own power levels to be much higher than any of theirs simply in terms of brute force, each of these soldiers was leagues beyond him in terms of skill - and it was very apparent very fast.


    He continued to observe them for a few minutes, not interrupting the ongoing fights in therge center stages and very much envying the way they moved their bodies to adjust to attacks. Still, Riven was not by any means unable to stand out and drew quite a bit of attention to the point that even these fights for the most part calmed down with the soldiers looking his way.


    It was then that this ¡®Captain Rusof¡¯ made himself known.


    ¡°Prince Riven Wraithtide, 37th in line for the Vampiric Throne, I wee you to our training hall.¡±


    The man who said this pushed through the crowd of gathered soldiers to stand before the prince and princess duo, bowing low to each of them - then correcting himself and even bowing low to Ath before standing up straight.


    This gained him a lot of brownie points in Riven¡¯s book, because Ath seemed absolutely pleased that she¡¯d not been ignored like the nobles had been apt to do.


    The vampire captain was shirtless, well built, handsome, and wore his hair in the style of a short mohawk. He was slightly taller than Riven was and had a very confident posture to him, while looking expectantly forward. ¡°I must admit, I was unsure of whether or not you¡¯d actuallye. I am pleased to see that you have. What is it that I can do for you today?¡±


    Riven let on a slow smile, then with a thought - his armor, Messenger, removed itself. Riven summoned Jackal from his spatial sack and gestured for the captain to follow, heading towards the ring. ¡°I¡¯ve been told by Kathrine that you¡¯re pretty good. I wanted to see that for myself. Would you mind sparring with me? I know that I have a level advantage and that you¡¯re held back by the cap requirements on being here, but I won¡¯t use any offensive magical attacks. What do you say?¡±


    The captain¡¯s eyebrows rose, but he followed through the crowd of soldiers regardless. ¡°You want to spar in front of everyone here?¡±


    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± Riven asked curiously, pausing to look back over his shoulder.


    ¡°No¡­ Not necessarily.¡± Captain Rusof shrugged with a grin, summoning a well decorated spear to match Riven¡¯s own spear-staff. ¡°But you¡¯re going to get your ass kicked. I don¡¯t want to hurt your fragile royal ego too much by doing that in front of a crowd.¡±


    Riven sputtered augh, now widely grinning as the soldiers around him gasped, shook their heads, or backed away. It was very apparent they hadn¡¯t expected this kind of disrespect, or what they considered disrespect, though Riven very much enjoyed the change of tone. ¡°Is that so? I look forward to finding out just how much your words hold true my friend. Come on, let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve got and just what you have to teach me with.¡±

 Chapter 198

    Chapter 198


    <strong>Chapter 198</strong>


    Riven lifted Jackal up to bear, noting vampiric healers on the side specializing in blood magic waiting hesitantly for the fight to start. The room was dead quiet after the captain¡¯s announcement that he was going to trounce the prince, and ufortable shifty gazes were exchanged between many of the soldiers despite Riven taking it in stride.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind them,e at me with everything you¡¯ve got.¡± Riven said with a serious nod, taking off his shirt to match the captain and getting a whistle of approval from Ath - along with a loud chuckle from Kathrine. ¡°I want you to prove to me that you have things you can teach me-¡±


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    Riven¡¯s nose crunched and blood sprayed as Captain Rusof retracted the butt of his spear with a smug smirk, running his hand across his mohawk. ¡°First lesson! Never let your guard down!¡±


    Riven righted himself, blinked, and snapped his nose back into ce as the captain began tough. Grinning and cracking his neck, he wordlessly entered the fray.


    ***


    Riven was level 130. Despite being a pureblooded vampire and receiving additional points across the board, he¡¯d put the vast majority of his +7 free stat points per level into Intelligence and Willpower, with a little on the side going into Sturdiness.


    Captain Rusof¡­ had not. He¡¯d put all his points into a purely physical build. And it was very apparent in the way they moved that Captain Rusof was actually faster than Riven was when Riven didn¡¯t have his Blessing of the Crow Activated. Captain Rusof was also just simply much more skilled.The only thing Riven had going for him in this purely closebat exchange was his passive ability. The two men blurred across the room, spear shing against spear-staff with sparks of Riven¡¯s passive ability sending ripples of energy through his attacks and into his enemy that sent massive amounts of force through the weapon with shes of unholy power - acting to counter therge Strength stat discrepancy.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Riven cursed, taking another strike across the nk and stumbling before being kicked straight in the chest - sending him smashing into the force field enclosing thebat area with a crunch of ribs.


    Groaning and getting up to shaking it off, Riven spit blood and adjusted the arm that¡¯d been pushed out of socket at impact with a thunk. ¡°This is not going well for me, is it?¡±


    Captain Rusof put his hands on his hips andughed hardily. The slightly bigger man held up both hands to the side in a shrug as soldiers on the perimeter intently watched, called out encouragement or loudly shouted out pointers for Riven to use and counter with, and the atmosphere had be a lot less tense now that the men realized Riven wouldn¡¯t be angry if the Captain made him look inferior.


    Which is exactly what had happened, given Riven wasn¡¯t using any mana outside his ss passive. The passive he had technically was expelled in the form of Mana, with shes of ck and green unholy power shing against Captain Rusof¡¯s strikes at each major block or connecting swing. However, Riven didn¡¯t actually SPEND any of that mana, so the captain had insisted that he keep the passive even if Riven could switch it off. He¡¯d have agreed to let Riven keep Blessing of the Crow as well, but that particr skill could only be used once a day as a body modification for 1 hour¡¯s time - with the captain arguing that if he attacked while the skill was on cooldown then Riven would be shit out of luck.<ul><li><strong>Devastator ss Trait (physical strikes are imbued with unholy damage equal to 1% of damage being done at full mana capacity).</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°I¡¯m honestly surprised you¡¯re doing even this well considering you¡¯re mostly a mage! It¡¯s apliment, I assure you!¡± Captain Rusof blurred forward and swiped Riven¡¯s legs out from under him before executing abo with a knee to the gut and a flip into an axe kick that shook the room.


    Riven expelled the air from his lungs but quickly recovered andshed out, connecting with Captain Rusof¡¯s spear and shoving the man back across the floor as he braced the impact. But even so, the soldier grimaced and flung his right hand around like it was burned after some of the discharged mana from Riven¡¯s passive shed with Rusof¡¯s skin.


    *CLANG*


    *WHAM*


    *BOOM*


    The two weapons danced and sparked, the two vampires moving far faster than any human could while Riven was constantly put on the defensive.


    ¡°WRONG STANCE¡±! Rusof yelled, smacking Riven along the back of his head with an open palm and twirling away while deflecting a blow. ¡°TOO SLOW!¡±


    Rusof¡¯s foot came down on the shaft to pin Jackal and his elbow crashed into Riven¡¯s jawline, sending the young prince head over heels while simultaneously disarming him. The captain jumped up andnded near Riven¡¯s position while blocking an iing side kick from Riven on the ground. Rusof countered by yanking that same leg and slinging Riven across the containment zone so fast that the barrier around their dueling area shook and flickered.


    ¡°OOOOOOoooooohhhhh¡­.¡± Ath and numerous others simultaneously winced, watching while Riven picked himself up and spat out one of his fangs.


    The young prince chuckled good naturedly, flinging the fang off to the side and holding up his hand - summoning his weapon as the spear staff flew across the room tond in his outstretched palm. ¡°That one hurt!¡±


    The captain raised his left eyebrow - aura rising in a shimmering red haze around the man that caused the air to twist and turn. ¡°We are vampires after all, our bodies can take quite a beating.¡±


    Riven¡¯s smile widened and his eyes red. The shifting sleeve tattoo on his right arm sparked ck lightning momentarily, and he set into a stance. His own aura picked up, and a cold frost began to umte around his feet. ¡°Indeed.¡±


    With a burst of speed, Rivenunched Jackal like a javelin - breaking the sound barrier with a sonic boom as his weapon tore through Captain Rusof¡¯s right thigh and smashed through force field behind. Simultaneously he tore forward across the sparring arena, umting a thickyer of red frost along his arms, forearms, and hands to create ws while grinning maliciously.


    The captain had managed to turn left to avoid some of the impact from Riven¡¯s weapon, but even at his speed and skill he¡¯d been unable to miss the majority of it. He grimaced and snarled at therge hole in his thigh and began to fall over while Riven closed in - only to give a mischievous smirk right when the prince was within a few feet of his position.


    *CRACK*


    Captain Rusof¡¯s spear used Riven¡¯s own momentum to impale him through the chest, and with a momentous turn he redirected Riven¡¯s body and slung him around like a slingshot - throwing Riven through the barrier and out the arena into the far wall with a crash.


    Riven slumped to the floor, and his world began turning ck.


    ***


    ¡°Yeah I got my ass kicked.¡± Riven said, sipping hot tea on a tower balcony couch overlooking the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯spound and the rest of the Elysium Altar¡¯s trading district while he and the captain chuckled with one another.


    They were both being scolded, especially Rusof, by the healers who¡¯d tended their wounds. These same healers continued to rub ointments into areas that still resonated in Riven¡¯s body with offensive stamina discharged by Rusof - but neither man seemed to care.


    Riven was just happy that he had a suitable sparring partner that knew what the fuck he was doing. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to sparring again. Hopefully this next time we can actually go over what I¡¯m doing wrong and what I can improve rather than just getting an ass wooping.¡±


    ¡°That can be arranged! And to be fair, you were at a disadvantage. If you¡¯d used magic you¡¯d no doubt have won.¡± The captain said with a grin, hesitantly faltering in his smile when he noted the scowl on Princess Kathrine Crushada¡¯s face. ¡°Eh¡­ I said I¡¯m sorry Princess, I know I went a little overboard.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement.¡± Kathrine said while continuing to re, holding a cup of her own team across from them and shaking her head. ¡°If you¡¯d identally killed him¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a pureblood!¡± Captain Rusof eximed with a wave of his hand. ¡°He¡¯s more than capable of taking a beating like that! And you¡¯ve got to admit-¡±


    The captain turned to look Riven in the eye. ¡°That kind of training is far more useful, AND far more entertaining than me just holding your hand along the way while coddling you.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Riven said tly, putting the tea down and scooting over to make way for Ath when the demoness sat down on the couch next to him. His arm crossed her shoulders and he smiled as she let herself sink in - but a brief pang of grief overcame him as his thoughts turned to Fay.


    He shook his head, trying to rid himself of those thoughts. He couldn¡¯t dwell on it, but he wondered where she¡¯d gone.


    The frown was noticed by Ath and she frowned in turn, sitting up straighter and putting a hand on his own. ¡°You ok?¡±


    He quickly nodded, shaking himself out of it with an apologetic smile. ¡°Yes! Yes¡­ I¡¯m fine. Sorry.¡±


    She frowned deeper, but didn¡¯t push the subject and just gripped his hand more tightly. ¡°Alright. If you want to talk, I¡¯m here for you.¡±


    There was a silence after that as the three vampires and one demoness continued to stare out at the mixed races mulling around the trade district. It was absolutely booming, especially now that the capital of Dawn had been half ransacked. Crafters,borers, and various supplies from the Elysium Altar were in extreme demand in order to get repairs going for a rebuild of Mandon - and elvish ves were being rounded up not far outside the trade district to be freed and for a mass send off into the now vassalized Kingdom of Tereen.


    Riven took another sip of his tea, belched, and stood up while pulling Ath up with him. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s been fun, but now I have other things to attend to.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I¡¯d hoped you¡¯d stay longer.¡± Kathrine said with a frown, but nodded her acknowledgement and smiled to stand herself. ¡°Perhaps you and Ath could both visit me in my quarters some time, I think I¡¯d like that very much.¡±


    Ath raised an eyebrow, as did Captain Rusof.


    ¡°We¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Riven replied with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll leave that up to Ath.¡±


    His demonic familiar turned to him curiously. ¡°Where are we headed?¡±


    Riven opened his mouth to reply, then closed it and mentally went over his checklist.


    He needed to use the dao treasure rted to Blood that Ath and he would share, as it required a bonded partner. The cube from Daskus could wait but that eventually needed to be done. One week from now he¡¯d need to go back to see his extended family on Luteski. He still needed to acquire a new minion¡­


    Thatst thought made him inwardly recoil. No, it wasn¡¯t just one anymore. It was two. Fay had left¡­


    He bit the inside of his cheek to stop that train of thought.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    The king of Dawn had originally wanted to meet with him in private concerning political matters, but he¡¯d managed to pawn that off on Allie - so that was taken care of. Allie wanted to go over lessons concerning the Death Pir before Chalgathi¡¯s next trial¡­


    And then there was the matter of the dwarves.


    He did some mental rearranging of his priorities and slowly nodded. ¡°I believe it¡¯s time to get another minion. Then we go see the dwarves.¡±


    ¡°Just one?¡± Ath asked hesitantly, searching his face as it underwent mixed emotions.


    ¡°Yes.¡± He eventually said with a nod. ¡°Just one.¡±


    ¡°But Fay¡­¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Riven said, cutting her off. He met Ath¡¯s eyes. ¡°It still hurts. Give me time, ok?¡±


    Ath looked like she wanted to say more, but slowly nodded and slumped her shoulders. ¡°Ok.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. After that, we go to the dwarves - and to see the vampires who have sent diplomats to await me in Deepnest. Let¡¯s collect Azmoth form thepound and leave before we¡¯re roped into anymore political shenanigans.¡±


    With that, Riven waved to the vampiric lesser princess and riftwalked away - with Ath quickly following suit.


    Kathrine and and the captain merely exchanged a look, smiled victoriously to one another, and went back to sipping their tea while quietly contemting the change of heart Riven had recently undergone. It was nice to finally see him embracing the empire, as all of their lives on the expedition would no doubt benefit from their sess in the future.


    ***


    It was nightfall, and Riven along with his two remaining minions sat upon the same exact spot where they¡¯d been spit out of Negrada into this world all those months ago. The broken down gas station was nearby and the mountainside was quiet tonight with an abnormally clear sky considering most of the time these haunted woods were overtaken with dark clouds or mist, but it was a nice change.


    Azmoth continued to meditate on the Infernal Daos, which was a prettymon hobby for the demon at this point, and Riven sipped on some blood he¡¯d bottled for traveling purposes while watching his demonic girlfriend stretch in front of him.


    Girlfriend?


    Is that was Ath was now?


    He nced her way, a little bit afraid to ask, but smirked to himself and shook his head. He didn¡¯t need a title on it, not yet, and was sure he¡¯d get there eventually.


    Pulling up his screens anding to the part where it had the number of contracts avable to choose from, he frowned.


    <strong>[6,402,441 Demonic Contracts Avable]</strong>


    ¡°Jesus.¡±


    Riven scratched the back of his head, then gave Ath a sheepish smile. ¡°Mind sorting through these for me?¡±


    He pushed the notification over, and she snorted augh to sit down next to him. Scooching over to where he sat against a dead tree, sighing, andying her head in hisp while crossing her long athletic legs into a morefortable position - she nodded. ¡°Sure thing twirp!¡±


    ¡°Hey! You can¡¯t call me a twirp anymore. That¡¯s hurtful, I¡¯m your lover now.¡± He scratched his head, thinking about it for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s really weird to say- OW!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not weird. Shut up about it.¡± She jabbed him in the stomach with a re, then giggled and took the screen away from him to start minimizing the number. ¡°Alright we can sort them by level first, that¡¯ll cut out the majority, and¡­ We¡¯re down to 605,932 Demons who are at your max level of 130.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t contract anyone over my level, right?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± She nodded, checking off boxes avable to her as she scrolled through the list. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Maybe one of my n mates is in here. That¡¯d be neat. And¡­ no, there isn¡¯t. Let¡¯s check this tab, and that tab to narrow it down... Alright, this may take a bit. Give me an hour or two and we¡¯ll see what can be done.¡±


    Those two hours quickly passed in silence while she went over the options, which in his opinion was a very short amount of time.


    Ath eventually chose what she considered to be the top 5 best. She unselected the others, at least for now, and disyed them to Riven with a smile. ¡°These are the ones I¡¯d choose, but keep in mind their personalities and how they get along with us are going to be a big deal. If none of these work out, we¡¯ll start over with the next 5 best. That ok?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Riven smiled, ignoring an undead warg that snarled their way from the treeline, and took the screen from her - shifting it in the air to hover in front of his face as he began to read the descriptions. With Fay gone he had two slots to fill, 454 total willpower and 188 free Willpower points to use for those two contracts.


    But he still held out hope that She¡¯de back. He was hesitant to fill up thatst slot just yet, and would settle for just one at the moment.


    He tried not to frown at the thought of Fay, but failed yet again, and had to take in a deep breath as he moved on.


    ¡°Ath? Why do these demons have names in front of their species?¡±


    Ath nced up to him with a smirk, then reached out her hand to hold his own - interlocking her slender fingers in his. ¡°That¡¯s because the demons I chose were all categorized as Elite monsters by the system, with the golden me lettering when identified? Like Negrada''s miniboss that we killed. And they¡¯re often unique variations of more basic demonic breeds. Have you tried identifying metely?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow, shook his head, then did so. Immediately her name appeared, but to his surprise her letters were outlined in mes just like the satyr warlord¡¯s had been back in Negrada¡¯s hellscape. The only difference was that the satyr warlord had been listed as ELITE, and the mes were gold. Here though¡­ Here, Ath¡¯s name was outlined in red mes.


    The title of LEGENDARY, and PANU WORLD BOSS were also stered onto the end of her title.


    <strong>[Ath, Level 127 Archdemon: Unique, 3 forms. Cute Wittle Blood Weaver / Gluttonous Arshakai / Gluttonous Fae Drider. LEGENDARY. PANU WORLD BOSS.]</strong>


    He raised an eyebrow and he failed to speak for a time. ¡°Question. Why does it say ¡®wittle¡¯ in the name? Veryme. Was that your doing somehow?¡±


    Ath snickered and shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re going to ask me? Come on! Act impressed! No, I had nothing to do with it. That¡¯s Elysium being ridiculous. Don¡¯t ask me why. Ask me about the red mes and titles!¡±


    ¡°Alright. Why is your name outlined in red mes with the legendary and world boss titles?¡±


    She cackled and flipped over to stare at him with a devious grin. ¡°After the battle in Mandon, the system officially designated me¡­ and you¡­ as world boss creatures for the invaders to kill.¡±


    Riven blinked. ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Identify yourself!¡±


    Riven¡¯s puzzled expression turned into a small grin, as he did as she asked.


    <strong>[Riven Thane, Level 130 Warlock Devastator, Harbinger of Gluttony, Pureblooded Vampire, Lost Prince of the Blood Moon Requiem. LEGENDARY. PANU WORLD BOSS.]</strong>


    Just like Ath¡¯s name, his own identification information was also outlined in red mes. He was a bit surprised that the system had outwardlybeled him as a harbinger of Gluttony and as a lost prince of the requiem, but that was less surprising than the system considering him a ¡®legendary¡¯ creature and a ¡®Panu world boss¡¯.


    ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I notified of this earlier?¡± Riven asked, ncing over at Azmoth to get a look at his other minion¡¯s identification information. Unlike Ath and himself, Azmoth didn¡¯t have the titles they did. But his name did now glow in gold me lettering, and he wasbeled as ELITE just like the satyr warlord dungeon miniboss had back in the hellscapes.


    That was also new.


    <strong>[Azmoth</strong>. <strong>Level 95 Infernal Crusader Initiate, Hellscape Brutalisk. ELITE.]</strong>


    He looked up again, bewildered. ¡°Ath, why wasn¡¯t I notified of this?¡±


    She grinned. ¡°You were notified of it. I¡¯m sure of it. But with all the drama going on with the attack on the city, the leveling notifications, the battle notifications, the harbingers of gluttonying to take my shard, the dispute between Fay and myself¡­ I can see why you didn¡¯t see it. You probably just dismissed the notification by ident and never looked. I figured that was the case, I¡¯ve been waiting for you to say something.¡±


    Riven stared, then slowly clicked his tongue. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ kinda neat actually. Not sure how to feel about this. What makes us ¡®Legendary¡¯ or ¡®World Boss¡¯ quality by system standards exactly?¡±


    ¡°Titles are gained by the feats you aplish for the level and grade you¡¯re at. I may have discussed this once a long time ago with you, but it also incorporates things like your species too.¡± Ath said simply with a smile. ¡°You can be very strong and not gain such titles, but proving yourself in battle on the scale that you have multiple times now¡­ and it doesn¡¯t surprise me too much. The Legendary and Elite titles will give whoever kills you a massive XP boost as well as a system reward, simr to how we got all that gold and a prize from Negrada in his dungeon. Legendary titles will give far more though. As for the Panu World Boss titles, that¡¯s more for the invaders and other creatures who are part of the world quests - ones pitted against the natives. The system sees both of us as major obstacles to world domination and devastation, so it will give any invader or any of the opposition in other world quests a veryrge boon if they y one of us.¡±


    ¡°But does it do anything for us otherwise?¡±


    ¡°Other than bragging rights when people try to identify us? Nope.¡±


    Riven snorted in amusement and shook his head. ¡°Of course not. Whatever, I¡¯m gona take a look at this list. Should be interesting.¡±


    ¡°That, I agree with.¡±


    Kissing her on the forehead, he turned his attention back to the screen in front of him.


    <strong>[6,402,441 Demonic Contracts Avable. You have manually minimized your list to 5. These 5 demons have been following your progress and are interested in obtaining you as a partner. Click on each for further details concerning the potential minion and their contracts.</strong><ul><li><strong>Chavi, Devil, Unholy / Infernal / Chaos, Level 119. ELITE. - A sion of the burning legions and the youngest son of a hellscape warlord, Chavi is a terror to behold. This young devil is Wrath incarnate, and has little time to talk in favor of berserking across entire battlefields by himself to y his enemies by the thousands. Easy to anger, but respects the way of the warrior and those who have struggled to surpass their limits. Despises weaklings and those who have not known hardship. [181 Willpower Required]</strong></li><li><strong>Rheufa Chak Tal, Unique: Thousand-Eyes Beholder, Unholy / Shadow, Level 126. ELITE. - One of the most calcting and cunning demons of his generation across the multiverse, Rheufa Chak Tal started his rise to power by burning away entire cities in the hellscapes when a certain incubus tricked him into giving up an item of power. Since then, Rheufa Chak Tal has waged wars against entire ns of enemy demons -ying traps and springing ambushes to blindside his enemies with long range bombardments from numerous angles. Since his recent evolution into bing a greater demon, his power has seen drastic upgrades and he has be an overwhelming force to deal with as he plunders enemy holds for wealth. He is known as an ambush predator, and a loner. [136 Willpower Required]</strong></li><li><strong>Fimrindle, Unique: The Iron Scarecrow, Unholy / Blood / Death / Machine, Level 120. ELITE. - This truly odd and misunderstood demon created from metal was actually spawned as part of an experiment done by ck magic users who tried merging a machine, an undead, and a demon. The experiment was a sess, but the creators didn¡¯t survive the ordeal. After destroying multiple cities, the creature was banished and sequestered into a soul stoneid in a crypt at the bottom of an ocean trench. There he remains, waiting for the right summoner to take him from his wretched prison, so that he can once again experience life. He doesn¡¯t talk much, and he¡¯s a bit creepy even by Elysium¡¯s standards, but he certainly knows how to wield a scythe. [159 Willpower Required]</strong></li><li><strong>Zrogmanthon, Abyss-Lord, Unholy / Shadow / Depravity, Level 127. ELITE. - Zrogmanthon is a very prideful demon that often spends more time gloating about his victories rather than actually fighting. This is in part because he enjoys boasting, and in part because he kills his enemies incredibly fast. His build is focused on tearing reality itself to create critical strikes to gut his opponents before they know what hit them, or at least they wouldn¡¯t know what hit them if he didn¡¯t tell them about what was going to happen before it happened. Regardless, they still die. As an ethereal creature of doom, this demon is very hard to kill with physical attacks and would be sneaky if he didn¡¯t go out of his way to boast so much. [160 Willpower Required]</strong></li><li><strong>Yattazi, Unique: The Devouring Serpent, Unholy / Infernal / Chaos, Level 130. ELITE. - Once a tiny snake, this creature devoured the heart of a fallen unholy god purely by happenstance. Since then, Yattazi has be something of a menace to anything living. It had forgone its draconic evolutions in favor of bing a great basilisk, and from there became something much more when it evolved into a demon. It lives in theva pools of a volcano,ing out from hibernation to feed and in turn - create genocidal waves in surrounding habitats. Yattazi isn¡¯t very smart, but makes up for it by the sheer devastation it can cause. This creature is lonely, is wanting to find apanion to share in its gluttonous sprees, and is on a quest to find bigger and stronger things to eat. [122 Willpower Required]]</strong></li></ul>


    His brows furrowed. Riven nced down to his status page again, and realized there was a problem concerning any future acquisitions of the 4th demonic minion slot. It wasn¡¯t a problem now, but it might beter if Fay never came back. He should have guessed this would be the case because Ath now required 190 Willpower to hold her contract, and if these demons wereparable to her¡­


    He only had 454 total willpower, and 188 free Willpower points to use.


    Riven would only have enough points to choose one of these creatures to bond with, despite having two open slots.


    ¡°Damn.¡± He rubbed his chin in thought. ¡°These descriptions are a lot more intense than they were previously¡­ It''s like they¡¯re telling me their life stories. Very weird, but I like the change.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s going to be more and moremon the more you grow.¡± Ath stated with a yawn. ¡°Previously the demons you could pick from were all so low level, including myself back then, that we hadn¡¯t had any aplishments. But as we get older and have more experiences, the system docks those into the descriptions you now see here.¡±


    He nodded, skimming through the text one by one in deep thought - when his soul began to shudder. Looking down at his chest, he began to see a dark orb forming in front of his body. He¡­ would have been concerned, but Riven could tell that it was actually an extension of his soul aperture taking physical form just by looking at it.


    ¡°That¡¯s weird.¡± Riven said, nudging Ath who looked up and began to frown. ¡°Don¡¯t worry it¡¯s a piece of me, I can tell it¡¯s not dangerous, but¡­ do you have any idea what¡¯s happening?¡±


    Slowly she began to shake her head, and even Azmoth grunted in curiosity while beginning to ready himself just in case.


    ¡°That you?¡± Azmoth asked just for one more confirmation as the dark orb continued to expand.


    Riven hesitantly nodded. ¡°Yeah¡­ don¡¯t attack it. That¡¯s a piece of my soul, I think. If you were to damage it, I may¡­¡±


    His words cut off, and yet another notification appeared as his hand tightened around Ath¡¯s - adding onto the ridiculousness he¡¯d already experienced over the past day.


    <strong>[Harbinger of gluttony, Sin ss, Secondary ss, has finally finished its construction. Harbinger Soul Clone is now finished. +2 Sturdiness, +9 Free Points per level will now be distributed with each level up.]</strong><ul><li><strong>Harbinger of Gluttony (Sin ss Title) - The Harbinger of Gluttony is the most basic sin ss specific to the original sin of Gluttony and creates a superimposed wraith-like Soul Clone, a symbiote created from sin inside your body, allowing it to strike out at close distances to any nearby enemy. +2 sturdiness, +9 Free Points per level.</strong></li></ul>


    His body flickered with dark light, and it felt like a cold nket had swept over his skin. Lifting one hand, he saw a dark afterimage of his arm trailing behind his movement before it superimposed itself over his current position. His legs were the same, almost flickering somewhat, before it all settled down and went away.


    He didn¡¯t feel much different otherwise, and he shot Ath and Azmoth both a look. ¡°Uh¡­ Any input as to what this ¡®Soul Clone¡¯ is, exactly?¡±

 Chapter 199

    Chapter 199


    <strong>Chapter 199</strong>


    A child of the Scythe, and a botched creation cursed by madmen. That is who and what Frimrindle truly was.


    The stick-thin scarecrow made of metal hung on a cross of his own making. It remained absolutely still, just as it had done for the past many millenia - not moving a single millimeter while contemting the mysteries of life. In his left hand, an unlit steelntern hung loosely at his side. In his right hand, a simple scythe was held - showing now markings or any semnce of just how powerful the weapon was. A creepy smile with a hinged metal jaw hung slightly open, exposing an abyssal hole into the back of the scarecrow¡¯s throat - and two X¡¯s carved into the otherwise featureless face of the scarecrow signified its eyes.


    Fimrindle watched in silence, peering through the void and into otherher realms where his potential contractor was speaking to a winged devil much bigger than he was. The soul clone, which Riven still did not know the true nature of, was fascinating to him beyond anything Fimrindle had seen in quite some time. He only hoped he got the opportunity to examine it in more thorough detail, and now that Riven had begun interviewing candidates for his demonic contract slot - Fimrindle¡¯s interest had hit a peak.


    Meanwhile the devil, named Chavi, was boasting of his conquests with wings spread and ame. It caused the skies around it to crash with false power, as in your ownher realm anyone could be akin to a god.


    Fimrindle wondered why the boastful creature was so infatuated with war. What was so great about killing things? Fimrindle had learned the hard way that it wasn¡¯t fun and games like he¡¯d been led to believe in the beginning, and it came rather easy. Why did Chavi think it a glorious pursuit? Fimrindle didn¡¯t understand. The way the titanic red ape with wings wielded that silly axe around was more for show than anything else, but then again - Fimrindle couldn¡¯t necessarily judge the demon. He knew very little about social norms and cues, and this in turn was perhaps thergest reason why he¡¯d been banished to this soul stone. He¡¯d thought he¡¯d been ying a game when he¡¯d murdered all those people. Fimrindle was akin to a small child in that aspect, a soul being ripped apart and formed anew so many times that he had a hard time grasping any of his previous memories over past lives.


    The one thing he did remember in vivid detail was the aura of the great spirit that haunted his dreams. The spirit of the Scythe was¡­ observant, as was Fimrindle in turn. They watched each other in an endless cycle of silence, while the worlds around them passed Fimrindle by.


    The iron scarecrow continued to wait patiently. Ever patiently. He did not move, locked away in a cube of energy. He did not rust, he did not rot, he merely waited - having been here an eternity already for the day that someone would meet the qualifications he desired. For Fimrindle was not driven to act for his freedom by anything in particr unless certain qualifications were met, but he was very patient, and unless he found what he was looking for - why bother leaving this ce? It would otherwise only mean a repeat of what¡¯d happened the first few times in the world above that¡¯d so long ago forgotten about his existence outside of legend.


    He did not me his world of origin though. He just didn¡¯t understand. He wished he did, and perhaps Riven would be the one to teach him just what he¡¯d done wrong. Perhaps Riven could be the one to provide Fimrindle insight into the thing he desired most.But his thoughts were interrupted by the presence of another, and to Fimrindle¡¯s mounting curiosity - Zrogmanthon, the Abyss-Lord and fellow demon of Riven¡¯s final round, had somehow entered his soulstone prison from across the cosmos.


    The creature was akin to an enormous ck mist, but shifting ws and a grinning mouth full of teeth could be seen like static through a fog when the abyss-lord entered Fimrindle¡¯s tiny home. It circled the scarecrow made of metal, letting out a low chuckle while Riven continued to speak to Chavi the devil in anotherher realm.


    ¡°Ah¡­ little scarecrow¡­ You aren¡¯t in a trueher realm. You remain here instead¡­ a fatal mistake whenbined with the fact that you arepeting with someone as great as me!.¡± Zrogmanthon the abyss-lord hissed, causing the soulstone to shudder and crack as its ck eyes greedily gazed upon Fimrindle¡¯s stone-still body. ¡°Trapped in a weak prison such as this? How have you not left yet? A demon like myself would have broken out of such a ce eons ago¡­ but you, you¡¯re still here. How¡­ exciting! To think that I¡¯d be able to travel through ripples in the void to take care of thepetition!¡±


    The prideful Zrogmanthon cackled and threateningly ripped a hole in space, exiting from a ck hole to squeeze into Fimrindle¡¯s home. Enormous ck ws, six arms, a body made of shadow and a shrouded, almost featureless face came forward - smiling at the much smaller Fimrindle and rearing to its full height. ¡°How is it, knowing that someone so lowly as you will be devoured by one as great as me? Have you ever experienced pain before, little scarecrow? Because pain you will have¡­ and your dying screams will be the foundation of my growth! I will disy your body before my new master and show him that I am the greatest of the five he has chosen to consider!¡±


    Zrogmanthon let the words echo through the cube, his very presence causing the soulstone to break apart rapidly around them - shadow mana radiating across his body and passing over the much smaller, human-sized scarecrow beneath him. ¡°Do you have any words for me, abomination?¡±


    Fimrindle had remained motionless this entire time. He remained hung to a cross, scythe in one hand and unlitntern in the other, staring into nothingness as his mechanical jaw hung part way open.


    Zrogmanthon frowned, tisking in irritation after five or so minutes of hovering over the other demon with an intimidating aura billowing out. Fimrindle seemed to be unaffected by the disy entirely despite the soulstone cage quickly deteriorating. ¡°I see you¡¯ve been driven into speechlessness by my prowess¡­ Understandable. If you cannot escape a ce such as this and cannot form your ownherrealm despite what you are, you deserve to be shocked into silence.¡±


    The abyss-lord raised one wed hand, and space itself tore open as his hand shimmered in the darkness. ¡°You are by far the weakest of us five, and I am doing you a favor by not allowing you to embarrass yourself. Be grateful, fledgling, for your path will act as fertilizer to my own.¡±


    Still the scarecrow didn¡¯t move, but a ping of power caused Zrogmanthon¡¯s head to abruptly shift right when the image of some ill-defined entity tore through reality beside him.


    Zrogmanthon, being an abyss-lord and a creature who could control spatial powers, was shocked. He didn¡¯t know what that was, but something immensely powerful had just-


    Zrogmanthon turned his head right when another blip of power was sensed near the scarecrow, and to his shock - the scarecrow was gone. So was the cross he¡¯d been hung to. How had Zrogmanthon, as great as he was, not sense something like the disappearance of his-


    Zrogmanthon died.


    The abyss-lord didn¡¯t even have time to scream,and his body shimmered and faded away while the soul stone prison began to reconstruct itself. Fimrindle was back in his motionless spot in the middle of the cube room, hanging on a cross with his scythe in his right hand - his jaw slightly unhinged - and hisntern in his left. Though this time, a small light in hisntern was seen repeatedly blinking until it finally winked out - leaving the room in the same state it¡¯d been in only moments ago before Zrogmanthon¡¯s interruption.


    Going back to contemting and meditating on the meaning of life while simultaneously observing Riven¡¯s proceedings; Fimrindle waited for the fated moment that he would meet this ¡®Riven Thane¡¯ character for better, or for worse.


    ***


    Yattazi stirred, bing restless as she felt a new entity enter herher realm. It¡¯d been a long time since something had been allowed in, and the disturbance was¡­ pleasing.


    Lonely and hopeful, the gigantic serpent began to worm its way out of the volcano it¡¯d constructed itsher realm around - a very simr one to the real version she was hibernating in every one in a while when out of theher.


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    Gills along the serpent¡¯s head red, and molten eyes opened. Rising up towards the heavens, Yattazi broke out of theva pit to disy her majestic figure to the one who would potentially im her as a friend.


    Spines protruded from her back, dark gray scales even harder than most dragons covered herrge body like armor. Frilled ears red out to either side of her head, andva poured down off her body as her head began to lower to get a better look at the summoner.


    The man was small, many dozens of times smaller than she was, but she did not mind. She was just happy to have someone to converse with, and she gave an excited hiss while boulders and inds in theva pool were washed away amidst the rising of her glorious figure. Large fangs on the snake were put on full disy in an effort to show her potential master just how amazing she was, the teeth crackling with chaos energy in flickers of deep gray - and a molten inner core red to life with orange and red hues inside the back of her throat.


    ¡°Wee, vampire, to myir¡­¡± Yattazi hissed rather happily, her body trailing out to rise and fall amidst roiling waves of magma behind her as she hovered over the tiny figure below. ¡°I have been expecting you, fellow follower of the unholy path. We have much inmon, you and I¡­ and I am hoping that you may join me in my quest to feed.¡±


    The vampire stared up at her with his other two minions, curiously shifting his head to one side. ¡°Yattazi right?¡±


    ¡°That is one the great system calls me¡­¡± Yattazi hissed excitedly. ¡°No need to tell me yours¡­ I already know it, Riven Thane of the Blood Moon Requiem. I have many questions, and many answers, to share with you on your road to power; and I hope it is me that you choose for your new minion so that we may one day be friends.¡±


    ***


    Riven stood at the edge of the volcano¡¯s basin, looking up at a creature that towered over him with an absolutely majestic yet simultaneously intimidating figure. Dark gray scales, enormous spines over the top of its head, magma-infused eyes and a maw that could swallow a small car in a single gulp. Sshing in the magma pools behind the creature, its long body sshed around and writhed like a sea serpent for over forty yards - and the ring, fin-like earsing out either side of its skull only added to that impression.


    Yet even despite all this, he could feel only a fraction of the heat that he¡¯d have expected. Nether realms, especially individual ones that weren¡¯t shared between demons, were rather tricky in nature and didn¡¯t have all the properties that a normal realm would have. But even so, it was quite something.


    ¡°Nice to make your acquaintance, Yattazi.¡± Riven said with a smile and a small bow. ¡°I would very much like that. Bing friends with my contracted demons is far preferable to having servants, as both Ath and Azmoth can attest to.¡±


    Azmoth grunted his acknowledgement, and Ath slyly smiled while shifting forms into her blood-weaver body - then hopping up into his arms to let the vampire cradle her.


    Yattazi hissed, a serpentine tongue flicking out between her lips as her mouth closed and her head came forward to more closely evaluate the spider in Riven¡¯s arms. ¡°Yattazi knowssssss¡­ Yattazi sssssees. It is why I have attempted to contract with you, as I am very impressed with not only your power, but your rtionships concerning your chargesssss. However that is not all I desire, as I also wish to explore the multiverse and find new foodsssss to consume. I am ever hungry.¡±


    Riven paused, frowned, and continued to stroke Ath¡¯s little spider head as she gave the snake a curious look. ¡°For someone as big as you, and if what you say is true, how do you keep yourself fed? If you really kill that often, would you not be a far higher level?¡±


    The great serpent seemed to frown. ¡°There are many pathways to growth aside from devouring otherssssss. I have devoured many other creaturesssss, it is true, but many of them were far weaker than I - and I have alsssso grown in size through means of meditation over millenia while I wait for my world to repopte from thest great feeding. Insight into the dao is one of many pathways to growth.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Got it. Just curious.¡± Riven shrugged. ¡°I likely do have a lot of people for you to eat if you contract with me. Thousands probably.¡±


    Yattazi¡¯s molten eyes gleamed brightly and the frills along her head immediately red wide. ¡°Really!? What manner of creaturessss are we ssspeaking of!?¡±


    ¡°All kinds.¡±


    ¡°Indulge me!¡±


    Riven thought about it a moment. ¡°Well there are numerous invaders headed out way on the integration of our world. We have to hunt down a bunch of other vampires, there are no doubt human invaders, some azag insectoids if you know what they are. There are a bunch of cultists I need to kill too, concerning a certain world quest.¡±


    ¡°Anythingrge?¡±


    ¡°Howrge we talkin here? There¡¯s a quest for snow giants, and as long as they¡¯re not actually made of snow they might be up to par with what you¡¯re looking for. They might even berger than you.¡±


    The snake nodded eagerly with a loud hiss that cracked the air, hungrily, dripping venom from exposed fangs at the thought. It was obvious this monster was rather gluttonous in its own right, perhaps it¡¯d gel nicely with his sin shards.


    Ath held up a leg. ¡°But wait! Are you really always that big? It¡¯s going to be a nightmare walking around with you that size! Can¡¯t you reduce your power output and-¡±


    Ath¡¯s words were cut off after therge serpent blinked, and in a sh the enormous creature¡¯s bulk warped. Floods of magma roiled and tore into the sky while the deep gray scales of the creatures condensed and morphed. Therge body began to shrink, condensing further and further while simultaneously removing some of its inborn power that it began storing in a growing ck-orange orb swirling amidst the bubbling waves ofva.


    Secondster the titanic snake had gone from half the length of a football field and able to swallow a small vehicle - to something more manageable.


    Ath curiously peaked out over the edge of Riven¡¯s arm while she and the others all stared down at the now tiny creature, and her spider leg scratched at the top of her head in confusion and amusement. ¡°Well I didn¡¯t mean be a slug.¡±


    ¡°I am no mere slug! I am Yattazi, devourer of all that movessss!!! My body and energy are merely contained!¡± The tiny creature called back, hissing in annoyance and pping the ground impatiently. ¡°Redact your insssult tiny spider!¡±


    Ath tly looked down at the other demon. ¡°You a slug.¡±


    ¡°It issss not so!!!¡±


    ¡°An uggggggly lil slug. You look like one of those really nasty dumps I took the other day-¡±


    ¡°YOU ARE MERELY JEALOUSSSSS OF MY GLORIOUS FIGURE!!¡± The spines on the small, pudgy snake protruded out further in an attempt of intimidation that just¡­ didn¡¯t work, concerning this form.


    Riven began to grin in amusement as Ath teased the once enormous, and now quite small monster beneath him. Yattazi had transformed into a rather majestic, but much smaller version of itself from earlier. Instead of spanning a couple hundred yards and being a mean killing machine that screamed death to those opposing it, the monster was now a three foot snake instead.


    It still looked damn vicious though, Riven didn''t know where Ath was getting this ''slug'' thing from. If he didn''t know better, he''d guess she was just antagonizing Yattazi for the sake of antagonizing her. The other demon was certainly bing rather enraged by Ath¡¯s taunting though.


    ¡°I AM MAGNIFICENT!¡± Yattazi hissed with another smack of its tail.


    Ath shook her head in mock disgust. ¡°Slug girl. That¡¯s what I¡¯m gona call you if my glorious master agrees to your contract. Fear not - even despite your slimyplexion he has been known to be a charitable man, so perhaps he¡¯d take pity on you and agree to terms.¡±


    Yattazi red molten daggers Ath¡¯s way, then she spit a glob of what Riven could only call gunk at the spider - smacking her in the face. ¡°BEGONE!¡±


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!¡± Ath wailed and writhed in Riven¡¯s arms, dramatically wriggling her legs around to produce a sigh from Riven.


    ¡°Ath we can barely feel anything physical here. Stop being such a drama queen.¡±


    Azmoth agreed with a sagely nod. ¡°Yes yes. Agreed.¡±


    The spider in his arms immediately stopped wailing and red up at him, wiping away the snake glob and flinging it to theher realm¡¯s floor. ¡°Fine! Next time you get smacked in the face with goop, I¡¯m just going to roll my eyes at you too! HMPH!¡±


    With that, Ath hopped out of his arms and began to strut over to Azmoth before climbing up her leg and depositing herself on therger demon¡¯s shoulder - giving both men a sideways re before turning her nose up and clicking her mandibles.


    Riven raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why¡¯d you hop perches? You do realize that Azmoth agreed with-¡±:


    ¡°QUIET PLEBEIAN!¡± Ath pointed a quivering leg his way. ¡°DO NOT DARE ENCUR MY WRATH!¡±


    Riven opened his mouth to reply, but snorted and kept his smile hidden from his minion-turned-lover while folding his arms and facing the snake again. He¡¯d not expected to see a shrinking ability, and if he had known Yattazi would have a shrinking ability he¡¯d not have expected something like this. ¡°You don¡¯t look like a slug Yattazi, you just look¡­ small. Still intimidating though."


    ¡°THAT¡¯S CHEATING RIVEN!¡± Atheal squeeled from Azmoth¡¯s shoulder with a re. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to tell other girls they¡¯re intimidating!"


    ¡°She¡¯s a vicious demon snake.¡±


    ¡°AND I STARTED OFF AS A CUTE LITTLE SPIDER, LOOK HOW I TURNED OUT!¡±


    ¡°Oh for crying out loud¡­¡± Riven rolled his eyes - shbacks of how he and Ath used to be in Negradaing swiftly to his mind with a fond warmth. He had to fully turn his back on the ring arachnid - interposing himself between her and the still angrily hissing snake to get Yattazi¡¯s attention again. ¡°But let¡¯s talk more about you. What do you like to do for fun?¡±


    The snake stopped hissing, blinked, and smiled. ¡°For fun?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You want a friend, yeah?¡± Riven raised an eyebrow. ¡°Aside from eating things.¡±


    This truly seemed to stump the demonic creature, and it thought for a good while before eventually answering with another hiss. ¡°All I have ever known is the need to feed and consume, the urge to grow. But¡­ if I must choose something else, I would sssay I enjoy cooking.¡±


    ¡°Cooking!?¡± Ath butt in, hopping off of Azmoth¡¯s shoudler and scurrying over to the slightlyrger creature. She crossed her front legs and stared suspiciously. ¡°How would a snake like you even cook!?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. I am very good at cooking, and have even acquired a ssssssspecialized crafting category for it. Cooking level is at 86.¡±


    ¡°WHAT!?¡± Ath barked out in shock. ¡°YOU DON¡¯T EVEN HAVE HANDS!?¡±


    Riven turned to Azmoth. ¡°Specialized crafting category?¡±


    Azmoth grunted again, four armored arms still folded over his chest. ¡°They level independently ofbat level. If stuck with totems, you might acquired one yourself. It take long time, hard work, but rewarding. That all know.¡±

 Chapter 200

    Chapter 200


    <strong>Chapter 200</strong>


    The rest of the time spent with Yattazi was very refreshing - though she did end up reverting back to her normal size after Ath kept pestering her about how her smaller form looked. Despite what and who she was, Yattazi had a very warm personality. She was easy to get along with and eager to please, but


    When discussingbat power, it appeared that she was heavily focused on closebat and body enhancements. Most of her abilities and insights were focused on making her physical body more powerful both in offense and defense. There were exceptions to this, including a ¡®Chaos Cannon¡¯ martial art that created a st of raw chaos energy, a petrifying sh-re ability that often silenced enemies if they didn¡¯t turn to stone, a constricting martial art that utilized her long body, a martial art that used her fangs to inject a potent venom, and a ¡®Magma Chamber¡¯ martial art that was essentially a zoning ability that trapped enemies in ce within arge designated space which began to fill with magma. She had a variant of Hell¡¯s Armor that Azmoth used, a spell simr to but better than Riven¡¯s own Blessing of the Crow, and a handful of different passive buffs that increased resistances against all types of damage.


    After parting ways and telling her that at the very least she was under heavy consideration, Riven left and moved on to the iron scarecrow - Fimrindle. Selecting it next, he found himself being pulled out of Yattazi¡¯s realm, only to receive a notification.


    <strong>[Fimrindle has failed to create his ownher realm. Do you wish to use your already acquired demons for use of theirher realms instead?]</strong>


    He nced at Ath, then Azmoth. ¡°That¡¯s weird. Either of you want to give up your home for a bit?¡±


    ¡°OOOH! OOOH PICK ME!¡± Ath eximed excitedly, shifting back into her small spider form and waggling her arms in the air. ¡°PLEASE please please! I¡¯ve been wanting to show you myher realm for a while now!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t care.¡± Azmoth said simply.


    Riven gave an amused chuckle, but nodded to Ath and motioned for her to get on with it - selecting ¡®Yes¡¯ and then mentally checking into Ath¡¯s realm when a strange tug yanked at the borders of his mind.Abruptly the world around him spun, and Riven felt himself in a¡­


    In a temple?


    Towering statues of ck spiders were on either side, a long hallway to a throne where a woman who looked very simr to Ath - yet older, sat on that throne, and pirs of stone held the ceiling up high above them with only trace amounts of barely visible light leaking in through window slits at the very top adjacent to the ceiling.


    Ath was nowhere to be found, until she suddenly popped into existence and squealed in excitement. Jumping up into Riven¡¯s arms and simultaneously morphing into her more humanoid form, she tugged at his hands and motioned towards the throne. ¡°Riven! You HAVE to meet my mom! She¡¯s been waiting all this time and I¡¯m SO EXCITED to show you to her!¡±


    In a sh of light, another figure soon joined them. It was a scarecrow for all intents and purposes, wielding a rather simple scythe in his right hand and a metal unlitntern in his left hand. The scarecrow was posted upon a metal cross, was stick thin, with a metal jaw thaty ck and almost unhinged with sharp teeth smiling his way. The eyes were only X¡¯s carved into the otherwise almost featureless metal of the face, and the way it stared at him was¡­ rather creepy.


    ¡°We¡¯ll get to you soon Fimrindle, just wait a moment!¡± Ath piped up, still yanking Riven forward step by step while giddily motioning over to her ¡®mother.¡¯ ¡°MOM I¡¯M HOME! AND I¡¯VE BROUGHT THE HUNK!¡±


    The old woman on the throne stared with a small smile creeping at the corners of her mouth, but remained sitting as Ath pulled Riven her way. She nced at the scarecrow, frowned, and motioned towards the newly arrived demon. ¡°Honey¡­ perhaps you should talk to the scarecrow first? Riven and I can meet afterwards. I don¡¯t think it is wise to have such a creature enter yourher realm like this only to be made to wait¡­ because without me also being here, it would be rather dangerous for you to let him into your safe space. That creature is deserving of respect, and you should show him as much.¡±


    ***


    Riven¡¯s eyes shifted around the rather dark and unholy temple disy, taking in the statues of spiders, driders, and other various creatures of arachnid origin. Numerous sets of red eyes peaked out from the dark corners that even Riven¡¯s sight could not prate, and shifting figures in the shadows adjusted their positions on the outskirts.


    ¡°You¡¯ve brought a lot of the family!¡± Ath said enthusiastically, letting go of Riven¡¯s arm and running across the room - past Fimrindle - to throw her arms around her mother. ¡°I thought it was only going to be you!¡±


    Riven nced between this new woman, the figures in the dark, and the demon scarecrow who continued to remain on its cross unmoving. Apologetically holding up one hand Fimrindle¡¯s way, Riven began to walk over to where Ath and her mom were standing side by side - Ath having a giddy wide grin on her face while bobbing up and down on her toes.


    Ath¡¯s mother was strangely beautiful in a very sinister way, very close to how Ath looked - only slightly more menacing in her humanoid form. She had three pairs of mandiblesing out of the sides of her throat along a slit that likely opened up into an additional mouth, had smaller red markings across her otherwise pitch ck and patchy white skin, and had four red eyes instead of two. Otherwise the athletic outline and the six de-like arachnoid legs sticking out of her back were the same.


    Sensing Riven¡¯s nervousness, Ath¡¯s mother grinned - and she stepped forward with an extended hand. ¡°No need to be wary. After seeing the lengths to which you¡¯d go in order to save my daughter, I am most pleased to make your acquaintance. It meant a lot to me, and the entire n, that you seem to continually put her above everything else - and fully support the rtionship you two have cultivated together. My name is Ytrikel¡¯Vorindi, although you can just call me Vorindi.¡±


    Riven reached out and took her hand, and to his surprise he was actually able to feel it. The tangible nature of thisher realm was somewhat different than others had been, but he wasn¡¯t sure why. ¡°It¡¯s incredibly nice to meet you, Vorindi. I just was somewhat blindsided! Ath would asionally talk about you before, and I guess I wanted to make a good impression in case I ever met you.¡±


    Ath giggled and her mother Vorindi smiled widely.


    ¡°No need to worry about that. As I said, you have done more than enough to make a good impression with the n.¡± Vorindi let go and put her hands behind her back, inspecting Riven and then turning her gaze to Azmoth. ¡°Fascinating. Your path has truly been fascinating. I must ask, Riven, when it is you intend to marry my daughter? I assume her first time performance was adequate?¡±


    ¡°MOTHER!¡± Ath barked, pping a hand over her face and blushing furiously that turned her skin a different shade of ck. ¡°You CANNOT ask such questions! Riven DON¡¯T YOU DARE answer that question!¡±


    Meanwhile Riven¡¯s own face had gushed a bright red, but he promptly nodded with an embarrassed grin. ¡°More than adequate. Just how much did you see?¡±


    ¡°Most of it.¡± Vorindi replied, unperturbed by the loud groan escaping Ath¡¯s lips. ¡°It isn¡¯t as if we can just look wherever we want to, but I can see Ath¡¯s experiences through her bond and I pay an information broker who utilizes scrying abilities to monitor you.¡±


    He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. ¡°I see. I probably need to get anti-scrying formations in ce around my manor¡­ Don¡¯t I? As for the marriage question¡­¡±


    He trailed off, settling his gaze on Ath who continued to hide her face behind her hands. But she did peak out at him a momentter to watch. ¡°Telling that kind of information would ruin the surprise, wouldn¡¯t it? As long as she wants to, that is. Not any time soon, but perhaps after everything on Panu settles.¡±


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    He let on a gentle smile and Ath¡¯s body went rigid - eyes wide.


    The response was more than enough for Vorindi, and she slowly pped while nodding in approval. ¡°I¡¯m incredibly happy to hear it and look forward to such a surprise. I will refrain from asking more questions on the matter before my child dies of embarrassment, but I approve. Hopefully when things have settled down as you say, you and I will have more opportunities to be acquainted. I am sorry for interrupting your contractual obligations, but I and the rest of the family now here couldn¡¯t help but set eyes on you in a more personal fashion. Regardless it would likely be wise to go ahead with the contract, I apologize for needing to stroke my own curiosity - if only briefly..¡±


    From out of the shadows, a spider leg waved his way - and Riven chuckled with his hands being shoved into pockets. Ath slowly walked over to him and pushed her head into his chest, wrapping her arms around him and avoiding eye contact while he stroked her hair. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s likely wise. Otherwise mother will keep embarrassing me.¡±


    She shot her mother Vorindi a re.


    Vorindi smiled innocently in turn, gave Ath¡¯s shoulder a kind squeeze, and then gestured towards the scarecrow. ¡°I believe you have an demon to speak to.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°That was very brief, but it¡¯s been a pleasure. Let¡¯s talk sometime soon after the contract is set. Maybeter this week?¡±


    ¡°Stop hitting on my mom.¡± Ath replied with a teasingugh, head still buried in Riven¡¯s chest. She looked up, red eyes wide, lips quivering, and she nted a firm kiss mouth to mouth while getting up on her toes before letting go. ¡°Let¡¯s go talk to the scarecrow.¡±


    During this entire exchange, Fimrindle hadn¡¯t moved even a single millimeter. Therge, carved X¡¯s for eyes in its metal face did not blink, did not twitch, did not shift. The metal jaw and teeth remained slightly unhinged, and a ck void remained at the back of its throat. Thentern and scythe on either side of the creature were utterly still too, and the rail thin body of the metal creature waspletely undecorated.


    It kind of looked like a child¡¯s stick drawing taken real form with a twist of evil to it.<ul><li><strong>Fimrindle, Unique: The Iron Scarecrow, Unholy / Blood / Death / Machine, Level 120. ELITE. - This truly odd and misunderstood demon created from metal was actually spawned as part of an experiment done by ck magic users who tried merging a machine, an undead, and a demon. The experiment was a sess, but the creators didn¡¯t survive the ordeal. After destroying multiple cities, the creature was banished and sequestered into a soul stoneid in a crypt at the bottom of an ocean trench. There he remains, waiting for the right summoner to take him from his wretched prison, so that he can once again experience life. He doesn¡¯t talk much, and he¡¯s a bit creepy even by Elysium¡¯s standards, but he certainly knows how to wield a scythe. [159 Willpower Required]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven came to stand beside the creature, taking in the entire rail-thin body. It didn¡¯t necessarily look all that impressive just at a first nce, but the description of the demon was promising.


    ¡°Tell me, Fimrindle, why choose me as a prospective master?¡± Riven eventually asked with a frown. ¡°You don¡¯t even have your ownher realm, which begs the question as to why that is. Don¡¯t most demons choose a summoner because they want to explore the mortal realms without danger to themselves? Yet, you¡¯re already there. It doesn¡¯t make sense to me.¡±


    An odd tugging sensation caused Riven to look away for a moment. When Riven¡¯s eyes came back to where the scarecrow had been a moment before, he nearly jumped out of his boots and took an involuntary step back - seeing Fimrindle¡¯s metal face only an inch away from his own with a wide smile.


    ¡°JESUS!¡± Riven muttered under his breath, heartbeat pounding in his chest while ring back at the demon. ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡±


    The scarecrow remained stock-still, continuing not to move a single inch while the X¡¯s for eyes stared nkly at the spot Riven had stood seconds beforehand.


    Catching his breath and straightening, Riven nkly stared and then sputtered augh. ¡°Are you just going to stand there? Or can you not talk?


    Riven blinked, and during that blink the scarecrow shifted its position - inspecting Ath with crossed arms and the scythenternbo settled on its back.


    Riven¡¯s brows furrowed. How the hell was this creature moving so¡­ jerkily? It was like watching a horror film where the ghost or monster made such abrupt movements that it couldn¡¯t be tracked between movements.


    Eventually Riven blinked again, and found Fimrindle looking his way again. And when the creature finally spoke, the mouth didn¡¯t move. Only a raspy, whispering voice was heard - as if someone from far away was yelling through a tunnel to talk to him. ¡°I am looking for one to teach me¡­ one that understands what it is like to be shunned.¡±


    Riven waited for the scarecrow to continue, but Fimrindle didn¡¯t utter another word. Riven clicked his tongue in thought, shot the others a nce - only getting shrugs, and sighed. ¡°That isn¡¯t much of an exnation.¡±


    Again the scarecrow did not reply.


    ¡°Mind expanding on that a bit?¡± Riven asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°You are interesting. As is your sister.¡± Fimrindle replied with that whispery voice. The jaw of the creature didn¡¯t move, but the words came out anyways. ¡°I do not fear death like so many others. I do not need contracts to live on, nor do I need aher realm to hide behind like so many other weaklings choose to do. Should I ever die, my soul will enter nirvana and be reborn. I am already dead, but I somehow remain alive. I am here standing before, and I am not. I am an abomination in the eyes of the system, a machine by body and a demon by nature. I try to find my path where there is none. I want you to help me find that path, and in return I can offer you help along the one you choose for yourself. That is all.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he contemted the words the demon spoke. Dead but still alive probably meant he was also undead. He didn¡¯t know anything about this ¡®nirvana¡¯ the creature talked about. Finding a path could mean arge number of things, but in the end it didn¡¯t matter too much as long as Fimrindle obeyedmands and got along with everyone else. ¡°I see. While that¡¯s a rather cryptic answer, I¡¯ll take it for now. What¡¯s your fighting style?¡±


    ¡°Assassin. I am a child of the Scythe, the great spirit that brings home the souls of the dead. Every movement I make must have meaning.¡±


    Riven blinked. ¡°You being serious? I haven¡¯t heard of this ¡®Scythe¡¯ spirit before.¡±


    Fimrindle took a while, but eventually acknowledged his words.


    ¡°By nature, the Scythe is the embodiment of death. It is in many ways an equivalent to the sins, but was a being spawned by the pir of Death as a manifestation of the end. Speaking of which - I do suggest that you begin to follow your own path more fervently, vampire; should you lose favor with Gluttony due to yourck of proper choice.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes widened, and he crossed his arms. ¡°Well this got a lot more interesting. What do you mean by myck of proper choice? What have I done to lose favor with Gluttony?¡±


    The scarecrow paused, then its whispering voice proceeded to echo back at him after a low and ominous chuckle. ¡°You have pleased it thus far. But you hold on to your humanity. I see your soul, Riven Thane, and I find itcking. I see potential being squandered. I wish to correct you, for both our sakes. Do not confuse violence and gluttonous wants with evil. You may still cultivate sin and the evil inside you without bowing to the notion of evil itself, though this is a harder path than that of embracing the essence of evil. I tell you now that the more you kill, the more Gluttony is appeased. The more you devour, the more you crave power, the more you grow, and the farther you will tread. Gluttony¡¯s aspect is simr to and almost abination of Wrath and Greed. You must eat, you must kill, you must grow, in a never ending cycle of self indulgence. You must learn to love these aspects of yourself, give in to your wants, for these are the fundamentals of Gluttony. Bathe in the blood of your enemies and drink them dry. When you do this enough, you will one day find your hunger insatiable - but only then will you find the true power your soul now wields. The true power your soul now buries under wed personal beliefs on the nature of good versus evil.¡±


    A shudder ran down Riven¡¯s soul aperture, and he felt his soul vibrate and resonate with the demon¡¯s words. The five shards of Gluttony surfaced in that moment, acknowledging the scarecrow¡¯s words as true with a tidal wave of overwhelming hunger, before fading again into the background once more. He even gained a very fleeting sh of inspiration, which caused him to almost stumble forward - but the images left as soon as they came.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± Ath asked worriedly, wiping sweat from across Riven¡¯s brow as he involuntarily shuddered. She red back at the scarecrow, not sure what was going on, but calmed down when Riven nodded his head.


    ¡°It seems you know a lot more about my sin than I do.¡± Riven stated after some time, the maw along his chestte rumbling in agreement. Jackal came up to his leg in canine form and rubbed against him, and he bent down to pet the weapon-turned-pet before straightening again to stare long and hard Fimrindle¡¯s way. ¡°Tell me more about this¡­ ¡®Scythe¡¯ spirit.¡±


    The scarecrow remained silent.


    Clicking his tongue, Riven continued with another question. ¡°Why should I choose you over the others?¡±


    The scarecrow yet again did not reply.


    Riven¡¯s eyelids dropped slightly, then he called the demon¡¯s bluff and turned around while putting his helmet on. ¡°I guess he doesn¡¯t want it as bad as I thought he did. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°The devil is a fool.¡±


    Riven paused at the scarecrow¡¯s words, smiling slightly underneath the metal of Messenger¡¯s protective shell. ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°He is impulsive and violent without forethought to any action. He will get you killed the moment he antagonizes an opponent greater than himself, and it will not be him that dies the true death because of it. The devil Chazi will not care if you die, as he will find another master so he can pursue the glory of battle at little risk to himself.¡±


    Riven turned around to stare at the scarecrow, folding his arms and nodding along. ¡°Ok. What about the others?¡±


    ¡°Rheufa Chak Tal is a deceiver. You have not met him yet, but when you do - ask him about what he did to hisst master. And if you do choose him, be sure to triple check his contract. It will no doubt be very long, and carefully worded in his favor in ways that you may not see. The snake, Yattazi, may be a monster but she is also pure in soul. She above all else follows her path with true fervor, and I have nothing negative to say about her aside from the fact that I would beat her in one on onebat.¡±


    A small chuckle escaped Riven¡¯s lips. ¡°Is that so? I would be interested in seeing such a battle. What about the Abyss-Lord?¡±


    Fimrindle paused. ¡°What Abyss-Lord?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow again and pulled up his list of potential demonic contracts, the list of 5 that Ath had narrowed it down to, only to see that list had dropped down to 4.

 Chapter 201

    Chapter 201


    <strong>Chapter 201</strong>


    The conversationsted a little longer, but not too long. Fimrindle had an obvious aversion to speaking, and it almost seemed like it pained him to do it. However Riven did get a lot of valuable information out of the scarecrow concerning his cultivation path revolving around the sin of Gluttony - which was a bit odd considering the demon didn¡¯t have a sin shard himself.


    The next andst demon he approached was Rheufa Chak Tal, the Thousand-Eyes Beholder, and the demon¡¯s realm was far more vast than any of the others had been.


    Standing on the edge of a cliff, Riven looked into the distance where the cliff dropped thousands of feet below. A deste, burning hellscape roared and erupted with volcanic plumes of magma, and overhead the sky thundered with ck clouds crashing into one another in spurts of lightning.


    The sight reminded him very much of Negrada, though itcked the giant ming eyeball in the sky or any kind of ruins. Otherwise the environment was the same though, and Riven casually waved to the right where arge beholder demon, very unlike the other two they¡¯d seen thus far, remained hovering over the cliff.


    The previous two beholders were slightly smaller than him - one being in his demonic assortment before he¡¯d chosen Fay as a subus, and the other being the one who¡¯d ambushed and helped kill Ath. They¡¯d each had dozens of eyeballs on stalks with a singr central eyeball farrger than the others, and rows of teeth in mouths underneath.


    This beholder was farrger, somewhat simr to the size of Ath in her Drider form, and its features were slightly different. Thergest feature change was that this monster¡¯s body was made of shadows very simr to how the Abyss-Lord had been.


    The same central eyeball in the center of its mass was present, the pupil was cat-like and glowing neon green, and it had arge mouth full of sharp teeth just like the others had. It also had numerous flickering stalks of simr but smaller eyeballs just like its weaker beholder counterparts, but extending beyond these and off its back were dozens more of these stalks that split, and split, and split again until they began to lose substance - ck fading into ghostly white before disappearing entirely into the air. They almost looked like snakes, or thick branches of vines that attached the demon to the air about its body, and then those same stalks would reappear only to have eyeballs attached at the end of them in different ces all around the area they now stood.


    More and more eyeballs began tearing out of space to re down on Riven¡¯s group, until hundreds and then multiples of hundreds of eyes stared down at him as one.<ul><li><strong>Rheufa Chak Tal, Unique: Thousand-Eyes Beholder, Unholy / Shadow, Level 126. ELITE. - One of the most calcting and cunning demons of his generation across the multiverse, Rheufa Chak Tal started his rise to power by burning away entire cities in the hellscapes when a certain incubus tricked him into giving up an item of power. Since then, Rheufa Chak Tal has waged wars against entire ns of enemy demons -ying traps and springing ambushes to blindside his enemies with long range bombardments from numerous angles. Since his recent evolution into bing a greater demon, his power has seen drastic upgrades and he has be an overwhelming force to deal with as he plunders enemy holds for wealth. He is known as an ambush predator, and a loner. [136 Willpower Required]</strong></li></ul>¡°Quite impressive.¡± Riven stated aloud, turning around and around - up and down until settling back on the beholder¡¯s main body while the stalks moved and shifted in non-existent winds. ¡°Makes me wonder what else you can do.¡±


    ¡°Rheufa Chak Tal, at your service. You may call me Rheufa.¡± A gentlemanly voice replied with an amused hum to his voice. His green eyesnded on Ath, and he began tough. ¡°Never did I think to see the day where a summoner of your caliber would consider marrying one of his demons. The prospect is hrious to me.¡±


    Ath hissed threateningly, while the others in the party watched on in silence. ¡°It is rude to spy on other people¡¯s realms.¡±


    ¡°It is in my nature to spy. To collect information. To evaluate my prospects of sess when undertaking such a task as this.¡± Rheufa replied with a silky voice - hovering closer and pushing his enormous eyeball up to the other demon. ¡°It would be stupid of me not to do so, but do not think that I am making fun of your situation. I am actually quite impressed that he¡¯d value you so highly, most summoners just look at us as tools - simrly to how most of us look at them. It is a symbiotic rtionship, they acquire our power and in turn we are able to level with diminished amounts of danger. Eventually the summoners usually die, and we are left in an ascended state whenpared to our prior selves. Or at least that¡¯s what generally happens.¡±


    Therge eyeball shifted around Riven at high speed, examining each party member in full with the vibrant green eye until settling back on him again. It smiled, sharp white teeth glistening under the body made of void-ck, shifting shadows. ¡°Now let¡¯s y at a question. Why would I, as a rather selfish individual by admission, submit myself to you? A summoner? When I am able to grow easily enough by myself?¡±


    Riven shrugged. ¡°No idea. You tell me, that¡¯s what we¡¯re here for right?¡±


    Rheufa sighed, and its eyeballs all rolled simultaneously. ¡°That was somewhat of a rhetorical question.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t seem like it.¡±


    ¡°Just stay quiet for a moment.¡± Rheufa cleared his throat in his gentlemanly voice, far too sophisticated for the demonic body it possessed, and narrowed its sight one more time on the vampire. ¡°What would you say, if perhaps I was able to show you a way to acquire not only myself as a contract - but up to 10 in total? What would you say if I could guarantee that you be not only stronger and survive the trials of integration, but that I could guarantee you be the first E-grade creature on your before even arriving in Chalgathi¡¯s next quest? What would you say if this meant your power ranking on Panu¡¯s powerdder would shoot you up to the number 1 spot, that I could guarantee your ability to conquer your world by the end of integration? That all you had to do to achieve this was pick me and ept my terms?¡±


    Riven remembered the words Fimrindle had spoken concerning Rheufa Chak Tal¡¯s previous master, and he folded his arms while considering the beholder¡¯s words. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of promises, and you¡¯re giving off used-cars-salesman vibes. No matter how good your promises are I can in turn promise you that I won¡¯t be picking you if the contract is shit. But if it is good¡­ then yes, I¡¯d be very interested in hearing your proposal. Just how would you follow through on all these promises? I¡¯m quite curious.¡±


    The beholder once againughed, and the green eye in the center of its body lit up. ¡°Your answer is a simple one, but achieving it will not be. You may die trying to acquire it, and the risk is extreme, but should you seed - I and any other demon you are contracted to will benefit immensely. I am greedy by nature, and wish for power, and in you - I see the potential to finally enact my n. Riven Thane, I wish for you to acquire the ss of demon lord."


    ***


    ¡°I¡¯m very grateful for my minions¡­ and more is always a good thing.¡± Riven began hesitantly, ncing over at Ath and putting an arm around her shoulders while smiling at Azmoth. ¡°But I¡¯m not entirely sure my way leads down the path of focusing on Willpower. It is growing exponentially harder to keep my contracts as they are, and holding more than a handful of demons will cost me a massive amount of stats in the Willpower category. Those are stats I¡¯d rather put towards building up my own body and mind.¡±


    ¡°The power you¡¯d gain by gaining our contracts would far outweigh the power you own yourself.¡± Rheufa said with a blink. ¡°Just think of the power you¡¯d gain with ten demons on par with Ath. You would be unstoppable.¡±


    Riven stared, then nuzzled Ath with his nose. ¡°Know anything about this?¡±


    Ath was frowning, but she nodded. ¡°I have heard of the ss, it is real, but I am not sure how to obtain it. The one downside is you¡¯ll have to pull a lot of points into your Willpower, as you said. A LOT of Willpower.¡±


    ¡°Yeah that¡¯s a no from me then. At least for now.¡± Riven replied with a sideways nce at Azmoth. ¡°That ok with you bud?¡±


    ¡°Do what best for you, not worry about me.¡± Azmoth stated promptly. ¡°I will get strong and catch you in time.¡±


    ¡°I never doubted you would.¡±


    Therge floating eyeball tried to convince Riven a couple of times about the prospects of the ss, and Riven was honestly tempted a bit. But he¡¯d been growing at high speed by himself despite what the demon said, and considering Fimrindle¡¯s warning - along with this demon having bound itself to the sin of Greed - Riven didn¡¯t necessarily trust Rheufa.


    ¡°So what happened to yourst master?¡± Riven eventually asked in a pause during their conversation. ¡°Fimrindle told me something happened to him, and to ask you what that was.¡±


    Rheufa¡¯srge green eye pulsed, almost angrily, and he stared the vampire down. He then grumbled something under his breath, and huffed to turn around. ¡°I suppose there¡¯s nothing more to be said. If you do not wish to pursue the path of the demon lord, then there is nothing more for us to speak on. I will find another.¡±


    Riven blinked, and immediately found himself back in Yattazi¡¯s realm with Rheufa gone. The transition was a bit jarring because it came without warning, but it wasn¡¯t unwee. Therge coiling snake was still mostly submerged in magma, but the huge frame of the beast that was out of the volcanic slide still dwarfed him a hundred times over.


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    Curiously enough, Fimrindle was also there - perched on his iron cross near the magma pool and next to the gigantic serpent who¡¯d resumed her normally sized form.


    Furrowing his eyebrows, Riven looked around.


    ¡°Have you declined the sssssslippery beholder?¡± Yattazi asked, its huge dark gray scales shifting with its swaying head side to side in anticipation. ¡°We await your decissssion.¡±


    His red eyes shifted to those of the gargantuan beast overhead, and then to the scarecrow. ¡°The beholder will not be joining my team, no. I wasn¡¯t all that interested in the devil. As for who I am going to choose between the two of you¡­ Honestly, I¡¯m torn.¡±


    There was apse of silence as Riven pondered his decision.


    Fimrindle¡¯s head cocked to one side during one of Riven¡¯s blinks, and a raspy voice echoed from its dark throat. ¡°Perhaps there is another way¡­ Your sister, she is a necromancer, yes?¡±


    Riven slowly nodded, eyebrows raised. ¡°Yes. Why? And how do you know about my sister?¡±


    ¡°I have ways. What level is she?¡±


    Riven shrugged. ¡°70 or 80 something. Why?¡±


    ¡°Because minions cannot outlevel their masters.¡± Fimrindle replied with a thick inhale. ¡°I believe it would be best that you take Yattazi as your own, and that I match with your sister. You see, I can artificially lower my ownbat level for months at a time, and truthfully I feel that she is a better fit for me than you are. I do not mean to use you, but my being is both a demon and an undead twisted into one. Perhaps you can talk to her for me, and though I would be weaker until she reaches my true level - I could give her guidance to reach the peak so that she may stand beside you in these turbulent times.¡±


    ***


    She stood atop the hill with herrge undead drake on one side, and her new metallic, scythe-wielding scarecrow on the other. It was certainly a good addition, and extremely good addition to her forces, with it easily being the most powerful of any servant she had. Why it had asked for her specifically she did not know, the answers he gave her were fickle even when shemanded him to tell her, but she was grateful for the opportunity to acquire him.


    Allie watched Riven leave down the mountainside on a huge demonic serpent, heading towards the old hospital entrance that¡¯d turned into a gateway into the underdark. Patrolled by numerous caravansing and going from Deepnest where the war with the dwarves still raged, and having been hollowed out to createrger pathways into the deeper parts of the world, Allie still didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to fit that enormous slithering creature down there with him. The creature was carving entire paths through the haunted forest, simply bulldozing everything in its way as other creatures of the night frantically ran for their lives.


    He very well may have to reduce the size or unsummon it altogether until they hit therger caverns.


    Tyranus, the dungeon boss turned undead minion she¡¯d flown here after getting Riven¡¯s message, tilted its head to look at the stick-still figure of the scarecrow silently crouching on the ground next to Allie. ¡°This creature is a strange one.¡±


    Fimrindle did not reply, nor did he even move.


    Allie turned her red eyes to look upon him, smiling slightly, before blinking and seeing her odd minion now havingpletely vanished altogether. She could feel him though, and turning around she saw the thin monster perched on the decimated rooftop of the broken down gas station. ¡°We¡¯re all odd in our own ways. It is unfair to judge one so.¡±


    ¡°Apologies, mistress.¡± Tyranus bowed low, the huge skeletal maw of the flickering monstrosity nearly hitting the ground in submission. ¡°I forget myself. May I ask, what are your ns now that you¡¯ve sent scouts to weed out the Rippenvire vampires? Do you truly intend to let Riven fight the dwarves on his own?¡±


    Allie nodded, ncing over at a dozen of her elite skeleton minions on the perimeter of the clearing that¡¯d apanied her here. They were all hooded mages, still somewhatcking their own will but still able to learn forms of her own magic - which made them rather intimidating whenpared to most of the popce on Panu. She sighed, then began walking over to the side of the drake to mber up onto its back. Sitting herself on a saddle specially made for the huge undead creature, she held to the reins and mentally turned him around - pointing towards the northwest. ¡°Yes. Riven is more than able to handle those rock loving halflings all by himself. They will take the knee, or they will die. As for me, I have my own meetings to attend and a cultivation path to acquire. Mara will finish off talks with Dawn concerning the rebuilding of their city, and the king and queen of Tereen will be escorted home tomorrow. Fimrindle, this is your chance to prove yourself valuable.¡±


    She waited for her skeletons to mber on behind her, then spurred Tyranus to take flight, and his enormous ethereal wings created from death mana and hollowed flesh tore into the air -unching them skywards as Fimrindle disappeared entirely without a word.


    ¡°Head northwest, over the mountains, until we see arge river. Then follow that river straight north for two days, and we should reach our destination.¡±


    Into the dark clouds gathering in the east and through a light drizzle, the vampiric queen soared towards her destination.


    ***


    Death pulsed with every step she took, the dying light of the sunset beckoning the night toe forward. The weaker creatures and lesser beings of this world involuntarily cringed and took a step back at her passing, bowing their heads in disys of reverence and whispering to one another as she took up the invitation from the alliance who¡¯d sent emissaries only days before.


    News of what the Thane Necropolis had be was far reaching. The feats of her empire, herself, and her brother were stered across the world¡¯s forums. These people, neighbors of her fledgling kingdom, were afraid.


    And rightfully so, but for her - it was not enough. Her power was not enough. She needed to catch up to Riven, to stand alongside him. She would not be left in the dust.


    The amphitheater was veryrge, and the hall she now walked down led towards it where hundreds more of nervous people whispered to one another. The alliance before her was created from different human factions that¡¯d banded together. Some of them were of Old Earth, but they were in the minority - with most of these people having originated from one of the other two worlds of Zazir and Elhisterii. She wasn¡¯t sure which, but they certainly were more acquainted with magic and medieval-style weapons - albeit enchanted ones - than the people hailing from what had once been a city in China.


    The dozen hooded skeleton mages all silently walked behind her, their eye sockets glowing a neon teal light, and wants out at the ready in case of any ambush attempt while Fimrindle remained out of sight.


    That creature truly was stealthy. If she didn¡¯t have a connection with him, she¡¯d not even have known he was there. He hadn¡¯t talked much since their introduction either, and she was still trying to get a handle on what he was like or what his motivations were.


    The stone amphitheater eventually opened up in front of her, with baubles of light held aloft overhead in racks along the tall walls, and stained ss windows painted the room in oranges, greens, blues and reds.


    The room quickly hushed on her arrival, and her crimson eyes searched the stands - identifying three individuals who stood at the bottom and ahead of the others as a greeting party. No doubt they were the leaders of the three faction alliance that¡¯d invited her toe. One was an Asian man from Earth who wore a pistol at his waist and an exquisite suit. Another was a very pretty young woman with silky ck hair that hung down far past her waist in a braided ponytail - wearing a blue robe decorated with golden sigils around a bird in flight. Thest was another human man who waspletely shaven to the point that he didn¡¯t even have eyebrows - though the wrinkles in his face showed he was growing older. He looked very much like a monk with in brown robes that were frayed at the ends of the sleeves, but he above all looked the most calm.


    She stopped only ten yards from them, putting herself into a confident stance and silently staring through the holes in her skull mask while the soul-stitched wand at her side hissed. Six hooded skeletal mages took positions on her left, while six took positions on her right, and people in the hallway behind her continued to whisper and stare from the shadows at the uing negotiations.


    ¡°This one greets the esteemed Queen of the Thane Necropolis. My name is Astrand, Great Shepherd of my flock - The Golden Bull Sect.¡± The monk said with a small smile, stepping forward and bowing low in a sign of respect - with everyone else in the room doing the same as he did just a momentter. He raised himself and sped his hands in front of him at chest level with the sleeves of his brown robe nearly causing his hands to disappear entirely. ¡°The ones beside me are Ryu Chen of Beijing, and Authin Verume of the Bluesilk Nest. We have heard and seen of your exploits, Queen Allie Thane, and we wish to extend our most sincere congrattions at your aplishment of defeating the Rippenvire fleets. To think that one of the invaders sent here by the system was already put to heel and routed so early is a great boon indeed, and our world owes you and yours a great debt for it.¡±


    Again he bowed at the waist, and again the entire room followed suit before he stood up.


    Allie sorted through them one by one. She was able to identify most of them, many of them having levels inbetween 15 and 40. There were a couple over level 60 though, and even one other S-grade on the powerdder who stood at the very back of the room wielding a ymore, but overall they were quite weak.


    Not that it mattered too much. These people were mostly politicians and leaders, rather than warriors, and they could have more S-grades waiting just outside. She simply didn¡¯t know enough about them.


    But she doubted any of them would be stupid enough to make a move. Call it arrogance or confidence, she was certain that she¡¯d be able to escape if push came to shove.


    She held up her right hand, and out of it flew a myriad of bones. They began stacking atop one another, building into one another as a vortex of magic much like the bone garden atop her tower in Brightsville came to life. Many of the people in the room tensed or reached for weapons and talismans as she summoned the low tier magic, but when they realized what she was doing - they either sagged their shoulders in relief or outright gawked in outrage at the tant insult.


    The bones stopped swirling as thest of them came into its intended destination. There, in the middle of their own amphitheater in the center of their hearnds, Allie sat upon a tall throne she¡¯d created from the skeletons of her enemies.


    Spines created the armrests. Skulls decorated the back of the support board, which itself was created from numerous ribs. Skeletal hands held up therge chair, and sitting in it caused her to look down upon the three insignificant specs of humans ahead of her just like the rest of the theater looked down on them as a whole.


    It was a statement, a statement telling them where she stood in rtion to them. But even despite this, despite the anger she saw on many of their faces, Allie didn¡¯t budge - nor did she see any of them brave enough to say anything about what she¡¯d done. Those scowls turned to slight gasps when she removed her mask to reveal her utterly stunning, pale features - with many of the men even looking on with a lustful envy intermixed into their fear.


    ¡°Your emissaries told me you wished to speak, so I came. It was good you called, there aren¡¯t many high density poption centers like this one near my empire outside of the Tereen elves we just conquered - even if it is split between three groups controlling the area.¡± Allie said slowly, pulling out a goblet made from the skull of her old arch enemy ¡®Prophet¡¯, and filling it with blood from a jug in her spatial sack before beginning to sip while. ¡°Tell me, what makes you want to speak with me? I wish to hear it in your own words.¡±


    Astrand, the older hairless man, nodded sagely while ignoring the fact that he was looking up at her now - as opposed to being on equal footing. ¡°I had hoped, young Queen of the Thane Necropolis, that our alliance could exist with your own - peacefully so. We had hoped to establish good rtions with a yer on the world stage such as yourself, and that of your brother, so that no unnecessary conflicts and death arise in the future. We had hoped to establish trade and perhaps an exchange of knowledge, so that we may all thrive in this new world we find ourselves in. That is why we have summoned you, your majesty, and it is my hope that we may someday even be friends in our quest tobat the darkness that gues this world.¡±


    Allie¡¯s beautiful smile widened, and her fangs were on full disy without her intentionally trying to do so. She nced left to where she felt Vin and Nin ready and waiting somewhere outside the building, having gotten there even before she did. ¡°Oh, but my dear friend¡­ perhaps I am that darkness."

 Chapter 202

    Chapter 202


    <strong>Chapter 202</strong>


    Trees cast shadows on their cabin. The sounds of the campfire crackling under the night sky grew louder as Julie added a handful of dry twigs. The young redheaded woman gave Hakim a wide smile, sitting down next to him as he roasted marshmallows over an open fire and kissing him on the cheek.


    ¡°You look unusually happy tonight.¡± Julie said while wrapping her arms around his waist in the warm forest breeze. She nced over to her mother Tanya, and her brother Tim who¡¯d managed to regrow his lost limb after they¡¯d spent all their hard earnings from the dungeon experience with Riven on a series of high quality potions.


    Tanya, who was putting another marshmallow on a stick and handing it to her teenage son, smiled back at her daughter who looked absolutely stunning in the formfitting white healer¡¯s robes she had multiple copies of. ¡°You make us all happy to be around, Julie. Your energy is infectious.¡±


    Hakim chuckled and pulled out a ming ball of what had once been edible, sighing when the othersughed at him before pulling it off and tossing it into the fire pit. His shirtless chest was heavily tattooed now, given the abilities and body enhancements he¡¯d acquired, which only kept Julie¡¯s eyes on him longer. ¡°Yes, your mother is right. How lucky I was to have met you!¡±


    Julie flushed in embarrassment, but not before Tim gave a loud snort.


    ¡°My sister still snores and farts far to often for my liking.¡±


    Julie gasped as her mother and lover began to loudlyugh around the campfire. ring at her little brother, she crossed her arms and harumphed. ¡°I do NOT SNORE! And it isn¡¯t my fault I¡¯mctose intolerant!¡±


    ¡°You could stop eating cheese.¡±¡°BLASPHEMY! Mom¡¯s pizza is too good! I¡¯D RATHER DIE!¡±


    The sound ofughter rose, but the sound of heavy boots trudging through the forest towards them caused the small group to pause. Hakim nced down the forested hill towards the outskirts of town where tiny lights littered the darkndscape, anding out of the darkness a familiar figure stepped forward.


    It was Caleb, the same man who¡¯d entered the dungeon with them when Riven had shown up. He still carried his semi-automatic rifle, though he¡¯d upgraded some of the runes along the weapon¡¯s side to empower its shots, and had the typical camo outfit he liked with a pair of night vision goggles on top of his head.


    He pulled the goggles off when he came around the bend in the forest path and strode forward with a smile to the cheers and waves of the others. ¡°Hey guys! Sorry I¡¯mte.¡±


    Hakim¡¯srge muscles flexed as he gripped his battle axe and waved it around in mock threat. ¡°Yes, how dare you not be faster! You court death!¡±


    Julie rolled her eyes and handed Caleb a long stick with a marshmallow attached to it, smiling gently when the man took it in turn and sat beside her mother on the other side of the firepit. ¡°d to see you came safely.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a scout ss! I can usually see danger a mile away. Literally.¡± Caleb winked, setting down his rifle and pulling out a small sack of goods from a backpack. He tossed over some twinkies, a couple chocte bars, some pre-cooked hotdogs with buns, and some paper tes before pulling out the big kicker: the vodka.


    ¡°OOOOOoooooh! Caleb!¡± Tanya said in a teasing flirty voice while waggling her eyebrows. ¡°You never told me you were bringing alcohol!¡±


    Caleb¡¯s face grew bright red when his friends¡¯ mother nudged up against him, and both Julie and Hakim began to cackle loudly while Tim rolled his eyes.


    Julie grabbed one of the hot dogs from Tim and then shook her head. ¡°Mom you need to stop doing that or he¡¯s going to think you¡¯re serious one of these days.¡±


    ¡°Who says I¡¯m NOT serious!? I¡¯m totally into younger, handsome men!¡± Tanya retorted with a frown, briefly ncing at Caleb sitting on the log next to her while his face went from red nearly to purple in embarrassment. Her grin only grew wider, but she spared him further stress by giving him a little bit of space and giggling. ¡°So Caleb, how did you like the new clothes I made you?¡±


    Taking the olive branch immediately, Caleb cleared his throat and shuffled nervously with the food in hisp - arranging it and rearranging it on the paper te while avoiding death res from Tim. ¡°They¡¯re great! The stat boosts they give me are definitely appreciated, your skills are getting better¡±


    Tanya beamed and started pouring herself a tiny cup of vodka. ¡°d you think so. However, I do believe¡­¡±


    Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened when, under the starry sky and with the backdrop of the small town in the distance, five men silently appeared on the forested edge of their clearing. All were utterly silent, all dressed in ck with white masks that hid most of their face. The familiar symbol of two crossed daggers hung as tiny metal amulets around each of their necks.


    It didn¡¯t take long after that for the others to take notice, and Hakim slowly turned to stand while hesitantly reaching for his axe and silently activating some physical buffs. His brows furrowed, and the five masked men turned their attention to him next.


    One of them, the central figure, raised a finger and wagged it back and forth. ¡°Do not be so hasty to start such violence, Hakim. We are not here to do you harm, we are merely sent as messengers. How you respond to that message dictates what happens next.¡±


    Hakim¡¯s nose wrinkled, and he put his body in front of Julie¡¯s while the rest of his tiny guild behind him. ¡°I already told Matt that I spent everything I had. Tim¡¯s leg took a lot of money to regenerate, I am not hiding anything and even if I were - it wasn¡¯t Matt¡¯s to take.¡±


    The central figure snorted, brushing Hakim¡¯s reply aside with a wave of his hand. ¡°That isn¡¯t my concern. What is my concern, is that we were paid to bring the lot of you in for a discussion.¡±


    ¡°How much did he pay you?¡±


    The figure shrugged indifferently. ¡°The Red Hand paid in items rather than Elysium Coins. Not many people have direct ess to the altars anyways in this remote section of the world, so items are better suited for our needs unless we wish to travel. But that doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is whether or not you¡¯re going toe quietly, or whether or not you¡¯re going toe missing a member or two.¡±


    Shadows in the forest began to move, and Hakim¡¯s eyes narrowed when more hooded figures on their right and left made themselves visible - if only barely.


    Tanya shuffled nervously, and her son Tim got to his feet with a gritting scowl.


    ¡°This is robbery, a shakedown. in and simple.¡± Tim snarled, clutching at a small pistol at his side.


    Immediately hidden weapons were revealed from the people on the perimeter, with a variation of knives, wands, crossbows, and guns.


    The central figurehead of the group slowly nodded. ¡°You¡¯re probably right. But in this world, where the apocalypse has descended and all around us monsters try to chew away what little we have left, you cannot me me for attempting to make a living. I am an honest mercenary, and if that asionally includes escorting particr groups of people to their enemies then so be it. I will say though, The Red Hand doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯re entirely convinced of your hidden treasures either - so as a gift to old friends, I tell you now that there¡¯s a decent chance you could talk your way out of this when you get there. Matt may be a thug, but he¡¯s not stupid. What is not negotiable, is the fact that you¡¯reing either way.¡±


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    ***<ul><li><strong>Luke Blissfallen, Level 17 High Elf Thrall (Stormrazor Battle Priest)(Warning: 3% soul decay detected)[10 Willpower Requirement]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven stayed in the shadows, a small demonic snake wrapped around his right arm while a spider clung to his left shoulder, and a shadowy jackal with red eyes sitting at his feet; dismissing the status page notification and having been impressed with Luke¡¯s progression. The old man, elf turned thrall, was almostpletely healed. Riven didn¡¯t know how much power he¡¯d retained or if any or all of the old man¡¯s abilities had finallye back after their link had slowly put Luke¡¯s soul back together piece by piece - but he could visibly see the change in the old man¡¯s body. Riven was happy that he¡¯d briefly stopped by before going into the underdark, because though he had less savory responsibilities as the most powerful person in the Thane Necropolis - he always enjoyed watching the small, important, and often overlooked things in life y out.


    Luke was ying with the children of therge orphanage Riven had set up in central Brightsville, and wasughing loudly as they climbed over his robes or threw buckets of water at one another. A couple of them were even practicing small forms of magic and miracles, with Luke specifically having taught many of them tiny amounts of wind and water magic from the Storm Subpir - forgoing the lightning based abilities just yet.


    Three stories high and guarded at all times by soldiers of the army, this ce was not only a vibrant and thriving school for the children who¡¯d lost their families - but was also an experiment of sorts in real time. Different children were progressing down different roads of cultivation, learning, and even crafting paths.


    Crafting paths. He snorted with a shake of his head. He¡¯d been wanting to pursue Totem Making for quite a while now, it fascinated him, and it¡¯d be a nice stress reliever. But he¡¯d simply not had time with everything going on the way it was.


    The thought made him wonder just how Hakim and the others were doing. Hopefully they were alright. It¡¯d been a while, but they did have that artifact to call him if need arose - so he was sure everything was as it should be.


    ¡°What thinking?¡± Azmoth asked in a gruff, demonic voice - leaning into therge magma-infused warhammer in front of him to support his enormous weight. ¡°Look deep in thought.¡±


    Riven nced left and smiled, his Gluttony-attuned helmet peeling back to reveal his pale features. ¡°Yeah. I was just thinking back to my friends from the tutorial, the ones I knew before I ever even met you. It¡¯s been a while, I was just mentally wishing them well.¡±


    Azmoth nodded sagely. ¡°Is good to have friends. You need more.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Do I?¡± Riven grinned, pping therge metallic shoulder of the obsidian tes fused into Azmoth¡¯s flesh. ¡°I¡¯ve got you guys! I¡¯ve got¡­¡±


    His smile faltered as he remembered Fay. His world quickly turned from that of an upbeat, warm feeling - to that of a cold and sad ce. It showed on his face, and Ath reached up one of her spider legs to lightly touch his cheek.


    ¡°You miss her.¡± Ath said sadly. ¡°I can tell.¡±


    Riven abruptly cleared his throat, then looked down to the spider with a nod. ¡°Yeah. I do. But I wouldn¡¯t ever give you up, she forced my hand.¡±


    ¡°Are you mad at me?¡±


    Riven considered the question, then sighed. ¡°Slightly. But I love you Ath, and I don¡¯t hold it against you. Let¡¯s just drop it for now, ok?¡±


    Ath hesitantly nodded her arachnid head, clicked her mandibles twice, and then snuggled into his neck where the red blood silk undeyer of his armor met with the ivory tes mail. ¡°Ok.¡±


    Yattazi seemed interested in the exchange - molten eyes ncing between the other three as a tongue flicked out underneath dark gray scales. ¡°Who issss this persssson you talk about? And can we find food sssssoon? I wasss wanting to cook! Dwarf, preferably!¡±


    Azmoth snickered at thestment, but quickly contained himself when he realizedughing right now probably wasn¡¯t appropriate. ¡°¡±We eat many dwarves together in underdark. Patience tiny snake.¡±


    ¡°I am MASSIVE dear brutalisk!¡±


    ¡°Not right now you aint!¡± Ath quipped back with a tiny tongue sticking out. ¡°Right now you¡¯re a slug! A teeny tiny ugly slug!¡±


    The rather sleek, dangerous looking snake wrapped around Riven¡¯s arm rolled her eyes - getting a chitteringugh from the spider.


    ¡°I am going to eat that ssspider, masssster.¡±


    Ath dramatically gasped. ¡°Bring it bitch!¡±


    Riven sighed with a shake of his head, though he was now smiling again. Yes, he supposed it was good to have friends such as these. Pushing off the wall in the alley he was viewing the three-story tall orphanage from, he made his presence known while stepping into the light.


    Immediately the guards around the perimeter of the orphanage tensed and bowed their heads, pping hands to their chests in a salute. There were orcs, humans, cyborgs, ghouls, skresh, and even a few goblins in the mix of the guards stationed here for the time being - making it a rather diverse outfit of over 50 people protecting nearly three thousand kids that lived here. The caretakers, mostly ghoul and human women but also having a good number of elves who had chosen to stay behind, all stiffened on the ygrounds in turn when seeing him approach. Some of them even prostrated themselves, while others, tried to round the children up to hush them or push them inside.


    The only one who did did not freak out was Luke. The old man¡¯s skin had a leathery appearance to it when he smiled, and his smile only grew wider upon seeing Riven approach. He waved, putting down a little boy he¡¯d been ying mock-wrestling with, and walked forward to meet his master with a hand outstretched.


    ¡°Good to see you!¡± Luke called out, surprising Riven by pulling him into a brief hug and stepping back. ¡°How have you been!? It¡¯s been a while since we sparred, have youe to bring me in for more lessons?¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes softened while taking in the little children who stared up at him in from a nearby pic table and a jungle gym on his left. ¡°No. I think your ce is here, more than teaching me how to be a pathetic excuse for a warrior.¡±


    The elf thrall¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, then he began tough while putting his hands on his hips. ¡°I suppose you weren¡¯t the greatest in up closebat, but you sure look the part with all that heavy armor you¡¯re lugging around. And hello to the rest of you! Azmoth, Ath, Jackal, Messenger, and¡­¡±


    He gave each of them a head nod - even the maw along the armor set that gurgled back at him, before staring at the snake wrapped around Riven¡¯s arm. He raised an eyebrow. ¡°New minion?¡±


    ¡°You got it. Her name is Yattazi, and she¡¯s usually a lot bigger than this - but I can¡¯t go around the city with a massive snake now can I? She¡¯d rip everything up.¡±


    The snake, who¡¯d been curiously examining the children nearby, turned her spined head to the older man and flicked her tongue out to disy fangs crackling with chaos energy. ¡°Hello, fellow servant of the massster! I am Yattazi, devourer of the living and great sssserpant of the volcano! You may kowtow before me one thousand times and ssshower me with giftsss for being allowed to basssk in my presssence!!! For I have gracioussssly chosssen not to eat you!¡±


    Ath chittered in amusement when Luke¡¯s face fell.


    ¡°I see she¡¯s a keeper.¡± Luke replied tly, ignoring the snake and turning to Ath. ¡°You told her to say that, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Ath took in a deep inhale, aghast. ¡°HOW DID YOU KNOW!?¡±


    ¡°That is exactly something that you would say. If Riven ended up getting two demons with your personality, I think this necropolis would be in for a real shit show.¡± He shook his head. ¡°So what is it that brings you here then, Riven? Anything I can help you with, if not training?¡±


    Riven¡¯s smile returned. ¡°I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing. Don¡¯t get me wrong, we¡¯ll trainter, but I have things to do and it¡¯d simply been a while. You¡¯re looking good, healthy even. I also saw your soul degredation was only at 3% now, you¡¯vee a long ways. Have your abilities returned?¡±


    The old man grinned mischeviously, pulling his hands out of his simple robes and producing a baseball sized orb of water that began to crackle with lightning. ¡°Yes. Though not all of them. The most prominent miracles I have are still being set into ce, but I can feel them. They¡¯re almost here.¡±


    Riven¡¯s smile grew wider. ¡°Awesome. You¡¯ll have to teach me more about the difference between miracles and spellster on. I know the basics, but not many people use miracles here.¡±


    ¡°That will change very fast if I have any say about it.¡± Luke hiked a thumb over his shoulder to the children in the background. ¡°They¡¯re all really fast learners, and I¡¯ve even captured a couple weak monsters for them to battle against in practice rounds! It¡¯ll all be controlled obviously, but cultivating the younger generations is something every great faction starts very early. At least that¡¯s how it was on Zazir before the merging of worlds. Now with the system here and the levels we can gain though¡­ it may be even more important.¡±


    Riven pped the old man on the shoulder. ¡°d to hear it. Do you work with Mara a lot? She is supposed to be overseeing these kinds of things.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Luke replied with a nod. ¡°That hottie is really something else¡­¡±


    ¡°Mara? The ghoul necromancer?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one.¡±


    ¡°You think she¡¯s pretty?¡± Riven replied with a teasing grin.


    Luke only blinked. ¡°Well I¡¯m straight and I¡¯m not blind, so obviously so. She¡¯s gorgeous! Just because you surround yourself with beautiful women like Ath, Kathrine and¡­ Others, doesn¡¯t mean the rest of us get so lucky all the time. Contain yourself and save some of the women for the rest of us, damn you!¡±


    Ath let on another dramatic gasp, hopped off Riven¡¯s shoulder and morphed into her humanoid form. She put both handed on the old man¡¯s face to pinch his cheeks with affection. ¡°YOU¡¯RE SO NICE! Riven, wrinkles here just got a lot of brownie points. Treat him well, and tha n you had to eat him - scratch that. We¡¯ll just eat Genua instead.¡±


    Riven could only facepalm and roll his eyes. ¡°Stop harassing my teacher. Anyways, it was good seeing you Luke. I¡¯ve got some ratkin and dwarves to visit in the underdark, along with some native vampires too if what Snagger told me was urate. Take care, keep safe, and I¡¯ll be sure to drag you out for a practice match whenever I get back.¡±


    Luke gave him a thumbs up after swatting away Ath¡¯s fingers with a scowl. ¡°This is how you do it, yes?¡±


    Riven chuckled. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the thumbs up motion. You have it right. Adios my friend.¡±


    ¡°Yes, adios to you too Riven. I¡¯ll see youter.¡±

 Chapter 203

    Chapter 203


    <strong>Chapter 203</strong>


    The hospital entrance that¡¯d once been a small hole into the basement was now dug out and fully cleaned. The corpses that¡¯d long since rotted away there from swarming nightmare creatures were long gone, and in ce of them were stalls of ratkin and citizens of Brightsville alike while they traded with one another at the mouth into the underdark. Guard patrols from Deepnest and the Thane Necropolis were both present, taking turns escorting people to and from the two cities in caravans where the trips wouldst nearly three days in most cases due to the goods they traveled with.


    Unless they took a spatial sack of course, but those were rare. Even in those cases, the threat of monsters and dwarvish ambushes were ever present - and one did not just simply walk into the underdark alone because of it.


    Unless you were Riven Thane.


    Riven casually strolled down the marked tunnels and pathways leading into the depths of the, humming to himself with his three demonic servants and Jackal¡¯s canine form in tow. The mood was upbeat, inrge part due to the hot cinnamon buns and meat-stuffed rolls he¡¯d purchased at one of the vendors before heading down here, as the food was very good.


    ¡°I rate it adequate. This is eptable.¡± Yattazi stated between snarfing some of the pastries down, wrapped around Ath¡¯s humanoid form and waiting with open mouth as the other demoness fed her pieces one by one. ¡°I need to start using this¡­ sugar substance, you speak of. It is quite good.¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t get diabetes.¡± Riven called out rather sagely with finger upheld.


    ¡°What¡¯s diabetes?¡±


    ¡°A disease you get from having way too much sugar. Kinda. It¡¯d take a bit to exin.¡±The twists and turns stretched into enormous underground biodomes, chasms of space that were connected by numerous shafts, and various creatures that were far different from the norm above ground. Neon-teal grasses, enormous fungi, and molds were all seen in abundance with some mushrooms being taller than he was many times over. Numerous species ofrge insects, bats, scaled reptiles, rodents with various types of dark-vision, and asionally signs of old battles between ratkin and dwarf were present along the path leading down. He passed one patrol of ratkin from Deepnest, who briefly stopped to question him before they realized who he was, and made quick time traveling through the underdark with only a few small exterminations to be had when he took a quick detour for curiosity¡¯s sake and stumbled upon a small swarm of huge carnivorous centipedes.


    They made good time.


    At the end of the day, Riven found himself standing at the entrance to the nesting cavern where a backup of caravans were smushed together and waiting in a slow-going line where ratkin soldiers were inspecting goods.


    ¡°Come-walk faster!¡± One of the ratkin soldiers, a four foot tall specimen with brown fur wearing chitin armor and a spear, called out while waving a wed hand. He bade three humans withnterns attached to their carts to continue down the path towards the city in the background, when he spotted Riven at the end of the line wearing his full te armor set.


    The guard¡¯s eyes went wide, and with a high pitched squeak he quickly prostrated himself. ¡°K-King Riven Thane! Batkin warrior-mage of necropolis-friends! I-we make way for you toe-walk!¡±


    The guard quickly got up and immediately started yelling at his fellow guards and the caravans to get out of the way, with many of the disgruntled merchants muttering to themselves until they saw who it was that the ratkin soldier was making way for. Many people upon seeing Riven were very familiar with the getup, and his demons Azmoth and Ath were pretty famous too. They¡¯d been disyed numerous times on both local and world forums across the cortex of Panu, and the most recent battle in Dawn¡¯s capital city of Mandon had left a very vivid image of Ath in particr when she¡¯d taken her archdemon form to wipe out not only the vampiric leadership - but also the harbingers of gluttony alongside Riven.


    The area immediately went silent, before whispers started exchanging across the lines of people waiting, and many of them quickly bowed or knelt. Many avoided eye contact, while others looked up at him with awe and curiosity.


    He gave them a polite wave, shrugged, and walked ahead of the line to where a couple dozen soldiers at the tunnel¡¯s mouth leading into the massive cavern containing Deepnest were waiting. ¡°Thanks. I was hoping I could be escorted to Rashtalia, Brood-Mother of Brood-Tarrow in Deepnest. She recently visited me in Brightsville and is waiting for me at herpound now for an audience with the queen concerning the war effort.¡±


    ¡°You heree to fight dwarf-killers?¡± The ratkin soldier who¡¯d originally addressed him went wide eyed with delight, and smiles spread across many of the faces of the other ratkin around him. ¡°I lead-show you to Brood-Tarrow! Come-follow, King-warrior of Thane Necropolis! Much respect-approval for helping us-we in our fight against killer-dwarves!¡±


    And with that, the ratkin excitedly began running into therger cavern beyond - with Riven following at a more leisurely pace.


    It was just like he¡¯d remembered it, but was busier if that was even possible - give the amount of trade that¡¯d erupted between his own city and this underground dwelling. The nesting cavern was enormous, spanning for a couple dozen miles or more into the earth directly in front of him - but due to the twists and turns in the distance it was hard to tell just where it ended. He certainly hadn¡¯t explored all of it the first time he¡¯d been here either, given the size.


    Tens of thousands of bioluminescent vines hung from the cavern¡¯s ceiling. Rivers snaked their way into the cavern through an absolute madhouse of activity, with hardly any organization to the mix-and-mash of city sprawled out before him. Most of the structures were created from dark brown wood, hardened y, or stone. The structures were most often hills, forck of better words, from the size of a house to many hundreds of timesrger than that, each of them having small burrows or tunnels dug into them where ratkin scurried in and out. Overhead and connecting the mounds wererge interconnecting scaffolding roadways created out of the dark brown wood, while the lower ground levels also had paths that zigzagged between therge mounds or followed the rivers flowing through the cavern.


    It was good to be back. Perhaps this time around he¡¯d have a little bit of time to explore before being burdened with meeting the vampires and the queen of Deepnest. He also wasn¡¯t looking forward to ughtering a bunch of dwarves, and hoped they¡¯d back down quietly if he arrived. But at this point based on reports he¡¯d received - he doubted they¡¯d stop their asinine attacks without a severe ass kicking. They essentially thought the ratkin were lesser than they were as a species, and that kind of mentality was often drilled into people from birth. Regardless, he¡¯d be finding out quite soon. Of that he was sure.


    ***


    Fay put the te down on her new master¡¯s table, having cooked him a meal and being bade to sit to eat while they looked over the dark, damp industrial city of smokestacks she now called home. Her stunningly beautiful sky-blue features were scrunched up with a sadness that hadn¡¯t left her ever since arriving, and her master - whose name was Ikarius - had taken notice that it¡¯d be worse.


    The old man gave her a friendly smile, pushed his fingers back through his graying hair, and picked up his fork before chewing on it slowly. ¡°This is good, Fay. Thank you for the meal.¡±


    She gave him a fond smile. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m d you like it.¡±


    Ikarius¡­ was an odd man. He was an F-grade warlock and small-time crime lord, low tier one at best, and most of his time was spent trying to carve a better living for himself out of the slums of a vast city in a poorer part of the Nerius Empire. Wrinkles were appearing on his face as time went on, and he¡¯d recently lost his daughter - who had been his solepanion for quite some time after his wife had passed. He wasn¡¯t a bad guy, Fay thought, and surprisingly enough he hadn¡¯t made a single move to touch her in any kind of sexual way ever since arriving. He¡¯d merely wantedpany, and after their interview had passed the initial phase - he¡¯d chosen her when hearing her sob story in theher realms. He¡¯d even be something of a therapist for her.


    ¡°How are you holding up?¡± Ikarius asked casually, taking a sip of an alcoholic beverage one of hisckeys had delivered earlier that day. ¡°I hope my men aren¡¯t making you too ufortable with the way they look at you. I can send them off if they are.¡±


    Fay nced hesitantly at one of the younger thugs under Ikarius¡¯s employment standing guard a few feet away, and the muscr man stiffened before turning his head to stare at the wall. She frowned. ¡°They¡¯re fine. I¡¯m used to it.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m sure you are, but that¡¯s still not ok if it makes you uneasy.¡± Ikarius graced her with a kind smile, then put his hands together when he realized she was just staring down at her te without making an attempt to eat. He let out a sigh, and closed his eyes. ¡°Have you thought about what I said?¡±


    Her frown deepened, and her lip began to quiver before she cupped a hand over her mouth. Taking in a deep breath, she let it out slowly. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± He asked curiously. ¡°What do you think? Would you like to meet him? My nephew is a very kind man, he¡¯d make you happy.¡±


    Fay¡¯s ck eyes turned upwards, and she shook her head no. ¡°Thank you, master. But I¡¯m not interested in pursuing any kind of rtionship outside of my contractual obligations.¡±


    He nodded just once. ¡°Very well. Have you talked to your brother recently about how things are going over on¡­ What was the called again?¡±


    ¡°Panu.¡± She stated simply. ¡°He¡¯s tried talking to me, as have my mother and sister, but I think I just need some time. I¡¯ve exchanged pleasantries with them in short bouts, but nothing serious. I think it¡¯ll be a while before I¡¯ve truly moved on from this. Riven was¡­ he certainly wasn¡¯t perfect. But he was kind, and he was mine¡­ Or at least I thought he was.¡±


    She picked up the fork in front of her, and then slowly pierced some of the food before bringing it to her mouth to chew solemnly. She swallowed, then slumped her shoulders and leaned onto her elbows while her fingers dug into her head - trying to hold back tears. Huping once, and wiping away some of the water welling up under her eyes, she sniffed. ¡°Sorry. I don¡¯t mean to be like this.¡±


    The old man smiled sadly. ¡°You remind me very much of my daughter, you know that?¡±


    She gave a lightheartedugh despite the umtion of tears. ¡°Yes, you tell me all the time.¡±


    ¡°Well I mean it.¡± He leaned back in his chair and looked over the balcony on the city streets far below them. ¡°I remember a very simr situation with her. She¡¯d fallen for this boy named Havuski. He ended up choosing another woman over my little girl, and she ended up finding someone much better for her before the end of her life came to an abrupt stop in that ident. Despite that, I believe she always regretted that she couldn¡¯t be with her first choice. It haunted her until her dying day, even while loving the man who was better for her in her own way - and it pained me to see her like that.¡±


    Ikarius turned his head and tilted it to the side. ¡°You say you loved this man? This, Riven?¡±


    Fay nodded but then hesitated with a shrug. ¡°I¡­ I think I did. I think I do. I was happiest when I was with him, especially near the end. But it doesn¡¯t matter because he chose her over me when I gave him that ultimatum. He is my person, but I am not his. It is that simple, and I need to ept that fact before I drag myself into a deeper pit of despair. And I¡­ Ugh. I just wish it¡¯d been someone else. If it¡¯d been anyone else other than Ath, I would have been ok with it. But she just¡­ she intimidated me. She was one who already held his heart, and I knew it. Maybe I made the wrong choice in leaving.¡±


    Ikarius tapped his fingers on the wooden desk thoughtfully. ¡°I think you should talk to your brother. It sounded to me that you two ended on a very sudden, abrupt note and in my opinion - it¡¯d be wise to have more closure before moving forward. At the very least, you could pass a message to this Riven through Tupper and let him know how you feel. Get your feelings off your chest, and have an outlet for the emotional pain you¡¯re keeping bottled up inside. It is unhealthy to remain in this mental state, Fay, and you shouldn¡¯t allow yourself to wallow in such self pity.¡±


    She didn¡¯t look up, but absentmindedly yed with her food using her forks - ignoring the stare from the hired thug in the background that continued to undress her with his eyes. ¡°I think that might actually be a good idea. It all happened so fast¡­ and there are still things I want to say. Thank you for your advice, Ikarius. I¡¯ll take some time to think about what it is I wish to convey, and then I¡¯ll let you know what happens afterwards.¡±


    The old warlock smiled in approval, taking another sip from his cup. ¡°Very good. I look forward to hearing the news.¡±


    ***


    High Queen Nephridi stood overlooking her great capital on the usual balcony she used in meditation. It was in the highest tower of her sprawling, gothic pce, and her slender hands were sped behind her back when she heard the faint footfalls of her invited guests.


    The rays of sunset cast orange-red hues on her otherwise white dress that hugged her skin, and she turned her crimson eyes on the three neers while they bowed in submission. One was a young man, the one to be wed to Allie Wraithtide after his parents had won the bidding war on her hand in marriage, and the other two were those same parents. They were all pureblooded vampires, pale with eyes like her own, all of them wearing red and orange robes with the symbol of a green me decorating the front of their clothes as a symbol of their house. All had pitch ck hair, and their gazes were excited and expectant when she bid them rise.


    She nodded in approval. ¡°Duke and Dutchess Barimont, and your youngest son - Lord Justo Barimont. It is a pleasure to meet all of you in person outside of formal affairs. I do believe this is the first time?¡±


    She tilted her head to the side, trying to remember if she¡¯d ever talked to any of them outside political gatherings.


    She hadn¡¯t.


    ¡°High Queen Nephridi!¡± Dutchess Barimont stated fondly, stepping forward to bow low. ¡°I thank you so much for allowing our child the hand of the princess in marriage! I promise that we will not disappoint you, and will bear many offspring with the gift in your name!¡±


    The Duke looked absolutely thrilled to be here but let his wife take the lead, having heard rumors that Queen Nephridi got along better with females - which wasn¡¯t entirely true, but even the queen had heard them. Meanwhile, the young buck they¡¯d dragged along out of their backwater sr systems was jittery with excitement. Tond the hand of Allie Wraithtide in marriage meant a massive increase in standing for their family, who¡¯d only recently risen to nobility after conquering some neighboring factions in a coalition effort, and they¡¯d originally started off as merchants dealing in weapons of war.


    They were essentially arms dealers.


    High Queen Nephridi put on a smile that didn¡¯t touch her lips. ¡°Yes, well you were the ones who paid for it after all. To the highest bidder gets the spoils. So long as your son does just that, and produces sufficient heirs, I have no qualms.¡±


    There was a pause, and when his parents didn¡¯t seem to know what to say next - the younger man stepped forward with a bow of his own. His suave locks of ck hair were gelled back to the right side of his head, and he looked a little too smug for his own good.


    ¡°My queen¡­¡± Lord Justo Barimon said with a wide grin. ¡°I appreciate your consideration. I truly do! And in the light of wanting to pursue your goals early, perhaps it would be in all of our best interest that we start trying sooner rather thanter.¡±


    There was yet another pause in the conversation as the queen considered the young man¡¯s words.


    Nephridi raised an eyebrow and a small smirk. ¡°Oh? You do realize that the integration of their still has another four and a half years left. That amount of time is but a blip on the horizon of our life spans, young man. Do not let your hormones get ahead of you.¡±


    Seeing the queen¡¯s demeanor change for the better, the parents of the young lord both gave nervousughs of their own.


    ¡°I do realize this.¡± Lord Justo Barimont replied eagerly, smoothing out his red and orange robes with a quick motion. ¡°But you see, I am in the F-grade as well. Only level 78. Please correct me if I am wrong, High Queen, as I do not mean to offend. My information may be outdated or just t out incorrect, but if it is possible - I could potentially travel to Panu on my own. If I were older and stronger, I know this wouldn¡¯t be doable - but system restrictions concerning the trademunes would probably allow me passage. I wish to introduce myself to my new fiance, to let her know in person what has transpired here. It would be a true shame if she were to find out through someone else, and I believe Kathrine - the lesser princess of House Crushada whose family has imed Riven - would be able to set up a meeting now that we are on better talking terms with the two lost Wraithtide heirs.¡±


    High Queen Nephridi rubbed a finger along the edge of her lips in thought, eyes narrowed. ¡°You do realize what Allie Wraithtide¡¯s demeanor is like, I hope?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, I¡¯ve kept track of the broadcasts that the system allows out! It is a very popr thing to watch amongst both themoners and nobility.¡± Lord Justo Barimont replied with a beaming grin - disying his fangs. ¡°She will make a fine wife!¡±


    Nephridi snorted. ¡°I see. Very well. Just be sure to have guards there when you break the news to her.¡±


    The young lord furrowed his brows in concern, ncing to his parents before looking back at the queen. ¡°... Your majesty?¡±


    ¡°You must remember.¡± The queen continued, turning back around to stare out over her great city once more. ¡°That Allie and Riven Wraithtide were not brought up as children in the Blood Moon Requiem. They do not have the same obligations, experiences, thought processes that we here in our homnd do. She might take the news well, you are a good mating prospect for her, but part of me believes that she may need to be slowly prodded into the mindset of knowing her ce here in the empire. She may be a high princess, but just like everyone else of the royal bloodline - she has a duty to fulfill. Even I do. So until you are sure that she has epted her ce, be sure to have the guards with you at all times. She can be rather bloodthirsty and violent¡­ a positive trait to be certain, but not when it is directed at you.¡±


    ¡°Even if she doesn¡¯t wish it, surely she should acknowledge her duty and the right that we paid for.¡± The younger man¡¯s father, Duke Barimont, stated with a frown.


    High Queen Nephridi nodded without looking back, hand still sped behind her. ¡°Yes, she should. One way or the other, she¡¯lle around - even if I have to send a fleet across the cosmos to take that tiny insignificant after the five years are up if a worst case scenario urs. I am not saying no to your son, Duke Barimont. He can visit Panu whenever he wants and has my blessing to do so. I am merely saying that he should be careful when offworld on a where she might not take kindly to the news - where not even a single E-grade or above from our empire is there to protect the little lord. You may supply your son with protective treasures to subdue her if she chooses to get violent, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware of the incredibly steep taxes to Elysium thate with anything above F-grade duringary integrations. Some items are even banned.¡±


    The young lord¡¯s mother, Dutchess Barimont, grinned. ¡°Oh yes, we¡¯ve already looked into that. Our son will be outfitted with the best if you give your approval of his leave to visit our future daughter inw, though I hope that he doesn¡¯t need to use it. We hope above all else that she falls in line and realizes the amazing opportunity she is being presented by joining with our esteemed house. Do not worry my queen, we will raise her to the expectations you have set for her - and we will create a properdy of the court out of her just yet.¡±

 Chapter 204

    Chapter 204


    <strong>Chapter 204</strong>


    <em><strong>Approximately 1 day ago¡­</strong></em>


    Kathrine nervously fumbled with the locket of her family¡¯s crest around her neck. ncing nervously over to the high prince next to her as the array began to buffer, she caught his gaze and received a wide smile.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Riven asked curiously, tilting his head to one side. ¡°You look nervous. Surely the queen isn¡¯t that bad.¡±


    Kathrine would have paled if she wasn¡¯t already so given her vampiric heritage, and her crimson eyes shifted away. She brought a handful of pristine, silky brown hair out to her side and started stroking it absentmindedly. ¡°Oh it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s nothing to be concerned about. Everything is fine.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrow raised in thentern light of the array room, ignoring the ritualists as they finished tweaking thest bits for their transition to meet the queen - his great grandmother. Surely it couldn¡¯t be that bad, his meeting with the general of House Wraithtide¡¯s forces had been quite good. Kathrine had also told him the queen was heavily invested in his sess. So why was she acting like this all of a sudden?


    He shrugged. No doubt he¡¯d find out soon if something was amiss, but he trusted Kathrine. She¡¯d been pretty solid so far and she had given him little reason to distrust her. ¡°If you say so.¡±


    The high prince and lesser princess of the Blood Moon Requiem stood side by side after that, awaiting in silence, until they were urged to step into the center of the arrays once more.


    The transition was abrupt.Finding himself seeing two versions of reality again just like thest time he and Kathrine had visited General Viku of House Wraithtide¡¯s military forces, Riven now stood not on a gship supercarrier with a scene set in outer space; but rather he was standing in a small circr room.


    The room was closed off from the outside, only a single brilliantly redntern overhead shedding light onto the interior. An abnormally beautiful, scantily d woman in white lingerie with chestnut colored hair was meditating, floating cross legged over a pool of blood that danced and writhed underneath her in intricate patterns drawn in the air using the liquid of the pool underneath. The patterns would shift, reorient themselves, and then disperse to coagte back into the blood pool below, and when this woman opened up her eyes - the very room shuddered with power.


    ¡°Your excellency! I have brought your grandson as requested!¡± Kathrine said in a small voice, bowing deep before outright prostrating herself along the ground in an act of absolute submission.


    Red light leaked from the high queen¡¯s pupils, and her gaze caused Riven to gasp and fall to one knee when her aura very lightly brushed against his soul. It was as if an ocean of power hid underneath that gaze, and for a brief moment - he could sense something akin to only what he could describe as divinity. A divinity rted to the origin of the Unholy Foundation and the Subpir of Blood. It was so vast and so powerful that Riven without a doubt knew this woman could blow away his entire world with a quick stroke of her hand, and it made him wonder just how the cosmos had survived ancient monsters like this one roaming around the multiverse.


    ¡°You felt it¡­ The touch of the blood god. Not many do.¡± The woman said with a pleased hum in her words and a smile on her perfect lips, staring Riven down even while Kathrine gave him a confused look from the position she¡¯d prostrated herself in. ¡°That is¡­ promising. Wee, Prince Riven Wraithtide of my lineage. It is nice to finally meet the son of my favorite granddaughter. My name is Nephridi, High Queen of the Blood Moon Requiem, Bringer of the Red Tide. I wee you home.¡±


    Her aura let off, and Riven¡¯s wheezing breaths immediately ceased. He took a while to reorient himself after having his very insides sted with unnatural amounts of insights he could not possibly hope to grasp, a brush against an absolute titan¡¯s might, and he stood on wavering legs to get a better look at the woman who was his grandmother.


    He took in a shallow breath, evaluating the pale but stunningly pretty older woman in his wraith-like hologram body. ¡°Nephridi. It is finally good to meet you¡­ Mom always used to speak of you when I was a kid. Especially after dad left.¡±


    To this, the high queen¡¯s demeanor immediately changed. Her intimidating and imposing aura that¡¯d been lingering in the background immediately vanished in its entirety, and a bright smile illuminated her features to show genuine affection. ¡°Did she!? Ah¡­ how I miss your mother. Sheline truly was a masterful student, a masterful granddaughter, and the one I loved most out of all my family. As a child: she used to steal pastries from the chefs and bring them to me when I was feeling sad, you know. She and I used to snuggle in bed and read each other stories out of books her tiny hands could barely hold up. I have faith she¡¯ll return to us yet, though when that will be or why she¡¯s been gone still evades me and troubles me greatly. But enough of that, we have so much to talk about! I only wish you were actually here so that we may eat and drink together!¡±


    He nodded - conflicted between feeling happy to hear of his mother¡¯s childhood, and sad because of her disappearance. ¡°Yeah. Her absence bothers me too¡­ but if you have faith she¡¯lle back, it gives me hope. I miss her. A lot.¡±


    The high queen flicked her wrist, and a form fitting white dress epassed her body while bare feet touched down onto the floor just beyond the blood pool. The patterns in the air drawn in blood quickly disappeared, and she stepped forward, reaching out to the hologram and barely touching it with two of her fingers to bop him on the nose with augh. ¡°I¡¯m curious, tell me what stories she had of me! I¡¯d love to know!¡±


    Surprisingly enough Riven felt it and even flinched back slightly. How she was able to reach through a spatial array like that was¡­ interesting, and unexpected.


    Though he felt a little off by the exchange, he was genuinely curious about his long lost great grandmother. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully while Kathrine remained reverently kneeling beside him in silence. ¡°Is it true that you once dumped an entire cart of rotten fruit on a romantic rival of yours and med it on mom?¡±


    The high queen blinked, then began loudly cackling.


    From the reaction, Riven could safely assume that it¡¯d indeed been true.


    ***


    ¡°And that my little grandson is why I don¡¯t ever walk backwards in swimming pools anymore!¡± Nephridi grinned and popped a candied fruit into her mouth, humming to herself while sitting on a balcony chair right outside the meditation room she¡¯d originally been in.


    Riven chuckled, a warm smile on his lips while curiously gazing out across the horizon. Spires and towers riddled thendscape, portal gates sent people to and from different parts of the city in numerous ces, and millions of people could be seen riding airships, crossing walkways between spires, or walking the gilded streets far below. It had the feel of a medieval, magical fantasy city, and would have been perfect if not for the massive amount of ves following the vampires around.


    Though he knew that in some ways, thinking this was hypocritical. Even if what he¡¯d done to the elves, albeit temporarily, was in retribution for what they initiated - he¡¯d still enved them. And the he owned as an inheritance had billions of ves, while freeing them would probably cause massive amounts of problems for not only him - but the trading hub the ce had be. Kathrine had even warned him he¡¯d have riots on his hands and outright warfare between vampire and cattle if he took that route.


    Riven turned to his great grandmother, ignoring Kathrine who stood rigid and still beside them like a pretty light pole in her own semi-translucent form, and he head-bobbed towards the sprawling city of exquisite gothic architecture. ¡°You have quite the view here. Is it really true that you adjusted the atmosphere so our kind could walk around in the sun?¡±


    Nephridi nodded, humming to herself and popping in another candied fruit. ¡°Yes I did! Many centuries ago I perfected the art. Quite something, isn¡¯t it? And thank you, this is the view I most often visit here in the pce. I spent a lot of time just watching while in meditation, it helps calm my mind.¡±


    The queen cleared her throat, then nced back at the minor vampiric princess who hadn¡¯t spoken a word since arriving. ¡°My dear, have you discussed with Riven the auction your family won?¡±


    Immediately Kathrine tensed, and she bowed her head to slowly shake it no. ¡°I am afraid not, my queen.¡±


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    ¡°Why¡¯s that? Are you ashamed?¡± Nephridi frowned, then looked to Riven with amusement. ¡°I believe she may be embarrassed.¡±


    Riven was still viewing the sights, looking down off the balcony to the pce grounds far below where gardens were attended to by cattle, replied anyway despite his mind being on other things. ¡°Why¡¯s that? What¡¯s she have to be embarrassed about?¡±


    There was a pause in the conversation where the queen simply waited for Kathrine to speak, and Kathrine failed to do so - fidgeting with her pale fingers and hands while staring wide-eyed at the floor.


    Nephridi eventually sighed when Riven curiously turned around, and the older woman stood to join his image at the balcony¡¯s stone edge. Leaning against the barrier at waist height, she tisked and let out an exhale. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s about time we have this conversation, though you may not like it.¡±


    That certainly got Riven¡¯s attention, and he stopped gawking at the sights around him to turn squarely on the queen. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Nephridi didn¡¯t skip a beat. ¡°Do you know why our empire managed to rise to the ranks of what many in the multiverse would call one of the peak factions? We are easily in the top thousand whenparing military might, and in a multiverse with hundreds of universes - each having trillions ofs, that¡¯s nothing to scoff at. It is hard to tell just what rank we hold, beyond that, as in the top tiers of power many secrets are kept from one another - but there are not many who are willing or able to stand against us when our entire might is mobilized.¡±


    Riven blinked. ¡°I suppose I don¡¯t know how it managed to do that. Enlighten me.¡±


    The queen looked up, then sadly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s because of our bloodline, Malignant Prophecy, inherited from one of the three great dragons of time. That particr backstory is a long one and not for today, but it can be said that I and the other elders of our empire have cultivated our prophetic gifts to rise nearly to the very top. Our royal bloodline is our most valuable resource, and thus each of our family have a duty to replicate it as much as possible for the good of the empire. That requires a partner, one who is also a pureblooded vampire - like you.¡±


    She let the words hang there in the air, and Riven digested it before eventually shrugging.


    ¡°I suppose this is the part where you tell me I need to make an effort for offspring with the gift, to serve the empire by creating more like us.¡± Riven stated indifferently, much to the surprise of the queen and Kathrine alike. He sighed when he saw their reactions, then turned his attention back to the cityscape sprawling before him. ¡°Ath already told me that was likely to happen.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Ath is your demonic servant, correct?¡± Nephridi asked curiously, relief obvious in her features due to theck of a hostile reaction. ¡°I was afraid you¡¯d be angry about it.¡±


    Riven clicked his tongue in irritation, ncing sideways at his grandmother with a nod. ¡°Yeah it¡¯s a bit irritating, I won¡¯t lie. I don¡¯t like the idea of being used as a broodmare - or whatever the technical opposite of a broodmare is, as I suppose a broodmare is a female horse. Regardless - I don¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°But you ept it.¡± Nephridi replied after a brief evaluation of his stance. ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Riven replied tly with a shake of his head. ¡°I¡¯ll outright refuse if Ath doesn¡¯t feelfortable with it.¡±


    Nephridi raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re basing your cooperation on a demonic ve?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not a ve.¡± Riven snapped in irritation, surprising the queen once again with the venom in his words. ¡°She¡¯s my best friend¡­ more than that. I love her.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°But you¡¯d be willing to do so without causing trouble if Ath feltfortable with the idea?¡± Kathrine eventually interjected, causing both of the others to turn and look at her. She immediately shrank back, bowing her head again when the gazesnded.


    Riven snorted, then sighed and closed his eyes. ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°It is a duty we all must bear, Riven.¡± Nephridi stated simply. There was no hostility in her voice, but there was a firmness there that emphasized she¡¯d not back down from the decision. ¡°Kathrine¡¯s family is a good one, and she is a suitable match. They¡¯ve already paid for the opportunity to acquire your hand in marriage, and-¡±


    ¡°Paid?!¡± Riven interrupted with augh. ¡°Marriage!? You¡¯re kidding.¡±


    Nephridi looked a little put off being cut off, and her demeanor shifted to irritation. Kathrine looked utterly terrified for a few moments, but visibly rxed when the queen just pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.


    ¡°I am not kidding. What¡¯s wrong with Kathrine, if I may ask?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with Kathrine. She¡¯s very pretty, has been very helpful, and we get along. However the fact that I was not informed of being auctioned off in itself is a very big red g, and again - I won¡¯t be doing anything unless Ath agrees to this.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°No, you do not.¡±


    Riven folded his arms and red Nephridi¡¯s way. ¡°You might be the queen of a cosmic superpower, but unless you want to make an enemy of me forever - you will not force this on me. If you really did love my mother as much as you say you did, you¡¯ll back off.¡±


    ¡°I cannot do that.¡± Nephridi said with a firm shake of her head. ¡°Even I partake in the effort to create such offspring. Every one of us that is born is a boon to the empire beyond what you can even imagine. Wars have been waged and genocidesmitted to retrieve even a single one of our number from enemy hands. I will not and cannot back down now. Even if I did, the other elders would rebel against me and dere me unfit to rule. You will do as you are told, Riven.¡±


    His features immediately grew angry, and his fists clenched. He did not immediately reply, but when he did - his words were ice cold. ¡°Let me be very clear, grandmother. If pushes to shove, you will be making an enemy out of me forever - and I will simply disappear. Is that what you want?¡±


    ¡°It obviously is not.¡±


    ¡°Then you will make damn sure that Ath is ok with this before it is done.¡±


    The queen sighed, rubbing her forehead with two fingers. ¡°It sounds like you¡¯ve already somewhat discussed this with your demonic friend. You won¡¯tin if we make amodations for your¡­ lover?¡±


    Riven lost the tension in his shoulders. ¡°Well I am a very straight young man in his prime. I honestly would rather have been with ''the one'', but ever since Fay left I''ve had time to rethink things... Your proposition isn¡¯t as bad as I would have once thought. Kathrine and I have already slept with one another and I feel like we¡¯repatible. I won¡¯t sacrifice Ath¡¯s feelings for your gains, but I¡¯m not necessarily opposed to your evil plot either. If you can find a way to make Ath feelfortable, and I mean EXTREMELYfortable with the idea - I wouldn¡¯t be against it. It''s a dream of many young men, that can¡¯t be argued against.¡±


    He turned to Kathrine next. ¡°And you¡¯d have to be ok with Athing first even if she did agree. Ath and my¡­ Ath and Fay, the subus I had contracted with, were at odds with one another because they couldn¡¯t trust one another. They were¡­ jealous of one another, is what I gather from talks with my minions. As long as Ath feels secure in our rtionship, and knows she is loved and won¡¯t have me stolen away, that¡¯s all that matters. It¡¯s your job to make sure that¡¯s how it is if you want this to work.¡±


    Kathrine visibly rxed, and then even seemed eager with the first real smile since she¡¯d arrived. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll speak to Ath about it when we get back¡­¡±


    Nephridi¡¯s happy smile showed her fangs. ¡°Very good! That was far easier than I thought it would be! A weight off my shoulders. Now, we have a couple dozen other young women of the court that¡¯d be more than-¡±


    ¡°Stop.¡± Riven held up an irritated hand to cut his grandmother off again. ¡°Please, for the love of god. Just stop.¡±


    Nephridi sighed in mock defeat. ¡°Fine. But we will have this conversation againter!¡±


    Riven grimaced, but didn¡¯t miss the giggle and the bounce to Nephridi¡¯s step when she whirled on a relieved Kathrine to congratte the minor princess.


    ¡°Now we just have to convince his sister! The auction for her hand just ended, and it¡¯s a rather good match if I must say!¡± Nephridiughed, only to turn and find an absolutely rigid Riven on her left. She frowned. ¡°What is it?¡±


    He adamantly shook his head. ¡°Alright, all jokes aside - that¡¯s not going to happen. You can have me, but Allie isn¡¯t going to be forced into a marriage like that. Zero chance.¡±


    ¡°We just had this discussion, Riven.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m telling you, Nephridi, that so help me god I will make it my life¡¯s goal to get revenge on you and any motherfucker that touches my sister if she doesn¡¯t want to enter an arranged marriage.¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°Riven, let me be blunt.¡± Nephridi said with a frown. ¡°My hands are tied here. Though I am the high queen, I am only one of seven elders that runs the empire. If I am showing favoritism towards my great grandchildren, the other elders will evict me from my position - and I am not strong enough to fight them all. Even if it means that at the end of five years I have to send an armada to collect you two from your, I will do so. It is non-negotiable.¡±


    ¡°And let me be blunt.¡± Riven snarled back while jabbing a finger at Nephridi in close proximity in a way that made Kathrine gasp. ¡°You either find a way out of this, or Allie and I will disappear off this face of this rock to be lost to you forever. If my mother and father did it, so can we. I am more than sure you are not as infallible as you im to be, otherwise you¡¯d have long ago found your favorite granddaughter and brought her back. Wars were started for the gift, were they not? You can¡¯t just have her running around like that either - can you?¡±


    The queen and her great grandson red at each other in silence, until Nephridi¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°There is perhaps one way to give Allie a small amount of freedom concerning her choice, to back out of the contractual agreement already signed for her hand in marriage, but it will be difficult. And there will be some very major setbacks concerning your political standing in the empire when your integration is over. You¡¯ll collect many enemies, some of which are as strong as I am, and your subjects under Wraithtide¡¯s banner may suffer for it. And if you fail, things will only be worse for both of you. Far, far worse. You may even both be enved and there wouldn¡¯t be anything I could do about it if the other elders stand united against me.¡±


    Riven blinked. ¡°Being blunt: I don¡¯t care. You¡¯re not forcing Allie into a marriage she didn¡¯t agree to. Tell me what this is about.¡±


    The queen grimaced almost violently, then folded her arms - deep in thought. ¡°Will you at least convince Allie to meet the suitor that won the rights to wed her?¡±


    ¡°Just meet him?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Have her give the man a chance. If she doesn¡¯t want him, we can proceed with the more aggressive approach. The one that may get you both evicted as royalty to be used as nothing more than breeding ves.¡±


    Kathrine stiffened again. ¡°Riven, you don¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but shut the fuck up Kathrine.¡± Riven red at the minor princess, then turned back to look at the queen. ¡°I¡¯ll let Allie speak for herself, she¡¯lle to talk to you in private and she¡¯ll likely agree to meet with this man - but I can almost guarantee you she¡¯ll tell him to fuck off.¡±


    Nephridi continued to frown, but nodded in turn. ¡°Alright then. If that happens and she chooses she doesn¡¯t want to take the arranged marriage, this is what you¡¯re both going to need to do.¡±

 Chapter 205

    Chapter 205


    <strong>Chapter 205</strong>


    The room was that of an old but veryrge and neatly kept cabin. The banner of a red hand hung down on poorly knitted fabric overhead, and various people wearing that same symbol on their clothes lined the room on armchairs, sofas, or just stood.


    Hakim was in the middle of it, handcuffed and on his knees. He grunted with the impact of a fist on his face, spitting blood and a tooth out while Juile loudly sobbed behind him.


    ¡°WE DON¡¯T HAVE THE DAMN TREASURE!¡± Julie screamed through tears as Hakim was hit again. ¡°WE SPENT IT ALL!¡±


    Caleby face down on the floor, gasping for breath while his lungs filled with blood from a bullet hole. Tim and his mother were pale with tears in their eyes, and Tanya was visibly shaking.


    Matt, a brawny man with a thick ent none of them could truly ce and a crew cut a little uneven along the edges, just shrugged and hit Hakim again; knocking him to the ground with thest punch. Hisrge frame was adorned with studded, enchanted leather, and he had a revolver on his left while a hatchet hung at his side. ¡°Then I guess he dies, along with the rest of you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t buy it for a second, boss!¡± One of the ruffians nearby called out while fiddling with a knife - carving chunks out of an apple and loudly chewing while people next to him sat at a table ying poker. ¡°They had way too much money just to spend it all. We saw the records those merchants we robbed kept. This little bunch of nobodies is holding out.¡±


    Matt nodded sagely, taking out his weathered hatchet and tossing it in the air to catch it again while muttering to himself in thought. ¡°Yes¡­ I agree. You live on mynd, and so you pay my taxes. It¡¯s that simple. I wonder how many will die before one breaks?¡±


    ¡°You already ransacked our cabin and killed our dog.¡± Tanya said with quivering lips, chest puffed out in an effort to look defiant. ¡°We have nothing left. Your people saw it for themselves when they apanied the mercenaries you hired.¡±Matt tilted his head to the side, then to the other, and set a foot on Hakim¡¯s hand to push his weight down. He leaned over, getting a grunt of pain from Hakim and tly ring back at Tanya and her two children. He then gestured to Caleb, who was beginning to gasp and sputter. ¡°You¡¯re really just going to let him die like that? He can¡¯t talk for himself, but we¡¯ve got potions and a healer that can fix him up before he chokes on his own blood. You sure you don¡¯t want to redact your statement?¡±


    ¡°WE DON¡¯T HAVE ANYTHING LEFT OTHER THAN THAT STATUE!¡± Julie screamed again, tugging at the handcuffs she¡¯d been shackled with before being hit in the back of the head by another woman in the Red Hand¡¯s signature leather uniform.


    Julie hit the floor, spluttering and getting a cry of defeat from Hakim as therge, brave man began to break down at seeing his lover beaten.


    Matt took the tiny statue of a knight from his back pocket, examining it with a frown. ¡°It says here the item has already been activated and cannot be used by anyone but Hakim, so that makes it worthless to me. What is this even supposed to do? It doesn¡¯t say what the damn thing¡¯s name is and says it¡¯ll destroy itself if Hakim dies.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s gotta be worth something boss.¡± The same man from earlier called out from the poker table, puffing on a pipe and watching with curiosity as the scene unfolded. ¡°It¡¯s definitely magical, maybe have him use it?¡±


    ¡°That could be dangerous.¡± Another of The Red Hand members argued with a frown and folded arms. ¡°We don¡¯t know what it does and as you said - it¡¯s magical.¡±


    ¡°But what if it contains a secretpartment? Maybe it¡¯s a spatial object?¡±


    ¡°Not worth the risk.¡±


    ¡°If it was dangerous he¡¯d have already used it against us!¡±


    ¡°Probably, but we don¡¯t know that. It was found in his cabin, not on his person.¡±


    The two henchmen bickered with one another for quite some time, going back and forth as Matt¡¯s eyes drooped further and further in irritation. Grunting and walking over to violently backhand Tim for ring, he lowered his hatchet at Julie¡¯s neck and pulled the young woman up by her hair. ¡°Hakim, look at me.¡±


    ¡°LET GO OF MY DAUGHTER!¡± Tanya screamed, only to be savagely kicked by the same person who¡¯d originally hit Julie.


    Hakim¡¯s face was tear-streaked and wide eyed. His gaze drifted helplessly from Julie to the man holding his lover, pleading in his features while he shook his head in a silent ¡®no.¡¯


    ¡°Want her to live?¡± Matt asked curiously, tossing Hakim the knight figurine haphazardly. ¡°What does this item do? Tell me.¡±


    There was a brief pause while Hakim considered the man¡¯s words, staring at the figurine next to him with building hope now that it was so close. He rapidly shut down that train of thought in order not to give away his true feelings via facial expressions, and concentrated on just surviving this encounter - by lying. Matt was ruthless, cruel, and a basic thug. He was dumb, your equivalent of a highschool bully having hit his prime in this small town in the middle of the wilnds, so there was a good chance he¡¯d take the bait.


    He would tell Matt what he wanted to hear. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s a temporary and hidden storage device.¡±


    ¡°KNEW IT! IT¡¯S A HIDDEN TYPE!¡± Screamed the first henchmen, and some of the menughed or pped while the skepticism of others grew even more. ¡°TOLD YA BOSS, MAKE HIM ACTIVATE IT! If he¡¯s lying, just cut off the pretty little head of his girlfriend and show him why it¡¯s not nice to deceive us!¡±


    Matt considered the underling, and smiled. Turning back to Hakim - he hiked a thumb back at the man sitting at the poker table. ¡°Got to agree with Bobby there. If you just lied to us, you just sentenced every one of you to death. If you don¡¯t activate it, you all die in that scenario too. If you activate it and something else other than items popping out of thin air happens, you all die there as well. So go on and show us if you¡¯re telling the truth. No pressure.¡±


    Hakim locked eyes with the others, and shut out more tears when Caleb¡¯s final breaths left his mouth - and his friend of many months stopped breathing entirely.


    Forever.


    Pursing his lips, Hakim got to his knees and tried not to cry. ¡°Give me the tiny statue, put it in my hands. I¡¯ll activate it, and you can see for yourself that I¡¯m no liar. A portal will open, and our treasure will be essible.¡±


    Matt¡¯s smile widened. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯ve all decided toe around. Too bad about your friend, but maybe the rest of you will get out of this alive just yet.¡±


    ***


    Riven¡¯s footsteps echoed through the elegant meeting hall, with Ath and Azmoth walking on either side of him. Yattazi was curled around Azmoth¡¯s body like a tight hug, and to either side - dozens of ratkin stood with bowed heads as a sign of respect to his passing.


    Surprisingly enough there were even a small number of vampires already there. He stopped in front of the trio, all of them showing red eyes and pale skin as they fidgeted nervously under his gaze - though he could tell that there was a stark difference between them and him. He was a pureblood, so was Kathrine, so was Allie, and even a number of the elite soldiers sent to Panu were too. If they weren¡¯t pureblooded, they were greater vampires with eyes that still lit up a bright red - though not as brightly as his own.


    These vampires in front of him, dressed in elegant purple and ck silks with hoods over neatly trimmed blonde hair, were all lesser vampires. Their eyes didn¡¯t glow at all, and their touch of the blood pir was¡­cking. At leastpared to what he¡¯d seen from vampires of the Blood Moon Requiem.


    <strong>[Lesser Vampire Assassin, Level 40]</strong>


    <strong>[Lesser Vampire Scout, Level 35]</strong>


    <strong>[Lesser Vampire Warlock, Level 42]</strong>


    Oh? A warlock? Good choice.


    He ignored them for the moment, turning his gaze back to where the Queen of Deepnest and her royal guards, all therger, more muscr variants of ratkin were. The guards were heavily armored, covered in thick, spiked brown metal that was far different from the chitin or leathers he¡¯d seen most of the ratkin warriors put on. They each wielded huge maces along their backs, and they looked like walking, tailed tanks given all theyers around theirrge forms.


    They reminded him of Azmoth, but less intimidating.


    The inside of the great hall was simr to the one he¡¯d seen when meeting Rashtalia, Brood-Mother of Brood-Tarrow, the brood Snagger and his cousin Mesha belonged to. Vibrantly colored crystals adorned the walls and ceiling, and a throne was set up on a raised level to look down on where Riven was walking. Stands on either side were where the nobility and important figures of Deepnest now stood, various kinds of garments on disy like a rag-tag bunch of mismatching styles, but that kind of chaos was expected of these people given the way Deepnest was set up.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    He briefly stopped again to take his helmet off, waving to the tall brood-mother Rashtalia and his two friends - Snagger and Mesha, before continuing. He made it a point to single them out in a good way, and continued forward - letting Jackal take its canine form when he was twenty yards away from the throne.


    On that veryrge stone throne was a mouse-like figure adorned in finely made blue cloth, a figure that was far fatter than any creature he¡¯d yet seen; aside from the ambushing cyclops he¡¯d once killed shortly after trying to take the elves back to Greenstalk all that time ago. The queen was rotund, almost a sphere with rolls, and he was surprised she could even move her ck-furred head.


    But it did manage to swivel his way when he got up closer.


    ¡°Bat-kin Riven-friend! King-ruler of Thane Necropolis!¡± The queen eximed, waving a stumpy nub of a hand out from the rolls of fat overlying most of her arm. ¡°I am excited-pleased that youe-visit us in our time of need-strife!¡±


    Riven tried not to stare at the huge creature¡¯s body. There was nothing wrong with some extra weight, but by god this thing was on another level. ¡°Hello Queen Bez. I¡¯ve heard about you from Rashtalia, but it¡¯s nice to finally make your acquaintance.¡±


    ¡°Yes-Yesh!!! Do you enjoy-like the grand-great city-nest of this humble one¡¯s making?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, your majesty. It is truly an interesting ce to behold.¡± He gestured to his three minions, introducing them one by one. ¡°This is Ath, the woman I love. This is Azmoth, one of my best of friends. And this is Yattazi, a newly contracted demonic familiar. I hope you can show them the same courtesy you¡¯ve showed me, and we all look forward to helping your people in the battle toe.¡±


    The huge ck-furred ratkin smiled wide. ¡°Is it true-agreed that you-you seek to fight in battle-war yourself? That you will-can fight the dwarf-dwellers in their burrow-holes and bring us-we a victory-win to end this war?¡±


    The nobles of Deepnest were utterly quiet when she uttered the question, and he gave a single nod - getting an uproar of approval with shouts, cheers, and excited ratkin screams. It was quite unexpected when they started chanting his name, and even more unexpectedly were the huge barrels of wine and mead that were rolled out of a side tunnel. His eyebrows lifted when corks were bust open, and flowing streams of alcohol started rampaging down the steps to the chants of ¡®Riven-Thane! Batkin-Friend! Riven-Thane! Batkin-Friend!¡¯


    He hadn¡¯t even been in the greeting hall three minutes before insanity broke loose, and servants started flinging pastries, cooked meats and deserts across the room from hidden alcoves.


    The queen sat up with much effort, ignoring the shocked expression on his pale face, and raised a pudgy hand. ¡°WE CELEBRATE THE DEATH-KILLS OF THE SHORT-STRONG BEARDED ONES!!!¡±


    ¡°RRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!¡± The host of Ratkin screamed their approval, doing weird jigs and dances in the sloshing alcohol while picking up various foods or outright taking them from the servants who continued to fling food across the room.


    ¡°RIVEN-THANE! BATKIN-FRIEND! RIVEN-THANE! BATKIN-FRIEND!¡±


    ¡°DEATH-KILLS TO THE BEARDED WAR-BATTLE BRINGERS!¡±


    ¡°RRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!¡±


    Riven¡¯s wide crimson eyes stared about him, an incredulous smirk ying at his lips while he used a single finger to wipe off a pastry that¡¯dnded on his chestte. He tasted the icing, ncing at a dancing ratkin in orange linens who was obviously already drunk and had probably pre-gamed this event, and thought it tasted rather good.


    Food flew threw the air.


    His gluttonous chestte was already licking up food and using tendrils of sin energy to slurp at the alcohol, and looking at Azmoth who was now wearing a cake on his face, his grin turned into outrightughter.


    Ath held up a finger, and stared down at the flowing river of alcohol that continued to pour out of numerous barrels near the throne. ¡°Definitely not what I expected, but not unwanted. I dare say these guys throw a better weing party than anyone else I¡¯ve ever met.¡±


    ¡°RIVEN-THANE! BATKIN-FRIEND! RIVEN-THANE! BATKIN-FRIEND!¡±


    ¡°RRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!¡±


    Azmoth shared a look with Yattazi after wiping the cake off, shrugged, and started grabbing at the pieces of cooked meat that were being flung across the room. ¡°I like. Get more.¡±


    ¡°Agreed!¡± Yattazi nodded, going ham at the food nearby with Azmoth while Riven and Ath were left to stand alone.


    Looking to his left and seeing Ath standing there, ankle deep in wine and licking icing off her arm, his eyes softened. She was giggling andughing, pushing small drunken ratkin away and then eximing to Azmoth that he¡¯d better save some of the ¡®orange stuff¡¯ for her. She quickly got into the spirit of things and joined in on a wrestling match when the queen threw a particrlyrge cooked lizard into the crowd. She went in on it more for the sake of the fun rather than actually wanting to eat it, and started squabbling with the locals over what parts she could tear off before her perfect,ughing features turned that bright smile his way.


    She saw him staring at her, just staring with kind eyes, and herughing smile fell slightly. Realization overcame her then, and she let go of the lizard - evading a couple drunkards and dodging a cake Azmoth had flung at her. Slowlying up to stand in front of Riven, her eyes fell to the floor only momentarily - before she firmed her jaw and looked back up at him while wrapping her hands around his waist.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Ath said, ignoring the sshes of the insanity around them.


    He put a hand up to her cheek, gently touching her pitch ck skin intermixed with patches of white. ¡°I¡¯m just really d I met you. Sometimes I take you for granted, you know. Ath¡­ we should get away sometime. Spend some time together with just the two of us, maybe take a trip into the mountains before the Chalgathi trials start up again.¡±


    She blinked, tearsing to her eyes and biting her lip before eagerly nodding. ¡°Could we have a pic?¡±


    He slowly nodded, pulling her in and kissing her softly before letting go secondster. Their red eyes met again, and he swat away another morsel of flying food amidst the chanting of his name with a shred of his aura. ¡°I would love to go on a pic with you. Let¡¯s make it our first official date. It¡¯s been a long timeing, and I¡¯m head over heels just thinking about it.¡±


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Hakim Bluebush</strong><strong> has activated a two-time use system artifact: </strong><strong>Heroic Intervention</strong><strong>. 2 of 2 charges has been used. Heroic Intervention has selected the 5 most powerful people Hakim has interacted with since acquiring this artifact, and you - Riven Thane - are one of them. Hakim Bluebush is currently in need of your help, and has ced a live stream feature in the orb before you that will connect momentarily. You will be able to speak to him briefly as he exins his current situation before deciding on whether or not to aid him. You can choose to go, or you can choose to refuse his request. All or none of the selected participants may go or stay without penalty. If you choose to aid him and risk yourself at his behest, you will be teleported to his location until his plight is over. Then you will be teleported back to your current location after a short rest period. Please hold for connection.]</strong>


    Riven¡¯s shoulders immediately sagged, and he pulled Ath into a tight hug after recognizing the notification. ¡°I supposed it¡¯s time to tell Queen Bez that we¡¯ll be back within the day. It appears we have another job on our hands.¡±


    ¡°Your majesty!¡± an unfamiliar voice shouted out to him over the hubub, and Riven turned to see it was one of the three blonde vampires - who was doing his best not to act disgusted by all that was going on about him. The man was obviously trying to look presentable, but that was hard to do with yellow jelly smeared all across the front of his clothes. ¡°Would it be alright if I took but a moment of your time!? I am but a mere-¡±


    Riven held up a hand while Ath bounded across the room to the ratkin queen, and he shook his head while a shing bauble of light began to form nearby. ¡°Not now. I know why you¡¯re here, but the specificseter. It appears I am being summoned, and not to be rude, but this is a call that I cannot miss.¡±


    ***


    Hakim¡¯s heart beat like a drum while his gaze stared daggers at Matt, who was holding the de of his hatched up against Julie¡¯s throat. Blood leaked from a wound atop her head where she¡¯d been struck earlier, and the gang lining therge cabin were inrge part focused on the five shing orbs that began to condense above Hakim in the air.


    ¡°So it is true! This is where the treasure lies!¡± Matt crowed with a wide smile, but he kept his hold on Julie regardless. ¡°I cannot wait to see just what it was your friend died for!¡±


    The tiny figurine of the artifact - Heroic Intervention - began to fizzle away and turned to dust, while images in the five orbs quickly began to take shape - disying the faces of men and women he recognized. Each one represented one of the five people that the system deemed as the most powerful characters Hakim had encountered in Elysium¡¯s multiverse thus far - and one in particr above all others that Hakim had hoped would be there.


    Hakim¡¯s heart lifted with hope growing while shouts of confusion echoed through the cabin as members of The Red Hand adjusted to this new urrence. His lips parted, and tears began streaming down his face again. ¡°Riven¡­ Please!¡±


    A portal of multicolored light formed only a half-secondter, one that was farrger than the simrly constructed bauble, and out stepped a man d in ivory te armor with red blood-silk armor underlying the cracks and crevices his ivory did not cover. Arge gluttonous maw rippled along the center vertically, horned skull pauldrons adorned his shoulders, and an aura of supreme powered followed him as he set foot onto the cabin floor. A long, ck spear-staff with a curved de and flowing with rivers of living blood lifted up - then the butt of the weapon came down and gently settled against the wood beneath.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    A shockwave of aura lit the room red. Blood frost rapidly umted along the surfaces of the furniture, ceiling, walls and floor - even freezing some of the clothes people wore as they screamed and backpedaled in shock.


    Bright crimson eyes red daggers through the slits in the full metal te helm, and out of the portal came three more figures. One was Ath - her long, slender legs dripping wine and arachnid des spearing out of her back with a malevolent sneer as she caught Julie¡¯s predicament. Another was Azmoth, who was carrying four enormous bs of boar meat in each of his hands - beginning to pulse with me. Last was a three-foot snake, though given its own aura and the pulsing, crackling chaos energy around it - it was in no uncertain terms able to kill many if not everyone present.


    All of them were partially covered in cake and pastry.


    Matt stood there, holding the de up to Julie¡¯s throat with a ck jaw. In front of him were four identification messages, the same ones that¡¯d appeared in front of many of the others in his gang. Some only showed question marks, but the ones who did manage to identify him disyed very familiar markings if one were to keep up with the world forums. Bright red mes engulfed the status notifications concerning Riven and Ath, while gold mes epassed the wordsprising that of Azmoth and Yattazi.


    <strong>[Riven Thane, Level 130 Warlock Devastator, Harbinger of Gluttony, Pureblooded Vampire, Lost Prince of the Blood Moon Requiem. LEGENDARY. PANU WORLD BOSS.]</strong>


    <strong>[Ath, Level 127 Archdemon: Unique, 3 forms. Cute Wittle Blood Weaver / Gluttonous Arshakai / Gluttonous Fae Drider. LEGENDARY. PANU WORLD BOSS.]</strong>


    <strong>[Azmoth</strong>. <strong>Level 95 Infernal Crusader Initiate, Hellscape Brutalisk. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Yattazi</strong>. <strong>Level 130 Devouring Serpent, Demonic Basilisk. ELITE.]</strong>


    ¡°Well, well, well¡­ What do we have here.¡± Riven asked softly, his voice traveling across the room and infused with power that shook the people there to their very bones. The figures in the four other orbs that Hakim¡¯s relic had conjured were all gawking too - all of them except one blonde woman who¡¯d already briefly met Riven thest time that item had been used.


    Riven¡¯s gaze turned to Hakim, then Tim, Tanya, Julie, and finally Caleb - dead at their feet. He tisked in irritation, before bringing his glowing crimson eyes back up to stare at Matt. ¡°You dun fucked up my guy. You really, really did.¡±

 Chapter 206

    Chapter 206


    <strong>Chapter 206</strong>


    Matt shifted his gaze from the portal, to Hakim, to Riven, and then the three demons partially covered in pastry. His grip tightened around the axe he still held against Julie¡¯s throat amidst the dead silence of the room and he immediately pulled out his revolver to lower it at Julie¡¯s skull with a click. ¡°Hakim!!! Hakim you backstabbing little bitch! I told you that I¡¯d blow your girlfriend¡¯s head off if you betrayed me!¡±


    Hakim didn¡¯t reply, too distracted with the potential death of his lover staring him in the face.


    ¡°I believe¡­¡± Ath said with a snarl, red eyes shing and six long arachnid des mming into the ground around her in a rage. ¡°That you¡¯re holding an axe to my friend¡¯s neck. I wonder just how good your insides will taste when I¡¯m done with you.¡±


    She looked like she was about to lunge, but Matt pressed hard against Julie¡¯s skin - drawing blood and getting a scream from the young woman as well as from Hakim, Tim, and Julie¡¯s mother Tanya.


    ¡°I know who the fuck you are! I¡¯ve seen the forum videos!¡± Matt growled, half in rage and half in absolute fear. ¡°I don¡¯t know how the hell you monsters got here or why you give a shit about these people, but I know damn well you don¡¯t have a healer. Why get one when you can regenerate almost any wound, you sick fucking abomination!¡±


    Matt shakily spat in Riven¡¯s direction, leaving a glob of the stuff at Riven¡¯s feet, while pulling Julie back a step as Ath hissed. He nodded to the three demons next. ¡°And your demon friends can¡¯t even be permanently killed! So why have a healer right? So god damned cheap, unfair and overpowered! I¡¯ll tell you right now this girl is going to have her throat slit and her god damn HEAD is gonna be blown off if youe any closer!¡±


    Riven internally grumbled in irritation, but he actually was worried about Julie¡¯s current predicament. He didn¡¯t know how or why their group hade into this situation, but this asshole was partially right. He didn¡¯t have any healers because he¡¯d never really needed one. He could only provide stitching with Ath¡¯s webbing like she¡¯d done in the past though, and he had a Voodoo Doll spell that he¡¯d rarely utilized - but it could also keep blood streams of his target flowing even outside a body to maintain oxygen to the brain. The problem was that if sufficient damage was done, Riven would have to continue channeling the spell until an actual healer got to them or he could use a healing potion. Voodoo Doll only maintained the blood flow but it didn¡¯t actually heal a person, and he couldn¡¯t use other spells while using it due to the channeling effect. But if a bullet went through Julie¡¯s head? He doubted he¡¯d be able to save her even with Voodoo Doll, even with all the system modifications one could have on their bodies. A slit throat was bad enough but probably manageable, though he¡¯d not want to take that risk - but a bullet in the brain was probably a deadset deal given his teamposition.


    <strong>[Julie, Level 22 Healer Priestess Initiate]</strong>Yeah there was no way she¡¯d survive a bullet to the head.


    ¡°I suppose we¡¯re at an impasse then.¡± Riven said with a tilt to his head, outwardly unconcerned.


    The rest of the room, both Matt¡¯s startled ruffians and Hakim¡¯s small group, remained wide eyed and very still - looking from Matt to Riven and then the three demons.


    Matt seemed to regain some of hisposure at Riven¡¯s response, and realizing he wasn¡¯t about to immediately die and had been right on the money - he smiled wickedly. He nodded to one of the men who¡¯d been ying poker earlier. ¡°George, get Julie¡¯s team rounded up and make sure you have guns pointed at their-¡±


    Riven¡¯s hand abruptly lifted, red with blood magic and then discharged, tearing a hole in George¡¯s chest the size of a bowling ball and shattering the wall in a spray of debris to the screams of nearby people. He held up a finger and waggled it back and forth. ¡°Tisk, tisk - None of that. The only thing keeping you alive is Julie, but the rest of your people?¡±


    Riven gave an ominousugh, betting this act on the self preservation instincts of this man in front of him. He wasn¡¯t about to let the others be hostages too. ¡°Yattazi, Azmoth, Ath - kill the others.¡±


    Matt¡¯s eyes went wide and he cursed under his breath as people started screaming and trying to run - dragging Julie back another step. Men and women wearing The Red Hand¡¯s logo slipped on red ice and piled over one another while lunging for doorways, windows, and even the hole in the wall leading out into a dark forest that Riven had created mere moments ago.


    But the demons were upon them.


    Or at least two of them were.


    Azmoth echoed with a resounding demonic roar and burst into mes, tearing across the hall and smashing two of the men nearby into paste. He discarded his boar meat and started using his ws, having given Riven his maul earlier that day for safekeeping, and began ripping off limbs and breathing fire - or mping down on fleeing enemies with the two eel-like mawsing out of his back. He turned his attention to the people inside, and seeing more peopleing up from a basement entrance - he breathed mes into the depths that resulted in horrified wails and then continued on.


    Yattazi immediately began growing in size from the current 3 foot snake she was now, expanding her body at an extreme pace while her muscles, tail, and bones all bulged simultaneously. It was like watching a fire hydrant burst out of a water balloon, and soon her huge tail crashed out the back of the cabin stronghold and took out another wall - causing the building to shudder and partially copse on more of the enemy group when her head tore through the ceiling. Magma eyes red, spines on her neck stood up, and as her gaze settle on each of the running morsels - marks began appearing on their bodies so that she may better track them as they scattered. With a hissing lunge, her body turned into a chaotic stream of ck and gray chaos energy as she snapped down on one of the fleeing rogues - the woman¡¯s scream onlying off as a squeak before her neck was crushed and her body swallowed. The demonic basilisk, half the length of a football field, began to hunt them down like a cat hunting mice.


    Ath remained in her position though, unwilling to leave and more concerned about Julie than she was with killing the idiots who were running away in droves. There were a lot more of them than Riven had originally thought, but what had once been dozens turned into well over a hundred people. Maybe even two hundred, though in the end they were all insignificant.


    They were weak.


    Ath¡¯s lithe figure slowly circled Matt and his prisoner amidst the dying screams of his people, and she took out her ck, ruby-studded tiara to put it on her head while continuing to walk in absolute silence.


    Riven red at the man while Matt violently yanked Julie towards a wall - putting his back to the wood so Ath couldn¡¯t continue to circle him. However, Ath maintained eye contact with Matt, stepping over two freshly charred bodies and then exiting out a cabin door.


    ¡°I suppose now the question bes, how do we proceed from here.¡± Riven mused, walking forward and sitting at a table that was somehow still intact, andying Jackal on the wood. The maw along his chest hissed, and ck tendrils began pulling in a nearby corpse - devouring it slowly while Matt looked on in horror.


    The Red Hand leader only pressed that de even more tightly against Julie¡¯s neck - shivering from the cold while crimson frost collected on his clothes. ¡°You¡¯re going to let me go. You¡¯re going to give me money to start over, and I¡¯m taking Julie with me so I have an insurance policy on my life.¡±


    Riven sighed, tapping his armored finger against the table as a charred leg was flung to stter against the remaining nearby wall. Another part of the roof copsed as mes licked at the wood, but he smacked the debris away with his aura and set Hakim, Tim and Tanya in a protective dome of crimson ice. ¡°Not going to happen.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice unless you want her brains sttered on the ground!¡± Matt hissed with venom in his words.


    Julie whimpered, and tears continued to trickle down her cheeks.


    ¡°She¡¯s as good as dead anyways if she leaves with you.¡± Riven said absentmindedly. ¡°There¡¯s zero chance she¡¯s going. However, I am willing to make you a deal. I¡¯m willing to pay for her release.¡±


    ¡°Not good enough! You¡¯ll just kill me when I leave and take the goods back!¡± Matt protested, ignoring the begging pleas for help and the horrified wails - both outside in the forest and inside the cabin - while people were eaten alive or torn apart. ¡°I¡¯ll need more than that or I swear to god I¡¯ll pull this trigger!¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Riven gave Ath a very small mental nudge, tugging at the bond between them to let her know he was ready. He then chuckled malevolently. ¡°I see. And how are you going to pull that trigger when the gun simply won¡¯t fire?¡±


    Matt¡¯s brows furrowed in confusion at Riven¡¯s words, and he blinked rapidly before ncing down at the weapon in his hand. His eyes went wide in horror when he realized the revolver was covered in red frost, and when he saw Riven¡¯s hand move his direction - Matt roared in snarling defiance. He pulled the trigger, or attempted to, but the frozen gun wouldn¡¯t budge - and he immediately began drawing the axe de across Julie¡¯s neck when two things happened simultaneously.


    The first was the lightning fast hand gesture Riven made, ring his finger and then quickly grasping at Matt¡¯s chest - and immediately Matt went rigid as his heart stopped.


    <strong>[Voodoo Doll (Blood)(Tier 2): Scan your target to map out their vessels and infuse your mana into their bloodstream. You then gain the ability to replicate their bloodstream regardless of whether or not they have extensive wounds - enabling you to keep them alive as long as their brain remains intact. You may also use this ability on hostiles to form painful blood clots. Heart attacks caused by this ability do critical strike damage. Dependent on both Intelligence(90%) and Willpower (10%) stats. Medium cooldown. This is a channeling ability and will not work if interrupted by using other spells.]</strong>


    The second thing that happened at the exact same time Riven made that hand gesture - was the wall at Matt¡¯s back exploding in six small but different spots. Long ck des, Ath¡¯s arachnid limbs, tore through the cabin to take advantage of Riven¡¯s stun and tore into Matt¡¯s head, heart, and neck.


    The move was so fast that the man who was undergoing a heart attack at that very moment didn¡¯t have time to react while the des found their marks, and with a lurch the des retracted - tearing pieces of his upper body and his head off his body in a spray of wooden chips and bloody flesh.


    Julie dropped to the ground as Matt¡¯s body was torn apart, beginning to sob, and the crimson ice dome covering the rest of them was removed as Hakim frantically rushed over with the rest of the emotional family to hug Julie in a tight group embrace.


    Riven smiled at the scene, though he did feel bad about not being there fast enough to help that Caleb guy. He nced over at Caleb¡¯s corpse with a bitter look, and shook his head. There was only so much he could do. ¡°Jackal?¡±


    The weapon transformed into its canine image, staring back at him from a shadowy figure on the table and red eyes staring expectantly.<ul><li><strong>Portal Master: This weapon can sync to any stabilized portal you have permission to use by the maker and master. Current locations avable for ess: Dungeon Negrada, Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole. Takes 1 week of channeling in the same ce to use this ability.</strong></li></ul>


    Riven gestured over to the portal Hakim¡¯s treasure had created, then removed his helmet and scratched his chin. ¡°Is it possible for you to stabilize that portal with your Portal Master technique? I was hoping to return here after dealing with the dwarves.¡±


    ***


    <strong>[Guild Functions for Panu are nearingpletion. Pre-Form a guild of up to 20 people in order to participate, system lock on Guild Roster has been destroyed. Sole features of Guild Functions are now as follows in preparation for the worldwide Guild Introduction Event: Guild Name, Guild Roster, Link to Guild Hall. Factions options of the Guild & Factions tab will still remain locked until ater date.]</strong>


    Allie swiped the notification away, uninterested in such things given her current situation, and she gently swirled the blood in her crystal goblet before sipping on it and staring out across the Lucio estate.


    Lahn¡¯s family home had actually been left intact for the most part. This was unlike most of the uppermost level of Mandon, Capital of Dawn, which had been decimated after the Rippenvire attack. Scouts both as spies on the ground and nes in the air were searching rigorously for the remnants of the Rippenvire vampires who¡¯d gone into hiding, and diplomatic envoys to neighboring upstart nations - often spearheaded by none other than herself - made it very clear that any information regarding the invaders needed to be sent to the Thane Necropolis immediately. The prisoners, vampires captured from the battle, were still being interrogated and most of them wouldn¡¯t talk other than to curse their captors.


    ¡°How are you liking the tea?¡± Lady Shovi Lucio asked Mara hesitantly, being outwardly nervous in the presence of so many of Allie¡¯s friends.


    Mara¡¯s pretty ghoul features smiled warmly with pale, stitched together skin - pale eyes burrowing into Lahn¡¯s mother with a warmth unusual upon her features. ¡°It is very good, Lady Lucio. Thank you so much for your hospitality.¡±


    Lady Shovi Lucio, Allie, Mara, and Lin Lucio - Lahn¡¯s sister, were having girl time today at the suggestion of Lahn. All of them sat on the uppermost balcony of Lahn¡¯s family mansion while eating pastries and sipping on drinks. Though Allie held only ill will towards Lin and would have usually ripped her apart and fed on her like she¡¯d done with that Gleetus prick, Allie had given in to Lahn¡¯s suggestion when he¡¯d given her that ridiculously adorable puppy-dog look. The bastard didn¡¯t even do it intentionally, he just looked sad when Allie had initially said no, but she¡¯d quickly given in and agreed after that gods damned look he wore. It¡¯d almost like she¡¯d pped him across the face when she¡¯d said no, but when she changed the tune and agreed - it¡¯d made it all worthwhile to see his face light up the way it had.


    She chuckled to herself, sipping on the blood in her goblet again and enjoying the awkward silence that was almost entirely centered on the fact that Lin was there. Mara had been giving the young woman death res, and even her mother - Lady Shovi Lucio - had been hesitant to talk to her daughter after learning of the plots against her youngest son.


    It was Mara who eventually broke that silence. ¡°My queen¡­ We had a message from the Blood Moon requieme in, something about an envoy from a high ranking family wanting to meet you for an important matter. They didn¡¯t give details.¡±


    Allie only shrugged, still somewhat unwilling to make this meeting any less awkward. She still hadn¡¯t looked at Lahn¡¯s sister even once, and she could tell that Lin was incredibly ufortable by the way she fidgeted in her chair and constantly shifted her blonde hair from one side to the other.


    Even from here on the uppermost balcony of the mansion, Allie could see efforts to rebuild what had been lost. Roads had been smashed apart and the nearby town below the hill that the Lucio estate sat on was in utter ruin. Civilians and military personnel alike worked tirelessly to put their shattered lives back together, and with the entire military having been withdrawn from the front lines against Tereen now that the war with the elves was over - there was a significant force here to help with that rebuilding.


    She pulled down her hood over her features when brighter rays of sunlight hit her pale face, and her red eyes squinted in difort. ¡°Is my aura putting you off, Lady Lucio? I know my negative charisma is certainly a thing. I can ce the amulet back on if you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°No! No, of course not my queen! You are quite alright!¡±


    Allie smirked. Good¡­ she knew her aura was certainly bothering that blonde bitch to her right, so she¡¯d intentionally kept that amulet off. Now with Lady Shovi Lucio¡¯s permission, she¡¯d continue to keep it off.


    There was another long pause, and Lady Shovi Lucio put down her cup of tea to smooth out her green silk dress. ¡°Ahem. Do you still n on attending the ball with my son?¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyebrows immediately raised, and she finally turned to look at Lahn¡¯s mother with scrutinizing interest. ¡°The Royal Ball is still happening?¡±


    Shovi gave a small chuckle, and nodded. ¡°Yes, my queen. Though it feels odd calling it the ¡®Royal¡¯ ball now that our king has submitted to your will. Perhaps you should start calling yourself an empress, rather than just a queen? Since you have two vassal states underneath you - Dawn, and Tereen.¡±


    ¡°I like the sound of that.¡± Mara smiled with a nod of approval. ¡°I certainly do.¡±


    But Allie was still confused. ¡°When is it happening? I had no idea. I guess I just assumed that it¡¯d be called off.¡±


    Shovi shook her head, diamond earrings swooshing back and forth. ¡°King Arthur Brix has decided to not only keep the ball, but increase the festivities surrounding it to include many of the upper ss merchants that¡¯ll likely be given titles of nobility now that power gaps in the aristocracy have opened up. Political stuff. With so many dead after the battle for Mandon, he believes it will rejuvenate the people he most needs to keep connections with. What better way to do that than an extravagant party, to have some fun and keep the feel of normalcy in an otherwise abnormal world?¡±


    Shovi gave Allie a warm smile. ¡°And my son is very excited about the prospect of still going with you, if you¡¯d still have him.¡±


    ¡°Of COURSE I¡¯d still want to go with him!¡± Allie eximed, beaming and nearly standing out of her seat before containing her excitement. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to that ball for quite a while! Where is it going to be held?¡±


    ¡°The pce was destroyed, so the academy is our next best option. Last I talked to my husband, he said it will likely be held there. Probably within the next few weeks.¡±


    ¡°The academy is intact too?¡±


    ¡°Some of it. Not all, but much of the grounds are still intact with only a few buildings having been demolished in the fighting. Repairs are underway now and it should beplete by the time the ball rolls around. Are you going toe as Allie, Princess of the Blood Moon Requiem and Queen of the Thane Necropolis? Or are you going toe as Allie of a minor noble house nobody has heard of from out in the country? Not many people know of who you are outside my own family and the king. Even Gleetus¡­ his family has no idea what happened - and by threat of treason King Brix has told us not to reveal your secret.¡±


    Allie considered those words, suddenly deep in thought. She¡¯d worn her skull mask during the battle too and there was no footage that she was aware of on the forums that actually showed her face.


    Interesting.


    She¡¯d certainly enjoyed the school scene and very much wanted to return to a more rxing life from time to time, even if need demanded otherwise on asion. Smiling she shrugged and began stirring the liquid in her ss with a pale, slender finger. ¡°I actually may stay my hand and return as a country bumpkin. Today¡¯s meeting has been very enlightening, Lady Shovi Lucio. I¡¯m quite d I came to spend time with you.¡±


    Shovi absolutely beamed at thepliment, seeing the olive branch for what it was, and her smile almost touched her ears. ¡°I¡¯m incredibly happy to hear it! I¡¯ve actually been wanting to get your opinion on a couple of dresses for the ball as well? Perhaps we could even go shopping together! Is Maraing too!? Ah, I¡¯m rather excited!!!¡±

 Chapter 207

    Chapter 207


    <strong>Chapter 207</strong>


    The portal stabilized, and a notification appeared signaling that it was slightly different than the prior portals he¡¯d already linked to.


    <strong>[Heroic Intervention¡¯s portal is now essible through your Portal Master key concerning your spear-staff Jackal. Due to the nature of this portal¡¯s origins, you will need to infuse extra mana to create this portal again and the portal will disappear after a short time of no use, but the origin points have been permanently set.]</strong>


    So it¡¯d go away and other people couldn¡¯t use it if he wasn¡¯t around?


    That was a shame. Riven had been hoping he could send people to and from Deepnest here, but it appeared his weapon only had so much power concerning the ability to link to such wormholes.


    Still, it was better than the alternative of not working at all.


    An hourter Riven stood silently on a hill next to Hakim¡¯s cabin, a few miles away from where Riven had initially teleported in. The ughter had been quick and the dead numbered somewhere between two and three hundred after he¡¯d mopped the floor with the lowlife bastards, and despite his quick intervention - he¡¯d still failed to save Caleb, Hakim¡¯s guildmate and friend.


    He watched silently, holding Ath by the hand and frowning while giving the others space to bury the man who¡¯d helped them survive all these months since Riven and they had split after the integration tutorial. Yattazi was still hunting down the few stragglers that¡¯d managed to get away, and Azmoth was leaning against a tree with his arms folded - still cindering across his obsidian te and fleshy, muscr body.


    Hakim, Julie, Tim and Tanyaid the man to rest under a veryrge pine tree, a species of ntmon to thesends as was very apparent by the sprawling temperate forest around them. Theyughed, cried, and hugged each other as they told stories about Caleb¡¯s life in the time that they¡¯d known him since the world had fallen apart, and Riven found himself gazing off therge hill into a valley where a town a few miles off had lights flickering in the night.His thoughts were interrupted with a system notification.


    <strong>[Guild Functions for Panu are nearingpletion. Pre-Form a guild of up to 20 people in order to participate, system lock on Guild Roster has been destroyed. Sole features of Guild Functions are now as follows in preparation for the worldwide Guild Introduction Event: Guild Name, Guild Roster, Link to Guild Hall. Factions options of the Guild & Factions tab will still remain locked until ater date.]</strong>


    ¡°Been a while since the system talked about Guilds and Factions.¡± Riven mused under his breath, still keeping his distance from the ceremony by a couple dozen yards on the outskirts of the clearing surrounding Hakim¡¯s cabin home. ¡°I wonder what this ¡®worldwide event¡¯ is about. The other ones concerning world quests have been very vague untiling into contact with rtive pieces of the puzzle, I still have no idea what the elder lich and snow giant quests are about.¡±


    ¡°You should read more of the world forums.¡± Ath stated with a teasing smile, tightening her grip around Riven¡¯s hand. ¡°You¡¯d understand a lot more about what¡¯s going on in your world. Specifically about those two.¡±


    ¡°She right.¡± Azmoth nodded sagely, four arms folded and obsidian tes still cindering over exposed, fleshy, skinless muscle. ¡°You on the forums much.¡±


    Riven grimaced under the starlight, red eyes once again focusing on the small burial procession. ¡°I have enough to deal with already, but I suppose you¡¯re both right. I probably should catch up on world events.¡±


    ¡°Want me to give you a rundown on the highlights until you do?¡± Ath asked curiously, pressing her body up against his by leaning into him.


    He chuckled. ¡°That¡¯d be great.¡±


    Smiling, Ath let out a content hum and began ticking off fingers one by one. ¡°Essentially there are a couple very big yers other than yourself, most of them are on the rankers list. Remember Judith Marcina? Oh, and you¡¯ve moved up in the rankings to number 4 since you checkedst.¡±


    Ath pulled up the rankings list of the top 10 and pointed to the number 1 spot where Judith Marcina was listed. Cherish Lightcrown, the Everlight Witch, had fallen off the list from the rank 10 spot and had been reced by someone else. Otherwise the other top spots had just rearranged slightly.


    <strong>[27 billion current participants have been analyzed. The ranking categories are as follows: Apex Rank (Top 10), Paragon Rank (Top 1000), S Rank (Top 0.0001%), A Rank (Top 1%), B Rank (Top 15%), C Rank (Top 30%), D Rank (Top 50%), E Rank (Bottom 50%)]</strong>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Current Top 10 Native Participants</strong><strong>:</strong><ol><li><strong>Judith Marcina, Level 169 Human, Apex Rank, Angelic Fallcaller</strong></li><li><strong>Aren Hrall, Level 150 Snow Giant, Apex Rank, Frostmange Berserker</strong></li><li><strong>Retesh Vorath, Level 187 Corpse Lord, Apex Rank, Elder Lich</strong></li><li><strong>Riven Thane, Level 130 Pureblooded Vampire, Apex Rank, Warlock Devastator, Harbinger of Gluttony</strong></li><li><strong>Nithkik Brutishvase, Level 140 Dark Elf, Apex Rank, Depthdweller</strong></li><li><strong>Thorman Bame, Level 154 Human, Apex Rank, Hammer of the Mountain</strong></li><li><strong>Sinthil Tuk¡¯tuk, Level 166 Lizardian, Apex Rank, Wind Storm</strong></li><li><strong>Chitter Teh-Sneaker, Level 136 Ratman, Apex Rank, Dark-de Assassin, Poison Master, Sneaky Sneak Sneaker</strong></li><li><strong>Brock Longbeard, Level 125 Sundering Dwarf, Apex Rank, Battlemaster</strong></li><li><strong>Netithi Bluskish, Level 121 Naga, Apex Rank, Champion of the Kraken</strong></li></ol>


    <strong>Guild Rankings Currently Not Avable.</strong><strong> Guild functions are currently being set up, create a guild of up to 100 people in preparation for the guild introduction world event.]</strong>


    Ath pointed to the number 1 spot on the list, Judith Marcina. ¡°She¡¯s probably the best known of the top rankers and for good reason, aside from yourself and the dwarf Brock Longbeard. The rest of the top 10 don¡¯t have nearly as many videos about them avable, with Aren Hrall the snow giant in particr being very elusive because he¡¯s actually the antagonist for a world quest and a lot of his videos are being temporarily withheld while he gathers power.¡±


    Ath pulled up the old world quest notification describing said event.<ul><li><strong>World Quest 5, Realm of the Snow Giants:</strong><strong> In the southern reaches of the cial inds in the Numenor Sea, on the opposite end of the world from where the Lich Kingys in wait, an ambitious king of the snow giants has united the warring tribes. He has been blessed by the system with an artifact of immense power, enabling him to clone and create more of his kind with ritual magic, and is preparing an army for world domination as we speak. He is ruthless, cunning, unfeeling towards the other races that he views as stepping stones to be ughtered in the pursuit of power, and a threat that should not be taken lightly. His goal is genocide of all other enlightened races on Panu. Kill the snow giant king, destroy and reforge his artifact to fit your own purposes, and secure his throne on the cial inds for yourselves. </strong><strong> Current Threat Level:</strong><strong> High. </strong><strong>Catastrophe upon failure ofpletion when 5 years has passed:</strong><strong> The artifact¡¯s power will be tripled, enabling the king of the snow giants to drastically ramp up production of followers. </strong><strong>Advanced Details:</strong><strong> Not Unlocked.</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°Because Aren Hrall is having his uploaded videos temporarily hidden by the system due to this world quest, it¡¯s safe to assume that he is the snow giant king World Quest 5 talks about. No absolute confirmations but it¡¯s a solid guess. Why else would the system hide his uploads?¡± Ath said with a frown. ¡°Not a good sign that he¡¯s rank 2 on the powerdder. Anyways back to Judith Marcina - the human with a ss called ¡®Angelic Fallcaller¡¯. Simply put, she¡¯s incredibly powerful. She uses summoned angels to battle for her simr to how you use demons but in reverse, along with a lot of holy, sun and moon magics. She¡¯s currently a self-crowned empress ruling over the newly created Starfallen Empire, ruling over a dozen or so cities, and her videos show her wiping out entire armies by herself. She¡¯s oftenpared to you as your opposite in that regard and is very aggressive in her pursuits to im territory. I highly suggest you watch her footage, it¡¯s pretty intimidating. There¡¯s a reason why she¡¯s rank #1.¡±


    ¡°Interesting.¡± Riven said with a nod. ¡°Nothing on Retesh Vorath? The #3 elder litch?¡±


    ¡°Some, but minimal. The only videos I¡¯ve seen are of him at the back of a horde of undead during a battle with other undead, apparently he¡¯s on the front lines concerning World Quest 1. Rumors on the world forums talk about how he¡¯s the only reason a certain human city hasn¡¯t been overrun by the designated Lich King, other people say he IS the lich king, and other rumors talk about how he¡¯s not even involved in the quest. We just don¡¯t know - but it doesn¡¯t appear the system is hiding his uploads, at least not entirely.¡±<ul><li><strong>World Quest 1, The Lich King¡¯s gue:</strong><strong> In the far reaches of the northern Chaos Wastnds, an ancient lich begins to stir. Advanced details are locked.</strong></li></ul>


    Riven zed over the very brief description of World Quest 1 and his frown grew deeper. ¡°If World Quest 5 and World Quest 1 have two of the top 3 positions on the powerdder, and this powerdder actually has made natives turn on one another and given these people different sets of world quests to make them the scenario viin¡­ that¡¯s really bad. I hope those rumors are wrong. And if they are correct, does that mean these people are on the same side - or are they only out for themselves?¡±


    He scratched his head, only turning around when interrupted by Tanya¡¯s sore, wavering voice and the crackle of twigs underfoot.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Riven, I cannot thank you enough for saving my daughter. I was so scared, I didn¡¯t think¡­ I just¡­¡± The middle aged redheaded woman sniffled and wiped another tear off her face, walking up to Riven and giving him a firm hug. ¡°Julie, and likely the rest of us, would have died without you. Thank you again, there isn¡¯t anything that I could ever do or say that could repay your kindness - but if there¡¯s any favor I could ever fulfill for you, please don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡±


    Riven smiled and hugged her back, letting go after a solid thirty seconds while the trembling woman continued to silently shake. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t mention it. You¡¯re all my friends, that¡¯s what friends do. I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t here sooner to save Caleb.¡±


    Tanya nodded, not saying a word to prevent herself from crying, and soon the others were walking over from their burial site where the body of Caleb had been ced.


    Julie gave Riven a quivering, shaky, tear-filled nod of her own while tightly holding Hakim¡¯s hand - and Hakim looked almost ashamed. Downtrodden even, avoiding Riven¡¯s gaze after his initial muttered thanks.


    It was Tim, Tanya¡¯s teenage son, who spoke next with a more firm grin than the others could manage. ¡°Man, you just keep saving our asses huh?¡±


    Tim held out a hand and sped Riven on the forearm. ¡°Thanks again. At this rate we¡¯re going to owe you many life debts over. And you Ath! You look as stunning as ever!¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Ath said with a chipper smile.


    Riven rolled his eyes with a chuckle and let go of Tim¡¯s hand. ¡°Hey, stop hitting on my girlfriend.¡±


    That immediately got the attention of all four of them, eyes wide.


    ¡°You and Ath are dating?¡± Julie asked, brightening up somewhat at the admission. ¡°Wow! I¡¯m so happy for you two! I¡¯d thought you might be into that subus of yours¡­ where is she anyway?¡±


    Riven tried not to let his face fall at the mention of Fay, but it was certainly hard. She¡¯d only left a little over a week ago and the damage was fresh. A sinking feeling began welling up in his gut, but thankfully Ath covered for him - and she managed to pull him out of his depression quite quickly.


    ¡°Yes, Riven and I have been dating for just a week now! We¡¯re going on a pic soon, my first ever!¡± Ath got up on her tiptoes and kissed Riven on the cheek, both of them sharing a warm smile. ¡°It¡¯s going to be so fun!¡±


    ¡°Well I can¡¯t say I saw thating, but I¡¯m happy for you two.¡± Hakim managed to say halfheartedly, obviously still very bothered about the night¡¯s events. His eyes fell again, and he let go of Julie¡¯s hand. ¡°Riven, do you mind if we talk in private for a bit?¡±


    Riven rolled one pauldron-adorned shoulder, then nodded. ¡°Sounds good. You lead.¡±


    He left Azmoth and Ath to continue chatting with the others, telling them of all the things that¡¯d happened recently since thest time they¡¯d met in the drake¡¯s dungeon. Riven and Hakim walked side by side into the dark, starlit forest with leaves and pine needles crunching underfoot, and once Riven even saw a wolf on the outskirts that quickly darted away when his crimson eyes narrowed on its position with a blip of his aura released.


    ¡°Riven, I just wanted to say thanks¡­ alone, away from the others. I can¡¯t let them see me like this.¡± Hakim eventually said when they came to a stop at the edge of a long slope leading down towards the town. Tears began welling up in the big man¡¯s eyes, and he folded his arms and leaned against a tall pine tree while beginning to cry. ¡°I-I don¡¯t think I would have s-saved them Riven. They¡¯d be d-dead, and so would I. That fucking Matt bastard would have k-killed Julie! I¡¯m so ashamed! I¡¯m so weak! If I¡¯d b-been stronger¡­¡±


    He covered his face with one hand, avoiding Riven¡¯s gaze and violently shaking with his shoulders jolting every time he tried to suppress a sob.


    ¡°You¡¯re not weak.¡± Riven said calmly, shaking his head. ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m just a freak. Most people on this would have been in the same position you were up against those numbers. I realize you¡¯re upset, but don¡¯t take it out on yourself. You¡¯re a good man and you did what you could. That¡¯s all we can ever ask of ourselves. One day, I¡¯m sure that there¡¯ll be a situation where Ie across someone stronger. That day, I may lose, I may be robbed, I may be forced to do something I don¡¯t want to do or I may even outright die. But as long as I do what I can, I can¡¯t ever me myself for the failures I have. You can only move up and move on.¡±


    A distant scream and a ring hiss echoed through the forest, and Riven saw an explosion of chaos energy where Yattazi had no doubt found another of the rats. He grinned to himself, chuckling at the unknown target¡¯s misfortune, and turned to face Hakim head on while the bigger man just continued staring at the forest floor while covering half his face.


    ¡°You gonna be ok?¡± Riven asked, leaning against a tree opposite Hakim and folding his own arms across his breastte.


    Hakim shuddered, then nodded. He cleared his throat to regain hisposure and straightened, taking in a deep breath of the fresh, forest air. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry you had to see that, I just¡­ I cannot fathom what kind of life I¡¯d have lived, if I¡¯d let Julie die in that cabin. That¡¯s only assuming I even got away after she was killed¡­ which was unlikely in itself.¡±


    They both stood in silence after that, staring out across the forest together in the moonlight.


    ¡°I wish you didn¡¯t have to go back. We could really use you here.¡± Hakim eventually said with a wry smile. ¡°How much longer until Heroic Intervention sends you away?¡±


    Riven raised one eyebrow. ¡°I used an ability to stabilize the portal with an ability concerning my staff. I don¡¯t have to go back at all if I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    Hakim seemed surprised. ¡°Is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re staying then? What about the kingdom you run, or your sister?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I cane and go through the portal as needed. The staff created an anchor point for the wormhole and I can open it up whenever I want as long as I put in the mana.¡±


    ¡°Is it normal for your staff to create portals like that?¡±


    Riven shook his head. ¡°No, at least not in the way you¡¯re thinking. I can¡¯t just create most portals, but I can stabilize ones that were already created and recall to them - almost like a save point in a videogame.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty nifty.¡±


    ¡°It is. Which brings me to a question of my own.¡± Riven turned his head back towards the people they¡¯d left behind. ¡°Would you guys like some help power leveling? I could escort y¡¯all around through a couple of the local dungeons if they¡¯re still around, maybe work on my crafting while I¡¯m here. I¡¯ve really been wanting to pursue totem making in my off time, might as well start it up where I left off back in the tutorial with you guys. It¡¯d be a good time.¡±


    Hakim stared at him, somewhat surprised and looking mildly confused. ¡°Why would you do that for us?¡±


    Riven shrugged. ¡°Honestly man, people are scared of me. Like, really scared. I walk around my own city and the people living there scurry out of the way like I¡¯m about to stomp them into oblivion and murder them in the streets. I know some of it has to do with my negative charisma, and some of it is likely because I destroyed a city - yes I get it.¡±


    Hakim chuckled slightly at thatst part. ¡°That¡¯d probably be considered a valid reason to be worried about you. But I understand why you did it. If Julie had been threatened and I had to choose between her and a city full of strangers, I¡¯d have destroyed the city too given your choice.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Riven said with arms widespread. ¡°People don¡¯t understand most of the time. They just see me as a monster, as a ticking time bomb. I¡¯m tired of it. I want to start over, go somewhere that people don¡¯t know me as much on days that I don¡¯t have to do shit that is just for me and my own pursuit of happiness. I want to find time to rx. On top of that I¡¯m going to need a team, and who better to ask than you guys? It wouldn¡¯t take much effort on my part to see it done, and if I can get all of you to a point where you¡¯re a help to me then all the better.¡±


    Riven pushed the notification over.


    <strong>[Guild Functions for Panu are nearingpletion. Pre-Form a guild of up to 20 people in order to participate, system lock on Guild Roster has been destroyed. Sole features of Guild Functions are now as follows in preparation for the worldwide Guild Introduction Event: Guild Name, Guild Roster, Link to Guild Hall. Factions options of the Guild & Factions tab will still remain locked until ater date.]</strong>


    Hakim blinked, then lifted his eyes to meet Riven¡¯s again. ¡°You want us to join your guild?¡±


    ¡°Only if you want it. I¡¯d understand if you don¡¯t, considering what just happened with another one of your friends. But if this kind of adventuring lifestyle is something you all really want, then let me help out a bit. It¡¯d be nice toe along.¡±


    ¡°Would it just be us?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m sure Allie and her necromancer friends would be in the guild too, and there are a couple others on my mind that I might invite. But whatever this world event is, we can try to get you prepared for it hopefully before whatever this event is actually happens. I¡¯m sure Ath would like that a lot, she regrly wonders about you guys. What do you say?¡±


    Hakim was silent for a time, then slowly nodded. ¡°I think we¡¯d all like that, as long as we¡¯re not too much of a burden for you.¡±


    Riven smiled, pping him on the shoulder. ¡°Not a burden at all my friend. Not a burden at all. Now, I do have somewhere to be and some dwarves to talk to. Try not to get into any scuffles in the meantime, yeah? I may be able toe back through the portal anchor Jackal made, but that doesn¡¯t meant I¡¯ll be able to intervene like I have been.¡±


    Hakim snorted, finally cracking a small but still sad smile. ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll try not to get into any scuffles while you¡¯re gone. Are you going toe back soon?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best. I have a world event to go to, something concerning the Apocolypse Beasts world quest. But that¡¯s still a ways off from now.¡±


    ¡°Of course you do. I look forward to having you around. You want a beer before you leave? Do you drink? We have a few stashed away in the cabin for a rainy day.¡± Hakim gestured back over his shoulder with a hiked thumb, then wiped his eyes. ¡°How about it?¡±


    Riven gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Of course I drink. Yeah, hit me. I can have just one before I leave. Come on, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ***


    Drums beat in the deep, booming out in echoing waves amidst tens of thousands of ratkin chanting his name.


    Riven walked along a wooden board down the center of a massive army, an army almost cemented into the surrounding expanse of caverns that¡¯d once held a ratkin vige. Now it was passing through a warzone, past trenches full of ratkin soldiers in chitin and leather armors wielding spears, pykes, crossbows and more. It was the front line of a stalemate between his allies and the dwarves who¡¯d ughtered their people and made this ce theirs.


    The caverns here were smaller than Deepnest itself. It did span a mile up and down at various points, along with being miles across- which far more massive than any cavern on Earth would have been, but it still paled inparison the ratkin capital.


    Nevertheless he found himself gazing at ruined mounds, craters in the cave walls where homes used to be, and the scattered remnants of mushroom farms that weremonly used for food.


    On the opposite side of that cavern, staring out from trenches of their own and holes or dugouts built into the cavern wall itself many hundreds of feet up, were the dwarves. They were outfitted in stone b and steel te armor, wielding various axes, spears, and crossbows of their own. They¡¯d also built arge fortress into the tunnel on their controlled exit, with various kinds of cannons, magically infused grenadeuncher equivalents, and different types of golems in more prominent view than the soldiers hiding behind nooks in the walls or trenches. They equaled the ratkin army man for man, and the side that rushed the other - giving up their defensive advantage - was the one that¡¯d likely lose. Situations like these were why the war had slowed into a stalemate.


    But Riven was going to use himself as a siege breaker. This could not go on any longer, not when war wasing to Panu on a scale farrger than this rtive scuffle between kingdoms in the underdark. Not when he was set to leave for Chalgathi''s event where he''d be absent from this area for quite a long time. And if he had anything to say about it, the dwarves would be dealt with over the next few days. Be that a surrender, or something far worse, it was going to get done.

 Chapter 208

    Chapter 208


    <strong>Chapter 208</strong>


    Bridgar Mush was an officer of his majesty¡¯s legions, a veteran of many battles and a dwarf with a truly splendid red beard. Brown eyes and a firm, square jawline stared out underneath a thick stone helmet carved out of the very caves they lived in and molded by forgeries and mages ustomed to the Volcanic Subpir. Most of the dwarves of his majesty¡¯s legions were imbued with that particr subpir, and thus the army Bridgar now stood over in his stone fortress tower all disyed various weapons, spells, and enchantments primarily from that specialty.


    As the man in ivory armor Bridgar knew to be Riven Thane walked across a deste battlefield between the two opposing armies, alongside the deafening chant of the ratkin horde just drooling to get their ws into dwarf flesh, Bridgar¡¯s frown was a worried one. It was him, without a doubt, due to the two demons on either side of the man and the unique Gluttony-infused items he wore - though the enormous demon basilisk slithering behind them was definitely new.


    Their kingdom had assumed that Riven wasn¡¯t invested in Deepnest¡¯s problems beyond a passing trading partner, that Riven would never actuallye down into the underdark himself to fight on the ratkin people¡¯s behalf. It appeared that Bridgar¡¯s kingdom had assumed wrong.


    <strong>[Riven Thane, Level 130 Warlock Devastator, Harbinger of Gluttony, Pureblooded Vampire, Lost Prince of the Blood Moon Requiem. LEGENDARY. PANU WORLD BOSS.]</strong>


    ¡°By the beard of Ragnut. Load the cannons and push the rune barriers to full!¡± Bridgar said shakily, knuckles turning white on the battlements overlooking the cavern ahead of him. ¡°Get ready to drop the ceiling on his head. We¡¯re going to wipe this stain clean from the world once and for all.¡±


    One of his five nearby underlings, an officer with long braided ck hair hanging from his chin, shifted uneasily. ¡°Bridgar¡­ Are you sure you want to do that? We dug those tunnels over the ceiling for a worst case scenario. Blowing them will lose us this entire area, miles of suitable farnd for the mushrooms and crystals that grow here. We have been fighting for control of this-¡±


    Bridgar backhanded the officer, red in the face almost enough to match his beard. ¡°DO YOU REALIZE WHO THAT IS WALKING TOWARDS US!?¡±


    The officer who was smacked stumbled, angrily put his hand on his ive, then saw the absolute venom in Bridgar¡¯s face and thought better of it. Straightening an ring at Bridgar, the officer pushed past his fellows to nod just once. ¡°Yes. As I was saying, perhaps there are better avenues than to just drop the cavern on his head. Not only will we lose these resources, but it will likely infuriate him. You¡¯d better hope that the resulting copse would kill him, or else we¡¯re all dead. I say we negotiate.¡±The idea of negotiation got a round of jeeringughter from the other dwarves present.


    ¡°He¡¯s a vampire! They do NOT negotiate!¡± Bridgar hissed, spitting on the ground and turning his back on the officers to watch the slow progression of Riven¡¯s advance across therge expanse of underground farnd. ¡°Those bloodsuckers want nothing more than to enve and feed on all the races they consider inferior. And they consider ALL other races inferior. Do as I say, or-¡±


    The air was split with the roar of cannons.


    Bridgar¡¯s eyes went wide when a volley of siege weapons erupted from the front lines - targeting the slowly advancing vampire. Explosions of volcanic ash and bs of magma rocketed towards Riven¡¯s position without warning, colliding with the vampire and sending clouds of debris into the air.


    Bridgar looked down at his political rival, a lordling from another dwarvish noble house named Vire who¡¯d no doubt tried to steal the glory of killing Riven Thane for himself. Bridgar¡¯s head nearly popped off and he almost spit blood. ¡°That little gnome-humping WORM! HE SHOULD HAVE WAITED FOR THE CEILING DAMN HIM! WE NEEDED TIME TO PREP IT! CANNONS - FIRE ON THE VAMPIRE NOW! SEND THEM ALL! EVEN THE SMALL ARMS! IF HE DOESN¡¯T DIE HERE WE¡¯RE DONE FOR!¡±


    Not willing to be outdone by his political rival, Bridgar screamed at the rest of the cannons under hismand while officers started shouting for the barriers to be reinforced. Cylindrical tubes of rock and molten steel glowed hot red before spinning up and sending torpedoes of their own, crashing into the cloud of debris where the vampire had been.


    Thousands of dwarves immediately lowered their crossbows and began to fire at will after shoutedmands from captains overseeing them, and soon volleys of enchanted bolts were being fired like clouds of spines that condensed onto the area the cannon fire had targeted.


    Volcanic, earthen spells wereunched - crossbows and cannons reloaded, before the volleys continued as the chants of the ratkin across the cavernplex were drowned out. Bridgar¡¯s eyes narrowed on the spot that the barrage was targeting, and only after an entire minute of constant fire from the dwarvish side did he call for a cease.


    The chanting of the ratkin had stopped.


    Smoke, dust and fire billowed out in enormous waves out of the cavern floor where a crater had been created.


    There was only silence as the two armies stared at the no-man¡¯s-ground between them.


    Bridgar continued to watch, eyes wide and knuckles white. He took in a deep breath of air, then slowly released it as the seconds ticked by. ¡°Is he dead?¡±


    Not one of the officers beside him replied. They all just waited, expectantly, to see the result of their army¡¯s barrage.


    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be a corpse if he¡¯s dead. His body would have been blown apart.¡± Bridgar said under his breath, feeling the saliva sticking to the back of his throat while he nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. ¡°We have those barriers prepped for iing attacks right?¡±


    The officer beside him nodded stoically, staring at the still flowing plumes of ash, fire and dust. ¡°They¡¯re fully charged and ready to intercept.¡±


    Bridgar gave a shuddering nod, feeling his nerves reach a tipping point until suddenly - a sh of infernal light tore away the ming wreckage of the crater the dwarves had created. His eyes went wide, and he silently cursed Riven¡¯s family 9 generations back.


    There, in the center of the crater on a piece of cave floor that wasrgely unscathed, was the warlock. He was surrounded by a dome of fire, while the armored brutalisk demon maintained the defensive ward with help from the basilisk - who was pouring mana into the brutalisk¡¯s skill to reinforce it. Ath, known prominently on the world forums as the demon who¡¯d been resurrected from permanent death with one of Gluttony¡¯s profane miracles after the sacrifice of an entire city, now stood in her house-sized archdemon form - blinking four narrowed red eyes on the top of a beautiful woman. Meanwhile she maintained the lower body of an enormous, rose-covered white and crystal spider.


    Beyond them, hundreds of sleek, crimsonnces were crackling with ck lightning and being pulled back by wretched snares in sling-shot mechanisms; and more were being made by the second. Electrified snow began to gather around them as Ath¡¯s crystal roses spewed frosted mists, and the basilisks'' huge body erupted alongside the brutalisks¡¯ - both epassed with infernal mes.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    The dome fell.


    ¡°You engaged me in long rangebat? Really? Before I¡¯d even had a chance to speak with you?¡± Riven¡¯s voice echoed out across the chamber.


    Red frost began to rapidly spread out towards the hunkered dwarvish formations along the stone, covering tens and then hundred of yards in seconds. A re of his aura produced a swirling whirlwind of crimson snow crackling with ck lightning, intermixing with Ath¡¯s own elementally charged white snowkes in a flurry of cold that quickly began turning into a far reaching cyclone.


    Through the building storm that raged, thundered and boomed - shaking the cavern as more and more crackling bloodnces were created and pulled back in the air overhead and behind the warlock - Bridgar the dwarf watched in horror while taking an involuntary step back.


    Riven¡¯s voice echoed throughout the chamber one final time, through the haze of whirling snow that was now obscuring him from view, a precursor of violence toe. ¡°I¡¯d hoped that we could settle this like gentlemen. I suppose that was my mistake.¡±


    The air ripped apart and the thundering cloud of red and white snow parted as many thousands of piercing bloodnces imbued with the path of ck and red roared forward - causing space itself to rip and tear at the seams.


    The semi-invisible barriers red and shattered almost instantly as a cacophony of explosions tore into dwarvish formations, eliciting screams of horror and pain as body parts, trenches and battlements were ripped apart like they were made of paper. The volley was followed by the building storm, a storm of chaotic energies and blinding snow that rolled across the dwarven fortress and defensive positions as an imprable wave that chilled Bridgar to the bone.


    The dwarf dropped back onto his rear, heart beating like a drum, having been spared the initial volley but finding his hand catching himself on the exploded corpse of a nearby officer.


    He screamed through the deafening storm of snow that whipped his beard around, only to cry out again in pain when an arc of elemental lightning tore through an exposed part of his armor into his forearm - splitting it open with a singed wound.


    All around him, the roars and screams of hisrades could be heard as the booming approach of the oing ratkin army¡¯s battlecries began to rise above the cyclone. All was chaos, and Bridgar only barely had enough rity to get back to the battlements to begin screaming orders.


    Despite his dismay, despite the building dread he felt, he managed to make it to the wall as he tried his best to yell over the howling winds. He tried to yell over the ice that pped against his skin and cut him in numerous ces while jolts of lightning - ck and yellow - both randomly hammered into his body and stone armor.


    But his voice was lost to the winds, and even to his own ears it began to die in his throat as - through the thick haze of crackling red and white - dozens upon dozens of ice-made arachnids began sweeping over the dwarvish formations to eat his still recoiling men alive while they tried to fight back. The huge ming figure of a basilisk crashed into the fortress wall on his right and below him, sending splintered spears and torn apart cannons down hundreds of feet while the men stationed there began to scream even louder.


    A booming thud and the shake of the wall he now stood on caused Bridgar to trip just as he¡¯d regained his footing, and he raised a hand to block out the whirling storm. But when he uncovered his eyes to try to get a better view of the chaos unleashed on the area around him while debating whether or not he should just run to abandon his men, his gaze fell upon the looming, ming figure of an obsidian knight torn from the depths of hell.


    The towering brutalisk was covered in thick ebony tes, spikes running down its back, and the magma-infused maul in two of its hands red to life as the fiery demon chuckled. Bridgar abruptly tried to find the axe strapped to his side, but it had been lost somehow after being knocked around by the cyclone, and going pale - he realized that he was defenseless.


    Thest thing Bridgar saw was the downward swing of therge stone maul, glowing with lines of magma digging into the outer surface of the weapon, and his life was ended with a loud squelching sound as his body was sttered along the inner defensiveyers of the dwarven fortress.


    ***


    Allie panted, pressed her lips against Lahn¡¯s and violently dominated him on her bed while she pinched his cheeks. Gasping and pulling back to let the man breathe, her red eyes glistened with amusement when he finished.


    ¡°That was good! Longer than I expected given your situation.¡± She said, humming to herself in satisfaction and leaving the baffled young man behind after she got up and strode over to the bookshelf. Taking a bottle of blood wine from the top and draining half of it in one go, she gasped again and let out a long burp.


    She turned around in the dim light of her room, finding him staring at her longingly with those puppy dog eyes of his. He really was adorable, though a lot of that had to y into his personality. She¡¯d had thralls far more attractive than him in the realm of physical looks, especially due to how Lahn was still regaining muscle mass on his withered left side, but she¡¯d found those fuckboy toys to becking in all other aspects. Thralls were something she¡¯d quickly be bored of, and after having found Lahn - she¡¯d executed hers so she didn¡¯t have to deal with them any longer.


    Why HAD she so quickly fallen for this man?


    Pausing to think about it, she really didn¡¯t know. Riven had told her that, in his opinion, her transition and infatuation with Lahn had been incredibly abrupt. Too abrupt. Perhaps Riven was right, but her older brother was not one to go about giving dating advice given his absolute failures in that realm. Allie still didn¡¯t know what to think about the Fay situation, but at the very least Riven had said he did like and approve of Lahn. So there was that, and Allie wasn¡¯t about to fight off feelings like this when she¡¯d been looking for this exact kind of connection for so long. She just.. Felt right, being around Lahn.


    ¡°So¡­ how was your first time?¡± Allie asked, a sly smile ying on her lips as her bare, pale legs took her forward in a gliding motion to the edge of the bed. She bent over, booping him on the nose while he propped himself up on his good elbow, and gave him a pecking kiss on the cheek. ¡°Hopefully not too disappointing?¡±


    Lahn just continued to stare, as if dumbstruck, and he eventually blinked while slowly letting his body drop back into the pillows. ¡°I onlysted two minutes.¡±


    Allie snorted augh. ¡°I expected as much, don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯ll get better.¡±


    Lahn eyed her up and down while she stood at the edge of the bed, and he reached out a hand to touch her own. He smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Every time I look at you, I just¡­ I get butterflies. I see only perfection, and I ask myself just how did I be this lucky. How am I supposed tost longer in the face of this?¡±


    Allie squeezed his hand back, sitting and caressing his face with one hand. Then a look of doubt briefly overcame her. ¡°Do you think it was better than it would have been with Marsia?¡±


    Lahn blinked. ¡°Marsia?¡±


    ¡°Marsia Bortrost. The youngdy your parents tried to set you up with. Lord and Lady Bortrost¡¯s daughter, before you started school.¡±


    Lahn blinked again, then began loudlyughing while pulling Allie into a hug on the bed. Their bare bodies rolled onto one another, and the rolling stopped when they settled into a position with their eyes locked nose to nose. ¡°Allie, she doesn¡¯t hold a candle to you. You seriously can¡¯t say that YOU¡¯RE jealous. Right?¡±


    Allie grinned. ¡°Of course not!¡±


    There was a pause, and Lahn¡¯s face grew bright with smug satisfaction. ¡°You WERE jealous! Oh my gosh! WOW! Allie Thane, Queen of the Thane Necropolis and Princess of the Blood Moon Requiem, is JEALOUS of MARSIA BORTORST! This is great! I¡¯m definitely telling mother.¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyes narrowed and she abruptly jabbed him in the side, getting him to squeal. ¡°You¡¯d better not you little turd, or I¡¯ll suck your body dry and leave it for the roaches.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s eyebrow raised teasingly. ¡°I may like that.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    They bothughed, and eventually Allie stopped the cuddle fest by getting up and stretching with a yawn. Donning a robe and heading for the door, she turned to look over her shoulder just once. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go change and see Kathrine now. The Blood Moon Requiem apparently has an important guest that I need to talk to, and she¡¯s been hounding me about it for a while. I¡¯ll be back in a few hours, but you should get some sleep. Your body needs all the recovery it can get.¡±


    Lahn sighed in disappointment. ¡°Could we try again when you get back? I want to make up for my failures here.¡±


    Allie rolled her eyes and snorted again, but the smile she had on was wide and disyed her fangs. ¡°Of course. I look forward to it. And we can watch a movie afterwards!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a movie?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I forgot you¡¯re not from Earth again. I¡¯ll exin when I get back!¡±


    With that she blew him a kiss and left the room, shutting the door behind her with a click - before her footsteps faded away. After that, only the faint rustle of leaves of the garden tree outside Allie¡¯s window were there to keep Lahnpany.

 Chapter 209

    Chapter 209


    <strong>Chapter 209</strong>


    Lord Justo Barimont was a handsome man, even for a vampire, and he let that fact be known as he swaggered around thepound giving orders to the various soldiers or maids while two personal thralls from the hearnds wavedrge white fans to cool him off. His eyes were bright crimson as all purebloods were, and his tinum-trimmed robes had the symbol of a green me embroidered on his chest to symbolize the house he hailed from.


    ¡°This ce truly is a drag, isn¡¯t it Puncie?¡± Lord Barimont muttered under his breath to one of the two thrall women nearby, sipping on some wine in a crystal goblet while gazing over all of the cattle that were just so flippantly let loose to run about this dreadful market ce. He nced Kathrine¡¯s direction across from him on the balcony where she sat rigid and stiff in her chair, as beautiful as ever, and frowned at her. ¡°Have you not taught these lost royals about proper etiquette concerning ves? These cattle should be locked up at all times when not apanied by one of our kin. It is disgraceful, I must say. Truly disgusting. Like having cockroaches in your home, only this isn¡¯t one or two - but it is a swarm of cockroaches. Diseased, ugly, smelly cockroaches.¡±


    He gestured with a grimace at the roiling crowds of bartering orcs, humans, undead and more below him, his nose tilted up in a look of absolute disdain. ¡°You have been failing your duties, obviously, princess. I¡¯ll have to speak to my fiance about changing things. Immediately.¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s face flushed red with anger, and it was all she could do to not reach across the small ss table between them to strike the man. Instead, she took in a deep breath when her instructor - dius - put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. ¡°Truly. I wonder what your wife-to-be will think of it when you start telling her what to do, as you say you will.¡±


    Lord Barimont snorted augh, then grabbed one of the thralls fanning him and yanked her down to face level. Waiting for the young woman to expose her neck and brushing away a hanging diamond earring, the young lord sank his fangs into her neck and began to suck. After having had his fill after a few grimaces and winces from the woman, he pushed her off and shoved her back. ¡°You speak as if Allie has a choice in the matter. Let me assure you Kathrine, she does not. I even came prepared.¡±


    Kathrine snorted right back, ncing at the personal guards he¡¯d brought with him. They were soldiers bearing the green me of House Barimont on their te armor in a simr fashion that the elites of the Blood Moon Requiem already stationed here did so with the blood moon emblem, only the elites already here were sworn to the imperial throne while Barimont¡¯s men were personally contracted. Then she looked to the three warding rings on his fingers and therge amulet on his chest.


    ¡°If you speak of your soldiers and your little trinkets that you managed to pay ungodly amounts of tax to bring to this F-grade world, that¡¯s quite amusing.¡± Kathrine said with a raised eyebrow, crossing her legs and taking a smoking pipe to puff on it. ¡°If you¡¯re already worried about an attack from your fianc¨¦ even before having met her, it does not bode well for your future interactions. You¡¯ll need to do more than just survive if you wish to win her heart.¡±


    ¡°I do not need to win her heart.¡± Lord Barimont snapped back with a re. ¡°I bought her hand in marriage, she is mine.¡±¡°She is a high princess.¡± Kathrine retorted. ¡°Unlike me as lesser nobility, you cannot just talk to her however you wish. The queen will have your head. Allie is her favorite granddaughter''s daughter.¡±


    ¡°The queen is not the only one with power in our empire, need I remind you. There are seven elders and seven great houses - the Queen is just one of them.¡± Lord Barimont replied with a wave of his hand, looking up to the sky when gathering thunderclouds pped with lightning over the mountains a few miles off. ¡°I have the backing of one of the other elders.¡±


    Kathrine raised her eyebrows in surprise. ¡°Truly? I find that a newly raised house like yours having such support is unlikely at best. Even if that were the case, what¡¯s your n? You¡¯re just going to tell her of your wedding and leave? What is your purpose here?¡±


    The young lord slowly turned his head to look at her, evaluating her for some time. ¡°What else would I be here for? The High Queen and council want children. I intend to give them one. We will consecrate our marriage today.¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s fists tightened in anger. ¡°You could not have given her some time to digest the news before just throwing yourself on her?¡±


    ¡°No. Unlike you, princess, I have a house to maintain.¡± Lord Barimont said with a shake of his head and a grin. ¡°I am not of noble birth, but I am a pureblood. My family made our fortunes off the dealings of war, not taxation. If I wish to remain in the highest realms of the political field I must make sure that my blood is intertwined with the royals, so my parents have deemed it necessary that I start now. Soon I will be the father of a new princess, one linked directly to the throne just like you - but with a higher ce in the pecking order. That, in turn, will make me even better than you. I will be of higher rank.¡±


    Kathrine blinked, then immediately began tough - in turn causing Barimont to frown. ¡°Lord Barimont! You are quite delusional, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Kathrine brought up a dainty hand to her mouth and giggled to antagonize the man across from her. ¡°I will be married to Allie''s brother, who is the technical heir of House Wraithtide. Not only that, but I am already a princess and my standing will only go higher after the betrothal is made public. In what possible way would you be better than me?¡±


    Lord Barimont, for all his blustering, hadpletely forgotten about Riven. His face turned a shade of purple-red, and his grip cracked the wood on the chair he sat in. ¡°We will see whether or not your young prince even survives this integration, princess. We will certainly see.¡±


    The mood immediately grew cold.


    ¡°Careful how you say that, lordling.¡± The princess stated with an immediately venomous hiss to her words. ¡°Should that be interpreted as a threat, I will have you and your entire house beheaded before the day is over in the name of the queen. Do I make myself clear?¡±


    Captain Rusof, head of the military and the man who trained the elites here at themune, immediately put his hand on his de. His ck and red armor shimmered with a sh of distant lightning, and his red eyes bore holes into the lordling and his personal house escort on the other side of the balcony. He¡¯d been standing idly by until then, but upon the announcement that Kathrine saw this off handedment as a possible threat - he and the three soldiers beside him made it abundantly clear just where he stood on the matter of decapitating people who¡¯d be out of line.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The guards Lord Barimont had brought also shifted to their own weapons, gazes narrowed as Barimont tried to keep hisposure under control - though there was certainly a mixed bag of emotions underneath that forced stoic gaze he evaluated Kathrine with. ¡°It appears you have read my words incorrectly, princess. I would never dream of intentionally harming a prince of the main bloodline in any way, ever. Please call off your dogs.¡±


    There was a pause, and Kathrine held up her hand - causing Captain Rusof and the three other elites of the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s lower-leveled soldiers to stand down. The tension in Lord Barimont¡¯s face eased, as did the postures of the guards and thralls who apanied him.


    The silencested for another five minutes, no words spoken between anyone there while both Princess Kathrine and Lord Justo Barimont, while they continued to watch out over themune grounds.


    ¡°When can I expect her? I am growing bored of this dreadful ce.¡± Lord Barimont eventually said, smoothing back his already perfect dark hair. ¡°Please send word to Princess Allie Wraithtide once more. I do not like to be kept waiting and these system rules regarding how far I can travel outside amune are downright infuriating.¡±


    ¡°I have already sent the message three times.¡± Kathrine growled under her breath. ¡°I believe she¡¯s with someone at the moment and cannot be bothered, ording to the workers at her manor.¡±


    ¡°With someone?¡± Barimont said, eyebrows furrowing.¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s expression became smug. ¡°Yes. With that crippled cattle boy she likes. I believe she nned on taking his virginity today. But don¡¯t tell anyone, it¡¯s supposed to be a talk between just us girls.¡±


    Lord Justo Barimont¡¯s jaw went rigid, and a secondter the wooden arm on his chair shattered underneath his clenching grip. ¡°Disgusting. I will have words with her about this. My future wife will not be allowed to sleep with cattle, cripples, or anyone for that matter - except me. And I will show her what a real man is like after I deal with that insolent boy who dared toy his hands on her. Puncie, get the cor.¡±


    Kathrine took another puff of her pipe, confused when the thrall woman handed over a thin, leather-made cor with runes inscribed into the surface. She could immediately tell that these runes were the real deal, a powerful set of threaded suppression bindings. ¡°And what exactly is that?¡±


    Barimont mmed it onto the ss table between them. ¡°You¡¯ll see for yourself when Allie Wraithtide arrives in person. After all, it was made for her by Elder Thune himself.¡±


    ***


    Allie stopped her approach in the shadow of a two-story pub on the outskirts of the trade district near the Elysium Altar. High above her the halo of green mes encircled a dark spire, at the base of which were thousands of people buying and selling things directly with the system store. They''d ce their hands on the spire''s base, select what they wanted to take or sell, and exchange Elysium coins - before more often than not leaving with goods to carry away. The two tradingmunes, a fortress of the Blood Moon Requiem - which was closed off to the public, and another being Negrada¡¯smune in the form of a huge red tent which actively supported trade from anyone that walked in - were seen at their respective stations. Outside of the altar¡¯s perimeter were the buildings she now found herself hiding between, where dozens of restaurants, trading halls, auction houses and crafting workshops were bounding with business.


    ¡°Master¡­¡± The hiss of her newest minion Fimrindle called to her from the shadows. ¡°I bring news.¡±


    Allie stoically stared towards the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯spound. ¡°Does Riven¡¯s story check out?¡±


    She blinked, and the iron scarecrow was suddenly right beside her with a motion that she hadn¡¯t even seen - staring at her with X¡¯s carved into its face for eyes. In one hand it held antern, and in the other - a scythe. Even despite it being her minion now, Fimrindle was certainly off putting due to how and when it so abruptly moved.


    ¡°It does. Your designated fianc¨¦ is waiting for you inside, and from the queen¡¯s perspective this is just a formality to try and win you over for the courtship - but it appears your future husband is more eager to begin than expected.¡± Firmindle said with a voice that sounded like wind being blown through a pipe. ¡°They do not know you know. However, there are more findings that are not within Riven¡¯s ount of his talk with the High Queen.¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyebrows furrowed and she turned to look at the creature next to her. ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°It appears the queen also warned this young lord about the potential for a vtile reaction on your end. There are also more yers on the board. An elder of the n, likely from the council of elders the queen spoke of. His name is Elder Thune, and Lord Justo Barimont speaks of him as a backer for reasons that I cannot understand due to ack of background information. They created an item of some kind for you, a cor. I can sense sedation and suppression magicing off of it.¡±


    Allie¡¯s features immediately grew malicious, and a spark of teal death energy erupted involuntarily from the ground under her feat. ¡°Why would she warn him? Is she ying both sides? Do you know what my supposed fianc¨¦ intended to do with the cor?¡±


    ¡°The assumption I have is that he was going to use it to keep you sedated should you be angry. He needs to give you a child. I¡¯m sure you can draw the connections.¡±


    Her jaw became unhinged. Her soul red as the souls of the dead called for blood. A barrel nearby exploded when her eye twitched, and she began to see red. ¡°Is Riven back yet?¡±


    Fimrindle only barley moved his head back and forth. ¡°No. He is still on the expedition with Deepnest to conquer the dwarves and will be gone for at least a few days by Mara¡¯s estimations.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°And what if I do not go meet this man? Did you get a sense of what would happen?¡±


    Fimrindle tilted his head slightly, shifting left when a pair of squabbling merchants passed the alleyway by. ¡°If you do notply within a reasonable time, and if the conversations I overheard are urate, it is likely you will be taken into the hearnds against your will at the end of this integration to be ¡®trained properly¡¯ in ordance to behaviors suiting a princess of the Requiem. Then they would enve the locals of this world and take them to sell on the gctic ve markets asbor and cattle. The world would be torched when they leave. This is also assuming that Riven would attempt to help you, disregarding thews of the Requiem, and thus making him unable to im sanctuary for this should he go against the will of the council.¡±


    ¡°And what of Lahn if I cooperate?¡±


    ¡°I do not know. My assumption is that he will likely be killed should you resist, but there¡¯s a possibility he¡¯ll be killed either way.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°I see. I suppose it is time to meet this fianc¨¦ of mine then.¡±


    ¡°Do you wish to wait for Riven in case he does not want to negotiate?¡±


    Allie shook her head. ¡°No. This is something I need to do on my own.¡±


    ***


    Allie wore her usual outfit while approaching therge front gate of the Requiem¡¯s tradingmune fortress. Her form fitting soul-woven bone armor, along with the skull mask she usually wore, were all on and her wand was hooked to her belt. Her heart pounded nervously in her chest, and the doors started to creak open.


    She didn¡¯t have to knock as they¡¯d already been expecting her, and mere momentster she found herself face to face with the man she could assume was her betrothed only a couple yards off. He was disgustingly handsome, well muscled and having a strong jawline, with an obviously fake smile on his face. He had bright red eyes and dark swooped-back hair, and wore an emblem of green mes on tinum-trimmed robes. Standing beside him was Kathrine who had taken on an unfamiliar look of difort, wearing her usual ck dress that emphasized her curves, and behind the two nobles were armored vampire guards and thrall or vampire servants standing in rows.


    Kathrine stepped forward with a slight nod. ¡°Princess Allie Wraithtide, I am d to see you again. We have much to discuss. Please, follow me.¡±

 Chapter 210

    Chapter 210


    <strong>Chapter 210</strong>


    The dining hall had been redecorated ording to the description Riven had given Allie prior to this, though she couldn¡¯t be certain because it was her first time here after all. She¡¯d never had reason to visit thepound before now, but the looming threat ofary annihtion by an intergctic vampire empire that her mother had been part of was nothing to take lightly - should she spurn the rules of the Queen and council. Despite not knowing much about the greater multiverse, she was rtively certain the Blood Moon Requiem could follow through on that promise after Riven had described the visit to their inherited and the fleets surrounding it. If her mother¡¯s house alone had such a force, what kind of force did the main army of the Blood Moon Requiem have?


    The room contained only a singr rectangr table, carved from a strange deep gray wood that¡¯d been polished to a shine. Dozens of dishes formed through works of art were on disy, with numerous bottles of fine wines. Two very attractive thrall men and two equally attractive thrall women on a table of their own were decorated in sauces and flowers for live feeding out to the side of the main dining table - simr in fashion to how Genua had been disyed by Kathrine to Riven. Ruby chandeliers cast warm auras, and hundreds of candles all around the room gave off a gentle glow. ck banisters with the red crescent moon, outlined with gold trimmings hung overhead, and servants were standing next to the kitchen door and around the room to heed the call of the nobles at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Aside from those servants of both vampire and thrall origin were the soldiers standing on the perimeter of the room - either those that¡¯d first arrived with themune, or the ones that sported green mes on their breasttes that¡¯de with the young lord. The people sitting at the elongated table numbered only four however.


    Lord Justo Barimont sat at one end with his head held high and a cocky smirk on his face as he tantly eyed Allie from across the table while slowly stroking the green me emblem on his chest. Allie sat at the other end, having ced her skull mask on the wood beside her te - ring defiantly back at him. Kathrine sat inbetween the two, ufortably crossing her pale legs and clearing her throat while servants poured her a drink, and finally there was Lady Muren - another vampire noble who had her hair up in a vibrant orange ponytail and wore a form fitting red robe.


    The small orchestra of string instruments on a raised tform started as the final deserts were ced on the table, and the scent of perfume wafted through the air.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Lord Justo Barimont asked with a fanged smile, head-nodding to the small orchestra of violins and cellos nearby. ¡°I¡¯d heard they were the best in your city, and that this was what many high ss citizens of your home world listened to. I hope I was not misinformed.¡±


    Allie raised an eyebrow, slouched in her chair, and spared the human musicians dressed in fine attire a momentary nce. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s quite nice.¡±


    She turned her head to Lady Muren with a frown. ¡°Weren¡¯t there supposed to be more of you? Riven told me there were also two other lords present. Duke Blemrich, and Lord Carsion. Are they not attending the luncheon today?¡±Lady Muren spared Lord Barimont a quick nce, then smiled Allie¡¯s way. ¡°They decided to leave the after Lord Barimont¡­¡±


    ¡°After I secured your hand in marriage, my dear.¡± Lord Barimont said with a wide, greedy smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re already at least partially aware of these things, but my family wanted me to meet you after the fact so we could be more intimately acquainted with one another.¡±


    Allie snorted in derision, then took a fork and - very undy like - tore off a piece of finely cooked meat and began chewing while continuing to re across the table. ¡°Humorous.¡±


    ¡°What is?¡± Lord Barimont asked pleasantly, folding his fingers together between both hands.


    ¡°That you seem so entitled to me.¡± Allie then turned back to Lady Muren. ¡°And why haven¡¯t you left? Didn¡¯t Kathrine already take Riven from you?¡±


    The orange-haired vampire¡¯s eye twitched, but she kept a pleasant smile. ¡°Princess Kathrine Vonsi Crushada has indeed secured Riven¡¯s hand in marriage, but unlike us who can only incubate one pregnancy at a time - Males obviously have the opportunity to sire many children at once. Malignant Prophecy is a highly valued gift that the queen wants more of. I know marriage is now out of the question, but I was hoping I could perhaps be a concubine. A shame really, my family outbid Kathrine¡¯s but it was deemed by the elder council that her rtionship with Riven had already taken fruition after she whored herself off a while ago.¡±


    Kathrine adamantly rolled her eyes, huffed, and started digging into her own food with rather exaggerated stabs. ¡°That¡¯s rather a funny thing to say,ing from someone with aspirations to be a concubine. He hasn¡¯t even met you more than twice.¡±


    Allie continued chewing on a roll and wiped her hands on a napkin after swallowing. ¡°Mmm. So I can assume, Kathrine, that the person you wanted me to meet so much is this pleasant gentleman ogling me at the other end of this fine dining table? Let¡¯s just cut to the chase about things shall we?¡±


    Kathrine frowned, then gave her an ufortable nod. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And he really is my betrothed, ording to the queen? THIS guy?¡± Allie shoved a finger in Barimont¡¯s direction, getting a scowl from the overly handsome man as Kathrine nodded once again. ¡°Is it normal for the royalty of The Blood Moon Requiem to be pawned off as breeding partners like this? Without any say about who they get to marry? Or is it just Riven and me?¡±


    ¡°That is aplicated question¡­¡± Kathrine began while pulling at a brown lock of hair hanging down her shoulder. ¡°The short answer is sometimes. In your case, your parents weren¡¯t there to help navigate the political agenda concerning who it would be. So your great grandmother the high queen, as your closest of kin holding a royal title, was the one who decided an auction should ur after being pressured by the rest of the elder council to choose.¡±


    A heavy silence ensued afterwards, the sound of Allie¡¯s nails digging into the wooden table mixing with the sound of Lady Muren¡¯s chewing while Lord Barimont continued to stare with a forced smile. Was the queen really on her side, or was she not? It was hard to tell.


    ¡°You should be honored to marry one such as me, Allie Wraithtide.¡± Lord Barimont said, putting his elbows on the table to rest his chiseled, pale chin on his hands. ¡°My house is incredibly wealthy. We have conquered newly settled territories on the outskirts of the empire, owningrge shares of twos and a smaller portion of a third. Millions of ves, entire cities erected in our names, and a military force that rivals many of the best in the empire. You would not becking in resources once you joined my family name.¡±


    Allie red at the man again, eyes narrowed. ¡°And yet here you are, basically trying to buy me as little more than a sex object. And for what? To raise yourself in the political hierarchy? That¡¯s what Riven told me.¡±


    Lord Barimont¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°And just what does your brother know about political hierarchies? You and yours have never been to the empire.¡±


    ¡°Not in person, but Riven did recently visit to discuss running Luteski. General Viku filled him in on some of the details.¡± Allie leaned back, lying through her teeth. Viku hadn¡¯t been the one to tell them about the politicalndscapes and how to navigate them, it¡¯d been their great grandmother the high queen - but Allie still didn¡¯t know what High Queen Nephridi¡¯s game was. Was her grandmother ying both sides of the field? Or was she truly on Allie¡¯s side? If Nephridi really was her ally, it¡¯d be stupid to im she¡¯d been sent information from her grandmother if other elders of the empire council were at y.


    Lord Barimont sighed, then shook his head. ¡°General Viku is known to me, and is a military man. He does not concern himself with politics, but I¡¯d really like to convince you that I am a worthy Lord to marry without needing to do things the hard way. Is there no chance I could win your favor? At least let me make the attempt. Reasons for why we bid for your hand in marriage are reasons of our own, and you will be treated fairly as my wife. When you raise our children, I will shower them with the finest of gifts and our house name will only grow stronger between your inherent gift of prophecy and the might of the Barimont legions.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡±


    ¡°It is your duty. I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t decline.¡±


    Allie sneered back at the nkly staring man in front of her, then she leaned forward with a hiss. ¡°I¡¯m already courting someone. Someone a lot better than you.¡±


    Lord Just Barimont blinked twice, then pushed back on the table and began to uproariouslyugh. His cackles boomed across therge dining hall as Kathrine nkly stared at the table, Lady Muren smirked, and Allie red. Eventually he calmed himself down, then used a handkerchief to wipe the literal tears streaming out of his eyes from the sheer amusement he obviously felt about her statement. ¡°Are you talking about that crippled cattle welp? The one with the shriveled limbs!?¡±


    ¡°His name is Lahn!¡± Allie said, mming a fist onto the table as she got to her feet with a roar of death mana. The chair and her side of the table exploded into fragments of wood and food, and both Kathrine and Lady Muren yelled out in shock while scrambling away.


    Lord Justo Barimont continued chuckling to himself rather loudly as the rest of the room, servants and guards included, came to a standstill. He seemed undisturbed by the building mana roiling around Allie and stood up off his still-intact chair to brush out his robes - sping his hands behind his back with a smug grin. ¡°Lahn then. Let me ask you this, Princess Allie Wraithtide: What is it that this Lahn could provide you that I couldn¡¯t? And calm down my dear, there is no reason to get angry. Laughing is a valid reaction, watching someone as esteemed and as beautiful as yourself trying to court a filthy, crippled <em><strong>PIG</strong></em> that has less worth than the dirt upon which he stands. When this integration is over, and after I have impregnated you with my child, I will be sure to crush your mutant human pet in the most painful way imaginable while making you watch. Better yet, I even invited him here today so that he could meet the man who would take away his woman. I sent a messenger right as you arrived, so he should be here any time now. Perhaps his death wille a little earlier than expected, and of course - I won¡¯t be letting you leave.¡±


    He was goading her on, they both knew she knew it.


    And she would have his head for it.


    The flowing river of death mana surrounding Allie surged, and her mind clouded over with rage. She¡¯d never been talked to like this before, especially not after having acquired the power of the system and her heritage - and she would not suffer this fool to speak as he pleased.


    She took in a long breath, calmed herself, and closed her eyes as the river of mana slowly converged and disappeared back into her body. Then she let out a long exhale, shoulders slumping. Riven had told the high queen that he¡¯d try to convince Allie to at least meet the man to talk to him, in order to appease this ¡®elder council¡¯, but Nephridi knew things likely wouldn¡¯t go well.


    ¡°At least I¡¯ve kept my promise.¡± Allie muttered under her breath, slowly opening her red eyes to witness Lord Justo Barimont¡¯s smug grin grow wider.


    He slowly began to p now that Allie¡¯s surging aura had dwindled, but he was the only one in the room making any noise. ¡°Very good, my bride to be. Very, very good. Perhaps I¡¯ll spare his life after all since you appear to be submitting, after I humiliate him upon his arrival of course. I am d you¡¯vee to your senses and have stopped that silly little tantrum of yours. Now that you¡¯ve destroyed most of the room in your flippant, childish disy of power - perhaps we can enjoy ourselves in private while we await your previous pet¡¯s arrival. The high council demands that we give them a child with the gift sometime within the next century, so there¡¯s no time to waste.¡±


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    Allie¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Yes, of course my dearest betrothed. Let us not waste any more time.¡±


    Her bone wand whipped forward, and the room erupted as an unholy obelisk crashed through the ceiling with a tidal wave of energy and a shower of debris. Teal runes along the ck creation flickered to life and rapidly drew power from the surroundings, feeding mana into her body when the obelisk shattered with an influx of power. A vacuum formed around her within half a second, before the wand exploded with a shockwave of death as the sound barrier broke.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    Lord Justo Barimont¡¯s eyes widened only for a split second before the ceiling was torn asunder by the obelisk and he was sent rocketing out of the dining hall. Servants and warriors around her screamed or scrambled to safety, but frankly Allie was surprised she hadn¡¯t just decimated the entire fortress with that attack. Instead, she¡¯d only blown the smug bastard through three different rooms -nding him in a crater of rubble along one of the far walls of the armory.


    Allie clicked her tongue, annoyed that The Blood Moon Requiem had invested so much money into building thepound - and acknowledging that although they¡¯d still only used F-grade materials for this particr world, the enchantments engraved into each block of the fortress were far sturdier than normal material.


    She bent over and picked up her bone mask, cing it back on her face and turning to Kathrine who was paler than usual with her back up against the far wall. ¡°I believe I¡¯m done here. Tell grandmother that they¡¯ll need to find a recement for the prick I just killed.¡±


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    Allie¡¯s body shuddered and she screamed as infernal chains tore out of the ground,tching onto her wrists and ankles and neck to pull her into a kneeling position. Theughter of Lord Barimont echoed through thepound, and his figure emerged from the wreckage beyond the dining hall with his rings all rusted and his amulet cracked.


    He looked down at his protective jewelry with a bewildered expression, then hummed in amusement as more of the infernal bindings continued to mp down onto Allie¡¯s writhing body. ¡°By the blood god! I knew you had a temper, but this is just uncalled for! And to think you have so much power at only level 84! These amulets should have held up far better in the F-grade. I¡¯m impressed.¡±


    Allie struggled and screamed, her death mana be suppressed by the infernal chains that seemed to eat away her own energy stores while simultaneously keeping her tied to the ground. Her soul-woven armor and want both began to wail, and then to her surprise - the items began to shudder as they started eating away the fiery chains born of hellscape magic at a rapid pace.


    Even Lord Barimont looked surprised, and he raised a hand to reinforce his spells with a strained look to his face as sweat started beading down his face. ¡°I will say that your gics spell great things for our children, even outside the realm of prophecy. It makes me wonder what your death affinity is. Surely 90% or better.¡±


    ¡°Lord Barimont!¡± Kathrine shrieked over the mes that¡¯d started spreading onto the carpet and tapestries above, where remnants of the ceiling still shadowed most of the dining room outside arge hole where the obelisk had sted through. ¡°Unhand the high princess right now! You may be her fiance, but harming her like this is treason!¡±


    The vampiric soldiers wearing the sigil of the blood moon all tensed at Kathrine¡¯s words, and in return their counterparts bearing the sigil of the green me - the sigil of House Barimont - all tensed as well. Hands gripped swords or halberds tightly, and they started eyeing each other with appraising looks as Captain Rusof held up a hand to stay the violence.


    ¡°I was obviously attacked first, I am merely restraining my beloved fiance in turn to make sure she does not harm me or anyone else.¡± Lord Justo Barimont replied slyly,ing over and tucking a finger under Allie¡¯s skull mask before ripping it off to expose her sneer. He bent down next to her, smile gleaming dangerously in the infernal light. ¡°I believe I¡¯ll take her back to my room now. Servants, you are all dismissed.¡±


    The remaining servants who¡¯d stayed behind, wide eyed and watching events unfurl, all quickly left as Barimont picked Allie up off the ground by the roots of her hair - then he produced a cor. ¡°This is for you my dear, to calm you down. Don¡¯t worry, the rest of the night will be far more enjoyable for the both of us - there¡¯s no reason to fret.¡±


    Captain Rusof took a step forward, chin lowered and red eyes shing. ¡°Lord Barimont, I¡¯d thought you were merely jesting when you said you were going to use a suppression cor. Those are prohibited by-¡±


    ¡°High Elder Thune made this cor specifically for her, do not preach to me about what can and cannot be done here - <em><strong>Captain</strong></em>!¡± Lord Barimont sneered to his right, pointing a finger at the military man. ¡°I am well within my rights, especially after being attacked! Princess Allie Wraithtide hasmitted what is akin to treason herself after attacking me and thereby defying the orders of the council. She has no choice but to obey!¡±


    The two men red at one another amidst Allie¡¯s screams, but eventually Captain Rusof gave a curt nod and retracted his step.


    Barimont snorted in derision, then turned his attention back to Allie. Leaning forward and smiling victoriously, he forced a kiss onto Allie¡¯s lips while she still iled and was being burned along various points of restraint along her limbs. Lord Barimont savored the feel of her soft body against his, and he hummed in satisfaction at the act.


    Allie¡¯s eyes went wide in sheer rage, but whatever items he¡¯d brought with him were just too powerful to ovee. She could feel much of his energy being leached out of that cracked amulet he wore, a reservoir of power that tripled her own reserves even if the man himself didn¡¯t pose a threat without it. Her body iled, her mind roared, and then - something blurred in her peripheral vision as shouts from Barimont¡¯s men screamed out at him in warning.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    The remaining amulet around Lord Barimont¡¯s chest exploded as a protective barrier erupted from the innermost jewel, sending Allie and Barimont sting out in different directions right when Fimrindle¡¯s scythe sank into the vampire lord¡¯s upper back. The attack would have been a killing blow directly to the heart with how much power had been imbued into the attack, but the amulet was destroyed now - and Allie could feel the reservoir of power on Barimont¡¯s chest dwindle beforepletely fading away as she picked herself up from a smoldering pile of rubble in the wall near Kathrine.


    She spit blood as she stood up, cracking her neck and holding out her hand to summon her mask that shed to her. Putting it on and sizing up the vampiric soldiers who¡¯d drawn swords and conjured unholy fireballs in front of their lord who was cursing loudly across the room in a pile of his own rubble - she pointed her wand one more time.


    She visibly shook with anger, wiping off the saliva he¡¯d left on her lips. ¡°Now that your toys are broken, let¡¯s see how strong you really are.¡±


    The iron scarecrow cocked his head to one side. ¡°On your order, master.¡±


    Allie screamed, and the room around her exploded as her formerly suppressed death mana howled in a storm above her head with ming skulls materializing out of the air above her toe hurling down onto her enemies. Fimrindle¡¯s odd body blipped inbetween positions in unbelievably elegant sweeps and scythe attacks - dancing inbetween elite vampire soldiers and her ming skulls while killing three of House Barimont¡¯s men within seconds; before vanishing and reappearing once again.


    Lord Barimont¡¯s soldiers rushed the metal scarecrow and a few of them tried to lunge directly for Allie - a few of them activating movement abilities only to be set upon by dozens of cloaked skeleton assassins that seemingly phased out of thin air to sh with the vampires head on. Her bone creations shed forward, each of them the best of her minions as they twirled enchanted shortswords and daggers. They ripped into vampiric flesh with precisional strikes or were crushed and demolished in ivory explosions as their bodies were ripped open by vampiric des, but none of them felt a thread of fear as their necromancer master urged them onwards.


    ¡°ALLIE WRAITHTIDE!¡± Lord Barimont roared over the din of battle that¡¯d erupted between Allie¡¯s own minions and Lord Barimont¡¯s soldiers. ¡°THIS IS TREASON! YOU WILL BE WED TO ME WHETHER OR YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, AND THE MORE YOU RESIST - THE MORE THINGS WILL END BADLY FOR YOU!¡±


    Allie grinned underneath her mask. ¡°You should be more concerned about yourself.¡±


    She held up a hand to the sky, and from the hole in the ceiling and up in the clouds far above them - cracks in space began to tear themselves into reality. Screams erupted from the beyond, and a gigantic neon teal eye wreathed in deathly mes red downwards upon the vampiricpound like the eye of the death god itself.


    Stone shattered, and those she viewed as enemies all began to scream as its judgement radiated down hatred and crashed into their bodies like a tidal wave of pain. Lord Barimont was one of them, screaming in agony as his bones cracked and shattered - the sheer weight of the eye¡¯s presence causing him to m into the floor and create a crater there before his broken fingers managed to pry out yet another item from a pocket on his right side.


    He crushed a pill of some sort, and a blinding sh of radiant white light blew open the doors to the room and raced towards the heavens - quickly sting the ¡®eye of the Scythe¡¯ spell Allie had conjured apart with a re of golden-white energies.


    The bacsh was not insignificant, and Allie stumbled - blood dripping from her nose while she caught herself on a wall. Princess Kathrine, Lady Muren, Captain Rusof, and the other elite warriors of the Blood Moon Requiem all stood silently and helplessly by - not willing to impose themselves on this fight lest they be caught up in a power struggle involving people far above their paygrade. Be it the High Queen Nephridi and Elder Thune, or Princess Allie Wraithtide and House Barimont - the bystanders didn¡¯t seem willing to put themselves in a line of fire regarding this dispute.


    ¡°KNOW YOUR PLACE!¡± Lord Barimont Shrieked, sting Fimrindle when the demon-undead hybrid managed to bypass two guards to take a swipe at the lord himself.


    The iron scarecrow was sent skidding across the ground, head over heels only to recover with inhuman agility and blurr back to engage. He was quickly intercepted by House Barimont elites though, who doubled down on their efforts to kill the creature and keep their charge safe in a whirlwind of shing, sparking metal between blows exchanged.


    Lord Barimont then charged with cor in hand, mes erupting along one arm as he torpedoed through the air with a boost of power from mes at his feet. He crashed into Allie¡¯s position as the bystanders backpedaled towards safety, only to be repelled by Allie¡¯s bone armor and a whish of death-mana strings that cut deep into his chest and spiked the vampire into the ceiling.


    Allie blurred left, dodging a thrown fireball from one of Barimont¡¯s men and retaliating with another roar of death mana from her wand before her free hand rose into the air. While Lord Barimont crashed into the ground and stood up, snapping his neck back into a corrected position and then an arm - she closed her eyes and began to focus on the scattered bones and corpses around her.


    The air hummed as she activated ¡®Speaker of the Dead¡¯ and ¡®A Path of Bones¡¯,bining the spirit-summoning spell with the ability to bend and sculpt bones to her cause. The afterlife responded with a howl of shrieking voices that filled the sky, and the remnants of the ceiling shattered as a roar of ghosts rushed at Lord Barimont in an attempt to possess him like a tidal wave.


    Lord Barimont screamed in horror, and the room red with an explosion of infernal energy that rocked the very building they stood in - killing numerous guards, skeletons and thrall servants in the attempt to ward off possession. He huffed, his ming body reducing to cinders only to go wide-eyed when he saw an avnche of bone erupting from Allie''s spatial sack on her hip.


    She grinned mischievously, waggling a finger at him as the ocean of ivory soared high - ghosts still circling him like birds of prey would a rabbit. ¡°I don¡¯t marry maggots.¡±


    She shoved her hand forward, and the ocean of ivory descended like a maelstrom of violence - crashing into Lord Barimont and cutting into him in hundreds of ces while simultaneously trying to tten him into a pancake. The ivory ocean began topress,press, andpress even more as it turned into a sphere with the vampire lord inside.


    He roared in pain and cursed her, spurts of me trickling out of the dense ball of ivory hovering in the ruins of the dining hall. Ghosts began to shriek and dive into the mess of magic, using Allie¡¯s own death mana to keep them safe from the infernal fires as their spirit bodies dug into Lord Barimont¡¯s own - causing his pained cursing to turn into that of a frantic and horrified wail.


    Allie¡¯s fanged sneer grew wider, her crimson eyes burning with malice while her hand continued to tighten on the strings that connected her will to the swirling orb orpacting ivory. ¡°DIE!¡±


    ¡°AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!¡± His screams were growing fainter, and the struggles were growing less obvious as less and less me escaped the holes in her bone prison, but a neon red st of light from one of the soldiers tore across the room and shattered the hold Allie had on the young lord. The bones disintegrate, and the ghosts trying to tear into the man¡¯s soul were evaporated instantly.


    ¡°NOOOO!!¡± Allie screamed in rage and summoned more ming skulls,unching them at the vampiric soldier and turning him into paste before she was mmed back into the wall with a sickening crunch.


    The ming chains from earlier tore out of the wall, and from one of Barimont¡¯s hands, binding her to the stone and wrapping around her neck, legs, and arms to hold her still. Meanwhile Lord Barimont picked himself up - a bloodied, haggard mess with one eye missing as he red hatefully towards her. Standing in a pile of ash, he slowly began to regenerate as his vampiric body healed the wounds inflicted upon him.


    ¡°You raggedy BITCH!¡± Lord Barimont howled, only to turn at the sound of a door being flung open - and his hate filled sneer turned into a look of absolute glee.


    There, in the entrance to the hall, was Lahn. He was in his wheelchair, frantically looking around and taking in the sight with growing emotion. He saw Allie¡¯s figure bound and burning as she screamed against the wall - her mana battling the suppressive effect of the chains that were extending out of Lord Barimont¡¯s hands. He saw her minions battling the vampiric knights in fiercebat with Firmindle at the head of them all. He saw the one-eyed mage smiling sinisterly his way, and Lahn drew out the gift Allie had given him all those weeks ago.


    A brilliant white light illuminated the darkness of the vampiricpound, and Prophet¡¯s artifact tome zed with holy energy that radiated across Lahn¡¯s skin while his shriveled hand frantically tried to flip the pages. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he red daggers at the man who was hurting Allie while he screamed at the top of his lungs. ¡°I¡¯M HERE TO HELP, ALLIE!¡±


    Allie¡¯s body twitched, and her death mana roared in an explosion that sent ripples up the chains binding her - causing Lord Barimont to stumble and giving her a moment of respite. She turned her head, a look of absolute horror in her eyes when she saw who it was.


    She screamed, her voice shrill. ¡°LAHN! LAHN GOD DAMN YOU, RUN! FUCKING RUN!¡±


    Then Lord Barimont lunged.

 Chapter 211

    Chapter 211


    <strong>Chapter 211</strong>


    Allie was in trouble. She was being attacked and her life was in danger.


    And his reaction was instinctual. Without any thought of his own safety, he would persevere for the woman who¡¯d taken his heart with the kindness she¡¯d shown him over these past few months - a kindness he¡¯d only ever known from his mother prior to meeting her.


    Lahn¡¯s shriveled fingers on his left hand, still devoid of any real muscture despite the slow-going recovery process, flipped through the pages of the shimmering white book that oozed holy power on hisp.


    He watched the vampire lord before him, the asshole who¡¯d attacked Allie, lunge towards him at a speed Lahn couldn¡¯t quiteprehend. He knew his death was likely impending, and tears were already trickling down his face as he pushed through the mental blockade of fear to do what must be done.


    But he was too slow, and even despite knowing what he was looking for - the vampire lord was just too fast.


    ¡°Hello, PIG!¡± The one eyed vampire hissed venomously, still holding Allie to the wall as the battle between her undead and vampire soldiers bearing the sigil of the green me raged behind him. The vampire¡¯s shadow loomed over Lahn in his wheelchair, and he backhand pped Lahn¡¯s face so hard that spit and teeth flew out of his mouth.


    Lahn spun around, flung from the chair but barely managing to keep hold of the holy book. Hended in a crumpled heap, grunting a scream as his weaker arm snapped and his jaw unhinged.


    The vampire lord began tough despite the wounds he had, which were slowly beginning to regenerate - though more slowly than they had earlier. He turned and sneered Allie¡¯s way. ¡°This?! THIS creature, of all the people you could choose, is the one you prefer as your mate? OVER ME!? How ludicrous!¡±Lahn¡¯s fingers, despite the pain radiating across his broken body, continued to dig at the glowing pages of the book with frantic abandon. In truth there was no way he could defeat this monster, there was no way to save Allie the way he was.


    That¡¯s why he needed to change, and though the sacrifice it would take to get there was steep - the words of power written into the pages of this text were as clear as day to him.


    There was a path to save her. A path that even the previous owner of this book hadn¡¯t taken due to the detrimental cost.


    The vampire lord shook his head, sending a bolt of mes tearing through two of the skeletal assassins that charged him - only to uncaringly nce at one of his soldiers who died at the hand of Fimrindle. Pausing just a moment to make sure the iron scarecrow was preupied while more soldiers tried to hold him down with blurring movement abilities and exchanging lightning-quick attacks, the irregrly handsome man began walking towards Lahn with a malevolent grin. An ebony dagger of intricate, jagged, evil design appeared in one of his hands, and he loomed over Lahn like the spirit of death when he raised it up high for a killing strike. ¡° I will purge you of this world for tainting our royal bloodline with your filth, you disgusting pig!¡±


    ¡°YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HIM!!!!¡± A sh of teal and ck roared to life and Allie¡¯s scream echoed throughout thepound, causing the earth to quake amongst a sea of ghosts that tore from the air around her -unching themselves at the ming chains binding her to the walls in a mad rage.


    The dagger descended towards the vulnerable human man, Allie not having freed herself in time despite her herculean effort to interrupt the attack, but the de was stopped short by none other than Kathrine in her stead.


    Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th, eldest daughter to the Duke and Dutchess of House of Crushada, 107th in line for the vampiric throne - had stopped his attack with a thin rapier. The silver de¡¯s tip was held just inches over Lahn¡¯s face, ring with ribbons of blood that lifted off the weapon like calm waves before the storm as it sparked against the ck dagger that¡¯d almost taken Lahn¡¯s life.


    ***


    Lord Justo Barimont was stunned, ring in iprehensible rage at Kathrine as the vampire royal held his de at bay. ¡°What are you DOING, princess!?¡±


    His eyes grew wide and he nearly tripped over his own legs when Kathrine¡¯s arm shot out, cor in hand, to try and put it around his neck. The runic enchantments Elder Thune had ced on it were more than recognizable to his eyes, he must have dropped it without realizing, but Kathrine¡¯s moment of surprise went as quickly as it¡¯de. He would not just sit there and let her don that damned, profane object around his neck if he could help it - and violently pping it away and out of her hand was more than enough to keep himself out of harm¡¯s way. ¡°You just expect me to sit there and let you nullify me like that? Did you really think that would work? You¡¯d need to knock me outpletely for that kind of n.¡±


    The words hissed out of him like a snake, and he bloomed with fire - exploding backwards to barely avoid a death ball by mere centimeters with Allie¡¯s wand pointed his way after she¡¯d finally broken free to shatter his chains.


    He literally shook in rage, eyes open wide and bing bloodshot while ring at the two princesses - Allieing to stand beside Kathrine who was obviously rather shaken despite her quick intervention to save Lahn¡¯s life. ¡°You do know what this means, don¡¯t you? The slight you have justmitted is akin to a blood feud by interfering.¡±


    The man¡¯s words were deep, malevolent, and his red eyes narrowed while staring directly at Kathrine¡¯s nervous figure twenty yards away.


    Kathrine hesitantly nodded, keeping his gaze and still pointing her rapier towards him in a stance that was meant more to ward him off rather than a threat. ¡°Yes. I know what this means.¡±


    Barimont¡¯s face turned into that of a sinister smile. ¡°Your house is not a match for mine without the crown protecting you, even if yours is of a higher status. I hope what you just did by interfering is worth it.¡±


    Kathrine shuddered, but stood her ground as Allie helped Lahn sit up against the near wall. ¡°You forget yourself. I will have house Wraithtide¡¯s forces to aid my family. Your house, though known for its conquests, will not be able to stand up to the might of ourbined forces if a blood feud is put forth.¡±


    Allie stood up from where she¡¯d been helping Lahn, then walked over and put a shaking hand on Kathrine¡¯s shoulder before giving the other woman a firm squeeze and a nod.


    Barimont spit, then flung the dagger off to the side and summoned a long whip with ming des protruding from the long body of the object. ¡°We will see. But truthfully, it won¡¯t even matter if I¡¯m able to capture both of you. Your house will not dare to attack mine if I have you as a hostage.¡±


    ¡°To what end?¡± Kathrine quipped back, anger in her words now as an aura of red spread around her - ring to life with a whirlwind of blood. ¡°Even if you did manage it, you¡¯d still have to deal with Riven after this is over! What are you even thinking!? He¡¯ll just kill you when he gets back! Nobody you can bring is over level 90, you¡¯ll be ughtered for this!¡±


    Lord Barimont rolled his eyes, but then smirked victoriously when the sparking shes of the battle nearby was joined by the sound of marching feet. From the interior catbs of the fortress came two dozen more vampires in two columns, each bearing the sigil of a zing red phoenix. They were dressed very simrly to the other soldiers originally stationed here with Kathrine, wearing ck and red te armor and using either halberds or longswords, but at the front of their ranks was a man with a very distinct look to him.


    His hair was a shiny silver, his features were thin but toned under an exquisitely made battle robe of satin. His jaw was locked and clenched, and he looked around the ripped apart room before his eyesnded on Lord Barimont. ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°Not here.¡± Lord Barimont said with a sideways nce at Allie and Kathrine. ¡°This battle is just for us now present.¡±


    Kathrine in the meantime was blinking rapidly, and she maintained the flickering sword in her right hand while her left came to rub her temple in disbelief. ¡°Jalel? Jalel is that you? What are you doing here?? You¡¯re too high level to even be here! How did you get through the portal?¡±


    Jalel remained stone-faced, while Barimont began tough.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°I would have been too high level if High Queen Nephridi hadn¡¯t punished my scheme to im the shard, and now shards-plural, of Gluttony for myself.¡± Jalel said tly, his men spreading out in the room to halfway encircle the two princesses. He came to stand next to Lord Barimont, not even looking at the other vampire lord even once. ¡°I was given the choice of death, or allowed to eat demotion pills to reduce my level hundreds of times over. Now that my cultivation and level gains have beenpletely demolished, I am barely level 87. The amount of money that spiteful queen spends just to make a point is truly absurd. The level cap for invaders is 80, but the cap here for tradingmunes is 90. I am here on behalf of Elder Thune to make sure that Riven behaves himself when he gets back, as though Riven is currently higher level than I am after such a steep loss of power - I am more than capable of subduing him even in my currently reduced state, due to my skills and knowledge of countless battles of centuries of life. It will be me, Kathrine, that keeps your fiance in check. I have been given permission to put you down if need be, because unlike the two lost royals here - you¡¯re expendable.¡±


    Allie snarled. ¡°ENOUGH TALK!¡±


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    Her hand whipped forward and smashed tendrils of death into Lord Borimont with rapid speed, propelling the distracted man through two walls and causing him to scream as the mana ate away at his flesh and regeneration. It was an absolutely thunderous strike, and Jalel¡¯s eyes widened before he sprinted forward to intercept the channeling power.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    Kathrine¡¯s rapier sliced down, sending a solid wave of rippling red blood mana tearing through the air - making impact with Jalel¡¯s summoned barriers that sprang to life immediately before they hit.


    Power boomed in an echo resounding for miles.


    The fortresspound shook.


    Kathrine screamed in horrified pain as a dagger sank deep into the back of her left lung, and she fell to the ground wide-eyed when looking over her shoulder only to see her romantic rival - Lady Muren. Lady Muren¡¯s orange hair whipped about in the wind with a venomous smile on her rosy lips, and she twisted the de while pouring unholy poisons into Kathrine¡¯s body.


    ¡°Riven¡¯s name is mine to im!¡± Lady Muren hissed, only to have Allie¡¯s foot crash into her face - sending the other vampire careening into a far wall.


    Jalel¡¯s men leapt into action, shing forward as two dozen des sought to kill Kathrine or Maim Allie - but the sound of more unsheathing weapons rang through the air when even more vampires joined the fray.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if you really add up to all that bluster!¡± Captain Rusof¡¯s longsword shed forward decapitating one of Jalel¡¯s men before he met Jalel himself in battle with a ring smile on his lips - soon vanishing in movements so fast that normal mortals wouldn¡¯t be able to follow the blows. Metal struck metal and screams echoed through thepound as vampire fought vampire when Captain Rusof¡¯s men immediately followed his lead - having made their choice to take a side in the political feud when the man they respected most had set his example.


    The battle was on.


    ***


    Lahn¡¯s jaw was broken, his arm was broken, and he¡¯d probably snapped a few ribs. His face was beginning to swell and the fingers of his hand trembled while flipping through the pages. Why couldn¡¯t he find that damn page?


    Why of all times was he having an issue finding the single page that could help him here?


    A fireden, ded whipshed out and struck at Allie as she sted it away, sending Lord Barimont¡¯s attack to the side before retaliating with numerous skulls zing with neon teal mana. She dodged and vanished out of sight while more of the dead began to rise, fighting alongside her as new corpses that screamed and roared towards her enemies with wild abandon. des shed and magics flew, and all Lahn could do was helplessly turn the book - page by page - trying to find the passage he¡¯d read all those weeks ago when he¡¯d first been given the item as a gift.


    His eyes sped down the walls of text,plex runes rearranging themselves to create words of gold across glistening white pages. He winced as he saw Allie¡¯s body skip across the ground; only for her to rebound, spit blood and send waves of death mana spiraling in a tornado of screeching skulls, ghosts and ck-teal mes into a trio of enemy vampires. The battlefield was quickly being widened as more walls and ceilings fell, andbatants pressed one another into the surrounding fortress.


    Why was he so useless!?


    Why could he not do this one thing to help her!?


    He tried not to cry, praying silently to the gods that she would win - that she and her allies would prevail and that they¡¯d not even need him. But even now, he could see that they were losing.


    Kathrine was being pushed back, severely injured by Lady Muren¡¯s initial attack and had spreading lines of poison seeping through her veins across pale skin - while the two vampire women shed back and forth with blood magics in elegant attack patterns. Captain Rusof was exchanging blow for blow with Jalel, but it was apparent that Jalel was slightly more skilled than he - scoring hits when Captain Rusof left openings time and time again. Fimrindle was in a stalemate with five elite vampiric knights from House Barimont that¡¯d locked him down, and the skeletons were mostly gone by now - though they¡¯d certainly taken a number of the vampires with them.


    That left Allie and Lord Barimont, who were locked in a back and forth duel of me and death. Allie¡¯s strikes were more powerful and packed more punch, but Lord Barimont was obviously well trained and the skill gap was obvious by the way he manipted his magics to push aside and divert Allie¡¯s own while opening up opportunities for counters.


    Then, after two entire minutes of flipping pages and feeling absolutely useless, having benepletely forgotten by the rest of thebatants in the room as vampiric soldiers on both sides continued to die, his eyes finally rested on the passage of the book he¡¯d been looking for.


    Lahn¡¯s shriveled, trembling fingers touched the page, and slowly trailed the golden words that began to sing to him in his mind¡¯s eye. His soul resonated with the book he held in his hands, and taking the plunge - he began to initiate the price while reading out from the tome in frenzied whispers that hurt like hell to speak due to his dislocated jaw. Simultaneously, his good hand started undergoing the motions required of this act in bizarre and intricate patterns in front of him.


    <em>¡°A shield of light in the darkest night, standing before a shade of woe that never has seen the dawn, I mark my soul as a vessel of the heavens and beseech you - oh heavenly warriors - to aid me in my time of need so that you may smite the evil before me! Banish the blight from these taintednds, and hold my heart in your hands, so that I may find the path to heaven and tread lightly upon its sands! Glory to the pantheons of light!¡±</em>


    He held up his hands, emitting a small spark of golden energy from his outstretched palm, but nothing happened.


    He waited through the chaos of battle, hoping beyond hope that they would hear him. Hoping that he¡¯d undertaken the ritual correctly. Hoping that his voice would be heard.


    Lahn¡¯s eyes lit up in excitement and relief when he felt something tug at the edge of his consciousness, the feeling of angelic beings on the other side of the veil, but they quickly left just as fast as they¡¯de. Hope turned into worry, and worry turned into despair when he heard a faint feminine whisper that echoed directly into his brain:


    <em><strong>¡°Your soul is pure, young one, but we do not help the children of the dark. Your wish is selfish and misguided. The taint of the Blood God is upon the one you seek to protect. She is a creature of evil, in both deed and origin. We will not intervene.¡±</strong></em>


    Lahn¡¯s face paled, and despair turned to rage as he screamed and tried to rip the page of the book out so that he may crumple it in his hands and tear it apart. He mmed the book against the ground, not caring about the pain radiating up from his broken arm as he began to violently cry in frustration and anger. ¡°YOU¡¯RE SUPPOSED TO HELP! THIS IS NOT HOW THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO GO!¡±


    Allie¡¯s scream brought Lahn about, and he stared wide-eyed when he saw the ming whip tear off one of her legs. The vampire lord who was fighting her merelyughed and mocked her, telling her that if need be he¡¯d take all her limbs before locking her away.


    The idea of this unknown man putting his hands on Allie again made Lahn¡¯s stomach churn and his mind roil like a hot metal poker. He looked at the book again, then mmed a small, wiry fist into it. ¡°HELP ME DAMN YOU!¡±


    The angelic creatures were receding. Their energies, once drawn to him by the book, were quickly fading away. All except for one, however, who made its presence known to him with a faint touch of mana.


    Golden energy gently crept out of the pages of the book, tethering itself to Lahn¡¯s wet face while tears dripped down his puffy cheeks.


    An exchange of feelings and thoughts shed through Lahn¡¯s mind, and slowly he began to calm. He nodded, acknowledging what the being on the other end of the mana tether was telling him. ¡°Yes. I know what will happen to me if I choose to do this, and I am willing to pay that price. Please, help her. If you do not, I fear that terrible things will happen to her - and that I may die as well.¡±


    Another pulse and exchange of thoughts shed between them, and then Lahn shuddered involuntarily. He took in a deep breath, steadied himself, and lifted up the book into the sky. Smiling with quivering lips, he nodded onest time as the book began to disintegrate - using its energies in lieu of his own lifeforce to extend the duration of what they were about to do. ¡°Thank you, Denaskus. I will never forget this.¡±


    The angelic being on the other side of the veil sent him a warm pulse of acknowledgement, and then the transformation began to take ce.


    Lahn¡¯s skin began to burn with a blinding white light, and his clothes lit ame - burning away as golden, feathered wings ripped out of his back. A halo formed over his head, and his eyespletely burned away - only golden mes being present where his eyeballs used to be. His shriveled armpletely withered and fell off, but his shriveled left leg became just as strong and sturdy as his other side was. A spear of light formed in his one remaining hand, and sculpted muscture began to build along his abdomen, chest, arm and legs - making him look like he¡¯d been carved out of marble in the image of a Greek god.


    The resonating boom of the Holy Foundational Pir and the Judgement Subpir roared around him, tearing apart two of the enemy vampires that¡¯d been close enough to the transformation to take an immediate hit. Lahn¡¯s body flexed, and he felt the angelic spirit possessing him take control as it turned his head to stare down at Lord Barimont¡¯s gaping gaze from where Lahn floated majestically in the air dozens of meters above the hole in thepound¡¯s torn roof.


    The resulting voice was a deep and resounding boom.


    <em>¡°I, Denaskus, Arbiter of the Celestial Prax, have been summoned onto this pitiful world to smite the unworthy into damnation.¡±</em> Lahn¡¯s body shifted his spear of white light; golden wings, eyes and halo ring with the fires of judgement as the radiant aura around him intensified. The ground shook with power, and the entire battle temporarily stopped while allbatants stared upwards at the new disy of prowess.


    Lahn¡¯s body shifted his spear of solidified holy light, pointing it directly at Lord Barimont. Lahn¡¯s eyes were gone, but the ming eyes of Denaskus - the angel possessing his body - narrowed into slits. <em> ¡°Prepare yourself, vampire, for I will be thest thing you ever see.¡±</em>

 Chapter 212

    Chapter 212


    <strong>Chapter 212</strong>


    Allie was missing a leg that for some reason wouldn¡¯t regrow, Kathrine was severely poisoned and beginning to slow. Jalel was overpowering Captain Rusof, and Fimrindle was finally breaking out of the stalemate - slicing off limbs and heads before pushing Allie¡¯s way with incredibly fast and jerky movements. A protective dome now encased The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s trading hub - preventing anyone from going in or out, and the battle within and around thepound had be an absolute madhouse of vampire on vampire battles.


    Very obviously, there was a rift in the power dynamics between factions of the empire.


    Turning his head, Lahn focused on the enemies before him and felt his soul roar to life with power channeled by the heavens themselves. His body burned hot with magic, and a potent sense of justice to be carried out lingered on the borders of his mind.


    Possessed by the angelic being Denaskus, he hovered overhead for only a few moments beforeunching himself back down towards Lord Barimont with a speed that far surpassed anything he¡¯d deemed imaginable. The sky burned with white light, enveloping him in his dive as angelic wrath epassed his winged form. Hisbat level was only level 2, but here with this possession he¡¯d surpassed even Allie¡¯s might - rising to the challenge to save the girl he¡¯d fallen for.


    As he dove downwards with a scream of vengeance on his lips, golden feathered wings red out to either side with a spear of holy light pointed at Lord Barimont¡¯s heart - Lahn felt himself begin to break. His body couldn¡¯t hold such a powerful being inside of him for long, he¡¯d simply die before even a few minutes ran out. He¡¯d already sacrificed one arm and his eyes just to initiate the transformation, and thus he was in a race against time to kill the vampire before his body gave out.


    ***


    Allie watched wide-eyed as Lahn¡¯s body crashed into Lord Barimont¡¯s protective barrier of mes at immense speed, sending a shockwave of white gold light out in all directions that tore through stone and sent warriors sprawling or causing them to stumble. The floor shattered, and a crater dozens of feet deep erupted in the middle of the dining hall. Magically reinforced stone walls cracked and Lord Barimont screamed as the spear of light pinned him to the floor, pulling out enchanted items one after the other as each of them shattered under the immense holy aura of the angelic creature now standing over him like a judge of fate.


    She saw Jalel disengage Captain Rusof with a kick to Rusof¡¯s chest to rush to help Lord Barimont a secondter, and Allie saw red. Activating her spell ¡® Path of Bones¡¯, the scattered remnants of her supplies and the dead bodies around her tore ahead in a swarm of ivory - sting Jalel back.Or at least that¡¯s what she¡¯d originally intended, but Jalel activated some sort of movement ability and almost teleported forward - spiking his longsword into Lahn¡¯s back-


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    Lahn¡¯s one-armed, angelic figure spun and blocked the sword strike with his remaining right hand, mming one of his golden wings down onto the vampire prince with a shattering crack of thunderous power.


    But it wasn¡¯t enough.


    Jalel blocked Lahn¡¯s golden wing just like his own de had been blocked by Lahn¡¯s hand, and the narrowed golden eyes red back at bright crimson as Lahn¡¯s halo began to re with brighter light.


    ¡°Insolence.¡± The deep voice of the angel possessing Lahn¡¯s body said, only to soar upwards and out of reach when two of Lord Barimont¡¯s elite soldiers rushed him with long spears of their own with the intent of impaling him.


    Having released Lord Barimont from where Lahn had impaled the vampire, the angelic being crashed back down onto the reinforcements - cutting through limbs and burning them alive with holy me as Jalel was pressed from behind from the captain once more.


    ¡°Master, you are cursed.¡± Fimrindle suddenly appeared before Allie, his thin metal body covered in gore and blood. His scythe hummed and hisntern vibrated with souls of the dead he¡¯d ripped from the men he¡¯d recently killed, using the souls as fuel to boost himself in battle - but he set thentern down to lightly touch at the open wound where Allie¡¯s right thigh had beenpletely cut through.


    A metal finger picked up the writhing ck mass along Allie¡¯s flesh that continued to dig into her body, fighting her regeneration as she winced. The scarecrow looked up again and blurred - a spray of blood behind her telling her that he¡¯d killed another of the soldiers before he knelt beside her once more with his scythe nted onto the stone floor. ¡°This curse will take a long time to get rid of, and it is draining both your regeneration and your mana. In a short time you will be useless in this fight. Do you wish to flee?¡±


    ¡°Fuck that!¡± Allie spat, summoning her bones to create a makeshift ivory leg for herself. The bone dug into her flesh, impaling her vampiric body in numerous ces to anchor itself - but it worked. Testing the poorly made limb out and grimacing at the thin tendrils of death mana that ran along the surface of the newly formed leg - she red up at Lord Barimont who¡¯d taken to the sky with a newly colored green me forming balls of fire all around him.


    She pointed to where he was battling Lahn overhead. ¡°Help kill Lord Barimont, you¡¯re in a better state than I am. I¡¯ll move to help Kathrine.¡±


    Fimrindle nodded, and then vanished once again as thunderous booms echoed in the sky between the protective dome surrounding thepound and the ground far below.


    Allie cast a worried look skywards one more time, then firmed her resolve amidst the sh of steel and spells around her - propelling herself forward and rushing headlong towards Kathrine¡¯s position in what had once been the kitchen not far off. She could already tell that the poison was wreaking havoc on her body, with oozing green wounds dripping acid and numerous shes refusing to heal and battling the vampiric regeneration she had while Lady Muren¡¯s bright orange hair red about her while blood magics shed along sleek silver des.


    Allie would not let Kathrine die here, not after what she¡¯d done for Lahn, and so she re-entered the fray with the intent to tear off Lady Muren¡¯s head.


    ***


    Riven walked next to Azmoth¡¯s hulking form through underground city streets littered with dead dwarves. A city of square and rectangr architecture burned around him, and a storm of red and ck swirled overhead - crackling with thunderous apuse at the destruction he¡¯d wreaked upon his enemies. Blood mana from all the dead, infused with the power of his path.


    Abination of the aspects of blood and shadow.


    The cavern above echoed his ominous approach and ratkin swarms pursued his advance at the vanguard - overtaking remnant holdouts while nearing the main gate of the dwarvish pce. He¡¯d absolutely steamrolled the defenses here, he¡¯d killed tens of thousands of them by himself and obliterated the outer walls, and yet he still didn¡¯t even know the name of the civilization he was conquering.


    Nor did he care.


    Despite having killed so many, Riven hadn¡¯t grown many levels. It made him realize that the XP he was getting for each kill was diminishing with these weaker enemies the farther he grew himself, and that he¡¯d have to find stronger enemies to handle if he wanted to progress fast. He couldn¡¯t just farm a bunch of weak dwarves and expect to get growth spurts for it.


    His vampiric senses picked up heartbeats in numerous houses he passed by, his red eyes sifting through the dark crevices - bearing witness to cowering civilians. The young, the old, the women - all huddled together and barricading themselves whatever ways they could.


    He ignored them. He didn¡¯t want to hurt them, he honestly didn¡¯t even want to fucking be here at all, and had even given the ratkin explicit orders as impromptu leader of this military operation to not hurt anyone who didn¡¯t put up a fight. However he knew there would be casualties regardless, and though it bothered him - it certainly didn¡¯t bother him like it would have when he¡¯d first arrived on Panu.


    Sacrifices needed to be made for the greater good, and he¡¯d given them two chances to speak to him with only a barrage of cannonfire for a response. These dwarves had started this war in an attempt tomit genocide against the ratkin he now called friends, having killed hundreds of thousands of ratkin in the process - so the dwarves had thising.


    ¡°It almost feels too easy¡­¡± Riven muttered to Azmoth, casually holding up one hand and creating awork of wretched snares in front of him. The unholy, needle-likesyered on top of one another by the dozens in a split second when thunderous booms echoed from the pce in the center of the city.


    Dozens of magma-infused cannonballs roared towards him after the explosions bloomed on the pce wall, and they mmed into Riven¡¯ss a momentter - only to fizzle out and drop as smoking chunks of metal one by one.


    He turned but continued walking, watching Ath¡¯s house-sized figure battling three earthen elementals twice her weight a couple blocks away with ease as she weaved about them - spearing them with her icy limbs. Her swarms of ice-made arachnids toppled guard towers and the screams of dwarvish sentinels being overrun echoed out through the city before the tower fell with a resounding crash.


    ¡°Azmoth does not like this. Feels like we are bullying. Azmoth wishes for a true fight.¡± Azmoth replied a momentter, walking in stride with on Riven¡¯s right - magma infused maul hoisted up over one shoulder. On the other side of his body, he carried the shield Riven had gotten for him so long ago at a staggering price of 140,000 Elysium Coins from Negrada¡¯s tradingpound - but had failed to use up until now. Up until today, the shield had refused to bind to Azmoth and was unwieldy - but now the shield had seemed to undertake a change of heart.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Immortal¡¯s Grasp (Tier 1 Awakened Shield)(Heavy Armor)</strong><strong>: 640 average defense, 83 average damage on strike. +209 Sturdiness, +42 Strength.</strong><ul><li><strong>Grasping Fingers:</strong><strong> This shield canunch a hand out of the shield to grasp enemies, pulling them towards the shield or you towards an enemy.]</strong></li></ul>


    It was a veryrge and round shield, big enough for Azmoth to hide behind with over half of his body. It was made of a darker shade of gray steel, was many inches thick, and looked like it could have been the door to some kind of bank vault - only to be ripped off and used as a barrier instead. Bolts and screws had been drilled into the external perimeter, and the sigil of a ck hand was disyed on the front.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    But that hand wasn¡¯t painted. The fingers of the hand twitched, and even pushed out against the iron on the front of the shield - causing the metal creak and groan as it bent, only to be reformed momentster. Riven had already seen the shield in action twice while using ¡®Grasping Fingers¡¯ -unching the ck metallic hand out of the shield to grasp and yank back enemies or crush them outright. It was certainly an odd piece, but Riven was happy Azmoth was finally getting some use out of the shield after having had it for so long.


    Riven nodded while he considered Azmoth¡¯s words, forming a storm ball in his free hand to stare at it while he walked. Cannonfire continued to crash into hiss while they moved, but nothing the dwarves could throw at him managed to break through. ¡°Yes¡­ I agree. This kinda sucks. But we¡¯ve gotta do it, otherwise the senseless deaths and this stupid ass war the dwarves started will never end. We¡¯ll kill the king and put someone else in charge as a subordinate to myself. Hopefully that¡¯ll be the end to this nonsense.¡±


    Concentrating on the storm ball and passing by burning houses, he frowned underneath his helm and concentrated on the shape. These upgraded storm balls from what had once been bloody razors were certainly more powerful, there was no doubt about it. The storm balls also had homing abilities on par with his bloody razors, but theycked something that the bloody razors had.


    That was piercing power.


    These storm balls wouldunch and either eradicate his enemy, which is what usually happened, or they¡¯d blow up and fizzle out. Thistter option had happened a couple times now against higher leveled enemies who¡¯d managed to deflect the attacks with various abilities, and based on his amount of power put into them - he could tell that if the shape had been different, more concentrated, sharper even - that they¡¯d have pierced through before exploding.


    He remembered back in Negrada when he¡¯d first been able to infuse his bloody razors with excess mana, causing them to explode. He¡¯d been overjoyed at the idea that he could cause them to erupt and it was a big step up from the original sharp shards of mana he¡¯d first been able to control. However, he was now having the opposite problem. These storm balls were simply too unstable and blew up too quickly. He needed them to pierce first, allowing them to bypass barriers more effectively by condensing the mana in these projectiles onto a single razor¡¯s edge of contact.


    He wanted the shape of his old razors back.


    Grimacing at the attempt and getting a headache, he began to mold the storm ball hovering over his hand into a razor just like his old ones used to be. The chaotic,cerating buzz of energy over his palm swirled with shadow and blood magic - rippling and sparking in an attempt to resist his will.


    But in the end the magic obeyed.


    The magic condensed into a spinning circr multi-pronged razor simr to the ones he used to have. Only this time, instead of being solely blood magic, this was a solid crimson intermixed with ck shadow mana - sparking with ck lightning and having a much more solid,pact texture to it.


    He smiled, having no doubt this version of his storm ball would be far superior to either previous versions of the spell he¡¯d had. It had slightly less explosive potential because of it, but that was fine in his eyes. Being able to rip through defensive formations more easily was well worth it in his opinion, even despite a decrease in area of effect damage.


    <strong>[Storm Ball has been modified. You may now either summon Storm Razors or Storm Balls based on which you prefer. These are two sides to the same coin and feed off the same spell. Storm Razors gain a 20% piercing bonus whenpared to Storm Balls, and Storm Balls gain a 35% wider explosion radius when detonating whenpared to Storm Razors. Your status page has been updated.]</strong>


    He cocked an eyebrow. Two versions of the same spell, eh? And his thought process on the matter had been spot on. Scratching at his chin, he supposed he could see uses for both versions of the spell depending on the scenario - but he was also rather amused that it took so little effort to create such a modification.


    Then again, how long had it been since he¡¯d truly broken through? He needed to focus more on the study of magic and take lessons from the tutors back at The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯spound. He had a lot of questions regarding magic that he was certain could be answered by that Instructor dius guy, and frankly - Riven loved magic. Despite being up close and personal a lot of the time given his hybrid Warlock Devastator ss that infused all physical attacks with percentage unholy damage passively based on his mana pool, he was still a mage at heart. And if he seriously put his mind to it, just what could he aplish? So far he¡¯d only undergone brief epiphanies due to battles or small attempts at experimentation over the course of his integrated life, so just what could he achieve if he really gave it his all?


    The thought excited him. Maybe when he went back to spend time with Hakim¡¯s group and dabbled in totem-making again, he¡¯d truly give the exploration of magic a real try. A smile tugged at his lips, and he almost forgot he was in the middle of a siege when Azmoth¡¯srge body tore through the street and smashed into a dwarven mage who¡¯d tried to ambush the group.


    The dwarf¡¯s 4-foot tall body smashed into paste underneath the huge maul, and another dwarvish man - an assassin - lunged five feet towards Riven with daggers in hand before a ck, metal hand whipped out of Azmoth¡¯s shield.


    The assassin screamed, then was yanked back and pulled into the grip of the shield -tched onto the heavy metal front te before Azmoth picked the shield up and smashed it down onto the ground. The dwarf immediately died, and Azmoth wiped off the man¡¯s guts before burning the remnant blood and walking casually back over to where Riven stood.


    ¡°You look like a real demonic pdin with your getup. The ck armored tes you naturally wear, the shield and the maul.¡± Riven mused, tapping Azmoth¡¯s left shoulder with Jackal¡¯s blunt end. ¡°I like the look. It inspires me.¡±


    Azmoth merely snorted in amusement, and the two continued their walk to the pce gates.


    That¡¯s when a single, extremely loud warhorn - deep and foreboding - blew out from the boxy stone pce ahead of them. Riven stopped in his tracks and dismissed the dozens ofs ahead of him, revealing in more detail therge pce gates that were slowly creaking open.


    The horn echoed again, and then again, and a thunderous voice roared out from the inner pce grounds as a short but heavily armored man wielding a jeweled stone ymore twice the man¡¯s size walked out. ¡°RIVEN THANE! I, KING OF BRYA, CHALLENGE YOU TO A ONE ON ONE DUEL! WINNER TAKES ALL!¡±


    The deep voice echoed through the city unnaturally, causing many to slow their fighting down in anticipation of what was happening.


    Riven lifted an eyebrow. Brya, was it? Well, now he knew.


    Riven patiently waited for the approaching man, alone and armed only with his ymore and the thick sheets of stone armor encasing his body. Eventually the king stopped a hundred yards away, though Riven was still able to make him out rather easily due to his vampiric senses.


    The dwarvish king had a crown of emeraldsid into his stone helmet, and a long ck beard hung braided across his chest. The thickly built warrior mmed his sword into the ground, and with one hand he pointed Riven¡¯s way. ¡°CALL OFF YOUR ARMY AND LEAVE MY PEOPLE BE! WE WILL SETTLE THIS LIKE MEN, JUST YOU AND I! OR ARE YOU A COWARD!?¡±


    Riven blinked. He looked around at the partially burning city about them, and knew full well that the city would fall. This was a desperate man¡¯sst attempt to salvage the situation, or at least he¡¯d die trying. Or even more probably, the king was trying to save the lives of his people and was sacrificing himself to do it. Riven nced up to the walls where fearful dwarvish warriors stood ill at ease, nced to the surrounding buildings where civilians still hid from the rumbling of ratkin feet or the battles his demons were involved in.


    If it spared these people, even if there was a chance at him losing, Riven would take it. He might be jaded after all the things he¡¯d gone through, but he still wasn¡¯t a heartless murderer.


    Not entirely, anyways.


    Raising a hand and using his aura to project his voice, the storm of ck and red radiated with the words he spoke. <em>¡°This is Riven Thane. All units from Deepnest, and the guilds or mercenary groups participating in this battle from the Thane Necropolis, stand down immediately and withdraw. Anyone seen disobeying this order will be gutted. Anyone seen killing civilians unprovoked will be gutted. The king has challenged me to a duel, and I will take his word at face value that the winner takes the victory here. But let it be known to the people of this city that, should your king die and you notply andy down your arms to ept your conqueror - I will be forced to continue this senseless killing.¡±</em>


    Riven¡¯s red eyes stared unblinkingly at the dwarf down the road from where he stood. Just with the power he¡¯d infused into his voice alone, using the thundering storm of power overhead, he was sure the king knew what was about to happen.


    There was simply no way this man could win against him, and either the king was delusional about his chances or he was making this final stand as a symbolic gesture, one that would stop Riven from killing any more dwarves other than himself.


    <strong>[Dwarvish King, Level 90 Earthen Swordmaster]</strong>


    Riven looked to Azmoth standing at his side, the hulking demon having grown far more levels than Riven had since the battles through the underdark hadmenced. ¡°You¡¯ll be the one dueling for me. He¡¯s slightly less leveled than you but it¡¯d be a good fight, and you¡¯ll get more experience for it.¡±


    Azmoth grunted his acknowledgement and started walking forward. Two hands held therge stone maul, one hand held the thick shield, another wed hand was free for grappling - and the two eel-like, armored mawsing out of his back rippled with infernal mes as fire built inside. The huge demon¡¯s spiked tail swayed back and forth, and the dwarvish king nodded to Riven in what he could only assume was respect.


    ¡°Give me an honorable death, as a warrior king. Spare my people, I beg of you.¡± The king said in a lower tone so that it didn¡¯t echo across the city, and he held up therge stone ymore to point it at Azmoth. ¡°LET US BEGIN THEN!¡±


    The ground underneath the dwarf¡¯s feet surged up at an angle,unching him like a catapult towards Azmoth¡¯srger form. Orange and brown light illuminated the dark and the dwarven king screamed a battle cry with determination in his eyes.


    Azmoth didn¡¯t break his stride, activating Hell¡¯s Armor and ring to life with infernal energy. Simultaneously activating ¡®The Burning Crusade¡¯ - his physical attacks and weapons got additional fire damage boosts. mes rippled across his entire body, shield, and weapon in an instant, and he brought the round metal shield up to take the charge head on.


    The resulting crash caused the ground underneath Azmoth¡¯s feet to shatter, but the dwarvish king was thrown via the shield into a nearby house - crashing through the far wall.


    Azmoth turned, leaned down, and activated ¡®propulsion.¡¯ mes roared even higher behind him as theyunched him like a rocket into the ce the king had crashed, and using ¡®Crushing Meteor Strike¡¯ - his titanic swing blurred with a resonating thunderp of power that was followed up by another martial art - ¡®Shockwave¡¯.


    The buildings around them and the street Riven stood on was vaporized, turning into clouds of dust that were quickly burned away with swaths of me radiating out of Azmoth¡¯s body. When the dust did clear, Riven saw therge demon holding up the smoldering, broken corpse of the dwarvish king high in the air for those on the pce walls to see. The houses for blocks around them were starting to burn, and Riven¡¯s crimson ice quickly went to work putting out those mes as civilians started to scream in horror.


    ¡°Good job bud.¡± Riven gave Azmoth a smile and a grin, then walked over to give the demon a pat on the shoulder while three other well-dressed dwarves nervously stood at the entrance to the pce - waiting for his arrival. No more cannons fired, and soon the dwarves along the walls were throwing their weapons and even their siege machines off the edge in a sign of absolute surrender.


    Riven¡¯s voice boomed over the city one more time for all to hear, and the resulting roar of cheers and screams of excitement from the ratkin army behind him could be heard as a deafening cacophony. <em>¡°We have won.¡±</em>


    Drums started beating in the deep, the sound of a victory march, and he approached the pce at a steady stroll while his demons quickly joined him. He had a lot to do concerning ironing things out, and he¡­


    Riven shuddered, and the world froze about him. Everything just stopped, and colors faded into gray.


    <strong>[Malignant Prophecy has activated. Desired Action: Medium tier maniption. Current Willpower stat: 460. Sufficient willpower to perform desired action. Performing this act will put your malignant prophecy on cooldown for significant amounts of time. Desired Action: Save Kathrine Vonsi Crushada¡¯s life. Malignant Prophecy¡¯s only avable option will be demonstrated to you upon eptance. However, you are currently at 4 total Malignancy Points. When you achieve 5 Malignancy Points your first tribtion for repeatedly dabbling in taboo arts will begin shortly after the prophecy has been fulfilled. Elysium¡¯s wrath will be unchained. Do you wish to proceed to save Kathrine¡¯s life, while incurring the wrath of the system?]</strong>


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    <strong>[Your maniption of fate has gained you 1 Malignancy Point.</strong>


    <strong>Current total Malignancy Points: 5. Should you seed in following the outline of the prophecy, your first tribtion willmence and your soul will be judged. Malignant prophecy has entered an extended cooldown stage and cannot be activated for the next two years, should you survive your tribtion. Good luck.]</strong>

 Chapter 213: (Second to last Chapter of Book 4)

    Chapter 213: (Second tost Chapter of Book 4)


    <strong>Chapter 213 (Second tost chapter of Book 4)</strong>


    Allie¡¯s world was a stark gray. Blood dripped from her eyes, ears, nose and mouth while she locked gazes with Jalel only a few feet away. He was the only other one moving in this out of body experience, but even he could only move his eyes - so he was limited in the same way she was.


    <strong>[Malignant Prophecy has activated. Desired Action: High tier maniption. Current Willpower stat: 800. Desired action: Processing¡­. Processing¡­ Processing¡­ Insufficient willpower to perform desired action due to interfering and opposing Malignant Prophecy nearby. Entanglement of bteral Malignant Prophecy users and their opposing wills has canceled out both thread weaving attempts to secure fate.]</strong>


    The entanglement broke for the third time, and for the third time she and Jalel both began to scream in agony - each dropping to the ground and writhing around as time after time their opposing Malignant Prophecies shed violently.


    ¡°KILL HER!¡± Jalel screeched at his subordinates, picking himself up and kicking the barely moving body of Captain Rusof - who was choking on his own blood and failing to regenerate. ¡°KILL HER NOW!¡±


    ¡°But sire, she is-¡± One of his soldiers protested warily with a nce over his pauldron.


    Jalel cut him off with a sneer of rage. ¡°OUR WILLS ARE BECOMING ENTANGLED, WE WILL BOTH DIE IF SHE ISN¡¯T DEALT WITH! Do you want ONE user to die, or TWO!? IT IS ME OR HER - CUT OFF HER HEAD!¡±


    Wait, did she hear that right?


    Was he lying?Allie blinked away bloody tears and shakily got to her feet, still having one of her legs molded from bone due to the curse burying into her amputated thigh. If The Blood Moon Requiem knew an entanglement like this could happen, why would they send Jalel here? If HE had known this, why had hee? If there was even a chance at one of them perishing and their gift really was all that valuable, what was the thought process behind it?


    Was she being set up by Elder Thune? Or was it Jalel acting on his own ord? Or was someone else at y here? If what Jalel had said was just true, and especially if Jalel hade for Riven specifically, were she and her brother being specifically targeted?


    Did the queen know about Jalel¡¯sing?


    None of this made sense. Not after so much effort had been put into securing Riven and Allie for the empire, so there was certainly arger political game going on here that she didn¡¯t have a full picture of just yet.


    Nevertheless, Jalel¡¯s soldiers seemed to agree and braced themselves before rushing her yet again - this time with bloodlust in their eyes.


    ¡°You will NOT TOUCH HER! She is MINE!¡± Lord Justo Barimont screamed in rage, flinging fireballs at Jalel and turning his back to do so - opening himself up for a staggering strike of Lahn¡¯s spear as the angelic figure blurred forward.


    The spear of light pierced Barimont¡¯s chest and sent him rocketing into the protective barrier surrounding thepound with a sonic boom - only for the light of Lahn¡¯s angelic possession to flicker. Lahn was quickly losing power, that much was obvious to Allie, but she grimaced and faced Jalel¡¯s oing soldiers just before another racing surge of pain electrified her spine.


    <strong>[Malignant Prophecy has activated. Desired Action: High tier maniption. Current Willpower stat: 800. Desired action: Processing¡­. Processing¡­ Processing¡­ Insufficient willpower to perform desired action due to interfering and opposing Malignant Prophecy nearby. Entanglement of bteral Malignant Prophecy users and their opposing wills has canceled out both thread weaving attempts to secure fate.]</strong>


    She screamed, dropping to the floor in unison with Jalel yet again.


    Fimrindle was already intercepting two more of Jalel¡¯s soldiers, and they¡¯d even begun to fight one another after Jalel had been attacked by Barimont. It was now a three way battle, with Jalel¡¯s force, Barimont¡¯s men, and Allie alongside the originally stationed garrison all duking it out. Then there was still Princess Kathrine and Lady Muren, who¡¯d disappeared to fight elsewhere.


    It was a fucking madhouse, with even more soldiers from House Barimont having poured into thepound through the portal as reinforcements for the young lord. Funnily enough, within minutes four more groups were also entering rapidly into Panu via the portal:


    Princess Kathrine Vonsi Crushada¡¯s parents had sent their own soldiers through - bearing the sigil of a rose. Then soldiers from House Wraithtide itself, probably sent over by General Viku, bore the sigil of a neon teal orb wreathed in deathly fire. More soldiers from Jalel¡¯s own house bearing the sigil of the phoenix poured through as well, with the final group of soldiers bearing a sigil of a wolf. Thisst house primarily focused their attention on House Crushada soldiers and were calling out for Lady Muren while rushing into the periphery where the princess battled the otherdy of the court elsewhere, which made it very apparent where they hailed from.


    Obviously sent through other entry points in the empire or somehow using system shenanigans that Allie didn¡¯t understand, dozens upon dozens of vampiric soldiers in the inner sanctum of the keep were erupting into an already zing battle between House Barimont, the house Jalel hailed from, House Muren, House Wraithtide, the original garrison from the imperial throne, and House Crushada; with bodies and blood piling up left and right as they came. Soldiers from Wraithtide and Crushada were teaming up against House Barimont after leaping into Panu from the portal¡¯s spinning orb, House Muren remained neutral to others aside from House Crushada which they actively engaged, and the battle was spilling out into all areas of the keep with many of the Wraithtide soldiers rushing towards Allie¡¯s position after fighting through masses of enemies.


    The cacophony of des, battle cries, screams and erupting magics from an ever growing number of hundreds of level 70-90 elites of the Blood Moon Requiem killing one another was almost deafening.


    ***


    The training pagoda was ame, and smoke billowed up around the twobatants - far removed from the main course of fighting in the adjacent building.


    Kathrine gurgled iprehensibly due to the sizzling hole in her throat, dropping to her knees while acid boiled out of numerous wounds covering her body. She managed to send another wave of blood magic at the vile bitch who¡¯d poisoned her, but Lady Muren merelyughed - blurring left and avoiding the attack but also staggering due to how tired she was.


    ¡°Is that all you¡¯ve got, you pompous, arrogant brat!?¡± Lady Muren wheezed while holding two wicked daggers, a long sizzling gash along her stomach with part of her intestines hanging out to mar her dress. She stood upon a hanging tform furth up in the training pagoda, the ce all but abandoned due to the more intense fighting going on inside the main building of thepound. The only exception to that were the seven bodies of soldiersying around them.


    ¡°Come on Kathrine, show me what you¡¯ve got!¡±


    Kathrine vomited in the firelight of roaring mes, hitting the floor with both knees and getting a cacklingugh from the woman ahead of her as Lady Muren¡¯s red eyes red brightly.


    ¡°I guess not then! I do believe you¡¯re at your end, wench. This has been fun, but I think we¡¯d better end it now - don¡¯t you!?¡± Lady Muren pulled up both des in front of her ripped dress, blinking away the smoke and ash that partially obscured her vision. One dagger rippled with mes, and the other with blood magic - and with a screech sheunched herself towards the royal.


    A thunderous crash sent both women stumbling when an angelic figure smashed the overly handsome Lord Barimont into the barrier nearby, smearing his guts all along the translucent wall as onlookers from Wrightsville all watched the infighting with both awe and horror. Most of the outside soldiers had no idea what was going on, but due to the noise and explosionsing from thepound a perimeter had already been set up by the Thane Necropolis military for the protection of the civilians; should the barriere down.


    ¡°As I said, vampire¡­¡± The angelic figure of Lahn, or Denaskus, said in a booming voice with burning golden eyes. He leaned back from the vampire lord in disgust, as if the thing he was pinning to the barrier was some kind of grotesque bug. ¡°I, Denaskus, will be thest thing you ever see.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯LL BE SEEING YOU IN HELL!¡± Lord Barimont roared back, exploding into me and detonating the spot he and Lahn hadnded in.


    Stone erupted about them and Lahn staggered, his golden wings flickering in and out as thest remnants of his power began to fade.


    But it was not enough, and Lord Barimont¡¯s exhausted, crimson eyes went wide in horror as the angelic figure remained in the mes that crackled and burned at the ground beneath them.


    Denaskus grew a wide, malevolent smile. Raising his hand and summoning a bolt of pure white lightning like the god of thunder himself, he arched his back and positioned himself to throw - but then abruptly disappeared when Lahn¡¯s body couldn¡¯t handle it any longer.


    There was a pause, both vampire women and the man pinned to the wall watching as Lahn became nothing more than a mortal human once more. His eyes were burned out, gonepletely, his left arm was nothing more than a stump now -pletely gone. His flesh waspletely charred, and the brilliance he¡¯d once radiated now sent damaging sparks of lightning all up and down his flesh - causing him to shudder and jolt before dropping him to the ground in a smoldering mess.


    Lahn hit the ground, and he didn¡¯t get back up.


    ¡°HAAAAAAA!!!¡± Lord Barimont screamed in excited victory, only pausing to cough up blood and yank the spear of light out of his body - tossing it to the side and dropping to the ground next to Lahn¡¯s unmoving frame. The vampire lord wretched, then doubled over and beganughing like a madman. ¡°THE PIG HAS DIED! THE PIGGY HAS DIED!¡±


    Devolving into a fit of giggling, the badly injured vampire lord rolled on the ground in a state of hysteria - finding massive amounts of amusement in Lahn¡¯s demise.


    Kathrine too soon doubled over, her eyes sagging and her body unable to support her any longer when her left cheek hit the burning pagoda floor with a wet thunk. Shakily beginning to draw herself out of the ming building, she felt an abrupt pain in her stomach when Lady Muren¡¯s foot crashed into it.


    Kathrine doubled over and flipped twice beforending on the stone outside, Lady Muren following gleefully close behind while twirling her two curved daggers in either hand. In the background, the area near Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole lit up with magic that abruptly turned the dark clouds above a bright red.


    ¡°Lights out for you next, bitch!¡± Lady Muren gleefully crowed, oblivious to the change above her and jumping up in the air and aiming tond on Kathrine¡¯s prone form when a thunderp of sound rocked thepound.


    The barrier around thepound shattered.


    A ck spear staff covered in flowing blood crashed into Lady Muren¡¯s body halfway through her leap, obliterating her torso entirely and sttering her remains on the pavement. With a wound like that, there would be no regeneration. There would be only death.


    The ground quaked, the civilians previously watching the scene ran screaming, and an aura far more powerful than any other on this part of the descended upon thepound with overwhelming force.


    The sky above opened up, and a sinister visage of a great maw opened up to reveal an abyss amongst the clouds. A storm of crimson and shadow roiled overhead as the temperature abruptly dropped, and red frost began umting all across thendscape surrounding thepound at a rapid pace.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    Like a meteor from the heavens, Riven descended upon thepound and shattered the earth. A booming echo reverberated from his impact, sending debris high into the sky as the maw across his breastte hungrily shrieked and wailed. He straightened, slowly raising his head to where the sound of battle echoed in the nearby fortress before turning a curious nce on Kathrine.


    He teleported to her, and she stared back up at him wide-eyed while choking on green acid that was burrowing into her flesh more and more as time went on.


    ***


    Riven didn¡¯t know what to make of this. Infighting? Here? At The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯spound?


    He abruptly got to one knee and yanked out half a dozen high grade health potions he¡¯d bought from the Elysium Altar for asions such as these. Usually he relied on his own healing and didn¡¯t often need a healer, but it was always better to be safe rather than sorry - and he was thankful that he hadn¡¯t forgone the option despite spending a fortune on potions that were far superior to what locals could make at the moment.


    ¡°You are in seriously bad shape.¡± Riven said, pouring the contents of three red vials all over Kathrine¡¯s upper body before pouring two more down her throat. ¡°Jesus¡­ That poison is nasty stuff. You gonna be ok? Do I need to pull out more? What¡¯s happening inside?¡±


    Kathrine gasped for air and immediately stifled a sob, taking in huge gasps and breaths while wiping tears away. ¡°Your-Your sister! And L-Lahn!¡±


    Riven cocked his armored head to one side, brows immediately furrowing. ¡°Tell me.¡±


    Kathrine took in another desperate gasp, ripped thest health potion he¡¯d taken out from Riven¡¯s hands, and poured it along other wounds on her body that were still fighting the acid. Sinking down with momentary relief, her eyes darted to Lord Barimont who was just staring at the two of them with a nk expression. ¡°You need to go! He did this, he tried to take Allie away and he killed Lahn! And now Jalel is inside trying to kill Allie because-¡±


    ¡°TO KILL ALLIE!? INSIDE!? WHO THE FUCK-¡± Riven didn¡¯t even finish his sentence and whirled around - his eyes brieflynding on Lahn¡¯s prone form. He briefly paused, sparing Lord Barimont only a passing nce before disappearing through a rift in space - leaving Kathrine to stare daggers at Lord Barimont in silence.


    Lord Barimont¡¯s red eyes slowly narrowed, and his fangs began to show when he picked himself up and headed Kathrine¡¯s way. He cracked his neck on the way over, pulling out his ming whip while Kathrine painfully staggered to her feet.


    The two vampires only had a moment to stare at one another though, before Ath¡¯s blinding form ripped his head off and buried it into the ground below with a single, violent tearing motion.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Lord Barimont¡¯s body fell, never to get up again.


    ***


    Allie¡¯s whimpering scream was only emphasized by the sword being shoved through her armor and into her heart.


    Jalel¡¯s eyes were bloodshot even beyond their normal crimson appearance, he breathed heavily and was putting all his weight down onto the weapon to finish her off as his men desperately fought off reinforcements from House Crushada, the original garrison, and House Wraithtide.


    He hissed scornfully, specks of saliva pping her in the face beneath him while he suppressed her magic with his own. ¡°If one of us has to go, it isn¡¯t going to be me!¡±


    She struggled, feeling her beating heart rapidly pounding as the steaming metal dug deeper and deeper into it. She began to spasm, kicking andshing out violently but unable to do much more than sob. She was simply out of juice, having used most of her mana battling Lord Barimont, and didn¡¯t have anymore to give. Fimrindle was banished too, having been killed by Jalel himself, as was Captain Rusof who had also died at the hand of Jalel.


    ¡°Sorry to see you go, cousin, but just do us both a favor and stop resisting!¡± Jalel said between his teeth - pushing as hard as he could but having a hard time of it due to the quality of Allie¡¯s soulwoven armor. ¡°All that screaming and crying isn¡¯t going to save you - so just - LET - GO!!!!¡±


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    Jalel¡¯s body shattered when a portal tore open in space and released an exploding blood nova directly into his face - the mana engulfing Allie protectively at the same time while tearing the room around her apart. The vampiric prince was flung through the next reinforced wall and then again through the next when a myriad of bloodnces crackling with ck lightning crashed into him like a storm - the frost around the room quickly building to the point that people began to slow down by the freezing effect despite their high levels and vampiric bodies.


    Out of the portal stepped Riven, coated in radiating blood, shadow, and sin energy while his eyes seemed to have expanded beyond their normal range in bright crimson lights. Jackal hissed in his right hand, and his left arm red with oozing, writhing red mana - dozens of spinning storm razors snapping to life in the backdrop of his figure.


    Due to his sheer level discrepancy and his natural affinities, even whenpared to the level 90 elites of The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s younger warrior ss, his mere presence sent some staggering to their knees. Some froze over when he fully emerged, others passed out, and others seemed to have a hard time breathing while his aura radiated malice onto the entirepound with absolute authority.


    Only a third of the vampiric elite were able topletely ignore his presence with auras of their own, yet they were like candles in the abyss - only protecting themselves and unable to do much for theirrades no matter what house they hailed from.


    Riven did a quick check on Allie, seeing that though she was sobbing - she was still alive and her wound was regenerating as normal. He looked back up just a momentter to see Jalel blur ahead - far faster than a normal level 90 could do even considering he was a pureblood. The act surprised Riven immensely and he barely had time to react, but he did so nevertheless with a quick activation of Profane Blessing of the Crow.


    Jackal whipped up and smashed Jalel¡¯s longsword away, leaving the man open to a swinging kick that shattered Jalel¡¯s right arm and sent the other prince spinning into a stone pir - knocking the support beam over with a groan and crash.


    Riven held up a hand, pointed towards the other man that was getting up from the rubble with bloodlust in his eyes. A roar of wind howled around them and dozens, then hundreds of spinning storm razors with sharpened des of ck and red swirled in a cloud behind Riven¡¯s position. ¡°Die.¡±


    Hundreds of projectiles torpedoed forward - causing the air to shriek upon their passing and leaving trails of blood ribbons behind them.


    Jalel¡¯s eyes narrowed and he activated one, three, seven, twenty protective treasures from his spatial sack - each of them shattering as more and more of the barrage smashed down onto his position.


    As Jalel used up his treasures, Riven charged up Jackal with torrents of ck lightning. His spear staff howled with glee, and he pointed the curved de in Jalel¡¯s direction just when the barrage ended.


    A snapping sound apanied the rupture of shadow-infused lightning, and the mass of energyrger than Riven¡¯s torso shattered space and crashed into Jalel¡¯s body.


    The other prince however activated an ability of his own, flickering in and out of existence to dodge most of the attack but cursing loudly when his right arm and shoulder were ripped off entirely.


    Jalel lunged forward, disappeared, and reappeared next to Riven with a snarl of rage. He lifted a glowing red hand and reached for Riven¡¯s neck, only to be yanked back down by tendrils from Gluttony¡¯s maw across Riven¡¯s chest as the visage in the sky howled hungrily.


    ¡°I remember you¡­ and not just because of what Kathrine has told me concerning your punishment from the queen.¡± Riven muttered, staring down at the silver-haired man with ice-cold hate. ¡°You were as annoying back then as you are now. Let me finish what I started in Negrada.¡±


    Usually Riven avoided punching things because he simply didn¡¯t need to. However in the few instances he DID need to, Messenger had a unique feature that could be utilized.


    <strong>> Ripping ws: Punching someone with the spikes of your gauntlets will cause massive hemorrhaging damage over time.</strong>


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    Riven¡¯s gauntlet smashed down into Jalel¡¯s pale face, its jagged edges protruding from the knuckles as des tearing off flesh from Jalel¡¯s skull.


    Jalel screamed in agony and hate, attempting to teleport away again but unable to do so when Riven¡¯s aura mped down onto the man. Jalel¡¯s struggles became more frantic while blood poured out of his face, hemorrhaging onto the ground underneath them when Riven raised his fist up once more for a second strike. ¡°THAT SHARD OF GLUTTONY WAS MINE!¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t even respond.


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    This time his knuckles took bone, his fist blurring forward and shearing off Jalel¡¯s lower jaw entirely amidst yet another scream.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    Jalel was flung through another wall, and Riven stepped forward to follow - smashing through two more vampiric guards bearing the sigil of the phoenix on their breasttes like they were nothing before continuing forward into the next room.


    ¡°Insect.¡± Riven said with venom, kicking Jalel when he tried to get up and then stomping down onto the other prince¡¯s neck.


    Only Riven was surprised when Jalel melted away, and a silver mace smashed into the back of Riven¡¯s armored head.


    The effect of a silver infused weapon was felt even despite no skin contact, with just the mere presence of the weapon having a more severe effect than Riven would have liked to acknowledge. He stumbled forward, holding the back of his head and having a ring headache only for another strike to snap up into his jaw.


    ¡°You may have the levels on me now, but you do not have the experience.¡± Jalel spat blood, his jaw having regenerated rather quickly even for a vampire. He huffed and pulled out yet another talisman, snapping it and healing his wounds fully while simultaneously banishing the red frost on his body before audibly cracking his neck when Riven turned to stare at him. ¡°I am a warrior hundreds of years old, and I will not be defeated by the likes of a nobody like-¡±


    Jalel abruptly screamed, as did Allie in the next room, and he sank to his knees while clutching at his head when the entanglement of Malignant Prophecies red yet again.


    ¡°Warrior?¡± Riven repeated, cocking his aching head to the side while blood began to re up around him - engulfing him entirely as the earth began to tremble. ¡°No, Jalel. You are a fool. A proud and arrogant fool.¡±


    With that he teleported behind Jalel right when the other prince recovered and used Jackal to uppercut right between Jalel¡¯s legs. He felt something crunch under the blow, heard Jalel scream, and then sent the other prince high into the air hundreds of feet up with the impact that left a huge gash in his lower abdomen and groin.


    Riven followed, teleporting yet again behind Jalel¡¯s airborne position and using awork of wretched snares to entangle him before whipping Jalel¡¯s ensnared body around and flinging it at the ground with immense force.


    His hands blurred into wing motions to chargence afternce before impact, summoning a swarm of storm balls and storm razors beside them.


    Jalel crashed with an explosive thud, and red ice rose up from the ground to secure him tightly along with more and moreyers of wretched snares that sprang up around him. High above him the storm of ck and red abruptly changed, and the massive swath of mana overhead that hadn¡¯t created projectiles was pulled into Jackal like a swirling river of red and ck.


    The heavens descended.


    ck and red crashed down upon Jalel with a thunder, sending pieces of the Elysium Altar¡¯s base tform sky high amidst the blurring bombardment that shook the earth. Jalel created a dome of blood to protect himself but was unable to defend against most of it - only barely managing to slip out with another teleport only to be met with Riven¡¯s own portal ripping open next to him.


    Jalel turned, horrified and bewildered that Riven¡¯s mana control was so good. ¡°HOW!?¡±


    Riven¡¯s weapon snapped forward, and the maw of a canine created from blood shed ahead. The air split apart and the de tore through Jalel¡¯s weapon that he¡¯d raised to block like it was nothing, splitting Jalel¡¯s body in half entirely and crunching down on the two remnant halves with the bloody jaws of the ability. When the crimson jaws snapped shut, a reverberating cloud of deep purple sin energy sparked along its teeth.<ul><li><strong>Jackal¡¯s Lunge:</strong><strong> Point this weapon in any direction and activate this innate and unique martial art, charging the de with blood mana to create the visage of a jackal¡¯s maw and sting forward. When your de strikes an enemy, the red jackal will close down on them to deal additional blood and sin damage.</strong></li></ul>


    Jalel¡¯s splintered body shed a bright crimson a secondter and reformed, gasping for air and turning to run. He staggered though, remnant sin energy remaining along unclosed wounds before Riven¡¯s body burst into me and crashed into him from behind.


    Soldiers bearing the sigil of the phoenix were seen dashing Riven¡¯s way, but they were quickly intercepted by others bearing house Wraithtide¡¯s orb of mes in a quick melee. Riven blinked once, then tore Jalel¡¯s men apart with a crash of red ice that blew holes open in their bodies via spikes in the ground.


    ¡°You¡¯re really starting to annoy me.¡± Riven said softly in Jalel¡¯s ear upon turning, grasping the other prince behind the neck while Jalel screamed as hellfire licked at Riven¡¯s fingers. He picked Jalel up, then smashed him back down into the ground. He did this over and over again, keeping a firm grip on the other man and repeatedly beating him to death against the metal floor of the Elysium Altar¡¯s outer body.


    A swift strike with a hidden dagger snapped the de off on Riven¡¯s throat, but the bloodsilk of Messenger held firm - much to the surprise of both men.


    Riven blinked, momentarily stopping his beating, and began tough - while Jalel¡¯s swollen, bloody, and regenerating face fell into a horrified panic.


    ¡°HOW?!¡± Jalel screamed in denial, trying to fish out another item from his spatial sack only to be stopped with a violent mp of the wrist.


    Riven sneered, snapping the man¡¯s hand off with a grip and twist. ¡°Some warrior you are, eh? How¡¯s that experienceing in for you now?! A ssic case of overconfidence!¡±


    He stopped Jalel¡¯s screaming by mming his armored fist into Jalel¡¯s open mouth, shattering the man¡¯s fangs and gripping his spine. Yanking once, twice, and then three times he decapitated Jalel with brute force and then opened Gluttony¡¯s mouth along his chest.


    The head of the vampire opened its eyes wide, and in simr fashion to how he¡¯d ended the fight with the Azag hive cluster in Chicago - he shoved Jalel¡¯s head into Gluttony¡¯s maw.


    The mouth snapped shut, crunching onto Jalel¡¯s skull before pulling the remnants into the abyss in Riven¡¯s chest with ck tendrils that licked up the remnant flesh.


    <strong>[Malignant Prophecy has been fulfilled by saving Kathrine¡¯s life, and your battle is now over. You have acquired 1 Malignancy Point. You have a total of 5 Malignancy Points. Elysium¡¯s wrath now descends in the form of a tribtion.]</strong>


    The sky above him depicting Gluttony¡¯s maw shattered, creating golden cracks along space itself. Brilliant multicolored light shattered space around the cracks momentster, and Riven grimaced when he saw a storm erupt from the beyond overhead.


    His shoulders slumped. ¡°Shit.¡±


    <strong>*CRACKLE-SNAP-BOOM*</strong>


    A roaring ocean of power crashed down onto Riven¡¯s position, engulfing his body in searing energies that caused him to scream. His vision immediately began to blur, but he pushed through the pain and managed to summon the visage of gluttony once again.


    The great maw tore through the ground underneath his feet upon his request, roaring to life to challenge the system itself - to protect the bearer of its shards as the abyss rose to the challenge.


    His mind snapped.


    His body tore apart.


    All that was left was darkness.


    <strong>[Your mana channels have been destroyed. Your pirs have been shattered. You have been temporarily afflicted with the debuff ¡®Soul Crippling¡¯. You have temporarily lost ess to all of your abilities. Your soul crippling temporarily negates the effect of up to 1809 stat points from Strength, Agility and Intelligence at random for any given moment, severely weakening you for random amounts of time at random moments throughout any given day. You have condensed your Malignancy Points into a Malignant Fertilizer, and your Malignant Sapling grows. You have condensed enough sin energy to finish Mark of the Sinner. Mark of the Sinner¡¯s buffs cannot be essed due to soul crippling. Congrattions! You have survived Elysium¡¯s tribtion.]</strong>


    ***


    Half a day had passed, and the sun was setting on the horizon.


    Lahn was barely breathing, but he was still alive. He¡¯d yed dead after Denaskus had left his body to preserve what little life Lahn had left, but the remnants he¡¯d left behind were in absolute ruins.


    Burns marred his entire body, his eyes were gone, his left arm was gone, his lungs a seared and painful mess. His soul was in ruins, and the channels written into his pirs were all garbled or just outright gone; simr to Riven¡¯s own situation. He could barely function, let alone stand, and it was likely that Lahn would never be able to cultivate or grow his mana channels ever again.


    But to help Allie, it¡¯d been worth it.


    ¡°You¡¯re a damned idiot!¡± Allie said softly, wiping tears from her face and cradling his charred head in herp while various healers from the Thane Necropolis did their best to stabilize the young man. ¡°A damned idiot.¡±


    Salves were being poured all over Lahn, spells and miracles were being cast, and Riven sat exhausted in a wheelchair beside them with a nk expression on his face. Yattazi was curled up behind him, and Azmoth sat on therge snake to protectively look over his master who was now rather helpless.


    Riven stared down at the sleeve tattoo on his right arm. The ever-moving tattoo still did have some of the ck markings it once had, but other sigils now glowed a deep purple - and the entire thing gave off smoky wisps that trailed off his skin with whispers of power that he could not ess due to his recent soul crippling.


    ¡°You ok, Riven?¡± Allie asked, looking up at her brother from where she sat cross legged on the ground. She knew he wasn¡¯t ok, but not asking would make her feel even more guilty. Her previously amputated leg was now back to normal flesh after using a bone mold in its ce, but her soul-woven armor was heavily damaged and she wasn¡¯t sure if it was repairable or not.


    Riven nodded her way, even smiling slightly when Ath walked over to him to sit in hisp - wrapping her hands around Riven¡¯s neck and leaning into him while soldiers of House Wrathtide and Crushada cleaned up the mess the battle had left behind. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Though I don¡¯t know how things are going to progress from here.¡±


    There was a pause while the two siblings locked eyes.


    ¡°You might have to be the one that takes Messenger into Chalgathi¡¯s trial if I don''t recover in time.¡± Riven said eventually, averting his gaze from his sister with a frown.


    The burned wreckage of The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯spound smoldered and smoked, only a part of it still intact and undamaged after hundreds of warriors had died there in the political struggle between noble houses. Kathrine had left to go home after Riven had turned his ire upon House Muren, House Barimont, and Jalel¡¯s house - which was now known to him as House Firebird. But those noble houses were all still very intact and absolutely irate about what had transpired here, with only their youngest and lowest leveled soldiers being able to even visit Panu, and Kathrine had told him that the political upheaval was so big that the rest of the elder council had to get involved to settle things down after the entire Empire had watched events transpire. Meanwhile Elder Thune and the High Queen surprisingly enough remained rather absent from the public scene.


    Apparently, The Blood Moon Requiem was on the brink of civil war. It was unknown if it would happen or not. What was certain, however, was that if the empire didn¡¯t split apart into fragmented pieces of itself - there¡¯d be a reckoning in the form of a blood feud. It was the way vampires in the empire dealt with these kinds of things, ording to Kathrine, where entire houses would sometimes be wiped out in miniature wars to settle disputes in order to keep the greater whole of the empire from fracturing.


    Allie thought over recent events, then reached out and grasped Riven¡¯s hand - squeezing tightly and keeping eye contact. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Riven chuckled. ¡°No need to thank me. I love you.¡±


    ¡°What happened is my fault.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I used the prophecy to save Kathrine. If anything, it¡¯s my fault for choosing to do it.¡±


    ¡°But she wouldn¡¯t have been in danger if not for me.¡±


    ¡°Stop ming yourself Allie. We¡¯re fine, that¡¯s all that matters.¡± Riven gave Ath a quick peck on the forehead and his smile grew wider. ¡°It isn''t permanent. Plus, this gives me an excuse to really go at it with totem making again in the meantime. You know Hakim and the others I talked to you about? I told them I¡¯d be spending more time with them and would power level them - and that I¡¯d get back around to craft again. It¡¯s been a long timeing.¡±


    Allie averted her gaze, ashamed at what had happened and sighing when she saw Lahn stir in herp. ¡°How are you going to power level them like you are now?¡±


    Riven looked her way a secondter and raised an eyebrow. He gestured to Ath, and then to Azmoth. ¡°Ath and Azmoth of course. They can do it. Yattazi however will probably leave for another master soon, we spoke about it already and she doesn¡¯t want to stay with a crippled warlock that can¡¯t level himself for an undisclosed time - thus inhibiting her own growth. I get it, and I¡¯m not mad.¡±


    The huge basilisk behind him gave a low hiss of acknowledgement. ¡°Thank you for undersssstanding Riven¡­ I hope you are not upsssset with me. You have been a good friend while I have been here, but I hope to ssssscceeeed in my ascension to higher power sssssooner rather than never.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We hardly knew each other anyways, and your help has been appreciated for what it¡¯s worth.¡± Riven smiled somewhat sadly over his shoulder, only to be drawn back into a smile when Azmoth grunted his way.


    ¡°I never leave. I stay.¡± Azmoth said with a wave of his ed hands. ¡°I annoy you til end of time.¡±


    Ath giggled, then nodded in agreement and ruffled Riven¡¯s hair. ¡°Yeah. I agree. Who¡¯d take care of you like this if not for us!? Even if it were permanent I''d not leave you. We¡¯ve been with you since the beginning, and we¡¯re here to stay. We don''t know how long this will be, but I''m sure it can''t be too long.¡±


    Ath shot the basilisk an annoyed re.


    A heavy silence permeated the area while Riven contemted their words, but eventually another smile tugged at his lips.


    Riven gave a saltyugh, then closed his eyes and let his head drop. Yawning and leaning into the demoness on hisp, he let the smile on his lips remain. ¡°Thanks. It means a lot to me. But for now, how about we talk about thister - eh? I¡¯m rather tired after what happened, and I¡¯d really like to enjoy a nap.¡±

 Chapter 214: (END OF BOOK 4)

    Chapter 214: (END OF BOOK 4)


    <strong>Chapter 214 (END OF BOOK 4)</strong>


    Ath slowly shut the door to his manor room behind her to leave only a crack open, smiling at Riven¡¯s bare rising and falling chest while he recovered. Then her eyes fell to the pair of feathered boots that Riven still kept at the side of his bed, and her smile faltered. The past few days had been¡­ difficult, with the serious damage to his soul very apparent. He could barely summon mana at all. Frankly she¡¯d been surprised that he didn¡¯t have permanent damage because that kind of event would have outright destroyed most cultivation efforts forever, but she was thankful the worst hadn¡¯t happened and that in time he¡¯d be fine.


    ¡°You¡¯ll stay here to watch over him?¡± She turned to Azmoth, and therge demon gave her a curt nod. ¡°Good. Thank you, I have business to attend to in theher realms.¡±


    She turned to go, but was stopped by arge wed hand thatnded on her shoulder.


    ¡°Say hi for me.¡± Was all he said, and Ath stiffened slightly.


    She nodded, removing his hand and turning back to look up at him with pursed lips. ¡°What do you think I should do? When Tupper came to get me, I¡­¡±


    Azmoth slumped his shoulders, looking away and out a window in the hall where faded sunlight pierced through the fog of the hauntedndscape outside. ¡°I not know. But I like her. Fay always kind to me, even if dirty subus.¡±


    Ath¡¯s frown deepened, and she clutched the sides of her body in a self-hug, looking down shamefully to the floor. ¡°I think¡­ I may have overdone things. Back in Dawn¡¯s capital at the battle of Rippenvire, when I ate her. It was really mean, I was just so angry I¡­ I felt betrayed and felt like she was trying to steal him away. Perhaps we should have talked more first.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Azmoth nodded in agreement. ¡°You should have.¡±¡°What do you think she wants to talk about with me?¡±


    ¡°Not know.¡±


    ¡°Will Riven abandon me if shees back?¡±


    Azmoth reared his head back and had to stifle augh, putting two hands on his hips with two more behind his head in a stretch. ¡°No. Riven love you.¡±


    ¡°But I can tell he misses her. He talks about her in his sleep.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but he chose you. You not know what he was like when you died. Was very, very bad.¡±


    Ath gave a half-hearted smile, shifting her long ck hair off to one side behind her ear. ¡°Yes I know. I suppose he did choose me - but I¡¯m not sure it was for the right reasons.¡±


    There was a silence after that, and eventually Ath muttered a goodbye - waving at Azmoth while she disappeared down the steps of the manor stairwell and exiting out two stories down on the bottom floor. There, she met Tupper. The blue-skinned, white-haired incubus dressed in a tuxedo was waiting patiently for her arrival, and he bowed his head upon her approach.


    She nodded to him in acknowledgement and took in a deep breath, fingers clenched. ¡°Hello again Tupper.¡±


    ¡°Mistress Ath.¡± Tupper replied with a hesitant smile. ¡°Thank you again, for agreeing to meet my sister. You didn¡¯t have to do so.¡±


    ¡°I know. But there are things that¡¯ve been on my mind, things that I¡¯d like to get off my chest probably just as much as she does. It wasn¡¯t all that long ago that we were friends.¡±


    Tupper opened his mouth to reply, but hesitated - then shut it again. Without a word he opened up a blue-rimmed portal leading into a privateher realm, then gestured for her to walk inside.


    ***


    Theher realm she¡¯d created was only a temporary one, disying a simple octagon room with low-hanging yellownterns overhead that gave off a warm glow and two fluffy couches facing one another across a small table.


    Fay fidgeted nervously, taking in deep breaths over and over again with long exhales to calm herself down. She¡¯d been sure to make herself look presentable and wore a modest white dress, in and simple but still form fitting. Her ck eyes stared vacantly at the table in front of her as she crossed her long blue legs, and a ball was forming in the pit of her stomach as she went over all the possible scenarios that could go oh so terribly wrong. She just wanted to¡­ to change how things had ended. She wanted to have a clear conscience after what had transpired.


    ¡°Hello Fay.¡±


    Fay startled, looking up to see a slender, athletic woman she¡¯de to know rather well over the past year. She abruptly stood up, still clutching her sides involuntarily and giving a forced, nervous smile. ¡°Hello Ath. How¡¯ve you been?¡±


    There was an awkward pause while Ath considered this, and she gave a nomittal shrug while looking away. ¡°Could be worse, could be better.¡±


    Well at least Ath hadn¡¯t snapped at her. That was promising.


    ¡°Have a seat?¡± Fay asked when the portal to Panu shut behind the other woman.


    Ath nodded, then stepped forward and sat herself on the couch on the opposite side of the table. She straightened her posture, put her hands on her bare knees, and then made eye contact when Fay sat across from her. ¡°What about you? How have you been doing? I hear you have a new master.¡±


    The words stung, though it was unintentional and there was no malice hidden there.


    Fay grimaced, but thought about the old man and some of the tension left her shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ve not been good. Not at all, but the person I¡¯ve contracted with is helping me out. He¡¯s something of a therapist.¡±


    ¡°Going for the older guys now?¡± Ath gave a halfhearted, teasing smile.


    Fay couldn¡¯t help but frown, and shook her head. ¡°No, I¡­ we haven¡¯t done anything of the sort. He¡¯s just a friend.¡±


    ¡°Ah. That¡¯s rather unusual, considering the type of people that usually contract with your race.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I agree. It is.¡± Fay paused, gathering her courage and sping her hands in front of her while avoiding eye contact. ¡°Riven was like that too, at first.¡±


    The silence reigned heavily on the two women after that, each mulling over their own thoughts.


    ¡°I was told he recently got injured, pretty severely.¡± Fay started again, ncing up for confirmation.


    Ath nodded with a grimace. ¡°Yes. We¡¯re not sure how long it willst, but he should recover. It isn¡¯t the end of things, but it is enough that his newest contracted familiar left. It was a basilisk of some kind, it didn¡¯t want to wait. Short sighted, if you ask me, but at least we weeded out the bad apple if you catch my drift. Riven is a great master to have and I wouldn¡¯t choose anyone else over him even if he could never cultivate or level again.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s a point we both agree on.¡± Fay¡¯s gaze fell, and tears began to well up underneath her eyes. ¡°I wanted to talk about what happened between us. What I did. I¡­ I was hoping that you¡¯d ept my sincere apology. I was immature and selfish, and I sacrificed our friendship over what happened. I¡¯ve thought a lot about it, and I was willing to let him be with any other woman except you there at the end. That was¡­ That must have been rough to hear for you. And you and I both know that I knew how you felt. I¡¯m sorry, Ath. I really am.¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°And you¡¯re telling me this¡­ why?¡± Ath asked ufortably.


    Fay gave a quivering smile, wiping away some of the tears dripping down her cheeks. ¡°I just feel bad. And I miss all of you. I miss Riven, sure, but I miss you and Azmoth as well. I know it likely isn¡¯t repairable, and I¡¯m not asking toe back. I just don¡¯t want to go the rest of my life knowing how badly I fucked things up and not trying to have reconciled with the people I wronged. Namely, you. It is why I asked to meet only with you, and not with Riven. I owe you that much.¡±


    Ath silently gazed ahead, staring at her while Fay continued to talk.


    ¡°I was also hoping that you¡¯d pass along a message.¡± Fay said with a self-loathingugh. ¡°To Riven. Tell him that Tupper has a letter, you can look it over first if you wish - but tell him that you were right. That I tried to manipte him while you were gone because I was so head over heels, and I was jealous of you. I wanted him for myself. The time I spent with all of you was the happiest I¡¯ve been, even though it was rather short - and I ruined it.¡±


    Ath clicked her tongue. ¡°Yes¡­ He told me about the date the two of you went on.¡±


    Fay outwardly cringed at its mention. ¡°I¡­ see¡­ What did he say?¡±


    ¡°He told me what you two did and described to me how it made him feel.¡± Ath replied sadly. ¡°He said he wants to find that with me. He invited me to go on a pic and a nature walk with him sometime as our own first date. I¡¯m excited to go.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re implying he doesn¡¯t already feel that way about you?¡± Fay asked warily.


    Ath shrugged. ¡°Honestly I¡¯m unsure.¡±


    ¡°He chose you over me, Ath. I¡¯m sure he feels that way about you.¡±


    ¡°He did, but even in the beginning he admitted that he hadn¡¯t seen me as a romantic interest. He treats me like one now, certainly, but I get the feeling he¡¯s doing that out of¡­ obligation.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous.¡± Fay protested, frowning.


    Athughed. ¡°I¡¯m not being ridiculous! I know he loves me, I don¡¯t doubt that at all. But the way I love him is perhaps different from the way he loves me. I view him as a romantic partner and have ever since my transition into this body. Meanwhile, he views me as a best friend - as family. It is different, you know. When he sleeps, I¡¯m not the one he talks about.¡±


    Ath¡¯s eyes lifted to meet Fay¡¯s. ¡°He talks about you. He still keeps your boots at the side of the bed.¡±


    The subus just stared. Then Fay¡¯s eyes and face scrunched up, and she immediately began to sob. First it was mild, and then she began to cry more violently as her shoulders shook while holding her head in her hands.


    Ath bit her lip, her voice cracking. ¡°Fay¡­ Why didn¡¯t you just talk to me?¡±


    Fay didn¡¯t reply, only continuing to violently sob on the couch across from the other woman.


    ¡°I wish we could have stayed friends, you know.¡± Ath eventually said in a low whisper. ¡°I don¡¯t like seeing you like this, and I want to apologize too. I¡¯m sorry for eating you back in Mandon.¡±


    Fay managed to calm herself down, sniffling loudly, and thenughed at the mention of it. ¡°I deserved it. Didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Probably, but that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t feel bad about it.¡±


    The two women shared a smile, and Fay even managed a curtugh between sobs.


    Standing up and walking over to the other side of the small room of thisher realm, Ath motioned for Fay to scoot over and sat down next to her. Wrapping her arms around the subus and letting tears fall down her own cheeks, Ath shuddered.


    ¡°I really am sorry.¡± Fay muttered under her breath, surprised at the embrace but leaning into it. ¡°Really, really sorry. I was a shitty friend. I have a lot of growing up to do.¡±


    Ath snorted, wiping off her cheeks. ¡°Yeah I know. In some ways, so do I.¡±


    The two women sat in silence after that, only the rising and falling of their chests moving in the otherwise still room.


    Fay moved to hug Ath back, pulling her in close one final time before pushing the demoness away. ¡°I think this is goodbye, for good. I should leave and finally move on¡­ It was nice seeing you again, Ath. I mean that. I won¡¯t bother or pester you anymore, I just wanted to end things on good terms. Thank you foring, from the bottom of my heart. I¡¯m sure you and Riven will have lovely children one day!¡±


    Fay began to stand up with a gentle, shaky smile directed Ath¡¯s way, but was yanked back down to the couch with a surprised grunt.


    Ath red at the other woman menacingly. A strange mix of emotions crossed her ck and white face, but eventually she put a hand up to Fay¡¯s cheek and gently touched her wet skin. Privateher realms had quite ack of actual feeling, but shared ones were more tangible as it drew on more than one demon to use - so the intimate touch startled Fay even more.


    ¡°Is your summoner able and willing to let you go, should you want to leave?¡± Ath asked curiously - searching Fay¡¯s face for clues.


    Fay, despite being startled, hesitantly nodded back and sniffled again. ¡°Yes¡­ Why?¡±


    ¡°Riven gave you the option of staying right before you left, under a condition. Do you remember what that condition was?¡±


    Fay momentarily nked, her heart beating up to a much faster pace while she took in the implications of what Ath was getting at. ¡°Riven asked me if there was any way the three of us could work this out. That he¡¯d rather not lose either of us, and he¡¯d rather try to go forward with both of us rather than just choose one.¡±


    ¡°And does that idea still not appeal to you at all?¡± Ath asked softly, fingers twining around Fay¡¯s on the couch. ¡°I would like to be friends again. I liked how we once were.¡±


    Fay¡¯sposure quickly dissolved again, and soon her face was scrunched up and tears were running down her cheeks for the third time that meeting. She violently nodded, voice wavering. ¡°I w-would like that v-very much.¡±


    Ath smiled, put a finger to Fay¡¯s lips, then leaned in close and nuzzled the subus¡¯s cheek with her nose. ¡°Then there¡¯s only one way I see this working out. We should work on our own rtionship first. I think¡­ I think it would make Riven very, very happy.¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    Grazing Fay¡¯s left breast with a hand, Ath tugged on the fabric of Fay¡¯s cleavage and pulled it down. She slowly reared back a moment to soak in the look of surprise on Fay¡¯s face, then went back in and gently locked lips with the subus - before pushing her to the couch beneath as Fay began to undress.


    ***


    Captain Vros Kinal, champion of this expedition to Panu,ary leader of The Empire of Dying Suns, was vexed. He looked the group from Rippenvire over with a bemused expression, ncing over at his subordinates while conquered nativesbored in the wheat fields below his perch on the tower. ¡°You want to team up? Did I hear that right?¡±


    The representative from Rippenvire nodded. The man was a tall vampire, pale skinned and red-eyed just like all the rest - butcking the distinct glow that many of the purebloods had. He wore gadgets and steampunk pistols on either side, with a tophat that covered his face from the sun and a vest made of satin. ¡°Yes. You are correct, human.¡±


    ¡°And just why would I agree to something like that?¡± Captain Vros Kinal asked with a raised eyebrow, motioning for the vampire toe stand with him at the ledge of his tower overlooking thendscape. ¡°The Empire of the Dying Suns is doing just fine without you. Unlike yourselves, we chose not to go head to head with an Apex ranker immediately upon arrival and have been flourishing for it. Our men grow in level quickly, our profits are soaring, and we already hold many towns and cities while recruiting the best of the natives we capture to our own cause by holding out shiny trinkets and the promise of power to them. What reason have I to ally with blood suckers like you?¡±


    The vampire grimaced beside him, but didn¡¯t take obvious offense to the human¡¯s jab. ¡°We have developed a means to kill the one known as Riven Thane, but we need the manpower to back us up after our forces were demolished at the battle of Mandon.¡±


    Captain Kinal blinked, leaning onto the railing and resting his armored shoulders while the stiff horsehair down the center of his helmet shook in the breeze. ¡°That¡¯s very interesting, but I doubt we¡¯ll be fighting Riven Thane anytime soon. If anything, I want to avoid that monster at all costs until we get to the point that we can receive reinforcements from the homnd.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t survive long enough for that to happen.¡±


    ¡°Brazen wordsing from a failed group of nobodies like you. Rippenvire might be respected in your part of the multiverse, but here on this - you¡¯re nothing but a bunch of washed up dogs tucking your tails between your legs after a severe beating.¡± Captain Kinal gave the stoic vampire a knowing look. ¡°But I will admit I¡¯m curious. Theoretically, if what you say is true, I would be open to potentially working with your kind. Just what is in it for all of you though? What would you get out of helping us? Surely you can¡¯t expect to actually seed in conquering this now that over 90% of your forces have been crushed. You¡¯re all still in hiding and I doubt you¡¯lle out unless forced to do so.¡±


    ¡°What do we get?¡± repeated the steampunk vampire with a nk expression, meeting the other man¡¯s gaze and folding his arms in front of him. ¡°What we get is our regained honor before returning home after murdering the man who took this victory from us. Do not worry about why, all you need to worry about is the how. Perhaps you and your men could follow me to a remote ind out to sea, it is there that our secret lies. I¡¯m sure that, one day when the time finallyes, you¡¯ll have been thankful that you agreed to this when that bastardes knocking down your door.¡±


    ***


    Riven sat in a wheelchair in the garden of his manor, next to Jose¡¯s tombstone with Azmoth nearby. The sound of crickets under arge tree infused with death mana after the terraforming was rather peaceful, and the neon-teal leaves glowed pale light down onto his position as he contemted life. His body felt weak, but he could already tell there were signs of repair in his soul aperture. His pirs were beginning to reform, albeit slowly, as were the mana channels he¡¯d cultivated over the course of integrated time.


    ¡°Yattazi was so hasty to leave.¡± Riven muttered, looking up at Azmoth with sped hands in front of him. ¡°It surprised me, very much so. Kinda hurt my feelings, honestly.¡±


    Azmot grunted in irritation. ¡°No loyal. No need for snake to be here. Not bad, but not one of us. It ok.¡±


    Riven let on a warm smile. ¡°Yeah. I suppose I still have you and Ath. Do you¡­ Do you think Fay¡¯s doing alright?¡±


    Azmoth turned his spiked, armored head - obsidian daggers for teeth smiling back at him. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Riven sighed. He did that a lot nowadays, the sighing. No matter how hard he struggled, he just couldn¡¯t seem to escape this bombardment of bullshit that chased after him almost endlessly. Just sitting here in the garden and taking in breaths of fresh air with his eyes closed made him realize that he¡¯d been constantly on the move without giving himself a moment to really pause and consider what it was he wanted to do outside the obligatory NEED to do things.


    This was the cost of power, he supposed.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe what happened at the tradingpound. Kathrine was very shaken.¡± Riven stated while looking skywards. ¡°I hope she¡¯s alright. I hope Lahn¡¯s alright, but he was in even rougher shape than she was. Kid has a good head on his shoulders though, it¡¯ll be a while but at the very least his body will heal. His soul on the other hand¡­ I¡¯m not so sure about it. Maybe, maybe not.¡±


    ¡°This multiverse very big.¡± Azmoth retorted with folded arms, leaning against the manor¡¯s outer wall. ¡°Lots of treasures. Lots of powers. He get fixed, I sure.¡±


    Riven snorted augh, ncing down at the shifting, flickering sleeve tattoo covering his right arm. ¡°Yes, I suppose it is a big ce.¡±


    The sound of footsteps and a beating heart caused him to turn, and from around the corner he saw Genua in a maid¡¯s outfit - her long blonde hair swaying back and forth as the pretty older woman headed his way. Her eyes were starting to turn a pale red, which was unusual for thralls but not unheard of - and she hadn¡¯t even made her transition yet.


    Though he was sure that was likely toe soon. Her attitude towards him and pretty much any other vampire had also drastically changed to one of both servitude and reverence - an opposite reaction to many mortals concerning vampiric negative charisma. This change was amon side effect of the transformation as well. When he finally did turn her into aplete thrall, those feelings would only solidify. What was even more interesting to him, was that he simply didn¡¯t care that she¡¯d essentially had her mind warped. Not only had she chosen this, albeit coerced into doing so, but in his opinion the punishment of evesting servitude was fitting after she and her family had tried to assassinate him for no good reason.


    ¡°Here you are, master.¡± Genua said with a low bow, handing him a stack of tomes with a huff. ¡°These are the manuals you requested. All that we could acquire concerning totem making and rune crafting. There wasn¡¯t much that we could find, even in the altar¡¯s system store, but there¡¯s enough to get a head start.¡±


    Riven nodded, happy that he had at least something to go off of. ¡°And the supplies?


    Genua unhooked a spatial sack of her own, handing it over to Riven with a smile. ¡°Of course, these are some of the supplies listed in those books. Again, not much, but we got what we could. It shouldst you for at least a short time while you endure your recovery.¡±


    ¡°I see. How¡¯s your daughter doing?¡±


    ¡°Len is fine. The schools Mara set up are very good, and she¡¯s slowly stopped talking about her father and sister.¡±


    ¡°What about you? Are you still thinking about them often?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Genua admitted, though without much emotion. ¡°It does make me sad. I did love them, especially Ethel. Farrod was¡­ not the greatest husband, but he was still mine. However I¡¯m doing much better now thanks to Gurth¡¯Rok and Dr. Brass, they regrly infuse me with vampiric venom in preparation for when you im me as a thrall. It has helped my mood tremendously. I find myself enjoying life once again.¡±


    ¡°Oh? How are those two doing by the way? I haven¡¯t talked to them for some time now.¡±


    ¡°Very good. They have taken up managerial positions under Mara and help run the city. General Bruner from Chicago is also in Mara¡¯s inner circle, and I get to see the four of them quite often since I work at your estate. They¡¯re far busier than you¡¯d imagine.¡±


    Riven snorted. ¡°Well I¡¯m d SOMEONE enjoys that kind of work. It certainly isn¡¯t me.¡±


    He pulled up his status page and scrolled over to the quests menu. From there, he selected the most recent Chalgathi update.


    <strong>[Chalgathi, The Apocalypse Beasts World Quest, Panu:</strong>


    <strong>Congrattions on being the 3rd person to collect all 5 Chalgathi artifacts. Now that all artifacts have coalesced into one item set, you are to be given eventual ess to the sub-event: Altars of Dread and Hope.</strong>


    <strong>The Altars of Dread and Hope are exclusive areas designated by the Elysium Administrator, where only the chosen of the apocalypse beasts may enter after having acquired their given artifacts. This applies to all apocalypse beasts, not only Chalgathi. Here at the Altars of Dread and Hope you will be divided into two groups: Cultists and Non-Cultists. As previously described, the oues of this world quest differ greatly depending on which of the chosen acquire the prizes for these quests. Thus, cultists will be pitted against non-cultists when reaching these altars. Non-Cultists across all three apocalypse beast categories will arrive at the Altar of Hope, and Cultists across all three apocalypse beast categories will arrive at the Altar of Dread. It will be highly incentivized to work together with your given team upon arrival, and severe punishments will be handed down to those who intentionally harm any others within your own category while involving yourself in this sub-event of the questline; with more details to arrive upon event initiation.</strong>


    <strong>The Altars of Dread and Hope will first open with an event initiation in 2 months, 19 days, and 11 hours from now</strong><strong>. Upon opening, the next phase of World Quest 2, The Apocalypse Beasts will begin. You can expect to enter an alternate pocket realm at that time along with other various people, ces, artifacts, and events drawn in from around the multiverse; and can be expected to be gone for a minimum of 1 year¡¯s time. Participants who do not collect all of the necessary apocalypse beast artifacts upon event initiation will still be able to join the Altars of Dread and Hope sub-event uponpletion of the item sets.]</strong>


    He re-read the ¡®2 months, 19 days, and 11 hours¡¯ part.


    Would that be enough time for him to heal?


    And damn, being gone for an entire year or more¡­ That was rough.


    Had it really only been a month and a half since he¡¯d collected Messenger? So much had happened in that short amount of time¡­ It was almost unfathomable. His thoughts trailed back to that day, the day Ath had died - the day he¡¯d saved Fay from the cultists. He was simultaneously sad, angry, and happy all at once when thinking about it. Sad because Fay had left, angry that the cultists had dared harm people he cared about, and happy that Ath had returned to him.


    Perhaps it was selfish to think he was angry that things didn¡¯t turn out better, given the ridiculous circumstances he was in.


    Taking a look at his own spatial bag, he pulled out two objects. The first was a system-proimed ¡®treasure map¡¯ rted to a dao treasure of Sin that he¡¯d acquired from finishing the quest to save Fay. The other was a dao treasure rted to Blood that Ath had acquired herself after the harbingers of Gluttony had been defeated in Mandon.


    Unlike most treasure maps, this one was actually a 3-dimensional hologram. It was created out of a small metal cylinder, with the top of the cylinder creating a very intricate diagram of a part of Panu from a zoomed-out view.


    The hologram disyed a tropical ind with a volcano at its center. It had a very distinct boot-shaped protrusion that formed a cove on one side, with trees and other features on the ind so tiny that they were smaller than a pinhead but still somewhat discernable. The map spanned many meters across in any direction from the cylinder, and he was even able to get up and walk through it - identifying a glowing dot underneath the volcano through arge sprawling set of ancient ruins that were built into the ground underneath the ind. There, where a ruined cityy long forgotten by the looks of how decimated the architecture was, were flowing rivers of magma that eventually led to an odd-looking temple.


    It was here, at this temple, that the icon continued to sh.


    It had no description otherwise, no details, only the outline of the ind, the ruins, and the path down the magma rivers leading to the temple where the dao treasure of sin was located. The veryrge problem he now had though was that he had zero clue where this ind was. It could literally be anywhere, and he had no doubt that thebination of three mergings would only make it all the harder to find.


    But people in Chicago were already working on finding the treasure map¡¯s location by using drones. The mapping of Panu was underway, and many of these drones were already far out to sea to the south of Dawn. It might be a long time from now, but he¡¯d find the ind he was looking for eventually.


    The dao treasure of Blood he already had, and it required a bonded partner to use it. Probably made specifically for Ath by the system itself, it was shaped like a tear and fit in the palm of Riven¡¯s hand - only being the size of a tennis ball, rounded with a point, and it glowed a bright red simr to the color of Riven¡¯s eyes.


    <strong>[Tear of the Blood Good (Legendary F-Grade Dao Treasure): Must have a bonded, contractual partner to use. Reveals insights into the Dao of the Blood Subpir and drastically increases the resilience and size of both partners¡¯ Blood Pirs after use regardless of what your insights gain for you.]</strong>


    It was perfect. Not only because the Blood Subpir was his specialty pir, one that he had a 100% affinity for, not even because he had the aplishment title of ¡®Bloodthirsty¡¯ that increased his damage output for any blood abilities he used. No, it was perfect because this treasure in particr would be able to reinforce both his and Ath¡¯s pirs - and perhaps it could even heal his blood pir entirely.


    He¡¯d be finding out sooner rather thanter, that was for sure. He felt rather exposed the way he was right now, and was pretty certain that even the weaker members of the Thane Necropolis military could likely put him down in his current weakened state. He needed to recover fast, and this treasure perhaps held the key.


    ¡°Do you intend to use it before you leave to meet with Hakim?¡± Genua asked curiously, cocking her head to the side. ¡°Or not until you get there?¡±


    ¡°Probably before. Might as well use it here where I¡¯m safe, rather than waiting until I¡¯m in rtively unknown territory to expose myself if anything goes wrong. But Ath has to get back first. After that I n to work a bit on totem making, power level Hakim and the others, then maybe go after this other dao treasure before Chalgathi¡¯s quest happens if I¡¯m recovered before then.¡± Riven replied, putting the items both down on the stack of tomes next to his wheelchair and grunting with pained exertion upon turning the chair around. ¡°Oh boy¡­ This chair is a real pain to use. I don¡¯t know how Lahn manages to¡­¡±


    Riven¡¯s voice trailed off, and he nearly staggered when his eyes locked on two figures standing at the corner of the building behind where Genua now stood.


    Genua turned upon seeing his look of shock, then her eyebrows rose - and she quickly dismissed herself with a polite bow. Walking away and past the other two women present, she made herself scarce and vanished from sight.


    Ath stood beside Fay, holding hands with the other woman while smiling fondly down at Riven¡¯s seated form. Fay on the other hand looked incredibly nervous, avoiding eye contact and only managing to spare Riven brief nces while biting her lip.


    Eventually, as the silence wore on and Azmoth turned to look as well, Ath nudged the horned subus in the ribs and then gently shoved her forward. ¡°Go on. I know you¡¯ve been looking forward to this.¡±


    Fay looked over her shoulder, legs shaking slightly, and her head hesitantly turned to look Riven¡¯s way while her hands fidgeted with the long, white, silky hair trialing down her front. She caught Riven¡¯s watery gaze while he stared her down, and she gulped with a light wheeze. ¡°Hi¡­ Riven. It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s nice to see you again.¡±


    Riven¡¯s hands balled into fists, and his red eyes shamefully hit the floor, unable to meet Fay¡¯s own while his body began to tremble.


    ¡°Are you unhappy to see me?¡± Fay asked worriedly, stepping back and almost tripping over her own feet. ¡°I-I can leave, if you want. I just thought that maybe¡­¡±


    Riven held up a hand, shaking his head. He turned to stare at Ath, who gave him a warm, smiling nod, and then he turned his attention back to the subus while slowly beginning to wheel himself over to where she stood. Looking up at her anding to a stop a foot away from the young woman, he barely got out a whisper while trying to contain his emotions. ¡°Are you here to stay?¡±


    Fay bit her lip, trying hard to fight the urge to cry and failing. ¡°Do you want me to?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do. I never wanted you to leave.¡±


    Fay choked, and she nodded adamantly - kneeling down onto the dirt below and wrapping her arms around his waist while shuddering. ¡°Ok. Then I¡¯ll stay.¡±


    Azmoth watched the silent, crying duo embrace one another before lumbering over to where Ath stood watching over them - arms crossed in satisfaction. He turned to match her posture, looking back and forth between her and the subus who was shaking in Riven¡¯s arms. ¡°I surprised.¡±


    ¡°Are you now?¡± Ath asked curiously, raising an eyebrow up at the currentlyrger demon before lightly punching him in the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m full of surprises.¡±


    He nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, yes. I proud of you. Did you forgive?¡±


    Ath let out a long sigh, and her shoulders rxed while leaning into the armored titan beside her. ¡°Yes. I did forgive her.¡±


    ¡°And she forgive you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Azmoth smiled. ¡°Good. Maybe it go back to way it was, or better. I hope better. You made Riven happy too. The way he looking at you says lots.¡±


    Ath blinked then followed Azmoth¡¯s head-nod to where Riven was still sitting in his wheelchair, hands holding Fay¡¯s kneeling figure while she quietly sobbed into hisp. Happy tears trickled down his cheeks, and he was giving Ath the most genuine look of appreciation she¡¯d ever seen.


    Her heart nearly stopped, and a faint blush started oveing her. Then she straightened and huffed, pointing his way. ¡°I hope you appreciate the things I do for you, mister! You don¡¯t even WANT to know what I had to go through to get her here! Hmph!¡±


    With that, Ath twirled around - ck hair swishing out behind her, and she made her way into the manor to get some food. ¡°Come on Azmoth! Let¡¯s get breakfast. I¡¯m starving, and a spider princess needs to keep up on her diet!¡±


    Azmoth chuckled, gave Riven a wave, and then left with his friend to follow her inside.


    Unbeknownst to Riven in that very moment, as his heart thundered approval with every beat while holding Fay close, his soul aperture was undergoing more changes than just a self repair.


    Tendrils of sin energy were spreading from his Mark of the Sinner on his right arm, silently spreading like a cancer into the demolished pirs and scattered fragments littering his soul. They pulled and pushed, yanking the pirs back together piece by piece - infusing each of them with Gluttony¡¯s presence while the great maw watched in avid fascination. It was a unique situation that the main body of Gluttony had not encountered before - having a harbinger finish his or her sinner¡¯s mark immediately upon a soul shattering.


    It provided a very unique opportunity to weasel himself inside, to circumventws that would otherwise keep him held back.


    <strong>[Estimated time until soul repairs and symbiosis areplete: 16 days.]</strong>


    ¡°Riven¡­¡± The great maw hissed at its notification in the eternal ck of its abyss - tendrils from the deep ces of creation spiraling upwards and outwards, waiting for his soul to reform. ¡°Oh Riven¡­ How I cannot wait to see how you turn out. You and I¡­ we¡¯re going to be very close friends¡­ Very¡­ Close¡­ Friends¡­¡±


    <strong>This is the End of Book 4. Thanks for reading!</strong>

 Chapter 215: [Beginning of Book 5]

    Chapter 215: [Beginning of Book 5]


    <strong>Chapter 215</strong>


    The world was changing, and new empires were rising across the ashes of dead civilizations as the merged worlds creating Panu were beginning toe together. The tutorials were over, the initial shock of the integration now passed. It was a time of new beginnings.


    The terraforming of the innernds of the Thane Necropolis had been a blessing to many of those drawing power from the Unholy Foundational pir, and all associated pirs. Especially for the undead, who made up nearly half of the poption under the Thane sibling¡¯s rule after the ongoing wars had added more bodies to the mix. The bone garden was working overtime converting more and more bodies to the cause, and thousands of people across the multiverse at abat level below 5 that were unaffiliated with any major factions ording to system standards were allowed their own pilgrimage to the newly integrated world as well - bringing tidbits or knowledge and expertise with them that helped the new nation progress over time.


    After the battle for Mandon, Capital of Dawn, as well as the subjugation of the elvish kingdom of Tereen and the absorption of Chicago¡¯s surrounding territories across the Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole, the Thane Necropolis was one of the leading powerhouses in their prospective areas on either side of the. Refugees from areas of wilderness where civilization still hadn¡¯t taken root due to monster nests or raging conflicts with other natives that wanted to carve out a piece of the for themselves were in abundance. Local warlords vying for control with one another along with roaming gangs and bandits weremonce, but these were also prime targets for many of Allie¡¯s forces - specifically targeted for leveling opportunities as well as keeping the peace and maintaining a constant flow of new bodies for the bone garden in Brightsville. Thus the reputation of the Thane Necropolis had be something of a double-edged sword, a safe haven for some - and a treacherous calling to death for others. World forums often had starkly contrasting views on the faction as well, some praising them for wiping out the majority of an invading force while others called Riven and Allie evil for their tant disrespect for life. The ¡®Butcher of Carnis¡¯ title had stuck to Allie after her incredibly brutal treatment of her elves during the war against Tereen, and Riven was outright known as a genocidal maniac.


    There¡¯d even been three other top 10 rankers that¡¯d spoken about the rise of Riven¡¯s presence on the world forums along with the country he represented. Judith Marcina - the number 1 powerhouse on the worldwide leaderboard 3 spots ahead of Riven¡¯s own number 4 spot, had issued a statement proiming the existence of an undead uprising as a concern - but she hadn¡¯t outright condemned them either. Publicly stating that if their factions should meet, she would concern herself with the necropolis then - but that it may be years before that were to ever happen and until then she was focused on her own newly created empire¡¯s expansion. Meanwhile Nithkik Brutishvase, the dark elf number 5 ranker and Sinthil Tuk¡¯tuk the rank 8 Lizardian had very opposing views on a vampire being in the top 10 that lined up with their charisma allegiances. Nithkik, being a dark elf, had a negative charisma allegiance by race alone and praised Riven¡¯s ruthlessness and magical prowess - while the opposite could be said for Sinthil the lizardian, who called RIven a madman after witnessing what he¡¯d done to Daskus, City of Canyons to bring back what he called ¡®an abomination from the hells that should never have been allowed onto this mortal ne¡¯ in reference to Ath.


    Yet despite all the attention Riven had received from Elysium¡¯s showcasing of his own exploits, he wasn¡¯t very invested in what people had to say about him. Mostly he ignored them entirely, and was far more focused on the important things that were close to home.


    Vampires from a local faction in the underdark had made contact in deepnest concerning the world quest of the vampiric elder god. The dwarvish kingdom of Brya had fallen after their king had been in by Riven, and was being incorporated as another vassal state - but it would take time and some reeling in of their ratkin allies that still had a deep seated hate for the conquered dwarves. Chalgathi¡¯s next quest was uing in less than 3 months now, and the capital city of Dawn was still being rebuilt after the attack from Rippenvire. The Blood Moon Requiem was on the brink of an internal civil war after Jalel and Lord Barimont had been in, resulting in multiple noble houses having their low-leveled elites enter into an all out battle with one another on Panu, and Kathrine had even left to go back home for time being until her parents made sure things were settling down to discuss family matters. The lesser lords anddies of House Wraithtide were also scheduled for a meeting with Riven and Allie in uing days, and General Viku had stationed an entire garrison of House Wraithtide¡¯s own F-grade elites at level 90 apiece in the vampiricpound on Panu while simultaneously letting Riven know that there would be much talk on the matter of empire politics upon his projection¡¯s arrival.


    All in all, given the recent events, Riven should have been rather busy.


    Should have been.***


    The sunset cast brilliant orange-yellow hues on the horizon across a sprawling sea of grasnds, sending shimmering trails off winding rivers etched into thendscape.


    Fay squealed in excitement, reeling in the line on her fishing pole with wild abandon while sitting cross-legged on the water¡¯s shoreline. The white Sunday-dress matched her hair that had been pulled back into a ponytail, and a wide thatched hat covered her eyes from the sun. ¡°Oh! Oh I think I finally got one!¡±


    Rivenughed at her giddy disy, sitting immediately next to her and a few feet away from his wheelchair that¡¯d been parked on a grassy patch leading out to rolling hills and fields; grasnds that stretched for miles in all directions. ¡°Good! Maybe that bait Azmoth got us really is doing the trick after all.¡±


    Riven looked right to where Ath¡¯s growing pile of fish was being cooked and snacked on by the other campers here with them. His red eyes, cloaked by a ck hood to block out the sun now that he wasn¡¯t wearing Messenger, shifted to meet Ath¡¯s own when she nuzzled up to him. ¡°Ath you damn cheater.¡±


    ¡°Cheater!?¡± Ath repeated, aghast at the usation and bringing up both pitch-ck hands to pinch his cheeks like one would do to a cute puppy before smugly kissing him. ¡°I would never cheat! My bloody strings are just more viable than your fishing poles!¡±


    Ath wore an outfit nearly identical to Fay¡¯s own after the two demonic women had gone shopping in Brightsville together for their trip. Her bare feet dug into the sand and she mockingly grinned down at Riven¡¯s own fishing pole that was clutched between his hands.


    Arge campfire crackled behind them by a couple yards where Luke Blissfallen, an old elf and one of Riven¡¯s thralls, was preparing some of the fish by cooking them on sticks. He was in deep conversation with Genua, Riven¡¯s other thrall who¡¯d apanied them on the journey with her daughter Len - the two older elves having a rather good time teaching the little blonde girl about how to skin a fish and what spices to use in the broth they were making as a soup.


    ¡°You¡¯re making that face again.¡± Fay said, finally pulling in the trout that she¡¯d hooked with a knowing smile. ¡°They chose to attack you first, Riven. Your decision was a sound one.¡±


    Riven grimaced with guilt, continuing to stare over to where Len was dangling her legs from a log and looking up to her mother with wide, wondering eyes and a bright smile. ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel guilty. That little girl lost her big sister and her father because of me.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t know it was you.¡± Ath said from the other side, standing up and brushing herself off before turning around with her hands on her hips. ¡°Genua never told her the truth about how they died.¡±


    ¡°What did Genua tell her then?¡±


    Ath shrugged, then walked over to get Riven¡¯s wheelchair. ¡°Perhaps you should ask. Bute on! Don¡¯t be a downer, we¡¯re having fun tonight and all your friends are here!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right, you know.¡± Fay stated, putting her hand on his to give him a warm squeeze before standing up. ¡°Cut loose tonight, you deserve it after everything you¡¯ve been through.¡±


    ¡°After everything we ALL have been through.¡± Ath corrected the subus, spanking the other young woman and getting a yelp before grinning to herself and bringing the wheelchair over. ¡°Let¡¯s go big boy. Lahn and friends are back from their walk, it¡¯s time to gather around for the meal!¡±


    Riven nced back over his shoulder, smiling in the dying light of day at the assortment of people who were present. ¡°Yes, I suppose you¡¯re right.¡±


    He took her hand, hoisted himself up, and took a seat as she wheeled him around to join the main group.


    This tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Aside from Luke, Genua, and Genua¡¯s daughter Len, there were quite a few other familiar faces around the vampire sitting in folding chairs or on logs cut from the few trees that scattered themselves onto the rolling hills and nds around them. Gurth¡¯Rok the orc chieftain-turned-vampire and an orc woman he was courting were present and off to the side. Dr. Brass was - as ever - wearing his old whitecoat and had ditched the sses after his body had undergone vampiric changes to be a younger man with sleek silver hair. The doctor wasughing and joking alongside Mara, Nin and Vin - the three ck-d necromancers seated highest in the tiers of Allie¡¯s underlings running the necropolis. Azmoth and Fimrindle were seeing who could better skip stones along the water, pelting the skeletal undead drake Tyranus while he napped in the deeper waters further in. Allie, Lahn, and Lahn¡¯s mother Shovi were just now rounding a bend in the river and wading through ankle-high grass, with Allie asionally zapping mosquitos with her death mana, and Shovi was pushing her own son¡¯s wheelchair as the three talked and joked with one another rather loudly. Allie was obviously drunk but was having a grand time, and Lahn was still recovering physically from his temporary transition into an angelic being after fighting the vampire lord who¡¯d tried to take Allie as his own - but it was doubtful Lahn¡¯s soul would ever fully recover in terms of being able to wield magic or martial arts again.


    Though the young man still had hope, his eyes had been grown back and he was in better physical condition than he¡¯d ever been before, even despite the loss of his left arm entirely after the fight at the vampirepound. His stump where the arm used to be still retained significant residue from the possession however, and it¡¯d been so etched into his body that it would take massive amounts of possibly dangerous surgical interventions to fully regrow it given the knowledge Riven and Allie - or even Gaia had now.


    Otherwise the parasite that¡¯d been exorcized by Fay had left toxins and scar tissue which were eradicated by the angelic possession, and his physical recovery had increased at a rate by threefold. It wouldn¡¯t be long before he didn¡¯t need a wheelchair at all. There was also the topic of Miracles. Miracles and divinity worked differently than spells and mana, or martial arts and stamina, by essentially summoning the power of another entity or the pirs themselves rather than using his own innate strength as a power source. It was possible, ording to Luke, that Lahn could potentially utilize miracle-type abilities in the future even despite the absolute destruction of his core and pirs.


    Albeit, the act would still be far harder to do than it would be normally - and no one they knew had ess to holy miracles either. Even amongst the entire military of Dawn, miracles were apparently quite rare.


    ¡°Feeling better, I see.¡± Riven said as a statement rather than a question when Lahn was rolled up to the fire next to him. ¡°You¡¯re looking healthier.¡±


    Lahn waved Allie off after she gave him a peck on the cheek, grinning as she and his mother joined Fay, Genua, Luke and Ath at a pic table right behind Riven on the left.


    ¡°Yes, I feel amazing.¡± Lahn smiled back, then gestured to the wheelchair Riven sat in while the mes of the fire cast shadows across his body. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve joined my club.¡±


    Riven blinked, then snorted augh and sped his hands together - enjoying the warm of the orange glow. ¡°I certainly did. Hopefully not for too long, for either of us. Everything ok with your eyes?¡±


    ¡°Your healers did a wonderful job, there are no problems at all.¡±


    <em>*THUMP*</em>


    The ground shuddered just slightly when Gaia¡¯s small figure mmed into the earth beside them, and the dryad-like demigoddess gave everyone else she¡¯d startled a wave before creating a chair out of earthen soil to lean backzily while taking up residence next to the two temporarily crippled men. ¡°Hello children. How is everything?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow her way. ¡°Good to see you made it Gaia. Wasn¡¯t sure you wereing.¡±


    ¡°I never miss an opportunity to gossip.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°It is. Try being cooped up for as long as I have, and you too would seek as much social activity as possible given the chance. Thank you for inviting me.¡±


    Riven gave the little dryad girl, or what <em><strong>appeared</strong></em> to look like a little girl, a nod with a warm smile. ¡°I never did get to thank you face to face for how you helped Ath. Thanks again for what you did, it means more than you know to me.¡±


    ¡°She helped Ath? How?¡± Lahn asked curiously, scratching the back of his head with his pointer finger.


    ¡°She donated a tiny piece of her soul to Ath when Ath was killed, it helped reform her from a mere speck that my gluttonous miracle was able to acquire.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That¡¯s intense. Is that a normal thing? For demigods to give out pieces of their soul?¡±


    Gaia snorted augh at the young man Allie was so interested in. ¡°It is certainly not a normal thing, but it was the right decision. My soul has already begun mending itself and it will be like the piece taken from it was never gone to begin with in time. Also - here.¡±


    Gaia extended a hand over Riven¡¯s, and then dropped an amulet into his palm. It was sleekly crafted from the wood of a tree, circr in nature akin to that of a thick quarter, with a tiny flower carved into the front face. ¡°What you asked for. A recement for the one you broke, and somewhat upgraded so that it can act with Fay¡¯s illusions more fluidly.¡±


    <strong>[Gaia¡¯s Heartwood Token (Epic): Wearing this token around your neck allows you to suppress any Charisma effects you may have, suppresses your vampiric qualities as well as the demonic qualities of your contracted familiars, as well as changes your status page information to represent a Level 55 Human. Those with identifier sses at high enough level can circumvent this passive ability.]</strong>


    The amulet she¡¯d given him was spectacr, and a wide grin spread across his pale face as he thanked the demigoddess and stowed it away. ¡°This wille in handy when I visit Hakim.¡±


    ¡°And Julie!¡± Ath called pointedly, taking a ketchup bottle and thering the stuff all over a hotdog - and handing it to Riven. ¡°Julie is my favorite. By the way, these hot dogs look nothing like actual dogs. I¡¯d been expecting a ming canine or something.¡±


    ¡°Yes I was wondering about that myself¡­¡± Shovi, Lahn¡¯s mother stated with a raised eyebrow - having already finished two of them and starting her third. The usually well dresseddy of the court was wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with an electric guitar on the front - some of Allie''s old clothes after Shovi had made it known that she didn¡¯t own any traveling gear. ¡°It is rather good though.¡±


    Allie hummed in amusement and popped the cork off another wine bottle, motioning for Genua to slit her wrist. Genua did so and let a good amount of her blood settle into the wine before Allie gave a heads up that she could stop, and the elf soon-to-be-thrall gave a nod before twisting her hand and sealing the wound shut.


    ¡°Can all thralls do that?¡± Shovi asked curiously.


    Genua shrugged. ¡°I can, and I¡¯m only ready for the transition. I haven¡¯t taken the dive yet. Luke? Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°I can.¡± The old man acknowledged her question with a grim frown. ¡°However, not nearly as fast as you can. That was impressive, Genua. Perhaps it has something to do with your other features¡­?¡±


    He gestured to the woman¡¯s reddening eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t recall ever having heard of thralls gain vampiric traits.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not supposed to.¡± Allie confirmed with a nod and a drunken side-bob of her head. Then she huped. ¡°It¡¯s weird. You¡¯re weird, Genua!¡±


    ¡°How many has Allie had to drink?¡± Riven asked Lahn under his breath while the two men continued staring over their shoulders. ¡°She¡¯s stered.¡±


    ¡°Too many to count.¡± Lahn confirmed with a chuckle.


    Riven¡¯s eyes shifted between his sister and the thrall to be, and he shook his head with a smirk before turning back around to the campfire and biting into his own hotdog. Immediately the taste of a perfectly cooked bratwurst caused his mouth to nearly explode with salivation, and he let out a deep, content sigh while loudly moaning amidst his slow chew.


    ¡°Riven!? Was that you!?¡± Fay asked incredulously with raised eyebrows. ¡°You must really be enjoying your food!¡±


    Smacking his lips and nodding enthusiastically, he only chuckled through his nose while continuing to eat. It¡¯d been way, way too long since he¡¯d had some basic, bad-for-your-arteries Americanized food.


    ***


    <strong>[Tear of the Blood Good (Legendary F-Grade Dao Treasure): Must have a bonded, contractual partner to use. Reveals insights into the Dao of the Blood Subpir and drastically increases the resilience and size of both partners¡¯ Blood Pirs after use regardless of what your insights gain for you.]</strong>


    Ath handled therge red tear-shaped gemstone glowing in her hands carefully, sitting cross-legged in front of where Riven was doing the same - albeit being supported due to his weakened state by Azmoth. Fay sat to the side, continuing to chomp and crunch on the smores Allie and Lahn had so enthusiastically begun making on repeat after Lahn had joined her in getting drunk and getting the munchies.


    ¡°I hope this works!¡± Fay said smiling widely, being absolutely on top of the world ever since rejoining the group and after recognizing that there was no ill will held towards her for her abrupt leave of absence.


    With her words came a wink from Ath, and the subus blushed slightly - something that Riven did not miss due to his concern about how the two would interact after Fay returned. To his surprise things were going well, very well in fact.


    The odd new twist to how she and Ath were acting towards one another was somewhat odd to Riven over the course of the past two days, as they were a little handsy with one another which was certainly a surprise, but he didn¡¯t mind in the least and was just happy to have Fay back. He was getting suspicious concerning their behavior but if he was right on the money of just what had happened when Ath had decided to try and have Faye back - he couldn¡¯t say he was mad about it. If anything they were making it kind of obvious, and he was curious as to how that¡¯d y into his own rtionships with both of them.


    ¡°Alright so how do we do this?¡± Riven asked curiously, appreciating Azmoth¡¯s supporting hand when the muscles in his lower back began to spasm and his shattered pirs twitched with electrical currents.


    Ath frowned in concern at Riven¡¯s brief grimace of pain, but she ced the hand-sized ruby-colored crystal inbetween them - continuing to grasp the object with her right hand. ¡°We can try touching it at the same time. Probably our best bet.¡±


    A loud ssh echoed from further down the river where some of the others had taken to swimming under the starlight, and Riven only hesitated a moment due to the distraction before cing a steady hand over the top of Ath¡¯s own. Wrapping his fingers around hers and letting his skin touch the red crystal tear underneath, the red light inside the treasure began to build.


    ¡°See. Easy as pie.¡± Ath winked at him fondly, only for her eyes to roll back alongside his own when a flood of power tore through their minds - and began to roar to life as the energy made contact with their Blood Subpirs.


    Or in Riven¡¯s case, where his Blood Subpir should have been.

 Chapter 216

    Chapter 216


    <strong>Chapter 216</strong>


    Crimson threads tore out from the treasure and into Riven¡¯s soul, but he didn¡¯t scream - nor did he feel pain. The threads were soothing, caressing his damaged core and the obliterated Blood Subpir that¡¯d been reduced to fragments.


    He watched as they intertwined with each of them, collecting them up and pulling the shards together - only to frown in confusion when other, pitch ck threads flew forward from his fragmented shadow pir and intertwined. He felt his Path of ck and Red radiate and synergize between the two pirs after that, a shudder going through his body and mind, harmonizing and¡­


    And stitching the two pirs together?


    Riven¡¯s eyes widened, and his hand instinctively tightened around Ath¡¯s while his mind¡¯s eye focused on his internal soul. Something like this had happened before when his blood and shadow subpirs had connected to one another - but only this time it was far more than just connecting.


    They were locking themselves together with crystalized bridges, one after the other. They were extending. They were bing far, farrger than they¡¯d been before - like a mixed tapestry painted between the two monoliths of ck and red.


    The two colors swirled and meshed, the fragmentsing together to create something entirely new - aided by the power of the dao treasure he and Ath were holding in unison. His Blood Subpir then began to grow, and then grow even more. It expanded upwards off the base at the soul core it was attached to, surging forward until it slowed down and stopped at nearly twice the size of the previous one he¡¯d had as shards continued to m into it; filling the cracks and crevices with more and more pieces of its old shattered remnants.


    But then the swirling shards of his two meshing pirs all simultaneously twitched, and the fusion between ck and red stopped right as his orbiting Sin Core - an ominous ck and deep purple orb - came to rest directly over the erged Blood Subpir and its subserviently bonded Shadow Subpir.


    ¡°Riven¡­¡­.¡±The voice echoed in his mind as a sea of whispers, causing him to tense and shudder when a cold dread overcame him. A demonic, deepugh of glee followed, and the voice continued to whisper into his ear.


    ¡°Ah¡­ You can finally understand me¡­ Can¡¯t you?¡±


    The sin core pulsed, he felt his body tear at the seams when the voice called to him, and Riven¡¯s senses tingled when a maw opened up in the ck and deep purple sphere. Rows of teeth let out a low hiss, and it was from here that he realized the voice wasing.


    He hesitantly nodded, not sure if he was saying the words aloud - or if he was just thinking them. ¡°I can. Hello, Gluttony¡­ I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re showing yourself in person to a little peon like me. To what do I owe the honor?¡±


    The maw¡¯sughter roared to life, and Riven felt blood begin trickling from his closed eyes, nose, ears and mouth. Riven vaguely heard shocked yelps and cursing, but he held up a hand to let the others know he was alright - though his body certainly took a toll just by talking to the entity. And it wasn¡¯t just a piece of the entity either - oh no, this was the brain, the main aspect, the collective consciousness. This was far different.


    ¡°What are you doing in my soul?¡± Riven asked, growing more curious than anything else. He sensed no malice from the sin, and he doubted there¡¯d be any anyways considering how it¡¯d saved his life when Elysium¡¯s tribtion had tried to kill him. ¡°Just sightseeing, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°Testing the waters is all¡­¡± The sin replied with a hiss, the soul aperture around him shuddering with every word. ¡°Repairing and preparing you for what is toe¡­ and it wille sooner than you think. I came to say hello, so that you are not terrified of the bond when it solidifies in uing weeks.¡±


    At this, Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°Bond?¡±


    Gluttony¡¯s mouth widened, and slowly - it began to reveal a maze of tendrilsing out of the pit of its throat. They were dark, pulsing with deep purple and ck energies that connected and pulled at the rotating shards that hadn¡¯t already been sunk into the pirs Riven had somewhat restored. The tendrils then shed away, and were gone before Riven even knew what to make of them.


    ¡°It has already begun¡­¡± Gluttony said in satisfaction. ¡°Your soul, my soul, and the symbiotic rtionship that has helped you already not just once - but twice.¡±


    Riven belched blood just from being in the presence of the great sin, and his vampiric regeneration kicked into high gear fighting off the cracks and crevices of sin energy leaking out of his skin now. He could hear the worries in the others¡¯ voices, but they were a distant call - and he yet again held up a hand to stop them from interfering with the process. He needed to know what Gluttony wanted with him. ¡°Symbiosis entails a mutually beneficial rtionship. I hope you¡¯re not using this in lue of being a parasite.¡±


    ¡°I am certainly not¡­¡± the sin retorted gleefully, shifting its many teeth along the sin core catingly. ¡°The alternative is impossible despite my wishes. I truly do wish to coexist¡­ but you must let me in for the bond to fully connect. Otherwise talking to you as a mortal will forever cause a violent reaction such as the one you are experiencing now. As a harbinger of my blood, it is the greatest honor one can be given. The others¡­ my worshipers¡­ even the other holders of my shards¡­ they don¡¯t understand what it is I truly am. Or what it is I desire. Nor do you¡­ but, that isn¡¯t important now. What is important, is that I can help - as I have already begun to do. May I pose a question?¡±


    Riven snorted augh, even despite numerous arteries bursting when he did. ¡°Sure. go ahead.¡±


    Gluttony paused. ¡°Did you not find it odd that your Harbinger of Gluttony ss, and your Harbinger Soul Clone, manifested itself as my visage - rather than your own?¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed at this. He¡¯d been considering this exact thing for a while now. Even back in Daskus when he¡¯d been able to somehow summon Gluttony¡¯s maw in the sky as he destroyed the city in a wrath unlike anything he¡¯d ever experienced before - and that was before he¡¯d even acquired the soul clone on his status page. Then, very recently, he¡¯d called Gluttony¡¯s visage from the sky - and then the earth underneath him, to battle against Elysium¡¯s will when it tried to strike him down for using Malignant Prophecy one too many times.


    He pulled up an old notification to re-read it in his mind¡¯s eye.


    <strong>[Harbinger of Gluttony, Sin ss, Secondary ss, has finally finished its construction. Harbinger Soul Clone is now finished. +2 Sturdiness, +9 Free Points per level will now be distributed with each level up.]</strong><ul><li><strong>Harbinger of Gluttony (Sin ss Title) - The Harbinger of Gluttony is the most basic sin ss specific to the original sin of Gluttony and creates a superimposed wraith-like Soul Clone, a symbiote created from sin inside your body, allowing it to strike out at close distances to any nearby enemy. +2 sturdiness, +9 Free Points per level.</strong></li></ul>


    The suspicion had been there¡­ but¡­ he didn¡¯t know what to think.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been nning the transition for a while now. Haven¡¯t you?¡± Riven asked cautiously. ¡°Summoning your visage isn¡¯t normal for a harbinger. Is it? The description of my soul clone states it should be a superimposed image of myself. Instead, I got you. I had you even before I knew what a soul clone was.¡±


    The sinughed. ¡°Envy may be the schemer of us sins, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t concoct ns of my own. You are a unique vessel with an even more unique situation after your soul was shattered, and we sins that spawned the first of demonkind - just like themandments that the angels hail from - cannot manifest into a true life without a symbiosis unless all shards have been collected from our shattered bodies.¡±


    Riven grimaced.


    ¡°That brings up a lot of questions. Can you tell me what exactly themandments are? Did you have an actual body of your own in the past other than the great maw I usually see? Why me? And just what is it that you desire, if it isn¡¯t to simply consume everything as I¡¯d assumed?¡±


    The maw seemed to smile, and the ocean of whispers endured. ¡°Those are questions that can all be answered in time¡­ but you must ept my bond to find out. When the timees, it will appear as a contract much like those of your demonic familiars¡­ ept it, and I will be reborn.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    ¡°Reborn? How?¡±


    This time, it was the sin that hesitated. ¡°Let us just say that I wish to experience life once more¡­ not this¡­ evesting prison, I find myself in. I wish to be free of the memories that chain me here. Meanwhile you desire power, power that I can help acquire. ept the contract and find out. The time ising rather quickly now¡­ The terms will be in your favor. I¡¯m excited to see what you¡¯ll do.¡±


    The visage of the maw on his sin core vanished, and a torrent of ck, red, and deep purple energy exploded to life with searing agony apanying it.


    Riven didn¡¯t physically blink, but it certainly felt that way when he found himself standing beside Ath on a vast ocean of red. The blood moon was half buried on the horizon, epassing nearly 40% of the sky above with a single figure outlined in ck against the red backdrop - floating there nearly fifty feet above the ocean his feet rested on.


    Ripples of liquid radiated from his position when he turned to look at Ath, but the demoness was in a trance of her own - somewhere far beyond her current state while lights shed in her eyes and her mouth twitched. ¡°Ath?¡±


    Abruptly the area around him shifted again, and he found himself floating beside the figure in ck - red eyes gleaming underneath a dark hood as orbs of blood hovered around him to match the crimsonndscape and the bright red moon behind them both. An aura bloomed from the figure before Riven as if the very skies around them were bending to the hooded man¡¯s will, and he gently lifted a hand to show the artifact Riven and Ath had used.


    It was the Tear of the Blood God.


    Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed but he found himself unable to talk anymore, just as the hooded man shattered the crystalized tear with a chuckle, and the oceans around him tore apart and soared into the heavens like a reverse avnche. A sea of skeletal bodies were revealed under the depths of the ocean when the blood finally cleared after hundreds of billions of gallons of the crimson fluid covered the sky to blot out the stars.


    Wait¡­ Riven had been here before. He¡¯d seen visions of this ce before, hadn¡¯t he?


    ¡°Blood, shadow, and death. These are the three pirs the vampires were created from.¡± The hooded figure said, turning his red gaze and forcing Riven¡¯s own with it towards the piles upon piles of dead far below them. You have taken the first step by converging the paths of shadow and blood, but youck the trio in its entirety. Descendant, you show promise¡­ otherwise Gluttony would not involve itself so directly in you. But you need to broaden your horizons now and before you hit the E-grade, or you will fall short of what you could otherwise be. Death is a sisterponent to blood in more ways than one. Why do you neglect it?¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes were allowed to drift upwards into the dark hood that outlined the mysterious man in front of him, but he felt his jaw remain locked. Riven assumed it was a rhetorical question when the man in the vision turned his gaze back upon the mountains of bones underneath them, and then he held out one hand - summoning a humanoid skeleton from the depths to hover in front of them like a rag doll.


    The unknown man stared Riven down for a long, long time after that. Longer than Riven wasfortable with, until a single red finger rose out of the ck cloak flowing around him - and touched Riven on the forehead. ¡°Descendant, I bestow upon you insight.¡±


    Red cracks shed across Riven¡¯s forehead where the man¡¯s red finger was suddenly digging into his skull, and Riven screamed in agony as images shed through his mind at the speed of light. A field of battle on a distant roared to the forefront, where men skewered one another with de and spear. Their bodies leaked lifeblood onto the soil in oceans of red, and their corpses dropped to the ground in death by the thousands. He experienced one by one the sensation each of them suffered, the sensation of dying, of losing life that their blood had kept intact. He experienced the darkness, the shadow, that overcame their spirits as they transitioned into the afterlife.


    Then he experienced a reversal of that cycle, never allowing the cycle into true death to bepleted. Shadow turned to a pale imitation of light, and crimson fluid washed through rotted corpses as necromancers summoned the decaying souls of the dead back into their bodies. They weren¡¯t the same as they¡¯d once been, but pieces and fragments of these souls came together to form new beings - once again embracing undeath as a new form of life. The crimson liquid that¡¯d saturated the ground rose up and embraced these new, unholy abominations, and three symbols began to sh in Riven¡¯s mind over and over again on repeat.


    The symbol of a scythe, a symbol of a red teardrop, and the symbol of a ck sun.


    They shed over and over again, reying without stopping faster and faster - oveying on the images of the battle, the necromancers, the forward and reversed cycles that continued to m themselves into his consciousness. He saw them rise up and roar to the sky above, saw their bodies begin to flicker with red mana, and then saw the blood moon sh before his eyes one final time.


    He let out an internal scream, his soul core erupting and shattering on one end where a new subpir tore into the soul aperture with a frenzy. Neon teal flecked with ck illuminated the spot between and to the side of his Blood Subpir and Shadow Subpir, beginning to form bridging connections to these other two pirs when their shards began swirling to repair themselves yet again. The three were slowly beginning to be one.


    Only for the symbol of the great maw topletely press itself against his dao vision and overtake his mind entirely. All other visions faded, with the teeth of Gluttony snapping down on them and obliterating them from his mind.


    <strong>[Your Blood Subpir has been repaired and has grown significantly. Your Shadow Subpir has been partially repaired. Your soul core remains cracked and in ruins, and your sin core is beginning to fuse with your soul core in its damaged state. You are now oriented towards the Death Subpir.]</strong>


    <strong>[New Spell Learned: </strong><strong>Legionaries of the Blood God (Death / Blood)(Tier 2)</strong><strong>: This is a temporary summoning spell that does not require minion slots. You may summon 8 Elite-ss Bloodstricken Undead from the Blood God¡¯s realm, equal inbat level to your own, and may designate whether or not you wish to summon Blood Knights, Blood Sorcerers, Blood Assassins, or abination of the three when you do so. Undead are non-sentient andst for 5 minutes before disappearing. 1 day cooldown time. Very high mana cost.]</strong>


    <strong>[Gluttony has incorporated all the following ability properties from Jackal and Messenger as Sin abilities that you can cast regardless of wearing these items or not: Devour, Identifier¡¯s use, Beastform.]</strong>


    <strong>[ck Lightning (Shadow) has finished manifesting and can now be cast at will.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your bond with Ath grows stronger. Mind Link has been established between yourself and this minion, allowing for telepathicmunication.]</strong>


    ***


    Riven slowly opened his eyes, realizing he was covered in his own blood that¡¯d seeped from all the holes on his head. It stained the ground underneath him as he sat cross-legged, and he took in a deep breath. Fay was staring wide-eyed at him while Athy crumpled in a heap on Fay¡¯sp, where Azmoth was still holding Riven up in a sitting position to the side of his master.


    Starlight twinkled up above, and the sounds ofughter filled the air while the rest of the camp went on about their lives as if nothing had ever happened.


    ¡°I can feel it. Your mana¡­ part of it at least, is back.¡± Fay said with a hesitant smile. ¡°Am I right? And don¡¯t worry about Ath, she¡¯s just tired from the insights she got. Said she made a lot of progress and learned two new abilities!¡±


    ¡°Ah, I was about to ask. Good to know, and yes - I was able to use the treasure to repair part of my soul after all. Just like I¡¯d guessed, but in a rather roundabout and unexpected way.¡± Riven smiled back at her, a warm andforting one. His body was still very weak, and his soul wasn¡¯tpletely repaired by any means, but it was certainly stronger. And just like Fay had said: he could now summon magic to him again.


    A storm razor bloomed over his right palm when he held out his hand: the bloody, pronged, circr de of magic shifting over his hand in the colors of ck and red. It rapidly transitioned to a storm ball at a thought, the more explosive and less piercing variant of the magical attack, before it vanished entirely. ck lightning sparked along his fingers, dancing around it at a whim, before using his ¡®devour¡¯ ability on a nearby wildflower without much thought. A maw grew along Riven¡¯s outstretched palm and a cord of dark tendrils ripped the flower up, pulling it into the jaws that snapped shut and receded immediately.


    ncing over at Jackal, who¡¯d taken its canine form, Riven imitated the creature by abruptly shifting his own body into a flickering ck jackal too -plete with red eyes to imitate the weapon¡¯s secondary body as an absolute copy.


    The two dogs just stared at each other while Azmoth grunted in excitement and Fay gasped, though other than for subterfuge purposes Riven couldn¡¯t really see a reason to use the ability quite yet.


    He shifted back into his vampire form without having lost any of the items he was wearing. ¡°Neat, but not sure how it¡¯ll be used in the future. Wana see myst new spell?¡±


    Fay raised an eyebrow in amusement. ¡°You have more?¡±


    ¡°Indeed!¡± Riven chuckled, then used thest spell he¡¯d acquired from his dao vision of the mountains of skeletons underneath a bloody sea - and the three sigils. ¡°I have some theories about the dao treasure we just used, and I don¡¯t think it was necessarily for a dao insight itself. And it turns out that the Shadow and Death Subpirs are rted to Blood in a lot more intricate ways than I¡¯d expected. The experience was veryplicated¡­ Anyways let¡¯s take a look, shall we?¡±


    Shifting his focus to the river¡¯s edge, he activated his temporary summoning spell.


    Eight shes of light illuminated the small beach, and eight hooded skulls etched with crimson runes on their foreheads stared with equally crimson orbs for eyes in their skull sockets. Four were heavily armored with red ymores and thick red te mail. Two held thin, wicked daggers dripping blood mana in each hand and were strapped in red leathers, while thest two wore crimson robes and held staves with ruby orbs that flickered blood mana in the same way his own arms did when he summoned bloodnce.


    Each of their status reads was that of an elite, with gold lettering outlining their titles.


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Sorcerer, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Sorcerer, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Assassin, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Assassin, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>

 Chapter 217

    Chapter 217


    <strong>Chapter 217</strong>


    The undead legionnaires were something else. Riven had watched alongside many of the others under the stars as hemanded them to battle one another, and although it¡¯d onlysted for 5 minutes - the battle was a sight to behold.


    They were ssed as elites, each poised at his own level which was far above the norm on this, and the fields erupted in a brutal free for all as they shed. Storms of blood energies and shockwaves of shing weapons eradicated much of the ntlife for a solid five hundred yards, and Riven wasn¡¯t entirely sure he¡¯de out unscathed if he¡¯d been pitted against all eight at once.


    Unfortunately the fun didn¡¯tst, and as the night dwindled on - it was time for him to say goodbye. At least for now.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back for our meeting with the fam.¡± Riven said, giving his sister a hug when she bent down to throw her arms around his chest. ¡°Feel free to call me with thes we have whenever you want to talk otherwise. The engineers have really improved their craft, given we don¡¯t have satellites anymore.¡±


    Allie chuckled, ruffling his hair and kissing him on the cheek before backing up and evaluating Riven alongside the three demons he¡¯d contracted with. ¡°You going to get a fourth soon?¡±


    ¡°A fourth?¡± Riven shot Ath, Fay and Azmoth a sidelong nce. ¡°Before Chalgathi¡¯s quest, sure. Yattazi leaving like that left a bad taste in my mouth though. I¡¯ll give it some time, there¡¯s no rush.¡±


    Allie nodded sagely, leaning against Fimrindle¡¯s thin metal body. ¡°Gotchya. Well I do feel better now that you¡¯ve got some of your abilities back, but take it easy. No serious fights until you¡¯re fully recovered and can walk again without hobbling like an old hag.¡±


    Riven stuck out his tongue, andughed when she did it right back. ¡°Fine. I¡¯m treating this like a miniature vacation anyways. Luke, Genua, Len, it¡¯s time to go. It should be noon on the other side of the and Hakim will be waiting for us.¡±Len grabbed onto her mother¡¯s skirt and followed the thrall-to-be to where the demons were gathered alongside Riven¡¯s wheelchair, smiling hesitantly up at him and hiding halfway behind her mother¡¯s legs. She still didn¡¯t know exactly what¡¯d happened between Riven and her family all those months ago, but her mother had told her they¡¯d had a falling out - so she¡¯d been rather shy ever since and kind of awkward.


    Riven himself had been even more awkward, and the guilt still gnawed at him every time he looked down at her. Nevertheless he gave his kindest smile and tried to avoid the child¡¯s gaze afterwards, nodding to Genua and then Luke after they¡¯d gathered up the supplies they¡¯d need for the next week. ¡°All ready?¡±


    ¡°We are, master.¡± Genua said with a slight bow.


    Luke just nodded with a grin and gave a thumbs up. ¡°This is how you all do it, right?¡±


    ¡°The thumbs up?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°It means yes, or good, a positive connotation.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ve got it down!¡±


    Riven chuckled and lifted his hand, summoning Jackal to his hand - the weapon flew forward andnded in the open palm while his fingers gripped the solid ck metal streaming with small rivers of blood.


    Allie, Gurth¡¯Rok, Dr. Brass, Mara, and all the others that¡¯de waved their goodbye while the campfire still continued to crackle behind them.


    ¡°Have fun and get some rx time in!¡± Lahn called out when the portal erupted in front of Riven¡¯s spear-staff. ¡°You always look like you¡¯re about to have a stroke!¡±


    Riven blinked, then heartilyughed and flipped him off when he realized the young man was trying to make a joke. ¡°Fuck off, just because you¡¯re my sister¡¯s boyfriend doesn¡¯t mean you get to talk shit!¡±


    Smiling and waving at the now furiously blushing Lahn who sat in is own wheelchair, Riven immediately wondered whether or not they¡¯d made it an official thing yet.


    Probably not, at least not in Allie¡¯s queen persona, given Allie was going to go back to the royal academy again on her time off. The vast majority of people in Dawn, more to the point - the people at the Royal Academy, didn¡¯t know who and what she was outside of Lahn¡¯s family and that Gleetus guy they¡¯d already killed.


    Whatever floated her boat. Riven was just happy she was happy.


    Putting on Gaia¡¯s token, the red in his eyes began to fade to blue. The same could be said for Genua, and his three demons all abruptly changed as well. Ath¡¯s ck hair remained but her eyes and skin became more human, adopting the look of a raven-haired young woman with the look of a track star. Fay adopted the same tanned blonde look she¡¯d had back in Mandon when she¡¯d gone on a date with him to meet with the king of Dawn, and Azmoth turned into a hulking, muscr, four-armed barbariancking a face.


    <strong>[Gaia¡¯s Heartwood Token (Epic): Wearing this token around your neck allows you to suppress any Charisma effects you may have, suppresses your vampiric qualities as well as the demonic qualities of your contracted familiars, as well as changes your status page information to represent a Level 55 Human. Those with identifier sses at high enough level can circumvent this ability.]</strong>


    Riven raised an eyebrow Gaia¡¯s way with a small grin, hiking a thumb Azmoth¡¯s way. ¡°That supposed to happen?¡±


    The demigodess chuckled dryly. ¡°I may have not tweaked it appropriately. Fay? Would you be a dear and fix it?¡±


    The subus tipped her straw t brim hat with a curtsy. ¡°Of course!¡±


    Her hallucinations kicked in, and a firm jawline along with deep brown eyes, and a nose all appeared - along with the disappearance of Azmoth¡¯s extra set of arms. ¡°There we go!¡±


    Azmoth looked down, at his body, feeling his extra limbs and the eel-like maws along his back - but not seeing them. ¡°Looks good. Thanks Fay, good to have back.¡±


    Riven¡¯s face softened, and he nodded in turn. ¡°Agreed.¡±


    Fay paused, then blushed a deep red and kicked at the ground when Ath nudged her out of her stupor. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ***


    Hakim leaned against the wreckage of what had once been The Red Hand¡¯s home, arge burnt down cabin now with little to no one in the area of their recluse part of the world caring that the gang was all dead now. If anything, it¡¯d been cause for celebration. Hakim wasn¡¯t the only one they¡¯d tried to shake down and things had been a hell of a lot more peaceful with them gone.


    Though there¡¯d certainly been others trying to fill in that power gap in the meantime. But they were too busy dealing with other groups to worry about small fry like him.


    ¡°This was the day, right?¡± Julie asked from where she sat against a tree, dressed in a healer¡¯s robe that gave her a slight boost to holy healing miracles and her red hair pulled into a ponytail. ¡°I don¡¯t like being here more than I have to be. Not after what happened to Caleb.¡±


    Tim, her brother, nodded in agreement. ¡°I don¡¯t me you. But yes this is the right time, they¡¯ll be here soon. Riven wouldn¡¯t stand us up - especially not after mom told him she¡¯d bring sandwiches!¡±


    He winked at his mother, Tanya, who huffed and puffed on the hike here while carrying arge basket of the damn things for a total of over twenty sandwiches for lunch. A cold ice crystal bought from a mage in town kept the food cold and preserved, and it was almost like an ice box because of it. They were all ham and cheese, because those were a lot easier toe by than other things like peanut butter or jelly, and she¡¯d already announced that they¡¯d be headed to her favorite spot near the orchards after Riven, Ath, and their friends got here.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of me. I see that look you¡¯re giving me.¡± Tanya pped her hands onto the sides of her hips and pouted at her teenage son fervently. ¡°I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it mister! Don¡¯t make mee over there!¡±


    ¡°Better listen to your mom or I¡¯ll hear all about it.¡± Hakim grinned with a wink, only to startle when a portal lit up inside the wreckage of the destroyed cabin. He perked up, stood straight and helped Julie to her feet before turning around in his fur-covered leathers to watch. ¡°Looks like they¡¯re back!¡±


    Ath came through first, though they took a moment to recognize her due to the sundress and t brim wicker hat she wore. That inbination with her more human features and skin color, they could have mistaken her for someone else if she hadn¡¯t waved at them.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.


    ¡°Hey guys!¡± Ath called, enthusiastically running over and throwing her arms around Julie - causing the redheaded young woman tough. ¡°I missed you! What¡¯ve you all been up to while I¡¯ve been gone!? A lot¡¯s happened since west talked, boy do I have stories to tell!¡±


    Azmoth came next, sizing Hakim up with a spout of mes from his mouth that briefly disrupted the illusion before walking beyond the portal¡¯s exit. Then came Genua holding Len¡¯s hand, the two elves followed by Riven who was pushed through by Fay - and then finally Luke came up in the rear.


    The portal snapped closed behind them in an instant, and Tanya¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of them all. ¡°Oh wow! You brought more people than I¡¯d expected. Good thing I made so many sandwiches! I was worried I¡¯d had too many!¡±


    The middle aged woman pped the side of her basket with a giggle. ¡°Who¡¯re the rest of these people? I¡¯ve only met Ath and Azmoth¡­ and¡­ Wait, is that the subus you used to have? Didn¡¯t she leave? Where¡¯s the snake?¡±


    ¡°She came back, long andplicated story. And the snake is gone, another long story.¡± Ath cut in, putting an arm around Fay¡¯s shoulders to save her from having to exin. ¡°As for the others¡­¡±


    Riven motioned for them to introduce themselves.


    ¡°My name is Genua, and this is my daughter - Len.¡± The elf stated very properly, ttening out her maid¡¯s outfit and sping her hands in front of her while giving them a polite nod. ¡°You can think of me as Riven¡¯s servant.¡±


    Len waved nervously from behind her mother¡¯s leg. ¡°Hi.¡±


    ¡°I am a servant as well.¡± The older elf stated, his white hair pulled back into a ponytail of his own to match Julie¡¯s - but he had the stature of a confident and happy man with wrinkles to match frequent smiles. ¡°asionally I¡¯m also a sparring partner.¡±


    Tanya¡¯s mouth quirked up with surprise and amusement. ¡°Servants? Riven, I knew you were on the leaderboard but I guess I just put it together - you¡¯re rich too. Aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Hakim and Tim were a little weirded out however.


    ¡°What happened to you? Are you ok?¡± Hakim asked, motioning with his axe to the wheelchair Riven sat in. ¡°Don¡¯t you have healing properties due to your vampirism? I saw your neck get snapped once and you were fine.¡±


    ¡°Probably just an act to cover his identity, like the illusions he has on.¡± Julie said with a gesture. ¡°Makes sense to me. It¡¯s what I¡¯d do.¡±


    Riven opened his mouth to disagree, but thought better of it and shrugged with a gentle smile - then winked. He didn¡¯t want to burden them with unnecessary worry, because it was very likely he¡¯d be 100% soon enough. ¡°Caught me. It¡¯s just part of the act.¡±


    His demonic minions and thralls didn¡¯t even blink at the white lie.


    Riven¡¯s gaze turned to the town in the distance, settled inbetweenrge hills near a glisteningke with a temperate forest surrounding it. This entire area was temperate forest, pines, oaks and elms, in abundance, and it made him think back to the days where he¡¯d visited various parts of Utah in the rocky mountains. ¡°Is that the one?¡±


    They all turned to look with him.


    ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± Tim confirmed with a nod, hands resting on his belt. ¡°Not sure what it used to be called, but now that a bunch of new people moved in post integration - we all call it Jerbyville.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow in amusement, crossing his fingers wordlessly while his hood shielded his eyes from the rays of the sun. ¡°Jerbyville? Really?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t judge us when your capital is named Brightsville.¡± Hakim muttered with a grin.


    ¡°Fair enough. I definitely can¡¯t argue that one.¡± Riven chuckled under his breath. ¡°To be fair, I was going to change the name but never got around to it. Now that it¡¯s be a known entity though I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to change it, asme as the name actually is.¡±


    ***


    The closer they came to the town, the more outliers they saw in terms of cabins, huts, or tiny fenced offmunities. There weren¡¯t many of them but the whole mountain-man theme was certainly present and many people originating from Earth had gathered here. Some sported beards, others cut-off id shirts with hiking boots, and then there were still more that had adopted a more medieval-style outfitting after interacting with the system. The dungeons in the surrounding wilderness nearby apparently dropped a lot of low to mid grade gear for people around levels 10 to 40, with prizes often being things like the axe Hakim had or the stat-imbued robe Julie wore. There were also two cksmiths in town, both of which having gained the ¡®ascended cksmith¡¯ ss that allowed them to actually imbue their personal signatures into various items they made for additional stat boosts; along with other benefits to having a crafting ss.


    ¡°Hey Sara!¡± Julie waved to another of the brte townsfolk her age, a very pregnant one, who was walking alongside her husband on the dirt road leading into town. ¡°How far along are you now!?¡±


    ¡°31 weeks and 3 days since I found out!¡± Sara called back, holding her belly and tripping slightly when a strong and warm breeze whipped at her hoodie - her husband leaning over to catch her from falling in the gust. ¡°Oof! That was close!¡±


    ¡°Be careful, and good luck!¡± Julie called back while they passed, giggling when the husband started chiding Sara about being more careful. ¡°Those two are a cute couple.¡±


    Ath nodded absentmindedly at Julie¡¯s words, looking deep into the forest and squinting with a frown. Then she turned back and stopped dead in the road, staring at the couple that¡¯d just passed by. When the couple turned back a secondter to look at her, their eyes met - and Ath let out a snort. ¡°Uh¡­ Yeah¡­ Julie, how long have they been here?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Julie cocked her head to the side with a smile, then made the connection. ¡°Oh! Sara and her husband John? They¡¯ve been here since before we were here. Why?¡±


    The couple hurried down the dirt road and out of sight, not turning back around while Ath and Fay shared a look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I was just curious. Hey Riven? Mind if I go for a quick jog? I could use a stretch.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes flicked left towards the spot the couple had disappeared, and he let out a sigh while rubbing his temple with two fingers. ¡°Sure. Make it fast.¡±


    Ath nodded, ruffled the hood he wore, and then shed away - leaving the rest of them to continue into the settlement.


    Speaking of which, the town was a lot more lively than Riven had anticipated it to be given the size of it.


    Dirt roads, log cabins and poorly painted storefronts were in abundance. There were also a couple people doing various crafts inside open-air workshops, such as carpentry and map making. Men and womenughed and bustled about, with a few patrolling groups of militia making rounds on the perimeter from time to time.


    ¡°Is there a mayor here, or something like it?¡± Riven asked curiously, watching a couple of rifle and axe-wielding men trudge along while giving Riven¡¯s group sidelong nces. Some of them outright stared at the elves, and it urred to Riven that they may have never seen elves before - many of the men even rubbing their eyes to gawk.


    Tanya shook her head, waving to one of the two cksmiths in town who was hammering at a chunk of metal near a furnace. ¡°No, there aren¡¯t. It¡¯s everyone for themselves, which is why groups like The Red Hand were able to pop up. There are a couple of guilds, gangs, and militia like the ones you just saw - but mostly we all get along unless you get in someone¡¯s way. It¡¯s overall safe I¡¯d say. What happened with Caleb and thest time you arrived was¡­ an outlier.¡±


    Tim gave Riven a t look as if to disagree but kept his mouth shut nevertheless.


    ¡°A little over twenty thousand people live here, including the surrounding homes a few miles out. Including even our own home that you sawst time.¡± Tanya said without missing a beat, continuing to almost skip along happily towards the center of town where a park was located for their lunch. ¡°It means that everyone has a ce in themunity! Even a small businesswoman like me! I make clothes for the people here, you know!¡±


    The men and women on the streetsing in and out of trading shops, homes and pubs all gave Riven and his friends sidelong looks or outright stares. He got a few pointed fingers as well, but he was pretty sure they were all looking at Genua, Len, and Luke rather than anyone else.


    ¡°Most haven¡¯t seen elves yet, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking.¡± Hakim confirmed a momentter, stepping onto the circr grassy park and off the dirt streets - heading towards a set of pic tables underneath some elm trees. ¡°It won¡¯t be a big deal, but you¡¯ll probably get some finger pointing and stares. There were actually some Lizardians that came through two weeks ago and that really stirred up a fuss, but even then - it was more curiosity than anything else. They came and went, and they¡¯ll likely be back - saying they were tradesmen looking to establish connections. They even brought over some cool trinkets for many of the people here, like enchanted amulets. A very nice bunch if you ask me, even if they did look simr to those lizard people you killed in the dungeon that first time I used Heroic Intervention. So if they can handle lizardians, they¡¯ll be able to handle some elves that look far more simr to humans than those creatures did.¡±


    ¡°Sandwich time!¡± Tanya called out, setting her basket on the t wood and taking out packaged ham and cheese between slices of bread. ¡°Who wants some!¡±


    ¡°Azmoth wants some!¡± Azmoth let out and raised both hands.


    Fay rolled Riven up to the table, sitting down on the bench beside his wheelchair, and leaned her head onto the table while he pulled out some pitchers of water from his spatial sack. Looking up at the sunny sky above them, she let her shoulders rx asughter began to fill the air around them when Len hopped up onto the wood and savagely demanded that she be allowed to eat the first sandwich.


    ¡°Len! That¡¯s rude¡±! Genua chided her daughter, swatting her hand very softly but with a meaningful re as the othersughed. ¡°Apologize!¡±


    Fay smirked when the mother-daughter duo started arguing, then shifted her attention back to Riven with a whisper. ¡°They didn¡¯t know. They hadn¡¯t even a clue.¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t even grimace. Instead, he just allowed himself to take in the happy scene in front of him. Letting out a content exhale, he shrugged his shoulders and let himself slouch - putting a hand on Fay¡¯s own after epting a sandwich with a nod of thanks. ¡°Ath will take care of it. I have no doubt that she¡¯ll be more than enough to handle the situation.¡±


    ***


    Ath¡¯s ck figure blurred through the trees, thendscape flying by at insane speed as her legs carried her forward without a single sound being made at her passing. The wind failed to whistle, the leaves she stepped on failed to crackle, and her shallow breaths might as well have been nothing but a butterfly beating its wings for all the sound it made while she raced forward.


    And her prey had caught her scent.


    The two figures in front of her were fast, very fast, especially for their level. What were skinwalkers doing here of all ces? Were they contracted familiars, or were they ferals that¡¯d escaped the lower realms on their own somehow due to sheer dumb luck?


    <strong>[Level 99 Skinwalker, Demon]</strong>


    <strong>[Level 86 Skinwalker, Demon]</strong>


    They were also far stronger than anything that should be living in this area. Was anyone around here even close to level 80 or 90 yet?


    Hakim¡¯s group certainly wasn¡¯t.


    In front of her, two gray figures - humanoid withnky, long limbs and alien-like heads rushed forward in a frantic gallop. They moved almost like cats, on all fours,cking faces with the exception of round mouths lined with teeth. asionally they¡¯d nce over their shoulders and shriek to one another, bing panicked while Ath closed in.


    She grinned upon seeing their fear. She certainly had some questions for them, questions that they¡¯d give her one way or the other - and if they didn¡¯t¡­


    Well she had two new abilities to test out on them if they didn''t. One¡¯s she¡¯d been absolutely dying to use.

 Chapter 218

    Chapter 218


    <strong>Chapter 218</strong>


    Sara and John, which were the two names they¡¯d adopted over the past couple months, were absolutely terrified. Their real names were Ak¡¯ra and Selzi, Ak¡¯ra being John and Selzi being Sara respectively. They¡¯d escaped the Hells with their n and moved to this deste wilderness, away from the rest of the world to avoid abominations like the very creature rushing towards them at breakneck speeds.


    ¡°Selzi!¡± Ak¡¯ra, or John, yelled back over his shoulder - pausing only for a brief half-second to pick Selzi up from the ground where she¡¯d skidded to a halt after tripping over a fallen log. His pale, eyeless head whipped around - and his body began to shiver in fright when he saw the sleek ck form of the arshakai demon tearing through the forest like a speeding bullet. ¡°SELZI WE NEED TO MOVE!¡±


    He picked his mate up when he realized she¡¯d sprained one of her legs, badly, and he rushed ahead towards the n nest with frantic abandon. His heart beat wildly in his chest and the pores along his skin began to weep. ¡°This can¡¯t be it¡­ This can¡¯t be the end, not here, not now¡­ We only just got here!¡±


    But the life of a demon was unforgiving. He knew what this creature would do to them if she caught them before they reached the rtive safety of the brood. But even then¡­ Was he being selfish?


    His long, gangly, wed limbs scrambled over arge boulder andunched his body at high speed towards the hills. He only dared look back once, and the demoness had gained ground. Long spider-like des were carrying her forward through the trees now, the demon having abandoned the ground for an aerial attack - and he managed to identify her after three quick attempts only for his round mouth to exhale sharply in horror while he sprinted to lose her.


    <strong>[Ath, Level 127 Archdemon: Unique, 3 forms. Cute Wittle Blood Weaver / Gluttonous Arshakai / Gluttonous Fae Drider. LEGENDARY. PANU WORLD BOSS.]</strong>


    By the Hells.


    He was going to be eaten today.The realization hit him like a freight train, and his mind nked. He had a decision to make, and with one final look at his mate - he threw her forward and turned to meet the beast pursuing them. It was a final act of love, one final act of sacrifice to save Selzi so that she may have a chance to finally find that happiness they¡¯d been searching for all these years. ¡°SELZI, RUN! I WILL HOLD THIS MONSTER OFF!¡±


    *CRACK*


    *SNAP*


    *CRASH*


    ***


    Athunched herself from the treetops like a torpedo and smashed into the higher leveled skinwalker with absolute uracy, despite having jumped a gap of over fifty yards to do it. She cleared the jump in less than a second, and her six des mmed into the monster in numerous spots like pistons all along its four limbs.


    The resounding sound of her impact intertwined with the snapping of trees when they barreled into two of them and slid to a stop, the demon underneath her screaming and squealing while trying to get loose.


    The other skinwalker had been thrown and was scrambling to her feet, wailing and limping forward when red threads extended from Ath¡¯s hand. The red strings spun out in a that snapped shut around the other female demon - pulling her to the ground in an instant.


    ¡°Well hello, chaps!¡± Ath said with a proud smile, pretending to dust off her hands and looking around to see nothing and no one else present. ¡°Mighty fine day today, isn¡¯t it!?¡±


    ¡°Curse you to the abyss!¡± The skinwalker she was currently standing on and impaling to the ground, with numerous spots along its legs and limbs mped down, spat viciously. ¡°Our n will find you and gut you for this! You will not get away with taking our lives so easily!¡±


    Ath snickered, then began yanking the squirming ball of bloody threads closer and closer - pulling it in until the two skinwalkers were beside one another while they continued to thrash.


    ¡°Just get it over with!¡± the female skinwalker said, shuddering and its skin weeping like so many of her kind did when they were seriously upset. It was the equivalent to humans crying, and Ath momentarily took pity on it while the creature was stuck in her.


    ¡°I have questions first, before ripping off both of your heads.¡± Ath said, putting a foot on the male¡¯s neck and causing it to gasp. She put on a little pressure for emphasis and red down at them. ¡°What are the two of you doing here? Are you contracted familiars? Or are you escapees?¡±


    ¡°Why do you care!?¡± The skinwalker underneath her screeched in a raspy voice, even snarling her way with pinned ws extended. It tried to activate an ability but Ath¡¯s stamina and aura snapped down on the both of them so fast that whatever it¡¯d been, the ability shut off without even having a chance to start.


    The creature underneath her began to wail, loudly, echoing through the forest with high-pitched grunts and squeals while the female began to do the same.


    Ugh.


    Ath promptly pped both of them across the face, one after the other, and then yanked the male up by his neck to stare down at his featureless gray head. ¡°You have one chance. Answer me, tell me what you¡¯re doing here, and you might live depending on what you say.¡±


    They slowly calmed down, though the male was still in a lot of pain. Ath remedied that by pping a web onto his front and yanking out her ded arachnid legs. One by one the skinwalker¡¯s wounds began to slowly heal - not quite as fast as Riven¡¯s healing, but still able to be seen with the naked eye.


    ¡°Now¡­¡± Ath muttered, her limbs twisting and snapping in an abrupt and violent lurch. Her body morphed, quick and fast, forming the house-sized drider form. Her body turned bright white, she grew an extra set of red eyes, her upper torso was that of a beautiful young woman while she had the body of an arachnid sorge that each ice-covered leg could crush the two demons beneath her shadow with a mere flick. ¡°How many of you are there?¡±


    The two demons squealed in horror when herrge hands reached down and plucked them up off the forest floor, taking piles of leaves and dirt with them while her fingers wrapped around their bodies.


    ¡°Squealing isn¡¯t an answer, you little pests.¡± Ath sneered - showing rows of jagged, white, sparkling teeth. Crystal roses bloomed along her body, and a fine mist of frost began to spread. ¡°What are your names? How many of you are there? How many people have you killed, and what were your ns for this town nearby?¡±


    Therger male spat blood when the grip tightened on his ribcage and a bone snapped. ¡°I am Ak¡¯ra. I have killed and eaten three people. The town is an excellent hunting ground for us, low leveled humans and unsuspecting. There are over twenty others aside from us that wille for you if we die, we are not bound to any summoner. We¡¯ve been here since the beginning of the integration. What is it to you?¡±


    ¡°My name is Selzi. Five humans I have eaten, my appetite is stronger than my mate¡¯s. One corpse mayst him for months, but it is less so for me.¡± The female hissed in pain, arching her back when her words faltered and she hesitated. ¡°Ugh! There are indeed many more of us! Please release your grip¡­ thank you. It is as Ak¡¯ra said, this ce is an easy hunting grounds for our kind. We merely wish to live in peace, please¡­ let us go. We can pay you, or even serve you if you wish! We can offer you more than just a meal if you let us leave alive! Achieving the rank of archdemon at such a rtively low level speaks volumes of your power and majesty! We would dly serve someone who is so quick to rise, one who is no doubt destined for glory!¡±


    Ath raised an eyebrow, but it was amusement that colored her features rather than anything else. ¡°Glory huh? Go on.¡±


    If Selzi could have blinked in surprise, she would have. ¡°Y-yes! You are a majestic creature if we have ever seen one! Your power is obviously far beyond our own, it is only natural that wepliment you so!¡±


    Getting on board quickly with Ath¡¯s mood change, Ak¡¯ra nodded fervently. ¡°Of course, it is natural! Yes, absolutely natural! I¡¯m sure that one such as yourself no doubt has an entire nest of loyal followers! After all, you are not only archdemon - but you are of the legendary tier! Elysium has judged you as grandiose indeed!¡±


    Both skinwalkers rapidly nodded their heads three times in unison.


    Ath¡¯s narrowed red eyes flicked back and forth from one to the other. She let out an amused and content humming sound, then gently ced both creatures on the ground in front of her. ¡°Do not run, or I will kill you. Do you understand, maggots?¡±


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    The jittery demons were obviously shocked, and they nced at one another in disbelief before prostrating themselves before Ath¡¯s massive arachnid limbs.


    ¡°Oh great one! We thank you for your supreme generosity!¡±


    ¡°One as strong and as powerful and as beautiful as you honors us measly worms by allowing us to live!¡±


    ¡°Let us show you to our nest so that the others may worship you with us!¡±


    ¡°Praise be to the great spider queen!¡±


    ¡°Praise be!¡±


    ¡°Praise beee!!!¡±


    Ath waved a hand in the air as if fanning herself. They¡¯d no doubt killed the young married couple they were impersonating and the two skinwalkers had admitted to eating more people, but at the same time - isn¡¯t that what demons usually did just out of instinct? Humans were no different to most demons than what pigs were to humans. Could she really me them?


    And if she used this opportunity to better suit her own needs, and Riven¡¯s needs¡­


    She nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Yes, yes. This is how it should be no doubt! I¡¯ll have to teach Riven a thing or two about how he treats me after showing you lot off to him. You¡¯re going to be my pets from now on. If I say bark, you bark. If I say jump, you ask how high. If I say go fetch me some wine, you¡¯re going to fetch me some wine and then rub my back for fifteen minutes before you get to leave. Got it?¡±


    ¡°We will serve if you protect!¡± Ak¡¯ra said, mming his head hard and fast into the dirt floor of the forest. ¡°You have shown us mercy when you could have killed us, we will pledge!¡±


    ¡°A pledge¡±! repeated Selzi with glowing admiration, looking up in awe at the archdemon that - unknown to Ath - Selzi had only heard stories of as a child. To this particr skinwalker, and probably to many other lesser demons, standing in the presence of an archdemon was truly an honor and awe inspiring. ¡°We will serve our better!¡±


    Ath humphed, puffing out her chest and raising her nose to the sky. ¡°Yes my plebian peons! Take me to your previous leader. I will have words with him, I dare say! Oh, and one more thing.¡±


    Ath glowered at the two, suddenly mming the presence of her aura down on them both as a suppressive weight that caused them both to gasp. The air cracked with elemental lightning, sin energy began to ripple and tear at space, and their skin began to freeze over while she flexed it to a new height. ¡°No more eating humans until I say you can. Only animals. My master would not deem it ok if you did eat people and I¡¯d be forced to kill you, even if he is a vampire. Odd situation I know, but rules are rules.¡±


    Both of the skinwalkers dropped their jaws in shock, gasping for air when her aura vanished from their presence. But the look of shock remained when they raised their heads to meet her gaze.


    ¡°You¡­ YOU have a master?! YOU!? How is that possible?!?¡± Ak¡¯ra asked, bewildered. ¡°HERE!? On THIS frontier?! Is there anyone that even remotelyes close to your power?¡±


    Selzi shuddered outwardly. ¡°He must be a very intimidating figure to hold sway over someone as amazing as you, my spider queen!¡±


    Ath¡¯s lips twitched upwards in satisfaction, and she let out another loud: ¡°HMPH!¡±


    She could get used to this.


    ***


    Riven was sitting in his wheelchair eating another sandwich she he got his first ever telepathic message from Ath, whose voice sted into his head like a megaphone.


    <em><strong>¡°RIVEN GUESS WHAT!?¡±</strong></em>


    He outwardly flinched, cringing and holding the side of his head to stop her voice from echoing around in his skull. It was an odd sensation, hearing her voice channel directly into his head, but he knew what it was as soon as it happened just by concentrating on the connection. ¡°Jesus Christ¡­¡±


    Fay was the only one who noticed while the others wereughing, talking and joking around with one another while continuing to get stares for being in thepany of elves. ¡°Are you ok? What¡¯s wrong? Is it your soul again?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ No, I''m fine.¡± Riven gave her a warm smile and put his hand on her own, fingers intertwining under the table where she¡¯d rested it on his knee. ¡°Just Ath using that new telepathy thing we¡¯ve got going-¡±


    <em><strong>¡°RIVEN CAN YOU HEAR ME RIVEN!?¡±</strong></em>


    He winced again, then internally scowled and thought back another message in reply. <em>¡°Ath I swear to god if you scream into my head one more time I¡¯m going to put you in spider time out for SO long.¡±</em>


    There was a pause.


    <em>¡°Fine. I was just so excited! Do you want to know why?¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Why?¡±</em>


    <em>¡°I¡¯ve subjugated a nest of skinwalkers is why! They¡¯re calling me the SPIDER QUEEEN AHAHAHAHAHAHAHahahahaha! I AM GLORIOUS! I AM SUPREME! I WAS BORN FOR GREATNESS RIVEN! BORN FOR IT!¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Dear god in heaven. Alright well you can tell me the details when youe back. Are youing back soon?¡±</em>


    <em>¡°On my way now, my sexy potato man!¡±</em>


    <em>¡°What in the world prompted you to call me a potato man?¡±</em>


    <em>¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m just excited! I have my very own minions now!¡±</em>


    He let out a long exhale. <em>¡°Right. Just travel back safe. Ok?¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Ah, you¡¯re worried about me! Aren¡¯t you?¡±</em>


    <em>¡°I just want you to be careful is all. Especially if you¡¯re over there subjugating demon nests.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°You love me, don¡¯t you!?¡±</em> there was a hint of amusement there, but also a genuine fondness.


    He rolled his eyes. <em>¡°Yes. You already know I love you. Now shut up and get back here if you¡¯re done doing what you need to do.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Got it babes!¡±</em>


    Ath¡¯s presence faded from his mind, and he rubbed his fingers into the bridge of his nose again before sighing in relief. He turned to Fay. ¡°If we ever get a telepathy thing of our own going on, please don¡¯t scream obnoxiously loud stuff into my head just for the fun of it.¡±


    Fay blinked, then snickered and leaned over to give him a quick kiss. ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t. Ath is just being Ath, it¡¯s part of her charm.¡±


    He let on a suspicious look after that, but began to smile while Len and Julie were ying nothing less than monopoly of all things with Hakim and Azmoth. Azmoth already had Park ce and was going for Boardwalk, while all of the light blues and purples on the bottom side of the board were taken up by Julie who had a hesitant alliance with the little elf girl - as if Monopoly alliances were even a thing. Len on the other hand had all the greens, and was working on the oranges even now.


    Hakim was shit out of luck.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to collect when you pass GO, Len!¡± Fay yelled out an exmation of horror when the little girlnded on one of Azmoth¡¯s railroads. She thenughed and gripped Riven¡¯s hand more firmly, leaning into him with a deep sigh. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    He didn¡¯t blink, still hooded from the bright midday light. ¡°Part of her charm? What exactly did you and Ath talk about when she went to get you back?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like she just CAME to get me back, I invited her to talk first.¡± Fay protested, putting an arm around his neck and nuzzling her nose against his with a yful grin. ¡°And that¡¯s girl talk.¡±


    He simply raised both eyebrows.


    ¡°Ok, fine. I¡¯ll talk.¡± Fay said, throwing up her hands in defeat. ¡°But ONLY when Ath gets back, and when we go to sleep tonight. It needs to be a talk between the three of us.¡±


    Riven¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°Is it bad?¡±


    ¡°No! Not at all. It actually went very well, as long as¡­ you¡¯re ok with it.¡± Fay looked around making sure no one else was listening, then huffed. ¡°Yeah, ok, I''m not going to be able to hold this in. Ath said that if I were toe back that we¡¯d need to work on our own rtionship too so there wouldn¡¯t be any jealousy issues sharing you, and we might have slept together. There.¡±


    ¡°Knew it.¡± Riven said tly. He hesitated when she looked back at him with concern etched into her face, then held up a hand to stop her from speaking. ¡°I¡¯m not mad, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking. I¡¯d originally been the one to throw that idea out when you were about to leave, and I¡¯m d it worked out that way.¡±


    Fay¡¯s features softened. ¡°Alright. I knew that was probably the case, but Ath didn¡¯t ask you first and I wanted to make sure¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d much rather pursue a rtionship with both of you than a rtionship with just one of you, if it means that neither of you leave.¡± Riven confirmed with a brief nce. ¡°I know I¡¯d said I was looking for ¡®the one¡¯, and a soul mate, but you leaving made me realize that it¡¯s possible to deeply care about two people at once. As cliche and shallow as that sounds. I¡¯m d you¡¯re back, Fay.¡±


    The subus went from shocked one moment, to a furiously red blush - and she averted her eyes but tightened her grip on his hand with a poorly hidden and embarrassed smile. She nodded. ¡°I¡¯m d I¡¯m back too. I thought about you the entire time I was gone.¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°As did I for you. It was hard, seeing you go.¡±


    From across the park anding in from the street, a group of three men began to approach the table. One of them had arge rifle on his back, and the other two werepletely unarmed - or at least at first nce they were. They all looked rather gruff and one had a jagged scar running down his thick neck, each of them sporting shaggy beards.


    Riven watched theme in silence, watched them evaluate him and the rest of the group in turn until he came to a stop behind Hakim - waiting for all of them to give him their undivided attention as the board game,ughing, and joking all subsided within twenty seconds.


    ¡°Hello, friends.¡± The man said in a thick southern ent while wearing jean overalls, spitting tobo out to the side and gesturing to Genua with an upturned chin. ¡°Don¡¯t mean to be rude so please don¡¯t take no offense, but is that there really an elf? Or is ya fake?¡±


    Genua blinked, then exchanged looks with Luke, and then Riven, before answering. ¡°I am an elf, yes. Why?¡±


    ¡°I bet my friends here five silver coins you was the real deal, so I was hopin you could pull on your pointy ears there a bit to show these fine gentlemen they¡¯re actually attached to your pretty blonde head?¡± The man said with a genuine smile. ¡°If it aint too much of a burden, that is. Also, ya see¡­ my boss here has been looking for one of your type. He¡¯d pay handsome dor bills if ya get what I¡¯m sayin, if you were to visit him for a bit so he could¡­ have a chat. If ya get what I¡¯m sayin.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes darted left to the ce where the three men hade, and standing there in the dirt road watching the exchange was a man in a fancy top-hat wearing a monocle of all goddamn things and using a cane to support himself. He was surrounded by bulky, gruff looking men like the three that¡¯d approached the table Riven now sat at, and he looked to be waiting expectantly.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to refuse.¡± Genua said politely, giving a smile that didn¡¯t reach her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m on holiday duty attending to my Lord. I am his servant, and cannot be bothered to leave at this time.¡±


    The gruff man in the center of the three raised an eyebrow quizzically, giving the group a once over. ¡°Servant? Did I hears ya right? To what man or lord is it you speak of?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be me.¡± Riven said without missing a beat, meeting the gazes of the three men unflinchingly and with a polite but simple smile. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that Genua is preupied. I¡¯m sorry, he¡¯ll have to find another elf to bother.¡±


    A bag as thick as Riven¡¯s fist pped onto the table a secondter, spilling coins of gold, silver, and copper onto the thick wood and startling Tanya - who was sitting next to her son Tim in bewilderment.


    ¡°You can¡¯t juste over here and ask for someone to y your whore, thinking you¡¯re the new dogs in town now that The Red Hand is gone.¡± Tim said with a scowl. ¡°Get lost, that¡¯s absolutely insulting.¡±


    Tanya¡¯s objecting frown seemed to agree with her son, while Hakim and Julie just nkly stared - unconcerned in the least but with a slightly annoyed look on Julie.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot¡¯a money, ¡®Lord.¡¯ I¡¯d take it if I was you.¡± The bearded middle man said with his handsing up to rest on his overalls - ignoring the protests of the others. ¡°But if you don¡¯t want it, we can just give it to thedy here directly if need be.¡±

 Chapter 219

    Chapter 219


    <strong>Chapter 219</strong>


    Riven stared down at the bag of Elysium coins glinting in the sunlight with a frown, ignoring the challenging tone of the rough-looking man in front of him. ¡°Genua?¡±


    The elf immediately straightened on her seat. ¡°Yes, Riv?¡±


    He snorted in amusement at the reduced name they were using for him in public. It wasn¡¯t like his features were all that different and in time people would likely put two and two together, but still. ¡°Would you like to go?¡±


    His head turned and he sped his hands with a polite smile. ¡°I won¡¯t stop you if you do want to. You can alwayse back if it¡¯s me that¡¯s holding you here. I can watch Len for you and have Azmoth even escort you back and forth if you¡¯d like. Is that something you¡¯d want?¡±


    Genua¡¯s face twisted in disgust, and she gave the three bearded men a once over before leaning forward to get a better look at the man in the top hat. ¡°No. No it is most certainly not.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Riven said, scooting the bag of coins over the table to her for her to get a better look. ¡°They¡¯re willing to pay.¡±


    ¡°I said no, Riv. Please don¡¯t ask me again.¡± She stiffened and one of the men standing nearby audibly scoffed, picking up the bag of coins and pocketing it.


    Riven shrugged their way. ¡°There. I asked, she didn¡¯t want to go even given leave of her duties. Please, go away.¡±Azmoth took the liberty to stand up, getting some wide-eyed looks of astonishment when they realized just how tall he actually was. Even in ¡®human¡¯ form, he was absolutely huge and towered over even Hakim who was already a beast of a man.


    The middle of the three men, wearing overalls and fidgeting with one of his pockets before ncing over his shoulder to shake his head at his boss - made some unsaidmunication with the other man before shrugging and sighing. ¡°Alright, that be fine. If ya change your minddy let us know, my employer is mighty rich and treats his women well.¡±


    With that, much to Riven¡¯s surprise, the three neers turned around and simply walked off without a care in the world. There were no attempts to intimidate anyone, no threats, no angry yelling or pointing fingers. They just left, and the man wearing the tophat and monocle sighed reluctantly before turning around with all of his hired thugs and walking away down the street.


    Azmoth sat back down, causing the bench underneath him to creak.


    ¡°That actually went rather well.¡± Riven said with surprise. ¡°Usually I end up killing a bunch of people when things like that start.¡±


    Hakim chuckled under his breath, shaking his head and resuming the monopoly game they had going on. ¡°You say that so casually! I hope I don¡¯t be like that. Do you ever have questions about your morality? Not trying to be offensive, I¡¯m just seriously curious.¡±


    Riven considered the question, drumming his fingers on the table and staring out into the forest beyond town where Ath was likely still running his way.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t so bad.¡± Riven shrugged, taking another bite of a ham and cheese sandwich and chewing slowly before swallowing. ¡°I¡¯ve given up trying to determine what is good and is not, what is evil and what is not. I just do what I want, hope for the best. Now tell me, is there a shop around here that would sell anything on this list?¡±


    Riven pulled out a sheet of paper and shoved it across the table for Hakim, Tim, Julie and Tanya to look at. Over thirty items were listed on the sheet, with various notes and starred items written in ck ink.


    ¡°It¡¯s stuff I could use for totem making based on the few beginner¡¯s manuals I got back in Brightsville.¡± Riven said with a toothy grin. ¡°I¡¯m really looking forward to starting. I have enough to start out and make a few really basic totems, but by the time I go back my goal is to have finally acquired an ascended craft. One of my previous familiars, Yattazi, had a cooking skill I never got to see and she didn¡¯t have a cooking ss - so I know it¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°Might not be as good as those with a ss, but yes it¡¯s definitely possible. I personally have a crafting ss regarding the clothesmaking profession, but there are others here that have only the ascended craft.¡± Tanya muttered under her breath, flipping the page over to make sure nothing was on the back and brushing her fingers through her shoulder-length red hair. Her face scrunched up and her freckles became more pronounced when she handed the paper back. ¡°There are two shops you might want to check out.¡±


    ¡°Glee¡¯s General Goods Store and Odds & Ends.¡± Tim nodded in agreement, standing up and beginning to stretch. ¡°Want me to show you while the others finish their game and wait for Ath?¡±


    ¡°I still hungry, stay and eat.¡± Azmoth confirmed in his hulking, bald, barbarian form - but it looked more like he was just invested in the monopoly game and didn¡¯t want to get up.


    Riven chuckled, wheeling himself back and then around the table while Fay gave a polite nod to the others and stood up with him. ¡°Absolutely. Let¡¯s go, I want to start building things today!¡±


    ***


    Glee¡¯s General Goods Store already had a pack of men and women of various levels carrying backpacks or pushing carts right outside, talking about nearby dungeon runs or trading opportunities with other towns that were somewhat out-of-the-way ording to Tim. The building was a boxy two-story log cabin with the bottom floor being a general goods store and the top floor being where ¡®Glee¡¯ - the owner of the establishment - lived with her two sons.


    ¡°Scuse us.¡± Tim called out, getting a few head turns but also allowing Riven, Fay and himself to pass through when the other people crowding the area made way.


    ¡°New to town, eh?¡± A stick-thin woman wearing hiking gear asked with a puzzled but warm smile. ¡°Not often we see peopleing through here besides the regrs. They with you for a while Tim? Or just acquaintances?¡±


    ¡°Hey Ja, and they¡¯re going to be here for at least a few weeks I think.¡± Tim gestured to the two behind him. ¡°This is Riv, and that¡¯s Fay pushing his wheelchair.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t walk?¡± Another short bald man wearing a backpack asked - only to be chided by the woman named Ja.


    ¡°Course he can¡¯t walk, idiot!¡± Ja smacked the bald guy with the back of her hand across his shoulder, causing him to wince. ¡°What do ya think he¡¯s in the chair for!? You got two brain cells up there in that tiny skull of yours and only one of them is working! Riv, ignore this moron.¡±


    Riven smirked at the man¡¯s expression, having thoroughly tucked his tail between his legs, but held up a hand to dismiss the question. ¡°Not a problem at all. To be fair I can walk, but it takes a lot out of me and it isn¡¯t for very long. Hopefully I¡¯ll recover soon.¡±


    ¡°See! It was a valid question!¡± The bald man humphed, getting augh from his friends when Jenny scowled ferociously his way - but Tim was kind enough to hold the door.


    Riven waved to his brief acquaintances and let Fay push him inside, the subus getting more than a few stares on the way in.


    The sound of a bell jingled when the wooden door shut, and the interior was well lit with a couple barred windows as well as a few lightbulbs powered by a generator in the corner of the store. ss cases stood against the walls and as counters to lean on, with a few shelves and tables all disying various goods and attached price tags. It was obvious this had once been an outdoors and hunting store by theyout, or they¡¯d simply adapted really fast with all of the stuffed deer heads.


    ¡°Hold on! I¡¯ll be right there!¡± a feminine voice called out from the back with the gruffughter of more masculine voices around a corner and into an office area near the generator. Opening the office and saying something to the upants inside, a tall overweight woman with happy features and wrinkles indicating she smiled a lot said something sassy - getting augh from the men inside before letting the door click shut behind her.


    She turned, brown frazzled hairpletely unkempt and a smudge mark of grease on her face. ¡°Oh hello, Tim! You brought some new ones with ya today? My name¡¯s Glee, and this is my store - Glee¡¯s General Goods Store in case you didn¡¯t read the sign out there!¡±


    ¡°Hey Glee!¡± Tim replied happily, bouncing over to the counter and introducing ¡®Riv¡¯ and Fay one by one. ¡°They¡¯re here for the next couple weeks and he¡¯s looking for some supplies. I know that a lot of peoplee through here and drop off their finds from monster kills or dungeon runs, so we decided toe here to take a look.¡±


    ¡°What kind of supplies?¡± Glee asked with a raised eyebrow,ing behind one of the ss counters and leaning her weight onto the top while giving Riv and Fay a once over. ¡°Kinda odd you came all the way out here to Jerbyville with a chair like that. I don¡¯t know how you made it through the wilderness frankly.¡±


    ¡°He had help.¡± Fay said kindly, brushing her long silky blonde hair out of her face and blowing at it with a puff of air when it came right back over her right eye. ¡°I babysit him, basically he¡¯s my pet.¡±


    ¡°You what!?¡± Riven said aghast, dropping his jaw in fake protest and whirling around to get augh from the young woman. ¡°That¡¯s just in rude!¡±


    Glee grunted her acknowledgement while her eyes traced Fay¡¯s figure in the sundress. ¡°Yes I think many a man wouldn¡¯t mind being your pet, missy. So what is it you both need? Ab maybe?¡±


    Fay snorted with a smirk. ¡°Yes, that. But mostly we came for Rive- Riv¡¯s new hobby. He¡¯s trying to be a totem maker.¡±


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    Riven yfully stuck his tongue out at the girl behind him and then took out his list, handing it to Glee across the countertop and waiting for her to read.


    The store owner frowned slightly upon getting the list, then took out a pen and paper of her own before writing three things down. ¡°I have a few of them, but not much of each. Werebear Fangs, Icewind Roots, and Glowstones I have in stock. You said you were into totem making? I heard that was a rare one. Only Fae users can make and utilize totems right?¡±


    ¡°Unholy as well.¡± Riven corrected with a nod.


    The woman paused, raising her eyes to meet Riv¡¯s and blinking twice. ¡°You an Unholy user?¡±


    ¡°What if I am?¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯d say your type is very rare around here. We only have two people with the Unholy Foundational Pir in town, and neither of them are very talented.¡± She finished writing on her own sheet and handed Riven¡¯s list back to him. ¡°Might want to try Odds & Ends after my ce, they probably have some of those soulstones you¡¯re looking for. I used to have em too but I sold all of them for a discount because they were wailing so damn much. Made an absolute ruckus.¡±


    Her frazzled head bobbed up and down while fumbling with a key and turning a lock after walking down the row. She collected a couple bear fangs from the ss cases, went around to a shelf to collect a couple of white roots, and then bent down to snatch a few small round stones. Coming back to the counter andying them all out for Riven to see, she gestured to the items with a flick of her wrist. ¡°These what you¡¯re looking for?¡±


    <strong>[Werebear Fang: These fangs are often used as crafting ingredients for jewelry, and contain a faint pulse of nature-attuned power.]</strong>


    <strong>[Icewind Root: Alchemy ingredient. This root is often found in cold climates, thriving in harsh tundras, but they can also be found in cave systems underground.]</strong>


    <strong>[Glowstone: These stones are most often made through mana polishing. urring in nature most often in rivers with creatures possessing a high water affinity, these stones can collect ambient energy over time that causes them to glow when they hit maximum storage. After release, they turn back into dormant stones until the cycle is repeated.]</strong>


    Three of the fangs, two roots, and five small round glowstones. The stones weren¡¯t glowing now, at least not until they had enough mana infused into them, but they were the real deal ording to his identification skill; courtesy of Gluttony¡¯s gift. He didn¡¯t even have to wear Messenger anymore to thoroughly identify things, though it also wasn¡¯t anywhere close to what a real identification ss at high levels would get you.


    ¡°Price?¡± Riven asked, noticing that the tags had been stripped off these items before having been ced on the counter top.


    The storekeeper mischievously grinned. ¡°What¡¯re they worth to ya? Seems mighty interesting you have an entire list to collect. You must have enough coin to buy it all, or I¡¯d assume so anyways. Is that right?¡±


    Riven¡¯s expression ttened, and he tisked in irritation. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t have the money, he had more money than he knew what to do with. In fact he had so much money that he was downright filthy rich and barely had time to spend any of it, but that didn¡¯t mean he liked being taken advantage of. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t do that. That¡¯s just mean.¡±


    Gleeughed heartily, pping her hands onto her hips with a shake of her head. ¡°No, no! It¡¯s business. We all have to make a living young man! Now, how about we price these at¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ 50 gold apiece?¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t even blink, t stare boring into the woman while Tim let out a loud huff of surprise.


    ¡°50 gold APIECE!?¡± Tim gasped. ¡°That¡¯s robbery!?¡±


    Glee kept eye contact with Riven for a solid five seconds, before deting when he didn¡¯t make a move for the items. ¡°Ah fine, I just wanted to see if you¡¯d do it. I¡¯ll be real with yad. They¡¯re more worth twelve silvers apiece. How about it?¡±


    Riven still felt like he was being ripped off, and he slowly tilted his head to the side in consideration of her offer. ¡°Do you people even have an Elysium Altar around these parts?¡±


    ¡°You people?¡± Glee repeated with a chuckle. ¡°Hardly. But Elysium coins are the new currency and there is an altar far to the south of here down Pig¡¯s River. We have traderse up from there once in a while but not too often, the trek is well over two weeks on foot and there aren¡¯t any roads - making it a bit unsafe.¡±


    ¡°How about seven silver pieces for each?¡±


    ¡°Ten.¡±


    ¡°Seven.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t do less than ten. Final offer.¡±


    Riven huffed. ¡°Alright ten apiece it is. Three of the fangs, two roots, and five small round glowstones. That¡¯s one hundred silver pieces straight¡­ Fay, could you get it for me please?¡±


    Fay happily obliged, pulling at his spatial sack that they¡¯d tucked into the back of the wheelchair. Digging around in it, she pulled out the one hundred silver coins in neat stacks and slid them over. ¡°You can count if you wish.¡±


    But Glee was already stuck dumb at the sight of the bag.


    ¡°IS THAT A SPATIAL SACK!?¡± She nearly tripped on her way around the ss bar, peering close at the emblem in Fay¡¯s hand bearing the eye-sigil of Negrada. ¡°I KNEW IT! You lot ARE rich! Damn it to hell, I should have swindled ya more!¡±


    ¡°Take it or leave it.¡± Fay muttered, only faintly amused while the ticking clock in Glee¡¯s brain seemed to work overtime. ¡°You already agreed, don¡¯t go changing the price now.¡±


    ¡°Bah!¡± Glee silently cursed again and took the coins, taking her time to make sure it was all there before nodding and putting the ten crafting pieces into the sack Fay held out. ¡°Fine, fine, fine. Just remember toe find me if you think of anything else ya need - I¡¯ll be sure to up the prices when you do too.¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes, then waved back at the clerk. ¡°Thanks anyways. Come on Tim, let¡¯s go to this other store to check it out. What was it again?¡±


    ¡°Odds & Ends.¡± Time stated dryly. ¡°Hopefully they won¡¯t try to rip you off there too.¡±


    ¡°I heard that Tim! Don¡¯t talk bad about me or you¡¯ll have itin!¡±


    ¡°Bye Glee! And I would never dream of it!¡±


    The bell jingled, and the group of three left to explore more of the town on the way to their next destination.


    ***


    The Blood Moon Requiem was almost at a standstill as a society with all the turmoil going on, and tension was sky high between the ruling families of the courts. Maneuvering the politicalndscape was an absolute nightmare that General Viku had never enjoyed, but it was even worse due to the fact that Allie and Riven were at the very center of House Wraithtide¡¯s current predicament.


    Not that he could me them. He¡¯d outwardly eximed with a roaring chear when that lordling from House Barimont had been killed by Riven¡¯s minion Ath, and had doubly cheered along with half of the officers around him at the time when Jalel - that prick of a prince - had been eaten by Riven¡¯s gluttonous maw. It¡¯d all been live streamed after the empire had paid an extraordinarily high price to Elysium itself for selective cut scenes or frequent theatrical streams for the poption atrge to watch.


    But those two deaths had led to problems. Problems only exacerbated by the fact that Princess Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th had almost been murdered by a political rival - Lady Muren of House Muren, before Lady Muren was killed too. Captain Rusof, a favorite great grandson of one of the greatest generals their empire had ever seen, was killed by Jalel himself, and there were more than a few daggers in the night searching for retribution and revenge behind the scenes in all directions. Already scuffles on the bordering territories between House Crushada and House Muren were in abundance and on the brink of an outright genocidal fervor, and that was only the least of it. House Wraithtide¡¯s spies reported numerous military movements concerning House Barimont forces on the outskirts of Wraithtide territory, while the High Queen Nephridi and Elder Thune had publicly criticized one another before going into seclusion.


    No doubt the elder council was trying to wrap this up out of the eye of the public so that people didn¡¯t get ideas about the empire¡¯s leadership not seeing eye to eye, but that image was already shattered. The damage had already been done, and General Viku couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this had been a calcted move by the high queen. Whispers in the courts imed that the queen had warned both of the Wraithtide siblings, but yet other rumors described her as the one who initially warned thete Lord Barimont about Allie¡¯s potential reaction - even if it had been Elder Thune to actually send him to Panu in the first ce.


    But just what reason would she have to pit Lord Barimont and Jalel against Riven and Allie? Surely it couldn¡¯t just be a great grandmother¡¯s love for her descendants, she barely knew the siblings and there were many easier ways of disposing of a young lord such as Lord Barimont than what had actually happened.


    No, there was more to this picture - and if General Viku of House Wraithtide¡¯s forces had any guess, it was likely very much woven into events revolving around Elder Thune.


    The doors of the supercarrier¡¯s great hall swung open, revealing servants and soldiers in uniform lining the walls and standing at attention. His eyes fell to therge rectangr table where a dozen of the highest ranking family members of House Wraithtide sat, all of them either ring at one another - or shooting him worried and angry looks.


    One man in particr stood up before all the others did, however. It was none other than Baron Orimus Wraithtide, a very outspoken antagonist to Riven¡¯s policies and a man who was obviously disgruntled by the way things were going. Not only in the empire, but on their home - Luteski. ve uprisings had been prominent reason the baron had given people concerning Riven¡¯s inadequacies as a long-distance ruler of the house, but upon Riven¡¯s overruling orders concerning General Viku¡¯s intervention that had previously been halted by other nobles of this house - those uprisings were quickly quelled.


    It now meant that Baron Orimus Wraithtide was very grumpy, and that he was looking for other reasons to pin fault and me on Riven for the problems this house and the empire atrge were having problems. The most recent of those reasons, and a valid one, was the recent murder of Lord Barimont and Prince Jalel on a small, insignificant world of the newly integrating frontier.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time you arrived, General Viku. I and the rest of our esteemed house are growing impatient.¡± Baron Orimus Wraithtide muttered, his wiry posture shifting while adjusting his slicked-back chestnut hair using ab. ¡°Please tell me this meeting won¡¯t take long. We already have an abundance of problems to fix with House Barimont at our doorstep creating what is probably going to be a blockade on all trade, if not an outright attack.¡±


    ¡°Not to mention that we still need to go over taxes!¡± Lady Riska Wraithtidemented, the old woman¡¯s silver-gray locks pulled to one side while she waved a fan as if to cool herself off. ¡°Taxes are the most important part of running a and we haven¡¯t been able to do so with all of our tax collectors boycotting the job without proper escorts. Preposterous if you ask me! The ve uprisings are dealt with and there¡¯s no reason we need to adjust for those idiots more by supplying them with body guards just to do their damn jobs!¡±


    ¡°Enough.¡± General Viku said, quieting the nobles down who¡¯d once been the ones giving him orders, and his red eyes tightened with delight when he saw the baron and many of the others stiffen at theck of respect he now showed them by not addressing them individually or by their titles.


    Viku sped his hands behind his back, his domed head reflecting the light of the chandelier above them. ¡°Prince Riven Wraithtide and his sister, Princess Allie Wraithtide, will be here within the hour. I ask that all of you please refrain from doing anything or saying anything stupid, as many of you are apt to do, because Allie in particr is very easily set off.¡±


    ¡°As we are all very aware¡­¡± Lady Riska Wraithtide muttered, getting chuckles from some and scowls from others. ¡°Hasn¡¯t even been to the empire yet and already has a name for her maliciousness and temper.¡±


    General Viku ignored herment, speaking over the mutterings without hesitation. ¡°The formations are already set and we¡¯ll let you know as soon as they arrive, before leading them into the great hall here on the gship. Again, I very much stress that you not try to antagonize them. Remember that they are the heirs to this house, Riven in particr being the one who - at a word - can make sure that you lose your titlepletely by dismissing you from the family. I only say this as a warning, and mean nothing by it other than letting you all know that he is likely not going to be happy with my report concerning what I found in regards to what started the ve rebellions. It is my duty to report all findings to the head of house, and I will do as my job requires without leaving out details.¡±


    Immediately the room fell silent, and many of the nobles went even paler than normal - shifting in their chairs ufortably.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t.¡± Baron Orimus Wraithtide uttered with clenched fists. ¡°General Viku¡­ are you threatening us?¡±


    The general raised one eyebrow the other man¡¯s way, and shifted one pauldron with a roll of his shoulder. ¡°Threat? No. Just what reason would I have to do that, concerning such outstanding citizens of the empire such as yourselves? Surely there¡¯s nothing for you to hide, Baron. I am merely stating facts, and sometimes facts can lead to more questions that - in the wrong circumstances - can lead to heads being detached from bodies.¡±

 Chapter 220: (Book 2 releases tomorrow on Amazon!)

    Chapter 220: (Book 2 releases tomorrow on Amazon!)


    <strong>Chapter 220</strong>


    Skinwalkers.


    They were¡­ fawning? Over Ath?


    If that was even the right word.


    Prostrating or attending to her with different odds, ends, gifts and food they had on hand, Riven watched the strange pale creatures deliver her trays of refreshments while she sunbathed in their newly built temporaryir next to Tanya¡¯s family cabin.


    Hakim¡¯s cabin?


    Who knew. They all shared it so who cared.


    ¡°Ath¡­¡± Riven said with a dumbfounded look on his face, equivalent to those the others had on their own faces when they¡¯d returned to the woond home to find this amalgamation of demonic entities. ¡°Just how did you convert them into servants, one more time?¡±


    ¡°We wish to serve the great one!¡± A pale, faceless humanoid creature with abnormally long and wiry, wed limbs said fervently. It bowed and prostrated itself before Riven next. ¡°We did not know an archdemon existed on this! We are indebted to her gracious act of sparing us, and wish to grow in her shadow so that we too may one day find glory!¡±Ath smugly smirked Riven¡¯s way, gesturing to the nest she¡¯d crated. Bloodsilk now formedyers uponyers of walls, webs, and cocooned carcasses of animals - creating a multiyer structure of her webs between therge trees with only a single central tunnel shaped like a funnel that allowed the sunlight onto her sunbathing spot. ¡°It was my charm! I am a princess after all!¡±


    She gave him a wink on the web hammock she¡¯d created, then closed her eyes and enjoyed the deep tissue massage one of the other demons was giving her. ¡°You should do this more often, you know. I¡¯d like it more if it wasing from you. Or Fay¡­¡±


    Fay blushed, and Riven outwardlyughed and shook his head in amazement.


    Julie was less enthused by it, and her voice quivered when she spoke next to Hakim. ¡°Didn¡¯t these creatures eat John and Sara? Sara¡­ she was pregnant¡­ She was so nice¡­¡±


    ¡°We ate them long before you knew her.¡± One of the skinwalkers said, cocking its head to the side from a perched position up above in the webbing. ¡°The person you always talked to was actually me. I am the Sara you¡¯ve known all along. My real name is Selzi, and yes - I am actually pregnant with child. That is not false.¡±


    This admission was something of a shock to Julie, who didn¡¯t know how to handle the information at all. She stuttered twice, had a series of conflicting emotions cross her face, and then she simply turned to leave - walking out the hole used as a door with Hakim quickly following.


    ¡°Interesting. As long as they¡¯re not hostile I don¡¯t mind.¡± Tim stated with a shrug. ¡°Going to start on your crafting gig today?¡±


    ¡°In a few hours, yes.¡± Riven nodded, letting Fay help him up and feeling his soul jolt when a strand of Gluttony yanked a little too hard on one of his shattered fragments. ¡°Uhm, I¡¯m going to need to rest for a while though. I have an off-world meetingter today with The Blood Moon Requiem, so I¡¯ll probably be out ofmission for while. If you need me, just talk to my demons - they¡¯ll be staying here while I¡¯m gone excluding Fay. She¡¯ll be escorting me to the vampirepound back home. Latest, we¡¯ll be gone until tomorrow morning.¡±


    Tim frowned, and Len¡¯sughter was heard alongside Tanya and Genua outside. ¡°Just what exactly is The Blood Moon Requiem anyway? Not a lot is known about it on the forums, all the Panu forummunity knows is you¡¯re registered as a lost prince of that ce and it has to do with off-world vampires.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s basically all there is to it. Space vampires.¡±


    Tim snorted augh at Riven¡¯s deadpan expression. ¡°Alright, fine. Keep your secrets!¡±


    They exchanged smiles and a handshake - Riven already feeling week from standing for more than a dozen seconds. ¡°Alright man I¡¯ll see you when I get back. Ath? Mind making that thing bigger for Fay and I to join?¡±


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE JOINING?!¡± Ath eximed in a squeal of delight, immediately opening her eyes and getting to work in a blur of motion that sent strands of blood webbing in numerous directions. ¡°Ooooh a midday nap! I¡¯m so excited to cuddle with the two of you! Skinwalkers, take a hike. I need private time with my man and subus friend.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mydy!¡± Ak¡¯ra - Selzi¡¯s husband, grabbed the other skinwalker and abruptly shifted, turning into their Sara and John figures before exiting the bloodsilk nest with over twenty other skinwalkers in tow. They all bowed or said respectful well wishes, and one of them even offered Tim help training his thieving ss up.


    ¡°You¡¯re willing to help level my pickpocket ability?¡± Tim asked, repeating the offer this unknown demon had justid out. His freckled face twisted into a confused half-smile. ¡°Why? I would certainly appreciate it but¡­ why me?¡±


    The skinwalker¡¯s bald head bowed low. ¡°You are friends of the great one, it would be an honor to help you along with your ss evolutions! I have a very simr ss involving subterfuge as well, and I too have the pickpocket skill. When I overheard your mother Tanya talking about it, I told myself that I should ask. Not to brag, but I am rather good at it.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a good deal to me.¡± Riven said encouragingly, smiling at the continued look of surprise on Tim¡¯s face.


    Tim, for his part, slowly nodded and then gave Riven and the two women standing with him a wave. ¡°I¡¯ll see youter tonight or tomorrow! Good luck with your meeting!¡±


    ¡°Thanks man. Adios for now.¡±


    Thest of them left, leaving Riven standing with an arm over Fay¡¯s blue shoulders to support himself and staring at the nest¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°You two just going to stand there looking sexy or am I going to have to drag the both of you down with me?¡± Ath saidzily from the back, getting a sharp inhale from Fay when she and Riven turned around to look at the other demoness.


    Ath was missing her chitin now, the outer shellyer she usually wore was gone and in its ce was softer ck skin - emphasizing her nowpletely bare feminine qualities. She was seductivelyid out with her head propped up on one hand, and grinning at the two of them like a predator about to pounce. Hiking up a pointer finger, she wed in the air signifying them toe to her. ¡°I¡¯m waiting¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t realize it was going to be that kind of nap!¡± Rivenughed, sitting down on the bloodsilk that¡¯d been very rapidly transitioned from hammock into a pseudo-bed. He winced when he put his entire weight down, his lumbar spine screaming at him with the act, and jolts of his injured soul painfully lit up when his mana channels that connected his physical body to his soul realm twitched. ¡°I may not be able to be as active as I usually am.¡±


    Fayughed, gently pushing him forward into Ath¡¯s grip and helping him up onto the bed. ¡°We can do the work, don¡¯t worry. Just rx, enjoy the sunshine, and let us put on a show that I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll enjoy.¡±


    ¡°Did you tell him yet?¡± Ath asked curiously, pushing her warm body up against his with a gleeful grin.


    ¡°Of course I did!¡± Fay promptly replied - kicking off her knee-high boots andughing at the smug look Riven was making when Ath started taking off his belt. ¡°I couldn¡¯t keep that a secret for long! You know that. He approves, just like you¡¯d said he would.¡±


    Ath giggled evilly. ¡°Yeah I kind of counted on it, let me avoid the discussion myself. Alright, cat¡¯s out of the bag - now let¡¯s have some fun!¡±


    ***


    Helicopter des whirred about them, beating against the air and delivering Riven, Fay, and Allie at The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯spound where dozens of vampire soldiers bearing Wraithtide¡¯s sigil of an orb wreathed in deathly ck-teal mes stood at attention.


    Allie gave the necropolis pilot a thumbs up. ¡°Thanks Jack, we¡¯ve got it from here!¡±


    ¡°No problem my queen, always a pleasure to escort you from ce to ce.¡± The military man in the cockpit gave her a thumbs up back through the window, and when the three others were off - began lifting up off thending spot before heading towards the airfields their military were using.


    Riven and Allie watched the helicopter go as Fay adjusted Riven¡¯s legs on the wheelchair.


    ¡°Remind me to ask General Viku about getting some modification specs for our own fleet on Panu.¡± Allie muttered under her breath when the sound of the beating des keeping the machine aloft were no longer heard. ¡°If what you say about Wraithtide¡¯s fleet is correct, they¡¯re thousands of years in development ahead of us. Maybe more.¡±


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    ¡°Probably more.¡± Riven nodded in agreement. ¡°But I doubt it would work. Already asked Kathrine about this and she said the system would either tax the evesting hell out of that kind of knowledge, or in the more likely scenario - it¡¯dpletely stop it froming at all through numerous means including and not limited to smiting people dead. That kind of knowledge would be something that could shift the bnce of these world trials and the politicalndscape so fast and so drastically that Elysium likely just wouldn¡¯t allow it.¡±


    Allie¡¯s shoulder¡¯s sagged. ¡°Damn. And speak of the devil¡­¡±


    Out of the innerpound where the main body of the fortress was located, came Kathrine. Her long brown hair was swept to one side and the usual style of a form fitting ck dress with red flowers of her house on it was worn yet again - though she had six of her own personal house guards with her.


    She took about twenty seconds to reach them, then nodded in greeting to both Fay and Allie - getting polite smiles in return, before giving a genuine grin Riven¡¯s way. She then bowed low at the waist. ¡°Riven¡­ I never got to say thank you for saving my life. What you did, using your malignant prophecy to make sure that I didn¡¯t die, has both me and my parents flustered in a good way. None of us are sure how we will ever repay your kindness.¡±


    Riven waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯ve had a rough time now, with two attempts on your life since getting here and you¡¯ve never done me wrong.¡±


    She raised her head and straightened her posture, a soft gaze lingering on him before turning heel and gesturing them to follow. ¡°Suitable words from my future husband, I suppose. Come now, your family is waiting for you on the other side.¡±


    Allie and Fay shared a look, each of them rolling their eyes while Fay pushed Riven ahead - letting the vampiric guards fall in line around them while they marched into the walls of the innerpound.


    Construction was still underway concerning repairs, and there were many corridors and rooms that still held bloodstains. The bodies had been cleaned out and servants were putting the walls back in ce with various kinds of crafting magic, but they all stopped to prostrate themselves when the three royals passed.


    ¡°Anything I should know about this meeting?¡± Riven asked curiously, turning a corner in the inner sanctum of the fortress and eventuallying to a stop inside the ritual room he¡¯d usedst time.


    Kathrine cleared her throat and nodded to the wizards, sorcerers and ritualists lining the area - signaling them to start the process when the runes and crystals began lighting up. ¡°Not necessarily concerning your family, no. General Viku no doubt knows more about the inner squabbling than I do, and he is a trustworthy man that served your mother well. I have no doubt he has your best interest in mind so if in doubt, ask him for any advice you might want. As for the rest of what recently transpired¡­¡±


    Her voice trailed off and her face fell, red eyes casting themselves to the floor and porcin features contorting with worry. ¡°The empire is not in a good ce right now. There will be political upheavals at worst, assassinations are being carried out daily in one sector of the empire or another, and the elder council has congregated to enter seclusion indefinitely until they can fix whatever it is they are trying to fix about this problem. Elder Thune and High Queen Nephridi have always been at odds, but it¡¯s never been this bad before.¡±


    ¡°No point in worrying about things we can¡¯t fix, but sending that little bitch Lord Barimont to force Allie¡¯s hand like that was an absolute no go.¡± Riven shrugged. ¡°Neither of us have regrets.¡±


    ¡°You got that right¡­ He tried killing Lahn.¡± Allie muttered venomously. ¡°Good riddance.¡±


    Kathrineughed, shaking her head while Fay remained still and silent. ¡°Good gods¡­ Are the two of you ready to enter the ritual? I believe it is ready to activate.¡±


    ***


    Riven¡¯s hologram form materialized on board the supercarrier right on time, and General Viku¡¯s spirits rose when - for the very first time - heid eyes on Allie¡¯s figure alongside the prince. There was also Kathrine Vonsi Crushada, but she was less important to General Viku than the two heirs of his house were.


    ¡°My prince, princesses!¡± General Viku bowed low and took a knee, the glow of light from above reflecting off his perfectly shaved head and polished te armor. ¡°Your highnesses! Thank you foring. I sincerely appreciate the time you¡¯re taking out of your doubtlessly busy schedules in order to run the inheritance your parents left behind! Much is needing to be done.¡±


    The walk through the gship was just as awe inspiring to Allie as it¡¯d been to Riven, with the bay doors shielded by some kind of forcefield being the same exact point she stopped this time around - a replica of how he¡¯d been taken so aback by seeing the neb and starship fleet of sleek, dagger-like ck and red vessels outside inary orbit.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Allie said, just staring absolutely wide-eyed at the thousands of craft floating with the backdrop of a beautiful starry disy. ¡°This is incredible¡­ Riven! Why didn¡¯t you tell me about this!?¡±


    She whirled and red at him usingly, getting augh from his spectral self-image.


    ¡°I did tell you about it! You just chose to ignore it.¡±


    ¡°Did not! This is WAY cooler than you made the previous trip out to be!¡±


    Fay was equally stunned, and came up to the forcefield¡¯s edge while gawking into the abyss beyond. ¡°This is incredible¡­¡±


    ¡°Right?!¡± Allie agreed with a huge smile, joining Fay at the lip of the drop off while lights blinked randomly throughout the fleet beyond.


    Kathrine cleared her throat, getting Riven¡¯s attention while General Viku grinned in satisfaction at the reaction Allie was having to the tour.


    ¡°Yes, Kathrine?¡± Riven asked, ncing left to where her own spectral visage stood beside him.


    Kathrine beamed. ¡°I think you two shoulde visit my own ce sometime, now that General Viku was kind enough to create such a message delivery system. My parents have been wanting to meet you, and Allie as well, to discuss potential trade negotiations and uing wedding ceremonies scheduled for next yet. Would that be alright?¡±


    ¡°Next year?¡± Riven repeated - suddenly struck dumb. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ awfully close.¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s face fell into a concerned frown. ¡°Is something the matter? I¡¯d already talked to Ath about things like you¡¯d said and she understood the situation¡­ I hope there aren¡¯t second thoughts on the matter. I realize that our rtionship will never be real, and is more of a political ploy for both our houses as well as a means to acquire more of the gift for the empire - but¡­¡±


    Riven shook his head, giving her an encouraging smile. ¡°No, you¡¯re fine. It¡¯s just hitting me a bit harder now that you¡¯re giving me a timeline. Sorry if I came out as shocked.¡±


    Her eyes searched him for a bit, and she took in a deep breath before steeling herself. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll tell my parents you need to have some more time, and if we need to put a hold on the wedding we can. Whatever makes things mostfortable for you.¡±


    They stared at each other in silence for a solid ten seconds after that, while Fay and Allie continued to point out things to one another at the edge of the pilot¡¯s bay like little school children at the zoo.


    ¡°Thank you, Kathrine.¡± Riven eventually replied, and he gave a nod. ¡°That would be appreciated. I¡¯ll meet your parents in time, just¡­ give me a bit. With everything that¡¯s happening, I¡¯m beginning to feel overwhelmed.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± She politely smiled back, though the smile no longer reached the corners of her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if politics have corrupted your view of our empire. It really isn¡¯t that bad of a ce most of the time.¡±


    ¡°Questionable.¡± General Viku muttered with a sideways nce, getting the attention of both Kathrine and Riven simultaneously. His red eyes narrowed. ¡°It¡¯s a cesspool. One that the queen has been trying to clear up for some time, but the corruption is rampant and the other elders make things hard for the rest of us. At least, that is my opinion. I am, however, far older than you princess - I am sure you¡¯ll probablye to the same conclusion as I eventually given time. Your parents are good people though, so at least you have that going for you.¡±


    Princess Kathrine Vonsi Crushada was somewhat taken aback by this statement, but she shook herself out of her momentary shock at being addressed by this high ranking military official with a curtsy. ¡°Thank you for your kind words concerning my parents, and for the insight you have granted me. I will meditate upon your wisdom and seek answers, I assure you.¡±


    General Viku scoffed with an eye roll, then quickly corrected himself and shook his head like a wet dog. ¡°Sorry, princess! I did not mean that as a rude thing. I just don¡¯t need to be addressed as formally or cated with such aggrandizing words, I am a mere head of House Wraithtide¡¯s military. A privatized general of the empire. Nothing more.¡±


    The rest of the tour was much the same asst time. The central deck showed therge constructed stargate with merchant fleetsing in and out, as well as therge space station they were docking in and the Luteski far below.


    ¡°51.23 Million vampire citizens, and over 6 billion ves.¡± General Viku stated after a while of shocked stares from the two women who hadn¡¯t been here before. He turned his bald head to meet Allie¡¯s respondent gaze. ¡°That is what your family lords over and controls. It is your inheritance, where your brother - and you to a lesser extent as second in line to the house name after your parents left - is able to make and changews that determine the way people life. To most if not all of those ves, your word isw. You are gods to them, so far out of their reach that they can¡¯t evenprehend it.¡±


    Allie blinked. ¡°Why are you telling me this like you¡¯re trying to make a point?¡±


    General Viku gave a sad smile. ¡°Because, Princess Allie Wraithtide, though it is Riven¡¯s name that holds the most dominant power of this house - it is you with the true power behind it. After speaking with Riven previously and after watching the two of you on Panu, it is very apparent to me that Riven is a weapon. A sword that he begrudgingly shapes himself into in order to make his own version of the world. He is a threat, a hidden dagger you use to spearhead your advancement of the civilization you are building on the frontier - and he allows you to do this because he loves you. Would I be wrong in assuming that it will likely be a shared venture between the two of you when running Luteski?¡±


    Allie slowly began to blush at the mention of Riven¡¯s brotherly affection toward her, but Riven gave her a warm smile and calmed her down - allowing her to nod. ¡°You¡¯re probably right. What about it?¡±


    General Viku chuckled and folded his arms while his gaze shot back to the and merchant fleets beyond the window. ¡°Because though you haven¡¯t yet been to the empire up until now, your name is already known far and wide as being absolutely ruthless. It is a quality many of our kind are proud of, proud of FOR you! It is needed in your line of work, in order to get things done properly. To crush your enemies into dust so that order may remain.¡±


    The man sighed, then fully faced the young woman with determination set in his hardened jawline. ¡°Those enemies I speak of live within your own house, princess. Before you enter into the room where your extended family is now gathered here on this ship, know this: they are not your friends. They are vultures, maggots trying to eat away at the diseased corpse of the dying animal that was your house so that they could squeeze thest of life and prosperity from it before its end. They are corrupt beyond measure, and they think only for themselves. Given there are a few of them that aren¡¯t like this, but that¡¯s how most of them are - and I want you to be very aware of this before speaking to them. They have the smiles of snakes, and the venom to go along with it. The reports I give you when we meet the rest of your family will show some of these things in an obvious light, while other things are not as well defined - but Kathrine will be there to guide you if she sees things amiss. Things that I myself have seen, where you can make jumps of logic even despite not having true proof. Now, are you ready to go in there? Are you ready to pull out that cloak of ruthlessness that you so readily use back on Panu? Are you willing to do what needs to be done in order to better the lives of your citizens? Because if not, if you are not ready to face the family branches, we may perhaps want to postpone this meeting to another date.¡±

 Chapter 221: (Book 2 releases tomorrow on Amazon!)

    Chapter 221: (Book 2 releases tomorrow on Amazon!)


    <strong>Chapter 221</strong>


    ¡°May I present Prince Riven Wraithtide, presiding master of this house - along with his sister, Princess Allie Wraithtide, his fiance, Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th, and his attendant demon - the subus Fay.¡±


    The doors to the great hall swung open, revealing an elongated room with an overhead crystal chandelier. Works of art such as paintings and sculptures of vampires performing great feats lined the walls where servants and soldiers stood at attention. Twelve very attractive men and women were sitting at a long rectangr table, all dressed in fancy attire concerning either elegant robes, dresses, or Victorian-style suits; and all of them immediately stood upon the approach of the two royal siblings.


    They all bowed their heads in greeting, with General Vikuing to a stop at the head of the table where four vacant chairs were already ced - having servants holding them out expectantly for the neers to sit.


    ¡°Please, have a seat.¡± General Viku motioned to the four chairs, which was somewhat odd to Riven considering the four of them had spectral bodies.


    Then again he HAD been walking around the ship like this, and he couldn¡¯t really interact much with his environment - but he COULD just barely feel it. ¡°Thank you, General.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes shifted over the gathered vampiric nobles, all of them out of xianxia cultivation novels, medieval fantasy, or Victorian era fiction. It was certainly an oddbination in his opinion, but seemed to be the norm here. Six figures on each side of the table gave him fixed, polite smiles - all of their eyes glowing the same bright crimson his own did. All of them fanged, all of them pale, all of them with extraordinarily perfect facial features.


    ¡°Riven, I believe they¡¯re waiting for you to sit first.¡± Allie said with a raised eyebrow, her own chair already having been pushed in and her spectral body leaning onto the wood.


    Riven wordlessly shifted, letting the faint feel of wood under his apparition underneath him when the servant pushed his chair in.The others of House Wraithtide all took their own seats when he did, elegantly flowing in one synchronous motion to join him at the table again.


    General Viku cleared his throat, then took the equivalent of a tablet from a nearby soldier with a muttered word of thanks before stepping to stand at Riven¡¯s side. ¡°We have with us the minor branch families and nobility of House Wraithtide in attendance my prince. They represent the families that control various aspects of production, security, management and trade with your house resources. They are what make the machine of your trading hub here on Luteski run. I will introduce them one by one, and because you are so new to the empire please feel free to ask any questions that may be unknown to you - no matter how trivial. I will try my best to fill in the gaps of prudent information.¡±


    The vampire general started on the right hand side of the table, where an older but very fit and slender woman with silver-gray locks of hair down to her bare shoulders sat unblinkingly staring. ¡°This is Lady Riska Wraithtide, head of Taxation and Treasury, and in my opinion the mostpetent person here at this table.¡±


    This got poorly concealed frowns and huffs from many of the other nobles present at the table, but the old woman absolutely beamed at the praise - disying her fangs with the first sign of genuine emotion Riven had seen since entering the room. ¡°General Viku honors me, I am merely a humble servant for your estate - Prince and Princess Wraithtide.¡±


    The corners of Riven¡¯s lips quirked upwards a bit, and he nodded - otherwise he remained silent and waited for Viku to continue introductions.


    ¡°Then there are Lord Ruim Wraithtide and Lady Nsta Wraithtide, husband and wife who oversee infrastructure and education.¡± General Viku gestured to a man and woman who both had entric pink hair, hers in dreadlocks and his in a mohawk that made them stand out like a sore thumb.


    Both husband and wife smiled politely but did not say anything.


    ¡°Count Amestrius Wraithtide oversees our judicial branches here on Luteski. Viscount Adian Wraithtide, Baroness Jsi Wraithtide, and Baron Eethinsa Wraithtide deal in any major trade negotiations with <em>other parts of the empire</em>. Duke Hazith Wraithtide and his wife, Dutchess Ova Wraithtide deal in any major trade negotiations with <em>factions outside the empire</em>. Lord Wyvern Wraithtide deals in maintaining food supplies and ves.¡±


    Coming to thest two men at the end of the table¡¯s left side, General Viku paused and took in a brief breath of air. ¡°Lastly these two are Baron Orimus Wraithtide, overseer of mining operations on the northern hemisphere - along with his cousin Count Jaricock Wraithtide who oversees mining operations on the southern hemisphere. Our mining and vast crystal farms on Luteski are some of the most profitable resources House Wraithtide possesses. Alongside our strategic location in the empire¡¯s bordends with a natural wormhole that we were able to turn into a warp gate - it creates a unique opportunity that allows our homeworld to be a centerpiece of gctic trade in this sector.¡±


    Baron Orimus Wraithtide was a very thin man with slightly sharper features than the others, with slicked back ck hair and slightly hunched posture. Meanwhile his cousin Count Jaricock Wraithtide was quite the opposite - a very well built, thick mountain of a man with knotted muscles that bulged through his vest.


    No one moved or said anything after that, with only Lady Riska Wraithtide to have spoken at all since the arrival of the royals. The silence grew heavy after that, everyone in the room looking to Riven expectantly as if it was he that should make the next move.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of names to remember, but I¡¯ll do my best. It¡¯s nice to finally see my extended family, I¡¯m just sad that my mother and father aren¡¯t here to be with us too.¡± Riven eventually said with a polite smile, acknowledging each of them in turn. ¡°I appreciate all of youing. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all very busy. Unfortunately this meeting had to be called due to what I believe to be discontent amongst house members, and though I¡¯m quite a far ways away - it still falls to me to make sure Luteski is properly run. Apparently, there have not only been minor thefts¡­ but rather treacherous acts as well. Even as far as some people trying to sell majorponents of our inheritance, such as continents on the orrge caverns of crystal farms to private buyers.¡±


    He nced up at Viku. ¡°At least that¡¯s what the general tells me.¡±


    Nervousughter echoed throughout the hall, and Count Jaricock Wraithtide leaned forward onto the table with hands sped in front of him - muscr arms bulging through his sleeves. ¡°May I be the first to say that it is an honor to finally have Lady Sheline¡¯s children home, in your rightful ces in the cosmos. Even if it is just through amunication array.¡±


    ¡°I second this!¡± Lady Riska said with a more genuine smile than any of the others had. ¡°Sheline was my best friend, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll return to us one day if the Queen has anything to say about it. I¡¯m d you called this meeting, there have been many questionable things going on regarding how this house has been run in Sheline¡¯s absence and frankly it has grown tiresome.¡±


    ¡°Rich,ing from a penny pinching nymphomaniac who doesn¡¯t have the foresight of a gnat.¡± Lord Wyvern Wraithtide, a younger man with sandy blonde hair muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°If you¡¯d just allow us to spend more of the treasury on ve acquisition by even ten billion A-grade coins for the next year - we¡¯d easily increase revenue by 20% and make up the difference in no time. Just ask Baron Orimus and Count Jaricock, they¡¯ve been badgering me about ve acquisition in the mines for a decade and all I get from you is the same whiningints about how the numbers don¡¯t add up.¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    This immediately sent Lady Riska to her feet. ¡°You watch your tongue, little man! There ARE discrepancies in the vaults, someone is stealing from our house coffers and I have a pretty good idea of who that is!¡±


    The room went into an uproar, with Lady Riska pointing usatory fingers at numerous people while Count Jarock, Baron Orimus, Duke Hazith and Dutchess Ova got to their feet cursing insults at the old woman while Lord Wyvern put on a sly, amused smile and leaned back to watch the fireworks go off.


    ¡°It is not STEALING if it is for the betterment of our house - Lady Riska!¡± Count Jaricock hissed angrily with clenched teeth. ¡°We need more manpower to make more money and you¡¯re not willing to invest! It¡¯s that simple! Do you even know WHEN thest time it was that we bought ves in bulk!? It¡¯s been twenty years! TWENTY GODS DAMNED YEARS, YOU OLD HAG!¡±


    ¡°With 6 billion ves you should be able to repopte your losses easily enough!¡± Lady Riska snapped back with a snarl. ¡°Your operations in the mines are just as careless as Orimus over there! Zero safety measures and cattle dying off like flies whenever a tunnel copses or a smelting chamber blows up! Completely careless and uneptable! If you want money to reorganize the mines and set out new safety measures then I¡¯d dly hand you money to do so - but I will NOT give you more money to buy more ves just to let them die off by the hundreds of thousands for your carelessziness! Not to mention the amount of food it¡¯d take to FEED another influx of ves - food that Lord Wyvern here knows VERY well we¡¯d have to import because our farnds were RUINED in the ve uprisings that mysteriously started popping up as soon as Riven and Allie were found. How odd is that, hhmmmm!? DOES ANYONE ELSE THINK THAT¡¯S RATHER ODD?!¡±


    Next to her, the couple Lord Ruim and Lady Nstra nodded sagely in agreement.


    ¡°It is certainly odd.¡± Lord Ruim said allowed, eyelids half lowered like he was bored.


    Duke Hazith tisked in irritation. ¡°Oh shut up you pink-haired fairy fucking twat! I don¡¯t even know why you and your wife are on this council, for all the good you do! Infrastructure and education can be left as peasant work if you ask me!¡±


    Lord Ruim only rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply.


    Riven¡¯s one raised eyebrow stayed raised, and beside him Allie began to giggle and snort underneath a hand that¡¯d been raised to cover her amusement.


    ¡°This is like a Jerry Springer episode - family feud edition!¡± Allie said with another snortingugh, and Riven had to chuckle with a shake of his head while just taking in the absolute madness that Lord Wyvern had obviously provoked intentionally.


    The man even now was sitting back with that amused grin, silently sipping on a drink in his chair while the various other nobles of House Wraithtide raged at one another.


    General Viku, on the other hand, was unamused. ¡°Prince Riven, Princess Allie, should I shut them up?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not. At least not yet.¡± Allie replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, leaning forward and taking all that was being said in with a keen eye. ¡°Let them talk for as long as they can. I¡¯m finding all of this information very interesting. Oh, and please - bring up that ve you talked about right before we entered the room¡­ I want to confirm a few things with him before really making any decisions on what to do here.¡±


    ***


    Jeltuna was a Sarak, a native species to Luteski that¡¯d been enved hundreds or possibly even thousands of years ago by the vampires - though he¡¯d not lived long enough to know the exact timeline. He¡¯d been born into very along with all of the other ves now kept in the mines, on the farms, or were working as servants and sex workers for the vampiric poption. He¡¯d dreamed of freedom his entire life, dreamed that savior would one daye to free his people from the hardships of this hellish life they and their children now lived in. It was all he¡¯d ever known, and it had caused a burning hatred for the vampiric kind.


    Yet he¡¯d also been afraid. Too afraid to act on his own¡­ until something akin to a miracle was found in the form of a small note on his rotting wooden desk in a ve barracks. It was a location with a key code to a vault, as well as a threat - and a set of instructions.


    His moment to take back the lives of his people had finallye. The threat had been unnecessary, he would do it regardless.


    Jeltuna¡¯s drifting thoughts were interrupted by the sliding ng of his cell door, and his pale eyes lifted up to see two vampiric soldierse in. His purple skin was a stark contrast to theirs, as was his white hair and two smooth antennae that were soft and fleshy as opposed to insectoid.


    ¡°You¡¯vee to kill me, I hope?¡± Jeltuna said in ragged gasps, the shackles around his wrists and ankles pulling against the chains that tethered him to the wall. He spat blood from bruised, cracked lips. Still, he managed to let out a chuckle. ¡°I have no regrets. I took my vengeance, I will never apologize for what I have done. Not after the horrors your kind has inflicted on my people for generations! You all sicken me!¡±


    One of the two vampire soldiers shrugged, walking over to where Jeltuna was still tethered to the wall. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you apologize or not, cattle. Personally I¡¯d rather just throw you out an airlock now to be done with it, but apparently the prince and princess want to see you.¡±


    Jeltuna was about to snarl something back, when the realization of what the soldier had set hit him. He abruptly stopped. ¡°Prince? Princess?¡±


    ¡°House Wraithtide¡¯s main branch has finally returned. They¡¯re here now in spectral form and want to talk to you, hopefully before they let us gut you. Come on, cattle - let¡¯s get going fast. If you slow us down, I¡¯ll start taking fingers.¡±


    Jeltuna was shoved out of the prison cell and into a longne that stretched to the right and left far into the dark. His kind were adept at seeing in the dark however, just like the vampires, which made them good ves to have in the dark mines of Luteski¡¯s underground.


    ¡°Any disrespect to the royals will be an immediate beheading.¡± His red eyes turned to re down at the ve the other soldier was yanking along. ¡°After that we¡¯ll kill your family too. I know you have kids and a wife back on surface, don¡¯t make us do that. Understand? These royals have the say so topletely wipe out your entire pathetic race with a simplemand, so don¡¯t test them. You creatures are already on thin ice and just beginning for a purging after the shit you pulled in those rebellions.¡±


    ***


    Negrada¡¯s ming eye shifted to gaze upon his breached body, where thousands of enemy undead poured over his demon and azag warriors in the pits of Hell to try and stave off the invasion of their home. Pirs of fire boiled and pulsed out of volcanic pits, the skies were filled with ash, and the raging hordes collided with one another along a bridge connecting his fortress to an outside exit.


    He was losing. His allies had already been overrun, and soon even his own dungeon core would be shattered and consumed by the enemy dungeons now finishing their ransacking of thest of his friends. If Riven hadn¡¯t given him the Azag relic, Negrada would have been long dead already. It¡¯d been his greatest boon since the war had begun.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Cursed Azag Sanctuary Stone</strong><strong>: This sanctuary stone enables the bearer to create an Azag Hive Cluster Sanctuary, and will list the creator of this sanctuary as this hive¡¯s Overmind. This sanctuary will seclude an area of the in a protectiveyer that has permanence for 1 year, and can only be passed through by the overmind, Azag, and whoever the overmind deems as allies. Bing the Hive Overmind will enable the creator of this sanctuary to create a Hatchery immediately upon creation, and will open up the ¡®Queen¡¯ and ¡®Drone¡¯ pathways to breed units with. More units will be avable upon creation of the necessary biological modification facilities. </strong><strong>Warning:</strong><strong> This item is cursed; It afflicts the owner withpulsions that are in the best interest of the Azag Hive Clusters, and links the owner to the gctic hive minds formunication purposes.]</strong>


    The great eye, wreathed in hellfire, shed away and appeared back in his altar room where the dungeon boss he¡¯d created now slept soundly. He didn¡¯t bother waking the creature just yet, no - his guardian needed as much rest as possible after ughtering thest invading army. Instead, Negrada turned his sight to a crystal ball that depicted a frontier on the edge of integrated space. Negrada was in a very weak area of Hell that was full of F-grade and E-grade enemies, with no one here being higher thante E-grade. Low amounts of ambient mana meant less dangerous enemies, and it''d allowed an upstart dungeon like himself to remain viable for as long as he had.


    Those days were quickly closing, however.


    Perhaps¡­ Perhaps he could hire some mercenaries to help him.


    Yes. That is what he would do. Riven still had the ability to portal back, and with him he could bring others¡­ Or perhaps he could even use the mercenary guild system instead. Hadn''t guild functions just arrived on Panu anyways? Elysium would be angry about it but it technically wasn¡¯t against the rules. Taxes would be high, and that would be the end of it. He was desperate enough to pay the taxes even if it bankrupt him now, because if he was dead - what use would he have for treasures and wealth anyway?


    Sending a message to his demonic servants at the tradingmune in Brightsville, he prepared a tribute to the vampire who¡¯d started as a mere welp in the depths of his first dungeon level. He was interested in what Riven¡¯s response would be, and what the man would have to say.

 Chapter 222: (Book 2 releases tomorrow on Amazon!)

    Chapter 222: (Book 2 releases tomorrow on Amazon!)


    <strong>Chapter 222</strong>


    ¡°Prince Riven Wraithtide, Princess Allie Wraithtide, and Princess Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th, we have brought the requested prisoner.¡±


    Jeltuna the Sarak was lead bound and chained into arge and elegant hall, filled with some of the most prominent faces on the. Despite having led insurrections in protest of his people¡¯s treatment, envement, butchering and worse - he couldn¡¯t help but go slightly pale at the sight of the vampiric nobles who were ring at one another before sending smoldering looks his way. Immediately uponing into their presence, he began to feel their auras slowly and passively bearing down on him.


    Lady Riska, Count Amestrius, General Viku, Count Jaricock and Baron Orimus were all immediately recognizable through pamphlets and propaganda campaigns in the Luteski forums and on disy crystals in the mines. The others were less so, but each of these Wraithtide nobles were far, far beyond anything Jeltuna hade to face in his rebellion¡¯s battles against rtively weaker vampires.


    The soldiers and civilians he¡¯d fought and killed were middle E-grade at best, and those skilled enough to even reach E-grade at all were some of the most feared opponents Jeltuna had evere across. They were machines of war, ughtering hundreds of Sarak ves who¡¯d in turn been quarantined all their lives and restricted in their leveling. The best of the Sarak, including Jeltuna himself, had needed to pile their enormous number advantage onto these opponents just to bring a single one of them down. But here?


    Here he couldn¡¯t even recognize just what grade of cultivation any of them were at. Just a single one of them could have crushed entire armies of Sarak, which lead to the question - why hadn¡¯t they done so? Were his attempts to buy freedom for his people truly pathetic enough that they not even bother metaphorically ncing his way?


    Unfortunately he didn¡¯tst long before the effects of their cultivation differences broke the tension resonating around his soul aperture with a thunderous internal crash. The mere presence of EACH of these vampires was astronomically high, excluding the four ghostly apparitions at the end of the table which gave off no signature at all. But the presence of the vampiric nobles weighed down on him like the weight of a world - crushing him abruptly as he gasped and fell to his knees. His eyes boggled, his heart began to frantically beat and felt like it¡¯d explode, and his entire body began to quiver and spasm when a seizure began to take him.


    ¡°Please nullify your passive auras.¡± General Viku called to the other leaders of House Wraithtide in a stern voice that allowed no objection. ¡°You¡¯re going to kill the ve before he even gets to speak. As much as I¡¯m sure some of you would prefer that, you will do as you¡¯re told or I will suppress your auras for you.¡±


    Baron Orimus red daggers at the military man but did as asked, and soon all of the others had done so as well.Jeltuna stopped seizing, but the bruising along his body had increased with small tears in his skin opening up at random. Coughing and gasping for air again, he was yanked up by his metal cor back onto a kneeling position. Head spinning and gaze shifting from face to face, his hatred for these vampires began to bubble up to the surface as a sneer took hold of him.


    ¡°Get that disgusting look off your face, maggot.¡± One of the two guards angrily red, drawing his broadsword and putting it up to Jeltuna¡¯s neck. The weapon flickered with unholy energy, and runes began lighting up the base of the de with a hiss. ¡°You are in the presence of royalty, and you will show proper respect.¡±


    ¡°Do not harm him.¡± A man¡¯s voice called from the very end of the table, from one of the ghostly apparitions that sat in a chair with hands sped on the wood.


    The soldier immediately straightened and bowed. ¡°Yes, sire. My apologies.¡±


    The soldier stepped back, sheathing his de and straightening to face forward.


    Silence engulfed them, and Jeltuna used the ticking second to better get ahold of his breathing again. ¡°Is this some kind of sick execution? Or are you ying mind games before you torture me to death like you do so many of my people?¡±


    The sarak man spat in the table¡¯s direction, but he was so weak fromck of food and beatings that it barely went a few inches and onto the floor; where a nearby servant quickly came over to wipe it off the polished metal with a handkerchief before returning to the wall.


    ¡°You would be wise to keep your tongue in check, ve.¡± Baron Orimus said with a click of his tongue. ¡°Know your ce, and perhaps youring death will be less brutal than I¡¯d originally intended it to be-¡±


    ¡°His death is not your decision to make, Baron Orimus.¡± The ghostly apparition at the end of the table announced, cutting the noble off with a wave of his hand.


    The noble looked both cowed and irritated, but he shut up a momentter with a submissive bow to the apparition. ¡°As you say, your highness.¡±


    Ah. So this must be the prince. Jeltuna silently eyed the apparition with a wary gaze. ¡°Is it you who called for me? The so-called prince? Why? What words could you possibly want with a man who you value so little - a man of a race that you use as amodity rather than valuing us as real people?¡±


    The man of the apparition sadly smiled. ¡°Yes, I am a prince of the empire. My name is Riven, and you can call me as such. Though I never said that I viewed you or your race that way.¡±


    Thement threw Jeltuna off slightly. Call the prince by his first name? He blinked rapidly, but then caught the nces shared between other vampiric nobility. They too had looks of surprise, and even anger. ¡°Yet you enve billions of us to work in your mines, on your farms, for blood sport entertainment and as sex objects to be traded like collectables in breeding programs.¡±


    ¡°An unfortunate aspect of my heritage, yes.¡± Riven said with a shrug. ¡°I will admit, I even took part in enving an enemy force on the world I currently live on - but I also say that I let most of them go shortly thereafter. Now the only people who live as ves from that particr group are the ones who can¡¯t behave, and the ones whomitted crimes too sinister to be forgiven. Now, most of those elves are living lives as second-ss citizens¡­ but citizens nheless. I¡¯m here to tell you now that, if you cooperate with me here and make this as easy as possible for me by answering all my questions, the same can be said of your own people.¡±


    There was dead silence for mere seconds after that while Jeltuna¡¯s mind tried toprehend what the prince had just said. His nk expression only twitched, until none other than Baron Orimus Wraithtideunched himself to his feet with a scathing snarl.


    ¡°This is an OUTRAGE! Did I just hear this right?! That you intend to elevate these CATTLE to the position of second ss citizens in the empire!? THAT¡¯S OUTRIGHT ABSURD!¡± The baron mmed a fist onto the wood - drawing the attention of all the others. His sleek ck hair shimmered in the light of the chandelier, and though he raised his voice - he did not meet Riven¡¯s gaze directly. ¡°My prince, PLEASE rethink what you are doing here! You do not understand the ramifications of what you are saying because you did not grow up inside the empire¡¯s border. I understand this and will happily educate you in areas where you arecking, but giving citizenship of ANY kind to these creatures is equivalent to madness!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I have to agree.¡± Lady Riska muttered dubiously, for the first time in ord with what the baron was saying. ¡°I admit that improvements to their lives and safety are needed in order to maintain our ve poption, but giving them rights as any kind of citizen goes against the dogma and core values of The Blood Moon Requiem entirely. We do not have any citizen that is not vampire, in any house, on any.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow at this, then nced up to General Viku who stood as still as a statue. ¡°Is that true?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± Kathrine stated for the general, and Viku shortly nodded to confirm.


    Riven sighed, then shot Allie a look. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Fuck the dogma.¡± Allie smiled with a shrug. ¡°Kathrine, is it against thew to consider them secondary citizens?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure, it has never been attempted before. I doubt, however, that the queen would allow it.¡± Kathrine replied ufortably.


    ¡°Then there¡¯s a simple work around.¡± Riven replied indifferently. ¡°They¡¯re all my property, correct?¡±


    ¡°That is correct.¡±


    ¡°And I can treat them however I want to, correct?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°Then as long as they stay on this, a that I own, and are themselves property that I own, I can treat them the same way I would treat citizens of the empire. They just wouldn¡¯t be officially recognized as such off world in different parts of the empire I don¡¯t directly control. Correct?¡±


    Kathrine hesitated, but nodded yet again. ¡°That is correct.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Riven smiled smugly, leaning back and folding his arms. ¡°Problem solved. Now, that doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m just going to bankrupt the entire house by giving freedom to all the ves at once mind you - we¡¯ll keep the mines running, but the quality of life for these people is going to be up to standards with any other citizen on the starting this week.¡±


    Lady Riska slumped her tensed shoulders in relief, but the Baron was not as easily swayed from his anger.


    ¡°Treat the sarak cattle like vampiric citizens?¡± Baron Orimus let his jaw drop, only to pick it up with a spluttering snort and throw out his arms to the others at the table. ¡°Are the rest of you hearing this!? Are the other elders of our house hearing this lunacy? He¡¯s ALREADY implemented childborws, has stopped butchering cattle in favor of regr blood drains, has built schools and created free healthcare for any ve that needs it! These two siblings have angered the other noble houses in ABUNDANCE, we have House Barimont on the verge of forming a trading blockade on the edge of Wraithtide space, the siblings have NO experience in running a and all of a sudden they make massive changes to our way of life after having lived less than a century!? THEY ARE MERE BABES! This is utterly absurd! This will be the downfall of our house and lineage if we let it slide!¡±


    Mutters of agreement spread amongst some of the house elders, while others remained stoic and silent. Riven and Allie merely watched too, waiting for the baron to continue - and when the baron finally looked in the direction of the prince - Riven waved him on as if to say keep going.


    ¡°You obviously have a lot to say on the matter, Baron Orimus. Please, go on if you have anything more to say. I¡¯ll listen.¡±


    Seemingly encouraged by these words, the baron straightened slightly and loudly huffed. ¡°Not to mention that for all the good you have shown these animals, how do they repay you - my prince?¡±


    He swiftly shoved a finger in Jeltuna¡¯s direction, usingly. ¡°This man and many others spearheaded rebellions all across the, ending in the death of not only hundreds of thousands of ves - but just as many vampires! Your loyal citizens - TRUE citizens of the empire like you and I! You cannot think of giving those barbaric animals that would so carelessly ughter your innocent citizens another free ride!? If anything, you should retract the gifts you have already given them for theirck of gratitude!¡±


    ¡°Do true citizens of the empire plot against the royal family? Or is that just you?¡± Allie spoke out, a crisp edge to her words. ¡°I¡¯m curious. Enlighten me, oh esteemed elder of mine. General Viku - if you would.¡±


    Once again the room became dead silent, and General Viku sat a solid ck cube on the table. He pressed a couple buttons, and a recording of his talk with Baron Orimus Wraithtide while on themand deck of the supercarrier went on disy.


    ========================================================================<blockquote><em><strong>Recording of Past Events (Concerning the reader, feel free to skip if you wish to do so):</strong></em></blockquote><blockquote><em>The cube in his hand gave off a steady vibration again, and then began to blink. It drew his red eyes down to stare at it, and from underneath his helmet - a small smile crept over his lips to disy his fangs.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>Finally.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>¡°General Viku!¡± One of the house elders, a man by the name of Baron Orimus Wraithtide called out while walking onto the elevated tform of themand deck. His wiry posture moved like a practiced snake in burgundy robes, and his eyes glinted mischievously under slicked-back chestnut hair while ring at the screens on the general¡¯s sides. ¡°I see the rebellions are going well. The agents we nted are supplying as necessary, not too much but enough to cause trouble. Are the damages being quarantined to the designated areas?¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>General Viku nodded gravely. ¡°Yes. The production facilities and mining operations are all still under our protection, we¡¯re letting the ves sack the Bezin and Norcof districts where our poorer citizens reside. It¡¯ll be enough vampiric blood to get quite a reaction out of the rest of the empire, they¡¯ll be calling for a culling.¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>His eyes shifted to the other, well groomed vampire as Baron Orimus Wraithtide nodded in approval. ¡°Do you really think it wise to go against a high ranking prince like this? Sheline¡¯s son, of all people?¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>The baron scoffed indifferently, watching as cargo ships from other sectors in the gxy warp in through a spatial gate before changing course to dock at the space station nearby for check in. ¡°Sheline is dead, and her son made it very clear to the rest of us that he can¡¯t be trusted to lead the family when he gave those sarak cattle rights. Can you believe this list of changes to thews that we have to abide by? Just listen to this!¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>General Viku rolled his eyes while turning his head so the baron wouldn¡¯t see. He knew very well what the changes were, and to him they weren¡¯t all that big of a deal - but to an old timer like Baron Orimus Wraithtide it appeared to be the end of the gods damned multiverse.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>The old vampire pulled out a list, then put on a pair of reading sses while loudly clearing his throat and staring at the hastily scribbled on parchment down the bridge of his nose. ¡°Ahem! Where is it¡­ Ah yes. Just to BEGIN the list, we have protection for the cattle children!¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>Baron Orimus Wraithtide raised an eyebrow and scoffed again in disbelief, ncing at the general who continued to stare down at the from their perch on the gship¡¯s deck. ¡°Do you realize what that means, Viku? It means no childbor which cuts down production by an entire 9 percent worldwide. No delicacies at the Rouge Cafe that I so frequently visit or ANY OTHER high end establishment on the. No training them for unique positions such as concubines or ve warriors. No pets for our own vampiric children. It¡¯s absurd! Utterly absurd! And that¡¯s just the CHILDREN of these cattle!¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>The baron smacked the paper again with mouth agape, shaking his head violently and huffing loudly. ¡°No diator battles between ves, no torture without reason, oh - here is one of my favorites - NO BUTCHERING CATTLE IN FAVOR OF REGULAR BLOOD DRAINS!? IS THIS MAN SERIOUS!? I nearly got up and left THAT VERY DAY after reading this ridiculous list! We literally BREED SARAK in some specialty lineages to be fatter so we can EAT THEM! WE HAVE TO SPARE THEIR LIVES AND JUST USE THEM AS RENEWABLE BLOOD BALLOONS? THIS IS RIDICULOUS!¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>General Viku stared straight ahead, trying to give off apathy, but inside he was struggling very hard not to smirk. He¡¯d never liked Baron Orimus Wraithtide very much, but since the rulingdy of the house left many years ago never to return - the baron was one of three of the house nobility that was in contention for Patriarch of Matriarch due to Lady Sheline¡¯s absence. It was Viku¡¯s great misfortune that he had to listen to this idiot babble, otherwise he would have hung him from a tree many months ago due to political games ramping up when Riven and Allie had first appeared.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>The baron continued to rant, jabbing an old wiry finger into the paper with each thing he listed off. ¡°We have improved ve housing which has cost us trillions,pensation built into our tax system for ves who donate more blood over the course of a year than others, ability to attend NEWLY BUILT CRAFTING SCHOOLS that also cost us a fortune, FREE HEALTH CARE, and a use that allows ves to own basic property? HE MIGHT AS WELL MAKE THEM HONORARY CITIZENS! And that doesn¡¯t even BEGIN to touch upon the fact that he and his sister are being auctioned off to the highest bidder AS WE SPEAK, with the conclusion of the bids ining months allowing a FOREIGN vampiric noble house the rights to be WED to them?! We might as well just hand away the keys and pack up all our belongings now! I hear that House Crushada is especially invested in obtaining Riven and has even managed to get their daughter to seduce him on that integrating! This is the end for our lineage if we don¡¯t do something about it now, Viku! And I¡¯ll be damned if it happens while I¡¯m still alive! It may take a couple underhanded schemes and maybe a couple years but eventually if we¡¯re able to prove ipetence we can petition the crown and have him removed. If it were anyone else without the bloodline, I¡¯d just have him assassinated, but the queen would have my head faster than you could say sarak cattle shit if I even tried. So though I do not want to go up against a prince of our own house, I do not believe I have a choice in order to maintain our way of life. Sometimes, dark deeds must be done to correct for the greater good of the family.¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>The baron reached out and put a hand on General Viku¡¯s shoulder pauldron, patting him twice. ¡°I know I can count on you to do the right thing, Viku. Just remember what we¡¯re fighting for, and why we¡¯re letting this happen. I expect your full cooperation in this matter, and in future ones. We cannot let outside forces like House Crushada interfere in our internal affairs, unless we want to be absorbed by them. I know they¡¯ve been in contact with you, and I hope you see past their lies. Do you understand?¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>General Viku spared the old man a nce, keeping eye contact and clicking his tongue before turning heel and beginning to head down the bridge. The cube in his hand was vibrating again, and he had an appointment to keep.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>¡°General Viku!¡± Baron Orimus Wraithtide called out, a little more harshly than usual, and he rushed to catch up to therger man while deeply scowling. ¡°I expect an answer! Let me hear you say it!¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>¡°Say what, exactly?¡± Viku said with an exasperated sigh, turning to face the smaller, thinner man as officers from along themand bridge curiously shot nces their way. Viku brushed the hand Baron Orimus Wraithtide put on his shoulder again, and he gave an irritated grunt. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for me to turn my back on the head of this house, you have me mistaken for a blood traitor - Baron.¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>The baron¡¯s eyes went wide, and his pale face deeply reddened while he took a step forward. ¡°I would watch your words, general. You are essentially calling me a blood traitor by association, and I do not take such offense lightly.¡±</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>¡°Are you threatening me?¡± General Viku¡¯s figure stepped forward to meet the shorter man, towering over him as his hand drifted to the broadsword at his hip.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>He stood there ring down at the Baron, and the older man¡¯s eye twitched when he saw the general¡¯s hand on his weapon. Other soldiers in the room were now dead silent, watching to see whether or not the baron would keep his head on his shoulders. Viku was an A-grade warrior, nothing to be scoffed at by anyone, and if he wanted the baron dead - the baron would no doubt be dead very soon.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>¡°Let me make something very clear to you.¡± General Viku said with a sneer. ¡°It was not you who elevated me to this position. Nor was it any of the still living elders of this house. This house is a shadow of what it once was, thanks to you and people like you. Now that the main bloodline has finally returned, I no longer have to answer to you. My position is due to Riven¡¯s mother, a true leader, and I owe her everything that I am. Everything that I have is due to her, and here youe years after she disappears to threaten what is rightfully her children¡¯s inheritance? In what world did you think I would agree to such schemes? Ask yourself one more time, Baron Orimus Wraithtide, is what you are doing wise?¡±</em></blockquote>


    ========================================================================


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    When the recording ended, Baron Orimus was as pale as a sheet. His fists were clenching and unclenching, and a sincere look of fearful rage had ovee him when his eyesnded on General Viku only a table¡¯s length away. ¡°You¡­ You recorded our conversation?¡±


    The Baron¡¯s fists began to tremble, and like a caged animal he leapt back - whirling around to stare one by one at soldiers who¡¯d ced hands on swords while looking to the general and the royals for confirmation. Power in the form of blood mana began swirling around him - and his chest began to rapidly rise and fall with eyes going wide.


    ¡°Sit down, Baron. You are not going to be killed today.¡± Allie called out, getting a confused and scared stare from the baron while other nobles and elders of House Wraithtide sat in rigid positions along their own seats. ¡°I said sit, and I will not say it again. Unless you truly do want to have your head removed - which could be arranged. Riven has given me full leeway to decide your fate, along with the other fates of traitors currently sitting at this table with us. There are more than just you, the reports - which were going to be entirely unfolded here for everyone to witness in the open, have for the mostpart been put aside after my brief review prior to entering this room. Instead of wasting time, I¡¯ll just summarize.¡±


    Allie shifted her gaze to a number of the other nobles, one by one. ¡°Lady Riska has been skimming off the coffers for her own gambling problems, an addiction if I¡¯ve ever seen one, by astronomical amounts. Lord Wyvern has bought his own moon with Wraithtide funds. Count Jaricock has an entire sheet of well hidden schemes that range from smuggling drugs that the High Queen herself has ouwed, to attempting to sell pieces of the off to other noble houses. Duke Hazith and Dutchess Ova take a slice of every trade negotiation they make - depositing 6% or more directly into their own coffers and telling all the rest of you it never existed. Viscount Adian ckmails lesser officials regrly to sleep with their daughters. Baroness Jsi also participates in smuggling and is even a part of an illegal syndicate, most often dealing in the movement of exotic treasures stolen from other murdered or kidnapped nobles of the empire. Baron Eethinsa has a bad habit of killing random people for fun and then covering it up. Count Amestrius takes bribes from almost all of you in order to look the other way, and he is currently holding General Viku¡¯s own daughter as a hostage to make sure Viku does what he wants - with the threat of removing Viku from power should he attempt to subvert the ¡®will¡¯ of our house. The ONLY ones who do not have any dirt on their names are husband and wife, Lord Ruim and Lady Nsta Wraithtide. Did I miss anything, General Viku?¡±


    ¡°Many things.¡± General Viku said, staring ice-cold hate in Count Amestrius¡¯s direction as the other vampire¡¯s fingers went rigid gripping the wood of the table. ¡°Give me the word and I will execute as many of them as you¡¯d like.¡±


    Meanwhile Lord Ruim and Lady Nsta both looked rather smug, snickering at the other house elders who¡¯d begun looking sick to their stomachs.


    Allie chuckled bitterly. ¡°I see. Lord Ruim and Lady Nsta will be rewarded for their loyalty and will be promoted to a position ahead of all the rest of you, to run the with General Viku when we are not here. An order to the military forces under our control has already been sent out to inform them as we speak, should any of you try to undermine them, but we¡¯ll get to thatter. The first order of business in the present, Baron Orimus, is sitting down. Then we can discuss just what we are going to do with my dear distant rtives - but no, I do not intend to kill you even if it is what the general here would like.¡±


    Baron Orimus was outright shocked, just as many of the others were, and he hesitantly let the power building at his fingertips fade before walking to the table and sitting down with a dumbstruck expression.


    ¡°Count Amestrius, you will immediately release General Viku¡¯s daughter.¡± Riven announced for the room to hear. ¡°She will be put on a ship and within General Viku¡¯s possession before you leave this supercarrier. If you do notply, you and your entire branch will be executed for treason - and your estate will be burned to the ground. You will also be forced to findpensation for the harm you have done to him and his family, until General Viku is satisfied. Try anything like that again, and I give General Viku permission to kill you on a whim without my say so, and if you try to escape you will bebeled an ouw with a bounty put on your head.¡±


    The count gave a sharp nod, then pulled out a tablet and began to transcribe a message - hands shaking slightly under the rage-filled gaze of the military officers surrounding him.


    ¡°My prince! My princess! I would like to exin¡­¡± Lady Riska began with a sheepish smile.


    Allie shook her head. ¡°No need to exin. Let me be frank, despite the things you¡¯ve all done here - it has been made clear to us by not only General Viku, but also by Princess Kathrine, what roles you all y in running the. Most of you have major problems and are very corrupt, but you - Lady Riska - are probably on the lower end of offenses. Mere gambling with house money is problematic considering how much it was, but it is reported that you otherwise did a fine job. Please be at ease.¡±


    She visibly rxed, letting out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°For the rest of you¡­ you¡¯ll be able to keep your positions, but needless to say this all ends now. You¡¯ll be given a one time pass for the crimes youmitted in our absence with two exceptions.¡± Allie¡¯s words struck home, gathering all of the attention of the surrounding nobles who looked both very surprised and just as relieved as Lady Riska had been moments before. ¡°Viscount Adian, you will immediately stop ckmailing lesser officials and will be spending a temporary amount of time in prison for what you did. You will also be paying the families a solid chunk of change for the emotional damage you likely did to them. Baron Eethinsa, your murdering spree hobby is going to stop. Immediately. You too will be spending a solid amount of time in prison, but will be let out on good behavior if you agree to the terms I set out. I¡¯d rather not have an internal family struggle but if you have a problem with our terms, you¡¯re free to try and run or fight. General Viku assures me that he¡¯ll easily put either of you down like a dog if pushes to shove, despite the private soldiers you two keep in your branch family estates.¡±


    ¡°I willinglyply with your decree, princess.¡± Baron Eethinsa, the murderer stated with a tight-lipped bow. ¡°Your judgement is more than I could ask for in any normal circumstances, far more lenient than I would have thought possible. May I ask why? Your reputation on Panu is one of malice and brutality, if I may be frank.¡±


    Viscount Adian nodded in agreement. ¡°I too ept your terms and will spend my time in prison as you suggest. Thank you for your mercy.¡±


    Allie merely gave a sly smile. ¡°I intend to use each of you instead. I will give you a single chance to prove yourselves starting now. It is true that nearly all of you are, simply put, ready for the noose¡­ but each of you has a vast amount of experience in politics and knowledge on how to run businesses, a, and our house that I simply don¡¯t have. Think of this as an olive branch, the only one you will ever get.¡±


    ¡°In other words, your actions will be closely monitored and most of you are one step away from losing everything.¡± Riven cut in with a raised finger, then he pointed at Jeltuna kneeling on the floor. ¡°And I¡¯ll hear no more bullshit about how I treat my own ves either. Not from you people.¡±


    Sufficiently cowed, the nobles and their muttering had quickly silenced.


    Baroness Jsi, a tinum blonde woman wearing a ck and yellow dress, cleared her throat nervously and tapped her fingers on the table before speaking out. ¡°Your highnesses¡­ May I ask what you are to do with me, specifically? Regarding the syndicate¡­ if the High Queen found out about smuggling, kidnapping, and murders of other nobles in different houses¡­¡±


    Her voice trailed off, unsure of what else to say.


    Lady Riska snorted in derision. ¡°Here I thought my gambling problem was bad, and I¡¯m sitting in the same room with a bunch of treacherous demons. No offense meant, Lady Fay.¡±


    Fay gave the vampiric woman a brief smile of acknowledgement. ¡°None taken.¡±


    ¡°You will continue as you have been, but your loyalty will be to this house - not to the syndicate. You will feed us information regarding syndicate activities around the empire. Anything saying otherwise will lead to a swift execution without warning.¡± Allie stated as matter of fact - getting more looks of surprise from not only the nobles - but from General Viku and the surrounding soldiers as well. ¡°Let me be clear. I¡¯m not sure who my allies are, and who is truly my enemy. My great grandmother the High Queen does seemingly have good intentions for us in some ways, but in others I am questioning just whether or not I am simply a pawn for her. As was seen in the most recent attempt to sell my hand off in marriage. Was that her? Or was that Elder Thune? I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t pretend to know. Some of you might call this borderline treason itself by speaking such words, but that¡¯d be riching from the lot of you. This room was alsopletely sweeped by General Viku and his men, so there won¡¯t be any recordings of what is said leaking to the public by any known means avable. The soldiers and servants were personally picked by the general as well, and I have full faith in his abilities to maintain their wellbeing - to take action against those that might think disposing of them for knowing too much is a good idea. Should any of them mysteriously die off for knowing your secrets, I¡¯ll start ordering heads to be removed - starting with the lot of you. I want to avoid any political upheaval in this house, but don¡¯t think that I will shy away from it just for the sake of maintaining experience. Riven, did you want to add anything?¡±


    Riven coughed, then nodded and leaned forward again. ¡°Yes. Back to the topic of ves and ve rights. I¡¯ve written a draft of what I want changed and have already given it to the general here, who will enforce thesews. As stated earlier, General Viku will have absolute authority in our absence while Lord Ruim, along with Lady Nsta, being ced firmly at the top of the house hierarchy underneath General Viku starting immediately. House Crushada and House Wraithtide are to sign a mutual agreement of self defense in case of an internal blood feud regarding recent events at the vampiricpound on Panu, and exclusive trade rights will be given to House Crushada as a way of thanks.¡±


    Kathrine¡¯s eyes rose in surprise, and then delight as a wide smile exploded across her features. ¡°This is news to me! I thought you¡¯d not wanted to talk to my family about such things yet!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about itter.¡± Riven grinned her way. ¡°Long story, you can join us for dinner tonight at my manor for the details. Oh, and one more thing.¡±


    Riven gestured to Jeltuna, the sarak man with purple skin, who had beenpletely forgotten by many of the nobles in the room. ¡°Jeltuna is going to be promoted to a position called ¡®The Voice of the Sarak¡¯ - starting immediately. I believe that he was hailed a hero by many of his kind, and I¡¯d like him - despite your poor attempts to push the deaths of these rebellions upon his back alone - to be the man who thinks of ways to better the livelihood of the ve poption. Congrattions Jeltuna, your rebellions seem to have paid off - despite them originating from Baron Orimus for quite the opposite reasons.¡±

 Chapter 223

    Chapter 223


    <strong>Chapter 223</strong>


    Mara¡¯s hooded figure walked under a dreary sky alongside two necromancers, Nin and Vin, and two vampires, Gurth¡¯Rok and Dr. Brass. Together the five of them ran most things on his side of the world, with the exception of General Bruner from Chicago who was not present today.


    Crowds parted before their heavily armed escort, and they made their way through the active streets of Brightsville while heading in the direction of Riven¡¯s guild hall manor - which was technically home to the three undead necromancers as well.


    ¡°Three audiences in one day¡­ what a rarity.¡± Mara muttered in irritation. ¡°At least we¡¯re doing it all at once. I was hoping to finish my experiments rather than deal with more politics.¡±


    ¡°Such is the life of a second-inmand.¡± Nin, the skeletal skresh stated promptly with a skip to his step. ¡°I for one am rather eager to find out just what Negrada is trying to pitch us.¡±


    Negrada had recently stationed one of its people inside Riven¡¯s guild hall as a hire-on, very simr to what Katherine herself had done whenever she was on. This made direct ess to the Thane siblings rather easy, as opposed to being stuck at the Elysium Altar or their tradingpounds like most. That particr person had very recently sent a messenger to collect Mara concerning matters of ¡®importance¡¯, while almost simultaneously a separate messenger had been sent saying that vampires of the underdark hade up from passing through Deepnest for more direct contact after Riven had t out ignored them in favor of other events with the dwarves having been conquered and made into another vassal state.


    Mara knew Riven wasn¡¯t intentionally doing so, but she could only facepalm and shake her head - given the importance of the matter was probably high if they really were here on business pertaining to the elder vampiric god world quest. He was just so busy that he barely had time to breathe, and she was hesitant toin about his brief get-away across the with Hakim¡¯s group either because of it.


    The third audience that¡¯de up was none other than representatives from Deepnest itself, again. This time though, things were more on-edge with the ratkin, who believed that it was their right to im the dwarves as food and ves - to im the dwarven strongholds and cities for themselves. Of course Allie had t out refused them this, saying that it was Riven who¡¯d broken the war and telling Deepnest that if it wasn¡¯t for the necropolis - they¡¯d all be rat schishkabobs.


    That hadn¡¯t gone over very well. But Allie simply didn¡¯t find it in herself to care, thinking Deepnest¡¯s queen to be quite selfish and simultaneously ungrateful for the help they¡¯d gotten. That was probably why Mara had been the one to hear their gripes repeatedly ever since the Thane Necropolis had imed the dwarves as vassal citizens and ves - simr to how the elves were being treated in Tereen. Citizens who behaved were left alone or given opportunities, and people who made problems were enved and made to do hardbor until they learned their lesson. People who made more serious problems and had steep offenses, if not outright killed - were enved for life.The multi-story stone manor came into view soon enough, with guards patrolling the fence and Genua already standing out in front of the manor in a maid¡¯s outfit.


    ¡°Genua.¡± Mara called out, nodding in affirmation when they all approached the front doors that¡¯d swung open - elf servants on either side. Most of the people who¡¯dnded jobs at the manor had kept them due to the pay, even though they weren¡¯t ves anymore, and it¡¯d even be something of a status symbol for the young women and few men who¡¯d sessfully retained spots there.


    The elf-turning-thrall smiled with a nod, respectfully bowing her head at the approach of her superiors. ¡°Hello Mara. Nice to see the rest of you as well. The diplomats from Deepnest, Negrada, and the vampire covens of Bernzee are awaiting your arrival in the eastern wing.¡±


    ¡°Who or what is Bernzee?¡±


    ¡°A vampiric city in the underdark, so say the ratkin.¡±


    ¡°I see. Where is Tupper, if I may ask?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s taking the day off, I believe he¡¯s indulging in some frivolous activities with one of the other elf maidens in his room. That, or they really are watching one of those ¡®movies¡¯ the Earth-people always talk about. I told him that while I¡¯m temporarily back here in Brightsville awaiting lord Riven¡¯s return from The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s estate, I could fulfill the duties he otherwise takes on. It won¡¯t be long until I return to join my daughter Len anyways, and Tupper was always very kind to me.¡±


    ¡°That was very nice of you. How is Len doing - if I may ask?¡±


    ¡°Quite well. She has decreed that she and Azmoth are getting married one day, and the brutalisk has taken a liking to being her babysitter whenever he¡¯s around. She talks about it quite often, I think it¡¯s rather cute and very innocent.¡±


    Mara snorted, pale eyes rolling with amusement, then gestured for the maid to go ahead. ¡°Alright, show us the way.¡±


    Genua swept her long golden hair off to one side, then turned heel and with perfect posture continued into the reception room before turning right. Passing a couple of armored death knights and cyborgs posted at intervals on the first floor, they made their way to the set of double doors at the end of a long hall.


    The stone manor¡¯s eastern wing contained thergest room in the entire building.. It was here that therge indoor pool was located, and just above it on an elevated floor overlooking the pool was the dining room and kitchen. Arge crystal chandelier had been installed where candles were ced all around the perimeter of the room on shelves and other fixtures, and food was already set out along the rectangr redwood table where fancy ss cutlery was being used.


    The three delegations had already segregated themselves to a point.


    Deepnest had sent Rashtalia, the brood mother of Brood-Tarrow - an equivalent to a noble house in Ratkin society. She¡¯d been the go-between for the queen and the Thanes ever since Snagger, the oversized and muscr ratkin warrior Riven had first met in the tunnels underneath Brigthsville, had introduced them. She was sitting now but stood at 7 feet tall and wore a tinum ne that hung down over her chest. She was thin with brown fur and was dressed in a form fitting white robe. Her long bare tail, the wed hands and feet, and her mouse-like ears and face were certainly ratkin in origin - but anyone could still tell she was very feminine for a rat person; and she was apanied by only two armored soldiers on either side of where she sat alone eating berries and tarts off a te.


    Further down the table sat a hunched, red-skinned jabob demon with three green eyes, a gnarled staffid against his chair, and sported a long braided beard. His skin was old and wrinkled, but he was familiar to Mara even if it was only in brief passing. His name was Fred, or at least that¡¯s what he preferred to be called since so many of the mortal races butchered the pronunciation of his real name, and he was the tradingmune¡¯s leader - temporarily having shifted over to be an enlisted hire via the guild hall functions just like Tupper and Kathrine had done. He wore a rather odd-looking, bright purple, t-brimmed and pointy wizard¡¯s hat that expanded a couple feet in all directions; and the demon was apparently deep in meditation upon the vor of the sauces used by the manor¡¯s cooks regarding a steak he was halfway through eating.


    Lastly and just a couple seats down from the other two was another group of three blonde vampire men. The trio all had red eyes and pale skin, though their eyes didn¡¯t glow the same kind of bright crimson the purebloods had - being moreparable to Gurth¡¯Rok and Dr. Brass.


    Mara frowned. Greater Vampires, perhaps?


    <strong>[Lesser Vampire Assassin, Level 40]</strong>


    <strong>[Lesser Vampire Scout, Level 35]</strong>


    <strong>[Lesser Vampire Warlock, Level 42]</strong>


    Nope. Lesser vampires. Their bloodlines must be quite diluted whenpared to her two allies following behind her.


    The vampiric diplomats were all dressed in purple and ck silks with hoods shadowing their faces, all of them wore extravagant rings. All of them grew quiet upon Mara¡¯s approach, though they were the first ones to stand in respect when she took the steps up to the elevated tform overlooking the shimmering indoor pool.


    Genua cleared her throat as the others stood, then made formal introductions with a steely gaze cast upon the vampiric entourage in particr. ¡°Honored guests and diplomats - I present to you Chancellor Mara Tovane of the Thane Necropolis. With her are the four esteemed counselors: Gurth¡¯Rok previously known as warchief of the Yellow Skull Tribe, Dr. Brass, and the two brothers Nin Kal and Vin Kal previously of the Great Dead ins.¡±


    Dr. Brass sighed, pushing a hand through the silver hair he¡¯d let grow out over his whitebcoat. ¡°I really need to get a better title.¡±


    Nin snickered, the blue-teal orbs of light in his skull-sockets quivering in amusement. ¡°Or a title at all! Perhaps just ¡®Counselor Brass¡¯ would be preferred?¡±


    Nin and Dr. Brass shut up when they saw Mara¡¯s beautiful features set into a firm scowl directed their way.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± They said simultaneously.


    Sighing and rubbing her temple where two pieces of her head had been stitched together, the ghoul woman shook her head - then gestured for Genua to continue. ¡°You may proceed, Genua.¡±


    The elf and soon-to-be-thrall didn¡¯t skip a beat. ¡°Our guests include Rashtalia, Broodmother of Brood-Tarrow, Fred of Dungeon Negrada and the outer realms of Hell, and Aksilias Bloodmare of the vampiric covens of Bernzee alongside his two sons: Rufus Bloodmare and Jakromi Bloodmare.¡±


    ¡°It is good-great to meet-see once again!¡± Rashtalia said cheerfully, wed hands sped in front of her. ¡°I-we just wish-say it would be better-good under other circumstance-happenings. Queen of Deepnest sends regard-tidings.¡±


    The jabob demon, Fred, waved a hand. ¡°Agreed, good to see you all again! Thanks for making time for an old crotchety coot like myself. The food here is great by the way! Far better than what I get in the hellscapes.¡±


    Mara chuckled while she and the counselors all took seats at the end of the table opposite the vampiric retinue. ¡°I¡¯m d you find our food to your liking, jabob demon. Please, all of you sit. If you need further refreshments just let Genua or one of the other elf servants on the perimeter know.¡±


    The diplomats all took their own seats soon after, all except one - the warlock and the oldest vampire of the diplomat expedition from ¡®Bernzee.¡¯ His dull red eyes followed Genua to where she took a stance next to four other elves in simr maid attire, all of them rigidly still and awaiting requests along the wall.


    ¡°Aksilias Bloodmare, was it?¡± Maramented, eyeing the older blonde vampire and shaking him from his staring. ¡°Is there a problem? You seem to be ring at our servants with ill-hidden contempt.¡±


    The vampire quickly straightened. ¡°Apologies, Chancellor. I did not mean insult by it. I am just unused to having thralls so tantly ignore the orders of their superiors.¡±


    The man sat down, pulling his chair in and crossing his hands one over the other - his words directed primarily at Gurth¡¯Rok and Dr. Brass. ¡°Do you let all of your thralls have such open autonomy? It is a rare thing in our own city, but I realize that with our worlds having been merged there are certain customs that do not trante easily across social norms.¡±


    Gurth¡¯Rok replied before Mara could, and his pale-green hand opened palm-up over the table in a gesture. ¡°Curious words. Was there an incident that we need to be made aware of?¡±


    ¡°Father asked her for fresh blood, and the woman refused.¡± one of Aksilias¡¯s sons spoke out with a chuckle, making eye contact with both Dr. Brass and Gurth¡¯Rok in turn and smiling pleasantly. ¡°Nothing a goodshing won¡¯t cure to remind her of her ce if you ask me.¡±


    Gurth¡¯Rok exchanged a look with Dr. Brass, and then Mara. ¡°Do you happen to be Rufus, or Jakromi?¡±


    ¡°My name is Rufus Bloodmare.¡± The young man said simply. ¡°My brother is Jakromi.¡±


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    The vampiric orc paused in thought, red eyes narrowing. ¡°I see. Rufus it is then. May I ask the three of you, is it normal to go about this city of¡­ what was it? Bernzee? To go about Bernzee taking other people¡¯s thralls to feed on without asking permission first? Generally we keep to our own here.¡±


    Aksilias furrowed his brows in confusion. ¡°It is simply good manners to supply your guests with the blood of your thralls and cattle, so I would say under these circumstances - yes. It would be normal. When your wench denied my advances to taste her, it could be seen by some as a serious blow to your reputation. I had thought the Thane Necropolis would have leaders that trained their thralls better.¡±


    The room fell into an awkward silence.


    Then Mara blinked, and she leaned forward.


    ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s what happened. Let it be known that Genua is not a thrall yet, despite being what your kind calls cattle.¡± Mara corrected, regaining the attention of the vampiric retinue who¡¯d been primarily focused on her two counselors of simr heritage. ¡°It is true that she is a blood source for our king Riven, and she is certainly far along on her transition into a thrall, but Riven does not y by other people¡¯s rules in any case. Not only did we not know of your customs, but I doubt he¡¯d abide by them or have us abide by them in his stead even if he did know. He¡¯s not an <em><strong>ordinary</strong></em> vampire, and neither is his sister. He cares not for the opinions of others, power trumps need to save face.¡±


    Aksilias flushed slightly at the way she emphasized the word ¡®ordinary¡¯. ¡°No offense intended, Chancellor, but being a ghoul it does not surprise me that you don¡¯t understand the basic norms of vampiric culture. Offending me is the same as an offense to the people who sent me, and we have already been ignored for-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s a tragedy.¡± Mara cut him off, unphased. ¡°But I fail to see why we should care. Youe here of your own ord to discuss things rted to one of the world quests, am I right?¡±


    The vampire¡¯s frown deepened underneath his hood, and he slowly crossed his arms. ¡°That is correct. We¡¯ve been trying to contact the King and Queen of your necropolis for some time now - but every time we reach out we are ignored. We have matters to discuss concerning the vampiric elder god in the underdark. It is of great importance.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s stick to discussing that.¡± Mara snapped with a smile that didn¡¯t reach her eyes. ¡°I realize that it may be of importance to you and us, and everyone else on this, but Riven is already caught up in two other world quests already. One concerning the apocalypse beasts, and the other concerning the invaders from beyond. Even now our scouts are finding thest rats of Rippenvire¡¯s invasion force, and we are either executing them - or converting them to our own side through tested and proven means of persuasion. Toe into our home andin of asinine matters regarding why you can¡¯t suck the blood of my king¡¯s personal servant, especially after we just annihted a vampiric army that is no doubt far more powerful than your own, speaks volumes about the pompous and short-sighted attitude you and the people you represent bring. It is not a good look - vampire of the so-called Bernzee covens.¡±


    Mara leaned back in her chair, letting the words sink in while the three hooded figures in ck and deep purple red back at her. She turned her head, then gestured to Rashtalia. ¡°Broodmother of Deepnest, you may go first - as I think our friends of the Bernzee need time to process just how they want to present themselves before speaking again.¡±


    Rashtalia shot the three ring vampires a very brief look, shrugged, and took out a scroll that she rolled out on the table after motioning for one of the elf servants toe take her dishware away. ¡°Thank-praise to you, Chancellor-friend! Ie-walk bearing word-tidings of the bearded ones.¡±


    The scroll was pushed across the redwood table and Mara took the parchment up in her hands, pale eyes shifting across the text before the necromancer looked back up at the taller ratkin woman. ¡°These are number estimates regarding poption, resources, buildings and different crafters concerning the dwarves and the conquered cities of the kingdom previously known as Brya. Why am I looking at this?¡±


    Rashtalia hesitated, then inclined her head again in respect. ¡°My Queen-mother wishes to change-steer hownd-valuables are given amongst our kin-peoples. She believes-knows it to be unfair-sad that we of Deepnest never acquired-received any of the territorynds of the dwarves when the war-battles were done.¡±


    Mara cocked her head to the side in confusion. ¡°What are you talking about? All of yournds were returned to you after they were taken back from the dwarves.¡±


    ¡°Yes-yes! And it is appreciated-thanked for!¡± Rashtalia eagerly nodded her head, mouse-ears bobbing. ¡°But we think-say that our kin-warriors and brood died-sacrificed much, that we fought-killed and our blood spills the bearded-ones hallsnds. My Queen-mother wants the dwarflings¡¯ blood-bodies for food, and asks for Charathigog - one of two bearded city-nests that were taken-conquered at the end of battles-war.¡±


    Mara audibly sighed, feeling a killer headacheing on. ¡°We¡¯ve gone over this thrice already, Rashtalia. Your queen knows you would have lost the war, and your people would have been purged entirely if not for our help. We guarded our trade routes and supported your city, our warriors regrly fought on the front lines for experience and pay, and in the end - it was Riven that struck down the dwarf king that ended the turmoil your people had been going through over thisst half year. We were more than fair in giving back your many farming vis and resource-rich caverns your people originally had stolen from them when the dwarves first arrived, but the two dwarf cities of Charathigog and Reathian are to remain under the Thane Necropolis¡¯s control as a vassal state; and will eventually be integrated into our empire. Nor will we give dwarf civilians over to your people for eating, you don¡¯t need the food and simply want to kill them out of spite for what their king ordered. This is not a topic for debate.¡±


    Charathigog was the capital of the small dwarvish nation that¡¯d recently been conquered, with a few smaller dwarvish settlements of little note surrounding it in other smaller caverns. Reathian was its sister city and, unlike Charathigog, hadrgely remained untouched by the war as it was positioned deeper into the Underdark with only a single and very defensible tunnel in or out. Both cities however were full of talent in various crafts, a thriving poption, and had natural treasures that the cities were built around. Handing Charathigog over, even in its half-destroyed state of disrepair due to the war, was an absolute no-go ording to Allie - no matter what Deepnest did to try and say otherwise. It¡¯d lead to tension between the two allies, but in the end - Deepnest probably knew they were being overbearing and just wanted to get as much as they could from their sworn enemies before turning over and epting the fact that many of the dwarvish civilians would end up living to tell the tale. It was a hard pill to swallow, considering many of the Ratkin citizens had been butchered like animals in a failed attempt at genocide in the early days of the war.


    Rashtalia shifted ufortably with the answer, then pulled out another and smaller scroll -ying it out on the table next to read off of it. They ended up being the names of all the cities the Thane Necropolis now controlled, which made Mara wonder just where the diplomat of Deepnest was going with this.


    Charathigog and Reathian, the dwarvish cities, were at the top of that list. Then came Brightsville, Chicago, Rockford, and Milwaukee. Dungeon Alibast was mentioned too, given it was a strategic ally and resource that¡¯d developed a budding town around it - with Gaia being the one residing over that particr settlement. The Kingdom of Dawn with its rebuilding Capital City of Mandon, along with the northern town of Bradshire and the southern town of Belmington, were mentioned. The Earthborn city 200 miles down the southern coast of the continent, which had turned out to be none other than Corpus Christi, was also mentioned as a very recently integrated part of the necropolis after their military might was wiped out in the battle against Rippenvire before Riven, Allie, and the Chicago airforce got to saving them. The five conquered high-elf towns of Nicina, Elvirinci, Podash, Asalia, and Twinleaf were named next, along with the two conquered elvish cities of Alvadore and the previous Tereen capital Ortalight. Bluefang, the singlergestmunity of greenskins from various orc and goblin tribes in the area, was listed next, with two-dozen viges listed at the very end. These viges included 12 elf viges from Tereen, 6 human viges from Dawn, and 5 mixed viges that¡¯d just been created since integration that included many races of undead, humans, greenskins and even the asional elf that ventured outside the vassal state of Tereen.


    When finished reading off the list, Rashtalia cleared her throat to summarize. ¡°2 dwarf city nests. 5 human city nests. 2 elf city nests. 1 mixed undead-human city nest. 5 elf town nests. 1 greenskin town nest. 2 human town nests. 12 elf vige nests. 6 human vige nests. 5 mixed, mostly undead, vige nests. 1 Dungeon Alibast town nest, elf human dryads. 42 poption nests total.¡±


    Rashtalia put the list back down and crossed her arms. ¡°Deepnest only have-own five vige-nests outside Deepnest, and our kin-people are starved of space-ces. We need room-growth and caverns of beards-dwarves are good to take-nest in. Charathigog half-part destroyed, yes-yes?. Even if pay, we want to expand-take city of Charathigog so we too be-get stronger andrger-big! Other caverns given-taken back to us-we are unsettled or destroy-buried, need repair-resources and time-effort. Not expandable-settleable yet, refugees-homeless need ce from cramped-closed Deepnest after flee-flee in war!¡±


    Mara slowly blinked, her jaw bing rigid. ¡°We rightfully took those cities from the dwarves, and your people had room to live in prior to discovering the dwarvish threat. As I have said many times over now, the answer is still no. You need food? We¡¯ve provided that. You need ess to materials and manpower? We¡¯ve provided that as well. Your people evene regrly with caravans to trade with our own, our tradingpounds from off world have been opened to you, and even ess to our Elysium Altar has been provided without any additional taxation. Your queen is pushing her boundaries, Rashtalia. We like you, and we like your people, but the answer remains a firm no. This is a direct order from my own queen, The Butcher of Carnis, so I am sorry. If there¡¯s anything else that you want to discuss I¡¯m open to it, but we will not be giving up the dwarvish cities of Charathigog or Reathian.¡±


    ¡°But what if we pay-give price?¡± Rashtalia retorted boldly. ¡°All things have price-list, tell us what price and Deepnest ratkin pay-pay!¡±


    Her gaze held firm until Mara started rubbing her temple again.


    ¡°God damn it Rashtalia. Fine, I¡¯ll ask Allie if there¡¯s a price that can be set on the old dwarvish capital but I do NOT think she¡¯s going to go for it.¡± Mara shook her head helplessly, shoulders slumping. ¡°I am getting so damned tired of talking about this subject.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just help you rebuild the cavern towns that were destroyed in the war?¡± Dr. Brass suggested, frowning equally to Mara¡¯s own. ¡°I feel like we¡¯re being awfully generous here.¡±


    Gurth¡¯Rok cut in next. ¡°At least give them the opportunity to barter. The worst thates out of it is we say no again.¡±


    Mara¡¯s eyes shifted to her old friends, the two skresh necromancers next to her. ¡°Nin? Vin? Thoughts?¡±


    Per usual, neither skresh cared. If it didn¡¯t involve their experiments in necromancy or war efforts that added to their piles of bodies, they simply didn¡¯t care - which meant Mara had to deal with all the political bullshit while they got to enjoy the more rxed way of life.


    Rashtalia smiled eagerly when Mara let out a defeated groan, but was stopped before she could put forth an offer.


    ¡°Write it down, it¡¯s not my decision anyway so no need to give me the offer personally.¡± Mara tapped one of her pale fingers on one of the scrolls nearby. ¡°I¡¯ll pass it along to Allie to review and give you an answerter. Don¡¯t expect a yes. Fred? What¡¯ve you got?¡±


    While Rashtalia began scribbling on a new, nk parchment she pulled out of her robe for the third time, the jabob demon with the pointy purple wizard¡¯s hat stretched and yawned.


    Fred then yanked a spatial sack onto the table and began digging around, his old white beard swaying from side to side while he fidgeted with the contents, until a pale teal crystal appeared in his hand. It was ced on the table in front of him, before scooting it over with one finger. ck lines began racing along its outer edge when he first touched it, but it didn¡¯t do anything otherwise. ¡°The status information is already pre-listed on inspection, I¡¯ve taken the liberty. Go on, have a look before we get started on just what I¡¯m doing here.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± Confused, Mara¡¯s brows furrowed and she attempted to examine the object. To her surprise, she got far more than what was normal for someone without an identification ss or skill.


    <strong>[Death¡¯s Eye Crystal (Death)(Artificial Soul Core)(Ancient F-Grade Relic): An artificial soul core formed over thousands of years by Dungeon Kravash on the outskirts between Hell and the Sanctified Graveyard, this item can be used to add a new soul core to non-sentient undead - or can be used to add additional soul coreponents to an already-sentient undead. Guarantees one dao advancement upon integration.]</strong>


    As soon as Mara read the description she nearly spit blood, and Nin to her left literally fell out of his chair with a iling motion when he gasped - only to yank himself back to his feat and scramble towards the item to peer at it more closely.


    ¡°Is this real!?¡± Nin gasped, skeletal head whipping around to stare at the jabob demon with avid curiosity and greed. ¡°Tell me it¡¯s real and tell me you can get more of them, you little red monkey! TELL ME!¡±


    ¡°I take offense to that. I am not a mere monkey.¡± Fred replied with a scathing re, before huffing and turning his attention back to Mara. ¡°I suppose that this item may interest you¡­ Yes? Perhaps, it may eve interest the Thanes?¡±


    Mara slowly nodded, eyes not leaving the crystal for an instant. ¡°I would guarantee you it would for all parties involved. What makes you bring out a treasure like this? Did you intend to sell it to us? I¡¯m not sure anyone here could afford it, but perhaps Allie could when she gets back¡­ Or maybe Riven. What were the taxes you spent just getting it onto this? Surely it was worth more than what you can attempt to sell it for! Which brings up the question¡­ Why? Actually, you don¡¯t intend to sell it to us at all, do you?¡±


    Mara¡¯s eyebrows knitted together. ¡°What is it you want?¡±


    Fred¡¯s scheming grin widened, smirking at the gawking looks from the vampires at the other end of the table - who also had ssy, greedy expressions regarding the item. ¡°I did not intend to sell it to you¡­ but I did intend to trade it, and I wanted to show you just what it was that was on the line. If I told you that not just one or two of you could acquire such a thing, but perhaps dozens or even hundreds of your people could do so? What would you say to that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say you¡¯re crazy.¡± Mara retorted immediately, suspiciously ring at the smaller demon. ¡°These don¡¯t just grow out of nowhere. What¡¯s the catch?¡±


    Fred sagely nodded in agreement, then leaned forward and intertwined his fingers. ¡°Fortunately for you, there ARE many dozens of these cores¡­ just waiting for the taking. It was taken off an enemy dungeon¡¯s miniboss in the hellscapes. Dungeon Kravash is very heavily oriented towards undead, after all. Fortunately for you, I can tell you where to get them. Fortunately for you, Panu¡¯s guild system just went live¡­ meaning that - even aside from using guild hall prices to buy out help, you can now be HIRED by off-world entities as mercenaries. And given our little arrangement concerning the tradingpound, it opens up certain avenues that would usually be¡­ off limits, for a startup dungeon like my master Negrada. What do you know about the wars Negrada is involved in, and what do you think Riven and Allie would say to¡­ Oh I don¡¯t know¡­ letting your citizens participate in mercenary work - or perhaps even involving themselves in that mercenary work as well? I hope you¡¯re interested, because this could be a life-saving thing for my people and even the dungeon Negrada itself, while simultaneously being very lucrative and experience-heavy for all of you. As long as your people don¡¯t die, that is.¡±

 Chapter 224

    Chapter 224


    <strong>Chapter 224</strong>


    <em><strong>3 Days Later near Hakim''s vige of Jerbyville¡­</strong></em>


    The details on the vampiric elder god quest had been left with Allie to deal with since Riven would be leaving in a couple months for Chalgathi¡¯s next trial. Allie had essentially dropped out of the Apocalypse Beast questline entirely after giving him her own piece, but that didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t deal with the underdark while he was gone. He had faith in her to do so, and it¡¯d been decided by both of them that while Riven was gone for the next year - she would do what she could.


    As long as it wasn¡¯t overly dangerous of course.


    She¡¯d rolled her eyes at him and gave him a kiss on the forehead when he¡¯d insisted on this, but nevertheless she¡¯d promised. However the only real details they¡¯d even been given hadn¡¯t triggered the quest prompt, with both of them thinking it would likely take physical action to go down into the underdark at a specified location to start the world quest at all.


    The short version was that abyrinth had been found in the deepest depths of the world, and anyone that entered thisbyrinth acquired said quest update. That, and the vampires imed someone of pure vampiric blood was needed to unlock many of the seals. In the entirety of the Bernzee covens, there were only two purebloods - both of them in the same coven which made the others very, very upset.


    Hence Aksilias Bloodmare and his two sons had ventured to the surface to try and get one of the Thane siblings to spearhead their own house¡¯s expedition.


    He blinked his eyes, staring at the ceiling of the constructed ¡®nest¡¯ Ath had made near Hakim¡¯s cabin. It was a lot to deal with, and these rambling thoughts often kept him up at night. What if he failed? What if ALLIE failed?


    What then?Ath¡¯s warm thigh rubbed up against his, and she started talking in her sleep about being a princess again to his immense amusement. ¡°I suppose I should really work on sleeping during the day, and staying up at night¡­ that might be another reason why I don¡¯t get good sleep anymore.¡±


    Yawning, Riven managed to push Ath¡¯s sprawled, naked body off of his while chuckling about her mid-sleep grumbles. He managed to scoot himself to the edge of the bed she¡¯d procured for the three of them, his strength starting to return now that Gluttony was in full swing mending his broken soul and mana pathways. He was able to push himself up off the bed too, but wobbled and fell back down after a brief stroke of weakness overcame his lower back - an area where his mana channels were still fractured.


    He inwardly cursed, starlight from the small openings in the bloodsilk nest filtering through the ceiling.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± A small voice asked, and Riven felt a light touch on his hand. He looked right, seeing Fay curled up in a ball with the covers flung over her - one slender blue hand gently touching his. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    Her wide, ck eyes were full of concern, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± He took her hand in his, squeezing it softly. ¡°I just needed to get up to pee.¡±


    ¡°Can Ie with you?¡± Fay asked hesitantly, almost nervously even.


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows lifted. ¡°To pee with me?¡±


    ¡°No, I just want to go with you.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Of course you cane, Fay. I¡¯d love to have you along¡­¡± He winked, getting a yfully sharp jab in the side when she swung her own bare legs out of the covers and nted her feet on the floor.


    They exited the nest into the forest of pine trees, and began walking towards one of the two outhouses his friends from the tutorial had made.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ d you came back.¡± Riven eventually said, using Fay to support himself when he felt a searing pain down his back.


    The subus bore his weight for him, then put her free hand around the front of his bare chest to look up at his face - making him stop in his tracks under the starlight. ¡°Can I ask you something, Riven? It¡¯s been bothering me¡­ since Ath came to meet me, to convince me toe back.¡±


    He blinked. ¡°You can ask me anything, Fay. I¡¯ll be honest with you.¡±


    Nervously, she gulped, and the grip on his body tightened. ¡°U-Uhm¡­ She said some things that I, I would¡­ I would like rification on. I think?¡±


    Riven nodded patiently, waiting for her to continue.


    Fay let out a deep breath, then steeled her nerves. ¡°Riven¡­ Ath said that she thinks that you chose her, back then, because she is family to you.¡±


    Riven frowned, and closed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯d rather not relive those moments for long if I don¡¯t have to. Please, ask your questions.¡±


    She gulped. ¡°S-Sorry¡­ Uhm¡­ she said that you talked about me in your sleep? Is that true?¡±


    A sad smile yed across his lips. ¡°Yes. At least that''s what she, Azmoth and Genua tell me.¡±


    She began to blush. ¡°And she said that she thought you missed me?¡±


    His sad smile turned into another softugh. ¡°Of course I did. Why are you even asking me? Fay, you were and are important to me.¡±


    Her blush grew darker, and her eyes dropped. In a whisper, she asked: ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll ever think of me as family too? That you¡¯ll love me like that one day?¡±


    He paused, thinking of how to say what he wanted to portray to her - then a memory came to him. A fond, warm memory. ¡°Do you remember the day that I brought you flowers, after I thought I¡¯d messed everything up?¡±


    Fay giggled. ¡°Yes. You were so nervous.¡±


    ¡°I was. I was beyond nervous.¡± He ced a hand underneath Fay¡¯s chin, bringing her face to meet his eye to eye. ¡°I said it before and I¡¯ll say it again. You mean a lot to me. Yes, I do think I¡¯ll get there, that I¡¯ll feel that way about you - but don¡¯t think that it should be aparison. I loved Ath as family back then, but not as a lover. I¡¯d actually been more invested in you as a romantic partner than I was with her, and she knew this. I¡¯ve told her as much, and I¡¯m working on my rtionship with her just as I am with you - because that¡¯s what she wants.¡±


    ¡°Because that¡¯s what she wants?¡± Fay repeated, frowning. ¡°You aren¡¯t attracted to her?¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m attracted to her, as I am you!¡± Rivenughed, this time more loudly. ¡°But her promation to me back then blindsided me.¡±


    Fay¡¯s frown turned contemtive, and a bright smile lit up her face before she got up on her tiptoes and whispered into his ear. ¡°So¡­ You were actually more interested in me as a wife then?¡±


    ¡°Stop!¡± Riven said yfully, scolding her and booping her on the nose before drawing the subus in close to his body with a hug. ¡°None of that, that isn¡¯t healthy if we¡¯re really going to try to make this rtionship triangle work out.¡±


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    ¡°I know! I know¡­ I¡¯m justcking confidence and wanted to hear it¡­¡± Fay replied, embarrassed and shifting her gaze. ¡°Sorry. I won¡¯t ask questions like that again, but¡­ you didn¡¯t deny it.¡±


    She shot him a look, then furiously blushed again when he remained silent - still refusing to deny it, but with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Ok that¡¯s seriously thest time I¡¯ll ask. It¡¯s just that you actually did choose her¡­ and now knowing what you really thought about it all - it just makes me feel good. Validated, that I¡¯m not just a second choice. I don¡¯t want to feel like a third wheel.¡±


    Riven nced back over his shoulder to where Ath was still sleeping in his nest, sighed, and turned back to Fay with a gentle smile. ¡°Fine. I was, at that point, more interested in you than her for wife material - but I hadn¡¯t developed feelings of love for you. Meanwhile, I did love her as a friend and family, so when you made me choose I couldn¡¯t¡­ Ugh. Wipe that silly smile off your face - I¡¯m equally invested in both of you regarding any kind of wedding now. That was all in the past, this is the present, so if you go and tell Ath that I-¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t say a word.¡± Fay giggled, for the first time since getting back having a true giddiness about her that¡¯d previously been present. She was blushing furiously, and brought a hand up to Riven¡¯s cheek. ¡°Thanks for saying it.¡±


    Her lips touched his, pressing softly against his face, and she held him there for a long, long time until pulling back. Tears were wet against her skin, and she sniffled - wiping them off her cheeks. ¡°Thank you, Riven. It means a lot to me.¡±


    Nearby, the sound of retching was heard from the nearest of the two outhouses. Both Riven and Fay shared a look, before heading over to see just who it was.


    Coming around the corner and seeing one of the outhouse doors open, they bothid eyes on Genua - who was on her knees in a nightgown; vomiting and dry heaving into one of the two dug-out holes.


    Riven scratched the back of his head, then kneeled down beside her to put a hand on her bare back. ¡°Oof¡­ You don¡¯t look so good.¡±


    The elf dry heaved again, wiped spit off her lips, then turned her glowing red eyes to meet his. They were abnormally bright now, far brighter than they¡¯d been even a couple days ago. Wasn¡¯t it abnormal for thralls or people bing thralls to have red eyes at all? So why were hers brighter than even Gurth¡¯Rok¡¯s?


    ¡°Hello master Riven, I did not mean to wake you if that is what happened. I thought I¡¯d be quiet when exiting Ath¡¯s new house.¡± Genua¡¯s trembling arms shook from weakness, and she nearly copsed before she was caught in his arms. She made a belching sound, puked onto the ground in front of him, and groaned. ¡°I am sorry¡­ I did not mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry a damn thing about it, and you didn¡¯t wake me.¡± Riven said, concern in his voice while he propped the blonde woman up. ¡°Fay, could you go grab a ss of water?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± The subus turned around and scampered back to the nest where Ath and Len were still asleep.


    There was a long pause in the conversation after that, the silence drawing out with the sound of crickets in the night.


    Genua¡¯s fingers gripped Riven¡¯s wrist, getting his attention, and the middle-aged woman coughed to the side before clearing her throat. ¡°Riven¡­ did you want to kill them? Did you enjoy it?¡±


    Riven¡¯s brows furrowed in confusion, until a prickling sting of guilt flooded him when he realized what she meant. Sincere sadness and regret overcame him then in that moment, looking down at her, and his shoulders sagged as he propped himself up against the outhouse next to her. ¡°Your family¡­ Ethel in particr, were some of the first people I ever came across out of Negrada that showed me kindness.¡±


    He tisked, remembering Greenstalk vige and the elves he¡¯d thought would be his friends. ¡°The short answer to that question is no. I did not enjoy it. Not at all. Your husband was an asshole through and through, but Ethel in particr was a hard pill to swallow. I liked her a lot.¡±


    He gave a half-hearted smile. ¡°I even had a crush on her. Then she attempted to murder me, and thought she had, until I blew them up.¡±


    ¡°That was certainly a nasty trick you pulled.¡± Genua muttered under her breath, a slight hint of malice underlying her words - but that malice quickly faded when she continued talking. ¡°For months I absolutely hated you, for what you did. For taking my baby girl away from me, and my husband. I won¡¯t deny it though, I understand why you did it - even if I still wish it was you who¡¯d died that day.¡±


    She abruptly turned her head and belched out more vomit, going into a coughing fit while her fingers dug into the dirt. She spit, then turned and - oddly enough - smiled at him. ¡°But I do not hate you. I wanted you to know that. In some ways, I even consider you a good person despite the grudge I have against you for taking Ethel¡¯s life.¡±


    Riven, who¡¯d never thought he¡¯d ever get closure on the guilt he still battled with regarding this subject, was shocked. He nearly choked when he realized she was being genuine, and a lump in his throat started to form. ¡°Oh my god, you¡¯re being serious¡­ aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Genua nodded - shadows of pine trees shifting in the moonlight while a breeze picked up around them. ¡°You¡¯re a good kid. A good man, I mean. Or at least you try to be. There are certainly some questionable morals regarding your choice to destroy Daskus, and the way you butchered my family, but those were not choices you actually wanted to make - rather, you were forced to. I understand that.¡±


    She reached out a hand, cing it on his shoulder and beginning to squeeze when she saw tears beginning to trickle down his face. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you trying to give us a good life after your initial spurt of revenge was done, after you¡¯d been hurt and felt betrayed. A betrayal that I participated in when we tried to kill you for not a single good reason. I¡¯ve seen you battle with that guilt of retaliating for a long time now. You should stop, you have enough to deal with as it is, and battling the demons of your past - no pun intended - will only burden you more. Let it go, in many ways what happened was our own fault due to extreme prejudices, and if you can¡¯t and still really want to make it up to me¡­ If you want to make it up to Len, then just make sure Len grows up cared for. She still doesn¡¯t understand why her older sister and father were killed, and one day I¡¯m going to need to break it to her that it was you who did it. I hope that, when that timees, she won¡¯t judge you as harshly as I did after getting to know you.¡±


    Riven was silently crying now, and his reply came out as a wavering whisper. ¡°How can you even say that I¡¯ve tried to make her life better? After what I did?¡±


    Genua gave him a fond smile. ¡°You don¡¯t think I know it was you? First, it started out as extra recess time for her and her friends at the camps. That was only the beginning. Then it was extra tutoring in subjects she loved¡­ private tutors, that even went as far as to read her bedtime stories when I wasn¡¯t there. Then you allowed her to live with me in your manor, when I was supposed to be nothing more than a ve without rights. The real kicker was when you allowed me out of that silly cage Tupper came up with!¡±


    Riven snorted augh, wiping the wet tears from his eyes. ¡°That was a little bit too far, I agree.¡±


    Genua¡¯s weakly shaking hand slunk off his shoulder, and she sped her hands together with an amused eye roll. ¡°He thought you¡¯d be more into it than you were. He misjudged your character. Regardless, I was toldter by Tupper that the maids who¡¯d been giving Len extra attention at the manor had been instructed to do so. At first I thought they¡¯d just been awfully nice, but no - it was you. You¡¯d told them to do it, because you care. You are worried about her, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t reply, choosing to stare at the ground between his legs instead.


    Genua¡¯s hand again reached out, pushing her fingers across the back of his head through his hair with a groan and another huping gag. She spit one more time, ncing up to see Fay walking their way with an entire pitcher of water, and gave an amusedugh. ¡°Thank you, Riven. A piece of me may forever hate you for what you did, but know that I am working on it - and that I am sorry. Sorry that my decisions, and the decisions of my husband, ended up causing the nightmare that Iter endured. It was more our fault than it was ever yours, please - remember that. And know that I forgive you.¡±


    Riven, for all that he tried, couldn''t even form a response. Instead, he just nodded and closed his eyes - focusing on the feeling of herforting touch while he curled his head down into his knees with a sitting position.


    Crickets continued to chirp, and those chirps were soon joined by the patting of bare feet on forest ground.


    Fay huffed,ing out of a jog to a stop - and leaned down to hand Genua the pitcher. ¡°Sorry! I couldn¡¯t find the cups, but the pitcher should do!¡±


    The subus sat down on the other side of the elf when Genua took the pitcher and started to drink, frowning when Genua set it down to vomit again shortly thereafter. ¡°Did you eat something bad? Was it that mutated racoon Ath caught and cooked? I told her those things weren¡¯t good to eat and still she insisted¡­ She''s a fuck''n glutton!¡±


    Genua and Riven both sputteredughter, getting Fay to smile in self-satisfaction that they¡¯d thought her funny.


    ¡°No, dear, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it.¡± Genua shook her head, then kicked out her legs and pushed herself into aying position to look up at the stars. ¡°I¡¯ve been getting sick almost every day for the past two weeks now.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Riven furrowed his brows and cross his arms. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you told anyone? We could have gotten you a doctor, you should probably be seen by¡­¡±


    His words trailed off, and a lightbulb seemed to click inside his small pea-brain at the same exact moment that Genua gave him a knowing look.


    Fay gasped, then frowned and scratched her head. "Wait, no... that can''t be right. It hasn''t been nearly enough time for... for that. Right?"


    She nced between the other two, remembering a very particr night that Kathrine had visited the manor. Fay''s face scrunched up in concern. "I''m pretty sure it''s not even possible to, you know, with a vampire and an elf? IS it possible?!"


    Genua merely shrugged, then pulled out a small handheld mirror from a pocket of her nightgown. Staring up at the twinkling red eyes reflecting back at her, she hupped one more time. "You tell me, Fay... You... tell... me..."

 Chapter 225

    Chapter 225


    <strong>Chapter 225</strong>


    All of them, they were all going.


    Tanya, with her son Tim and daughter Julie. Hakim. Genua, Len, and Luke. Riven, Ath, Azmoth and Fay. The 23 skinwalkers in Ath¡¯s new fan club, including Ak¡¯ra and Selzi - better known to the people of Jerbyville as Sara and John.


    They were marching through the forest, many of themughing jovially in the early morning light amidst the chirping of birds and crunching of leaves and pine needles. Ath wore an assassin¡¯s outfit with her ck, ruby-studded Tiara of Silent Killing, disguised as a human with glossy brown skin and white hair - something she¡¯d recently modified to look almost like a drow elf given Gaia¡¯s Heartwood Token. Fay took on her usual blonde, tanned appearance - not even needing Gaia¡¯s token but wearing it nheless. Azmoth had the appearance of a hulking bald barbarian, and Riven only changed his eyes to not give away he was a vampire - otherwise keeping his appearance of a handsome young brte man.


    <strong>[Gaia¡¯s Heartwood Token (Epic): Wearing this token around your neck allows you to suppress any Charisma effects you may have, suppresses your vampiric qualities as well as the demonic qualities of your contracted familiars, as well as changes your status page information to represent a Level 55 Human. Those with identifier sses at high enough level can circumvent this ability.]</strong>


    ¡°Are you feeling well?¡± Genua asked, holding Len¡¯s hand while she walked beside him - shooting Riven a very concerned frown and bringing her free hand up to her chest. ¡°You don¡¯t look it¡­¡±


    She¡¯d been nervous ever since the reveal of what she thought to be a pregnancy. It wasn¡¯t a certainty, but the dots connected. Even if vampires weren¡¯t usually supposed to have babies with mortal races it¡¯d happened before when Riven had done some asking around. It was just incredibly unusual, so said some of the many pardoned Rippenvire vampires who¡¯d joined the Thane Necropolis after a deal had been struck for their lives.


    He grimaced when a twinge of pain red in his lower back, but otherwise smiled at the elf with a shake of his head - blue eyes reflecting back at her underneath a ck hood that shielded his skin from the sunlight. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just a lot to take in¡­ I never thought I¡¯d have one so soon.¡±


    ¡°Have what?¡± Len asked curiously, peeking from around her mother¡¯s leg - blonde pigtails bobbing while she walked a brisk pace to keep up with the adults. ¡°What are you two talking about?¡±¡°We¡¯re talking about those poison cookies you used to make.¡± Riven grinned. ¡°Remember when you poisoned my sister?¡±


    Len giggled, holding a hand up to her mouth. ¡°Those cookies were supposed to be for my big sister, Ethel! Not Allie! I wish Ethel was still around. I miss her.¡±


    Riven tried not to cringe. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, so do I. And Genua - if that is what¡¯s going on, you have nothing to worry about. You will be taken care of, I promise.¡±


    Genua¡¯s tense shoulders rxed, and she stared at the forest floor amidst theughter of Ath, Tim and Azmoth behind them when Fay tripped on a root to screech and facent. ¡°Thank you, Riven. I was worried.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the least I could do. We¡¯ll talk more about itter, I promise.¡±


    Casually turning and raising a hand to point past Genua on her left, Riven summoned a bloodnce the size of his arm. Red wisps of silky blood magic flowed out of his body and began sparking with ck energy before tearing into the forest with a sh of crimson - blowing a huge hole in arge tree¡¯s body.


    The tree, in turn, screamed out an alien cry and iled about - its entrails pouring onto the ground inyers as the disguised monster toppled over and died with a crash.


    ¡°Mimic. It was getting closer every time we weren¡¯t looking.¡± Riven shrugged after seeing Genua¡¯s shocked expression. ¡°Picked the wrong group this time. Hey Hakim, are we almost there?¡±


    Therge african man at the front of the group, walking alongside his girlfriend Julie and her mother Tanya, gave a thumbs up after shaking himself from staring at the beast Riven had just killed. ¡°Another ten minutes and we should make it to the clearing!¡±


    Riven gave a thumbs up.


    Then ten minutester, Hakim proved himself right.


    Two dozen tents were already set up through arge camping area cleared right outside a massive cave, one that opened into the side of a tree-covered hill. People with various weapons, sses and other equipment were moving in full swing - trading with one another, cooking, eating and joking around campfires. There were three clearly distinct groups already set apart from one another though - one of them being a well-outfitted bunch of hunters in camo withpound bows, long knives, and rifles. Another was the same group of mountain-men with axes and shotguns who¡¯d harassed Genua just days ago - with three well dressed men in top-hats holding caster staves. The third was a bunch of mis-matched, non-uniformed people with various types of metal armor, swords, pistols, rifles, crossbows, hatchets, and wands.


    They all were inbetween level 14 and 56, but this third group also had someone Riven recognized in it.


    Her name was Ja. She was the stick-thin woman in hiking gear he¡¯d met outside the shop in Jerbyville, and she wore the same equipment with arge backpack and a couple cans of bear mace strapped to her hips.


    <strong>[Ja</strong>. <strong>Level 16 Packmule, Human.]</strong>


    It didn¡¯t take long for her to see Riven¡¯s grouping into the clearing off the opposite hill when everyone else in the camp started looking their way, and a wide smile spread across her face as she brushed her dark hair back across her neck and put it up into a ponytail. ¡°Hi Hakim and Julie! Tanya you look better than ever. - I can see where Julie gets her looks. Hey Riv! Hey Tim! I was just tellin my friend here about the new guys in town! Come for a dungeon run? And what happened to your wheelchair!?¡±


    The other two groups segregated to other areas of the camp shot confused or surprised looks over to Riven¡¯s band of misfits, and the mage in the tophat who¡¯d propositioned Genua not long ago for a good time quickly avoided looking in their direction with a flush of embarrassment.


    At least the guy hadn¡¯t been an asshole about it when Genua had said no, so Riven could at least respect the man for that.


    Hakim sped hands with the thin woman and patted Ja on the back. ¡°That¡¯s right! We¡¯re here to get some leveling in, and with our new friends I think we¡¯ll go far.¡±


    ¡°You think you¡¯ll make it to the third dungeon floor this time?¡± Ja asked curiously, looking their group over one by one and pooching her lips. Her gaze lingered on some of the skinwalkers - who were all wearing various disguises of humans themselves, all of them looking something like a cult with identical brown cloaks, simple rags for masks masks, and hidden weapons underneath - but she shrugged it off a secondter. ¡°Your friends are all pretty high leveled. Riv here is level 55, and a warlock no less! That¡¯s impressive, I hadn¡¯t seen that before. Th is a level 55 assassin¡­ Fay is a level 48 illusionist. Wow that¡¯s a ss you don¡¯t see often. That big barbarian guy is level 66! Holy hell that¡¯s high!¡±


    Ja shot Genua, Len and Luke - the three elves - a quizzical stare. ¡°And those weird cult people behind y¡¯all are in the 40¡¯s to 50¡¯s too. What about the three elves though? You really bringing a kid into a dungeon? She¡¯s level 1, so is her mom. I guess the old guy is alright though, level 17 Stormrazor Battle Priest doesn¡¯t sound too bad.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not old! I¡¯m just wrinkled!¡± Luke protested with a humph, gettingughs from the surroundings.


    Riven brought up a hand and pated Len¡¯s pigtails. ¡°She¡¯ll gain passive experience while being retained in the group, and I am confident in our ability to protect her. She asked toe, I¡¯m more than certain it will be fine.¡±


    Ja gave them a skeptical look, but she also didn¡¯t realize what she was actually looking at. She didn¡¯t realize that the number 4 spot on the powerdder on this was the one she was talking to, that a single one of his 8 summoned bloodstricken undead could likely ze through most or even all of the dungeon within the single 5 minute summoning he had if only he knew the way. She didn¡¯t realize that the entirety of a small n of level 50-98 skinwalker demons were on babysitting duty to make sure the weaker members of the party weren¡¯t killed. She wasn¡¯t aware that two world-boss ss entities were here, or that the ¡®barbarian¡¯ Azmoth by himself had fought toe to toe with one of those summoned bloodstricken pdins and hade out even - adding another person to the party that could wipe this dungeon out with little to no trouble all on his own.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Riven hade a long way from fighting that level 20-something satyr warlord miniboss in Negrada. How he had struggled back then, it was a night and day difference now from the army-killing disaster on wheels he¡¯d developed into.


    ¡°Alright well just know that the average monster level is 29 on the top 2 floors, and it gets progressively higher the farther you go down.¡± Ja gave Len a worried frown, pulling on the straps of her backpack. ¡°Just be careful. On thest and fifth floor, you¡¯ll even see some monsters reaching into the 60¡¯s! The one group to actually finish this dungeon and send it into hibernation said the boss they fought was level 61! That aint nothin to scoff at, ya hear me?¡±


    ¡°I certainly do.¡± Riven nodded with a polite smile, hands sped behind his back. ¡°Let me assure you that I am not worried.¡±


    Those kinds of levels were exactly what he was looking for. Hakim was in the low 40¡¯s along with his barbarian ss, while Julie was now a level 27 healer and Tim was level 24 thief. Fay was still level 48, not having ranked up at all in a long time since she¡¯d left, while Luke was level 17 - and it was a perfect training ground for all of them. Even Azmoth might get some experience if the boss was good enough, and Tanya, Genua, and Len would gain some passive experience from being in the party while in proximity of the fighting. He, Ath, the skinwalkers and Azmoth would all be waiting on the periphery as guards to make sure things didn¡¯t go south unless needed - in which case he¡¯d send in the four-armed brutalisk first. Azmoth was leaps ahead of most things on this, but he also trailed behind Riven and Ath by around 35 levels.


    Regardless, it would all be a good precursor and warm up for whaty in waiting for them in Negrada over the next two months - because he fully intended to transition most of them to a real battlefield soon enough should powerleveling go as expected.


    Hakim jabbed Riven¡¯s side with augh. ¡°I think he¡¯ll be more than enough to make sure the lot of us do ok. Thanks for the concern, Ja.¡±


    One of the others from Ja¡¯s group of 18 people, a tall andnky blonde man with a ponytail, walked over and ced a wooden staff onto the forest floor butt-first. ¡°Hey! I was kind of eavesdropping and heard you guys would be going into the dungeon soon. I already asked the other two groups but they honestly think we¡¯re a little too weak to pair with. Five of our top ssers didn¡¯t show up today, don¡¯t know why, but perhaps you¡¯d all want to throw in with us?¡±


    Many of the rag-tag men and women from Ja¡¯s team were watching more intently now, having overheard the conversation and looking hopeful. One guy in half-te and half-studded leather called out as well: ¡°We¡¯d owe you big time! I have a wife to feed!¡±


    Some peopleughed, while others just nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Wife to feed?¡± Riven asked, somewhat amused. ¡°Does this dungeon really give enough loot to make a living off of it? Especially since only one team actually made it to the end.¡±


    ¡°Every monster drops meat and Elysium Coins, sometimes items, and there are more than enough monsters to go around.¡± Ja confirmed with a wide smile. ¡°Any items we get, they give to one of us three pack mules and we divy it up at the end of the trip. They even drop <strong>magical</strong> items once in a while! Got a dagger that did an additional 68 lightning based damage the other day - I haven¡¯t seen my husband¡¯s eyes boggle like that since the integration!¡±


    A thinner balding man in the background scoffed, probably because of the teasing grin his wife was giving him, then looked away after sticking his tongue out at her.


    ¡°Anyways we might not be as strong as you all, but Ja seems to trust you.¡± The mage went on, raising an eyebrow when the team of hunters started their way into the cave on their own. He watched with everyone else as the hunters in camo disappeared, then turned around to shove his free hand into a pocket. ¡°We¡¯ll even split it 70/30 in your favor due to power discrepancy, but at least we¡¯ll get something instead of nothing at all if we just up and leave. How about it?¡±


    Riven shared a look with Hakim, then the others behind him. No one spoke up, leaving the decision to him. ¡°Yeah, we can probably do that. But know that this actually isn¡¯t a normal dungeon run.¡±


    Ja and the mage both looked confused, as did many of the others.


    ¡°What do you mean, Riv?¡± Ja asked while pooching her lips again, hands on her skinny hips. ¡°How would this not be a normal dungeon run? Were you only wanting to stay on the top floor or somethin? We¡¯d only been wanting to go to the second floor, so if that was the issue I suppose we could just take in the first if you¡¯re morefortable with that.¡±


    Riven shook his head. ¡°No not that. The thing is, most of us are here to make sure the ones fighting don¡¯t get killed. I won¡¯t be fighting unless needed, same with those cultist-looking people in the back. Th won¡¯t be either, nor will that barbarian guy. This is a power-leveling trip, and for most of it I¡¯ll probably be sitting in the background working on totems. So if you guyse along, that¡¯s fine - just know that we¡¯ll do our best to help you lot out but you¡¯ll be less of a priority than the ones we already have with us.¡±


    ¡°Oh! That - that¡¯s unexpected, power leveling doesn¡¯te cheap!¡± The mageughed, then raised an eyebrow Hakim¡¯s way. ¡°No wonder they¡¯re new to the area! I hadn¡¯t realized you and Julie had the money to hire power levelers like this! Exins a lot.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a friend, they¡¯re doing it for free.¡± Tanya stated from the side, pulling out a sandwich from her ice-box she¡¯d brought and handing the cold meat-and-cheese sandwich to Len with a warm smile. ¡°And I for one am excited! I haven¡¯t actually ever been in a dungeon and I¡¯ve always wanted to see my son and daughter do their thing! They always tell me these bold, adventurous stories - so now with some more protection I finally feel ready toe too!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be in the back watching the show.¡± Genua confirmed. ¡°Hakim, Julie, Tim, Luke, and Fay are the only ones fighting from our group.¡±


    ¡°More experience for us then!¡± The mageughed. ¡°With nearly 30 high rankers watching over us C-and-D rankers, I feel better about this already!¡±


    ***


    The cave opened up into a huge tunnel that eventually smoothed out into a perfectly polished brown hallway of neatly packed dirt and stone that spiraled down into the earth. When it eventually came to a stop in the front of a set ofrge stone double doors that were already wide open, the sounds of battle and screams could be heard from inside with torches lighting the interior.


    <strong>[You have entered Dungeon Petrus. Other in-area participants: 195]</strong>


    Apparently there were multiple groups already inside, more than just the one that¡¯d gone before them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother helping, they¡¯ll just get angry about us trying to steal their dropped coins and loot.¡± Hakim muttered under his breath, head-nodding to where the hunters in camo were firing projectiles or engaging in closebat with swarmingrge purple rats in the low level 20¡¯s.


    Riven didn¡¯t pay them much attention, instead turning his head around to look at the various other hallways leading out into the rest of the dungeon. This was a lot different than Negrada had been, and was more simr to the other dungeon Hakim had visited with the drake. But even there, Riven hadn¡¯t started out at the top floor - but instead had been summoned to the boss room at the very end.


    Negrada itself had only seen his trek lead him across its top floor in the hellscapes. Even Gaia¡¯s dungeon hadn¡¯t been fullypleted before the demigoddess had introduced herself. So this would, in fact, be the very first dungeon Riven went through from top to bottom.


    The first ever. This would be new.


    The thought made Riven chuckle, considering he was actually just babysitting for the trip. He gestured to the others behind him, everybody from the additional 18 of Ja¡¯s raiding party having gotten the heavy hint that he was themander here. ¡°Same n as what we discussed earlier. Nobatants you¡¯re with me, the rest of you are on Hakim - he¡¯ll be your de facto leader. Combatants, if you need to drop back to safety we¡¯ll be here - but Elysium rewards those with more XP if you struggle to win. You¡¯ll get more out of it if you put yourself on the edge, just keep that in mind.¡±


    Ja, two other people wearing backpacks including her husband, and one other man in spectacles exited the original 18 of their own raiding party to mingle with most of Riven¡¯s original batch. 14 stood beside Fay, Julie, Hakim, Luke and Tim for a total of 19batants - healers in the back, archers and casters in the middle, tanks and fighters in the front, with two rogues and Tim being a forward scout to check for traps.


    ¡°Make sure the scouts don¡¯t run into anything too lethal.¡± Riven told Ath in a voice loud enough for all of them to hear. ¡°If it¡¯s a trap - leave it for them to find and disarm unless you think it¡¯ll outright kill them, but give the scouts an opportunity to try first. Try to stay hidden so you don¡¯t alert any of the monsters here to your presence.¡±


    ¡°Roger-roger!¡± Ath saluted. ¡°And you never asked about my two new blood abilities! Meanie. I¡¯ve been dying to show you since we used that dao treasure - so if wee across something strong can I show you then?!¡±


    Riven facepalmed. ¡°Sorry! I¡¯ve just been so busy Ipletely forgot. Yes! Of course, show me when the next opportunity arises!¡±


    She aggressively groped his ass with a brilliant and almost predatory grin. ¡°Good boy! I¡¯ll be on the periphery. Oh and good luck Fay! Get some levels in for us!¡±


    Then she blurred across the room to where Fay stood - so fast that most people couldn¡¯t even see the movement and causing people to shout out in rm and stumble in shock. She took Fay¡¯s face in both hands, gave her a solid mouth-to-mouth kiss, andughed before disappearing in a sh of ck.


    ¡°Where did that assassin go?¡± The blonde mage from earlier asked hesitantly looking around with many of the others and avoiding eye contact with Fay while blushing furiously at the public disy of affection. ¡°Does she have a teleport spell?!¡±


    ¡°No. She just moves very fast, and is very stealthy.¡± Riven stepped back, motioning for Hakim to take charge. ¡°Go on then. We¡¯ll be here if you need us. Do you already know the way to the second floor?¡±


    Hakim hesitantly shook his head - still ignoring the sounds of battle down one of the hallways on their right. ¡°This dungeon, as most other dungeons I know about, changes from time to time. There¡¯ll always be a way down, per Elysium¡¯s rules, but that way down can shift. Let¡¯s go the opposite way Jared¡¯s group just went. I don¡¯t like the look of camo anyways. Scouts run ahead, and let us know if there¡¯s anything there. Let¡¯s get a move on so we can make the third level by tomorrow!¡±


    An excited cheer of agreement went up, and they all started down the leftmost hallway in quite high spirits.

 Chapter 226

    Chapter 226


    <strong>Chapter 226</strong>


    ¡°This feels very much like a vacation.¡±


    Thement gained him some curiously amused looks from Ja and her nonbatant fellows from the other group, but none of them said a word. How could they, when everything had gone so smoothly so far? Battle after battle, time after time, not a single one of the forward group had been seriously wounded - with Ath and the strange cultist-looking people having intervened twice to save someone from any real harm.


    Riven munched on one of Tanya¡¯s standard sandwiches, going through the dozens of different ingredients, notes, and diagrams sprawled out around him on arge disc of solidified crimson ice he was now sitting on. It floated down a hallway at a leisurely pace under the orange and yellow torches lighting the dungeon at intervals, keeping in range but not too close to the sounds and shouts of battle further into the dungeon hall. His ability to see in the dark also helped, because if he¡¯d been a normal human it would have only been every dozen or so feet that he¡¯d actually be able to see clearly with all the patches of shadow.


    ¡°This one.¡± Azmoth said, pointing to the tiny rodent skull Riven was looking for while maintaining a cross-legged position next to him on the disc.


    ¡°Oh! Thanks man.¡±


    Riven picked it up and added it next to the square block of wood he was going to change into his first-ever fully fledged totem. The ones he¡¯d made in the tutorial all that time ago hadn¡¯t actually beenplete,cking souls or soul shards to control them, but now that Riven had the Death Subpir he wouldn¡¯t have much of an issue getting said soul.


    Genua and Tanya watched him curiously, sitting in their own spots on the floating disc while the skinwalkers kept a closer watch on the fighters in front.


    ¡°You said you¡¯ve done this before?¡± Genua asked curiously, staring down at one of the diagrams before entering another patch of darkness. ¡°You create runes and nt them into an object? Isn¡¯t that the same thing as runecrafting?¡±¡°It is very simr, yes.¡± Riven stated warmly, growing excited as the mysticism behind magic once again set in. It¡¯d been a while since he¡¯d been able to truly rx, and was finding this setup of arts-and-crafts for adults rather enjoyable. ¡°Last time I created two small cylindrical blood totems that shot out damaging blood magic! But I¡¯ve been able to buy a bunch of crafting manuals from the Elysium Altar we have at ridiculous prices, it isn¡¯t anything intricate but it is enough to give me the basics on how to approach this given myck of real experience.¡±


    He picked up the square piece of wood, then held up a finger while Tanya watched under furrowed brows as a thin wisp of blood manasered itself into the wood - cutting off the top of the cube and then hollowing it out entirely. Riven took another look at two diagrams set out before him, carved another sigil into the rodent skull, ced the rodent skull into the cube, and then slit his wrist - getting a gasp from Tanya when his own blood started pouring into the cube¡¯s interior.


    ¡°Riven! Why did you¡­¡± Tanya¡¯s voice trailed off, and she sighed in relief when Riven¡¯s skin quickly began repairing itself over the course of seconds. ¡°Don¡¯t do that! You¡¯re going to scare Len!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not scared!¡± Len replied with a giggle, watching Riven put an odd-looking red herb into the wooden cube before sealing it shut again with crimson ice. ¡°Riven didn¡¯t even cry! I would have cried, but he¡¯s big and strong. I don¡¯t think he ever cries. One of my friends from camp said boys don¡¯t cry or they¡¯re girly.¡±


    Riven nearly choked in amusement at the look Genua shot her daughter. ¡°Everyone is allowed to cry sometimes, Len. Even boys. I cried just yesterday actually.¡±


    ¡°WHAT!?¡± Len gasped with an open mouth, hands raised up in shock to either side. ¡°Oh my goodness! What made you cry though!? Did you get hurt!? Did someone hurt your feelings?¡±


    Riven tilted his head to the side, pondering what he was going to say and then slowly turning his blue eyes to where Azmoth sat in his barbarian visage. ¡°Azy beat me up.¡±


    ¡°Really!? But Azy is so nice!¡±


    ¡°Really.¡±


    ¡°Azy! How could you!?¡± Len gasped again, utterly shocked and making her mother chuckle while facepalming. Len pointed an using finger at the demon with a stern scowl. ¡°You leave Riv alone! You don¡¯t want him to turn into a crybaby!¡±


    ¡°Toote for that.¡± Azmoth grunted. ¡°Sorry Len. He big baby, but we work on it. His character develops slow, but growing up is hard.¡±


    ¡°HEY!?¡± Riven protested,nding a hand on his chest. ¡°That¡¯s hurtful! You goddamn jerk!¡±


    Len held up her hands to hide a smile, giggling again and leaning into her mom to put her head on Genua¡¯sp and looking down the hallway. ¡°Thanks for letting mee Rive- Riv! This is exciting!¡±


    ¡°No problem kiddo. No problem at all.¡±


    Turning the cube around, he started using his blood mana to cut into the wooden cube¡¯s faces one by one - carving sigils that matched some of the basic inscriptions on the papers when he felt Gluttony¡¯s presence enter the area.


    He nced left, seeing his soul clone in the form of Gluttony¡¯s maw watching from where it¡¯d appeared in the air above them and to the right - but it quickly vanished after only staying for a few seconds.


    Huh.


    Funny that. Riven wasn¡¯t even fazed by the presence of the sin anymore, something that¡¯d cause other people and creatures to cower in absolute terror was now just a passing partner of his. He knew the ramifications of partnering with Gluttony would be tremendous, but in what ways or if it was to be a good thing or not were yet to be determined.


    It would PROBABLY be good?


    Bleh. Who knows. What he DID know is that Gluttony had already saved his life multiple times. The first time being in Negrada when he fell into that pit of blood and the tentacle monster tried to eat him, and thest time being when Elysium¡¯s tribtion tried to strike him down for using Malignant Prophecy one too many times. The least he could do was to give Gluttony a chance, as weird as that was to think about considering it was supposed to be an evil entity of extreme proportions.


    Finishing his inscriptions on each cube face, he took a vial of thick gray powder and dusted it into the crevices - receiving a sh of energy on each of the rather sinister, gothic runes.


    Clicking his tongue and curiously having some time for introspection, specifically concerning his Death Subpir, he then began to channel small amounts of mana into it - shifting his gaze into the void¡­


    Into the void to look for a soul.


    Or better yet, souls - plural.


    Fuck it, even soul shards would do. He just needed to make these totems work, and without at least a shard - he wouldn¡¯t be able toplete his creations.


    Even if they were rather basic copies of the ¡®Totems for Dummies¡¯ equivalent book he¡¯d bought out of the Elysium general store.


    ***


    Fay was a curse specialist, though one wouldn¡¯t know it by thepleteck of expression every time she cast one of them. Curses often had a negative tradeoff for casting them, in Fay¡¯s case this was pain and physical anguish the more and more she cast. She¡¯d be rather good at hiding the self-inflicted agony through trial and practice, and in turn they were usually more powerful than their counterpart spells that only used mana. Back when she¡¯d fought with the orcs of Gurth¡¯Rok¡¯s tribe in attempting to save the elves of Greenstalk Vige, these curses had blown through dozens of enemies with curse traps, confused them with illusions using Curse of the Dreamwalker, and had melted away their flesh in ck clouds using Curse of Rot. But she hadn¡¯t grown much since then, and it was painfully obvious by the way she was struggling here in the dungeon beside Hakim, Luke, and the other more capable people in thisbatant group that she¡¯d been left far, far behind Riven and his other two minions.


    Sure, she had her ¡®Charm¡¯ ability that infatuated enemies who were close by - and she had the ¡®Dark Pact¡¯ curse which was her newest acquisition - which healed all allies nearby while simultaneously slowing enemies. It was a Tier 3 curse, was pretty potent, and it built up over time in both how much it healed as well as how much it slowed enemies. The problem was the self-inflicted harm mentioned in the description - which was supposed to be a given since the ability was actually a curse. If it specifically mentioned self-harm in the disy window¡­ that did not bode well for the caster.


    But she¡¯d never had the chance to use thatst ability with a team, and she was determined to try and use it here after getting back into the swing of things concerning her more offensive spells first.


    <strong>*SPLAT*</strong>


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    Fay torpedoed past a series of heavily armored rats bearing down on their party with metal-tipped fangs, setting up curse trap after curse trap in shes of green runes in front and behind the huge rodents while they swarmed down the domed room.


    Explosions of unholy might lit up the dark interior of the dome, sending waves of green energy sting through metal, bone and flesh in sprays of shrapnel. Each explosion detonating gave Fay a sharp pain randomly across her body, but she kept pushing herself farther and farther - setting down more and more traps as fast as she could conjure them as the roars of iing enemies.


    And behind those rats were hulking, fleshy, humanoid mutants with purple goo for flesh - spurring the rodents on whileughing at the massacre of their own pets that just kept oning. Bright orange eyes, hulking muscles, no necks with heads connected straight to a torso of dripping slime.


    Was it slime?


    She couldn¡¯t tell - but utilizing Riven¡¯s armor through the master-minion bond, she was able to get basic details.


    <strong>[Petrus Mutant, Level 31, Beast Tamer]</strong>


    <strong>[Petrus Mutant, Level 19, Sludge Warrior]</strong>


    <strong>[Petrus Mutant, Level 40, Sludge Warrior]</strong>


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Fay felt something hard impact her gut mid flight, and she gasped before being mmed into the far wall with an audible crunch of bone when one wing gave out.


    ¡°Gods damn it!¡± She wheezed, coughing blood and staggering to her feet only to see Ath begin to move in to intercept the hulking sludge warrior sprinting her way. ¡°DO NOT INTERFERE ATHELA! I NEED THIS!¡±


    The archdemon was hidden to most, and to people outside of Riven¡¯s contracts the arachnid woman was pretty much invisible. So the sludge warrior didn¡¯t see who or what Fay was yelling at, only giving a passive half-second nce at the dark ceiling above while continuing to barrel ahead withrge bulky fists raising above its head.


    Still, Ath slowed - doing as asked to let Fay handle this by herself.


    Because Fay was tired of being the weak link here. She was going to push herself, even if it meant being banished over and over again in temporary death - she was going to rise.


    Pushing herself forward with one broken wing, Fay¡¯s feathered boots propelled her forward to meet the charging brute twice her size.


    She dodged left and flung up a dreamwalker zone, narrowly avoiding an iing vertical swing of both its arms when it perceived her to go left when she really went right - and a ck mist of Curse of Rot was sted directly into the monster¡¯s face.


    Its purple skin began to sizzle and necrose as the purple sludge-like creature screamed and hit the ground with its knees, wing at its skin only for a rune to sh green right in front of where it knelt.


    Next thing it knew, Fay¡¯s boot crashed into the back of its head - sending the monster directly into the rune that¡¯d just flickered out into invisibility. But that didn¡¯t mean it still wasn¡¯t there.


    The monster¡¯s skull exploded upon impact with the invisible trap rune, and Fay was sent stumbling back - cursing that she couldn¡¯t just light up a rune inside a living creature which would have made things so much easier. Withdrawing her wings entirely because they were now slowing her down, she turned back to the fight where Julie was busy focus-healing two armored warriors and Hakim.


    ¡°You ok!?¡± Tim called out, huffing and tearing out of the shadows with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. ¡°You took a real hit there!¡±


    Fay gave him a polite smile, though internally she was furious at her ownck of performance. She was supposed to be better than this, and she mentally moved her dreamwalker zone to hover over the majority of her party - causing enemies to see the world at a nt, to see swings that weren¡¯t there, or to see new enemies that simply didn¡¯t exist. ¡°I¡¯m ok, thanks for asking!¡±


    She watched as Hakim¡¯s downward axe created craters through the dungeon floor, splitting open numerous armored rats in a single go when he followed up with a shockwave stomp simr if not identical to the one Azmoth had. She watched as the lightning mage in Ja¡¯s group hurled sparks and chain lightnings, killing two or three rats at a time from the backlines while archers and men with rifles activated martial arts to empower their projectiles in shes of green and blue.


    Why couldn¡¯t she have offensive abilities like that?


    Had she chosen the wrong path to power?


    Fay felt so useless.


    She watched as Luke, being the lowest level of them all and quickly gaining ground to catch up to even her throughout the short time they¡¯d been in here, wipe out two sludge monsters ten levels of his own paltry level 19 with muttered incantations - creating miracles that sent whirlwinds that ripped creatures asunder with a maddening howl of noise.


    Even Julie, who¡¯d been a level 22 Healer Priestess Initiate, was able to gain three levels since arriving in Dungeon Petrus.


    Yet despite all that she¡¯d tried, Fay hadn¡¯t even grown a single level yet - and had only managed to kill the weaker creatures of the dungeon even if it was a good number of them.


    But she would not be left behind despite the sinking feeling in her chest. She would NOT allow herself to take up one of Riven¡¯s slots, only to be useless baggage when he could have someone better.


    Determination filled her, raging against despair, and the sound of shuddering weight pounding against stone made her head shift right. Through the darkness and behind a slowly grating gate at the end of a tunnel, the solid ck eyes of a bus-sized beetle glittered back at her.


    Just like the rats, this creature was covered in spiked metal tes. Huge pincers that could crush a man in a single go red out to either side, and when it opened its maw - a swarm of smaller beetles just like it flew out towards them like a silver tide of carnivorous rage.


    <strong>[Petrus Beetle Queen, Level 62]</strong>


    <strong>[Petrus Beetle Drone, Level 12]</strong>


    <strong>[Petrus Beetle Drone, Level 8]</strong>


    <strong>[Petrus Beetle Drone, Level 16]</strong>


    This was her chance to prove herself!


    Immediately she began setting up dozens upon dozens of shing green runes through the end of the tunnel and into the mouth of the dome room the rest of her party now fought in. Each time she did, another prickling sting or ache assaulted her body; another jab at her conscience tried to sway her away from the cursed path she¡¯d chosen. However she kept pressing on.


    ¡°Shift! Shift damn you!¡±


    Her dreamwalker zone did just as she asked, shifting away from where the battle behind her raged across the room and into the other tunnels. It moved, cing itself directly in front of her where the swarm of drones and therger queen beetle were racing down the hall towards the shes ofbat.


    She closed her eyes, focusing on what she wanted them to see - and bought herself time when hallucinations took on the iing swarm.


    The cloud of beetles and the queen itself went into a rage, fighting invisible enemies and killing one another off when they began to think of each other as the enemy before they¡¯d even reached her magicalndmines. One by one they sttered, buzzed, sent sparks of electricity at one another, and died.


    Until the beetle queen let out an angry roar that shook the hall and reverberated off the stones with some kind of martial art - pulsing with gray waves of power that caused Fay to immediately vomit.


    The hallucinations shattered.


    The unholyndmines all shattered.


    And her entire party all crumpled together in a mass-effect attack of violent puking and hurling. Even some of the skinwalkers started looking queasy, with two of the disguised demons immediately gagging.


    <strong>[You have been afflicted with the debuff: Extreme Nausea.]</strong>


    She wretched, only to scream aloud when two beatles each the size of her fist mped down onto her right leg and began to tear at her soft blue skin.


    Fay immediately reeled backwards and exploded with a ck cloud of rot, showering the oing beetle swarm and rebuffing them from joining their counterparts in the rats and sludge men. Insects died by the dozens and then hundreds, smoldering in ck pockets of necrosis that ate them away at rapid pace. Snarling and stomping down onto one of the two beetles that''d been blown off and half-eaten by the sheer force of her ck cloud of rot - she puked a third time before getting dizzy.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    A giant insectoid limb clipped her shoulder through the ck cloud and tore a huge bloody gash through her flesh, smashing into the ground in a spray of stone with a force that¡¯d no doubt have killed her outright should she have been hit full on.


    Fay hit the ground, rolling and reeling in agony while trying desperately to get ahold of her senses. She rapidly blinked, using a pir in the domed room for support to try and stabilize herself - only to see Riven looking her way with a worried expression from the backline. And when she saw him move to help, she held up a threatening finger his way.


    ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE! THIS IS MY FIGHT!¡±


    She whirled around again, trying not to get upset with herself for the embarrassing disy she was putting on - then almost took a face-full of purple goop to the head that¡¯d exploded across the room. Thankfully she managed to dodge most of it, but little spots of acidic sludge she hadn''t managed to duck began eating away at her skin while she let out a scream.


    Then, she felt a searing golden energy flood across her body - burning the purple acid away but simultaneously causing her entire body to shake in rigid pain like she was burning from the inside out while she gasped. Then she profusely vomited as random spots of wounds started to rip across her sky-blue skin with holy light.


    Fay stared down at Julie who was on her knees in front of her in a praying posture - golden wisps and rays of brilliance shooting up from cracks in the ground that her miracle was tearing into. Julie had attempted to heal Fay while not realizing that Holy magics had an opposite effect on demons, and Fay quickly shook the other woman while tripping over her own feat and vomiting yet again. "UGH! JULIE! STOP HEALING ME!"


    A ritual circle encircled Julie while her eyes glowed gold before she realized in horror what was happening, and another burst of radiance lit up the room - healing everyone EXCEPT the demons in their party before her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out.


    Fay let out a sigh of relief as the golden and white lights across her skin faded, but she was in very bad shape.


    And the fight still wasn¡¯t done. Over half of theirbat team had been taken out ofmission and onto the sidelines by the stronger spectators of the supervising group, in other words - they would have died in a real, non-supervised scenario. Julie was out for the count, Tim was out, Hakim was out, even Luke was out.


    There were only eight of them left, including herself and a bunch of randoms from the local squad.


    Taking a deep, calming breath, Fay spread her wounded patchwork wings andunching herself towards the ceiling. She turned, taking in the oing swarms of vermin and beetles - thetter all chittering and buzzing to rush her way. Two dozen unholy sigils shed and evaporated around her in a protective reverse dome, a ck cloud swirled and roared about her body for a secondaryyer of protection, and she began to chant the rites of Dark Pact for the very first time.


    <strong>[Dark Pact (Unholy)(Tier 3) ¨C Create a cursed zone of healing for allies while simultaneously slowing the thoughts and movements of your enemies. The more mana used to create the zone, and the smaller the zone is, the higher the potency of the hallucination effects. The longer you use this zone and the higher potency you use it at, the more anguish you personally experience until it hits a threshold. When the threshold is reached, you begin to take rapidly escting physical damage.]</strong>


    Her hands blew through the motions, arcing up and around her - twisting and turning in the lock-and-key mechanisms needed to summon this particr curse. In her mind¡¯s eye, she identified who was enemy and who was ally in a single abrupt thought - while her mouth uttered the words needed to go along with the dance her body was performing.


    ¡°Bluvetsa rav etlespronumas krakemi thor!¡±


    The room around her seemed to freeze as a pulse of ck and green rippled across the air, or at least it did for all of the dungeon monsters. It was like watching a movie in slow motion: the beetles pped their wings more slowly, the downward swing of a mutant¡¯s club fell far slower, even a nearby rat fell to the earth in its dive at almost a third of the speed that it would have otherwise done. All of this happened under a zing pentagram of crimson light that created itself over Fay¡¯s head and near the ceiling above, unholy sigils swirling around to create an ominous feel to the very air around them.


    Meanwhile the rest of her remaining party surged with vitality as the same spell poured healing mana into them, while Fay¡¯s mind went nk with torturous pain.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!¡±


    Blood poured from her eyes and it felt like hot irons were tearing into her brain. Her ears started to ring from the sensation while channeling the zone while enemies down below her died, and she felt more than heard the defensive runes she¡¯d created underneath her hovering position go off with explosion after explosion while beetles attempted to get to her.


    It was unlike any pain she¡¯d ever experienced before, a curse on an entirely different level - and she absolutely hated it. But as her mind gave out and her mind broke under the pressure of the torture, what she didn¡¯t hate were the brief notifications she saw filter across her vision when she finally released the cursed zone to the ether.


    <strong>[You have gained 1 level. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have gained 1 level. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have gained 1 level. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]</strong>


    Her body limply dropped through the air like a sack of potatoes, but despite her vision going dark - she let on a smile. Elysium had recognized her efforts even despite her role as a support, and she had to remind herself that even despite not having a lot of direct firepower - it was still possible to catch up to her friends.


    Fay¡¯s bodynded in a soft bed of flowing blood, where she was gently transferred into the arms of Riven who smiled down at her.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I like your skillset all that much, even if it is useful.¡± Riven stated with a concerned grin, giving her kiss on the forehead between her two small horns. ¡°But I won¡¯t take away your moment of glory. Good job Fay, I¡¯m proud of you.¡±


    Ah.


    Yes.


    He had called her useful.


    He still thought she was useful.


    That was exactly what she¡¯d been wanting to hear, even if she hadn¡¯t specifically admitted to the need aloud. Her body rxed, and with a content hum, she let herself doze while the rest of the remainingbatant squad continued their best to try and cull what was left of the oing swarms.


    Unfortunately, she¡¯d pushed herself to the point that she didn¡¯t even realize what she¡¯d done. She¡¯d pushed herself hard, to prove to herself and to everyone else that she was still worthy. That she could still be something, mean something, and provide something to the group - when she¡¯d let her personal hallucinations slip. When she¡¯d used her demonic wings to fly. When she¡¯d identally lost Gaia¡¯s amulet due to a sludge-ball to the face and had gone all out. She was too exhausted to notice how many of the people were now looking at them. At how her body had changed from that of a blonde, tanned supermodel into a simr but also very different visage of a blue-skinned, white-haired, winged subus.


    A very famous subus at that, at least on Panu.


    She didn¡¯t see the dropped jaws, the unhinged stares, or the looks of shock and awe from Ja or herpanions before she let herself drift off into the very warm and cozy embrace of her lover and master. And honestly, even if she had seen it, she probably wouldn¡¯t have cared all that much.


    Because Riven had said she was still useful.


    She was in a good ce.

 Chapter 227

    Chapter 227


    <strong>Chapter 227</strong>


    shing magics tore through the air on either of her sides as ck hooded figures and screeching waves of undead intercepted enemies of the necropolis with overwhelming force.


    Allie¡¯s foot blurred - smashing down into the neck of a dying ratkin rogue, snapping the creature¡¯s neck while sneered in contempt. With a lightning fast backhand she tore half the face off of another ratkin warrior who¡¯d dared try to take her head on.


    The creature was sent spinning, dead before it even hit the cavern floor. Crossbow bolts flew through the air towards her and simply bounced off her armor or were swatted away with contempt.


    ¡°Pathetic.¡±


    ming skulls were born from the ether, and they began to scream before shattering the sound barrier and crashing into their targets in explosions of death.


    Allie¡¯s hands rose out to either side of her path as she walked, and the dead began to rise with them. Flesh peeled from bone, while necromantic magics gave life to the skeletons of those who¡¯d been alive not mere minutes before then. Her echoing footsteps joined the groans and shrill screams of the dead over the din of battle, and as one - they rushed the oing ratkin vagabonds that were mostly squealing and running for their lives in a panic.


    People didn¡¯t call her the Butcher of Carnis for nothing.


    The ground groaned underneath her, and ghosts swarmed up from the depths to tear at her enemies and inject themselves into the soul realms of the fleeing humanoid rodents. They died by the dozens, and then by the hundreds, while she and a dozen of her fellow necromancers watched the bodies pile up in the backdrop of a burning dwarvish vige.¡°They will stoping eventually if I ughter enough of them.¡± Allie said from underneath her hood, red eyes shing from behind a skull mask and body flickering with teal and ck energy. ¡°Or they will be converted to our cause the hard way.¡±


    Mara nodded with hands sped behind her back while Nin and Vin chuckled beside them. ¡°More bodies for the necropolis is never a bad thing. Ratkin from deepnest are still angry with the dwarves, but these dwarves are ours now. I agree, they will learn - or their bodies will join us in death. And I doubt their leadership will evere out to publicly support these vagabonds either, their rtionship with your highness is too valuable a thing for them to lose over little squabbles like this.¡±


    ¡°Either way, we win¡­¡± Vin said in a raspy voice, his body of bone quivering with excitement at all the dying raiders that¡¯d sacked the dwarf vige only an hour ago.


    A dwarf vige that was owned by none other than the Thane Necropolis.


    He mmed his staff into the ground, bone fingers scraping against the wooden shaft, and shrieked to the cavern ceiling above to unleash a dark green wave of gue; one that rushed overhead and dove into the battlingbatants where the living started to pick up nasty afflictions of disease at elerated rates.


    Allie snorted in disgust, walking forward through the underground realm and towards a tunnel descending further into the underdark. She didn¡¯t nce back, and the other dozen necromancers followed with sweeping ck cloaks billowing out behind them. ¡°Have the patrols continue to run them down, and have our soldiers put the ratkin heads on spikes after we leave. We have business to attend to, otherwise I¡¯d do it myself.¡±


    Mara nodded, beginning to pull out a phone inscribed with sigils from the mechanics in Chicago.


    Allie continued, only waiting long enough for Mara to ry the first message. ¡°Send a letter to the queen of Deepnest. A letter letting them know that our guard patrols have just tripled. If she isn¡¯tpetent enough to get her people in check, I¡¯ll start doing it for her. Tell her that word for fucking word. Fimrindle, scout ahead. And tell Lahn that I¡¯m going to bete on our return after this unexpected fiasco, but that I¡¯ll still be back in time for the ball in a couple weeks.¡±


    The iron scarecrow exited concealment and nodded, vanishing into the tunnelbyrinths of the underworld like a silent wraith. Descending into darkness, with a horde of undead and the most elite necromancers of the Thane Necropolis at her back, Allie took her the first steps on the edge of known territory. Following a map supplied by the Bloodmare coven, they began their trek towards the underground vampiric city of Bernzee.


    ***


    The dungeon was covered in viscera, organs, and blood - with Ath tearing through enemies with herrge archdemon form on full disy; standing over the corpses as a huge white drider touched by one of the seven primal sins. When the forward group had almost been overwhelmed, and now that Fay had already given their identities away, there wasn¡¯t much more point to keeping hidden. She¡¯d gone all out as soon as thest of their side was pulled by the skinwalkers, and the sheer amount of killing intent released from her aura had caused nearly half of the enemy dungeon monsters to cower, shriek and run.


    Or at least they¡¯d attempted to run, but their remains now stered the walls, ceiling and floor of the domed room in all directions. The body-blender she¡¯d be just continued pumping out death, and the dungeon had to resort to using some kind of mass-frenzy abilitiy that¡¯d pulsed from the very structure of the dungeon in order to keep its minions fighting.


    Dozens more armored rats and their mutant purple masters barrelled down the hall in a crazed frenzy, roaring as their ws and metal boots scraped against the stone floor. The hall shook, and another many-ton beetle crashed through one of the hallway walls to enter the swarming monsters that were driving forward towards the dungeon divers in an absolute rage.


    Riven gently set Gaia¡¯s ne on Fay¡¯s sleeping form, then handed her to Azmoth. She¡¯d fallen asleep so fast that he had to do a double take to make sure she really was out, but pushed the hair out of her face with a warm smile and stepped back when he was certain. Ignoring the stares of awe and fear from the others, in particr that of a ck-jawed Ja - who was standing next to her husband with his hand sped tightly in her own, he turned to face the oing enemies.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Riven stepped forward towards the rushing swarm, and crimson frost began to cover the ground he walked on. The stone floor began to shudder with every step he took, and blood mana began to re along his arms.


    And then that mana turned ck when he rerouted the energy into his shadow subpir.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the vition.


    Sparks of shadow-infused lightning crackled along his body, and the stone underneath his feet began to tear apart. With a roar of energy that ripped through the environment around him as soon as he came to the tunnel entrance, hundreds of enemies bearing down on his position were in the direct line of fire.


    Lifting one hand, undeterred, he let loose a roaring tide of ck lightning.


    The hallway shattered instantaneously.


    Blood, bodies and gore exploded in all directions, the screams of the iing monster tide lost in the abrupt rupturing of internal organs. Stone from all around the hallway, bottom and top, side to side, was torn off and flung forward in a violent cloud of supersonic shrapnel. The back end of the hallway exploded as well, and the dungeon itself seemed to scream in pain and rage as the undergroundplex shuddered at the might of the strike.


    In an instant they were all dead, outside of the few that Ath was still toying within an adjacent passage connected to the domed room. Dust and debris mixed with red mist, and ck sparks asionally traced themselves up the ruined remains of unrecognizable corpse pieces littering the dungeon hallway.


    Turning around, eyes burning crimson, he settled his gaze on the friends and acquaintances brought in to level with. Julie, Hakim, and Tim weren¡¯t necessarily surprised - but they were still impressed. Julie was still recovering from the very recent miracle performed though, and the st had woken her up with a start. Tanya on the other hand had never seen Riven fight up close and was holding a hand over her open mouth with wide eyes and a furrowed brow.


    ¡°Riven¡­¡± She muttered under her breath, just as a piece of the hallway behind his ck silhouette copsed. ¡°Riven, I don''t think you should eat anymore of those ham and cheese sandwiches I made. I think they might identally have given you god-like powers.¡±


    Tim grunted augh and swatted his mother on the arm while Tanya grinned. ¡°Stop attributing our good fortune to your cooking, mom! You¡¯re so ridiculous - he was obviously powered up because of my stunning good looks. He was inspired to perform in my presence is all.¡±


    ¡°Oh is that so!?¡± Hakim bellowed augh of his own, continuing to hold Julie up with one of his arms wrapped around her waist. ¡°I think Riven was doing just fine before he saw your ugly mug!¡±


    Tim frowned. ¡°Now that¡¯s just mean!¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes and grinned, then walked back over to sit next to Fay and some of the others on his floating disc of blood magic. ¡°It appears that everyone is worn out from the fight.¡±


    Another cacklingugh from Ath, a crash, and a resultant monster¡¯s scream echoed through the room.


    ¡°Almost everyone.¡± Riven corrected with a backwards nce. ¡°Is everyone ok with setting up camp here for a couple hours to rest? I feel like all of you could need it.¡±


    ***


    The four campfires sent flickering yellow lights across the pirs of the domed room and the people encamped there. The tunnels that weren¡¯t caved in had been sealed off by Ath, and those strange cultist people in masks continued to walk the perimeter in groups of two or three.


    ¡°You told me his name was Riv! Not Riven, as in THE Riven! Not the crazy, city-killing warlock ranker that took out an invading fleet of ships and destroyed an azag hive nest in Chicago!¡± Ja hissed under her breath, ring at Tim menacingly while taking time to shoot a look Riven¡¯s way - where the vampire and his demons wereughing and talking around a campfire of their own with the elves. ¡°This is crazy! How did you even make friends with someone like that!?¡±


    Tim shrugged, peeling an apple with one of his knives in a cross-legged position. ¡°We met him in the tutorial. He¡¯s a nice guy.¡±


    ¡°Nice guy!?¡± Ja repeated, dumbfounded, and she leaned closer to make sure no one else outside their little circle overheard. ¡°Tim! We are in serious, SERIOUS danger here! Vampires feed on people like us! We¡¯re like¡­ like little sacks of snack for him to gobble up if he gets hungry!¡±


    Julie, who¡¯d been grinning in amusement at the exchange, snorted augh and covered her mouth. But the others sitting at this particr campfire who also hailed from Ja¡¯s group didn¡¯t look amused in the least. Instead, they were either very scared - or awestruck. Or abination of both.


    But mostly awestruck.


    ¡°Riven does not have a reason to kill you, Ja.¡± Hakim said with a lowered voice and a calming smile, giving Julie a neck massage while the smaller woman continued to giggle amidst pleasured groans. ¡°If it came down to choosing between one of his minions and you, sure - he¡¯d kill you too. But he doesn¡¯t randomly kill people just because he¡¯s a vampire. He¡¯s a good person, at least to us.¡±


    The blonde male lightning mage with a ponytail who¡¯d spoken with Riven previously beforeing into this dungeon also looked rather nervous, but for different reasons entirely. He put on a pair of spectacles, squinted Riven¡¯s way to the other campfire, and cleared his throat. ¡°You all have known him that long then? I¡¯ve read on the forums and even seen videos about the Elysium Altar Brightsville has. It is an oriented type that can recreate one¡¯s soul into that which channels the Unholy Foundational Pir. Do you think that perhaps he¡¯d be willing to take us back to Brightsville with him when he next leaves? You said he can portal back, right? Maybe he could even give me some tips on the dark arts if I¡¯m lucky enough. Oh¡­ Maybe he could tell me how he got that warlock ss of his so that I could get some demonic familiars too¡­ God damn it, he has such a cool ss!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just happy we have that monster on our side!¡± One of the frontline fighters chimed in, cleaning off blood from a metal helmet with minor enchantments at the fire¡¯s side. ¡°We¡¯re probably going to be escorted like this the entire way through! I¡¯ve neverpleted a dungeon before!¡±


    ¡°Uhhh¡­ Is he really a vampire prince?¡± A petite, young, raven-haired woman wearing fur jacket asked. She was one of the healers of Ja¡¯s group, and kept stealing nces Riven¡¯s way. ¡°Like, a real one?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s taken.¡± Julie stated tly. ¡°Give it up, butterflies.¡±


    Tapping his foot against the floor impatiently, the mage had enough talking and stood up. He cleared his throat, closed his eyes to settle himself, and he turned his body to set himself on a path. ¡°I can¡¯t not at least ask him about it, after seeing that ck lightning for myself. So here goes nothing.¡±


    Stepping over arge divot in the floor made from the battle not long ago, the man pushed off with his basic wooden staff and headed over to the other fire. He got more than a few looks from others of his group, but no one said a word until he cleared the distance between himself and the rather famous - or infamous - vampire warlock so many people had heard about.


    Sweat began to drip down his forehead, and he took in deep, calming breaths when Riven¡¯sughter died out and the warlock¡¯s eyes shifted in his direction. The two demonic women, one on either side of him who stopped theirughing banter, also paused to stare expectantly his way. The only one on this side of the fire that didn¡¯t give him any attention was the hulking four armed brutalisk drawing pictures with the little elf girl - using crayons on mani paper.


    Seconds ticked by.


    ¡°Is there something I can help you with?¡± Riven eventually asked, a curious eyebrow raised while leaning forward. ¡°Everything ok?¡±


    The lightning mage gulped. ¡°Ye¡­ Yes. Yes! I, uhm, was just hoping that I could, just maybe, get some p-pointers¡­ Pointers! My name¡¯s Jared, and I, uhm, have been something of a fan.¡±


    ¡°Oh? A fan? That¡¯s new. But yeah, I¡¯m not sure what it is you mean by pointers, I don¡¯t have an orientation to the pirs you have, but we can talk. Go ahead and take a seat. Name¡¯s Riven, though you probably already knew that - nice to meet you.¡±


    They shook hands, and Jared fell t on his butt next to Ath. Gratefully epting a sk of what had to be vodka from the smell of it, Jared¡¯s face brightened slightly and he gave a knowing grin before taking a small chug. ¡°Ah that hits the spot!¡±


    He could feel the stares of hisrades at his back, and it only made things worse for him because he was downright nervous to be sitting next to THE Riven Thane and his familiars.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Jared began, handing the sk back to Ath who took a swig of her own and began making gargling noises with the stuff after throwing her head back. ¡°Pointers, yeah¡­ Howmon is it that people in Brightsville swap their pir orientations?¡±


    ¡°With the Elysium altar?¡± Riven rified pointedly.


    ¡°Yes, that!¡±


    ¡°No idea. Ath? Fay? Genua? Any idea?¡±


    They all shook their heads, but it was Luke who raised a hand - the old man putting down some cooked meat to the side before wiping off his hands. ¡°I know a thing or two about it, because I actually considered it myself after bing a thrall. I have the Storm Subpir, subservient to the Fae Pir, just like you Jared. Being a thrall also gives bonuses to any Unholy oriented subpirs and I was very curious about potentially throwing my weight around with the Blood type.¡±

 Chapter 228

    Chapter 228


    <strong>Chapter 228</strong>


    All heads turned in Luke¡¯s direction, with Jared in particr being quite captivated.


    ¡°So I went around asking people who I knew that¡¯d done it, and I even made a forum post about this exact topic inside our empire¡¯s forums to let other people know what my findings were. If you go look for yourself, should you ever visit the necropolis, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d see my post has been a very big hit.¡± Luke continued with a wave of his hand. ¡°Some of the people I talked to gathering information were private guilds, others were undead soldiers in the Necropolis army. Others still were orcs, and believe me when I say that the orcs in particr have a very keen liking to the Unholy Pir even despite naturally being oriented to Fae Pir more often than not. I even talked to Princess Kathrine Vonsi Crushada of the Blood Moon Requiem about it! Her part of the recorded interview was rewatched more than any other part of my video. She was very helpful by the way, being keen to answer my questions knowing I¡¯m Riven¡¯s thrall. I can¡¯t say exactly how often it is that people do it by a percentage, but I can tell you that it is far moremon than you think. I mean, just think about it! How many people are born with a low quality orientation affinity? It¡¯s very high. Anything above 20% can generally use abilities with effort, 30% affinity to a pir is considered pretty good. Above a 50% affinity is extremely rare and they¡¯re all downright talented. But what about those who have affinities less than 15%? What about less than 10%? Those would include people who can barely muster up a single ability even when straining to do so. Gods help you if you have less than 6% affinity for your highest pir. So do you have any guesses?¡±


    The question was directed at Jared, and the man slowly shook his head.


    Luke held up a finger and wagged it in the air. ¡°The answer is that by Kathrine¡¯s estimates - an entire fifth of most poptions has their highest affinity less than 15%. This also matches up with estimates from my own world Zazir before the merger. What does this mean?¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°It means that a fifth of any poption won¡¯t be able to gain levels or use abilities without extreme effort.¡± Jared eventually answered.


    Luke nodded. ¡°Precisely. A fifth of the poption is, rather unfortunately for them, useless - in the grand scheme of cultivation and leveling. Especially those below 10%. Do you know how the resetting of Riven¡¯s modified Elysium Altar works?¡±


    ¡°No, I do not.¡±¡°It rerolls those numbers.¡± Luke replied. ¡°Not only do the affinities change, but the affinity percentages also change. Most of the time, at least ording to the people I¡¯ve talked to, they even increase those affinities. Not always, but far more often than the other way around. So, theoretically, if you have a fifth of your total poption that can¡¯t level or cultivate very well or at all¡­¡±


    His voice trailed off, and he made a flourishing motion with his hands.


    Jared rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. ¡°They¡¯re all going to the Elysium Altar to try and reroll their affinities.¡±


    ¡°Precisely. The Unholy Pir is, at least on this, probably the leastmon pir affiliation out there. This can be guessed at by the world forum posts, when youpare subsection forums and the amount of active users in each forum. Here, take a look.¡±


    A hologram appeared in front of Luke, and he began scrolling through the cotex pages almost immediately.


    <strong>[Wee to the Panu Cortex!</strong>


    <strong>Here you will find forum categories and branching categories that you can scroll through subjects, post your own topics, acquire or share video feeds, create enemies or alliances in, and even bargain for goods here like a marketce. Be warned that each of these have strict sets of rules, and you will receive a notification if your content is prohibited as it is denied entry. Most prohibited material from being made public involves key events in the world of Panu or even in your local area, secrets of Panu that the Elysium Administrator wishes to be found rather than publicly exploited, information released too early regarding worlds outside of Panu, and spam content. Video feeds can only be uploaded by request. You must ask the administrator directly for uploading content, and may or may not get your request recognized. Sometimes the administrator may also post video content even without an express request. In order to request video uploading, just mentally think of the time and ce you want to upload and wait for a response.</strong>


    <strong>Please note that restrained or imprisoned personnel may not ess the forums of Panu¡¯s cortex.</strong><strong> Forums extend to only to ces you have visited and guilds you have joined before with the exceptions of the main page discussion boards and the world quest message boards - both of which are world-spanning and more heavily moderated. No forums outside key areas visited and guilds can exist other than Global Forums.</strong>


    <strong>Feel free to select from one of the already categorized subjects, or you may use the search function for more in depth selections of guild forums. Your options are as follows:</strong><ul><li><strong>Main Page & Announcements (Global)</strong></li><li><strong>Power Ladders, Guild & Individual (Global)</strong></li><li><strong>World Quests & World Quest Ladders (Global)</strong></li><li><strong>The Thane Necropolis (Empire-Wide)</strong><ul><li><strong>Brightsville</strong></li><li><strong>Chicago</strong></li><li><strong>Rocksford</strong></li><li><strong>Milwaukee</strong></li><li><strong>Dungeon Alibast Township</strong></li><li><strong>Mandon</strong></li><li><strong>Bradshire</strong></li><li><strong>Belmington</strong></li><li><strong>Corpus Christi</strong></li><li><strong>Nicina</strong></li><li><strong>(+32 More Empire Options to select from)</strong></li></ul></li><li><strong>Deepnest</strong></li><li><strong>The Golden Bull Sect (Empire-Wide is currently Unavable)</strong><ul><li><strong>Muvare</strong></li><li><strong>(+7 Unavable Options)</strong></li></ul></li></ul>


    <strong>NOTE: Continental differences along Panu have been detected in optional selections. To acquire ess to continent-wide forums or map-sharing specs, please visit more locations along the continents you have traveled between.]</strong>


    Riven stopped him before he selected an option, pointing to ¡®The Golden Bull Sect¡¯ option quizzically. ¡°Who and what is that?¡±


    Luke looked surprised at the question, then chuckled and shook his head. ¡°You really need to follow up more on the politics of your own empire, Riven. Your sister hasn¡¯t talked to you about it? The Golden Bull Sect is another faction to the north of our own, rtive to Brightsville - not the side of the world Chicago is on. I went to Muvare once at the invitation of Mara, when they were discussing geopolitical issues with our rtive neighbors.¡±


    ¡°Ah. I see. Are they close?¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily, but that is why I called them ¡®rtive¡¯ neighbors. They¡¯re thergest faction on our continent after ourselves. They seem friendly enough, or at least are cowed by the fact that they know they¡¯d be crushed if they ever came into conflict with the necropolis. Your sister is rather intimidating when she negotiates in politics, and she uses your name as a metaphorical stick to beat her rivals over the head with.¡±


    Riven nodded with aughing grin. ¡°Of course she does. What¡¯s the continent¡¯s name? Do we have a name for our continent yet?¡±


    ¡°We do not. I¡¯m sure that will be figured out in time though.¡±


    Luke turned back to the cortex screen, then began shuffling through the options again - getting back to his original points concerning pir forums.


    <strong>[You have selected: Main Page & Announcements (Global)</strong>


    <strong>You have selected a major subforum: General Discussions (Global)</strong>


    <strong>You have selected a minor subforum: Power and Cultivation (Global)</strong>


    <strong>You have selected 6 specialized subforum options: Unholy, Holy, Fae, Archaic, Harmony, and Machine Pir Discussion Subforums (Global)]</strong>


    <strong>[Unholy Pir Discussion Subforum: 604,822 Active Users]</strong>


    <strong>[Holy Pir Discussion Subforum: 3,429,112,317 Active Users]</strong>


    <strong>[Fae Pir Discussion Subforum: 2,829,808,773 Active Users]</strong>


    <strong>[Archaic Pir Discussion Subforum: 996,325,199 Active Users]</strong>


    <strong>[Harmony Pir Discussion Subforum: 893,111,225 Active Users]</strong>


    <strong>[Machine Pir Discussion Subforum: 2,665,343,586 Active Users]</strong>


    Luke points out the active users for each of the global discussion forums, which Riven hadn¡¯t even known existed until now, concerning the main pirs Elysium had to offer. The numbers fluctuated by the second, but they usually stayed within a certain range for each subject category. ¡°Do you see a trend, Jared?¡±


    Jared scowled. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s rather obvious.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°The Unholy Pilr has far, far less active users than any other group, with less than a million total at all times. The Holy and Fae pirs hover around 3 billion active users at a given time, with the Machine Pir category right below them. Harmony and Archaic Pir categories are each hovering at a little less than a single billion active members - staying in the hundreds of millions.¡±


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Luke agreed with a smile. ¡°Which very likely means, based on these numbers alone which very rarely fluctuate off the norm, that the Unholy Pir on this is by far the least acquired of all six major pirs. Now, I know I¡¯m going off on a rant here - but why would I make this a big deal since we¡¯re talking about Riven¡¯s Elysium¡¯ Altar being able to switch people over into an Unholy alignment? Let¡¯s find out!¡±


    Without waiting for an answer, Luke clicked on the Unholy Pir Discussion forum. And when it appeared, the first three topics in that discussion forum were rted to the Thane Necropolis - with many more following after it further down the most active forum discussions ongoing right this moment. Some of the top on the list were as follows:


    <strong>[Where is the Thane Necropolis located, and do they ept new recruits? Am hoping to acquire the Unholy Foundational Pir for myself, my friends, and my family from their altar.]</strong>


    <strong>[Fellow undead and necromancers of the Thane Necropolis: a question on skeleton body part integrations for skresh.]</strong>


    <strong>[In need of help acquiring a demonic familiar, am hoping to acquire a subus like Riven Thane did. Any advice on how to go about attracting one? #NotAPerv]</strong>


    <strong>[Casting advice needed concerning Tier 2 Chaos Spells]</strong>


    <strong>[Blood Rituals and Blood Miracles - a Healer Priest¡¯s guide to the Profane]</strong>


    <strong>[An in-depth analysis of high levelbat concerning Unholy-aligned abilities, with video footage including Paragon and Apex Rankers such as Riven Thane and his familiars, Allie Thane, Retesh Vorath, Krush Rinnil, Chitter Teh-Sneaker, and Lucas Von Calimont.]</strong>


    Luke let out a low chuckle. ¡°As you can see, the most popr topic in this forum is talk about whether or not Riven and Allie allow others to acquire the Unholy Pir for themselves - and Chancellor Mara Tovane herself answered yes with Allie¡¯s permission, given they pledge loyalty to the necropolis. Since her reply, she has been bombarded with applications and an entire team of government workers were assigned to help people try to navigate their way to our empire given on what little we know of the geography on our. Of course, this may be hard to do for some - but it is certainly a big draw for those that are interested in the affiliation or outright desperate to get ANY chance at a reroll for their own affinities. All of this being said - our capital, Brightsville, is now the unquestioned epicenter for the study and acquisition of the Unholy Foundational Pir, and all its branches, on the of Panu.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t realize you were such a celebrity on the cortex, did you?¡± Ath teased while jabbing Riven in the ribs.


    Fay nodded enthusiastically with a yawn. ¡°You get talked about a lot in this forum! You¡¯re probably the most popr unholy-oriented user on the, and you definitely have the most footage out there. Compared to that rank 3 corpse lord elder lich, Retesh Vorath - you probably have twelve times as much footage as he does even though he¡¯s a rank above you.¡±


    ¡°Kathrine informed me that it is rather rare to sessfully convert an Elysium Altar the way you did, Riven.¡± Luke continued again with a small smile ying at the corners of his lips. ¡°It¡¯s apparently considered a world treasure by many factions. You sometimes see terraforming altars, or ones that have some kind of affinity in some way or another, but to outright change someone¡¯s pirs and reroll affinities is very much sought after by even therger factions of the multiverse. You hit it big, and Brightsville will no doubt be a long-standing attraction to the world and beyond because of it. Though she did say that when the world opens up, you may want to start taxing people thate to use it - otherwise your world will be flooded with desperate masses of people from intra-systems. Some may even try to conquer Panu over such a treasure, or so she says.¡±


    ¡°Already have that problem!¡± Riven replied with augh, pping Ath on the back of the head when she tried to jab him in the ribs again. ¡°Not much I can do about it now though. Don¡¯t get me wrong, this is all very interesting - OW!¡±


    Riven got Ath into a yful headlock after another jab, and the arachnid woman hissed before warping into a smaller spider version of herself and scampering away with an audible humph.


    Shaking his head at the exiting spider, Riven cleared his throat and turned his attention back to Luke. ¡°It¡¯s all very interesting and I¡¯m d to know, but why bring it up?¡±


    Luke turned his gaze upon the lightning mage, Jared. ¡°Because Jared here wants to convert his own pirs, and wants to join the necropolis. Don¡¯t you Jared? You¡¯ve already read these posts, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    Jared gave a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head. ¡°Heh¡­ Yeah. Maybe. I didn¡¯t know how to ask, but I¡¯d very much like to be a necromancer or warlock myself. Something with minions to keep me safe. An elemental storm mage is REALLY cool, don¡¯t get me wrong! But it wouldn¡¯t be my first choice. It¡¯s only good forbat and doesn¡¯t have much else in terms of use. At least, none that I¡¯ve personally found. I¡­ hope I¡¯m not overstepping here.¡±


    The eyes of all others, at all four campfires, were now intently staring while they listened in on the conversation.


    Riven blinked. ¡°Oh? Is that all? No, that''s not overstepping whatsoever. If you want to try your hand at a reroll then sure - you cane along with me next time I head to Brightsville and we can set you up at the altar.¡±


    Jared¡¯s face lit up with surprise, and then tion. ¡°Seriously!? Just like that!? I¡¯ve heard that some of the guilds that go monster hunting givebat lessons and help acquire new abilities - do you know if that¡¯s a thing?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯spletely fine with me - and no, I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a thing or not. It appears Allie has made it a mandatory thing to pledge to the necropolis though, so as long as you¡¯re fine with bing a citizen-¡±


    Luke cut into the conversation a secondter. ¡°It is a rtivelymon practice for guilds to help out their new recruits in the necropolis, yes - and there¡¯s lots of experience to be gained due to the high amounts of rabid undead that spawn in the terraformednds surrounding Brightsville. Hunting parties and government contracts go out all the time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± Jared eximed excitedly, jumping to his feet just as others from other campfires started heading over with a barrage of questions being flung Riven¡¯s way.


    Riven held up his hands to calm the others down, and soon the room became quiet again. ¡°Yes, you can alle if you really want to - I didn¡¯t realize it was such a draw. But that only will happen after we¡¯re done powerleveling my friends from the tutorial.¡±


    He gestured to Tanya, her children, and Hakim. ¡°Also guys, I¡¯d been wanting to talk to you about a decision you need to make. Come on over and have a seat.¡±


    Confused, Hakim and the others got up - making their way to push through the crowd and sit nearby.


    ¡°That sounds ominous.¡± Julie said with folded arms. ¡°What decision do you have for us to make?¡±


    Riven held his hands up to either side. ¡°Well, first answer this. Why do you think I¡¯m powerleveling you guys?¡±


    The four people he¡¯d met in the tutorial exchanged looks, and they all shrugged.


    ¡°To be nice?¡± Tim replied hesitantly.


    Tanyaughed. ¡°That was my thought too!¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s part of it, yes.¡± Riven admitted with a side-bob of his head. ¡°But not all of it. You know that guild functions just went up, right?¡±


    They all nodded.


    ¡°And you overheard me talking about the war that we¡¯re about to enter in the hellscapes of Negrada. Right?¡±


    Their expressions became more wary, but they all nodded yet again.


    Riven smiled. ¡°Allie will announce to the empire that we¡¯re joining Negrada¡¯s war soon, and we - alongside Negrada - are going to pay Elysium arge sum of money to do it. It¡¯ll be beneficial for both of us, but for different reasons. The guild functions to be hired on as mercenaries will very likely be approved without issue, and if not - we can at the very least use my portaling abilities to get some of our elites into Negrada if the dungeon chooses to pay us. It will be a very good opportunity for realbat experience, a chance to solidify our bond with one of the hellscape dungeons, and there¡¯ll be lots of loot. Allie will also announce a guild tournament, with prizes handed out to the top contestants, and it¡¯ll be empire-wide in bothbat and crafting categories. She¡¯s forming her own guild because I¡¯ll be leaving for Chalgathi¡¯s sub-quest over the next few months while she deals with the fallen elder god quest in the underdark, and I¡¯ll be gone for a year - but I was hoping to get my own guild started with the four of you.¡±


    ¡°Four?¡± Tanya asked, obviously surprised.


    Hakim¡¯s own smile brightened his face. ¡°You want us? I love the idea! But we are far, far below you in terms of power.¡±


    Riven dismissed him with a shake of his head. ¡°We¡¯ll change that. If you want it, I intend to bring all of you up with me. Hakim, you¡¯re already close to Fay¡¯s level - and Tanya, you could stick to crafts. For me, a guild is just a bunch of friends that go on cool adventures together. Why not let it be you? Besides, my demons don¡¯t even count towards the 20 member limit! It¡¯ll be fun, at least I think so. What do you say?¡±


    ¡°You forgot to tell them other thing.¡± Azmoth stated pointedly from where he was still using crayons to draw with Len as the little girl giggled and hummed.


    Riven snapped his fingers. ¡°Oh! Right. Well if the four of you want it, and you certainly don¡¯t need to do this - I¡¯m willing to turn each of you into vampires. It¡¯s a big decision to make, yeah, but it¡¯ll also seriously improve your chances for survival because you¡¯ll have innate healing abilities - and my bloodline is good enough that a conversion will set each of you up in the ¡®greater¡¯ vampire category.¡±


    ***


    Chaga moved furiously through the dungeon halls alongside his two vampiric brethren, red eyes ring and blood magics tearing through armored rats and purple abominations one after the other. The fifth floor was far harder than the others and was now giving the three Rippenvire vampires a tough time due to the concentrated high levelers Dungeon Petrus kept down here to keep its dungeon boss and treasuries safe.


    Curses and damnations, why did it have to be here and now?


    Couldn¡¯t Riven Thane have gone to some other out-of-the-way vige?


    Why Jerbyville? JUST WHAT WERE THE CHANCES? This gods damned settlement was on the other side of the fucking world!


    Despite his orders, Chaga was questioning whether or not this would actually work. But orders were orders and he dared not bebeled a blood traitor like so many of those that¡¯d surrendered to the Thane Necropolis in weeks past. - destined never to return home without swift execution.


    The thralls of men he¡¯d harvested from Jerbyville and the surrounding area fought valiantly to keep up with him, but neither he nor the other two vampires could waste time. They needed to find the dungeon avatar or the boss itself in order to make contact.


    ¡°What¡¯s the time on reinforcements?¡± One of his fellow vampires, a man with a de extending from his cane asked while slicing through yet another armored rat.


    Chaga turned left down a dark hallway and shifted his weight when he saw arge pair of barred double doors. He heaved a sigh of relief, and straightened out his vest while adjusting his top hat. ¡°Three hours until Rippenvire and The Empire of Dying Suns have their death squads arrive, and we need to make a deal with the dungeon before they get here.¡±


    Chaga turned to look the other man in the eyes, fangs bared wickedly. ¡°It¡¯s time we get revenge on the man who killed all our brethren back in Dawn. By this time tomorrow, his name will be erased from the leaderboards - and his body will be carried out as a corpse. At least, that is what I hope.¡±


    Without waiting for the thralls, Chaga started walking alongside his twopatriots towards the doors. Without even needing to reach them, the doors unhinged and clicked numerous times before swinging slowly open with an ominous creaking sound - letting his eyes fall upon one of the biggest, purplest, meanest looking mutated rats he¡¯d ever seen in his entire life.


    Yellow eyes red, and the dungeon boss began to rise.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Chaga said with a growing smile - beginning to raise his voice. ¡°Yes, this one will do nicely. Dungeon Petrus, if you would but spare me a moment - I would like to make you a deal. One that would benefit you far more than it would ever benefit me.¡±

 Chapter 229

    Chapter 229


    <strong>Chapter 229</strong>


    Captain Vros Kinal knelt on the outskirts of the forest clearing in full te mail armor - the etched carving of a ck sun embroidered on his breastte. His pauldrons looked like they were ame and caught in a moment of time from the way the metal was carved, and a long red cape flowed out behind him in the wind.


    Unsheathing his silver-infused longsword forged specifically for killing vampires, picking up his kite shield, and lowering the visor of his plumed helmet, he raised a hand to give the signal. ¡°Kill the natives, let none escape.¡±


    Horns blew from all around the clearing, and many soldiers in armor just like him rushed the camps below.


    The locals who¡¯d beening out of the dungeon or had been preparing to go in began to scream and shout in rm - but they didn¡¯t even have a chance before soldiers of The Empire of Dying Suns were upon them.


    Captain Vros Kinal blurred forward down the hill, decapitating a young woman he thought to be a healer and then spearing another man through the heart with his de. He parried two strikes - crushed a man¡¯s knee with a side kick and disemboweled him all within a second¡¯s time.


    Guts spilled out onto the forest floor.


    Locals from Panu were desperately trying to flee and started scattering upon seeing the drastically higher levels of the invaders, only toe face to face with another death squad of Rippenvire vampires. Steampunk guns mowed them down mercilessly with popping sounds of shots amidst horrified screams, vampiric houndscking fur and with split faces tore into the ambushed men and women, and the shrieking pleas for mercy were short lived.


    Blood soaked the hillside momentster, and the final begging sobs came to an abrupt stop as the two invading parties stared at each other in front of the dungeon entrance.Captain Vros Kinal nodded to the vampiric leader, and without another word - the two forces merged and started their trek into the tunnels. They had amon goal, and neither group would benefit from killing the other.


    Unlike Rippenvire - the Empire of Dying Suns had been far more sessful in leveling their members up over past months. Each of the three dozen elites from the empire¡¯s death squad were above level 100, and they had a very specific vampire prince to put down for good this day.


    It was time to knock out one of their biggest obstacles towards world domination - it was time to kill a World Boss apex ranker.


    ***


    The third floor of Dungeon Petrus saw a couple more scenarios where Riven and his two stronger familiars or the skinwalkers had to step in, but otherwise the powerleveling group was doing very well. They were confident, sometimes too confident for their own good, but didn¡¯t hesitate to throw themselves as hard as they could in order to gain experience.


    Wave after wave, room after room, and with a few caches of loot to be had - they made their way all the way through the third floor until they hit a spot where a dungeon miniboss was present.


    It was another beetle queen, though this one¡¯s shell was covered inrge spikes, and it took a lot of effort to kill it. When it eventually died, both Fay and Hakim were particrly rewarded by Elysium in way of prizes to each.


    Fay was given a pair of enchanted hoop earrings that passively boosted her mana recovery and intelligence - while Hakim was given a pair of thick metal bracers that added to his strength and sturdiness. They weren¡¯t anything overly special, but they were nheless good items to have.


    The fourth floor was filled with traps, and surprisingly enough -rgekes of venomous aquatic rats with gills, webbed feet, and stingers at the ends of their tails. These particr ratscked any fur and were apanied often by their other, armored,nd-dwelling rat brethren on the shorelines of vast chasms. The purple mutant humanoid handlers were also in abundance, often appearing with mages that used swamp spells like afflictions or gues that did damage over time.


    The healers were very much overtaxed by these, and the party often had to rest inbetween fights in order to make sure they could continue without needing to be saved by the stronger backups in the observing party.


    Everything was going as expected, and perhaps even better than expected due to the frequent level ups and even more frequent loot drops the further and further they went. By the time they found anotherrge stairwell traveling down into the fifth floor of the gigantic maze-likeplex, Riven was quite pleased with their progress.


    ¡°I gained a level from passive XP just a moment ago.¡± Genua stated with a smile, holding Len¡¯s hand while they traveled down the stone steps of the spiral staircase - exiting onto the fifth floor where the stairwell led into arge library of sorts.


    Riven, who was pulling off one of said books to flip through the pages, quickly tossed the book after realizing it was a medical textbook from Earth and nothing of significance to him. ¡°d to hear the n is working! Len, did you grow any levels yet?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm!!¡± Len happily smiled, running over to where Ath was tossing book after book after ripping them off the bookshelves. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Ath nced down, then handed the little girl one of the picture books she¡¯d found. ¡°Just making sure none of this is worth anything.¡±


    ¡°Are you looking for spell books?¡±


    ¡°Or tomes, yes. It appears this dungeon is something of a collector concerning normal, old fashioned books though. Nothing too spectacr.¡±


    Ath patted the little elf girl on the head, getting a warm stare from Genua, and then waltzed over to Riven to put an arm around his. ¡°Feeling better? You look a lot better.¡±


    Riven shrugged and lifted up his right arm, where the unholy sleeve tattoo shifted its runes and sigils that shed between ck and red at random all across his right shoulder and arm. ¡°Gluttony is hard at work putting my soul back together, so yes. It still has a bit to go but I almost feel 100%. I just-¡±


    Riven¡¯s voice cut off and his head swiftly turned left, seeing the hall at the far end of the library abruptly cave in. Frowning alongside many of the others who¡¯d had their own attention turn to the piling rocks, dust and rubble - his frown only grew deeper when a new passage opened up between two bookshelves that split apart with ominous grating sounds. The new hallway was more pristine than the previous one, with noyers of dust or grime anywhere and a smooth white surface to it - created from polished marble.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s super weird.¡± Riven scratched his head, sharing nces with Azmoth and then starting for the new hall. Coming to step into the new marble hallway, Riven touched the wall and channeled a pulse of mana down its length.


    The mana swiftly radiated along its entire length, rebounding back like a sonar and simultaneously setting off a single trap that¡¯d been ced at the very front of a circr vault-like door at the end of the hall. A pir of mes tore out from the bottom floor and crashed into the ceiling, rebounding and tearing through the hallway towards Riven¡¯s position before he raised his free hand and lifted a wall of crimson ice to block the oing inferno.


    mes collided with his blood magic and rebounded, heating up as more and more of the mes continued to st into thepact marble room with increasing fury.


    Riven kept the mana channeling, watching expectantly for the trap to stop spewing out mes - but he raised an eyebrow when his wall began to crack. ¡°Step back everyone, to the end of the room just in case.¡±


    Ja hurried her husband to the very back along with many of the others, including the lightning mage Jared - and Len who was dragged by her mother at rapid pace.


    Riven in turn stepped back and set up another wall of ice, a secondyer, and then a third. Still the mes kepting, and the stone walls of the library about them began to shake under the force of the pressure building up inside that rectangr marble hallway.


    ¡°That is a lot of pressure in there.¡± Riven stated absentmindedly, clicking his tongue in irritation and watching the very walls of the inside start to turn red-hot - beginning to melt. ¡°Surely that dungeon trap doesn¡¯t have much more to go. Right?¡±


    Azmoth, who hade to stand next to him with both of his maws circling around off his back to peer like eels at the melting inneryers of ice, unstrapped therge dark-gray shield off his back and held it in one of his four wed hands. It was the same round shield Riven had bought for him back in Negrada¡¯s tradingpound, and had finally epted Azmoth as a wielder only recently.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Immortal¡¯s Grasp (Tier 1 Awakened Shield)(Heavy Armor)</strong><strong>: 640 average defense, 83 average damage on strike. +209 Sturdiness, +42 Strength.</strong><ul><li><strong>Grasping Fingers:</strong><strong> This shield canunch a hand out of the shield to grasp enemies, pulling them towards the shield or you towards an enemy.]</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°I can suck in mes before explode.¡± Azmoth offered, turning his almost permanent obsidian smile on Riven with a questioning head-tilt. ¡°Put ice around me, then I go in. I not die to fire.¡±


    Just like that, Azmoth¡¯s body burst into hellfire - the obsidian tes around his body cindering while red, bare muscles inbetween the tes lit up with bright mes and spread. pping his spiked tail impatiently on the ground behind him, he motioned for Riven to get on with it.


    Riven backpedaled while more of his original threeyers began to melt, then began to draw up a fourth iceyer behind Azmoth - this one being farrger than the other three he¡¯d already made. Anticipating an explosive impact, he put a final fifthyer domed around the party members behind him for insurance. ¡°Alright my man, let¡¯s see if you really can suck in fire or not.¡±


    Azmoth gave him a nod through the crimson ice, turned back to the melting barrier Riven had initially made, and raised his shield. His feet each crashed into the ground, shattering stone and anchoring him into one spot while bracing - and as a final act he swung his massive magma-infused warhammer into the ground - creating a hole that half his hammer was also anchored into while he held onto the weapon using two hands.


    The two eel-like maws opened wide while their necks circled around to the front in anticipation, as did Azmoth¡¯s actual mouth a momentter.


    It was a weird sight, but the pressure only kept building and building behind Riven¡¯s three crimson sheets. More cracks spread, the quaking of the dungeon around them kept building to the point that many of their party had to kneel behind Riven¡¯s protective dome in the back, and the fire¡¯s light behind Riven¡¯s makeshift plug had reached a nearly blinding crescendo.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Riven took in a deep breath, making sure Fay and everyone else were safe with a doublecheck. Only he and Ath were in the main room now, and he nervously clicked his tongue yet again when the air began to whistle with high-pitched shrieks through cracks along the edges of the melting hallway. ¡°This is going to be a very big-¡±


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    His inner plug shattered, with thestyers of his ice melting and giving way to a raging inferno that tore through the air towards Azmoth¡¯s nted figure like an atomic bomb. His nted wed feet tore through stone alongside the warhammer - causing his anchors to leave long marks of ripped trails through the dungeon floor as his body began absorbing the mes as fast as it could.


    The fourthyer held, only barely, and the short distance the mes rocketed through was enough to send all the books around the library flying off their shelves onto the floor. Azmoth¡¯s figure disappeared in the raging mes, and Ath¡¯s figure transformed into her drider body in anticipation of another break.


    More cracks formed on the fourth barrier, and the shrieking sound of hot air only grew louder.


    Riven immediately took his te-armor leggings, his weapon Jackal, and his armor Messenger out of his spatial bag, cing his gluttony-infused armor on first. ¡°I thought this was supposed to be a lower leveled dungeon, so what the fuck is this?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this doesn¡¯t make much sense.¡± Ath replied with a worried grimace. Opening the vertical crystal maw on her white body, more ice-made spiders began pouring out and moved to cover the barrier Riven had made behind them for another buffer. ¡°This is definitely odd.¡±


    Bloodsilk snapped around his body, clinging to his skin and disposing of the robes he¡¯d been wearing. Ivory tes began shifting and moving to cover therger sections of his chest, abdomen, back, and arms. Gauntlets with spiked knuckles crackling with ck and red energies snapped onto his fingers, horned skull pauldrons began to glow bright red in their eye sockets. A very smooth, ivory-colored metal mped down over his head with slits for his eyes, with the helmet being molded in the form of two jawsing together to interlink vertically down the middle; like two halves had been smashed together to create the intricate helmet. Short neon red feathers that almost looked like des came down the spine of the helmet and along the back of the neck.


    The full-body chest armor had the same vertical maw of ck teeth down the center, and it had what looked like four t patches of ck metal imbedded in the ivory along the back. These ck bs each sparked with a simr energy to the gauntlets, but instead of sparks - they exuded wisps of red and ck that drifted into mist; simr to what happened when Riven charged a bloodnce. Two additionalrge ps of bloodsilk hung down from the armor¡¯s back to cover the posterior and sides of his thighs down to where his knees would be before ending entirely, protecting his legs from any potential propulsion his suit made using ¡®Launch¡¯ - and the bloodsilk from his upper body began making its way down to connect with the te-armor leggings he was using as an add-on piece for the otherwiseplete set.


    Jackal came next.


    The spear-staff snapped into his hand, akin to a chinese halberd or Kawn Dao. It was quite long, made from ck polished wood, with the bottom of the shaft being blunted using a cap carved into a Jackal¡¯s mouth. The opposite end had another andrger jackal¡¯s head that produced a pitch ck de, and the weapon oozed a mixture of red and ck energy in the form of wisps trailing off the sharp end.


    Swirling patterns of blood trickled like small rivers along its surface and flowed over his hands. The streams caressed him, burrowing into his armor and his skin, sending a jolt of awareness from the weapon as the mental entity touched Riven¡¯s mind, and Jackal¡¯s eyes along its carved faces of the weapon began to glow crimson in a very simr way that Riven¡¯s own did.


    The maw on Riven¡¯s armor hissed and opened wide, and Riven held up a hand to reinforce theyer around Azmoth yet again. He¡¯d received no notification that Azmoth had died but he couldn¡¯t see the demon either, and he could feel the pressure building in the room while the very stone under their feet started melting - spreading from beyond the fourth wall.


    Red wisps tore out of his hand, embracing the cracking iceyer and trying to repair it to give Azmoth more time. Ath too began sealing the cracks shut and reinforcing the fourthyer with her mana-infused bloodsilk, keeping the shaking barrier intact as best she could while more of her dog-sized spiders crawled out of her giant maw to settle on the dome in the back. Cracks just popped up in other ces, and Riven had to increase the amount of mana he put out at higher and higher amounts. By now the room was rumbling violently, and heat was starting to escape out of fissures in the floor with spewing mes that Riven¡¯s ice quicklybated asyers of frost buried them rapidly one by one.


    And then, the dungeon trap inside let out an even more urgent pulse of me.


    The straining barrier of Riven¡¯s magic burst.


    The room went bright white when the metaphorical dungeon pimple popped.


    <strong>*KABOOM*</strong>


    Both Riven and Ath¡¯s aspects of Gluttony¡¯s maw opened wide and took in huge swaths of me before both of them were violently flung back into the far wall adjacent to the final protective dome they¡¯d formed. Fire raced through the room and spiraled up the staircase, destroying it entirely by means of shredding the melting stone into magma as the ceiling began to copse with the force of the explosion.


    Riven¡¯s thoughts tugged at his soul aperture, and Gluttony¡¯s own maw erupted as a ck, unholy visage in front of the barreling fires to intercept the brunt of the impact before it hit the dome. His soul clone ate what it could, swallowing the mes and drinking them into the abyss, but much of the mes still got around Gluttony¡¯s form and mmed into the piles of ice-made arachnids covering the final protectiveyer around the weaker dungeon divers


    The arachnids all shriveled and died, but thankfully enough of the barrier held.


    Ten second passed before the mes finally died away, and Riven¡¯s body screamed at him in agony as he moved even despite Hell¡¯s Armor being activated to negate the fire damage. That amount of pressure had been so vast that his body would have been crushed ten thousands times over if Messenger hadn¡¯t been there to protect him, as was evidenced by the way his less-able armor covering his lower body was now crushed into ttened scrapmetal along with his mutted legs. The smoldering room was in absolute ruin, glowing bright orange and white along the stone walls and partially exposed upper floor dozens of meters above them where a hole had been melted into the ceiling. The door at the end of what had once been the marble hallway was still intact, but glowed a hot molten color, and to Riven¡¯s left Ath was pulling her scorched archdemon body out of a hole in the wall where she¡¯d created a goddamn crater.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Riven yanked off the bent, twisted metal from his soup-like legs, trying not to scream while Messenger¡¯s fingers dug the leggings out of his flesh piece by piece. Thankfully his legs began to regenerate quickly, courtesy of his pureblooded heritage, and he let out an audible sigh of relief when new flesh began overtaking the charred remnants that¡¯d been left behind.


    Still, even as he picked himself up and pulled out a second set of the leggings he¡¯d had crafted for him should something like this ever happen - he dared not take down the crimson dome covering up the others. The heat was simply too high, he could feel it even through the nullifying effects of his own body¡¯s obsidian tes and mes - and he didn¡¯t even consider dismissing Hell¡¯s Armor after his initial attempt - immediately reactivating it when he both saw and felt pieces of his regenerating legs catch fire after brushing up against the near wall.


    ¡°OW! Motherfucking goddamm-¡± He started cursing in force, not stopping while he continued applied his new leg armor, ignoring theughs of Ath while she let off soothing waves of frost from the crystal roses covering her body.


    ¡°That was fun!¡± Ath crowed, raising both of her giant arms in the air over her house-sized body and stomping two of her eight sharpened feet into the molten ground. ¡°Let¡¯s do it again! Azmoth, are you ok?¡±


    In the very front of the room and still near the hallway that¡¯d nearly been vaporized, Azmoth¡¯s ming body stayed in a kneeling position with two hands grasping the magma-infused stone maul and a bright-hot metal shield. He was breathing heavily, each breath producing abnormal amounts of mes that billowed into the air, and with a loud belch he identally let out a good st of the stuff with a demonic groan.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s that ok.¡± Riven said with a grin. ¡°Big boy, you gona live?¡±


    Azmoth huped, producing another puff of mes, then shook his head to stand. ¡°No. Eat too much, not enough *HICCUP* space.¡±


    A loud cracking sound, and then the snapping of metal on stone was heard from the end of the hallway. There at the very end, the vault-line contraption began to turn - hot metal sliding around in a circle until there was another loud click.


    Opening and spilling magma onto the smoldering ground, the hallway¡¯s end was opened up to reveal a rather odd sight.


    There, standing in the dungeon hall¡¯s end, was none other than the man in the tophat who¡¯d originally proposed Genua not all that long ago in Jerbyville. Beside him were his two otherpanions, also in tophats, all with canes - and behind them were numerous gruff men with hatchets, machetes and rifles.


    All of them had death-stares locked onto Riven¡¯s person, the previously wary or polite smiles now gone.


    How had they gotten down here before Riven? Had they used another set of passages he hadn¡¯t known about? He was sure his team hade down first, but he also knew there were multiple ways to the bottom. Perhaps he just hadn¡¯t seen them because they¡¯d taken one of these alternate routes.


    But the way they stood there looking at him like that caused him to tense, and he met their gaze with narrowed eyes - only to hear the sound of marching feet from above. Looking up at the hole that¡¯d been carved into the dungeon¡¯s ceiling far above him, he more men in tophats and steampunk attire that he immediately recognized given their red eyes - red eyes that the men at the end of the hallway were also disying now. More warriors who were not vampires also closed in around the hole overhead, heavy-hitting knights and pdins with unsheathed swords and kite shields - while hooded monks sped hands in muttered prayers beside them.


    No words were spoken, and the stare downmenced as Riven sized up the enemies that no doubt hade for him. What were the chances that those guys in tophats had actually been Rippenvire men? Here, on this side of the?


    He wanted to facepalm. The chances were so low that he hadn¡¯t even considered it, and the vampires had somehow concealed their race upon brief identifications when seen earlier. What was even worse was that - though the Rippenvire soldiers were all around level 70 or 80, the knights, pdins and monks were all even higher level. The identification information they gave off also spelled out just exactly what they were doing there, and who they were.


    Their names were also highlighted in golden mes, signaling that they were of the Elite status based on level range ording to Elysium.


    <strong>[Otherworldly Invader, Empire of Dying Suns</strong>. <strong>Level 110 Heavy Knight, Human. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Otherworldly Invader, Empire of Dying Suns</strong>. <strong>Level 102 Heavy Knight, Human. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Otherworldly Invader, Empire of Dying Suns</strong>. <strong>Level 119 Pdin, Human. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Captain Vros Kinal, Invading Faction Boss, Empire of Dying Suns</strong>. <strong>Level 122 Sunchosen, Human. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Otherworldly Invader, Empire of Dying Suns</strong>. <strong>Level 103 Sunfire Monk, Human. ELITE.]</strong>


    Their des were made with infused silver alloys, he could tell just by looking at them. The queasy feeling he got made him absolutely certain of it, and it was like he almost recoiled internally at the thought of touching one. He knew wholeheartedly those weapons would hurt him far more than any normal de, these people hade prepared to y a vampire - namely him - and they were equipped with ¡®Sun¡¯ type sses. The Sun subpir of the Holy Foundational Pir did extra damage to vampires - as was confirmed by briefly pulling up part of his status page again.


    <strong>[Pureblooded Vampire, Malignancy Heritage (Blood / Shadow / Death) - Your heritage as a pureblooded vampire has finallye to fruition, and is no longer repressed. As a person holding one of the original vampiric lineages and as a greater undead, you are a favored descendant of the Blood God. Your heritage empowers you with many bonuses, but it alsoes at a steep price. Please review the following changes.</strong>


    <strong>Negatives:</strong><ul><li><strong>You suffer 400% additional damage from any Silver based weapons.</strong></li><li><strong>You suffer 300% additional damage from any Light and Sun Pir abilities.</strong></li><li><strong>¡­]</strong></li></ul>


    He closed the window off after the first two initial items seen, not needing to read the rest.


    ¡°This¡­ is not good.¡±


    Riven¡¯s words were spoken too soon, because the wall to his right shattered in a spray of molten stone when an enormous rat three times the size of Ath crashed into what had once been a library. Scales covered its skin instead of fur, enormous spiked tes covered its body, and a third yellow eye was nted into the center of its forehead between slits in the metal helmet it wore. Huge wed hands carried enormous battle axes, spit dripped out of its mouth and off its two enormous fanged front teeth, and huge muscles epassed its limbs while it stood up on its hind legs to roar out a high pitched squeak.


    The areas far beyond this room, both up above and below, sealed off in white barriers of shimmering light - locking him and his team inside entirely without any chance of being able to portal out.


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WARNING</strong>


    <strong>WORLD QUEST BOSS FIGHT:</strong>


    <strong>TEAM 1: RIPPENVIRE DEATH SQUAD, EMPIRE OF DYING SUNS DEATH SQUAD, CAPTAIN VROS KINAL OF THE EMPIRE OF DYING SUNS (FACTION BOSS), AND SKRAGNUT THE DOOMAXE (DUNGEON PETRUS BOSS)</strong>


    <strong>VS.</strong>


    <strong>TEAM 2: RIVEN THANE (PANU WORLD BOSS), ARCHDEMON ATHELA (PANU WORLD BOSS, 3 FORMS), SKINWALKER TRIBE, AND OTHER PANU DUNGEON DIVERS</strong>


    <strong>[This fight is now being broadcasted.]</strong>


    <strong>ELYSIUM HAS SEALED OFF YOUR POINT OF EXIT WITH A DIAMETER OF 5 MILES UNTIL THE BATTLE IS COMPLETE, THOUGH ENEMY AND ALLY FORCES CAN STILL ENTER THIS ZONE DURING THE BATTLE UNTIL ONE OF YOU IS KILLED DUE TO WORLD QUEST AND INVASION PARAMETERS.</strong>


    <strong>[1 Mythic-Grade artifact will be provided to the victorious team.]</strong>


    <strong>BEGINNING BATTLE IN</strong>


    <strong>5¡­</strong>


    <strong>4¡­</strong>


    <strong>3¡­</strong>


    <strong>2¡­</strong>


    <strong>1¡­</strong>

 Chapter 230

    Chapter 230


    <strong>Chapter 230</strong>


    Chaos erupted.


    A dozen intricate ritual circles ovepped one another in the air over Riven¡¯s position, written in the mes of the sun. Celestial power tore down from above and crashed into his position, only for Azmoth¡¯s defensive dome of hellfire to nullify the attacks with a thunderous boom that scattered the mes across the already molten room.


    Battlecries roared out and heavily armored soldiers leaped from above with vampiric hounds and thralls, while vampires on the ledge up above and in the smoldering hallway took aim with rifles full of silver bullets to pepper Riven¡¯s position.


    Ath¡¯s vertical maw across her lower torso and upper arachnid body opened - letting out a torrent of energy from her ability ¡®Crystal Maw Cannon.¡¯ Elemental lightning fused with ice and purple sin energy shot out in a radiating wave that shredded the iing thralls along with two of the three vampires at the end, instantly ending their lives - but she was forced to defend and backpedal when a ming sword tore a gash into one of her legs.


    The warrior was flung off her body instantly and smashed into a wall with the sound of snapping bones, only for Riven¡¯s arc of ck lightning to rip across his body - burying the warrior deeper into the stone and shoving him across its surface in sprays of debris for twelve yards like one would wipe thick ice off a windshield.


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The echoing squeak of the dungeon boss was shrill and loud with resounding fervor, and its two battle axes made contact with Azmoth¡¯s shield to create a shockwave that pushed the brutalisk into the dungeon floor with the weight. One of Azmoth¡¯s free hands crashed into the ground and his body let out a kic shockwave that staggered the rat, only for him to follow up with ming breath in a torrent of fire. The enormous armored three-eyed rat rapidly dashed left and avoided the mes while simultaneously using a kic martial art of its own - raising both huge axes up in the air, eachrger than Azmoth was, and smashed them down in dual rippling waves of energy that tore through the entire room across the demon¡¯s position.


    Pieces of Azmoth¡¯s obsidian tes were ripped off, but he ignored the damage and began chanting under his breath. Quick, direct, and violent body motions lurched from his four arms while activating his Tier 3 martial art buff ¡®The Burning Crusade¡¯ - and everyone in the dungeon diving party that Riven had entered with saw their bodies begin to cinder. Weapons and ws caught fire for additional me damage, and they each gained increased resistances to me as well - inhibiting the sun damage Riven and Ath were currently taking while sparks flew in shes of de, magic, metal and w.And like a fuse was lit underneath them, the skinwalkers acted on this new buff in a frenzied rage - tearing out of a weakened point in the dome barrier together and rushing the vampiric hounds and human pdins that were trying to swarm Ath¡¯s position. Their bodies shifted and morphed, revealing to everyone the demons that they actually were with extended ws,nky pale limbs, and shrieking screams roaring from circr toothy mouths.


    The violence escted.


    ***


    Riven¡¯s enhanced body - moving far faster than what was normal with wisps of power from Blessing of the Crow - ripped through a tear in space. His de smashed through the armored ming shield of a pdin immediately after the teleport, but the man in turn sacrificed his shield and the impaled arm behind it to return a blow of his own - ming silver mace crashing into Riven¡¯s left shoulder with a resounding sound of metal on ivory that shook the pureblooded vampire just by being in proximity with the weapon.


    Sunfire stacked on silver alloy. Riven felt weakened by the close contact, and he felt his regeneration in both health and mana already beginning to decline. If he let his reserves drop to a dangerous level and didn¡¯t keep himself in top condition throughout the fight, he wasn¡¯t sure he could even depend on his normal levels of healing whatsoever. Not only that, but they¡¯d attacked in an enclosed area that limited his long-range capabilities; and in a ce where he didn¡¯t have massive amounts of blood reserves to pull on as environmental mana.


    They¡¯d nned well for this.<ul><li><strong>Gluttony¡¯s Riptide</strong><strong>: Passively builds up an elongated de of sin energy that can extend by swinging this weapon in an arc. Recharge rate and damage output depend on control and insight concerning Gluttony.</strong></li></ul>


    The ground underneath him screamed in protest and shattered with a roaring visage of Gluttony at his back. Dark sin energy swirled and flew forward in an arcing sh, colliding with three ovepping barriers of the sun in a monumental explosion as he simultaneously parried a swinging ymore and staggered when a il collided with his back. Silver bullets mmed into him from above in a storm of metal, but the room exploded in crimson light when spikes of crystalized bloodunched off the floor skywards.


    The spires of ice avoided his allies entirely, some even bending around fluidly before reorienting themselves in the direction of enemies. The vampires and crusading invaders did not fare as well however, and many of them were skewered or knocked off the overhead ledge entirely while the dungeon boss itself was toorge to dodge.


    The enormous three eyed rat was still engaged with Azmoth in a david-and-goliath scenario when Riven¡¯s spires struck - tearing into weak points and even through many spots along its armor into a tough hide of scales and muscle. Azmoth capitalized on it in that moment and activated his shield¡¯s grasping ability - pulling in the screeching bloodied rat closer with a ck hand that ripped out of the shield¡¯s metal; before meeting the giant rat¡¯s face with a magma strike.


    <strong>[Hellforged Maul (Infernal / Volcanic Weapon): 319 average physical damage on strike, Two-Handed for full effect, with each strike dealing additional burn damage on hit and over time. 10% bonus to stun chance. Requires 532 Strength stat with the Infernal or Volcano Subpir to use.</strong><ul><li><strong>Magma Strike: Activate this ability to increase the damage dealt by 40% in the form of an additional magma-based explosion. Mandatory 5 minute cooldown.]</strong></li></ul>


    Stone maul met armor rat skull in an explosion of me and molten rock, sending the creature rolling and bouncing across the ground even despite its massive size. Azmoth roared and exploded forward,unching himself with a re of hellfire off his legs and feet and crashing into the dungeon boss with the force of a cannon.


    <strong>*WHOOMF*</strong>


    A miniature sun of golden mes exploded overhead, causing a wave of burning energy to radiate out from the hole in the ceiling above Riven¡¯s position - copsing directly onto him. The vampiric prince staggered under the channeled assault of golden light, twisted to avoid an iing spear thrown at supersonic speed across the room, and prepared a counter attack. Spinning storm razors ripped into existence around him by the hundreds, infused blood and shadow mana in conjunction with the path of Red and ck, andunched forward in a chaotic tidal wave of destion.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Twisting and turning with lock-on effects for each of the hundreds of deadly projectiles, the spinning des avoided all skinwalkers, avoided Ath, avoided Azmoth and ripped into enemy warriors. Vampiric hounds and thralls were shredded entirely in sprays of gore by the dozens, not as protected as the otherbatants, while an abrupt shield wall was formed in a line from the enemy pdins and knights on the lower floor.


    Sunlight sted upwards from radiant shields, connecting with the oing barrage with each storm razor exploding on impact with tremendous force.


    An illusory copy of Riven ejected itself from his body and he saw himself go invisible, only to see a fire-covered il originally meant for his real body sh through one of Fay¡¯s illusions.


    He grinned, seeing the man wide open while noting relief upon the channeled golden light of the sun above followed Fay¡¯s illusion too, and his spiked knuckles took the armored man¡¯s chin at closebat.


    <strong>> Ripping ws: Punching someone with the spikes of your gauntlets will cause massive hemorrhaging damage over time.</strong>


    The metal of the man¡¯s helmet tore and blood fountained out of the heavy knight just as his lower jaw tore off with it, sending the warrior crashing into the ground twenty meters away before Riven¡¯s body teleported back to avoid a two-sided attack by otherbatants.


    Time seemed to stall when his hand curled and he activated his snipe ability via bloodnce, the mana ring up his arm in slow motion as his vision zoomed in to lock onto the exposed neck of another pdin.


    The long crimson bloodnce erupted from his outstretched hand at emphasized speeds.


    <strong>*SMASH*</strong>


    A sonic boom caused the room to shake and the pdin¡¯s shield barely came up in time to block Riven¡¯s attack, shattering the shield but saving the man¡¯s life while he spun through the air in dozens of flips per second before smashing and bouncing off the ground in a roll.


    ¡°Damn, I thought I had him.¡±


    To his left another ming longsword whipped around and collided with his weapon, only for two skinwalkers to w under his armpit and rip the appendage off entirely with herculean teamwork. The man screamed, only to be pounced upon by the two level 90 demons in an extremely violent goring session.


    Throughout all of this, the dome of crimson ice mostly held - but he made sure to reinforce it from time to time when able. He¡¯d also sealed it shut again after the skinwalkers had left it to join the battle, and was relieved after looking that way again to see these enemies werepletely ignoring the weaker members of the dungeon group - considering them nobatants no doubt until the end where they would certainly be killed if Riven ended up losing this fight.


    Well at least he didn¡¯t have to worry about a hostage scenario.


    On the other hand, the monks from above were doing a very good job in healing any of the knights and pdins his side didn¡¯t outright kill, as did the golden sun overhead that simultaneously healed the invaders and sought him out to damage him over time with searing heat even despite Azmoth¡¯s buff to reduce fire damage. The vampires on the ledge had also stayed out of the fray, taking pot shots at Ath, Azmoth, the skinwalkers and himself this entire time while sending in their thralls and fleshy hounds to do the up-front fighting alongside the other invaders.


    His pauldron groaned under the sparking impact of a powershot from a steampunk rifle above, and Riven was sent crashing into the ground when two golden fireballs smashed into his body. One was intercepted and eaten by the gluttonous maw on Messenger, but the other one made full contact with his lower thigh and groin - causing him to lurch and wince.


    ¡°Cocksuckers!¡± He said in a high pitched voice through gritted teeth, rolling andunching himself across the room as sin energy bloomed out the back of his armor to avoid yet anotherrge fireball.


    Creating a shadow rift just before he smashed into the wall, he teleported up above and right behind the vampires and monks taking potshots at him.


    He gave an evil grin, and the entire area around him - nowpletely devoid of allies he had to worry about getting caught up in the immediate explosion - began to light up bright red. His hands blurred with the proper motions, and a shockwave radiated out from his body to floor the enemies with their backs turned to his airborne position.


    The orb of crimson light between his palms was thrust forward, and in an instant grew to the size of a truck. ¡°Nefajia crecus blood nova!


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    The vampires were eradicated in a single go, with half of the floor they stood on vaporizing under a blinding red light - its blowback shattering the summoned golden sun as well that sent many of the monks falling back with cries of rm. Winds whipped the air around them and the dungeon shook with the impact, leaving Riven to crasnd in a superhero pose on the crackling remnants of the ledge overlooking the battle below; where Ath¡¯srge figure crashed all eight legs into the dungeon boss to help Azmoth take it down in the confusion of Riven¡¯s shockwave. ck lightning coursed through his body, and his crimson eyes elevated themselves through slits in his ivory gluttonous helmet to look at the six monks and three armored warriors standing across the gap in the floor.


    These three warriors were different from the others who¡¯d already jumped down. Each of them had frilled helmets, each of them had more decorative armor than the others with golden and ck trimmings, and each of them had bright red capes with the sigil of the ck sun on it in the same way their breasttes showed off the symbol.


    These were the leaders of the empire¡¯s invasion force, and they each drew ming longswords while getting ready in a defensive stance - radiant shields lighting up in golden light while their eyes red a bright orange mixed with gold.


    <strong>[Otherworldly Invader, Empire of Dying Suns</strong>. <strong>Level 120 Sunchosen, Human. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Otherworldly Invader, Empire of Dying Suns</strong>. <strong>Level 117 Sunchosen, Human. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Captain Vros Kinal, Invading Faction Boss, Empire of Dying Suns</strong>. <strong>Level 122 Sunchosen, Human. ELITE.]</strong>


    The six robed monks quickly got to their feet, getting behind the three ¡®sunchosen¡¯ warriors and empowering them with various buffs - golden rings of light encircling the three warriors at different points in the air and sigils of holy and sun origins smashing down onto the warriors¡¯ bodies.


    A man¡¯s calm voice carried over the chasm between the two sides of the ledge,ing from the central manbled ¡®Captain Vros Kinal¡¯ by the system. ¡°Hello, Riven Thane. I have heard much about you, and I must say that I am less impressed than I thought I would be.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow, watching the power build between the three of them as his own power immediately spiked. Roaring waves of ck and red thundered around him in a storm of crimson frost and ck lightning, and the visage of gluttony - Riven¡¯s soul clone - appeared behind him with a hungering chuckle of malice that caused the three warriors to instinctively step back.


    Riven sank Jackal into the floor de first, then smashed both his armored hands together. Tearing them apart with strings of blood and death mana ripping through space between his fingers, eight shes of light appeared - four to either side of where he stood.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Legionaries of the Blood God (Death / Blood)(Tier 2)</strong><strong>: This is a temporary summoning spell that does not require minion slots. You may summon up to 8 Elite-ss Bloodstricken Undead from the Blood God¡¯s realm, equal inbat level to your own, and may designate whether or not you wish to summon Blood Knights, Blood Sorcerers, Blood Assassins, or abination of the three when you do so. Undead are non-sentient andst for 5 minutes before disappearing. 1 day cooldown time. Very high mana cost.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Sorcerer, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Sorcerer, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Assassin, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Assassin, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 133. ELITE.]</strong>


    Eight hooded skulls etched with unholy crimson runes on their foreheads stared with equally crimson orbs for eyes in their skull sockets. Four were heavily armored with red ymores and thick red te mail. Two held thin, wicked daggers dripping blood mana in each hand and were strapped in intricately decorated red leathers, while thest two wore crimson robes of shifting runic ck sigils and held staves with ruby orbs that flickered blood mana.


    Riven yanked his sin-afflicted weapon out of the ground in a spray of debris, got into a stance, and the screeching visage of gluttony opened wide as tendrils of dark sin energy poured out in a typhoon in all directions around him. The hooded blood knights simultaneously shifted their own stances, nting their armored forward feet in line with Riven¡¯s own - long des lowered at the opposing fighters while the blood assassins utterly vanished in clouds of red; and the skeletal sorcerers began summoning bloodnces simr to Riven¡¯s own that collected in the air around them.


    Riven sneered. ¡°Good thing I won¡¯t need to keep you impressed if you¡¯re dead.¡±

 Chapter 231

    Chapter 231


    <strong>Chapter 231</strong>


    The first to move was one of the bloodstricken sorcerers, who shrieked an unholy cry before their bloodnces snapped forward with blinding speed. The monks countered with golden fires or barriers of their own, and the magics shed across the gap between ledges in explosive fury.


    Gluttony cackled and the great maw¡¯s tendrils collided with the sunchosen in turn, smashing them backwards and dimming the barriers they created to a drastic extent before the maw diverted its attention to easier targets - those down below.


    <em><strong>¡°I am hungry!¡±</strong></em>


    Deep purple and ck sin energy that was once directed towards the three leaders now turned on the more numerous and distracted warriors fighting the skinwalkers on the bottom floor, tendrils impaling them from behind one by one or wrapping around the legs and arms of the screaming pdins to drag them back into the abyss. Snapping down on well over ten of their elites to immediately end their screams within seconds, the visage let out a content groan and fizzled out - its taxing presence on Riven¡¯s soul dying away with it.


    Riven winced as the pain in his back seared, his still broken soul had pushed too much through a particr mana channel, but ignored it just like he¡¯d done with most of the fight. Launching himself across the gap where red and golden lights collided, ck lightning epassed his spear-staff and mmed into the zing shield of the enemy faction leader.


    Sparks flew and the man parried his strike with a countering kick to Riven¡¯s leg, causing Riven to buckle, then capitalized with a headbutt to Riven¡¯s face and a shield bash martial art that knocked Riven over entirely.


    What Captain Vros Kinal didn¡¯t see were the threads of ck, needle-likes that¡¯d sprung out of Riven¡¯s hand and wrapped around that same leg he¡¯d kicked the vampire with.


    Riven cackled and yanked violently,ing out of his roll and flipping his enemy onto his back before bringing Jackal up in an arcing swing to smash down onto Kinal¡¯s ming sword.Blood and shadow bloomed against sunfire, and the weapons continued to spark while Riven pressed down his weight before vanishing backwards through a shadow rift to dodge an iing swing from another of the sunchosen. He reappeared twelve yards away and whipped around, only to see his caped pursuer get smashed into the ground by two bloodknights. The undead legionnaires of the blood god were nothing to scoff at, and five minutes - though technically short - now seemed like an eternity as he watched them carve through the opposition even as reinforcements from what remained of Rippenvire attempted to help.


    He winced yet again as pain radiated up his back.


    God damn it, why did he have to enter a fight now of all times - while he was still recovering!?


    The monks used ming barriers to block and defend against the blood assassins, who¡¯d already killed two of their number with a quick rush from behind and teleport abilities - while the four blood knights went to work battling the three sunchosen with blurring attacks of sparks and metal while Riven took a breather. Meanwhile the blood sorcerers had turned their attention at hismand to the battle below after killing the small squad of reinforcing vampires, focusing down any of the empire¡¯s soldiers who attempted to jump back up - and otherwise just bombarding the enemybatants to give the skinwalkers, Azmoth, and Ath some support fire.


    The same could be said for Fay, who was still encased in the crimson dome to avoid getting killed while simultaneously casting hallucinations and curse traps that she¡¯d activate whenever an enemy walked over one.


    Even now, the multi-ton rat dungeon boss in spiked armor was missing an arm and two of its eyes - with Ath and Azmoth tearing into the creature time after time, only its massive sturdiness keeping the creature alive with the absolute onught of the two demons. It would no doubt have already been over if this had been a more open battlefield too, but Ath was being very careful not to unleash too much power in case she identally killed those huddled inside the dome. It made her slower to work, but she wasn¡¯t wanting to hurt Len, Hakim, or any of the others in there either.


    Huffing and pulling himself up to a fighting stance, Riven took in a deep breath to focus in on the primary target. He only needed-


    <strong>*SHUNK*</strong>


    Pain.


    He felt pain.


    A silver alloy dagger empowered with some kind of martial art sank into Riven¡¯s neck, piercing through the bloodsilk before lighting up with golden mes. Riven didn¡¯t bother screaming because his voicebox was blown out and mes tore through his mouth - but he instantly activated ¡®Launch¡¯ from messenger¡¯s back; causing sin energy to st the area behind him.


    A resultant scream was heard, and Riven dropped to one knee when he crashed into the opposite tform across the chasm - looking left and yanking the dagger out of his throat while struggling to breath through the charred flesh. A rogue¡¯s corpsey where he¡¯d been a second ago, unmoving with half its flesh melted off. No doubt the man had waited this entire time in order to get a clean shot, and a clean shot he¡¯d made.


    Riven fucking hated rogues, and god damn did that hurt, but it¡¯d take more than a single attack like that to kill someone like him.


    Yanking out a red vial health potion from his spatial sack and downing it, he mped his eyes shut and shook his head to clear his mind. The liquid soothed his insides that were battling what was the definition of an anti-vampire attack, using both a Sun martial art and a silver de that reduced his natural regeneration, and he downed a second one just for good measure before shifting his weight and cracking his neck. His gasping stopped and became a more normal breathing as the flesh revived itself, and he took in a deep breath of fresh air to expand his lungs to the fullest.


    The blood god¡¯s legionnaires had killed four of the monks now, but one of the blood assassins and one of the blood knights were also dead. Thus it was three blood knights and a blood assassin versus three sunchosen and two monks. Their actions were all elegant, well trained, and fluidly savage while they all cleaved into one another with des, miracles, martial arts and magics. A wave of blood energy tore out of the ymore of one blood knight with a downwards swing that nced off a golden dome of fire before one of the sunchosen grew wings and rushed the blood knight, taking the two of them off the ledge and down below where they crashed and continued to battle furiously. The others remaining up top smashed, crashed and roared in blindingly fast strikes, propulsive movement abilities, and bright lights amidst shing spells.


    It looked like the legionnaires were more than enough to give him time, time to free up Ath and Azmoth.


    Mentally ordering his blood sorcerers to focus their attention on the huge dual-axe wielding rat creature that could have easily stomped him t underneath one foot, he began to charge up his own barrage. Bloodnce after bloodnce after bloodnce was created, shifting and detaching from their arms to hover like two-meter spears all around them. The air sang with the building mana as Riven reached out with his mind, connectingnces one by one with thick cords of unholy wretched snares, before he electrified them all with a thought.


    The resulting disy was an enormous electrified withrge red spikes at every interval between cords, spanning an area forty yards in diameter including thences that his blood sorcerers had created.


    ¡°Focus the sunchosen now, I¡¯ll take over these spells from here.¡±


    The blood sorcerers wordlessly acknowledged hismand and relinquished their own spells to his control, then began casting crescent waves of blood that started barraging the other tform across the gap where Captain Vros Kinal and his men were still fighting the blood knights.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    In turn, Riven concentrated on his telepathic connection to Ath. It wasn¡¯t often used, and she was the only one of his minions that he had such a connection with, but it dide in handy now. ¡°Both of you, move.¡±


    He activated snipe with hisrgest and most powerful bloodnce, the epicenter of the entire sparking, writhing, and time slowed while his vision zoomed in on the dungeon boss¡¯s shrieking open mouth.


    It snapped forward just as Ath dove backwards with a call for Azmoth to do the same, and the two demons managed to get out of the way right before Riven¡¯s attack struck.


    The bottom floor exploded with power as the primaryncetore into the back of the monster¡¯s throat, and theing behind it swung around the creature¡¯s body to entangle the dungeon boss - snapping down onto the gigantic beast with spike after spike using centripetal force to snap down and through the rat¡¯s armor.


    The creature croaked a wail, dropping both of its enormous axes to the ground and wing at the electrifying with the dozens of bloodnce spikes impaling it all over. And when Riven¡¯s hand curled into a fist, the infused mana of the exploded inwards.


    Shrapnel from the rat¡¯s armor mixed with highly piercing bloodnces, shredding the already wounded monster from dozens of wounds - only for the remaining snares to contract and squeeze - ripping into and through scaled flesh easily now that the punctured armor wasn¡¯t holding.


    The enormous rat let out a gasp, stumbled left, and crashed into the ground with a shrill squeak - only for Ath to rip its throat out with two of her enormous de-like front limbs in her drider form. Blood stained the stone ground of the dungeon, and Ath let out a scream of victory as her aura boomed out with electrified snow.


    Satisfied that the dungeon boss was now not a factor, Riven nodded their way - sending another telepathicmunication to Ath. ¡°Help the skinwalkers finish up those below and get up here!¡±


    He didn¡¯t pause to see if she¡¯d heard him, he knew she had. And-


    <strong>*CHINGGGGGGGggggg¡­.*</strong>


    Metal rang against metal, and another ssh of sparks lit up Riven¡¯s armored face when one of the sunchosen - who¡¯d lost an arm to one of his blood knights - tried to impale him. The ming metal sent ripples up the flowing blood of Riven¡¯s spear-staff, and Riven pressed back to keep the weapon at bay before leaning to be within inches of the other man¡¯s armored face and ring eyes. ¡°I find you wanting.¡±


    Riven¡¯s headbut caught the other man off guard and staggered him, only for Jackal¡¯s Lunge to activate. The blood-red maw of a canine roared to life in front of his outstretched de, and in an instant Riven¡¯s body blurred through the sunchosen¡¯s own - armor and all - in a spray of red mist when Jackal¡¯s visage snapped down.


    His momentum stopped at the ledge overlooking the bottom floor again, and he stared over at the remaining man. All the monks were dead now, as were the other two sunchosen and even Riven¡¯s entire blood legionnaire retinue excluding the two sorcerers at his side. Captain Vros Kinal red at Riven, golden mes still crackling along his longsword, before he sted forward with intent.


    *<strong>BOOM*</strong>


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    <strong>*SMASH*</strong>


    The blowsnded one after the other, pushing Riven back while the blood sorcerersunched waves of red energy at the invader - only for one of them to die a momentter with some kind of thrown bomb that tore the skeleton apart entirely and nearly caused the entire tform to copse.


    The other sorcerer erected a red barrier just in time to block Kinal¡¯s follow up strike, and Riven used that opportunity to feign an attack with his weapon - only to follow with a low kick to the knee.


    But Riven¡¯s kick never connected, and Kinal¡¯s body spun in a horizontal arc while jumping over the kick to throw his longsword directly into the sorcerer¡¯s skull. The de hit home, piercing the rune along the skeletal mage¡¯s head with an impressive explosion of sunlight that eradicated the undead where it stood.


    Despite this, Captain Vros Kinal was obviously injured. Blood leaked from numerous ces along his armor, and a huge gash was carved down the right side of his chest where a red ymore had dug into one lung. He drew a long dagger at his hip, cape flowing out behind him while he gasped for air, and he stared at Riven not far off with unconcealed contempt.


    ¡°Your kind belongs nowhere except a shallow grave.¡± Captain Vros Kinal stated simply, watching Riven get into the final stance of the fight with grim determination. He straightened, and pointed his ming sword in Riven¡¯s direction. ¡°I have learned much from this fight, but it saddens me that we could not have finished this today. This is not the end, Riven Thane - it is only the beginning. The next time we meet, I will be stronger than you.¡±


    His shield red bright white again, blinding Riven¡¯s eyes as the captain pulled out a small box from a storagepartment. The lid opened, the man reached inside, and he turned his wrist. The room immediately red up around them with an even more intense light just as Ath¡¯ lean humanoid body ripped through the air and sank one wed hand into the man¡¯s side.


    <strong>[Captain Vros Kinal, Faction Leader of the Empire of Dying Suns, has used a single-use escape treasure. Invading factions may only have one escape treasure on hand per invasion, and he will not be able to use another one even should he acquire a second, per Elysium¡¯s rules of engagement.]</strong>


    The ringing in Riven¡¯s ears and the sh of light in his eyes faded away, leaving only the sound of a single desperatebattant left from the Empire of Dying Suns - a heavy knight that was immediately swarmed by the remaining skinwalkers. His screams echoed throughout the dungeon with-


    <strong>*SHUNK*</strong>


    Pain.


    The same pain he¡¯d felt from that other gods damned rogue.


    ¡°MOTHERFUCKER!¡±


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    <strong>*SNAP*</strong>


    ¡°AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!¡± The rogue¡¯s screams were shrill, pain-ridden, and terrified.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    Riven reacted far faster this time, even if the stealthed rogue had managed to shank him for the second time that battle through underhanded means, and this time it¡¯d been a kidney shot between ivory tes rather than in the neck.


    He didn¡¯t even give the rogue time to activate the second follow up martial art concerning the mes, and quickly crushed the man¡¯s head between his hands after breaking the rogue¡¯s wrists with a downwards chop of his hand.


    He let the dead man drop to the ground in front of him, wincing at the side wound and growling out loud. ¡°I, fucking, HATE, rogues! HATE THEM!¡±


    Stomping on the man¡¯s already crushed head for good measure, he grinded his ted boot into the stone floor and spat. ¡°Ath! I¡¯ve decided what kind of demon I need for myst slot. Remind me to get a demon that has detection qualities, I¡¯ll be damned if I¡¯m killed by one of these pussy-ass twinkle toes that run around in the dark shanking people all day long!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Ath protested, frowning and folding her arms. ¡°I¡¯m an assassin too! You¡¯re not being very nice.¡±


    <strong>CONGRATULATIONS</strong>


    <strong>CONGRATULATIONS</strong>


    <strong>CONGRATULATIONS</strong>


    <strong>YOU HAVE WON THIS WORLD QUEST BOSS FIGHT:</strong>


    <strong>TEAM 1: CAPTAIN VROS KINAL OF THE EMPIRE OF DYING SUNS HAS </strong><strong>FLED</strong><strong>. RIPPENVIRE DEATH SQUAD, EMPIRE OF DYING SUNS DEATH SQUAD, AND DUNGEON PETRUS BOSS - SKRAGNUT THE DOOMAXE HAVE BEEN </strong><strong>ELIMINATED!</strong>


    <strong>TEAM 2: RIVEN THANE (PANU WORLD BOSS), ARCHDEMON ATHELA (PANU WORLD BOSS, 3 FORMS), SKINWALKER TRIBE, AND OTHER PANU DUNGEON DIVERS HAVE COME OUT </strong><strong>VICTORIOUS!</strong>


    <strong>[This fight is now ending its broadcast.]</strong>


    <strong>ELYSIUM HAS UNSEALED YOUR POINT OF EXIT.</strong>


    <strong>[1 Mythic-Grade artifact will now be provided to you.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have gained 3 levels. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your minions have received their XP and level ups as well. Congrattions!]</strong>


    <strong>[YOU HAVE DEFEATED THE DUNGEON¡¯S PRIMARY BOSS: SKRAGNUT THE DOOMAXE. DUNGEON PETRUS HAS LOST, AND AS MASTER OF AZMOTH - WHO WAS THE PRIMARY CONTRIBUTING PARTICIPANT IN KILLING THIS DUNGEON BOSS, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO DECIDES WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.]</strong>


    <strong>[Now that Dungeon Petrus has been defeated, you may choose to either take the dungeon¡¯s bribe - or may choose to destroy its core. Taking the dungeon¡¯s bribe allows it to offer you treasures otherwise hidden inside the dungeon¡¯s realm. Taking the bribe allows the dungeon to either relocate entirely, or allows it to enter a hibernation mode where the Elysium Administrator guarantees its protection and gives it time to rebuild. Choosing to destroy the core will kill the dungeon permanently, preventing monster spawns out of it, but you must find the core first to do so.]</strong>


    Riven closed his eyes, bringing up another health potion to his lips and gingerly sucking the red liquid down as he felt his wounds slowly start to regenerate again. It was weird, not healing immediately like so many of his other injuries in the past had. Those silver weapons and sun affinities were no joke, almostpletely negating his passive healing and making him feel rather sick to boot.


    His attention was turned to the dungeon floor on the lower level next, where arge tinum chest with glowing blue runes had appeared on top of the dead dungeon boss. If he had to guess, that was the mythic item Elysium was talking about. Half of the skinwalkers had also died, leaving only 11 of them still standing, which was certainly unfortunate¡­ he even felt a little bit bad, and would be sure to reward them for their efforts.


    Not a moment after the chest had appeared, another smaller figure shed into existence right beside Riven¡¯s standing position - taking the form of a hooded ratkin man only two feet tall. It was tan, seemingly made out of y, but Riven had already seen a dungeon avatar like this before. His identification only made him more certain of it.


    <strong>[Avatar of Dungeon Petrus]</strong>


    Riven¡¯s red eyes narrowed, and the dungeon avatar merely looked up expectantly and rather sheepishly his way. ¡°I hope you know that, unless you want me to seek out your core and shatter it for the shit you just pulled, you¡¯re going to have to pay up realllllly nice. And I mean, REALLY - nice. Got it, rat boy?¡±


    All Dungeon Petrus could do was nod and sigh.

 Chapter 232

    Chapter 232


    <strong>Chapter 232</strong>


    Mythic-tier item box sitting on another dungeon boss corpse for his sister to use?


    Check.


    Room full of gold, jewels, and various F-grade artifacts?


    Check.


    Powerleveling his friends and demons?


    Very much a check. Having a bunch of level 15¨C50 dungeon divers in his group after wiping the floor with a whole gaggle of level 100+ pdins and their less powerful vampiric allies had meant enormous gains for everyone involved, including Fay and Azmoth who¡¯d each gained quite a bit of experience respectively.


    Unfortunately Captain Vros Kinal of the Empire of Dying Suns had gotten away, Riven had failed to see Ath¡¯s two new blood martial arts duringbat, and half of the skinwalkers recently pledged to Ath had died - but considering the ambush it was an overall better than expected oue. Riven was still recovering from the tribtion, Ath had lost her entire force of crystal ice spiders before the fight had even begun, and the pdins had specifically outfitted their weapons with anti-vampire silver alloys which had been a real pain in the ass.


    Riven pocketed the orange bauble, having had Dungeon Petrus package its dead dungeon boss just like he¡¯d forced thest one to package the drake. ¡°It was a pleasure doing business with you, jackass.¡±¡°Stuff it!¡± Dungeon Petrus growled while folding its little avatar arms. ¡°The amount of coins you cost me is outrageous! You have six hours, then you gotta leave so I can relocate! That¡¯s the deal. I¡¯ll be moving out of this forsakennds to set up somewhere else, I won¡¯t have a monster like you knowing where I set up or I¡¯ll never make a living!¡±


    The dungeon avatar snapped its fingers and it vanished, leaving Riven in the room behind where skinwalkers were still stripping gear and loot off the dead. Meanwhile Ath and Azmoth were digging through piles of gold an treasures in the room beyond the trap he¡¯d tripped behind that hidden hallway earlier, where Dungeon Petrus had put an additional sum of cash there after Riven¡¯s thread made it abundantly clear that if it wasn¡¯t enough - Riven would find the core.


    As for Fay, she was standing beside Riven while he watched the skinwalkers work. On one hand he didn''t¡¯ necessarily trust them not to steal high quality treasures off these young scions of the multiverse if there were any to be had, but on the other hand they¡¯d also bled and died in the fight against the offworlders. He was torn on what to do, because though he likely wouldn¡¯t have needed them - they had served as decent distractions.


    ¡°Ak¡¯ra and Selzi, a word please.¡± He motioned to where the skinwalker couple, the first he¡¯d ever met, stopped what they were doing and walk over to where he and Fay stood in the center of the room that looked like a typhoon had gone through it.


    ¡°Yes, master of our master?¡± Selzi - the female skinwalker asked with a submissive bow and posturing. ¡°Can we help the great one in some way?¡±


    Her mate, Ak¡¯ra, bowed the same way. ¡°We wish to serve¡­¡±


    Riven gave them a sad smile, seeing that they were a bit down about losing friends or family, and took his helmet off to better look at them. Stuffing it under one arm, he gestured to where the individual piles of armor, weapons, potions, jewelry and other items had been categorized. ¡°Do you see anything you want?¡±


    Selzi shifted her body ufortably. ¡°We do not wish to take from the vampire prince, but appreciate the great one¡¯s generosity if that was intended.¡±


    Riven blinked, considering this. ¡°What is it that you and your n want?¡±


    ¡°I am¡­ unsure of what you mean by that. Forgive me, great one.¡±


    ¡°What are your goals? Why leave hell? What do you intend to do here now that you¡¯re on Panu and in the mortal realms? Surely you have some kind of want or desire.¡±


    Ak¡¯ra was the one to reply this time. ¡°We do not have any high aspirations, great warlock. We merely wish to grow strong. What about you? What is it that you desire?¡±


    Riven hadn¡¯t been expecting that kind of response, and the question turned around on himself made him seriously give it thought. He looked right, to where Fay was standing beside him, and pulled her in close to kiss her forehead.


    She grinned, nting a kiss on his cheek and wrapping her arms around him while he continued to search for answers.


    ¡°I guess my life is so hectic I hadn¡¯t thought about it much.¡± Riven replied softly, stroking the back of Fay¡¯s head with one hand. ¡°Growing stronger used to be a need, and it still is, but that too has be a desire because of the freedom it grants me. That though is secondary to keeping the people I love safe. Andtely, magic itself has been rather¡­ fascinating. I suppose if I had to choose an answer aside from granting the people I care about protection, it would be that I want to explore magic in the same way scientists of my old world did with microbiology, chemistry, physics - I want answers to how it all works.¡±


    Riven thought back to the totems he was working with, smiling slightly. ¡°I wish the Blood Moon Requiem was able to give me more information on totems. Sucks that it¡¯s restricted. Elysium is very picky about what it does and does not allow on¡­ Anyways I¡¯m getting off track. Ak¡¯ra, Selzi, I just wanted to let all of you know that I appreciate the help. And you know what? Take whatever you want off the bodies, but know that if you find anything good that I may be able to use - I¡¯d be willing to buy it from whoever finds it for a good price. You¡¯re all more than wee toe back to the necropolis after this is done with Ath too, though I¡¯m sure you¡¯d already nned on it.¡±


    ¡°We had, great one!¡± Selzi adamantly nodded her head. ¡°We will do so, and your appreciation is noted! We will let you know if there¡¯s anything worthy of your attention and I will inform the others they can pick what they¡¯d like off the dead.¡±


    Both skinwalkers bowed again, then left for the rest of their n on the outskirts where the bodies had been dragged to.


    The sound of a woman clearing her throat caused Riven to turn, and he saw Genua standing awkwardly with her daughter¡¯s hand in her own only a few feet away.


    ¡°Yes Genua?¡±


    The elf woman¡¯s eyes rapidly blinked, and she looked around the room - then back to where the others who¡¯d remained under the dome had been all this time. Most of Ja¡¯s group werepletely shellshocked, staring dumbfounded at the absolute destruction of the dungeon around them, while a few of them were excitedly going over all the levels they¡¯d gained by just passively being in Riven¡¯s group during the fight.


    ¡°You ok?¡± Riven asked, frowning in concern when Len hid behind her mother to peak out the side of Genua¡¯s leg.


    Genua seemed to get ahold of herself then, and straightened her posture to smooth out her maid¡¯s uniform. ¡°Y-Yes¡­ I just wanted to say thank you for keeping us alive and out of the fight. It was far more violent than I¡¯d expected it to be, and I just¡­¡±


    ¡°Mother and I were scared.¡± Len said from behind Genua¡¯s leg - staring up at Riven¡¯ with that one eye poking out where the rest of her face was hidden. ¡°That was really, really scary.¡±


    Genua took a shuddering breath, closed her eyes, and nodded. ¡°Yes, I felt rather helpless. I don¡¯t like feeling helpless, but it seems to repeatedly afflict me time after time. But I wanted to thank you for having us along, because it appears that I may not always be so helpless.¡±


    Genua shifted one hand, and a status screen appeared.


    <strong>[Genua¡¯s Status Page:</strong><ul><li><strong>Level 21</strong></li><li><strong>Pir Orientations:] Fae Foundation, Forest (Corrupted, transition to Unholy Foundation has been detected. Potential loss of Fae Foundation and associated pirs is soon possible.)</strong></li><li><strong>Traits:] </strong><strong>Race: High Elf </strong><strong>, </strong><strong>ss: None (3 options avable)</strong><strong>, Vampiric Thrall (98% Complete), Blessing of the Blood God (???)</strong></li><li><strong>Abilities:] None</strong></li><li><strong>Stats:] 3 Strength, 4 Sturdiness, 6 Intelligence, 6 Agility, 1 Luck, 2 Charisma, 3 Perception, 2 Willpower, 1 Faith (90 Free Stat Points to use)</strong></li><li><strong>Equipped Items:] </strong><strong>None</strong><strong>]</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°Oh wow! You gained so many levels just from standing by! That¡¯s awesome!¡± Riven enthusiastically put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°3 ss options too! Any idea what you want or if they¡¯re any good? I¡¯m happy for you¡­¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    His voice trails off when he saw ¡®Blessing of the Blood God¡¯ listed as one of her traits. Furrowing his brows, he scratched his head. ¡°What¡¯s that? Have you had it before now?¡±


    Hesitantly, she shook her head no. ¡°It is new, and came with the level ups. Until now I¡¯d only had one ss option avable too, it was just ¡®ve¡¯, and now the old one disappeared entirely. There are three new ones. They each mention something very specific, and I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s some kind of oddity, or a joke from Elysium, or something entirely different. Would you mind having a look and guiding me?¡±


    Riven continued to curiously stare, his curiosity getting the better of him. ¡°Sure, of course.¡±


    Nervously smiling her appreciation, and with Len still looking at Riven like he was some kind of truly scary monster after the fight, Genua pulled up her ss options. It was somewhat reminiscent of his own ss choices back in the day, only these ones were far, FAR better than his own options had originally been.


    <strong>[For every level gained, you will be presented with certain amounts of stat points depending upon both your ss title, your race, and sometimes other unique factors that will not be discussed here. Currently you have no ss title, and your race is set to High Elf. The High Elf race has +5 Free Stat Points per level. Please choose your starter ss title. Remember that sses do not dictate your survival style - rather, in the future, your survival style will dictate what sses you are awarded beyond these base forms. The better your performance, the better sses you will be awarded upon evolution opportunities.</strong><ul><li><strong>Priestess of the Blood God (ssTitle)(Completion of the Vampiric Thrall trait is required to choose this ss)(Must apply the Blood God¡¯s Markings to choose this ss)</strong><strong> - A ritualist ss evolutionary pathway emphasizing the use of divinity, utility miracles, rituals, and sacrifices. You gain ess to the Blood God¡¯s Clergy Interface, where you may buy miracles using faith points gathered from prayer specifically made for your ss or interact with the Blood God himself if you climb the rankingdder of clergy to a sufficient degree. +16 Faith, +1 Willpower, +2 free stat points per level. Comes with the abilities ¡®Sanguine Smite¡¯ [Tier 1 Miracle that sts an enemy at mid to short range with blood divinity], ¡®Blood Oath¡¯ [Tier 3 miracle that requires your vampire master¡¯s permission to use, roots the user to one spot, increases the amount of damage taken by the user¡¯s vampire master, and grants invincibility to yourself unless your vampire master dies], ¡®Transfusion Zone¡¯ [Tier 3 area of effect miracle that heals allies and damages enemies], ¡®Body Fusion¡¯ [Tier 3 miracle that temporarily fuses the priestess with one of her master¡¯s other minions for unique effects depending on the target], and ¡®Sanguine Possession¡¯ [Tier 4 ritualist miracle that requires a sacrifice in an attempt to temporarily control a marked enemy based on enemy Willpower]. Choosing this ss alsoes with a legendary F-grade Clergy Robes of the Blood God set.</strong></li><li><strong>Lamprey (Combined Race-ss Title)(Completion of the Vampiric Thrall trait is required to choose this ss)(Must apply the Blood God¡¯s Markings to choose this ss)</strong><strong> - A berserking race and ss that emphasizes raw power and up-close violence. Lampreys are a direct upgrade from the Vampiric Thrall trait, meant to be protectors and pets of the Blood God¡¯s Chosen, and choosing this ss will rid yourself of the Vampiric Thrall trait while binding you as a Lamprey to your vampiric master instead; simultaneously granting you magic resistance, physical resistance, divinity resistance, extremely high regenerative properties, bonuses to unarmored, and the vampiric tendencies to feed on mortals regrly for survival. Choosing this race-ssbination changes your body into a hybrid of what you originally were, and a blood-type demonic entity, with associated traits that also drastically increase your speed, sturdiness and strength. Comes with the abilities ¡®Cannibalize¡¯ [Tier 1 Martial Art thatunches you towards and enemy in a frenzied state and does heavy amounts of damage to a single target, while simultaneously spiking your own regeneration amidst consumption], ¡®Berserk¡¯ [Tier 1 Martial Art that increases the amount of damage you do with physical attacks, increases the amount of damage you can take, drastically increases your speed, but enrages you and clouds your judgement], ¡®Bloody Feast of the Primordials¡¯ [Tier 3 Martial Art that sends out repeating shockwaves and that afflict all nearby enemies with the ¡®Heavy Bleeding¡¯ debuff, and that debuff will continue to apply additional stacks every 10 seconds or upon being hit by another shockwave for additional passive damage.], and ¡®Blood Dance¡¯ [Tier 2 Martial Art that applies a mark to an opponent for execution in the next 8 seconds, dealing 100% extra blood damage on strike to that opponent until they die or the 8 seconds expire. If the marked enemy lives, this martial art goes on a lengthy cooldown. If the marked enemy dies, this martial art allows you to mark and teleport to another enemy for 120% additional blood damage on strike. This effect can repeat up to 400% additional blood damage on strike as long as executions are sessfully made within their 8 second time allotments]. +6 Strength, +6 Speed, +7 Sturdiness, +2 Free Stat Points per level. Comes with a legendary F-Grade Guillotine Rampager set.</strong></li><li><strong>Sacrificial ve Aspirant (ss Title)(Completion of the Vampiric Thrall trait is required to choose this ss)(Must apply the Blood God¡¯s Markings to choose this ss)</strong><strong> - A utility ss that focuses on empowering one¡¯s vampiric master by means of internal sacrifice. Comes with the traits ¡®Numbed Pain¡¯ [60% decreased sensation to any painful stimuli], ¡®Masochist¡¯ [Derives gratification from pain while simultaneously healing your vampiric master at 1% of the damage you directly take], ¡®Cockroach¡¯ [Upon death, respawn a dayter as long as your vampiric master is still alive], and ¡®Master¡¯s Burden¡¯ [20% of damage dealt to your vampiric master is rerouted to you until death]. Comes with the abilities ¡®Take Affliction¡¯ [Tier 1 Spell that immediately rids your vampiric master of any debuffs and ces them on yourself], ¡®Give Life¡¯ [Tier 1 Spell that immediately sends a portion of your health pool to your vampiric master], and ¡®Red Meditation¡¯ [Tier 3 Spell that absorbs surrounding blood mana while in a channeling trance-like state to heal yourself at extreme rates. This channeling can be easily interrupted]. ¡®Increases sturdiness by 500 t points, with an additional 10% Sturdiness overall buff. +1 Willpower, +1 Intelligence, +10 Sturdiness, +3 Free Stat Points per level. Comes with a legendary F-Grade Shackles of the Blood ve set. This ss has an abnormally wide array of potential evolutions in the future once reaching level 50.]</strong></li></ul>


    The very second Riven finished reading her notification, the room shuddered as the lid of the mythic-grade treasure chest opened. His eyes widened, and many of the onlookers stepped back while Azmoth and Ath rushed back into the room.


    Red light bathed the interior of the dungeon wreckage, and a swirling mass of crimson symbols intertwined with one another hovered in the air - mixing with one another and rearranging themselves in odd, interchanging patterns.


    If there was ever any question that system prizes for quests didn¡¯t customize themselves to their assigned person, that question was nowpletely curb stomped.


    <strong>[Blood God¡¯s Markings (Mythical-Grade Female Thrall Enhancement):</strong><strong> Apply to a female thrall for upgrades.]</strong>


    ¡®Female¡¯ thrall enhancement. Did this mean there were specific types for male as well? He shot Luke a hesitant nce, wondering what his options would have turned into if he¡¯d been the one to receive this kind of booster, and returned to staring at the swirling crimson symbols in the air.


    ¡°Huh. Well that¡¯s neat.¡±


    ***


    His fangs sank into Genua¡¯s neck while Len was distracted by Jenny and the others, and the elf woman¡¯s red eyes brightened even beyond her already abnormal light as a shudder and down her body. Her muscles spasmed, her bloodstream flowed with vampiric venom that Riven continued to pump into her, and her fingers clenched around his forearm while her mind began to temporarily fade away.


    <strong>[Final stage of Thrall Manifestation is now underway. Estimated time untilpletion: 56 minutes. Would you like to im this thrall as your own?]</strong>


    <strong>[Genua has been imed as your vampiric thrall, and now requires a certain amount of Willpower to sustain. Thralls will begin to mentally shut down if theyck the appropriate amount of Willpower.]</strong>


    <strong>[Due to unique internal circumstances and the presence of a vampiric child inside Genua¡¯s womb, the trait of Vampiric Thrall has been upgraded into Ascended Vampiric Thrall.]</strong>


    <strong>[Genua has acquired the following traits: Ascended Vampiric Thrall, Positive Vampiric Inclinations, Vampiric Subservience. Due to unique internal circumstances and the presence of a vampiric child inside Genua¡¯s womb, the Unholy Foundational Pir and Blood Sub-Pir have now reced her previous pirs.]</strong>


    His eye only twitched slightly when the system itself confirmed Genua¡¯s pregnancy, and he felt a very odd influx of emotions when considering the woman fainting in his arms bore his child. Especially given their history, it certainly wasn¡¯t a match made in heaven.


    ¡°Will she be ok?¡± Tanya asked worriedly, blocking out Len¡¯s line of sight while her mother was gently ced with her head on a nket.


    Riven nodded and stood up, turning around to look at all the other people assembled there. ¡°Yes she¡¯ll be fine, better than fine probably.¡±


    Ath and Tanya looked skeptical, Fay took it all in stride without a hint of doubt, Luke looked worried, while Azmoth seemed not to care.


    ¡°Uh¡­ While we wait¡­¡± Ath slid up next to him and prodded him in the ribs with a finger. ¡°Want to see what we¡¯ve got going on in terms of loot!?¡±


    She yanked out a rather gaudy headdress from behind her back made of jewels and gold, with massive dangling earring-like piecesing off the sides. Smiling widely and cing it on her head over the ck tiara she already wore, she began to wriggle her fingers Riven¡¯s way. ¡°NOW I¡¯M A REAL PRINCESS!¡±

 Chapter 233

    Chapter 233


    <strong>Chapter 233</strong>


    The room beyond the trapped door was something to be seen. Dim light reflected off thousands upon thousands of coins and jewels from a glow-stone embedded in the ceiling. A pile of weapons and armor with lesser enchantments were also stuff into a corner on the right hand side of the square room, while trinkets, baubles and low-grade artifacts were piled in the very front. It was the smaller pile to his left that caught his attention most, as it was the pile that was supposed to be things he¡¯d be interested in having for himself or for his minions.


    ¡°How much is this?¡± Riven waved around at the piles of bronze, silver, gold and tinum Elysium Coins higher than he was.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Ath held out both hands to either side. ¡°No idea. Put them in a storage bag and find out?¡±


    Riven rubbed his temple with two fingers. ¡°Rat boy,e hither.¡±


    The dungeon avatar popped into existence next to him with a scowl and folding its arms. ¡°What is it now, vampire!? Is it not enough that you¡¯re already robbing me?! Do you seriously expect me to-¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Riven red down at the avatar with a re of his aura, holding out his bag of holding that Negrada had given him. ¡°And do it now. Those two piles over there as well.¡±


    Grumbling to himself and raising a hand, the dungeon avatar quickly made a series of gestures that saw the flood of coins rocket towards Riven¡¯s outstretched bag. Like a river of money and jewels, the bag guzzled it all down over the course of five minutes until thest of the coins was swallowed into the spatial abyss of Riven¡¯s item.


    ¡°Now get lost, you¡¯ve already ruined my day and I have lots to do.¡± The dungeon avatar humphed and vanished in another sh of light, leaving the demons and Riven to stand only in front of only a single, very small pile of stuff that he was quite keen on inspecting soon.Looking at his bag, he nodded in approval at the stacking numbers of coins that¡¯d appeared there with the mary value added up. ¡°I had less than 63 million after spending some millions on keeping the poption fed, but now I¡¯m back up to 82 million in Elysium Coin value. A couple dozen low grade artifacts, weapons and armor - along with a few spell scrolls and tomes in both the Fae Foundational Pir and¡­ The Zodiac Sub-Pir of the Harmony Foundation? I haven¡¯t seen that one yet. Interesting, but not applicable to any of us. Maybe some of the people in the other room will want these.¡±


    A sshing sound from Riven¡¯s left sounded, and when he turned to look - Ath was gone. Instead, only bloodstain remained.


    He furrowed his brows at Azmoth, who just shrugged, and then at Fay who also shrugged.


    ¡°What?¡± Fay asked innocently, blinking twice underneath her purple t-brimmed witch¡¯s hat.


    ¡°Where did Ath go?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°She was right there.¡±


    Fay giggled. ¡°She was, but now she¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°I see.¡± His eyelids half lowered, and his head swiveled back to the bloodstain on the floor. He saw it move slightly in his direction, and he reached out feelers to get a grasp on the inborn mana. That mana was not essible to him, and he lifted an eyebrow.


    Intentionally ignoring the slowly moving blood puddle and guessing that this was very likely one of the two new martial arts she¡¯d been wanting to show him, he tried to hide his smile and pretended not to make the connection. ¡°Very well, I¡¯m sure she¡¯lle back to us in time. I¡¯d probably smell her foul stench before she actually got close anyways. Now let¡¯s take a look at these gadgets.¡±


    He walked over to the small pile of stuff set out for him, internally chuckling when he noticed the puddle abruptly freeze at his words as if grievously offended, and got into a cross-legged sitting position on the floor.


    One item was a pair of ming antlers stuck onto a ring of light, giving off an orange-yellow glow. The next item of interest was arge ck grimoire, its pages yellowed, with a green viper set onto the front of the thick leather front. After that was a huge belt with a metal boar¡¯s head slightly protruding from the belt buckle, created from thick metal rings. There was a set of bone-made boots as well, te armor with death mana that oozed out of them at a slow but steady rate. Then,stly, there was a set of two red katanas that were rather long and slender for their make.


    ¡°Care to join me?¡±


    His minions did as asked, both of them sitting down next to each other and across from him on the other side of the pile. Meanwhile, the puddle of blood remained sitting there without doing much otherwise.


    ¡°So first things first,¡± Riven began, picking up the two red katanas and handing them to Azmoth. ¡°These were going to go to Ath, but I figure they can go to you since she¡¯s not here to im them.¡±


    ¡°UNHAND THOSE SWORDS, VAGABOND!¡± Athunched herself from the puddle of blood on the floor - or more urately, warped her figure into her humanoid version and swiped the katanas out of Riven¡¯s hands while humphing loudly. ¡°And I do not smell! You snore when you sleep, ingrate.¡±


    ¡°I love you too Ath.¡± Riven gave her a wink, and she immediately blushed before clearing her throat to sit down next to him.


    ncing his way just once and then averting her eyes again, she scooted in closer, twice, and gave him an embarrassed peck on the cheek. ¡°Love you too.¡±


    Fay looked a bit jealous, but otherwise didn¡¯tment.


    ¡°These are what dungeon say best for us.¡± Azmothmented, ignoring the interactionpletely and pointing a wed finger at the allotment of items in front of them. ¡°I not use your armor to identify yet, I wanted to wait. Like¡­ Like Christmas presents. We open!¡±


    ¡°Your wish is mymand!¡± Riven bowed from his seated position. ¡°And just who told you about Christmas? Was it Allie? Anyways I have a vague idea of what they are so far after a quick chat with the dungeon to make sure the deal was right, but let¡¯s get the nitty gritty details shall we?¡±


    He picked up the burning antlers first, along with the ring of light they were attached to, and disyed the status page.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Ragar¡¯s Burning Antlers (Infernal Headgear):</strong><strong> 82 average damage on strike. +143 additional defense to the outermostyer of your entire body once equipped, including but not limited to armor. +7% mana regeneration. +2% stamina regeneration. +3% to the Infernal Sub-Pir¡¯s Affinity. Equipping this item fuses it to the wielder¡¯s head, and will note off unless intentionally taken off by the wielder. Requires the Infernal Sub-Pir Affiliation to use.</strong><ul><li><strong>me Skin:</strong><strong> Applies a passive me shield to skin that activates on violent contact, with defense equal to one third of your total sturdiness. Resets every 5 minutes.</strong></li><li><strong>Set Piece: 1 of 3</strong><strong>. This Item is part of the Ragar¡¯s Hellsteed Set. Acquire 3 items of the Ragar¡¯s Hellsteed Set for additional bonuses.]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven smiled and passed Azmoth the ming horns. ¡°The mana regeneration won¡¯t help much, but everything else is rather good. ESPECIALLY that affinity boost! Never seen one of those before.¡±


    Azmoth grunted his appreciation and lifted the horns, allowing the circle of light connecting them to hover over his head before he ced it down. The horns shuddered slightly, and the circle of light they were attached to disappeared when the antlers fused to Azmoth¡¯s forehead a secondter. They grew slightly, erging to fit Azmoth¡¯s proportions, and a shimmering barrier of cinder lit up across Azmoth¡¯s body as an additionalyer of protection before fading away again across obsidian tes.


    ¡°That¡¯s badass.¡± Ath said bluntly. ¡°Really, really badass. Azmoth, you look like a stud. I bet you¡¯ll have all the brutalisk women chasing after you before long!¡±


    Azmoth¡¯s wed fingers tapped on the horns gently, then gave them a good tug to make sure they were secure. The obsidian teeth of his smile clicked together and he gave Ath a nod. ¡°Thank you, Ath. For being nice.¡±


    ¡°No prob bud!¡± Aht swat him on the back. ¡°Maybe we can find some of those other set items sometime. We¡¯ll probably have to buy them from an offworld vendor but you never know, maybe Negrada has other matching pieces or even duplicates of the one you have.¡±


    ¡°If it does have duplicates, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s rather expensive.¡± Fay muttered, kicking out her long blue legs and tapping her feathered boots together. ¡°Set items are always pricey, even in the F grade, because you can¡¯t just make them. They¡¯re all system-spawned.¡±


    <strong>*THUD*</strong>


    ¡°Oof!¡± Fay grunted when therge ck book with the green serpent on its frontnded in herp. Sticking her tongue out at a snickering Ath, then red to Riven who¡¯d actually tossed the book her way. ¡°Is this one for me?¡±


    Riven nodded. ¡°It is indeed. It¡¯s probably the best item here, I think you¡¯ll be impressed. Take a look.¡±


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Viper Grimoire of Curses and Schemes (Unholy Specialization Grimoire, Unique):</strong><strong> +129% mana regeneration when held. +9% damage to all curses when held. Binding this grimoire and adding a single one of your curses to its pages, you will decrease the cooldown time on your chosen curse by 10% while simultaneously allowing for spontaneous evolution options of that curse with insights drawn from the Unholy Foundational Pir and its rted sub-pirs. Spontaneous evolutions will ur as the grimoire actively writes out different variations of the curse across its pages with random trial and error experiments in an internal, limited ne. Evolution options will ur in the form of insights once a breakthrough is made.]</strong>


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    nkly, Fay stared at the description of the Viper Grimoire in herp. Then her jaw began to slowly drop to the floor, and she let out an audible gasp as her eyes went wide. ¡°Riven! Riven this is - this is incredible! And it¡¯s a UNIQUE item! Riven, do you know what this means!?¡±


    She continued staring down at the ck and green book in her hands, still utterly shocked. ¡°This item is going to single-handedly improve my cultivation by¡­ by¡­¡±


    She couldn¡¯t find the words.


    ¡°By a fucking lot. It¡¯s certainly not a normal grimoire in the way I learned them to be.¡± Riven nodded in agreement. ¡°If you look at its pages, they¡¯re actually all nk and don¡¯t even have spells in them like most other grimoires do - because it¡¯s waiting for you to put in a spell yourself so it can start re-writing it in attempts to evolve your chosen curse. Very niche item as it only works with curses but it¡¯s perfect for you. Spontaneous evolution options? I can¡¯t think of a better prize to get from a dungeon like this. Not to mention the mana regen. Which curse are you going to bind to the grimoire first?¡±


    Fay¡¯s eyes lifted from the book, suddenly very distant. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll have to talk to my mother about this. Thank you so much, Riven.¡±


    Riven beamed. ¡°d you like it. Now, for the others.¡±


    Therge metal belt with a carved boar¡¯s head as the belt buckle was handed to Azmoth next. It wasn''t anything special, but it did give some specs to Azmoth¡¯s strength - which was a small boon and certainly not unwanted.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>The Tusken Rager (Heavy Armor, Belt):</strong><strong> +266 defense. +58 Strength, +13% Strength.]</strong>


    After that were the bone-made boots,yers of thick ivory ovepping one another, which Riventook for himself. They were better than the ones he already had, and to boot they also changed the te-leggings he had on - absorbing the ivory-painted steel without much issue untiling into contact with Messenger. When the boots met Messenger, they visibly retracted upon trying to absorb the Gluttonous armor as Messenger hissed a threat.


    Still, the boots rather easily upgraded his current lower-body armor and settled down into a new form when his te-armor leggings simply became a part of the whole. The steel turned into a truly bone te-mail too, not just painted, and it felt both heavier and sturdier after the change had taken hold. It wasn¡¯t anything near as good as Messenger¡¯s 1858 defense to ted areas, or even the 965 defense of bloodsilk inbetween the tes, but this was still far better armor than most things on Panu right now; or the 257 defense his te leggins had prior to the merge.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Lich-Kin Boots and Leggings of the Cannibal (Death-Attuned Heavy Bone Armor):</strong><strong> +788 Defense. Absorbs and nullifies up to 60% of any death attuned attacks. Requires the Death Sub-Pir Affinity and 198 Strength to wield.</strong><ul><li><strong>Cannibalize Armor:</strong><strong> Absorbs adjacent armor pieces of the wearer and enhances them up to the quality of the original Lich-Kin Boots.]</strong></li></ul>


    Yup, it was a significant upgrade.


    Lastly were Ath¡¯s two red katanas, each of the des magnificent in their own rights and likely taking a solid 2nd ce behind Fay¡¯s grimoire in terms of prize value, and that was only because inherent dao visions built into an item was outright absurd. Carvings of birds in flight decorated each de in their entirety all the way down to the hilts. Riven could already see Ath admiring the weapons while she held them, the quality of them evident, and the whispersing from each of the des even now permeating the air as she held them in her grip. He hadn¡¯t even been sure she¡¯d switch from using her wed hands, but if anything was going to change her mind - these weapons would be the key. And frankly he didn¡¯t me her, they weren¡¯t far behind Jackal in terms of quality. Jackal had actually started out at 894 damage before increasing to 1390 over time due to its ¡®Sacrificial Kill¡¯ trait which absorbed damage stat based on strong enemies killed, so in fact these weapons were stronger than Jackal¡¯s original form when onlyparing base attack damage averages.


    <strong>[</strong><strong>The Twin Red Doves (Awakened Weapons, Dual-Wielding Set. Blood Artifacts. Twin Katanas.)</strong><strong>: 899 average damage on strike with each physical strike on flesh adding a guaranteed stack of the ¡®Bleed¡¯ debuff for damage over time. Hidden strikes thatnd before an opponent is aware cause additional guaranteed damage of +5%. If the strike is a critical hit, deal an additional x2 critical modifier. These items, when bound to a wielder, may be stored in the heart of the wielder and withdrawn at will. These items are nearly indestructible while the bound wielder is still alive. Requires a Blood Affinity of over 51% to wield.</strong><ul><li><strong>Whispers of Agony:</strong><strong> From time to time, these des will whisper to you. The stronger your bond, the louder they whisper, and the louder they whisper, the more pain your strikes inflict regardless of damage.</strong></li><li><strong>The Red Tide:</strong><strong> Unleash stamina, mana, or divinity into these des via your Blood Sub-Pir to charge ranged sweeping attacks in the form of a red crescent. Damage and range depends on the amount of energy infused.]</strong></li></ul>


    Ath gave a giddyugh as the whispers rose in pitch, and it didn¡¯t take very long for blood to begin pooling out of the des and onto Ath¡¯s skin while she held them - merging with her flesh only momentarily before floating in the air before her.


    ¡°They''ve already epted me.¡± Ath stated fondly, puffing out her chest and watching the two weapons shift into a stream of blood that mmed into where her heart should be - disappearing entirely in the next instant. A look of shock overcame her then, and she blinked curiously while scratching her head. ¡°Neat! These things don¡¯t really talk, but I can tell what the twin doves are thinking when they¡¯re inside my chest!¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± Riven asked.


    ¡°They want to kill stuff.¡±


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have even asked.¡± He shook his head, facepalming. ¡°What else would blood-attuned katanas want? Are you going to use them?¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to use them!¡±


    ¡°Then you might want to start training at The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s enve for practice. You haven¡¯t had sword training back in theher realms before in illusory bodies, have you?¡±


    Ath grimaced. ¡°Eh¡­ yes, but not much. When anticipating our change into humanoid forms of our arachnid bodies, future arshakai are given lessons. I¡¯d focused more on daggers and ws back then, or the des from my back when using illusory versions of what I would likely be. Not a lot in swords unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°Would you mother and other kin of your demonic n train you then?¡±


    ¡°Probably. It¡¯d also be easier to visit them than visit the vampiric enve, so I¡¯ll probably just do that in my spare time whenever you¡¯re sleeping.¡±


    Riven nodded in approval and got up, happy to see that each of his demons had their own upgrades even aside from his bone-crafted boots and leg armor. Azmoth had the boar¡¯s-head belt and ming antlers, Fay got the grimoire that¡¯d no doubt help her catch up to his other two demons - which was exactly what she needed right now, and Ath¡¯s new weapons were no joke either. It was a great haul, and it made him ask himself why he hadn¡¯t done more dungeon diving like this in the past.


    Then again, would the prizes have been as good if those asshole invaders hadn¡¯t shown up?


    He could only guess at that one.


    Speaking of which, it was probably time to check on Genua. He could feel her heartbeat in the next room begin to quicken, and although her transformation into thrallhood wasn¡¯t quite done - it was approaching the terminal.


    So getting up and motioning for the others to follow him out of the treasury room, he began to head for the new thrall he¡¯d acquired - excited to see just what ss she¡¯d choose and how it would turn out when she was finally able to bind to the Blood God¡¯s Markings.


    ***


    Aksilias Bloodmare and his two sons, Rufus Bloodmare and Jakromi Bloodmare, had been rather relieved when Allie had told the native vampires of Panu that she¡¯de see their city as requested. When she¡¯d agreed to speak to their coven¡¯s patriarch and matriarch to learn more about this vampiric elder-god world quest. They¡¯d left with smiles on their faces and apologies on their lips for the poor interaction they¡¯d had with Riven¡¯s thrall-to-be Genua as guests, and they¡¯d hurried off into the underdark after supplying Allie with a map to their underground city of Bernzee - self proimed home of ¡®The Hundred Covens.¡¯


    What Allie had note expected to find, therefore, were the hundred covens all gone.


    Or better said, they¡¯d all been killed.


    Towering spires of blood-covered rock, shattered walls, and burning homes giving off plumes of smoke for sprawling miles in a vast underground cavern. Piles of rubble and scattered pieces of half-devoured corpses. This is what she found in their stead.


    Allie¡¯s footsteps echoed through a ruined city of the underdark that was devoid of any sound aside from the crackling of mes and the ssh of her steps in pools of crimson fluids. Her red eyes scanned the tens of thousands of dead she passed by, building by building, street by street, in what was nothing less than an absolute genocide of the popce here. What was even weirder was that her vampiric senses couldn¡¯t pick up any heartbeats at all, meaning that not only could she not SEE anyone living - but it was very likely there wasn¡¯t anyone hiding here either.


    Weirder yet was that the blood mana that should be here, given the absolute carnage and sttered crimson streaks or pools of blood pretty much everywhere, was absolutely gone. There wasn¡¯t a hint of blood mana to be found, and she certainly wasn¡¯t the savant of the Blood Sub-Pir like her brother was - nor did she even have the sub-pir - but she was still a pureblooded vampire and she should have been able to identify it in any normal circumstances.


    Add anotheryer of oddity to it, and the ghosts, souls and wraiths that usually kept herpany in the beyond had scattered - sensing the presence of something that she could not. Even when reaching out to them for answers they did not agree on what it was or how they knew it was dangerous, only sending her vague signals that she should not be here.


    That none of them should be here.


    This was not a ce for the living or the dead, they whispered to her. This was not a ce that she should remain.


    ¡°Finding anything?¡± Allie asked in a low tone, scanning their surroundings when they came to a crossroads filled with more of the same.


    Mara shook her head from underneath her ck cowl, and the necromancers behind them all stood out at intervals with eyes seeking just as much as their scattered minions were. ¡°My shadow ravens aren¡¯t seeing any movement from above. It appears that the covens here have beenpletely wiped out, along with all of their ves and all of their thralls. Be it vampire or mortal - it did not matter to whatever or whoever did this. Not a single ounce of life, even to my soul sense, is detectable. My skeletal assassins also report no movement as they go house to house, and I am at a loss for what could have caused this amount of carnage in what appears to be a very short amount of time given the way they all failed to escape.¡±


    "There were no bodies out in the tunnels leading here, so it must have happened fast." Nin nodded his agreement, stepping through the afterlife to appear next to Allie with the sound of a breath. ¡°This is wrong. There is a distinctck of blood mana here where there should be just as much as the death mana permeating this city. I cannot fathom why that is, or where it would have gone in such quantities.¡±


    Allie frowned underneath her skull mask. ¡°You sensed it too then? I was thinking the same thing.¡±


    Then she realized: Why were there no bodies other than the popce? The creatures that¡¯d done this were monsters, without a doubt, because of the w and teeth marks left in the innumerable corpses. Where were the bodies of these beasts?


    And why had the citizens all died in their homes? Had they not heard the carnage before it¡¯d happened? Not just once, but dozens of times now she¡¯d seen the bodies of children next to dolls and toys, or the corpses of their parents at tables attending to untouched dishes of food now gone cold.


    Gritting her teeth and taking another look down at the map, she decided on the only course of action she could take that may provide answers for her. ¡°We head to the Bloodmare estate. If Aksilias and his sons, or their n, are all dead¡­ then we search it for clues. I have a feeling this butchery is rted to the world quest and the fallen elder god, things just line up too perfectly for it to be otherwise. Something is very, very wrong here¡­ and I intend to find out what that is.¡±

 Chapter 234

    Chapter 234


    <strong>Chapter 234</strong>


    Genua came into consciousness with an absolutely enthralling sense of power coursing through her soul. The abrupt sensation caused her to gasp, and she felt the divinity channels rushing through her body explode with crimson radiance.


    Her vision went red as her eyes zed with light, her skin red with profane crimson sigils that buried themselves into her to remain as red tattoos across her otherwise tanned skin, and the shudder escaping her lips was one of ecstasy. Because she had already chosen which of the three sses she wanted, and immediately upon bing a thrall she had been taken from Panu to be ced in the realm of gods.


    <strong>[You have sessfully transitioned into an Ascended Vampiric Thrall. You have chosen Priestess of the Blood God as your next ss, the lowest level of his clergy but an esteemed position nheless. Impulsions to guide and serve your vampiric master faithfully have been amplified. Vampires, Children of the Blood God, will not be able to harm you outside of regr feedings without receiving a sphemer¡¯s Curse. Your Blood God¡¯s Markings have been absorbed as a thrall upgrade. ess to the Blood God¡¯s Clergy Interface has been established and is essible through your status page. The abilities Sanguine Smite, Blood Oath, Transfusion Zone, Body Fusion, and Sanguine Possession have been granted for your faith.]</strong>


    She wanted to stay in that state of power perfusing her very being forever, she didn¡¯t want to leave it, but the red light dulled its brightness within her eyes and allowed her to see only a minuteter.


    She was kneeling, naked, red eyes shining bright to match the new tapestry of brilliant crimson tattoos covering her skin over much of her body. In front of her was the entrance to a grand, ominous temple of alien design, and overhead a sky of stars surrounding a bright red moon cast their light upon her.


    Five other women with calm smiles, red eyes and bright white hair stood just ahead of where she knelt, in front of a set of double doors that remained shut behind them. All of them wore the same kind of outfit, replicas of one another - but all were grand in design.


    Everything made from the base silk outfit was ck, while all the additional embroideries and metal ornaments were red and gold. A ck hood covered each of their heads, with thin sheets of red metal headdresses, gilded in gold, that red out, up, and above the hoods along the middle of their heads. Pieces of the metal were carved out of the headdresses to form symbols and words in an ancientnguage she could not understand, but she could sense the meaning behind them:


    Power, dominance, and supremacy.The dresses were very form fitting but revealed little otherwise past where the hood cut off at a V-shape along their necks, clinging to each of the women like an extrayer of skin all the way down to their legs where the ck silks spread out a bit before hitting the floor. The way the outfits were made, it caused the women to look almost like flowers by the way their silks spread out around their feet. Each of the five women also wore long red gloves that revealed their fingers just past the kuckles, but otherwise covered everything up to their mid-biceps - further distinguishing the gloves from the rest of the ck silk of their form-fitting gowns by way of a gold trimming at the glove¡¯s proximal base. Two red crescent moons were also embroidered on the front of each of their chests, while a full moon was stitched into the very center between them. Words of that same ancientnguage she didn¡¯t understand were written in gold lettering along each side of the ck silk covering their rib cages, and then again along the outer side of each thigh, but these had less impact on her innate understanding than the words carved into the red metal headdresses each woman wore.


    Without a word, and after the five of them had stared at her for more than what wasfortable, the middle of the five women walked forward from the shadow of the looming temple. Her footsteps were silent, and in her hands she carried a folded bundle of what was yet another uniform just like the one she was wearing - with the red metal headdressid on top. And as she got closer to stand over Genua¡¯s kneeling figure, Genua could see that this woman with white hair had the same markings she now did - the same one she¡¯d felt bury themselves into her skin as permanent tattoos symbolizing who she was and her status.


    ¡°Sister.¡± The woman¡¯s voice came out as a fresh breeze on the cold night air. ¡°Stand.¡±


    Genua did as asked, shakily getting to her feet and meeting the woman¡¯s gaze eye to eye. Something about this personmanded her attention, and she dared not look away even in the presence of such a magnificent structure beyond them.


    The unknown woman nodded in approval, and held out the folded garments. ¡°These are for you.¡±


    Blinking, Genua hesitantly reached out and took the items from the unknown women without argument. ¡°Thank you¡­ Is this the realm of-¡±


    ¡°You already know it is.¡± The woman replied, smile widening in amusement. ¡°This is his realm, yes. I, along with the four others standing before you, are also clergy. We are greeters, weing our sisters into the fold. These are your clergy robes, keep them in good condition - for they are sacred treasures not to be lost. Should you do well in your duties, you will be given far more.¡±


    Windows disyed themselves unbidden, each of them telling Genua what it was she now grasped - items that were likely worth far more than her life by most people¡¯s standards.


    <strong>[Blood God Clergy Hood (Legendary Blood Artifact, Light armor): +330 Defense. +19% additional potency to any Blood Miracle. Must be one of the Blood God¡¯s Clergy or have a Blood Sub-Pir Affinity of over 80% to use.</strong><ul><li><strong>Soothsayer</strong><strong>: Passively speeds up your miracle chants by 25%. +10% Divinity Regeneration.</strong></li><li><strong>Set Piece: 4 of 4</strong><strong>. This Item is part of the Clergy Robes of the Blood God Set. You have acquired all 4 items of the Clergy Robes of the Blood God Set for additional bonuses (this is a set bonus and not individualized for each piece): +450 Faith, +160% Divinity Regeneration, +2000 additional defense against any blood-oriented skills. Any sacrifices to the Blood God while donning this clergy set add a x2 modifier to gained Clergy Points, while doing so publicly in front ofrge crowds under the Blood God¡¯s name add a x10 modifier to gained clergy Points.]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[Blood God Clergy Gloves (Legendary Blood Artifact, Light armor): +380 Defense. +19% additional potency to any Blood Miracle. Must be one of the Blood God¡¯s Clergy or have a Blood Sub-Pir Affinity of over 80% to use.</strong><ul><li><strong>Hands of the Profane</strong><strong>: Allows you to draw miracle diagrams with nearby blood using thought and hand motions.</strong></li><li><strong>Set Piece: 4 of 4</strong><strong>. This Item is part of the Clergy Robes of the Blood God Set. You have acquired all 4 items of the Clergy Robes of the Blood God Set for additional bonuses (this is a set bonus and not individualized for each piece): +450 Faith, +160% Divinity Regeneration, +2000 additional defense against any blood-oriented skills. Any sacrifices to the Blood God while donning this clergy set add a x2 modifier to gained Clergy Points, while doing so publicly in front ofrge crowds under the Blood God¡¯s name add a x10 modifier to gained clergy Points.]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[Blood God Clergy Robe (Legendary Blood Artifact, Light armor): +490 Defense. +19% additional potency to any Blood Miracle. Must be one of the Blood God¡¯s Clergy or have a Blood Sub-Pir Affinity of over 80% to use.</strong><ul><li><strong>Vampiric Regeneration</strong><strong>: This item imparts passive vampiric health regeneration EQUIVALENT to your vampiric master¡¯s own regeneration for as long as the thrall-master bond remains intact.</strong></li><li><strong>Set Piece: 4 of 4</strong><strong>. This Item is part of the Clergy Robes of the Blood God Set. You have acquired all 4 items of the Clergy Robes of the Blood God Set for additional bonuses (this is a set bonus and not individualized for each piece): +450 Faith, +160% Divinity Regeneration, +2000 additional defense against any blood-oriented skills. Any sacrifices to the Blood God while donning this clergy set add a x2 modifier to gained Clergy Points, while doing so publicly in front ofrge crowds under the Blood God¡¯s name add a x10 modifier to gained clergy Points.]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[Blood God Clergy Metal Headdress (Legendary Blood Artifact, Light armor): +600 Defense. +19% additional potency to any Blood Miracle. Must be one of the Blood God¡¯s Clergy or have a Blood Sub-Pir Affinity of over 80% to use.</strong><ul><li><strong>Profane Intervention:</strong><strong> This item allows you to call down a single second of absolute immortality around you and your vampiric master, negating all damage directed at the two of you for that 1 second. This item ability can only be used once per day, and only if you recharge this ability with a sacrifice in the Blood God¡¯s name after use.</strong></li><li><strong>Set Piece: 4 of 4</strong><strong>. This Item is part of the Clergy Robes of the Blood God Set. You have acquired all 4 items of the Clergy Robes of the Blood God Set for additional bonuses (this is a set bonus and not individualized for each piece): +450 Faith, +160% Divinity Regeneration, +2000 additional defense against any blood-oriented skills. Any sacrifices to the Blood God while donning this clergy set add a x2 modifier to gained Clergy Points, while doing so publicly in front ofrge crowds under the Blood God¡¯s name add a x10 modifier to gained clergy Points.]</strong></li></ul>


    Genua took in a sharp breath as a pulse of power echoed out from the clothes she now held in her hands, and blinked rapidly. ¡°Will I get to meet him?¡±


    ¡°The blood god?¡± The womanughed softly, shaking her head. ¡°Oh no, he is too far above one such as us. Lowly priestesses in our position can one day get there if we find the right master to serve, or if you join the church and rise in the inner ranks like me after your master¡¯s death¡­ should such an unfortunate fate befall them. But those are the only two ways to go about it. Which brings me to the next topic¡­¡±


    The other priestess pulled out a sealed ck letter, and handed it to Genua. ¡°Take this and open it as soon as you go back to Panu. It will destroy the letter, but its intended recipient will be granted the intended message in the form of inspiration. One of his children is in great peril, and doing this will likely save them from an otherwise violent end.¡±


    Genua¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Riven is fine though, isn¡¯t he? We just beat back the invaders¡­¡±


    Her voice trailed off.


    And the other priestess shook her head. ¡°I said nothing about your master Riven. Regardless, you cannot stay here long without significant soul decay due to your F-grade body. Remember that you are required to pray and worship the Blood God every night, and you will begin your study of his scripture during this time after prayers.¡±


    A small ck book with the sigils of two red crescent moons surrounding a full moon was pulled from her pocket next and sat on top of the clothes. ¡°This will detail what is expected of you, and is the base scripture of the first writ. Once a week I wille to visit you to make sure you have been doing so. This is important, for reasons we will discusster, but for now just focus on keeping your lord safe. He is an important part of the supreme one¡¯s ns, if he lives - but Riven is still only an infant gnat in the great scheme of things. He has potential, but only potential. Potential is not a promise, and he is still inconsequential as he is now. Should he die, your potential will likely die out with his. As will the life of your daughter. Do you understand?¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Genua¡¯s frown deepened, worry clouding her mind as her spine went rigid under the threat of her daughter¡¯s safety. Yet without a doubt, she knew this woman wasn¡¯t bluffing - and it only deepened Genua¡¯s abnormally firm resolve to help Riven thrive. ¡°How am I supposed to keep Riven safe? He¡¯s far more powerful than I am, shouldn¡¯t it be the other way around?¡±


    The unknown priestess raised one eyebrow, then tisked. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to change that attitude of yours as well. One of many things to work on, I see. Even if you are pathetically weak, that does not mean your duties venture outside the norm of what it means to be a priestess. Now go, leave us, and we will speak more on your duties in a week¡¯s time when your soul has had the opportunity to recover from your travels here.¡±


    With a flick of her wrist, the priestess dismissed Genua¡¯s presence from the blood god¡¯s realm - casting her back into the world of Panu as the heavens closed around her in a blur of stars and space.


    ***


    Allie stared up at the mutted corpse of Aksilias Bloodmare, where it¡¯d been impaled on a spike jutting from hispound¡¯s walls. One of many spikes where many other vampires were also impaled and left to rot, their corpses withered and shredded with silent screams being left behind as a memory of theirst thoughts. They didn¡¯t even have any clothes on, so there was nothing to check, and the deep wounds left in their bodies spoke of torture that was far more exaggerated than many of the other bodies they¡¯d passed in the city.


    Which begged the question¡­ Why?


    ¡°We¡¯re on the right track.¡±


    Not sparing the corpses another look, she continued through the gate that¡¯d been ripped off its hinges and flung aside into a courtyard of flowers. Oddly enough much of the garden was still intact, though there were bodies of thralls, ves and servants in abundance here - treated with far less hatred and malice than the vampires had been.


    Therge manor behind the bloodied garden was in rough shape but overall intact, with an ugly dark-green paint covering the pirs leading into the house where the doors had been flung off their hinges too. There¡¯d been obvious fighting here, which was far different from the rest of the city that Allie had visited - but it also made her question just what other parts of Bernzee had put up a fight if this particr coven had been able to do so.


    Broken sculptures, paintings with de and w marks torn through them, felled tapestries and body parts were in abundance. A maid had been impaled with some kind of odd-looking spear, the back of her head nailed to a stone wall while her body dangled two feet off the floor - and a vampiric childy halfway out of a closet where he¡¯d obviously tried to hide.


    Dark hallways to the left, right and center exited the receiving room, and Allie turned to the other necromancers behind her with a quick set of hand motions.


    Immediately the skeletons and zombies following them panned out to the right and left without a word, dispersing to search therge building without a singleint. If one of them died, the necromancer controlling it would immediately know and they¡¯d notify her. In the meantime, she and the best of their minions filed through the central hallway that had the most obvious signs of conflict ramping up. She came upon more bodies, sts of magic, and beganbing through bedrooms and office spaces.


    More carnage, ripped bedsheets, a dead ve who¡¯d been killed while still shackled to a wall. Books torn apart, spilled ink on otherwise nk parchment, an opened safe with the money and jewels still left inside. So far nothing on the bodies of the men and women found contained anything significant that pointed them to what¡¯d happened here, or had any real connection to the world quest concerning the fallen vampiric elder god.


    Coming to the fifth room in her search halfway down the hall from where an overturned marble statuey broken in the hallway, she noticed the door was locked. Using her vampiric strength to try and break the door with physical force - she found it unyielding, and infused a significant amount of death mana to fry a hidden enchantment that fizzled out under her grip.


    With a spark the handle flew off, and she easily pushed her way inside with Mara following closely behind her.


    Inside was just another office, though it was quite clean and devoid of any of the signs of fighting outside. A dimntern remained flickering in one corner, almost out of oil by the looks of it, and bookshelves lined the walls in pristine condition with arge rectangr desk in the center of the room with a few hastily scribbled notes off to one side.


    Allie gestured left. ¡°Search the bookshelves.¡±


    Mara nodded and obeyed, looking for anything out of the ordinary that they may find to provide clues to what had happened.


    Allie came around the desk, sitting in the fine leather chair and checking the drawers one by one. Certainly there was a reason this room had been locked, right?


    The scribbled notes on the desktop she went through first. There were records of positions the house was hiring for, various types of trade done with other covens in the city of Bernzee, notes on various ve trading deals, and then finally at the very bottom of the stack - a poorly hidden note addressed to¡­


    To her?


    Had she been expected to find this?


    Had it been ced underneath the other papers so that whatever hade rampaging through this manor wouldn¡¯t find it, should they have entered this room?


    ======================================


    <em>Allie Thane, Queen of the Thane Necropolis, it is in our darkest hour that I find myself putting pen to paper in a hasty attempt to ry to you what is happening in our city as I sit in this closed room amidst the dying screams of my people. I can only hope that you followed the map my servant supplied to you, and that you havee looking for answers here in our home.</em>


    <em>Thebyrinth has been opened. It has been opened for some time now, but only recently did we press into the secondyer after uncovering a sealed lock on what appears to be an ancient coven of vampires from another age. We didn¡¯t know what it meant, but the council of Bernzee insisted that we uncover the secrets in an attempt to save our world from devastation should Elysium¡¯s words be true.</em>


    <em>Destroying that sealed lock was a mistake, and the things we found there before tragedy struck were¡­ concerning. It appears that the Blood God we know and worship today as our forefather may not be as all epassing for our kind as we once thought, if the records written on the walls of thebyrinth tell truths and not lies. Could there really have been an opposing pantheon, and more than one Blood God in the ancient past? I also fear that we have doomed our city for reading these taboo texts, or at the very least for unleashing the things that guarded them. The bodies of what we once thought to be an ancient coven, frozen in a time stasis, weren¡¯t vampires at all - but something else entirely. They are false, faked mockeries of our elder kin, a taboo of what we were meant to be and a blight upon thend.</em>


    <em>They are intelligent, monstrous things that hide in the skin of the in. However they only seem to inhabit the bodies of the Blood God¡¯s children, we don¡¯t know how or why - but when you find our corpses¡­ burn them. Be wary of their trickery, we don¡¯t know how many there are - but should they remain here inside Bernzee and you find yourself reading this letter - you are in mortal peril. You have likely already passed by many who you thought perished, when in reality they were merely watching and waiting for an opportunity to corner you like a rat.</em>


    <em>If you do not have an army at your back to escort you into the depths, you need to run. And you should start running now. I have provided another map leading to thebyrinth in the second drawer on the right, there you will find the answers to the world quest you seek, and I hope you can use it to better effect than we did. I hear their drums beating in the depths even as I write, echoing through the streets paved with the dead of our kin, and my heart trembles for what is toe of myself when they find me.</em>


    <em>Leave this ce.</em>


    ======================================


    A thudding boom of drums echoed through the streets and into the halls of the manor, causing Allie¡¯s head to slowly lift to stare out the door as she gripped the paper in her hands.


    Mara turned as well, unsure of what the noise was until it came again, and again, and again.


    Boom¡­


    Boom¡­


    Boom¡­


    Allie shifted to her right and pulled the second drawer out, revealing a thoroughly detailed map of the underdark passages leading out from the city of Bernzee and through a series of tunnels to what wasbeled ¡®Labyrinth of the Elder God¡¯ on the map - symbolized by a fanged skull.


    Boom¡­


    Boom¡­


    Boom¡­


    She let out a sharp breath, picked the map up, and put it in her spatial bag before standing up. Already the other necromancers, skeletons and zombies were rushing through the hallways towards the front entrance as the sound of faint chanting was heard in the depths. ¡°This was a trap. Whatever killed all these people has been in the city this entire time, and they¡¯ve just made their move.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± Mara asked, following Allie out into the main room when an unearthly wail sang through the air as the corpse of the vampiric child lurched and sted from its position in the closet.


    The small body tore through one of the ghoul necromancers to Allie¡¯s right, three sets of vampiric fangs sprouting from the small monster¡¯s mouth as its skin turned into a very pale blue. ws erupted from its hands, its eyes grew wide and pitch ck, and within half a second the screaming necromancer was torn in half - causing the minions he was controlling to stagger and fall.


    Allie¡¯s wand whipped forward and sted the devouring monster with strings of death mana that shredded it just as easily as it¡¯d torn apart the ghoul necromancer, and Allie quickly stabilized the groaning undead man with more strings of death mana. The eruption of battle sounded ahead and the drums began to pick up speed, with a resonating wave of roars from somewhere outside. Bodies of vampires that¡¯d been torn and dead, impaled or left half-eaten in their rooms, now gained new life as their bodies warped. Once red eyes turned dark ck and becamerge, numerous sets of fangs shot out from their mouths, and their pale white skin turned a very pale shade of blue.


    <strong>[Ancient Vampiric Precursor, Blue Blood Heretic, Level 95]</strong>


    <strong>[Ancient Vampiric Precursor, Blue Blood Heretic, Level ???]</strong>


    <strong>[Ancient Vampiric Precursor, Blue Blood Heretic, Level 71]</strong>


    <strong>[World Quest 4, Blood of the Fallen God:</strong><strong> An unnamed vampiric elder god has fallen from grace after having sinned against the Elysium Administrator. The elder god has been trapped within a hidden, guardedbyrinth in the deepest levels of the underdark, and you must stop him from awakening. Advanced details HAVE BEEN PARTIALLY UNLOCKED:</strong><ul><li><strong>UPDATE 1:</strong><strong> You have found clues to thebyrinth¡¯s location in the depths of the underdark, the resting ce of the fallen vampiric elder god, but found yourself cornered by heretics in defiance of the one true mantle of Blood God. Why did the native vampires here in Bernzee contact you for help? What was the reason that they journeyed out from the deep parts of the world to do so? Your answers will be found at the Labyrinth¡¯s location, should you manage to survive.]</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°There is no n.¡± Allie said bluntly, stitching the ghoul necromancer back into fighting condition with a wave of her hand. ¡°We have no choice but to fight.¡±


    Fimrindle flickered into her peripheral vision with a bow, scythe held low. ¡°Master¡­ I believe we may have a problem. All routes of escape have been cut off, and tens of thousands of enemies have begun encroaching on our position along all four walls. We arepletely surrounded, and I do not believe it is a fight we can win. We must find an alternative path.¡±


    As if on cue, a vision panned out in Allie¡¯s mind when an other-worldly entity reached out to touch her soul from some distant ne. A red moon in the background of a dark silhouette, a toppling pir created from pale blue stone, and then finally a series of images of a time once past here in this very manor she now stood in. Children ying hide and go seek, opening a hiddenpartment leading into a passage leading beneath the building, and then it was all gone in a sh.


    She stumbled, blinking rapidly and holding the side of her head as the visions faded away. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡±


    Boom¡­


    Boom¡­


    Boom¡­


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    The wall cracked and tore as a muscr abomination of a pale, blue-shaded bald man barreled through -unching one of the skeletal knights in full armor crashing through two adjacent rooms into a piled heap at the far end.


    Immediately Fimrindle was upon it along with numerous skeletal assassins that¡¯d beenying in wait, and the enormous humanoid found itself quickly losing limb after limb that tried to regrow back at extreme rates simr if not equivalent to Allie¡¯s own. But when Fimrindle¡¯s scythe sank deep into its brain and red with deathly light, the monster crashed to the ground in a heap. Meanwhile the sound of w on de and crazed screams of undead and vampiric precursors grew louder at the front gates outside where a battle was seen through the ruined walls and dust cloud. Beyond the gates and down the hill into the greater city beyond, thousands of mulling bodies were roaring and sprinting towards her position with huge mutated creatures in the back beating drums to the sound of her impending doom.


    Allie abruptlyunched a series of ming skulls that screamed forward - exploding along the nearby wall and destroying some of the precursor heretics swarming over the barriers. Then she turned to leave the minions behind. ¡°Necromancers, follow me. I don¡¯t know how, perhaps it was my malignant prophecy or something else entiryle, but I just had a vision. And if I''m right there may be a way out of here yet.¡±


    Withplete trust in their queen, the twelve necromancers of the Thane Necropolis filed into line behind her with only their very best undead servantsing with them - all of the others being sent at the waves of enemies trying to rush the gatedpound in a swarm of fangs, ws, bald heads, ck eyes, and pale blue bodies with a vicious need to feed.

 Chapter 235

    Chapter 235


    <strong>Chapter 235</strong>


    The bloodsilk nest Ath had created had been converted into a multitude of hammocks in anticipation of Ja¡¯s group to meet them before nightfall, with the previous idea of throwing a victory party being soured after having found numerous local groups to be ughtered through the dungeon on the way down. Ones that¡¯d been caught by the invaders on their trek through the dungeon.


    Still, everyone else insisted that they should drink it offter that night - and who was Riven to tell them otherwise?


    ¡°You¡¯re still not going to tell me what that letter was about huh?¡± Riven asked again, eyebrow raised while he used a mallet and chisel to chip away at a stone while going over schematics for another attempt at runecrafting when thest three totems had utterly failed. He leaned over the bench outside of the cabin Tanya¡¯s family used and was intent on getting this one right.


    Genua shook her head, the new priestess attire already on and fitting her nicely. Red metal headdress, ck hood, red gloves and a formfitting ck-silk robe with two crescent moons surrounding a full moon on the front; and golden runes in an ancientnguage written along the sides. It was certainly stylish, if Riven had anything to say about it, and matched the style of her newly acquired tattoos and bright red eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that letter was not even meant for me.¡± Genua said with a frown. ¡°All I know is that when I opened the letter and it vaporized, I got the sensation that I should not talk about it again and that it was meant for someone else. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Riven tisked, then pleasantly smiled at Len who was watching him intently - kicking her small legs back and forth while he worked. ¡°That¡¯s alright. Hey Len, did you ever end up beating Azmoth in that arm wrestling contest?¡±


    He began chipping away at the stone again, making sure to carve the rune just right with microscopic adjustments.


    Len beamed and then began to giggle, holding up a small hand to her face while her mother warmly started fixing her hair. ¡°Yes! He had to use all four arms and even then he couldn¡¯t beat me! I¡¯m super strong for a girl you know!¡±She flexed, and Riven chuckled with a shake of his head. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re quite intimidating Len. You¡¯d probably beat me up too.¡±


    Len looked like she was going to retort with something feisty, but got a curious look about her and quieted down with her eyes downcast.


    ¡°How¡¯s the discussion going?¡± Riven asked, wincing when sunlight through the pine trees overhead hit him directly in the left eyeball with a bacsh of difort. ¡°Ugh, sometimes I wonder why I¡¯m up and about during the day.¡±


    Genua¡¯s lips tugged upwards at thement before she replied. ¡°Yes, well you are a vampire after all. As for the discussion, I assume you¡¯re talking about the others and your proposition to turn them as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Hakim¡¯s group.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not sure yet. It¡¯s a big decision to make, but I¡¯m certain they¡¯re more than willing to join your guild.¡±


    Riven nodded, wiped sweat off his forehead and moved some papers around to better look at what he needed to do next. Taking some odd looking yellow herbs and crushing them in a mortar and pestle, he began grinding them into a fine powder that he then stuffed into the runes he¡¯d just carved - using a glue-like paste to seal it in. Then, cing the rock inside a recently acquired human skull - he used crimson ice to seal it all together, and finally dipped the skull into a pool of ck gunk on his left.


    The tiny voice of Len caught him off guard only a secondter. ¡°Are you and mommy having a baby?¡±


    He choked and nearly fell over at the words. Quickly reorienting himself and blinking rapidly, he took a deep breath and put on a crooked smile while looking back at the little girl across the table from him. She had her arms folded, and she looked half using, and half worried, with her little blonde pigtails up to either side now that her mother had fixed her hair just a second ago.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Uhm¡­ Who told you that, exactly?¡± Riven asked curiously, raising an eyebrow Genua¡¯s way.


    The priestess, his thrall, just sat there unblinking and unphased.


    ¡°Mommy did.¡± Len replied somewhat hesitantly, looking between the two adults and then huffing loudly when Riven didn¡¯t reply. ¡°Are you or are you not? Mommy said if I wanted to know more I needed to ask you, so I¡¯m asking you now. But she says she¡¯s pregnant and that I¡¯m going to be a big sister! Is that true?¡±


    Riven saw Ath and Fay turn the corner just as Len repeated the question, and both of them quickly turned right around and headed off elsewhere after seeing the pleading look for help Riven gave them. He saw Fay mouth ¡®Good Luck¡¯, and Ath justughed.


    Curse them to the depths of hell.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Riven scratched the back of his head, feeling much less at ease right now than he¡¯d been numerous times before with his life on the line in battle. ¡°I¡­ Uh¡­ I suppose your mom is right. Genua and I¡­¡±


    He trailed off, looking to Genua for support.


    He got none.


    A mix of emotions overcame Len¡¯s features, many of which he couldn¡¯t pinpoint, but they settled on genuine curiosity when she leaned forward. ¡°So¡­ Do you and mommy love each other now?¡±


    Ugh.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let Genua answer that one.¡± Riven replied sheepishly.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Len scratched her head in thought, staring at the table. ¡°Are you going to be my daddy then?¡±


    Riven paused at this, again getting no support from Genua, and set down his crafting materials to give his full attention to the little girl in front of him with his hands sped. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    Len hesitated, then avoided his gaze - shrugging as she did. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of me?¡± Riven asked curiously. ¡°You seemed afraid of me in the dungeon not long ago.¡±


    Len thought about it, then shook her head. ¡°I wasn¡¯t afraid of you. I was just afraid. But I¡­ I think Ethel would like it if you were my new daddy. Farrod wasn¡¯t very nice to us back then, and I¡¯ve always wondered what a nice daddy would be like.¡±


    Len shuffled awkwardly, briefly casting him a nce, and then twiddling her thumbs while Genua¡¯s lips became pursed on the sideline.


    Meanwhile, Riven¡¯s heart sank. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think Ethel liked me that much, Len.¡±


    ¡°Yes she did.¡± Len replied with a hesitant smile. ¡°I know she was supposed to hurt you, but that wasn¡¯t her choice. She just did what she was told, and before she died she wasn¡¯t sure if vampires were even bad anymore. At least that¡¯s what she told me.¡±


    This content has been uwfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Riven¡¯s heart sank further, and he felt a lump forming in his throat. ¡°Uhm¡­ You know she was supposed to hurt me then?¡±


    Len nodded sadly. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°And if I may ask, who told her to hurt me?¡±


    Len nced up at Genua, who nodded encouragingly.


    ¡°Daddy. Farrod.¡± Len replied solemnly. ¡°Mommy didn¡¯t tell me what happened exactly, and I know I¡¯m a kid. But I¡¯m a smart kid, and I know something happened between all of you when they tried to hurt you. That¡¯s when Ethel and daddy died.¡±


    The little girl yet again shot him a wary nce before avoiding eye contact yet again. ¡°So if you and mommy are having another kid, could I ask you a question?¡±


    Riven rigidly nodded. ¡°Of course you can, Len. Anything.¡±


    Len took in a deep breath, steeled herself, and looked at him straight in the eye while her lips began to tremble. ¡°Was it on purpose when Ethel died? Or was it an ident?¡±


    Silence.


    Silence reigned.


    Riven didn¡¯t know how to respond to that without shattering this little girl¡¯s world. It was his turn to avoid eye contact, and he stared down at the bench in front of him while reliving those memories - experiencing that guild one more time in a far worse way than he had ever before.


    But god damn it, if this little girl had the courage to ask him that kind of question - he wasn¡¯t going to pussy out now and not answer it. Slowly, he nodded his head and closed his eyes. ¡°What else has your mom told you about what happened?¡±


    Tears were beginning to trickle down Len¡¯s face, dripping off her quivering lips and chin onto the ground while ring at him. ¡°She won¡¯t tell me.¡±


    Another pause, and Riven deeply inhaled. ¡°I did it on purpose. It is my fault they died.¡±


    Silence.


    Silence once again reigned.


    Len¡¯s eyes narrowed and the tears started flowing more freely now, with snot beginning to run down her flushed face with those tiny pigtails blowing in the wind behind her. She nodded, wiping away the snot with one arm but maintaining a gaze braver than he could muster. ¡°Now that you¡¯ and mommy are having another kid, are you going to make me go away too?¡±


    ¡°LEN!¡± Genua said, astounded and shocked that her daughter would ask such a question. She put her arms around her daughter, and hugged the upset little girl close. ¡°Len, that would never happen! Why would you even ask that!?¡±


    The question jolted Riven to his core, and he abruptly looked up to meet her eyes. ¡°No! Len, I would never hurt you!¡±


    ¡°Then why did you hurt Ethel?¡± Len asked, beginning to quietly sob with her small chest heaving up and down in contractions. ¡°Why did you kill my big sister? Even if she was told to hurt you, you were stronger. You were so strong! You could have run away or something!¡±


    And what, just what, was Riven supposed to say to that?


    The truth was that Ethel had been coteral damage. He wouldn¡¯t have blown that bomb Azmoth had carried into Greenstalk Vige if everyone else hadn¡¯t been there, even despite her own damning actions in an attempt to set him up and kill him. He remembered the way she¡¯de down on the person she¡¯d thought was Riven, but even so - he may have just walked away if Prophet and the vige elders hadn¡¯t been there.


    Or perhaps, he¡¯d just been angry. Angry that he¡¯d been used, and wanted revenge for the absolute betrayal of Ethel and the others. A revenge that he now felt a supreme guilt for after essentially ruining Len¡¯s life.


    But he¡¯d thought Ethel was a friend.


    How wrong he had been.


    ¡°Can you tell me the truth please?¡± Len asked in a whisper, wiping more tears off her face by using her mother¡¯s silk outfit. ¡°Please? I want to understand.¡±


    That made up his mind.


    And so, Riven told her everything. By the end of it all, Len merely got up - staring at the ground - and walked away into the forest. Genua shortly followed her, leaving Riven alone at his table with all of his supplies in what now seemed like a very inconsequential task he¡¯d set out for himself.


    Some king of the necropolis he was.


    ***


    Lahn sat in his old wheelchair, on the back porch of his manor under a sunny sky sipping tea just like he¡¯d used to do when his body had been crippled by that parasite. Now it was his soul that was shattered after having used the angelic possession.


    It seemed ages ago now. Though inrge part that was because he¡¯d done nothing but recover, as soul damage afflicted the body in various ways too - it just manifested differently. The frequent visit from his loving girlfriend Allie and the beaming presence of his mother Shovi were the two bright lights in his otherwise dark world.


    But at least now he had two, instead of just once like it¡¯d been in the past.


    Unfortunately for him, he was also now a central piece of gossip amongst his mother¡¯s inner circle and they were very aggressive with their probing questions.


    Questions about the videos circting around the Thane Empire concerning him and his fight with a vampire at The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s estate. Though those videos were all captured by outsiders and didn¡¯t show explicit details concerning what happened within thepound, the very fact that he¡¯d even been there had started a wildfire of rumors that were circting rapidly as one of the hot-topics of the kingdom right now.


    These middle aged women sitting around the table beside him sipping their tea with his mother didn¡¯t necessarily know he was dating Allie Thane, Queen of the Thane Empire - or Thane Necropolis as some people called it - but they had suspicions about who he was connected to concerning the actions of recent events.


    And with the drastic change in very abrupt, respectful behavior from his sister, brother, and father who almost outright avoided him now - it made things all the more obvious that something was amiss.


    ¡°So young man¡­¡± One of his mother¡¯s peers stated slightly, tipping her feathered hat down and putting her teacup on a porcin te while steepling her fingers. ¡°When do you think our city will be receiving another shipment of supplies from Brightsville? Mandon is very much in need of more manpower too, and though the undead have been rather tireless in their efforts to help - we could always use more. I mean, just look at this ce.¡±


    The blonde woman waved at the city down the hill from their estate, where nearly half of the top-most level of Mandon - previous capital of Dawn - was an absolute wreck.


    Lahn tried not to groan at the question, as it was yet another probe concerning things he honestly didn¡¯t know. ¡°And what, my Lady Rutair, makes you think that I¡¯d know such a thing?¡±


    The snarky woman grinned as many of the other well-dressed women of the court chuckled. ¡°Well after that rather dashing set of heroics we saw you make on the forums, it only begs the fact that you¡¯re rather well connected with someone high up enough in the Thane government to warrant a visit to the vampiricpound. Even my husband, who is friends with Dawn¡¯s king - if you can call him a king anymore despite the Thanes allowing him to keep his title - hasn¡¯t been able to get an invitation to Brightsville¡¯s important meetings or inner circles. The Blood Moon Requiem is supposed to be some kind of off empire the Thanes are royalty of, and their tradingmune is already selective enough as it is concerning who they let in. But you were inside, and it begs the question of why. So, I just assumed since you were so well connected that you¡¯d be able to tell us is all!¡±


    ¡°Oh stop it!¡± Shovi scolded her friend, getting another round ofughs from the cougars surrounding him as yet another womanid a hand on Lahn¡¯s arm.


    ¡°You know, my daughter has always found you quite dashing.¡± the redheaded woman in a satin dress winked Lahn¡¯s way with an almost predatory smile. ¡°Perhaps at the uing ball at the academy, I could introduce you to her. Would you like that?¡±


    Shovi huffed, cutting off whatever Lahn was about to say with a loud clink of her ss on a porcin te of her own. ¡°Marc! I told you, Lahn already has someone that he¡¯s courting and she¡¯s very pretty!¡±


    ¡°But does she have good standing in the court?¡± the woman named Marc refuted with a raised eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯d heard that ¡®Wraithtide¡¯ girl, whoever she is, was a country bumpkin. A talented one from the rumors, but still a bumpkin. Surely you wouldn¡¯t let your son marry a nobody like that, especially now that he has standing.¡±


    The women continued to bicker and gossip, and Lahn could only grimace and bear it. None of these people, nor their daughters, would have had any inkling of an interest in him before that video happened to appear on the feeds. No, the only one who had been interested was Allie¡­


    God he loved that girl. He hadn¡¯t told her yet, and he¡¯d probably hold off on it so he wouldn¡¯t scare her away, but that¡¯s definitely how he felt. He was absolutely smitten, and a small smile crept along his lips while he overlooked the city and off into the blue horizon.


    She¡¯d sent word that she may be backte after dealing with some ratkin uprisings, and it bothered him a bit to think that she might be in danger, but she was ¡®The Butcher of Carnis¡¯ after all. She struck fear into the hearts of many, far more often than even Riven did despite Riven being the stronger of the two. So perhaps it was silly of him to worry.


    He just hoped that she really would be back in time for the ball, because his mother had already picked out a couple of dresses for her to try and the rtionship between the two women he loved most - his girlfriend and his mother - was drastically improving each and every day they spent together. It was quite funny to him how excited his mom got on girl¡¯s nights out with Allie, and made him feel warm inside when they did do so.


    He just hoped his soul would eventually recover. Given the amount of rare dao treasures that Allie had piled up in his room to help him heal, there was a chance - even if it was a slim one, and it was actually about time to use yet another in an attempt to regain some of what he¡¯d lost.


    After all, he didn¡¯t want to be deadweight to her like he had been in the past.


    Not after havinge so far, and having just been handed another chance at the life that¡¯d been stolen from him.


    He would persevere.

 Chapter 236

    Chapter 236


    <strong>Chapter 236</strong>


    Had the tunnel led out of Bernzee, likely saving Allie¡¯s life?


    Sure.


    But it certainly hadn¡¯t led to safety. They were traveling deeper into the underdark, and into a tunnelplex of twists and turns that were undocumented concerning the original map she¡¯d been provided to get to the vampiric city - or the map she¡¯d found in the partially destroyed Bloodmare estate.


    What was even worse, was that Fimrindle suspected this tunnel actually led directly to thebyrinth these vampires had spoken of. Why might he think that? He¡¯d already assassinated 12 of the vampire precursors, and the tunnels were changing by the second.


    Caverns were visibly being augmented, adapting to some unknown power¡¯s will, as the rock smoothed out into square and rectangr floors or ceilings. Stgmites and stctites had changed into pirs with ancientnguages carved into their bodies, and ziggurats or other odd buildings were created before his very eyes from the natural earth of Panu¡¯s crust. And the feeling of the stone riddled with millions of diagrams and sigils he¡¯d confirmed to be sphemous pre-system scripture was tainted with an alien presence.


    Better said, the tunnels likely hadn¡¯t originally been connected to thebyrinth. No, they didn¡¯t lead to thebyrinth at all, but rather thebyrinth had been building itself and expanding itself towards Bernzee; perhaps even in all directions.


    Thebyrinth of the slumbering vampiric elder god was growing. Rapidly.


    Fimrindle watched from the shadows as another of the hulking, muscr abominations shambled past - the pale blue creature not sensing him at all - but picking up on the scent of his master and her necromancerpanions. Its ck eyes narrowed and its mouth full of fangs dripping saliva while it picked up speed, unnatural additional limbs supporting therge monster¡¯s trudging gait.It was marked for death, and the silently building affliction began to amass power on its soul.


    The scarecrow¡¯s metal body didn¡¯t even twitch, the carved X¡¯s for eyes in his metal head not showing any sign he was even observing the lumbering creature until he appeared behind it within the time it took to blink. Under the Tier 3 Death buff of ¡®Stalking Predator¡¯, alongside the affliction ¡®Mark Prey¡¯ and his assassination martial art ¡®Execution¡¯ flickering through the artifact scythe in his hands - the amount of stacked critical damage his strike would dish out could have killed a fully grown level 200 E-grade garsnapper.


    Not that he¡¯d even seen a garsnapper since having left thest he¡¯d been quarantined on, but the point still stood.


    <strong>[Ancient Vampiric Precursor Abomination, Blue Blood Heretic, Level 102]</strong>


    <strong>[You havended a critical hit. Max Damage x17.]</strong>


    His scythe shed through the higher-leveled monster like a knife through butter, as quiet as a night¡¯s breeze. There was no resistance in the target¡¯s body, the ancient scythe simply slipped through it from hip to ear - causing ripples of critical energy to silently tear across the beast as its innards sttered across the floor. One half of the body slid off the other, and a st echoed through the terraforming room.


    The fledgling reaper stared down at his target, not feeling satisfied in his kill - but patience was something he was very good at. He knew whatid in wait at the end of this road, and getting there was just part of the job. It was just a shame that he¡¯d had to take a level-cut to bind to Allie, because it was something of a setback being forced to wait for her to catch up. He¡¯d even intentionally pushed her by holding back in numerous fights, such as the fight at The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯spound - even at the risk of letting her die.


    It wasn¡¯t that he¡¯d wanted her to die, in fact it was quite the opposite. He had high hopes for the child, but he¡¯d done his part to even the odds and then let her prove her worth. If she¡¯d been worthy of his contract, she would find a way to persist. If she was worthy of his contract, she wouldn¡¯t die. Unfortunately Riven had intervened before she¡¯d been able to truly push past the barrier holding her back¡­ but he had faith it would eventually give in nheless. He also had no intentions of holding her hand the entire way through, and would only give as much help as needed to put her into situations that allowed a hard but winnable fight. This was the best way to gain insights and leveling, and if she wasn¡¯t up to the task then someone else would be.


    Then again she¡¯d also been very lucky he was even able to ept her contract, using the Ritual Bonds of Blood and Soul - a multi-use utility skill that allowed him to artificially decrease his own parameters to trick Elysium into allowing their partnership despite a level gap.


    It made Fimrindle wonder just what the other, more advanced reapers of death in the S-grade could do with it; if he was able to create such a massive opportunity such as this with such a low amount of effort on his part. He was far, far away from understanding the machinations of those ancient beings though, and was unlikely to find out any time soon.


    He shut down that train of thought,partmentalizing it for future meditation, and was just about to report back from his scouting mission when he heard a familiar noise.


    His passive buff ¡®Anticipate Movements¡¯ activated, and the scarecrow blurred.


    Eight whistling throwing stars empowered with discrete bursts of shadow energy were torn out of the air one by one - plucked like cherries from a tree with perfect precision. His wed metal hands easily took what little damage the sharp edges dispersed, before the thrown projectiles disappeared into puffs of ck.


    He stared down at his hand,prehending the nature of the stamina that¡¯d been used to attack him, remainingpletely still as he did so. Observing the room around him, he couldn¡¯t tell where the opponent was despite the direction of the attack. With an uncharacteristically slow motion - he brought a single metal w with remnant power from one of the throwing stars up to his mouth, closing down with dagger-like teeth.


    Ah. How surprising.


    It was one of his kin.


    Why was there another reaper here, though?


    A contracted job, perhaps?


    But who would hire them? No one on Panu would even know of those kinds of merc contracts or the rituals to summon reapers for a long, long time from now. Even if they did, they¡¯d not be able to afford someone of that caliber without bankrupting entire empires. Or at least the probability of it was extremely low. That meant an off entity had likely hired the assassin.


    An opposing faction inside The Blood Moon Requiem?


    Perhaps.


    Someone rted to the vampiric elder god? A descendant?


    More likely. Otherwise the reaper would have targeted Allie and Riven both long before now.


    He nodded, it was the only thing that made sense. There was no other reason another reaper in the F-grade would be here, not on a tiny, remote like this.


    The thought exhrated Fimrindle, who¡¯d been rather bored while waiting for Allie to make the building breakthrough he could feeling, and his metal features instantaneously twisted into one of the most horrendous visages of sadistic glee ever seen upon the face of Panu. His mouth, which was usually set into a deadpan, interlocking set of metal jaws, had turned upwards at an unnatural angle - teeth elongating to twice their normal length and shifting in sharpness. The X¡¯s carved into his metallic face had abruptly doubled in size due to his excitement, and a rasping sound escaped his throat - letting out a low, cackling sound like the scratching of two rusty des.


    His stick-thin body stood to its full height - senses now picking up a faint clicking sound at various points around him - and for the first time in centuries he equipped his ceremonial reaper¡¯s cloak. The shroud literally made from shadows epassed his body, and he nted both wed feet out to either side as the clicking sounds stopped. His malicious gaze settled on the figure before it made itself known, appearing out of thin air like a phantom with two small scythes fluidly dancing between the skeletal fingers of either hand - and swirling ck throwing stars circling the figure that stared back at fimrindle through the dead eyes of a skull face.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences elsewhere.


    Just like Fimrindle, the ceremonial shroud was equipped - flowing about his body like a writhing, living thing that merged and reformed from the very shadows around them - epassing the other reaper¡¯s body in a cloud of ck.


    <strong>[Skullborn, Initiate Reaper of Souls, Level 199. Elite.]</strong>


    Fimrindle¡¯s unnatural, excited smile grew even wider. This was a fight where his limits would truly be pushed to the test given his reduced sub-100bat level as it stood now; while his opponent was at the peak of F-grade and almost into the E-grade. It was very likely this particr reaper had been chosen for exactly that reason, as Elysium probably wouldn¡¯t have allowed an outsider E-grade to enter an integration this early. The golden lettering of the enemy reaper¡¯s identification information also didn¡¯te as a surprise, given that almost all reapers had that signifier at a minimum when they weren¡¯t hiding it like Fimrindle was.


    ¡°Brother.¡± The other reaper bowed low, briefly, his voiceing out like a cold wind. ¡°It is a fortunate test of fate for us, crossing paths as fellow children of The Scythe. Yet I must hold to my contract, and will not hold back. Your soul will be sent to the collector in due time.¡±


    Fimrindle responded with a pleased groan, the Ritual Bonds of Blood and Soul shifting to unlock some of the restraints he¡¯d ced on himself while in this form - originally meant to hide him from Elysium¡¯s gaze. He felt them snap, one by one, and though his level would need to remain at the poultry level of 91 since he couldn¡¯t go over his contracted master¡¯s ownbat level - he still felt a flood of power insert itself into his soul apparatus.


    The erged X¡¯s across his face burst into neon teal mes, and a cold wave of energy began rising from his position.


    <strong>[Legendary status marker has been unveiled. Reaper of Souls Unique Title has been unveiled: Disciple of the Wailing Lake has been unveiled.]</strong>


    <strong>[3 additional skills have been unlocked. 2 additional traits have been unlocked. 709 stat points have been re-applied.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have gained the attention of Elysium. Beware, my child, for if you push yourself too far the system will recognize your deceit and void your contract with the chosen master you¡¯ve acquired until natural parameters have been met.]</strong>


    His mentor¡¯s warning voice echoed in his ears, and he lifted his scythe as it red with the same neon-teal fires of the X¡¯s for eyes underneath his shifting, shadow-crafted hood. His status page identifiers abruptly changed from the normal lettering Elysium most often used to that of a deep crimson fire, indicating his legendary status when rtivelypared to all other beings across the multiverse at his level - and he took a stance while his newfound enemy took a step back in surprise. To his knowledge, only he and twelve others on this had such an indicator - with Ath and Riven being two of the others.


    Fimrindle¡¯s head lowered, activating his Tier 3 domain with a brief expanding hand motion and the recited chant. ¡°Nekarakt Arts, Shadow Realms.¡±


    The terraforming cavern erupted with the howls of lost souls and a raging tidal wave of ck shadow energy, epassing the twobatants in an alternate reality that shattered the fabric of the world around them. He took a step single step forward as his enemy¡¯s body erupted in a red mist of blood - empowering a swarm of shadow-made throwing stars that ripped out of the enemy reaper¡¯s shroud in all directions.


    Fimrindle¡¯s scythe cut through an erected barrier enchantment with a single swipe, an arc piercing through time and space with a snap of noise and a blur of ming steel.


    <strong>*WHUMPH*</strong>


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    <strong>*CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH*</strong>


    The storm of exploding blood-imbued throwing stars reminded Fimrindle very much of Riven''s own ¡®Bloody des¡¯, and he outwardly cackled in an echoing howl as he danced through the waves of oing des before activating ¡®Flurry¡¯ and ¡®Tear Asunder¡¯.


    His body was naturally fast, but thebination of both martial arts ripped space apart in giant tears - causing his very soul to scream and leave an afterimage as the two reapers shed with the ferocity of apex predators.


    ***


    <strong>[You have gained 9 levels. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]</strong>


    Allie stumbled to an abrupt stop when she got the notification. Blinking rapidly and scratching her head, she let out the only thing that came to her in that moment. ¡°Huh?¡±


    She¡¯d been following the trail of bodies left by Fimrindle, little X marks carved into their chests to signify it was his doing - with other X¡¯s carved into the walls when choosing between splits in the tunnels to sign which way he¡¯d gone.


    The notification had appeared just as she¡¯d turned left down another one of the tunnels - which was quickly being terraformed like much of the caverns they¡¯d already traversed, and she failed to understand why or how it¡¯d even happened.


    She¡¯d never had an influx of XP thatrge before. Not ever. Not a single time, even after ughtering hundreds or thousands of people in the war against Prophet, and then again in the war against the conquered Tereen elves.


    The amounts of XP she¡¯d been getting from Fimrindle had beening in time after time as well, with every kill he made concerning these strange vampiric precursors that wandered the underdark. But that¡¯d only granted her a single level so far, and the XP was split between them, so a 9 level jump just didn¡¯t make any sense.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mara asked curiously, raising the corpse before them and causing it to stand with a gasp - dead eyes lighting up and adding the creature to her posse before turning to look at her best friend. ¡°You look stunned. Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Allie replied, shaking herself out of her stupor and taking a look at her status page. There was no clue there, but she did apply the stat points to Willpower and Intelligence nheless. ¡°I just got a 9 level boost and I don¡¯t know why.¡±


    Mara blinked. ¡°9bat levels?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not seeing things?¡± Vin asked from the side, skipping to a stop and staring at the strangenguage written into the smoothing, shaping stone walls around them. ¡°Hells, I might be seeing things too. What¡¯s thisnguage? Anyone know?¡±


    ¡°No idea.¡± one of the necromancer elites called from the back. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering too.¡±


    No one else said anything, but a roar and a scream was heard from the back when the sound of thundering feet caused them all to turn.


    Allie¡¯s red eyes narrowed and she equipped her skull mask again, body ring with death mana as the entire horde of their undead began rushing the backline where dozens of pale, blue-skinned vampiric precursors were crashing into the ground from a steep drop off that Allie had just traversed not long ago.


    Unfortunately for the aggressing mob, they didn¡¯t have any ranged casters at the moment - and they were on a slope in a somewhat narrow passage for such arge group.


    ¡°FIRE!¡±


    Threads of ck and teal, ming skulls, death balls and green clouds of necrotic curses sted into the rampaging swarm that was building like an avnche. Body parts were torn, melted, and burned off in a violent disy of destructive magic that wiped out much of the first wave before more of them surged out of the tunnel above.


    The skeletons and zombies made contact, shing with ck-eyed men and women of a lost race from another age. Weirdly enough not all of the precursors showed signs of absolute lunacy, many of them making smart and calcted decisions without a mob-mentality in their fighting. Martial arts were seen in some, others simply avoided fighting the undead altogether to go around on the outskirts of the tunnels, while others simply stayed back and watched so they¡¯d not cause a body-plug and crush theirrades; even calling back in an ancientnguage to make theirpatriots slow the charge.


    That did not bode well in Allie¡¯s opinion, as the first impression she¡¯d had of these creatures was a mindless swarm - simr to many of the versions of lower tiered undead she often raised up. It was true that some of the ¡®mutant¡¯ variations,rge lumbering things that looked like the Hulk on steroids, did maintain that basic mindset - but certainly not so with the others despite their ferocity in battle.


    It was almost as if these precursors weren¡¯t necessarily stupid, but instead they were just¡­ desperate?


    The thought disturbed her, but upon second evaluation she confirmed her theory. The looks these people had was one of desperation, without a doubt, and they were doing their utmost to try and bring her down before she entered thebyrinth and headed out towards their fallen god.


    ¡°FIRE!¡±


    Another volley of magics tore into the oing tide of pale blue, killing dozens more. She and the other necromancers continually moved back, cutting them down time after time as they came but being pushed by sheer numbers. They took time raising the dead to send back at the still-living precursors as well, and then would rinse and repeat with more showers of offensive magic while a couple of Mara¡¯s shadow-infused skeletal assassins kept the creatures at bay whenever they broke through the main line.


    <strong>[You have gained 1 level. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have gained 1 level. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]</strong>


    The ground thundered.


    Hundreds fell.


    Allie began to feel her mana waning, and she took numerous vials of blue mana potions to stave off absolute depletion. Even with all the remnant death mana from the environment acting as a stimnt to fuel her power, she was still struggling to maintain the fight as the swarm grewrger.


    It started to get really bad when enemy casters started appearing, wearing odd metal bracelets and feathered ornaments reminding her of Aztec attire from books she¡¯d read as a child. Enemy scepters red brightly, and soon she found herself in an even worse pinch as her necromancers were pushed to the brink in an exchange of offensive and defensive magics over the melee battle in the middle. All she could do was continue to backpedal down the sloping path, following Fimrindle¡¯s markings in a battle of attrition as one, then two, and then three of her elite necromancers fell in battle - stemming the tide of their own minions and causing the brutal melee to sway in favor of the precursors.


    When the fourth necromancer fell, the tidal wave broke through the dam of undead shortly after - as even she with her swarm necromancer abilities could not raise the dead as fast as they were being cut down.


    She snarled, summoning a storm of ghosts that crashed into her enemies before erecting a wall of bones. Then, turning heel, she sprinted down the corridors in the opposite direction. The ghosts only had so much passive mana before they¡¯d be banished back into theher, and the bone wall wouldn¡¯t hold very long. ¡°COME ON! LET¡¯S MOVE!¡±

 Chapter 237

    Chapter 237


    <strong>Chapter 237</strong>


    Drums.


    Drums echoed in the dark.


    A st of strange, azure-blue colored mana with an unfamiliar origin in the Unholy Foundation tore through the halls. Her eyes went wide mid-sprint and she was sent sting across the stoneden with ancient texts, crashing into a pir and spinning rapidly in the air until she cratered into the opposite end.


    Coughing up blood and snapping one arm back into ce, her body smoldered with wisps of that same azure blue - and she had to send a pulse of death through her body to clear it off her armor and skin. Her vision swayed, and she caught herself with another cough as a loud boom shook the halls amidst screams, roars, and the beating of drums.


    ¡°RRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!¡±


    Arge, smander-like creaturecking eyes or a back set of legs tackled her to the ground, using huge ck ws to pin her down while its open maw snapped shut on one arm.


    The bone armor underneath its grip held firm, and with a snarl Allie¡¯s left fist swung around and crashed into the monster¡¯s skull.


    An explosion of death mana radiated out from her fist, and two more snapping jabs ripped open the facial bones of the beast before it let out a gurgling hiss and fell to the side.¡°Shit! Why are there so many of them!?¡±


    Wounds where she¡¯d been burned, cut, and bruised were still healing with her natural regenerative properties - thetest of which were two shallow gashes where the ck fangs of the smander had found a gap.


    Unsping a small pouch along her hip and downing a vial of red liquid, she let the soothing concoction trickle down her throat. Energy flowed back into her, but the amount of potions she¡¯d taken now was building into what the alchemists called ¡®elixir toxicity¡¯. The effectiveness was going down, and a sickening feeling in her gut had begun to make her feel nauseated.


    Trying to stabilize herself as the hall shook around her yet again, she blinked rapidly when three pale blue figures broke through the frontline fighting and sprinted her way.


    Her wand let out a shrill scream as the soul within lit ame, and her hand lifted - apanied by dozens of deathly threads that ripped and tore the precursors down akin to a gatling gun. Pale blood sprayed from their bodies as they were hit numerous times, littered with holes until their legs gave out from underneath them one by one - sttering their corpses onto the floor.


    She whipped around, swinging her leg in a blurring horizontal kick.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    The mutant¡¯s face snapped left, but it staggered back to a standing position. One pale eye on its twisted, ugly face settled on her, and a monkey-like tail snapped around - sparking against her skull mask and knocking her backwards.


    Smacking hard into the stone wall, she summoned a deathball and lunged underneath a swing that shattered a portion of the wall behind her. Flipping over another tail swipe, sheunched the death ball directly into the open maw of the screaming creature and ruptured its insides - causing the beast to explode in a shower of gore.


    Alliended on her feet, stumbled, and created two more skeletal minions from nearby corpses beforemanding them to the front where her allies were still battling the frontrunners of the oing hordes.


    Three of her necromancers were dead, one of their corpses being paraded in the back of enemy lines over their heads amidst loud chanting - while two morey in ripped, crumpled mounds of mutted flesh, bone and cloth nearby.


    To their front were building enemies.


    To their sides were stone hallways.


    And to their backs was a giant, ck pit so deep that even Allie¡¯s own dark-attuned eyesight couldn¡¯t see the bottom.


    They were trapped.


    ¡°ALLIE! WE WON¡¯T BE ABLE TO HOLD FOR MUCH LONGER!¡± Mara yelled over the din of battle, summoning a flock of shadow-made crows that swarmed the oing enemy tide - adding to the skeletons, zombies and other undead creatures the necromancers of the necropolis were throwing into the fray. ¡°TELL US WHAT TO DO!¡±


    Tell us what to do?


    Allie could barely even hold herself up, and was only doing so through sheer force of will. Her mana was waning, only sustaining itself by drawing in on the sheer amount of death around her, and she wasn¡¯t nearly as good as Riven was in utilizing environmental mana anyways.


    They¡¯d killed hundreds of these creatures, she¡¯d blown all her major abilities including Miasmic Roar and Eye of the Scythe. Her minions were being cut down just as fast as they made them at a retreating pace, and they were being killed faster now that they had nowhere to retreat to. And where was Fimrindle during all of this?


    She took in a deep breath, staring down what had once been a tunnel, and closed her eyes.


    No. She could not give in to despair. Not here.


    Not ever.


    Her mind entered a state of tranquility, as the souls around her began to whisper in her ear. They told her it was going to be alright, and that they would help her ovee this obstacle. They were her friends, they were her protectors, and she need not worry.


    Her body lifted slightly off the ground, and the roar of battle grew louder as a huge bull-like creature with horns and dozens of curved, sharp teeth barreled through two zombies and tackled one of the robed ghoul necromancers - opening up the front line for the rest of the vampiric precursors to funnel in.


    Nin¡¯s hissing curse simultaneously let out as he snapped one of his skeletal fingers, causing three of his gue-ridden zombies to explode forward and blow back numerous enemies in a single go.


    Vin followed suit, doing the same thing and causing torrents of rapidly-spreading gue to settle on the hall ahead of them while the brothers continued throwing out orbs of dark green miasma.


    Mara¡¯s arm extended and sted the creature trying to eat the ghoul underneath it, sending out a beam of ck light that caused the monster to shrivel and die with an agonizing scream. ¡°ALLIE! ALLIE WH-¡±


    She turned her head, only to gawk at the sight behind her.


    Allie¡¯s figure was six feet off the floor in a meditative state, hands sped together, eyes closed, legs pointed directly down, a billowing cloud of death mana being collected from their surroundings and building into a roaring storm that began to shake the undergroundplex more and more. Souls began leaking into Panu from the beyond, whispering in an audible wave of sound that soon turned into a shrill scream. A ghostly form unlike any other Mara had ever seen then stepped out of the ether, a pale naked woman with ck eyes and giant unfolding wings. A halo burned over her head, and she whispered into Allie¡¯s ear in anguage Mara couldn¡¯t understand.


    Despite Allie being her friend, Mara took an involuntary step back - wide eyed and staring. ¡°What in the hells?¡±


    Vin¡¯s scream of pain caused Mara to whirl back around, and her dead heart clenched when she saw his lower half torn off with the afterimage of arge axe trailing through the air. In front of her was the first of nearly two-dozen heavily armored warriors. Each of them had bronze-te mail adorning their pale blue bodies. Blocky, Aztec-like decorations were carved into the ancient armor - and each of them had various types of axes and broadswords apanied by bulky circr shields.


    Mara¡¯s teeth grit together, and with a ¡®Banshee¡¯s Wail¡¯ that echoed through the hallways in a radiating, bouncing storm of sound - she stunned the entire oing horde for a couple seconds and allowed herself to pull Vin¡¯s body backwards. Simultaneously her swarm of crows rapidly closed in on the gap in the front line - and two skeletal assassins writhing with ck shadow energy snapped out of her shadow and sank daggers into the eye sockets and underarm weak spots of the warrior¡¯s armor.


    Then the battle reset, and the horde that¡¯d been pushed back due to her area of effect spell began regaining ground.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    An explosion of azure-blue wisps ripped through five skeletons and obliterated one of the necropolis necromancers, causing half his body to disintegrate on impact and not even allowing time for him to scream.


    ¡°ALLIE!¡± Mara screeched over the mmer of ws, bone, and metal crashing into one another - and prepared a barrier to intercept yet another of those azure orbs - sending shockwaves back into the oing horde with the repelling of their attack. ¡°ALLIE WE NEED YOU!!!¡±


    ***


    Fimrindle watched, awestruck and eager, as the breakthrough finally took hold. Allie¡¯s desperation had finally pushed the seed through into fruition, and he rasped out a wheezing cackle from the shadows above her.


    She fit all the requirements, he just knew she could do it!


    The world rumbled as The Scythe took notice of the once in a lifetime event, and Fimrindle felt the awe-inspiring presence of the lord of death settle his gaze upon the scene. The touch of death incarnate resonated within the reaper, and Fimrindle shuddered in ecstasy when he felt the mental acknowledgement and approval for forcing this set of events into ce.


    After all, Fimrindle had been the one to lead Allie down this corridor. To a ce where she had no choice but to finally push herself beyond her limits. It was that, or die - and Fimrindle¡¯s gamble had seeded.


    He¡¯d actually done it.


    <strong>*WHOOM*</strong>


    The air turned stale, and Fimrindle felt the presence of yet another ancient being encircling the area. Only this time, its presence was hostile, overbearing, and he began to gasp - falling from his hiding spot and smashing into the ground where he began to silently spasm.


    ¡°You dare take one of my prized possessions from me¡­¡± The ancient being whispered into Fimrindle¡¯s mind with a deep, booming voice, and Fimrindle began to scream as the entity began crushing his soul bit by bit. ¡°You transgress¡­¡±


    The Scythe intervened, its own presence tearing the other entity off of Fimrindle¡¯s soul forcibly and causing the ether just outside of Panu¡¯s physical realm to quake as the titans shed.


    ¡°The child¡­ is just as much mine¡­ as it is yours¡­¡± The Scythe¡¯s raspy echo replied while repairing the damage to Fimrindle¡¯s core in a split second. ¡°You may have helped create¡­ the vampire, as it is known¡­ in this era¡­ But you forget that it was within my outlines¡­ that you based your genesis¡­¡±


    Fimrindle watched, dumbstruck, havingpletely forgotten about Allie¡¯s transcendence upon witnessing the absolute domineering might of the two entities just a single reality away from his own - peering into the beyond as the presence of mounting titans bled through.


    ¡°All undead are mine to take¡­ Should they show themselves proper vessels¡­ to the path¡­¡± The Scythe stated in a tone that allowed no disagreement. ¡°You would do well to remember that¡­ for you too were once my child as well¡­¡±


    The other entity let out a shudder of angry rage, turning its ire to brush against Fimrindle¡¯s soul one more time. ¡°That may be, but this is not eptable. She has my bloodline, she is mine by right.¡±


    The Scythe let out a long, raspy chuckle that dwindled away into nothingness - augh that only Fimrindle and The Blood God could hear. ¡°Is that so? Perhaps we should¡­ Let the girl¡­ decide for herself¡­¡±


    ***


    Allie saw Mara die.


    She saw Nin Die.


    Then Vin.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the vition.


    Each of her necromancers fell.


    Each of them screamed her name in hopes that she¡¯d save them.


    Finally, she saw herself die too - and it was a brutal, painful way to go.


    Allie¡¯s eyes snapped open with pale, unnatural light - far different from her regr crimson, and then her eyes dted. The world around her abruptly calmed on the fifth rey, slowing down right before the killing blow had struck Mara down - the axe only an inch away from her friend¡¯s wide-eyed, frantic face. She¡¯d never seen Mara so afraid before.


    It fucking infuriated her.


    Thend around them was tinged in shades of ck, red, and gray, and the out-of-body experience halted space all around her as cold, resonating energy rippled across her skin.


    Her ethereal body, a replica of her own but without physical representation stood staring at the scene before them - blinking pale glowing eyes and looking down at her floating body with a mixture of mounting fury directed towards the precursors - and intense gratitude when looking at the souls around her.


    These souls¡­ They were her friends.


    They were her family.


    And they were going to stand with her until the end.


    ncing left to where the only other being able to interact with this strange environment now floated beside her, peering into her out-of-body form, was a ghostly winged woman with pale gray eyes and a deathly halo hovered over her head.


    The woman smiled a very familiar smile, and Allie knew that - somehow - she was looking at a reflection of herself.


    <strong>[Malignant Prophecy has activated.</strong>


    <strong>Desired Action: Extremely High Tier Maniption. Current Willpower stat: Incalcble due to potential mutation. Unable to determine if sufficient Willpower is applicable for desired action.</strong>


    <strong>Overridden. Performing this act will put your malignant prophecy on cooldown for significant amounts of time. Do you wish to proceed?]</strong>


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    <strong>[Desired action: Save yourself, Mara, Vin, Nin, and the remaining necromancers underneath your banner. Malignant Prophecy¡¯s two options are as follows:</strong><ul><li><strong>Option 1: Create a cave-in and pray to the Blood God for inspiration. Chance for sess: High.</strong></li><li><strong>Option 2: ept your new calling as an Angel of Death and change your race. This act will both please The Scythe, and infuriate The Blood God. You will be marked as a fledgling Hero of Death by The Scythe for taking on this role, will irretrievably change the fate of Panu, and will be marked as an Apostate by The Blood God. This choice will negatively influence your rtionship with The Blood Moon Requiem. Chance for sess: Very High.]</strong></li></ul>


    Allie¡¯s eyes drifted over the text twice, and out of the corner of her eye - she saw her phantom twin giggle. ¡°What¡¯s so funny? And who are you, exactly?¡±


    The phantom angel didn¡¯t reply, only continuing to smile as its warm energy permeated Allie¡¯s soul. Allie felt it then, the connection, the replica, theplete fit to her own - only better.


    This¡­ was her?


    A version of her that she could choose.


    There¡¯d been no notification given by the system outside her malignant prophecy.


    And yet¡­ what exactly was she supposed to do with it?


    Bind it?


    How?


    And did she even want to do so? Marring her rtionship with The Blood Moon Requiem, a powerhouse of the multiverse and her extended family in the process? By marking herself as an apostate in the eyes of the Blood God?


    Her eyes searched the phantom angel¡¯s own, and she felt a pulse from her other half - calling out to her, telling her that she should reach out and grab it.


    Or¡­ was it even truly her? Had it been created as an opportunity by her bloodline? Or was this apparition something else entirely?


    A vision engulfed her mind, and suddenly she was high up in the air on wings as ck as night, pale gray eyes glowing against a dark span of clouds underneath a ck hood - while a deathly halo of simrly pale gray mes flickered over her head. In her hands, a giant sword as big as she was lifted to point at an opposing army of holy warriors settling down in trenches, waiting for her to descend - as her legions of the dead stormed the grounds underneath her in a mad rush of fury. Hundreds of thousands of the dead poured forward like a tidal wave, and out of the enemy ranks - another woman ascended to the skies.


    Brilliant golden mes billowed around her silkden body, and a sword of her own shattered the dark skies in aet of brilliant fire - crashing into the ascending woman¡¯s hands as white wings erupted out of her back. Her golden eyes and simrly brilliant halo matched Allie¡¯s own in an opposite mirroring, and her long blonde hair trailed out behind her with a re of power.


    Allie recognized this person from the forums. It was none other than the number 1 Apex ranker on the power forums. The woman Judith Marcina, Angelic Fallcaller.


    The vision ended abruptly as her brief glimpse of the future ended, a possibility of what was toe should she take this new ss and ascend into higher ranks of power.


    Yet¡­ despite the dread she felt at making so many enemies in her potential ascension, a giddy smile began tobat that dread as excitement overcame her. Who were they to tell her what she could and could not do? Who were they to dictate her fate? Be it gods, mortals, or even her own extended family - no one was the master of her fate other than herself.


    ¡°I ept the risks.¡±


    <strong>[Desired action has been selected: Option 2: ept your new calling as an Angel of Death and change your race. This act will both please The Scythe, and infuriate The Blood God. You will be marked as a fledgling Hero of Death by The Scythe for taking on this role, will irretrievably change the fate of Panu, and will be marked as an Apostate by The Blood God. This choice will negatively influence your rtionship with The Blood Moon Requiem. Chance for sess: Very High.]</strong>


    Immediately time unfroze and the colors of the world went back to more normal hues. Her ghostly, angelic replica crashed into her body just as her own soul did - igniting a chain reaction as the ovepping upgrade to her soul structure fused and merged.


    She screamed, and her Death Subpir exploded into thousands of fragments as the storm of power around herunched itself forward into the oing swarm of vampiric precursors. The ck and teal aura quickly changed to a third, pale gray coloring - and the river of energy swept through the enemy ranks so fast that the oing swing meant for Mara¡¯s head was incinerated along with the axe¡¯s wielder.


    The walls trembled.


    Flesh was torn from bone as thousands of precursors died like flies when the shockwave of pale gray mes engulfed them in a wave unlike anything Allie had conjured from the Death Subpir before.


    Then, there was silence.


    Utter silence.


    Allie¡¯s mind nked, and she continued to hover in the air above ground as her soul recreated itself under the guidance of some other-worldly force. Her bright crimson eyes flickered and died out, reced by the same pale, glowing gray - as a simrly colored halo created itself over her head. That too sputtered out mes of its own before absorbing them and remaining as a glowing, metallic circle about a foot over her eyes. ck wings sprouted from her back, tearing through her bone armor and remodeling it to fit her new appendages as the angelic feathers briefly glittered in the darkness.


    The souls swirling around her quickly slowed, almost reverently, as a sigh escaped her lips - power oozing from her very voice and causing the underground passage to warp at the expulsion of excess energy.


    Her body flickered, as if a ghost, and Allie slowly raised her hand in the dead silence as her followers looked on in amazement - watching a phantasmal afterimage of herself follow her movements.


    Her fangs protruded when she smiled, and then - to her surprise - they entirely fell out, ttering to the floor beneath her when new teeth reced them.


    A scream of rage came next from the beyond, causing the earth around her to tremble for only a split second - until it was abruptly gone, and an explosion of notifications berated her senses.


    <strong>[Worldwide Message: A new Hero of Death has been named, and her name is Allie Thane. For the first time in over 7000 years across the entirety of the multiverse, an Angel of Death has ascended. Requirements, including 100% affinity to the Death Sub-Pir, the servitude of a Reaper of Souls, willing subservience and friendly terms with at least 3000 souls in the afterlife, and the status of Undead race have all been met. May the living tremble in fear upon her approach, for true death now stalks thesends.]</strong>


    <strong>[Worldwide Message: The Scythe has blessed a portion of Panu. The entire continent of Umbra, where Brightsville - Capital of the Thane Necropolis is located, has been terraformed in favor of the undead - giving all undead living on Umbra a potent bonus to all stats and passive upkeep while simultaneously debuffing any non-undead present there. Undead of various species will now randomly spawn on the continent of Umbra, and their ability to repopte has tripled in efficiency. Potent miasma now oozes out of thend itself, and every living person or creature now inhabiting thesends has been changed into an undead version of themselves. They have had their pirs altered to reflect this, with each of them given a choice between the following options and their sub-variants based on original race: Ghoul, Skresh, Golem variants, Deathtouched Enlightened, Phantasmal, Abomination, Ravager, Skeletal, Zombie, Necrofisa, Ravenous, Hungerer, Blighted, Horror, and Neverlight. Other resident vampires have been unaffected by this change.]</strong>


    <strong>[Worldwide Message: New OPTIONAL World Quest (7): Eradicate the Angel of Death, Allie Thane. Your world has birthed an extremely rare variant of undead, an Angel of Death. Allowing her to reign throughout the integration will no doubt lead to further terraforming of this, and she represents a potent danger to all those who are living. This quest goes out to all other world quest antagonists as well. The prize for delivering a killing blow to Allie Thane before the 5 year integration time limit is up will inherit her fledgling divinity in a form of your choosing, allowing your own ascension and the start of a path into future godhood. Guild mercenary options will reflect an increased ability and lowered cost to acquire off-world holy warriors in the pursuit of this crusade, as long as the guild owner is not undead, and the intended target is perceived as truly being Allie Thane by Elysium¡¯s Administrator.]</strong>


    <strong>[57bat levels partially gained and partially granted.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have obtained the Rank 1 Apex Position on the Power Ladder of Panu. The Legendary status marker has been applied to your identification information.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have beenbeled an Apostate by The Blood God. All other worshipers of the Blood God will be notified of this when looking upon you.]</strong>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>You have acquired the race Angel of Death</strong><strong>, and have begun your transcendance into divine origins. +10,000 additional minion slots. Undead minions that are non-sentient now only cost 1 Willpower to control. Feral mindless undead will not attack you unless provoked, and may bemanded to do your bidding to a very limited extent even outside of your normal minion slots if they are masterless. Your affinity to the Death Sub-Pir has been increased to 101%, and you are now able to increase it even further with each step of transcending divinity that you take. You gain the other traits:</strong><ul><li><strong>Phantasmal</strong><strong> (allows warping in and out of the Ether and Void at will),</strong></li><li><strong>Legion Commander</strong><strong> (allows for far more intricate control of minions at an individual level despite the number you have),</strong></li><li><strong>Profane Angelic Wings</strong><strong> (enables flight at the expense of mana, stamina, or divinity),</strong></li><li><strong>Deathly Halo</strong><strong> (your very presence inspires, passively heals, and empowers fellow undead nearby, and your charisma vastly amplifies itself when concerning fellow undead - inspiring worship. You are also able to terraformnd in favor of the Undead should you wish to do so.),</strong></li><li><strong>Body of True Death</strong><strong> (Upgrades your Death Sub-Pir to the True Death Specialized Sub-Pir, +30% to all stats, +100 t Points to all stats aside Charisma. -20,000 stat points applied to Charisma. Souls can seek refuge in your body and make your inner world a ce they call home. Your soul apparatus has been modified to house souls and is now considered an inner world that can be manipted in time),</strong></li><li><strong>Eyes of the Phantom Angel</strong><strong> (allows you to peer into the ether and void at all times in conjunction with your normal sight), and:</strong></li><li><strong>Angel¡¯s Phantom Touch</strong><strong> (Allows you topletely resurrect allies by physically dragging their souls back into the world with your phantasmal body aspect. Does not require activation of an ability. This is contingent on being able to find their souls before they¡¯re swallowed and lost to the afterlife, or finding them again once they¡¯ve already been lost).]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[You have beenbeled a </strong><strong>Hero of Death</strong><strong> by The Scythe, in hopes that you will serve him. This title amplifies all Death abilities by 10% effectiveness, and empowers all undead under your control by 20% to all stats. An open branch ofmunication, directly linked to The Scythe, has been applied to your status page so that you may converse with him for more details. All followers of The Scythe will be notified of this title upon seeing you. With this title, he also grants you a relic E-grade Divine weapon.]</strong>


    <strong>[de of Soulcry (Divine ymore, E-Grade, Death Attuned): ???]</strong>


    Allie paused her reading of the numerous notifications when a pale light illuminated the air in front of where she hovered. Her new wings instinctively extended, and the hundreds of souls slowly swarming around her reverently came closer to embrace her - almost tentatively - though their warm intentions bled through their thoughts when her mind embraced them back.


    A long ymore, shifting with pale light hovered in the air before her at a horizontal angle. Her gray eyes glowed just like the weapon did, taking in every detail of the ymore as her bone gauntlet reached out and touched it with a finger.


    It was exquisite, made from a dark gray metal with a single elongated rune alone the entirety of the de¡¯s middle - twisting and turning but not breaking the lines creating it while glowing a bright neon teal.


    Her finger tapped the de again, causing it to respond to her with another re of energy, and the afterimage of her movements showed her phantasmal soul trailing behind. Her wings flexed and extended again, getting a feel for them and smiling at the way her soul trailed behind her physical body even there - with her hair flowing around her and underneath the glowing gray halo.


    Looking up and meeting the stares of her friends and allies, she saw each of them slowly take a knee - then bow - the effects of her new presencepletely capturing their attention and instilling a sense of reverence in them.


    Hesitantly, Allie willed herself to move forward - and without more than a twitch of her ck wings she flew ahead to where the three bodies of her necromancers nowy. Their remains were unscathed from her own eradication of the enemy, whereas the vampire precursors were now only piles of ash and bone, and she stared out at their still present souls that had yet to recede into the afterlife - hovering over their bodies as if asking to be let back in.


    They weren¡¯t quite yet sentient in this state, during this transition, not like the swarm of souls gently embracing her now - but it did not matter. The transitory phase was about to end, as she took each of them with extensions of her own soul and quietly pushed each of them back into their bodies. Pushing energy through her soul¡¯s newly acquired True Death Specialty Sub-Pir, a mix of deep grays, cks and teals - the power flowed into her halo next and started to rapidly mend the bodies underneath.


    Two ghouls and a skresh, necromancers of the necropolis, let out gasps and hissing sounds simultaneously while their bodies mended under the influence of her halo.


    ¡°The beginning of a new era¡­¡± Mara hissed under her breath while kneeling, reverence in her eyes while staring, star-struck, up at her best friend. ¡°Your excellency! I do not have the words to describe these feelings! You are¡­ majestic!¡±


    Allie shifted her gaze, and she took her skull mask off with a warm smile just when a final notification appeared ahead of her. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me like that Mara. You¡¯re my best friend, and I won¡¯t have my best friend treating me like I¡¯m above them.¡±


    <strong>[New system quest dispensed: Conquer Panu. You have been publicly denounced by the Blood God as an Apostate, have angered almost every vampiric faction in the entire multiverse, and have already been marked for death on the public forums by numerous other factions across your. Having instilled a deepest fear in the minds of the living, and having given hope to the sentient undead of your world, you are destined to be hunted down - or alternatively you will rise from the ashes of war as a hero to your people. Will you and your kind be eradicated from Panu¡¯s surface? Or will you conquer this and im it for yourself? You have until the 5 year time limit of integration to take over at least 80% of this for yourself. If you aplish this, you will gain Elysium¡¯s direct and absolute protection from outside invaders for an additional 100 years, will gain a shroud that stops other outside forces from scrying your¡¯s location for 500 years, and will allow you to reposition your newly conquered anywhere within the multiverse a single time at the end of integration.]</strong>

 Chapter 238

    Chapter 238


    <strong>Chapter 238</strong>


    Gaia looked out over thend from a mountain¡¯s peak. What had once been a world full of beauty and bnce, with green pastures and lush forests full of life, had turned into a blighted ck and gray version of itself with death and undeath in abundance. Only silver grasses and asional trees of neon teal leaves, ck bark, and asional deep red shrubbery or vines stood out amidst the dreary sea around her.


    The blue skies overhead had darkened, and though she was able tofort herself to a minor extent by knowing that these haunted woods did hold another form of ¡®life¡¯ beyond that which she was originally attuned to - she could not help but weep.


    For even she had be a thing of nightmares.


    ***


    Kathrine was scrambling to get things in order and worked with General Viku¡¯s soldiers alongside her own to help make thepound presentable. Representative thralls had just been made for each and every one of the high council, including the high queen, where they would be using ritual magic to eat away those poor souls in order to acquire only a mere hour or two of consciousness in this world.


    Devouring souls such as this even for vampires was something of a taboo, but that just went to show how angry the leadership of the Blood Moon Requiem was after Allie¡¯s ascension.


    ¡°Out of all the things you could have done after being responsible for the deaths of many high ranking young nobles, you went and became an apostate!¡± Kathine hissed under her breath, long brte hair frazzled while franticallybing it in the mirror again before dropping thee into her cleavage and racing down the stairs after her favorite maid - Cherna. ¡°Cherna! Let me carry that for you!¡±


    She could tell the blonde vampire woman was struggling, and Kathrine lifted two of the manyrge, heavy bags off the maid¡¯s shoulders while urging the woman onwards.Cherna for her part didn¡¯t even argue, having nearly tripped in her descent down the stairs and being very on edge concerning who their guests were about to be. ¡°U-uhm, thank you princess!¡±


    ¡°No time for thank you¡¯s! Hurry!¡±


    The two women raced down the flights of stairs and into one of the halls where the equivalent of a beehive was swarming back and forth with various personnel, decorations, food, scented hookah disys, champaigns and only the best furnitures - many of which were being brought in by House Wraithtide and House Crushada from off as the two leading houses presiding over thepound right now.


    Frantic repairs were also underway concerning thest remnants of the battle concerning Allie¡¯s recent struggle against her previous ¡®fiance to be¡¯. The fortress wasn¡¯tpletely done being built back up yet, and the mere thought of it not being presentable gave Kathrine very real palpitations.


    ¡°Riven!!!!! Riven where the hells are you!!! I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to say or tell ANY of them!¡± Kathrine muttered to herself in a high pitched voice with furrowed brows, and she started to hyperventte when she saw a blonde vampire man of perfect posture in flowing white robes turning a corner to her left. He bore the sigil of an imperial messenger, locked eyes with her, and before he even made it halfway down the hall to where she was standing - Kathrine fainted out of panic.


    ***


    The stockyards.


    That¡¯s what this regional prison had been named, inferring things that the thousands of vampires captured here from the battle for Dawn didn¡¯t necessarily agree with or like.


    But at least they were fed.


    It was argeplex patrolled and held by the elites of the Thane Necropolis, with numerous electrified fences and high quality enchantments set along the floors, walls, and even domed barrier ceilings in the crevice between two mountains only a few miles from Brightsville itself.


    Normally the surrendered vampires got well enough along with their captors after having realized who the Thanes actually were. Many had even been nning on joining the necropolis and abandoning their homnd of Rippenvire entirely.


    Had - was the key word here.


    When the earth beneath them rumbled and the roar of the enraged Blood God was heard, and the ascension of Allie Thane was proimed - bright lights illuminated the city of Brightsville in the distance when people began to change. Evolutionary selections were given to some and forced upon others, and within mere seconds the lights had begun spreading the stockyards.


    The captors of Rippenvire¡¯s forces began to wail, scream, and lurch as their bodies went either minor or major mutations over the course of thirty seconds - breaking downponents of other pirs and embracing the Unholy Foundation and Death Sub-Pir by the grace of The Scythe.


    Yet, although it was a short-lived transition, the rage that the vampires were thrown into at the mention of their god being shunned and the absolute betrayal of one of their own sent them into a frenzy. Almost as one, and while their captors were preupied with the evolutionary changes, the captive vampires threw themselves into madness - wing, hitting, biting and even expending their own life force to break those barriers down.


    Within minutes, carnage had spread throughout the prison.


    Within the hour, that carnage was headed towards Brightsville itself.


    ***


    General Bruner had seen riots and in-personbat before. He¡¯d served in the Middle East and had helped saved his people by battling Azag Hive Cluster forces, and had even been on missions for monster-culling purposes with other cyborgs after the integration.


    Yet the sight of thousands upon thousands of civilians and active military men alike screaming for rebellion right outside headquarters disturbed him.


    Bruner¡¯s orange, mechanical eyes swept over the crowd, watching as one of the erected barriers around a supposedly secure outer gate to the military HQ was torn down. There was infighting in the crowds, but was mostly located where those same crowds were pushing up against a line of military personnel holding them back from entering the three-story structure he now presided in along with all of his closest officers. News reports across the cortex were already flowing in, from both local and world-wide sources, and He put a hand over his face to close his eyes - squeezing his temple to try and relieve the stress of just what it was he was seeing.


    ¡°Sir.¡± A bald man in their new-age military uniform, a dark carbon shell decorated with officer tags of the necropolis, came in and saluted along with two lesser officers behind him. ¡°Reports show that anyone of ours that were beyond the wormhole have also been changed. In one case, one of our snipers on duty that¡¯d just beening through Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole was lynched by a mob - even though he¡¯d only just arrived and was in a panic to seek guidance. He¡¯d been turned into what is called a ¡®Neverlight¡¯, some kind of shadow-attuned undead. He was still humanoid, but that didn¡¯t stop the mob from killing him and the eight other service members escorting him here.¡±


    General Bruner¡¯s weary eyes shifted to an explosion, and he shook his head while lowering his chin to his chest. sping his hands behind his back and staring out the bullet-proof ss windows, he could only guess at what he would need to do to contain this mess. ¡°Colonel, I want you to get the word out. We¡¯re prepping for martialw and will actively roll out units to contain the looting and riots within twenty minutes.¡±


    The colonel hesitated,ing to stand right behind the general with a wary posture. ¡°General? Are we really taking the side of an undead monster over our own people?¡±


    ¡°That monster is your queen, colonel. And you¡¯d best remember it.¡± Bruner red back over his shoulder at the stiffening man only for a moment, before turning back around and lifting his head up to take in a long breath of air. ¡°Those undead across the wormhole are our own people too. Don¡¯t make this an us vs. them situation, talking like that is very dangerous.¡±


    The colonel silently thought over Bruner¡¯s words, then snorted. ¡°Sir. May I speak openly?¡±


    ¡°You may.¡±


    ¡°Thank you sir. It is in my opinion, and is the opinion of most of the other officers here inmand, that continuing to follow a creature that will terraform our into a zone of undeath is very unwise. She is a tyrant and a monster, sir, this fact has only gotten worse with recent developments. If we don¡¯t do something now, we very well could be thest generation of humans on our. This is no longer a matter of political allegiance. This is a matter of racial genocide and survival. Even now we have other neighboring factions trying to contact us in a panic regarding the connection to the necropolis-¡±


    ¡°WE are the necropolis, colonel.¡± General Bruner gritted his teeth, and tried to contain his anger. After all, he had told the man to speak freely. Yet he still didn¡¯t turn around, and the only sign that he was mad came from the way his right fist clenched within the grasp of his left hand behind his back. ¡°Thank you for your opinion colonel. However, there will be no coup. Not today. Please lea-¡±


    <strong>*BANG*</strong>


    A high powered energy weapon erupted point nk into General Bruner¡¯s skull from the back, stering his brains onto the window and melting a portion of the thick ss.


    The colonel watched as the general¡¯s body fell dead to the ground, and shakily dropped his hand - holstering his weapon while the other two officers beside him silently waited. Taking in a deep breath, the bald man turned around and marched out the door. ¡°Begin an evacuation of the civilians from Chicago in anticipation of a fight. Contact our neighbors down the coast for an emergency meeting. All of them, and close off ess to the wormhole. No one goes in or out. This is no longer a matter of allegiance to a queen, king, or president - it is a fight for our children¡¯s future. This, gentlemen, is now a rebellion.¡±


    ***


    Snagger the ratkin warrior, his ratkin cousin Mesha, and Rashtalia - Broodmother of the ratkin Brood-Tarrow were all unceremoniously thrown into a prison cell over the enraged roars of their kin in the brood halls up above.


    Or at least, they had BEEN ratkin.


    Their entire civilization had been changed in the blink of an eye overnight, and these three had taken the fall for it under the Queen¡¯s rage as they were the ones who¡¯d been closest to the Thane Necropolis - especially as diplomats. Their failure had resulted not only in the loss ofnds concerning the dwarven expedition, where the greedy vampire king had imed the dwarvish cities as their own, but now their entire poption was cursed - having be ¡®Blighted Ratkin¡¯. Blighted being a race of undead, instead of the normal ¡®Ratkin¡¯.


    gue literally wafted off their bodies as faint green mists oozing out of their very pores. Some of them retained patches of fur, while others had lost theirs entirely. Their bodies had be leaner, more muscr, their eyes had developed a sickly vomit-green color, their skin had turned ck and gray or had partially fallen off in certain circumstances, and all of their pirs and abilities had changed to reflect their undead status.


    They were walking bringers of disease.


    And their cries for renewed war roared in the caverns of their city while they butchered the resident Necropolis diplomats as a public disy.


    Snagger grunted over the sound of a mming door, bringing his muscr frame to a sitting position while staring, naked, at the ground in front of him. ¡°How-why this happen?¡±


    This story has been uwfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Mesha just sniffled from her own corner of the cell, not bothering to reply while curling up into her own misery.


    Rashtalia, on the other hand, remained calm and collected as the tall female ratkin - or blighted ratkin - stared up at the ceiling where the chants of war rang out throughout the caverns. ¡°The dwarf-devils will fall-die first. They are weak-raw from war with necropolis, and then queen-mother will take revenge-fight to the surface. This is a mistake-fail, and us-we will die because of it.¡±


    Snagger could only agree. He stared down at his wed hand, where green gue continued to rise off is skin in a fog, and shook his head in dismay. He hadn¡¯t wanted this, certainly hadn¡¯t expected it, but he wasn¡¯t even sure if Allie herself had truly tried to do this. Knowing her only minimally, he still guessed that she hadn¡¯t. How would someone even attempt to do something like this?


    No, this was the work of gods and devils. Of greater powers beyond themselves. Elysium had proven itself to love and strive for conflict, and this one just one more step on the path to enlightenment - a path paved in the bodies of the dead and the shing of weapons and glorious battles.


    Deepnest was to go to war, to cannibalize the undead dwarves and take theirnds before turning on the ones Snagger¡¯s queen had once called allies. Whether or not that was wise was something else entirely.


    ***


    Lahn stood looking at himself in the mirror, staring nkly at his pale skin with mixed emotions. His neon-teal eyes dimly glowed, and his body¡­


    His body waspletely healed. His soul was repaired, and his body - for the very first time in his life - looked normal.


    Or, changed - perhaps - but for HIM it was more on the normal side than the shriveled husk he¡¯d been living in all his life. He had muscles now, defined ones, and his anatomy was on par with most athletes. He was now a ¡®Deathtouched Enlightened¡¯, and it was certainly better than bing a skresh or golem.


    He actually looked really good. More or less he¡¯d kept his human appearance, though his hair had turned a bright silky white, his skin was a medium gray color, and his eyes were now a neon-teal that dimly glowed back at him. It was more or less the same for almost everyone in the manor, as the system had given them 60 seconds to choose a new race before choosing for them - and the choice rmended options given by the system were the three that allowed them to keep most of their human-like qualities when transitioning into an undead. They were: ¡®Deathtouched Enlightened¡¯ - which were supposed too be good casters and magical spellslingers, ¡®Neverlight¡¯ - which were shadow attuned undead that could manifest various inherent shadow abilities, or ¡®Ghoul¡¯ - which were well known and had a very high pain tolerance as well as regenerative properties. Only one other in the manor had chosen ghoul, while the rest had all gone with ¡®Deathtouched Enlightened¡¯ after the system screens had shown what they would look like after picking a selected race.


    Skresh were also an option to choose from, but it was ¡®Not Rmended¡¯ by the system due to anatomy differences and a heavy initial toll on the psyche in most cases. Or so the system imed.


    Some of the maids were even rather excited about the change because, like vampires, Deathtouched Enlightened were physically appealing to look at.


    Oddly enough, a sigil was burned into his skin across his bare, muscr chest - a sigil he recognized very well. It was a bright white, burning with holy light against his undead body, and the confusion at seeing it there was more than a little off putting. Simultaneously, it was also encouraging.


    Just what was going on? And what had Allie done to do this?


    How was the king of Dawn going to react? Even as a subservient part of a greater necropolis in recent times, Dawn still had a deep set history and a sense of nationalism. Would this infuriate the popce? Lahn wasn¡¯t sure, but as the exmations of surprise echoed throughout the manor - he flipped through the holy book Allie had once given him.


    Coming to a familiar page, he stopped and stared at the written rune inked onto glowing white pages with golden lettering. He looked up at the sigil on his chest, then back down to the page, and confirmed it.


    They were one and the same.


    The angelic summoning he¡¯d performed, the entity that he¡¯d called upon to save Allie¡¯s life, was still inside him. That, or a remnant of its power had imbedded itself within his soul aperture.


    How was that even possible? Especially now that he was undead. This shouldn¡¯t be possible, given Unholy and Holy were exact opposites of one another. He¡¯d heard examples in the past of different foundational pirs being maintained in certain individuals - but these are all extremely rare and had never once epassed these two particr pirs before due to the pr opposite natures they had.


    And what exactly did that mean for him?


    ***


    <strong>[26 billion current participants have been analyzed. The ranking categories are as follows: Apex Rank (Top 10), Paragon Rank (Top 1000), S Rank (Top 0.0001%), A Rank (Top 1%), B Rank (Top 15%), C Rank (Top 30%), D Rank (Top 50%), E Rank (Bottom 50%)]</strong>


    <strong>[Current Top 10 Native Participants:</strong><ol><li><strong>Allie Thane, Level 160 Angel of Death, Apex Rank, Primary ss in Transitory state, Hero of Death</strong></li><li><strong>Judith Marcina, Level 176 Divine Human, Apex Rank, Angelic Fallcaller, Light¡¯s Beacon</strong></li><li><strong>Aren Hrall, Level 161 Snow Giant, Apex Rank, Frostmange Berserker</strong></li><li><strong>Retesh Vorath, Level 199 Corpse Lord, Apex Rank, Elder Lich</strong></li><li><strong>Riven Thane, Level 134 Pureblooded Vampire, Apex Rank, Warlock Devastator, Harbinger of Gluttony</strong></li><li><strong>Netithi Bluskish, Level 129 Naga, Apex Rank, Champion of the Kraken</strong></li><li><strong>Chitter Teh-Sneaker, Level 137 Ratman, Apex Rank, Dark-de Assassin, Poison Master, Sneaky Sneak Sneaker</strong></li><li><strong>Nithkik Brutishvase, Level 140 Dark Elf, Apex Rank, Depthdweller</strong></li><li><strong>Thorman Bame, Level 157 Human, Apex Rank, Hammer of the Mountain</strong></li><li><strong>Sinthil Tuk¡¯tuk, Level 168 Lizardian, Apex Rank, Wind Storm]</strong></li></ol>


    Retesh Vorath, Corpse Lord and Elder Lich of the ck Mists, sat on a throne of bones and skulls while staring at a system screen in front of him. His bony hands clicked their wed fingers onto the arm rests of his chair, while dozens of souls slowly moved about the room he dwelled in. Unnatural, fleshy organs curled around his exposed skeleton to create unnatural formations, and a ck mist continually trailed out of the eye sockets of his baren skull.


    Out across his own zone of undeath in the far reaches of the northern Chaos Wastnds, far from the Thane Necropolis, his legions gathered for an assault on the living. He was the one named in World Quest 1 concerning ¡®The Lich King¡¯s gue¡¯, and he¡¯d already had multiple crusadesunched against him when the terrorized citizens of the enlightened world came into contact with what the quest actually involved.


    For most, they¡¯d just see this:


    <strong>[World Quest 1, The Lich King¡¯s gue:</strong><strong> In the far reaches of the northern Chaos Wastnds, an ancient lich begins to stir. Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.]</strong>


    But the quest itself was far more sinister when the advanced details were unlocked.


    His clicking fingers stopped moving when he heard a knock at the door, and continuing to stare out the window that was half the size of the room - out across his massing legions - he lifted one hand as a gesture.


    The door swung open, and in stepped a huge armored skresh - a death knight - that came to kneel in front of the lich with a reverent bow. ¡°Master¡­ the horde whispers¡­¡±


    Retesh chuckled in amusement. ¡°And what is it they whisper of, my child?¡±


    ¡°They wish to know what stance you have upon the new arrival of the angel, sire¡­ The Scythe has blessed thends of Umbra, and it is within your power to forge a path. The generals wish to see an alliance, and they have sent me to ask you of this¡­¡±


    Retesh nodded his hooded head, beginning to click his wed fingers against the bone throne again while turning his attention back to the legions. Three undead drakes and their death knight riders flew overhead - casting shadows on thend as one of the beasts roared out across the wastes.


    ¡°I agree with them.¡± Retesh slowly stood, the fleshy organs moving slightly and tightening around his skeleton with the attempt. ¡°We have waited long enough, and have endured much already. It is high time we finally stop enduring the attacks, and begin our own crusade. Having an ally in one such as Thane Necropolis will push us far out ahead of the others, even beyond that irritating fallcaller Judith Marcina. She nearly killed mest time we fought, and I¡¯ll not risk such an encounter again without insurance. Forge a path to the southern coast, convert all the living that reside there and take over the port city of Albakask. Then, when we have secured it, use their ships or build our own to set sail for the Thane Necropolis. Even if we can get to a point where our drakes can fly there after crossing half the ocean, establishing contact is of utmost priority.¡±


    The huge death knight hissed with excitement, standing up and mming a fist in a salute onto his breastte. ¡°Yes, sire! May I ask, what of the naga and merpeople? They pursue their own world quest for domination, and have already targeted our ships in the past when using the river deltas of the Pilgrim¡¯s Sea.¡±


    ¡°Do we still have some of their krakens?¡±


    ¡°We have three undead krakens at our disposal, the war effort against the sea dwellers has not been kind to us, but it would also take them two months to travel around the penins and out of the Pilgrim¡¯s Sea and into the ocean where Albakask resides.¡±


    Retesh waved a dismissive bony hand. ¡°Have it done. The lives of our people depend on it, for though we are strong - it is not a far off idea that the world of the living would soon ally against us when we show our hand. Having another undead faction on Panu with such powerful members such as Riven and Allie Thane is aplete change to the chess board, we cannot let such an opportunity go to waste.¡±


    ***


    He withdrew his fangs out of Genua¡¯s neck, licking blood off her neck and pushing off from where he¡¯d been pinning the elf thrall up against a tree. He blinked twice at the notification concerning Allie¡¯s ascension to Apex Rank #1, the third time it¡¯d been brought up to him since the initial world quest only half an hour ago, and shrugged. ¡°Yup, there goes the continent.¡±


    Genua let out an exasperated sigh, started putting her clothes back on, wiped some of the blood from her sternum and sped her hands together in front of her face with worry. Her wounds shortly sealed themselves afterwards. ¡°Riven! This is very, very bad! I only just received the Blood God¡¯s blessing and-¡±


    ¡°And her choices have nothing to do with you.¡± Riven stated with a smile, patting the blonde elf woman on her head and fixing her hair right before adjusting her metal headdress. ¡°Don¡¯t think it does.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m worried that-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be.¡± Riven stated, cutting her off again with a raised eyebrow and a chuckle. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure that things are going to backfire to some extent. But there¡¯s no need to worry about it until we know what those things are. We already have enough to worry about that we¡¯re certain of as it is. None of the demons are concerned about it, right?¡±


    Her face shifted to watch Ath and Azmoth where they were ying beer pong against Jenny and Fay, the crimson tattoo markings along her skin shimmering in the shadow of her hood when she moved. ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m in a much different situation than they are. I¡¯m worried this is going to blow back on me and my child.¡±


    She paused, then let her hands fall down to her stomach. ¡°And our other child ising soon.¡±


    His eyes followed her hands, and he had to shake himself out of the tunnel his thoughts were wandering down.


    ¡°What was it that those other priestesses said to you again?¡± Riven thoughtfully stated with a raised finger. ¡°That your rise to power is tied to me, or something like that? Unless you lose your master and join their temple directly? Well I haven¡¯t done anything that would get you in trouble, and I¡¯m sure that we can work something out. I mean think about it - how many vampires are out there?¡±


    ¡°Out where?¡±


    ¡°In the multiverse.¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­ Billions?¡±


    Riven¡¯s look ttened, and he pulled his bag of holding to one side and started rummaging around for thepleted totem he¡¯d finally managed to build. ¡°Probably more than that. Billions is in the realm of The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s capital by itself. My guess is that the number is far, far greater than that. So, theoretically, the Blood God has many trillions or hundreds of trillions of vampire followers. Right?¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­ Yes? Maybe?¡±


    ¡°Assuming that¡¯s correct, why would he be so irritated about Allie¡¯s shift in allegiance? My guess is she¡¯s not worth as much to that god as we¡¯re thinking, and it¡¯s not like he outright proimed that she was to die or anything like that. She¡¯ll probably just be shunned from vampire society.¡± He paused thoughtfully. ¡°At least I hope so.¡±


    Genua nervously shifted, but then nodded and gave in. ¡°I suppose I haven¡¯t been contacted about it, so maybe you¡¯re right. I know they can reach out to me at will through the clergy system¡­ it¡¯s all silent.¡±


    ¡°See!? Nothing to be worried about.¡± Riven patted her shoulder and casually set his single floating totem - his work in progress - on arge stump before clicking his tongue thoughtfully. It was certainly not the best totem ever made, not even by a long shot, but to his knowledge not many people on this were using totems or able to build totems anyways. With the way rates on taxation using system stores throughout whatever Elysium Altars were present on Panu, it made a lot of sense to just make them himself. And to his knowledge there was an estimated two-dozen Elysium Altars at this current time anyways, the only one of which that had an affinity was controlled by him.


    As for the totem - it was an ¡®Icosahedron¡¯; essentially a 20-sided die, but muchrger than the dice from board games. It had 20 triangr faces on the outer surface, each face holding a rune, and was about 1 by 1 by 1 feet in dimensions. He¡¯d gone through a grand total of 32 different totem attempts before finally selecting this as a temporary final product that he¡¯d probably expand upon at someter date, and had crafted it from metal while using his magic to slice into the steel tes on the outer skeleton. Inside he¡¯d ced ground bone to help house the soul, a couple of shadow-attuned nts, had reinforced the insides with crimson ice, and something called ¡®ck Norstone¡¯ that the locals actually mined here.


    He could have used better materials for a better oue, as different materials were more or less potent concerning what runes and abilities he was infusing into the totem, but he worked with what he had.


    And the result was not bad, even if he only did have enough stuff to make just the single one of them.


    <strong>[Partially Constructed Totem of Bloodforged Rift Sparks: Status page is currently on standby. Soul Acquired, Affinity to Shadow Acquired, Sigils Acquired. Totem soul is currently absorbing the minor sigil of ck Lightning, and will reachprehension sometime within the next week. Unable to bind at this time.]</strong>


    He turned the totem around on the settled stump, watching the different runes on each triangr face light up with a mixture of red and ck energies across the otherwise t metal surfaces. The soul inside it touched his own, and it shuddered when he sent a pulse of warm intentions into it.


    During the past couple days he¡¯de to understand just one single thing that he¡¯d seemed to have missed during his previous studies of totems. It was that, despite some people using totems that were only controlled by soul shards - those that used entire souls actually created what was essentially a body or a vessel for that particr soul.


    How aware that soul was¡­ that was an entirely different question. He had no idea. He didn¡¯t even know if it was the soul itself or the brain of the organism that dictated awareness or thought patterns, and it was something he¡¯d have to ask Allie aboutter on in case she knew.


    Or perhaps Instructor dius from the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯spound¡­


    Yeah. Actually that wasn¡¯t such a bad idea.


    Perhaps he¡¯d even go today. Heading back to Brightsville was probably a priority thing to do anyway given Allie¡¯s recent ascent, and he didn¡¯t know just how people of the necropolis would act concerning recent events.


    Especially all the elves, orcs, dwarves, goblins, ratkin, and humans that had been turned into undead variants of themselves. Not to mention the other cities or small countries that¡¯d started developing on what the system called ¡®Umbra¡¯ - as their continent.


    He might even have a riot on his hands by the time he got back.

 Chapter 239

    Chapter 239


    <strong>Chapter 239</strong>


    Colonel Landers pped aside a rock that one of the civilians threw his way as the boos and roars of disapproval echoed in his ears. The press conference was not going well, and his strike against the Thanes by taking down General Bruner and the mayor of Chicago were being seen by a lot of the poption as a power grab by a tyrant - even despite the world-ending potential the two Thanes had. Two of the news stations were even openly painting him as a viin without even attempting to hide their disgust - with calls for the people to rise up or wait for Riven to arrive and reim the city.


    What shortsightedness.


    It appeared that there were still just as many supporters of the Thanes as there were people scared enough to want this rebellion, and his orders to block off the wormhole had led to a bloodbath between groups of their own people as firefights erupted across dissenters and loyalists that still remembered how Riven had saved them all during the Azag Hive Cluster¡¯s attack. That same picture was being painted here to a lesser extent between people in the crowd and news stations, with many small fights happening within the crowds and guards needing to take many people away in handcuffs over the immense amount of angry shouting; smack dab in the middle of downtown Chicago.


    Many of these people also still had family on the other side that were now changed into undead themselves, who¡¯d even managed to contact their family one way or another, and the blockade had seen many of those same people trying to get home jailed or outright killed in the small battles or firefights at the wormhole¡¯s entrance.


    His ns were not unfolding as he¡¯d intended, but thankfully he¡¯d been nning for this moment a very long time. Rebellions were not born within hours, and Colonel Landers had been preparing this one ever since realizing his fellow citizens of Earth had been led down a spiraling, sinful path.


    A path led by monstrous vampires.


    By bloodsucking abominations, and his assumptions on the two Thane siblings had only been recognized by how brutal Allie¡¯s actions concerning the Tereen elves had been - or how Riven had taken the side of overgrown rats over the more human-like dwarves. Allie was even called ¡®The Butcher of Carnis¡¯ after wiping out an entire army of high elves, not taking any prisoners, torturing their officers, and burning down the entire town of Carnis as the elf civilians inside screamed and begged for mercy.


    She was evil, and back on Earth this kind of behavior never would have held water in any civilized country. She needed to be put down.The balding man turned around and left the stage without looking back, realizing that his attempts to calm the popce by public opinion weren¡¯t going to work - and that he¡¯d have to resort to more violent methods after all.


    Not that it mattered. He was doing this for the good of the, and for his children¡¯s children. He would not let Panu fall into the hands of treacherous monsters such as these, especially now that Allie had sped up that timeline of world-wide disaster to the 9th degree when she gained the ability to terraform the world.


    Adjusting his nano-tech armor suit that looked like it was straight out of a space-rted sci-fi warrior mixup, Colonel Landers was nked by four other cyborgs carrying guns - walking past a guarded perimeter and into one of the downtown buildings that he¡¯d been using as a base of operations to n this rebellion. Others just like him, ones that¡¯d joined his cause over the past months, had been recruited to help organize what he¡¯d already known wasing.


    A woman in uniform saluted at his approach near an elevator going up as other military personnel walked back and forth or through the halls, adjusting her posture to be even more straight than it¡¯d been before. ¡°Sir! The Romanovs are waiting for you upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, private.¡± Colonel Landers didn¡¯t even look her way and continued onto the elevator with the five other people escorting him, before hitting the button and sping his hands behind his back as the elevator doors shut.


    Ten storiester and with a ding, those same doors opened up into a long hallway leading directly to a set of double doors. Six of his own men were positioned on the left side, while six other figures dressed in familiar ck sunsses, trench coats, shortly cut uniform sets of hair and dark purple vests. None of them carried any weapons, or at least they didn¡¯t APPEAR to do so, but he knew better. These Russians weren¡¯t anything to mess around with.


    The doors swung open, and inside a pristine white room with silver furniture and a sky top view of the city were two more men and a woman wearing simr trench coats. They were some of the higher-ups of the Romanov Mafia family, one that¡¯d excelled in the integration and hadnded them a solid foundation for a budding empire of their own further down the southern coast. They¡¯d conquered a small kingdom from one of the other two merged worlds already, and had two of their members in the Paragon¡¯s Top 1000 Ranker list - both of which were standing here in this very room.


    These were Colonel¡¯s insurance policy against the Thanes. He only needed to catch one of the Thane siblings alone and isted, while the other was away.


    It <strong>was</strong> possible.


    <strong>[Vri Romanov, Level 119 Arcane Assassin, Human. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Helena Romanov, Level 123 Arcane Assassin, Human. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Brutis Romanov, Level 108 Arcane Assassin, Human. ELITE.]</strong>


    Vri had distinctly chiseled features and a scar running down his left cheek, sitting on a couch with arms folded in a leaned-back position. His sister Helena Romanov had long brown hair with a tight-lipped demeanor while sipping on a ss of vodka. Brutis remained hunched over, hooded, and appeared to be half-asleep - though Colonel Landers was pretty sure this was to put people off their guard rather than it truly being a case of exhaustion.


    ¡°You¡¯rete!¡± Helen muttered irritably in a heavy Russian ent, setting down her crystal ss of alcohol and spitting to the side. ¡°We¡¯ve prepared months for this and NOW you decide to bezy? Do you realize what kind of prize Elysium will grant us if we¡¯re able to kill a Legendary Ranked World Boss? We don¡¯t know when Riven will teleport back in, but we can assume it will be astronomically good. Please do not jeopardize our ns by stalling because you want to maintain a good public image.¡±


    Colonel Landers red at the woman, but then remembered who it was he was ring at and quickly took a seat across from her. The eyes of the three Russians followed him, and his escort took up positions behind him on the back side of the silver couch. ¡°You were right, I should have made the call sooner. Be assured that before you leave here today, the men under mymand will make quick work of whatever naysayers remain on this side of the portal.¡±


    ¡°And Brightsville?¡± Helena asked curiously, twirling a strand of her dark brown hair between two fingers while crossing her legs.


    ¡°It is already done.¡± Colonel Landers confirmed with a curt nod. ¡°The bombs all went off as expected, we massacred all of the undead around the opposite side of the wormhole. We also left Bruner¡¯s head as a warning with an attached message for whenever Riven¡¯s locked ability teleports him back. It should be enough to enrage him and force him to act, he¡¯ll being across soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Any VIP¡¯s killed?¡±


    ¡°By the st? No one else in their leadership was confirmed dead outside of General Bruner when I shot him dead, but Allie is far underground at this point and has lost contact with anyone topside and Riven is sure toe barreling through that wormhole as soon as he figures out what happened.¡±


    Vri Romanov chuckled in a deep, masculine growl. ¡°You are pretty brutal, Colonel Landers. I did not truly expect you to follow through on your end of the deal.¡±


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Colonel Landers gave the other, bigger man a deep set scowl. ¡°Unlike you three, who are in it for the power and treasures Elysium will grant you for the kill, I am in it to save our. I am fighting for the very right of our species to live on Panu. Of course I would hold up my end of the deal.¡±


    Helena rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve been ying this game of betrayal far too long to im that, we¡¯ve been nning this for months now. I think you may just find vampires and undead as sub-human creatures not worthy of you, or perhaps it is the negative charisma everyone on the forums keeps talking about. But truthfully it doesn¡¯t matter to me, concerning the reasons why. Even if I do think you¡¯re just like us in many ways.¡±


    Colonel Landers tly ignored the woman, turning his head to Vri Romanov - the leader of their group and the other Paragon ranker aside from Helena. ¡°You guaranteed me that you¡¯d be able to finish Riven off whenever hees through. Are you sticking by that?¡±


    The Russians all snorted simultaneously, and Vri sat up straight from where he¡¯d been in a leaned-back position. ¡°Of course. We wouldn¡¯t be here if we didn¡¯t think we could do it, obviously. It is known that Riven is weak against rogues and assassins, and we are some of the very best. Do you have the wormhole locked down?¡±


    ¡°No, there is some infighting going on between my men and the loyalists, but they¡¯ll be crushed soon enough. Most of the ones standing in our way are either being dealt with now, or are already imprisoned or dead.¡±


    ¡°Will you be able to activate the seclusion rune to lock him down?¡± Helena asked, pulling out a silver-infused dagger the size of her forearm and licking one side of the de with a giggle. ¡°I¡¯d rather he not try to run!¡±


    Chuckles from her tworades echoed in the pristine white room around them, and Colonel Landers gave her a nod. ¡°We¡¯ve had it functional for a long time now, we integrated it into the defensive measures originally set up under the guise of additional monitoring enchantments. Some of our very best mechanics were in on the job. When he arrives, the trap will trigger. You¡¯ll be notified and you¡¯ll be able to take him out without much of a fight¡­¡±


    Colonel Landers narrowed his eyes in concern when he saw Helena¡¯s left eye begin to collect a tear of blood underneath the eyelid, before it dripped down her pale white cheek. Nothing else seemed amiss though, and she didn¡¯t even seem to notice. ¡°Helena, are you alright?¡±


    Helena¡¯s eyebrows furrowed, and another dagger flipped out of a sheath along her hip. ¡°Of course I¡¯m alright!¡±


    *CRUNCH*


    Simultaneously both of her arms swung back, crashing each dagger through the throats and into the cervical spines of both Vri and Brutis with the activation of a piercing martial art. Both immediately went limp, wide eyed, and crumpled to the floor as the thuds of bodies hitting the floor behind Colonel Landers sounded out as he attempted to scramble back in shock.


    However, he didn¡¯t make it more than a couple of inches off the couch before a thin red thread was wrapped around his neck and yanked back - choking him, pulling him onto the couch, and cutting deep into his skin.


    He iled, using his abnormally high strength to try and peel away from whatever assassin was attempting to strangle him - and his stamina channels red while attempting to activate various abilities.


    Not only did he not seed in peeling away from the massive amount of strength behind that abnormally reinforced red thread digging into his windpipe, but not a single one of his abilities activated before being snuffed out by a localized and overwhelming aura of dread.


    He coughed, choked, iled and spluttered, as the room around him began to change.


    Instead of what had once been a pristine white room was now covered in blood. Tables at the far end were overturned, and the guards in the hallway that¡¯d been there earlier were now disemboweled, nailed to the walls, or hung from the ceiling in death.


    Along with the change in the red-sttered room came the figures of two very recognizable demons and a third woman Colonel Bruner did not recognize. On one side of the opposite couch was the blue-skinned subus, Fay, who had a mischievous grin on her face while her slender ck tail pped against the cushions to the right of Vri¡¯s twitching body like a dog¡¯s would. Behind her was Azmoth, who looked rather bored with all four arms folded in front of him. Then,stly, there was a hooded blonde woman with crimson tattoos - wearing a red metal headdress over a formfitting ck robe - sitting in a meditative pose further beyond the couch while some kind of blood-based ability was being channeled around her.


    The subus whispered something into Helena¡¯s ear, and the woman responded in kind by answering her as more blood continued running out of her eyes - a wide smile stered across her face.


    Fay and the arcane assassin continued speaking in hushed whispers for a couple minutes, until she eventually nodded and looked across the room to a hooded figure standing next to a window - looking out at the crowds far below where brawls and acts of unrest were continuing to break out.


    Colonel Landers wasn¡¯t beingpletely strangled yet, given that the person behind him was letting him gasp from time to time, but he was still in a state of panic. However he felt himself go absolutely cold upon seeing Riven Thane turn his gaze, and the colonel began to fight even harder to try and squirm out of what was essentially an unbreakable wire cutting into his neck.


    ¡°We¡¯re finished obtaining your requested information.¡± Fay stated, standing up and bowing to her master with an elegant swish of her long white hair.


    Riven didn¡¯t reply, but nodded and began walking their way. His bootsteps clicked against the white tile floor, before sshing in puddles of blood, until he came to a stop in front of Helena Romanov with a stoic expression. Raising one hand, ws of crystalized blood began to form over his fingers and he gripped the assassin¡¯s face while lifting her up off the floor.


    She continued to bleed from her eyes while her body hung limply in his grip, but Colonel Landers could tell she was now regaining some of her own functions back from whatever spell, ability or ritual these people were casting by the way her muscles started twitching and she began to hiss between bouts of seemingly random jerks.


    His eyes flicked towards the meditating woman channeling some kind of ability on the couch nearby, an elf by the looks of it, and then he went back to staring at the scene in front of him.


    Riven¡¯s single, wed hand began to grip harder, and a loud whimper began toe out of Helena¡¯s lips when his fingers started digging into her skin. Cuts turned into deep gashes, and Helena let out a muffled sob while her body continued to jerk as something in her jaw-bone snapped.


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    Helena¡¯s eyes went wide, and with a shriek her head exploded in a shower of gore.


    The assassin¡¯s body dropped to the ground like a rag doll, and joined the other two Romanov¡¯s to add to the dead bodies littering the room.


    ¡°Mr. Landers¡­¡± Riven stated calmly, taking a seat where Helena had been sitting only a minute ago - and scooting her carcass over to make way for his legs with a few pokes of his boot-covered toe. His red eyes calmly evaluated the partially asphyxiated military man while his fingers inteced. ¡°It appears that we¡¯vee to a conclusion concerning your attempted rebellion quite a bit faster than what General Bruner had anticipated. I must admit, I hadn¡¯t expected Allie to transcend like she did - but assumed whoever you were working with would likely take the opportunity to show themselves as soon as I saw the world-wide notification. It would be now or never, so to speak, because you wouldn¡¯t risk taking us both on at the same time after Allie¡¯s power up. Oh no, that¡¯d be too risky and you¡¯d all prepared for it for so, so long.¡±


    The door to the room opened up again, and the familiar form of General Bruner stepped inside - apanied by a couple of the elites of the Necropolis. A couple cyborgs, death knights, deathtouched enlightened with gray skin and neon-teal eyes that¡¯d once been human, and necromancers flowed inside to silently wait on the sidelines while Colonel Landers just gawked.


    ¡°Look-alike zombies can be a tricky thing to distinguish from the real deal, if your necromancer is good enough. You never actually killed General Bruner to begin with.¡± Riven stated tly, stifling a yawn and shaking his head. ¡°It really is a shame that people had to die for this, but your actions would have likely caused far more deaths if we¡¯d just killed you and didn¡¯t put this situation with the Romanovs down early. They were very sneaky bastards. Even when they arrived here and fell into our own trap it took quite a bit of time for Genua to possess the woman. Fay had to work extra hard to keep the hallucinations around all of you going, and thebination of Fay¡¯s silvertongue plus Genua¡¯s possession allowed us to dig through Helena¡¯s mind quite easily. Thank you though, for delivering them right to us. Now that they¡¯re out of the way, I think I¡¯ll be paying the rest of their mafia family a little visit as a reminder to the world that I am not above killing thousands of people to get a point across. Not anymore, anyways. Now¡­¡±


    Riven gestured the Colonel¡¯s way, and strings of blood snaked their way through the air before tightening around Colonel Landers¡¯ phone. The threads plucked the phone right out of the man¡¯s pocket, and it was set on the table inbetween the two couches where Helena¡¯s half-finished ss of vodka still rested.


    With a single finger, Riven pressed the button to turn the phone on - and he turned it around for Colonel Landers to get a good look at the screen.


    ¡°Call off your men, and publicly surrender. People are dying needlessly right now. Ath, you can let up on the string.¡±


    Immediately Colonel Landers gasped and began coughing violently when Ath¡¯s thread retracted, and the archdemon lowered her head to whisper a chuckle into the pale man¡¯s ear.


    ¡°I will do no such thing!¡± Colonel Landers hissed, shaking in his seat. ¡°You are an abomination! Your sister will lead us into disaster! We cannot-¡±


    Riven interrupted him with a flick of his wrist, and a spike of crimson ice tore through Colonel Laner¡¯s right knee.


    The man screamed, dropping to the ground and writhing in pain while Riven stared emotionlessly down at the man.


    Riven nced down at the time disyed on the other man¡¯s phone, then let out a soft, slow exhale. ¡°General Bruner, bring his wife in here. I¡¯m sure once we start prying off her fingers one by one with pliers, he might be more willing to cooperate with us.¡±

 Chapter 240

    Chapter 240


    <strong>Chapter 240</strong>


    Gaia stood atop hills of vampire corpses, remnants of the Rippenvire forces that¡¯de from their imprisonment in the stockyards. The transformed demigoddess was already incredibly displeased at the change she¡¯d undergone, and she¡¯d been even more angry that they¡¯d targeted harmless civilians on the outskirts of Brightsville when finally encountering resistance. Bodies could be repaired and evolved, shaped into what she¡¯d want after time had passed, but the loss of life from people she had promised to protect could not so easily be forgiven.


    And her arrival at the scene had led to a very swift and brutal end for all those involved.


    Instead of the small child-like figure she¡¯d once worn, her new body was now that of an enormous, carnivorous tree. Her roots buried themselves into the mounds of drying-up flesh as they sucked in the lifeblood of the vampires she stood on. Her dark gray bark had pulsing red veins running up along her body all over, running into bright red leaves. Spiked vines trailed off her branches and trunk, and dragged the few vampires who were still alive towards her. The vines sucked their bodily fluids up and drained them just as easily as they drained mortals - leaving only withered husks behind before smashing them into dust.


    Her gray skin, her bark - snapped and crunched while she moved, arms swaying at her sides, taking her step by step over the battlefield and smashing corpses underneath her weight. Slowly, monotonously, she and the other turned dryads that¡¯d be unholy treants alongside her were juggernauts of destruction shambling towards their enemies. Each step they took shook the earth underneath.


    And all the while, her pitch ck eyes were deadset - staring out her wooden face carved into the front of her mid-trunk while the vampires gathered up again for a counter attack. So enraged the vampires were at having their god shunned by Allie Thane, so firm was their belief, that they¡¯d be fanatical - disregarding their own lives in an attempt to wreak havoc and pain on the offending team.


    But Gaia had her own anger to dish out, and it was her rage that would ovee. She did not me Allie for what had happened, but she needed an outlet to vent her wrath.


    The leaves in her canopy rustled and billowed, whipping up and tearing off her branches in a storm of red leaves that was soon joined by the numerous others of her newly born kin. The sky was soon filled, and - sharpening - the raging storm of leaves bore down on Gaia¡¯s enemies.


    ***Allie gently glided down, farther and farther she went, until her bone-made boots lightly touched on the surface of an exquisite mosaic made out of stone. The souls of the dead were leading her through the passages at a fast pace, many of which had actually been the precursors she¡¯d only recently killed that she¡¯d forced into submission. Unfortunately their minds were mostly jumbled, and she felt like the touch of some foreign entity had made it so that she¡¯d be unable to ess any valuable information they may have.


    And yet, that foreign entity had still allowed her to ess the path down.


    That troubled her, but she had nothing else to go on and thebyrinth was enormous.


    Aztec-like designs simr to the jewelry and armbands the precursors wore decorated the t, perfectly circr art piece that spanned many hundreds of yards across - depicting various kinds of worship to an ancient deity long forgotten. The creature they worshiped, prayed to, and sacrificed victims to was a one-eyed, fanged creature of pale blue skin with four humanoid arms and feathered wings as ck as hers.


    Behind her, and carried by ghosts and phantoms under hermand, were all the other necromancers she¡¯d brought with her; alongside Fimrindle, who looked uncharacteristically sheepish after the hard re she¡¯d given him earlier. They hadn¡¯t talked yet, but that was certainly going to happen after she¡¯d learned of his actions from the spirits.


    Allie continued over to the far wall, her silver-gray halo lightly glowing the same color of her eyes while her footsteps clicked against the mosaic underneath. Ahead of her was another tunnel entrance ripped from the side of the deep shaft they¡¯d floated down - and beside it on tworge spikes were a set of impaled naked bodies she didn¡¯t recognize. However, these were vampire bodies - and not the precursor type. Gingerly touching the silent scream of one¡¯s face, she closed her eyes and reached into the void.


    The soul still attached to it flickered in her mind¡¯s eye, only brief images lighting up in her mind of the previous life it''d had, and soon the transfer of knowledge was over with. She was lucky it hadn¡¯t been lost to the beyond yet, and smiled while retracting her hand. It was too damaged to salvage, so she bid it farewell and let the little soul drift into the darkness.


    ¡°Survivors of the Bernzee covens came this way.¡± Allie confidently stated, folding her wings tightly behind her and started down the tunnel. ¡°We¡¯re on the right path after all. Follow me.¡±


    Twists and turns, signs of recent battle, and dried bloodstains stering the ancient scripts of the hallways thebyrinth was building. Leading out intorge caves, the tunnels soon disappeared entirely - letting Allie¡¯s group bask in the amazing sight of an entirely new world underneath the topyer of Panu¡¯s crust.


    And it almost truly was an entirely new world.


    A false sun of some sort radiated light down into the world, though it was far dimmer from the real version and was partially obscured by clouds and mists that also blocked off most of the ceiling. The cavern before them was so wide she couldn¡¯t see the opposite end, having numerous dips and mountains within it that hinted at morendscapes being blocked from view, so Allie had no real measure of just what size it was. She stood at the edge of a cliff, the ground at least a solid mile below. There were stone steps leading downwards across the cliff edge and into a marsh where an entire ecosystem was brilliantly colored with a tapestry of yellows, reds, cks, greens, oranges, or any other she could think of.


    And there, far in the distance, was a t-topped pyramid that dwarfed even the tallest skyscrapers from Brightsville.


    This was not what she¡¯d been expecting, but it was certainly beautiful.


    <strong>[You have entered the Fallen Vampiric Elder God¡¯s Realm. World Quest 4 Update Avable.]</strong>


    <strong>[World Quest 4, Blood of the Fallen God:</strong><strong> An unnamed vampiric elder god has fallen from grace after having sinned against the Elysium Administrator. The elder god has been trapped within a hidden, guardedbyrinth in the deepest levels of the underdark, and you must stop him from awakening. Advanced details HAVE BEEN PARTIALLY UNLOCKED:</strong><ul><li><strong>UPDATE 1:</strong><strong> You have found clues to thebyrinth¡¯s location in the depths of the underdark, the resting ce of the fallen vampiric elder god, but found yourself cornered by heretics in defiance of the one true mantle of Blood God. Why did the native vampires here in Bernzee contact you for help? What was the reason that they journeyed out from the deep parts of the world to do so? Your answers will be found at the Labyrinth¡¯s location, should you manage to survive.</strong></li><li><strong>UPDATE 2:</strong><strong> You have been led through thebyrinth by the souls of the dead, and have found what was once a fragment of the inner-world of the fallen elder god - though his current state does not allow him to retain it within his soul any longer. You still do not know why you were contacted by the Bernzee, but signs of their flight through the underdark point to their trek leading here. Find out what the distant temple holds, and perhaps even find thest of the Bernzee covens - if they remain, for more answers.]</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°Fimrindle.¡± Her head turned, glowing gray eyes shifting to the reaper with a stoic expression as he bowed. The irritation in her built just by looking at him, but then her eyes fell upon his status screen - and then hers¡­ and she let the tension in her shoulders rx slightly.


    <strong>[Fimrindle, Level 159 Reaper of Souls Initiate, Demon-Undead Hybrid, Unique: The Iron Scarecrow. LEGENDARY.]</strong>


    <strong>[Allie Thane, Level 160 Angel of Death, Primary ss in Transitory State, Hero of Death, Lost Princess of the Blood Moon Requiem, Apostate of the Blood God. LEGENDARY. PANU WORLD BOSS FOR WORLD QUEST 7.]</strong>


    ¡°Yes, mistress?¡± The reaper asked, ck cloak made from shadows billowing around him like a living thing. His metal hands gripped his scythe and he got onto his knees in a bowing position, head lowered subserviently ¡°What is it that you ask of me?¡±


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Allie gestured to the temple in the distance as roars echoed far from down below. She kept her eyes locked on the distant building even despite the swarming hundreds and then thousands of precursors tearing through the forests and marsnds in her direction. ¡°Find out what resides there, and if you can - find the Bernzee refugees. Do not die, Fimrindle, for even though your contract is unique and you are a partially demonic entity - I am not sure I¡¯d be able to summon you back upon death if I am not present to take your soul back. Have you ever died under contract before?¡±


    ¡°I have not, mistress.¡±


    ¡°Then you do not know either?¡±


    ¡°I believe I¡¯d be able toe back unless skewered with a de blessed by themandments, simr to how Ath was killed previously.¡±


    ¡°I see. Regardless, be careful. We will talk more about your schemingter¡­ I am still not pleased that you put my life in danger so flippantly - even despite the oues.¡±


    Fimrindle abruptly nodded, then turned and vanished in the blink of an eye.


    The other necromancers were now gathered along the cliff¡¯s edge as well. They all watched the iing swarm of angry, desperate, and crazed people of another age racing towards them up the stone steps in the cliff¡¯s face; or watched them literally w their way up the side of the steep drop by tearing their ws into stone.


    ¡°They are like rabid animals¡­¡± Mara muttered under her breath as the howls drew nearer. ¡°I have only seen this kind of fanaticism in mindless undead, not in those who are still sentient.¡±


    Allie opened her spatial sack, and pulled out the weapon that The Scythe had given her. The long, gray de red with neon teal runes as she held it aloft - and she admired the wicked edge on either side that came down to a handle engraved with depictions of hooded wraiths and skeletons.


    <strong>[de of Soulcry (Divine ymore, E-Grade, Death Attuned): ???]</strong>


    ¡°I believe they are desperate.¡± Allie eventually said, after getting a feel for the weight of the weapon - allowing the energies inside the ymore merge with her own in a wave of energy that almost shocked her system.


    She blinked a couple times to regain herposure, then shuddered as she felt the weapon¡¯s energy stabilize with intertwining mana channels that were somehow built into the de connect to hers.


    Mara, Nin, Vin, and two of the other necromancers curiously nced her way while the others continued peering over the ledge at the oing horde.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Mara asked. ¡°Why desperate?¡±


    ¡°Those are the remnant emotions their souls leave behind.¡± Allie stated sadly, sinking the de into the stone floor rather easily by a foot deep before turning to look at the others who¡¯d followed her here. ¡°They may have a quest of their own, such as to keep their elder god safe until he awakens in five years. That¡¯s only a guess, but it¡¯s certainly a possibility. What happens if they don¡¯t? Will they be hunted down, orpletely wiped out by Elysium itself? Are they tied to him somehow? Whatever the reason, they certainly aren¡¯t going to talk to us about it - but that doesn¡¯t mean we won¡¯t fight back. It is us, or them, until proven otherwise.¡±


    Allie pulled up another notification screen under her status page, and grinned at the information on disy. Forming one of these would increase their XP share, and if she was about to wipe the floor with thousands of enemies, she wanted to make sure her loyalists ascended with her climb.


    It was hard to find good employees, or good friends.


    <strong>[You must create a guild with the ¡®Create Guild¡¯mand prior to utilizing this page. You must have at least 3 people to create a guild.]</strong>


    Mentally she selected all twelve of the necromancers standing nearby. Each of them whipped their heads around to stare at her as they got their own notifications, then eagerly selected the option to agree to the terms.


    ¡°Create Guild - Fallen Wings.¡±


    <strong>[Guild Name: Fallen Wings</strong>


    <strong>Guild World Rank: 5</strong>


    <strong>Current World Registered: Panu</strong>


    <strong>Guild Roster: 13/20</strong><ul><li><strong>Allie Thane, Level 160, Primary ss in Transitory State, </strong><strong>Guild Leader</strong></li><li><strong>Mara, Level 82, Voidstar Necromancer</strong></li><li><strong>Vin, Level 83, Blight Necromancer Adept</strong></li><li><strong>Nin, Level 80, Blight Necromancer Adept</strong></li><li><strong>star, Level 71, Swarm Necromancer Adept</strong></li><li><strong>Enivia, Level 70, Bloodsoaked Necromancer Adept</strong></li><li><strong>Porish, Level 79, Blight Necromancer Adept</strong></li><li><strong>Letti, Level 81, Swarm Necromancer Adept</strong></li><li><strong>Zakarivi, Level 75, Curselore Necromancer</strong></li><li><strong>Quesilina, Level 69, Haunted Necromancer Adept</strong></li><li><strong>Bret, Level 66, Necromancer Farcaster</strong></li><li><strong>Rush, Level 74, Twilight Necromancer</strong></li><li><strong>David, Level 78, Necromancer Deathsworn</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Faction: None, Link to a Faction Network of guilds for this feature to be avable</strong><ul><li><strong>Faction Archives and Forums: N/A</strong></li><li><strong>Faction Wars: N/A</strong></li><li><strong>Other Guilds in Faction: N/A</strong></li><li><strong>System Faction Events & Invites: None</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Current Guild Bonuses:</strong><ul><li><strong>Tier 1 Guild, XP share bonus set at baseline of 5%.</strong></li><li><strong>Guild Shops: None, Link to a Merchant-ss Attendant for this option to be avable</strong></li><li><strong>Guild Hall: None, Link to Guild Hall for this feature to be avable</strong><ul><li><strong>Attendants: N/A</strong></li><li><strong>Homeward Teleportation: N/A</strong></li></ul></li><li><strong>Guild Investments: None, Link to an Elysium Fund for this feature to be avable</strong></li><li><strong>System Guild Events, Raids, Quests, & Invites:</strong><ul><li><strong>World Quest 4, Blood of the Fallen God</strong></li></ul></li><li><strong>Guild Titles & Achievements: None</strong></li><li><strong>Guild Blessings: None</strong></li><li><strong>Mercenary Status: Avable]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[With creation of your guild ¡®Fallen Wings¡¯, the </strong><strong>World Quest 4, Blood of the Fallen God</strong><strong>has been applied to your guild information. All XP will now have a bonus of 5% to total original XP and will be distributed across all guild members that are involved in the battle to at least a small degree.]</strong>


    Allie reviewed the information twice over and gave a satisfactory nod. Now that she was sure her efforts would benefit her friends too, she took her wand in her left hand and gripped the handle of her sword in her right. ¡°Hold the top of the cliff, I will be supporting you from the skies.¡±


    With a blur of motion she bent her knees, spread her wings, andunched herself off the cliff¡¯s edge - soaring into the air and reveling in the feeling of her newfound power of flight. It was even better than riding Tyranus, but she did wish the drake could have fit down here in the tunnels of the underdark - he¡¯d certainly have been a massive help.


    Turning in the air and raising her wand, strings of death mana exploded from her position and ripped downwards into the oing swarm that were racing up the cliff face. The necromancers on the ledge began to conjure magics of their own, pouring clouds of green, noxious fumes over the side while res of neon teal fire, bone spikes, and clouds of shadow-made crows came over the edge like an avnche.


    Area-of-effect magics came soon after, with ck diagrams and pentagrams drawing themselves in the air over the necromancers¡¯ defensive position that empowered them and created one-way barriers at various stages down the cliff - making it harder for the swarm to climb up.


    Allie continued to carve out huge swaths of the iing enemies, dragging the strings of death from her wand across the cliff face that sprayed rubble and body parts - somewhat akin to carving open a watermelon with a chainsaw. Screams erupted from the abnormally fast precursors and soon she found herself bombarded with various magics of a deep blue color, simr to the strange blood attacks she¡¯d experienced the day before.


    She merely shrugged them off, deflecting one blue orb after the other with a swipe of her ymore. The de shattered the spells when not absolutely bouncing them off into another direction, and took zero damage despite dispelling so much energy. And as they became more numerous, enemies pouring out of the woods to race upwards or fire mana-infused projectiles her way while she dodged and weaved in the air while continuing to st those climbing up the cavern towards her friends - she began muttering the incantation for her Tier 3 spell ¡°Eye of the Scythe.¡±


    Her arms and hands made the proper movements, and a tear in space overhead covered thend in teal light as the eye of some malevolent god looked down at the iing horde with disgust.


    Bodies withered, precursors screamed, and thend underneath them shattered under the force of her newly empowered mana channels that flooded the skill with everything she had. The de of Soulcry in her hand responded as well, simmering with the power of True Death, as an explosion of gray engulfed a mile-wide area in an immense aura of power.


    ***


    Karlita gagged and coughed, spitting bile and nearly tripping over her own feet while desperately trying to w at the door for some kind oftch or switch. Her red eyes were producing streams of tears that glistened against her pale cheeks, and her heartbeat thudded in her chest over the deep gasps she made while the screams of her friends and family echoed in the chamber beyond.


    ¡°Please! By the Blood God, there has to be something here!!! We¡¯vee so far!¡±


    Her nails scratched against an ancient, rusted lock - catching and pulling out dirt from what was obviously a keyhole.


    Her eyes brightened, and with a strangted, terrifiedugh she fumbled the key in her hands to bring it towards the lock.


    It fit.


    ¡°YESSSS!!!¡± Karlita screamed in victory, and she heard the mechanism click when she turned it in her hand.


    The huge door groaned, then swung open in a showering spray of dust and debris.


    She only backed up a moment, but one look over her shoulder told her that she needed to move now and fast.


    ¡°KARLITA, WAIT FOR ME!¡± Her elder sister called back to her - scrambling through the small hallway and shoving another of their coven to the side; but the precursors were on her heels.


    Karlita couldn¡¯t wait. Otherwise, they¡¯d both die.


    With a look of shame and stifling a sob, Karlita only held the door open the briefest moment to see her sister¡¯s heel get caught by a diving, pale blue abomination that quickly started dragging her back.


    Her sister screamed in horror as a jagged w cut into her calf muscle. ¡°KARLITA, HELP ME!!!¡±


    Karlita¡¯s heart clenched, and with a sob - she mmed the door behind her. The mechanism locked back into ce, and through the thick stone b she could hear her sister¡¯s horrified screams, sobs, and begging echo through the chamber until the sounds of crunching, muffled gags, and gurgles came next.


    Soon the battle had stopped, leaving Karlita as the veryst living vampire of the Bernzee covens on the face of Panu.


    Shaking violently and pulling herself into a fetal position, she continued to cry for the next few hours until she managed to finally fall into a light sleep¡­ One full of only nightmares, regrets, and horrors.

 Chapter 241

    Chapter 241


    <strong>Chapter 241</strong>


    Riven sat in a chair overlooking the city, while a bloodied Colonel Landersy curled in the fetal position not far off. The mental toll of having watched a fake illusionary replica of his wife undergo brutal torture for over twenty minutes had done him a real number, though he¡¯d somewhat recovered after realizing it was faked just to get him to call off his men.


    ¡°Thest remnants of rebellions in Chicago are nearly put down, it will bepleted within the hour.¡± General Bruner stated inly, hands sped behind his back and standing next to Riven¡¯s chair. ¡°Gaia has crushed an uprising stemming from where we kept all those Rippenvire soldiers. A few of them held back, but all other vampires were killed. Gaia wishes to speak with Allie about her changes when the queen gets back, your majesty. I do not believe she is happy, but I don¡¯t think she holds animosity towards your sister for what happened either.¡±


    ¡°What of Deepnest?¡± Riven asked, not taking his eyes off the city streets below where hundreds of rebels had been chained up in lines - more adding to their number as the hour passed.


    General Bruner cleared his throat ufortably. ¡°Communication lines have gone absolutely silent from our forces in the underdark. Both from the diplomats stationed in Deepnest right after they sent that final message, and from our forces upying the two dwarvish cities we conquered not long ago.¡±


    Riven clicked his tongue in irritation, standing slowly and holding out both arms. Messenger vaporized behind him and opened up wide, mping down along his upper body and sealing his head shut in the ivory helmet. Jackal came next, jumping up from its squatting position on the floor and changing from canine to spear-staff form in an instant. The metal greaves camest, and Riven turned around to eye the general with a calm and collected gaze behind the metal encasing his face. ¡°Repeat thest message those diplomats sent, just one more time for me. I¡¯d like to make sure I wasn¡¯t hearing things.¡±


    General Bruner grimaced, but kept himselfposed and his posture straight. ¡°I believe it was ¡®The ratkin queen seeks vengeance.¡¯ That was thest ryed message before alls were cut.¡±


    Riven took in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, turning back to the window one final time. ¡°I see. Are there any other rebellions or betrayals I need to know about?¡±


    General Bruner shook his head. ¡°No, my king. Dawn and Tereen remain in a state of shock but have had no uprisings or social problems urring, outside of a few pockets of very upset priests from one of Dawn¡¯s temples. The elves were more or less beaten into submission a while ago and have caused us no problems.¡±Riven nodded then created a portal through Jackle¡¯s perk. ¡°I¡¯ll be backter. Keep things under control in my absence. Contact Gurth¡¯Rok and Dr. Brass if you need any help, though I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re rather busy themselves at the moment.¡±


    ¡°May I start things off with a retaliatory strike first, my king?¡±


    ¡°I do believe that¡¯s in order as long as we keep our losses to a minimum. Those Russian mafia guys have iting, you have my full permission to utilize whatever forces you desire to aplish this - but don¡¯t get too aggressive without me. That¡¯d just result in needless casualties, and they¡¯ve built up a small empire of their own from the reports you sent me. In fact¡­¡±


    Riven gestured to Ath. ¡°She¡¯ll be staying with you to help. That way I¡¯ll be sure your men have a real siege breaker in my absence. Crush them into dust.¡±


    Ath grinned widely with a p of her hands and a giggle - and General Bruner nodded in appreciation.


    With a snap of Riven¡¯s fingers, his two other demons and Genua all filed through the portal - leaving General Bruner behind in the tower with Ath, a few officers and necromancers of the necropolis, and the sobbing colonel turned traitor.


    Bruner snorted the colonel¡¯s way only after a half minute of staring, then gestured to one of the guards. ¡°Get him in a cell, and make sure he doesn¡¯t ever see the light of day. Prepare the pilots for all able jets and helicopters. Have the drone fleets activated. Set up a perimeter around ournds on this side of Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole. Get me King Arthur Brix of Dawn on the line - I¡¯ll need to borrow some of his airships, rocs, and drake riders.¡±


    ¡°Sir?¡± The man replied, confused at thest statement the general made - but starting to pull Colonel Landers across the room with the help of one other man. ¡°I know it isn¡¯t my ce - but do you intend to bring the entire armada? We¡¯re still recovering from our battle against Rippenvire.¡±


    General Bruner raised an eyebrow, and then nodded. ¡°We are dering war, Captain re. Of course we¡¯re using the entire fleet, those Romanovs have iting. Who was it that said - and I quote: ¡®I know not what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It was Albert Einstein, sir. And I believe we¡¯re about to find out what World War 3 is finally capable of given our Queen¡¯s recent ascent.¡±


    ¡°That was a rhetorical question you imbecile. Now get that traitorous bastard in a cell and get me Arthur Brix!¡±


    ***


    Over the tunnel¡¯s usually guarded entrance leading into deepnest¡¯s main cavern swung two ghoul bodies, hung from the ceiling where they¡¯d been mutted beyond recognition. Their skin was also marked with some kind of disease, almost like boils and pockmarks, aside from the deep cuts where they¡¯d obviously been stabbed numerous times.


    But the si rings Allie had given them symbolizing a winged vampire skull each were worn on their otherwise stripped bodies - sending the message that these were indeed the diplomats of the Thane Necropolis.


    It was one of many symbols that Allie had been considering as a potential g for their budding empire, but she hadn¡¯t decided yet and Riven honestly didn¡¯t care what she chose.


    Of more concern at the moment was the fact that they¡¯d killed the two diplomats. No other words needed to be spoken, he knew what it meant.


    The other thing that bothered him was that this tunnel was absolutely deserted. Usually it was bustling with trading caravans or at least had people posted here to make sure the traffic in and out of Deepnest kept a certain pace. But there were no guards, no signs of conflict, and only a few signs of recent passage. Moving further into the cavern that Deepnest resided in - the underground city that¡¯d once been absolutely bustling with activity was dead silent and without activity. Not a single thing moved down there, with the tunnel-littered mounds, buildings, scaffold roadways,kes and streams all having beenpletely abandoned.


    ¡°They could have at least talked to us first instead of killing our people and abandoning the ce¡­¡± Riven muttered under his breath, moving through what was obviously a hasty, scrambling removal of all valuables from the brood nests - one after the other. Scattered baskets of spilled food, broken crates of alchemy ingredients and textiles, and a few trampled bodiesy broken in the streets.


    He knelt down with Azmoth, Fay, and Genua at his back - waiting in silence. The body of the ratkin was half-skeletal, half flesh, with smoke-like tendrils of green wafting off its body. It smelled horrid, and when Riven got close enough to reach out and touch the broken creature¡¯s corpse - his skin started crackling upon making contact with the green gaseous cloud.


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows furrowed, watching his vampiric regeneration battle the fumes. At one point even a bubbling abscess took form and burst, before healing itself over and draining away. It was very minimal damage, and quite disgusting, to the point that it was very likely other undead that weren¡¯t vampires could likely survive in the presence of the fumes for a while, but long amounts of exposure would no doubt kill the average person¡­


    His mind drifted back to the two diplomats hung over the tunnel¡¯s entrance into this abandoned ratkin city, and his eyes widened. ¡°Those ghouls back there¡­ the bodies - they were afflicted with whatever ising off this corpse.¡±


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Blight.¡± Fay stated, promptly nodding in agreement as Riven stood up. ¡°It¡¯s a rare type of undead, spreads gue. But because you¡¯re undead, if you expose yourself to enough of it you¡¯ll be immune. It won¡¯t actually kill you though. Even people with the Unholy Pir can be immune to it, but that¡¯s a bit harder to do than beingpletely undead.¡±


    ¡°Those two ghouls looked pretty dead to me, and they definitely were affected by this.¡±


    Fay shook her head. ¡°They had a reaction to the blight but they were certainly immune to any lethal damage from it. Those ghouls were doubtlessly killed by something else, like the dozens of poisoned stab wounds. I promise you, your people have nothing to fear from the blight itself other than difort. Think of it like¡­ like having a mild allergic reaction.¡±


    ¡°Mild?¡± Riven mused, grinning slightly. He held his hand out over the wafting green cloud oozing off the corpse, and made a gesture to his exposed hand as another boil burst pus and re-healed itself. ¡°That¡¯s pretty painful.¡±


    Fay rolled her eyes and adjusted her witch¡¯s hat. ¡°Yes, mild! Because no matter how long you or any other undead sits in it, that blight isn¡¯t going to kill you! Those reactions to the blight will go away after you expose yourself more and more. And the reactions that living people have in its presence are FAR more vtile than what you¡¯re experiencing right now. It¡¯s believed, theoretically, that World Quest 1 - ¡®The Lich King¡¯s gue¡¯ - is referring to this exact thing: Blight. The forums talk about how people on the outskirts of the lich¡¯s territory have sent in scouts and spies, and they think he¡¯s preparing some kind of weapon or army rted to blight.¡±


    Riven¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°Does Blight really make such an impact that he¡¯d try to spread it like a gue?¡±


    ¡°It IS a gue.¡± Fay corrected, booping him on the head with a finger and giving him a yful wink. ¡°The gue of undeath, created by followers of The Scythe back in the 2nd era far before this universe was ever created - with The Scythe being the first ever god of death. And yes, because when mortals die to blight they have a high chance of self-spawning as undead soon after. It¡¯s also highly contagious, and can be cured but it takes a significant amount of healers, priests or shamans to cleanse it from the poption when it starts spreading.¡±


    ¡°Wait, hold on. You¡¯re saying that humans will not only die from it, but then spawn as undead too? Are you being serious?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m absolutely serious.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very seriously not good.¡±


    ¡°Not good for the rest of the world! But your poption is undead now!¡±


    ¡°No, MOST of my poption is undead now. But we have three entire cities on the other side of Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole that are human-based. This could pose a very serious problem. ¡°


    Genua raised a hand to get their attention. ¡°Not to mention you need mortal people to feed on, along with the other vampires of Rippenvire who have not abandoned their pact of non aggression. If this blight kills all the living mortal races, then vampires in particr will be starved.¡±


    Riven froze at the thought. ¡°Yeah there¡¯s that too, though I doubt we have many vampires left after Gaia reported in with her ughter right outside Brightsville¡¯s borders. And what about Genua? Is she going to have a problem by being here?¡±


    Fay shook her head. ¡°No, she¡¯s a thrall and is partially undead as it is by technical standards. She¡¯d likely have a more severe and painful reaction than you do, but would still not die from it after prolonged exposure.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Riven rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looking around at the abandoned city with growing concern. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe they just got up and left though. Why would they kill our people and just move on? And for what? Because they were mad about Allie¡¯s change to the world so the took it out on us by murdering the diplomats? Our men talked about how they were seeking vengeance before they were strung up - but I don¡¯t see them anywhere and we¡¯d have seen theming if they were aiming for Brightsville through known tunnels. And the dwarvish outposts went radio silent¡­ Do you really think they did it?¡±


    ¡°Attacked Charathigog and Reathian, the dwarvish cities?¡± Fay shook her head. ¡°Possibly, but they¡¯d have lost a lot of people doing it. Themunications were probably cut off because it¡¯s so far underground and we don¡¯t have ess to themunication crystalwork we¡¯d set up through Deepnest¡¯s territory. We hadrge garrisons in each dwarvish city to maintain the peace and Allie had doubled it recently because of unauthorized raids on dwarvish civilians by hostile ratkin. My guess is that the ratkin just cut their ties and ran.¡±


    ¡°Because they know they can¡¯t win in an all out fight against us?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They knew it would be suicidal to fight out youright, and the same can probably be said for Allie too now since she just took the number 1 power ranking.¡±


    ¡°That still doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± Riven argued. ¡°Why abandon everything you¡¯ve ever known? Where would they even go? I wasn¡¯t going to attack them to begin with until they murdered our men and hung their bodies as a sign. Their behavior is very rash, especially without any chance for diplomacy.¡±


    ¡°They were just turned into gued abominations.¡± Genua stated with her hands sped in front of her, red eyes staring at the broken corpse on the ground. ¡°Of course they¡¯re angry. Angry people to irrational things, and though Allie may not have been the direct source of their dilemma - she is certainly the cause of it. They want someone to me for their misfortune.¡±


    Azmoth, who¡¯d remained silent up until now, abruptly shifted his stance and pointed to a bright ball of light hovering over a nearby building. ¡°What is that?¡±


    A blinding brilliance lit up the miles-wide cavern in an instant, and the entire city of Deepnest exploded with a shuddering boom.


    ***<ul><li><strong>Blood Oath (Blood)(Tier 3): This miracle requires your vampire master¡¯s permission to use. Roots the user to one spot, significantly increases the amount of damage taken by the user¡¯s vampire master, and grants invincibility to yourself unless your vampire master dies.</strong></li></ul>


    Genua managed to get the incantation and knelt in prayer just in time for Riven to ept it before the shockwave of raging energy crashed into their party like a tidal wave.


    Azmoth¡¯s hellfire barrier held for only a brief two seconds before being crushed underneath the absolute magnitude of a city-destroying st that tore the cavern¡¯s ceiling and floor apart like wood into a grinder.


    Her body immediately burned a bright red and she stood helplessly rooted in ce as Riven, Azmoth, and Fay were swept away. Genua saw Fay scream before her body was ripped apart - no doubt being banished to theher realms a split secondter. Azmoth got lost in the swirling storm of debris and thundering energy only a momentter, and Riven was flung into a simr direction so fast that it looked like he¡¯d been shot out of a cannon.


    Then, she was alone.


    Genua¡¯s heart thundered in her chest, and she remained in her position of prayer, head bowed and blood mana swirling about her in an impassible, protectiveyer that covered her entire body. The ground underneath her tore and ripped, the winds about her howled, and hundreds of thousands of pieces of rubble collided with her in a maelstrom thatsted for nearly twelve seconds without pause.


    She¡¯d been only a split second away from death, and both she and her unborn child had barely managed toe out alive. That thought alone had her adrenaline spiking, and she honestly couldn¡¯t thank Riven enough. This power was on the magnitude of his own when he¡¯d destroyed Daskus. He¡¯d knowingly taken the hit to save her life at the risk of his own due to the miracle increasing his own damage taken by an unknown amount.


    Her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, and soon the storm had passed - leaving a smoldering crater twice the size the cavern had originally been in ce of what had once been Deepnest. The floor beneath her boiled with magma from the sheer heat of the energy used, every single building was long gone, and both Riven and Azmoth were nowhere to be seen.


    She was alone, in a hellscape created by magic of some variety in a likely attempt to assassinate Riven or his sister.


    Genua could only hope that the Ratkin hadn¡¯t seeded, and not knowing where to even start looking in this vast sea of smoldering, melted rock - she began to call out Riven¡¯s name when she quickly stopped and dropped to the floor from her floating position.


    Hiding behind a cooling mound of raised stone and gritting her teeth while her flesh began to burn, she watched in horror as dozens of figures started racing out over the edge of a hill that¡¯d somehow been protected from the st - and if she was right, was also the likely origin of said st.


    There were too many for her to handle, and she was at a loss for what to do.


    ***


    Gluttony began to stir in Riven¡¯s soul. The primal hunger it experienced at all times began to rise up as it watched its host have high quality, mana-suppressing shackles ced along his wrists and ankles; before Riven was dragged off by a warband of blighted ratkin in a rush of scampering feet. Clouds of gue left trails in their wake, and the undead creatures soon took to the tunnels with their prisoner being dragged unceremoniously along with them.


    The great maw may be weakened by an indescribable amount by what he was about to do, but such was the price of freedom. Too long had Gluttony and his brethren been trapped, shut away from the light. Too long had he fed off nothing but hope that one day, one day he would finally find the vessel to bring him back.


    Back from being a mere shadow of the monster that had once terrorized the cosmos, the monster that had once devoured entire pantheons of gods.


    Back when the sins andmandments had been free.


    The multiverse would once more know fear.


    Gluttony stared at thest piece of Riven¡¯s fragmented soul, thest shard that had yet to be ced, and gingerly held it with building glee. This was merely a reset button, that was all. Per Elysium¡¯s contract, Gluttony would lose most of his power and knowledge while inhabiting a host and would have to level up through the ranks just like everyone else.


    But it was worth it.


    It was oh, so worth it!


    It was a new chance at life.


    ¡°Take me to your leader¡­ My unwitting servants¡­¡± Gluttony whispered into the abyss while watching the ratkin who were unknowingly delivering a catastrophe in the form of a prisoner to their people, finally cing that veryst piece into ce - finally having finished rebuilding the damage Elysium¡¯s tribtion had done. ¡°Take me to your people¡­ For it has been too long that I have truly tasted flesh. One day, far into the future, it will be marked down in the history books that it was this day, here on Panu, that Gluttony finally returned. That it was Gluttony who was the first of the original sins to w his way back out of the abyss. And that it was here in the underdark of the world that he finally feasted after millenia of starving, the first meal of many to satiate his hunger!¡±

 Chapter 242

    Chapter 242


    <strong>Chapter 242</strong>


    Sweat dripped down her skin.


    The molten cavern radiated hot energies even twenty minutes after the ratkin¡¯s ambush, and it¡¯d taken that entire time to find Azmoth even despite the connection they shared as co-minions under Riven¡¯s control. If not for that connection, she¡¯d never had found him in the vast destion of what had once been the city of Deepnest.


    Genua¡¯s head remained bowed, hands steepled in front of her and only asionally shifting at intervals for necessary hand gestures while chanting the rites of her Transfusion Zone miracle. Blood divinity swirled around her like a thick mist of red, and the crimson runes along her skin red brightly while her eyes remained locked on the broken body of Azmoth in front of her.


    Slowly but steadily, the demon¡¯srge frame began to repair itself. Bones snapped back into ce, metal tes that¡¯d been torn off now refused themselves to his muscture, the breathing became less ragged, and the caved in left side of his skull shifted into a more natural form while her healing miracle took hold.


    The huge maul on his left was shattered and embedded into the smoldering cavern wall, the enchantments on it broken, as was the shield that he¡¯d take the brunt of the initial blow with. She could barely make out the remnants of his items after they¡¯d been so thoroughly destroyed, with much of the molten rock behind the demon having even melted over some of the fragments.


    ¡°Little priestess¡­¡± Azmoth muttered in a guttural growl, prying himself out of the crater he¡¯d been flung into with a shower of orange-hot rocks as his fires red to life around him. He shook his huge head, and gave Genua a nod of appreciation when she stopped her chants and let out a long huff of exhaustion. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    A wed finger lifted and tapped the elf thrall on the metal headdress she wore, and he turned around to gingerly lift up the broken fragments of his maul with a sad groan. ¡°This is first item Azmoth ever receive. It present from Riven, and makes me sad to see gone.¡±


    Genua, who was still heaving from exhaustion and taking in slow, deep breaths, shot a nce towards the tunnel that lead out of the cavern far, far away from where they now stood. ¡°Azmoth! We need to save him! He was taken by the-¡±¡°He not need saving.¡± Azmoth stated with a shake of his head, finishing picking up the pieces of his stone weapon - or at least what he could salvage from it - and chuckling with his head turned her way. ¡°He is fine.¡±


    Genua¡¯s eyes widened, and she took a step forward to point towards the way Riven had gone. ¡°NO! NO Azmoth he is NOT fine! He was captured!¡±


    If Azmoth could roll his eyes, he would have. ¡°Little priestess¡­ You have soul bond to master. You can feel how and where he is if try hard.¡±


    Genua furrowed her brows, hissing when she stepped forward again onto another hot piece of molten rock that nearly burned through the boot she was wearing. Sweat continued pouring down her face, dampening her clothes, and she wiped her forehead with a sleeve and threw her hands out to either side. ¡°What in all the hells are you even talking about!?¡±


    Azmoth looked confused. ¡°You really not know?¡±


    ¡°Know what!?¡±


    ¡°Focusing on soul bond allow to feel master¡¯s presence. Not as strong as Ath¡¯s bond where she talks through mind with telepathy, but still strong enough to know he fine. He is awake, his soul very strong, and he that way.¡± Azmoth pointed downwards through the floor of the cavern and slightly towards the outer wall where the blighted ratkin had taken Riven¡¯s bound body. ¡°If he need us, he can summon Ath and me. But he not do that. He likely want me stay with you to protect you and unborn child.¡±


    ¡°They bound him with anti-magic! That¡¯s why he¡¯s not summoning you! I will NOT be left to take care of yet another child ALONE!¡± She stomped her foot into the ground, fists clenched. ¡°I can¡¯t. I just¡­ can¡¯t. I¡¯m already drowning as it is with Len. I¡¯m a failure, and I can¡¯t provide the kind of support they¡¯ll need by myself.¡±


    Azmoth tilted his head to the side. Therge four-armed demon opened his mouth to reply, then snapped it shut again. ¡°If Riven not ok, why his power growing? I can feel from here. No, he summon through portal if he need me - Riven is one of strongest on. So we will go to surface, to make you and child safe.¡±


    With that, therge demon picked Genua up and flung her over one shoulder - much to the protests of the priestess, before walking out the opposite way they¡¯de. It hadn¡¯t been anticipated that the ratkin could or would blow up their entire capital city just to strike out at Riven or Allie, but Azmoth was confident based on the connection he had that Riven would be fine.


    Though¡­ the feeling he was getting from that connection was certainly a little more sinister than the one Riven usually had.


    Meanwhile, in other parts of the world at that very moment: Kenji, thest man of the cultist group who¡¯d killed Ath, looked up from where he was carving runes into corpses with a grin. The dim light of the hidden cave barely illuminated the newly formed tattoos of the profane that littered his body, or the new limbs he¡¯d taken from recent victims to build himself up. While Nora Lang, the asian woman Riven had met all those months ago on the ascension of the pyramid in Chalgathi¡¯s Starter Quest, pulled a rapier out of her victim and pried the amulet from his quickly cooling hands in the snow. She saw the quest update in front of her as the five artifact pieces meshed together into a newbined item set of her own.


    It was almost time.


    <strong>[The Apocalypse Beasts, Chalgathi, Quest Update: Blithe Fullhandle has fallen in battle to Nora Lang. Nora Lang has acquired 5 of 5 set pieces for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance.]</strong>


    <strong>[All 10 sets for Chalgathi¡¯s Inheritance have beenpleted.]</strong>


    <strong>[World Quest 2, The Apocalypse Beasts:</strong>


    <strong>The death of this world approaches. Neckra, the Skeletal Devourer, churns in his sandy tomb amidst a sea of the unliving. Chalgathi, the gue Dragon, awaits those that would free him from his skyward prison above the clouds. Chubin, the ss Kraken, seeks an escape from the abyss beneath the ocean. The cults of the end times gather their strength and resources to try and find theirs of their chosen apocalypse beasts. Should they seed, your world is doomed.</strong>


    <strong>As one of the 3 Apocalypse Beasts born for this cycle of ascension, Chalgathi is destined for carnage. It is a creature of nightmarish power, a beast born of hate and malice. 5 years after the beginning of this integration a wave of destruction will spread across all the world on wings of decay. Empires will fall, billions will die, and the very ground you tread upon will rot and wither - for the gue dragon has finally awakened.</strong>


    <strong>However, there is an alternative to this fate: Stop the cultists from raising the gue dragon to his adult form, find Chalgathi¡¯s incubation chamber, and destroy or im his egg for yourself before the 5 year period is done. You, </strong><strong>Nora Lang,</strong><strong> are one of his chosen ones, a final contender. You have acquired all of his artifacts: the amulet, ws, mask, pauldrons, and breastte. It falls on you to act.</strong>


    <strong>In the beginning, there were 1672 with an unholy bloodline. There were then only 50 chosen ones to leave Chalgathi¡¯s Trials. There are now 16 originals remaining, 10 of which have collected all needed pieces to enter the next phase of this world quest. The chosen ones are divided into 2 categories: Cultists, and Non-Cultists, and you are allpeting against one another regardless of what category you fall into. Depending on which of the chosen reaches Chalgathi¡¯sir to sessfully im his egg, each oue could have drastically different consequences with salvation or damnation of Panu. ]</strong>


    <strong>[Chalgathi, The Apocalypse Beasts World Quest, Panu, sub-event has been unlocked: </strong><strong>The Altars of Despair and Hope.</strong>


    <strong>Chalgathi, the gue Dragon, is the final of the 3 apocalypse beast to have his 10 item sets collected. Due to the unexpected and early acquisition of all 30 item sets across all 3 apocalypse beasts, including Chalgathi, the gue Dragon, Chubin, the ss Kraken, and Neckra, the Skeletal Devourer - </strong><strong>The Altars of Despair and Hope event has been expedited. You will arrive at your designated starting point for World Quest 2 within 3 hours from now</strong><strong>.</strong>


    <strong>When arriving at your designated starting spot, you will gain the locations and ess to Chalgathi¡¯s Altars. You will be required to visit all 4 Chalgathi altar sites and activate the shrines before acquiring knowledge of the location of Chalgahti¡¯s Temple where Chalgathi¡¯s incubation chamber has been hidden.</strong>


    <strong>There is 1 Altar of Hope where all Non-Cultists will arrive. There is 1 Altar of Despair where all Cultists will arrive for this event. There are 4 additional altars for each of the 3 apocalypse beasts for a total of 12 additional altars.</strong>


    <strong>The Altars of Despair and Hope are exclusive areas designated by the Elysium Administrator, where only the chosen of the apocalypse beasts who¡¯ve acquired the 5 needed artifacts, as well as abducted participants from across the multiverse, may enter. This applies to all apocalypse beasts, not only Chalgathi. Here at the Altars of Despair and Hope you will be divided into two groups: Cultists and Non-Cultists.</strong>


    <strong>There are 21 registered Cultists.</strong><ul><li><strong>7 Chalgathi Cultists, 6 Chubin Cultists, and 8 Nekra Cultists</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>There are 9 registered Non-Cultists entering this event.</strong><ul><li><strong>3 Chalgathi Non-Cultists, 4 Chubin Non-Cultists, and 2 Nekra Non-Cultists</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>As previously described, the oues of this world quest differ greatly depending on which of the chosen acquire the prizes for these quests. Thus, cultists will be pitted against non-cultists when reaching these altars. Non-Cultists across all three apocalypse beast categories will arrive at the Altar of Hope, and Cultists across all three apocalypse beast categories will arrive at the Altar of Despair. It will be highly incentivized to work together with your given team upon arrival, and severe punishments will be handed down to those who intentionally harm any others within your own category while involving yourself in this sub-event of the questline. However, despite these punishments, killing your own teammates may be needed in different scenarios in order to make sure that it is you who gets to the temple first - rather than your peers.</strong>


    <strong>Here are the rules:</strong><ul><li><strong>The Altar of Hope will indefinitely respawn all Non-Cultists after a 24 hour time period after death, and will have a barrier of protection around it that only Non-Cultists can enter through.</strong></li><li><strong>The Altar of Despair will indefinitely respawn all Cultists after a 24 hour time period after death, and will have a barrier of protection around it that only Cultists can enter through.</strong></li><li><strong>Chalgathi, Chubin, and Nekra altars can only be imed by Chosen belonging to their designated apocalypse beast, but all altars can be entered and turned off by Chosen of any apocalypse beast. People and creatures from outside Panu that are involved with this World Quest cannot activate or deactivate any altar, but they can enter the altars.</strong></li><li><strong>All altars will have indiscriminate defenders that respawn after death.</strong></li><li><strong>People and creatures from outside Panu that are involved with this World Quest will continually be funneled into this event either voluntarily or involuntarily depending on circumstance or deals struck with Elysium.</strong></li><li><strong>The goal of this event is to acquire points.</strong><strong> You are a Non-Cultist, your method of gaining points differs from cultists, and will be discussed more thoroughly when you enter the event. Global methods of gaining points, however, are retaining control of altars for uninterrupted 24 hour time periods, unique quests that everyonepetes for, and killing Cultists of the opposite team. Killing people of the same team will decrease your total points and often end in punishments, but may be necessary toplete and securerger amounts of quest points and prizes.</strong></li><li><strong>Killing anything inside this trial will not grant XP and levels due to temporary immortal status, butpleting spawned quests will grant XP and levels.</strong></li><li><strong>Points may be spent at the Altars of Despair and Hope for various prizes, bonuses, knowledge, items, buffs, or mercenaries.</strong></li><li><strong>When you reach 10,000 unspent points, you as an individual are allowed to leave the sub event and travel back to Panu. At this time you will be granted the location of Chalgathi¡¯s temple, where Chalgathi¡¯s egg and incubation chamber are located. If Chalgathi¡¯s egg is imed prior to yourpletion of this sub event, you will be ced back in Panu at a random location.</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Upon opening the altars in 3 hours from now: the next phase of World Quest 2, The Apocalypse Beasts will begin. You can expect to enter an alternate pocket realm at that time along with other various people, ces, artifacts, and events drawn in from around the multiverse; and can be expected to be gone for approximately 1 year¡¯s time.]</strong>


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ***


    The Amphitheater.


    An enormous ce deep, deep down in the underdark that had once only been a refuge for the most devout worshipers of the old world¡¯s gods - ones that she¡¯d had hoped to escape with the arrival of the system, due to how brutal and bloodthirsty they were. She¡¯d even thrown the priests out of the city when she¡¯d realized their connection to the old world¡¯s gods were no longer as solid, and that they had limited power here in the new multiverse.


    And yet here she was, Queen Bez - a once rotund leader of what had once been Deepnest, matriarch of the blighted ratkin ns, having led them here in their time of need. Having led them in an attempt to restore to the old gods what had been lost - as a trade. She was desperate, as were all of her kin, to get their old bodies back. To remove the stain of undeath, the stain of blight, that would mark them as outcasts from the other ratkin of this world forever. Simultaneously she was eager to have revenge on the one who¡¯d caused them to turn into abominations.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t a direct strike against Allie, even if it was her brother instead. There would be vengeance for what had been done to the broods of Deepnest, for the agony of knowing what they¡¯d been cursed with. Forever they would be outcasts amongst their own kind, never again able to return to the swarms and homnds of the deep. For this: Queen Bez would have been happier if it had been Allie that¡¯d walked into that trap, but Riven was a very close second best.


    Many hundreds of thousands of their kin - potentially over a million; both those who had been outcast in the past, and those who¡¯d lived in the very center of the prosperous Deepnest she¡¯d taken decades to cultivate, were present on therge stone steps that stretched for miles. The enormous amphitheater had been a thing of wonders in the past, being built by an unknown race in an unknown time - a wonder of the world. A relic of ancient history long lost to the record books. No one knew who or why it was built, or how they¡¯d created such arge hollowed out structure such as this, but the fact remained that miracles cast here were always of higher quality; leading many of the ratkin schrs to believe it was the site of some great ritual once upon a time. That, or it¡¯d once been a ce of ceremonial and sacred value - which in turn had been utilized to produce worship sites for their own faithful even prior to knowing how miracles actually worked by system standards.


    Hundreds of huge stone pirs held the cavern ceiling up, and packed crowds of murmuring undead ratkin whispered to one another as lines of hooded priests with metal staves continued preparing the ritual ceremonies at the bottom. Dozens of huge stairways leading from the top down to different t tforms big enough to house smallmunities were present at a couple intervals, and at the very bottom in the distant depths at the very bottom of those stairs was a veryrge, singr, circr tform where the queen now sat next to some of the hooded ratkin priests she¡¯d once thrown out of her society. She had once been veryrge, very fat, and a ck-furred beauty in her own right - but now she¡¯d been reduced to nothing but literal skin and bones with vomit-green eyes; with fumes that rose off her body as wisps of blighted gue.


    Yet, the priests promised they could bring about salvation if she just gave them this one chance to prove themselves. A chance to repent. The priests imed they¡¯d finally made contact with their old gods, and that - if given proper sacrifice - they¡¯d be able to summon those gods back to Panu and into the Elysium system - so that they may bring about an end to the blight that afflicted all their bodies.


    She would see whether or not this was true.


    Silence overtook all the crowds as the bishop Prek bade Queen Bez to enter the pool of blood - directly in front of therge blessed ziggurat where sacrifices of their own kin were set in a row on spikes. Only this blood had a green tint to it, and it smelled like¡­ infection. A byproduct of their new bodies. Two hooded ratkin priests went to remove her cloak, and moments afterward Queen Bez felt her right skeletal foot enter the crimson bowl of liquid. The warm fluid engulfed her leg, and as she waded further in it engulfed her up to waist height. Chunks of coagted cells floated about in a rather grotesque reminder that many had been sacrificed to perform this ritual, and she would not let those people go to waste.


    The bishop raised a hand skyward. With a flick of his wrist his scrying ability took hold and disyed arge magnified vision overhead focused on the ceremony so that all could witness the proceeding events. Candles burned around the perimeter of the ritual circles, along the blood pool, under the sacrificed bodies where the priests stood, and all along the low stone walls at the very back of the amphitheater next to the ziggurat.


    Head bowed, Bishop Prek too began to strip and stepped into therge pool of sickly fluids. He stopped short of Queen Bez leaving a six to seven foot space between them. He spread his hands out wide, as if to embrace her, and called loudly for all to hear through the scrying ability broadcasting the event across this amphitheater.


    ¡°Bez, Queen-leader of the Brood-ns of Deepnest. It is me-my sacred-holy duty to serve-honor the one bonded to our ancient-long lineages. What is it that you-we wish to do here-now today?!¡±


    Queen Bez did not hesitate, and her sinewy, bony body bowed in reverence - hope beginning to build while the sprawling crowds of her people watched nervously from above. ¡°I wish to speak-converse with Rashi, the Great Winged Rat! I seek-find advice to cure-save our people-kin from undeath-fate! I seek vengeance on bat-kin fiends who curse-wound us!¡±


    Murmurs of unease and hope filled the amphitheater, but were soon silenced with a wave of Prek¡¯s hands.


    Bishop Prek held up both arms to the sky and lifted his eyes to the ceiling above. The beating of drums began to thunder out from the priests and priestesses of the temple at an increased tempo.


    ¡°It is known-seen that Rashi smile-grins upon us, and that he-he forgives. He has spoken-told me of his sadness-anger that we abandoned-left him in the darkened days-times of the integration, but is pleased-happy to see use back! But a price-toll must be paid-given. Us-we must solidify our pact-deal with the great winged rat before he all-fully embraces us as the new chosen people! Are you sure-certain you wish to proceed?¡± Prek was genuine in his question. There would be no going back from this. ¡°Bringing old-world god will make you-you many enemies of new gods and pantheons. You must be solid-stone in your resolve, and must be willing-eager to pay the toll-fee of the blood sacrament.¡±


    Bez¡¯s eyes narrowed. She had no other choice but to pursue forgiveness, not if she wished to remain as a true ratkin instead of this new species they¡¯d all been transformed into. She didn¡¯t even know if the priest was telling her the truth, there was a chance he waspletely making this up. There was a chance that this priest could be doing something else entirely rather than summoning an old god that many of their kin had decided was nothing but a farce - but her desperation to regain what had been lost was a counterweight to reason. She had to at least try.


    ¡°I am ready-certain.¡±


    Prek excitedly pped his undead hands twice and pointed to the back end of the temple with a spitced shriek. ¡°BRING FORTH THE FINAL-LAST SACRIFICES! BRING FORTH THE FINAL-LAST VESSELS SO THAT THE FATHER-KIN, THE GREAT WINGED RAT, MAY SEEK THE CREATION OF HIS BODY-VESSEL!¡±


    The drums doubled in speed and the clergy began to chant in rhythm with the beat. Ancient words and phrases that even Bez didn¡¯t entirely understand the meaning of were hummed, chanted and sang by all of the blighted clergy present. And one by one, the blighted hordes of onlookers joined in. Their mouths moved as the words came to them, gifted to them from some otherworldly, foreign power, as the pool of blood tinted with green began to swirl with the intense and vulgar ritual.


    Four priests and priestesses exited from a hallway leading and built into the stone of the ziggurat¡¯s main hall. The four undead ratkin had long slender ropes in their hands and were pulling objects out of sight beyond them. Secondster the pulling and yanking of the clergy produced four captives: Rashtalia - the tall broodmother of Brood Tarrow who¡¯d acted as diplomat to the Thanes. Snagger - the ratkin warrior who¡¯d first befriended Riven in the underdark. Mesha - Snagger¡¯s cousin and the smallest of the three. Then, finally, Riven - who was bound with multiples of suppression cors, shackles,and trinkets that would offset his absurd mana ess. He was awake, though seemingly only barely - and he in particr another mana suppression rune carved into his forehead that wasn¡¯t healing.


    ¡°THE FIRST!!!¡± Bishop Prek screamed, pping his hands into the pool around him while the chanting of the priests and priestesses grew louder - their metal staves beating into the cavern floor under the candlelight and shadows of the sacrificed ratkin held up on spikes.


    He pointed to Rashtalia, and the broodmother began to scream through her gag while she was irreverently dragged across the ground - kicking, sobbing and bound - towards the pool. Her body too had undergone the change, but she was still hyperventting.


    Queen Bez couldn¡¯t tell what she was saying over the enthusiastic chanting and beating of drums, but she did note many of Brood Tarrow in the front lines of onlookers turn their eyes away in shame or revulsion. She knew that many of Rashtalia¡¯s friends disagreed with this, just as they had when they had sacrificed those now up on spikes during the first ritual, but Queen Bez also knew that it must be done. The gods of the old world demanded blood, so they would get it.


    ¡°THIS WOMAN-WHORE TURNED HER BACK-TAIL ON US-WE! BEFRIENDED BATKIN QUEEN-LEADER TO STAB US IN BACK!¡± Prek screamed as the woman was dragged across the tform towards the pool.


    The crowds that weren¡¯t chanting, roared in anger like a thunderous storm.


    Prek nodded his approval. ¡°SHE HAS FAIL-FAILED AS A DIPLOMAT-SPEAKER AND SHOWN-LED US INTO DISASTER WHEN OUR LEADER-QUEEN BEZ TRUSTED HER!!¡±


    Of course, this wasn¡¯t entirely true. Queen Bez knew this, but she had to pin the me on someone. She had to give focus to the anger and rage her people were feeling, the calls for war needed to be heard, and Rashtalia was one of a few targets she would pin this entire problem on in order to let her people vent their rage. Allie would eventuallye after that, but only when they grew stronger with the help of their old-world gods. Until then the unrest needed a focus point.


    Two priestesses, one on each side of the temple tform, bent down with candles and lit a stream of oil that had been poured onto the ground. Yellow me ignited, burned, and continued to burn a semi-circle tapestry of intricate runes, symbols, and diagrams that had been ced around the pool of blood. The firelight glistened off the naked bodies in the pool and blood they stood in. Four more priestesses all stepped forward simultaneously and waited along the edge of the pool while their individual servants took the liberty of taking their clothes off, revealing patches of fur on exposed muscle that asionallycked skin - or even bone protrusions that were sometimes not even part of the previously normal anatomy. After each of the four priestesses stood barren along the edge, they again simultaneously took a step into the shimmering liquid - tails flowing behind them.


    Ripples of blood moved along the otherwise t silky surface as the undead ratkin women waded into the center to surround Prek and Bez at four corners. And just as the clergy pulled their violently struggling captive between two erupting pirs of me to enter the centerpiece of the ritual, the four servants along the pool¡¯s edge at spaced out intervals to prostrate themselves.


    One of the clergying from the ziggurat ripped out Rashtalia¡¯s gag with a knife, while taking her forward, and she began to beg.


    ¡°PLEASE NO-NO!!! I¡¯LL DO ANY-MANY THINGS, JUST DON¡¯T KILL-SACRIFICE ME-ME! PLEASE DON¡¯T QUEEN-LEADER BEZ, WE ARE FRIENDS-KIN!!!¡± Rashtalia iled along the ground, absolutely horrified, as her captors pulled her forward. Her hands and feet wed at the ground inbetween the yanking of the cords around her limbs. Her heart was pounding wildly and the poor terrified ratkin woman shrieked, begging them to let her live.


    Then, as she was brought up violently and forced to kneel at the edge of the red fluids, her eyes met Queen Bez¡¯s own.


    ¡°Bez! Bez-kin please, please-please¡­!!!¡± The sobbing ratkin woman clutched at her pale, hairless stomach as she tried to contain her terror. She sniffled and choked on her own saliva amidst the heaving of her breasts. ¡°I¡¯ll be a good servant-kin ve! I am sorry-sad that I fail-failed to stop Allie-queen batkin from cursing us-we, but I did not know-see this could happen! Please-please, just let me live-go!¡±

 Chapter 243

    Chapter 243


    <strong>Chapter 243</strong>


    Queen Bez looked upon the ratkin woman she¡¯d once called friend with only a mild amount of guilt, but that did not stop her from what needed to be done. Even despite Rasthalia¡¯s begging sobs, and fully knowing she was using Rashtalia as a scapegoat and focal point for her people¡¯s rage, to maintain order over the angry masses.


    She stretched out a blood covered hand from the crimson pool, cutting the ropes binding Rashtalia with a slim wed finger. The brood mother flinched but waited, hopeful, for her queen¡¯s final decision.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to think-miss on our time-ces together, but your time-life hase to an end. Be quiet-silent.¡± Bez lifted her hand and engaged her magic, and Rashtalia immediately snapped her mouth shut as the rest of her body went rigid - muffling her sounds to a silent, shaking sob. Her lips still quivered and water continued to stream down her face from wide terrified eyes.


    Bez turned to the bishop Prek. ¡°You may start-proceed.¡±


    The bishop across from her in the blood pool nodded just once, as Bez¡¯s hand fell to her side, and Prek¡¯s came up. Rashtalia stiffened and was lifted into the air face up while her body became t as a board and hovered over them, before settling down just a foot over the bloody bath. Strands of her remaining brown patches of hair drifted down gently around her, her breasts rose and fell faster and faster, and her eyes flickered back and forth to the six people looking down on her.


    The other priestesses around the pool drew themselves in closer.


    ¡°Begin the ritual-rite.¡± Prek said without looking up. The four priestesses all began to chant new verses in ancient tongues that they had memorized by heart, shifting their bodies forward in the waist-deep waters of the red and green bath under the light of numerous candles. Each held their hands up and out above their heads as the verses continued rhythmically, and their dead, green eyes soon began to burn with unholy mes.


    ¡°The sacrifice-ves, and all others-kin who call on the great winged rat, must be bathe-bathed in blood.¡± Prek stated, and the naked bishop flipped the palms of his skeletal, wed hands over. Rashtalia was immediately dropped into the pool and then brought back up via psychic power to hover a foot over the bath again. Turning to look at Bez, he walked around Rashtalia and put a hand on the queen¡¯s shoulder.¡°May I have-take the honor of bathing-baptizing you, my queen-leader?¡± The bishop was reverent as he addressed her, and the sincerity of his reverence was apparent.


    ¡°You may-may.¡±


    Prek let out a low hum, ignoring the gagged exmations and sobs from Snagger and Mesha, and dunked Bez beneath the blood¡¯s surface. He let the warm bodily fluid engulf both of thempletely for a couple of seconds before bringing Bez back up. One by one Prek went to each of the priestesses and did the same with them. Each time the woman woulde up and begin the chant again as if she had never stopped. Before long Prek submerged himself in the pool as well and came up dripping in the fine red liquid.


    ¡°THE SECOND! THE THIRD! AND THE FOURTH!¡±


    The drums continued to boom. The fire-drawn tapestry of flickering symbols about them rose several feet in height.


    The same ritual baptism was then performed on each of the other captives, each of them going rigid and floating above the blood-filled bath to be dunked and taken back out. Bishop Prek positioned each of them in a line, with Rashtalia first, Snagger second, Mesha third, and finally Riven asst.


    Prek gave another signal over the thundering drums, and each of the four priestesses chose one of the victims - starting to carve sigils into their chests while three of the four started to whimper and scream through the magics restraining them.


    The fourth though, he didn¡¯t react at all. Riven remained naked, hovering over the bath as the ratkin priestess cut deep into his ribcage and sternum with a jagged, rusty knife - not even blinking as blood continued to drip from the mana-suppression shackles, cor, and sigil already etched into his forehead. His red eyes seemed unusually dull, as if his mind was somewhere else, and if anyone had been paying close attention to the metal bands that were supposed to be keeping his mana restrained - they would have seen the faint, deep purple cracks creeping along the metal.


    ¡°GREAT WINGED ONE, CHOSEN FATHER-KIN OF US-WE!¡± Bishop Prek screamed into the air as the priestesses finished carving the necessary sigils into the bodies of all four victims - each of the clergying back to the first of the four live sacrifices and surrounding Rashtalia while muttering chants under their breaths. ¡°WE ASK-SAY THAT YOU COME BLESS-HELP US WITH YOUR GIFT-POWER! WE TAKE LIFE-LIVES FROM THE WORLD, FROM PANU-WORLD OF ELYSIUM, AND SAY-SAY THAT YOU COME-TRAVEL BACK THROUGH THE GATE-DOOR THAT BARS-STOPS YOUR GLORIOUS SPIRIT-SOUL! WITH THESE SACRIFICE-SLAVES, WE GIVE YOU THE GIFT-POWER AND VESSEL-BODY TO POSSESS! FIND US, OH GREAT WINGED RAT, COME-TRAVEL TO AID YOUR CHILDREN-KIN!¡±


    Prek made an upwards motion with his fingers as he spoke and six ceremonial knives slowly rose out of the pool, des down. A de went to himself, to Queen bez, and one to each of the four assisting priestesses.


    Each of them grabbed the knife by the hilt, following Prek¡¯s example and keeping the des down against their chests with all of the women reciting the chant of the ritual outside of Prek¡¯s own personalized call to the old-world god. Bez chanted too, the wordsing unbidden as a re of unnatural, foggy green light erupted over the pool with dark brown eyes that red through the veil of space and time.


    She shuddered under that gaze, even if she could not fully see the god¡¯s body yet, but the presence was certainly that of the divine. The aura boomed and crashed down upon everyone present, and the roars for blood became weeping cries for salvation as the masses lifted their hands and began to worship the divine being.


    But the ritual was not yetplete.


    Bez just stood and watched amidst her chants, dagger against his bare chest, as a terrified, blood-covered Rashtalia shook uncontrobly under silent sobbing while she hovered in the air between the six dagger-holding participants.


    ¡°HEAR ME WINGED ONE!¡± Continued Prek enthusiastically, throwing his arms up towards the giant green cloud overhead where a figure of a huge, demonic rodent was taking a spiritual form ever so slowly. Bat-like wings spread out far, taloned ws ripped out of its hands, and the torso elongated to unusual levels as the deep brown eyes grew wider and wider.


    The chanting of the clergy matched that of the five women in the pool of blood and soon the entirety of the blighted crowds, spectators of the ceremony, were doing the same and shouting out the chants in a synchronous, excited, thundering roar.


    ¡°Come speak-talk with your chosen ratkin and deliver us-we into your power-cold embrace! Let it be seen-known that I, Prek Zrof, bishop-kin and humble servant-worshiper to the old-world gods, am the one-kin the calls-summons you to me!¡± The bishop lifted his dagger high above his head and looked down at the stiff ratkin womanying t over the pool.


    The others followed suit, including Queen Bez, closing in to form a close circle around Rashtalia who quivered wide-eyed but could not speak under their gaze.


    ¡°Take this soul-ve as a sacrifice in your great-wonderous name, and let-see the calling be deemed-judged worthy-able of your presence! TO ME, GREAT WINGED RAT, TO ME!¡± Prek paused only a moment to let the queen speak the final words.


    ¡°To me.¡± Repeated Queen Bez.


    Prek let out a shrill high pitched wail, spit flying in all directions, and the six daggers swiftly descended to pierce Rashtalia¡¯s flesh. Rashtalia gasped involuntarily, her fingers balled up into clenched fists and her lips curled in a silent scream. Bez felt the woman¡¯s rib cage catch on the dagger before she withdrew it and stabbed her again. He and the five others savagely tore or stabbed into her thighs, abdomen, breasts and face with a flurry of dozens of brutal strokes. Prek was particrly boorish in his approach as he ripped into Rashtalia¡¯s gut and pulled out her intestines in pieces and chunks.


    Rashtalia¡¯s mouth opened and closed and she coughed up blood just once before daggers pierced her lungs. Her right bicep was carved off the bone and then her left cheek. Then with herst dying, horrified and pain-ridden gasps she saw one of the priestesses cleave open her entire rib cage and pull out her heart with a wicked set of ws to hold it over their heads on disy.


    Then the brood-mother¡¯s vision went ck, and Rashtalia¡¯s suffering finally ended.


    Prek reached out at the moment of death amidst the cheers and chants of the demon hordes, plucking Rashtalia¡¯s soul from her body as the limp corpse dropped unceremoniously - a destroyed bag of flesh, plunging into the blood pool. The tiny light pulsed in his hand and he lifted it up to the level of the sacrifice¡¯s heart, holding it there.


    Waiting.


    Yet, the visage of the god above them did not move.


    Prek soon whirled on the priestesses with a snarl. ¡°THE SECOND AND THIRD MUST BE TAKEN!¡±


    Without even a hint of reluctance the clergy all moved on, alongside Queen Bez, and began carving into Snagger next. His body purged and his huge muscles spasmed while he was held in ce over the bloody pool. Tears streamed down his face and he gagged as his innards were ripped out, and his heart was eventually carved from his chest.


    Mesha came next, and the small, petite ratkin woman didn¡¯tst nearly as long as the other two of her friends had. She died quite fast, and her limp body dropped into the pool with the two other corpses - their souls being plucked alongside Rashtalia¡¯s own, with three little balls of light held in Prek¡¯s hands. Meanwhile the priestesses held up the three still-beating hearts of the undead they¡¯d so recently sacrificed - bowing before the visage overhead while it stared down at them, contemting.


    The god¡¯s visage stretched out a wed hand, and the bat-like wings extended. The visage moved its mouth as if speaking, but none but the bishop could hear the words it was trying to convey through whatever veil had kept it from traveling into Elysium¡¯s multiverse since the integration.


    Moments passed and the three souls suddenly shattered into a million pieces, soaring skyward. The hearts each burst into mes. A shudder, a ripple of power cascaded outwards from the ce of sacrifices across the crowds. An extreme sense of dread overcame all of them just as arge ck hole opened up far above the ziggurat in the cavern¡¯s sky. It was so ck that even in the dark of the cave - it was a stark contrast to the background.


    More ripples of powermenced in quick session and dark magic spiraled out of the ck hole in a swirling mist of animosity that then settled upon the ground for the miles of space containing the amphitheater. The energy shook Queen Bez to her very bones and it was all she could do to stay calm while he remained in ce. For the first time in a long time, she felt fear.


    Then all was deathly silent.


    Not even the sshing blood around her as she turned made any noise. She tried to speak and nothing came out. The wind, the chanting, the sound of drums were all gone. It was as if she had gone deaf, and the confused looks of the others rified that they were experiencing something simr.


    ¡°Hello, mother of Deepnest. I have been expecting you.¡±


    The voice was crystal clear, masculine, and drenched in confidence. It rang out like a bell amidst the otherwise perfect silence and caused Queen Bez to whirl around to seek the source. But she didn¡¯t find it.


    ¡°Queen¡­ Bez¡­¡± continued the chime as she felt a chill upon her skin. ¡°I am d my bishop found such a willing leader to finally call me back from the grave Elysium had sentenced me to, as this strange system had deemed me as¡­ unwanted. How peculiar, I must say¡­ but breaking through into this new multiverse was easier than I¡¯d thought - given the help of my clergy. And the help of yourself, for bringing such an amazing specimen to bind to, in the form of this vampire¡¯s body¡­ He will be the perfect vessel for me to possess after I devour his soul.¡±


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The candles all winked out.


    A tower of green mes then exploded downwards from the ck hole overhead and condensed as it hit the tform right beside the pool of blood. The heat was tremendous and Bez had to shield her face, though thankfully it onlysted for a brief moment as the god¡¯s winged figure took a more solid form.


    He stood tall, just like all the statues of old she¡¯d witnessed in temples as a child. Tworge horns, one behind the other along his snout, protruded like daggers. Long ws, a twin-set of tails, bright green fur and dark brown eyes.


    The ten-foot tall ghostly apparition seemed unstable though, as if the god was battling¡­ something¡­ in order to remain in this realm. He looked at his hand, bringing it up close to his face as all of the clergy around them prostrated themselves in reverence. ¡°I am the great winged rat, and I hear your plea.¡±


    His aura exploded again and toppled many of the onlookers throwing some head over heels by the sheer st of force - and his ck wings lifted upwards to either side as he flexed his muscles. ¡°My body will notst long in this form, Elysium does not want me here. It had left me as junk to be discarded¡­ along with the rest of my pantheon. But with this body¡­¡±


    The god gestured to Riven, and the vampire¡¯s bloodied, carved body shot upright and came to hover in front of the ratkin god¡¯s spirit. ¡°With this man¡¯s body¡­ I will be able to scoop out the essence of his soul and rece it with my own. After that¡­ after I bring my brothers and sisters from beyond this realm into the new multiverse, I will work to alleviate and dispel the curse you have been afflicted with - my children. You have all done well. Prek¡­ bring me the sacrificial dagger.¡±


    The bishop immediately scurried out of the bloody bath and knelt before the visage, outstretching his wed hands to present a wicked, curved de that the god¡¯s spirit picked up with one hand.


    Bringing the de up to Riven¡¯s neck, and tracing the carved sigils and runes in Riven¡¯s chest with his other hand, the great winged rat¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Your name¡­ tell it to me, so that I may know the name of the man I have consumed. So that I will remember it, as an honor to your memory.¡±


    Riven¡¯s crimson eyes began to dull, the light fading from them to the point that they didn¡¯t glow at all any longer - and the god¡¯s spirit frowned at the otherwiseck of response.


    ¡°His name-identity is Riven Thane! He is king-leader of the undead-kin up above!¡± Prek quickly stated after realizing how the great winged rat was bing irritated.


    The god slowly nodded. ¡°Riven Thane¡­ May your passing be as painless as possible, for the gift you are giving me - willing or not.¡±


    The god sunk the knife de first, and very slowly, deep into Riven¡¯s sternum between a set of two pentagrams representing Ath and Azmoth. Blood began trickling down Riven¡¯s chest while he remained motionless and emotionless up until the point that the de was buried all the way to the hilt - and then Riven''s eyes turned from dull to a pitch ck.


    The god¡¯s frown deepened, and it tilted its head to the side in confusion - matching Riven¡¯s limp posture to meet the man¡¯s eyes when Riven¡¯s face began to smile. ¡°Do you find the end of your life to be¡­ funny?¡±


    The smile only spread further, and ends of Riven¡¯s cheeks split open to make it even wider as it literally came around from ear to ear. Muscture and bones were exposed and peeled back, and his vampiric fangs were joined by rows upon rows of simr teeth that began growing out of his jaws.


    Then, Riven began to chuckle - still remaining as a limp doll in the grasp of the god¡¯s power. The chuckle turned into augh, and theugh turned into a screeching, crazed cackle - defying the god¡¯s spirit in front of him like there was not a care in the world.


    Riven¡¯s body abruptly shifted positions in space - closing the small distance between himself and the winged ratkin god by only an inch apart as blood began streaming out of his eyes and dripping down onto the floor below. ¡°Riven isn¡¯t home right now! But thanks for delivering yourself unto me so quickly, I¡¯d been concerned you wouldn¡¯t arrive in person!¡±


    The vampire¡¯s chest tore open into a huge, vertical maw as tendrils of darkness ripped out of his flesh - carving into the god¡¯s spirit and beginning to pull it in as the great winged rat screamed in confusion and horror. Riven¡¯s shackles burned away as his Mark of the Sinner tattoo expanded to cover his entire body within a split second - inking etched, ck, unholy tattoos into his pale skin while two enormous auras crashed in front of the ziggurat.


    Queen Bez and the nearby clergy, including bishop Prek, were eradicated in an instant as the two powerhouses tore into one another. The ratkin god struggled and iled, using its ethereal ws to cut away dozens of tendrils while Gluttony continued to cackle.


    Hundreds and then thousands of ck tendrils crashed into the god¡¯s spirit, digging and burying themselves into the ethereal body and burning, tearing, and ripping the ratkin deity¡¯s soul apart while consuming it bit by bit. Gluttony was eating the god alive, and he shuddered with ecstasy as the ascended spirit was eaten before the very eyes of its ratkin worshipers.


    Ratkin that¡¯d been on the periphery of the initial st came racing ahead, horror and fury engulfing them as they tried to assist their would-be savior with screams of desperation, but these too were swept away with a mere flick of Riven¡¯s hand - Gluttony¡¯s tendrils ripping out of maws in the floor that devoured the ratkin in moments - killing them in audible crunches that left them squealing before abrupt and bloody ends as their bodies disappeared into the abyss behind each of those ravenous mouths.


    Gluttony¡¯s ck eyes then turned upon the masses before him, growing a third, vertical eye of simr ck down the center of his forehead, and the unnaturallyrge grin on Riven¡¯s face ripped again as half of his head tore itself backwards to unleash a swarm of hungry insects that began tearing into the undead ratkin hordes.


    Carnage erupted across the amphitheater.


    The ratkin began to panic and scream as they began to drop like flies. Their bodies were being eaten and torn apart in bloody disys like corpses through a grinder while still alive, in the most undead-sense of the word, and soon the entire amphitheater for miles saw more and more maws tearing through space to devour even more of the creatures.


    Blood and bile sprayed. Bodies were devoured.


    Crowds trampled over their own as the blighted ratkin escaped through tunnels at the top or sides of the ce of worship, or died trying to escape.


    And the snapping, gurgling soundsing from the semi-solid spirit body of the ratkin god ended with a loud <strong>*CRACK*</strong> when one of Gluttony¡¯s tendrils found the soul core he¡¯d been searching for.


    The minor god shuddered, its form going limp, until it ceased resisting and was dragged into Gluttony¡¯s maw with a series of crunching sounds.


    Gluttony shuddered yet again as his swarms and maws continued devouring the fleeing creatures before him, and he reveled in the sense of being alive once again.


    <strong>[System Notice: Elysium¡¯s contractual agreement has been met. As one of the seven Original Sins, you are being allowed another chance at life. Per the contract:</strong><ul><li><strong>You will remain as a symbiotic organism to bnce out your gluttonous tendencies</strong></li><li><strong>You will have a nearlyplete reset, losing over 99% of your skills, knowledge, and levels</strong></li><li><strong>You will no longer be contained to the abyss</strong></li><li><strong>The ones banished with you during the War of Eternum will also be returned to life, with a simr reduction of skills, knowledge, and levels as those you experienced</strong></li><li><strong>Limiters on all other Original Sins, and the angelic Commandments, will be opened - allowing them to take the same deal you struck</strong></li><li><strong>Should your symbiote ever die, you will be given the opportunity to start over again and choose a new one - but you will have anotherplete reset in doing so</strong></li><li><strong>All Shards of Gluttony will be returned to you now that your banishment is being lifted, but remnants of your old power will remain in the harbingers you created during your attempts to circumvent my rules</strong></li><li><strong>Any further attempts to circumvent my rules will result in another, permanent, banishment]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[Multiversal System Notice: To all creatures across Elysium, let it be known that the return of the Sins and Commandments is at hand. The first of the seven original sins, Gluttony, has been unleashed from the abyss. Other sins andmandments will be released from the abyss over the course of the next ten years as long as they are willing to abide by Elysium¡¯s terms. Let the Eternal War between the hells and heavens begin again, as the origins of angels and demons sh in the cosmos - unshackled, and unrestrained, seeking to return to the power they once had.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your level has been set to equal the symbiote partner you¡¯ve bonded to, and you now share a body with the symbiote host Riven Thane. Experience needed to level up simultaneously with your host has doubled. Your host has gained the title: Incarnation of Gluttony, Original Sin. Your skills have been reset to 5: Hungering Clone Maws, Tendrils of Sin, Devouring Swarm, Devour Energy, and Banshee¡¯s Wail. All of your previously banished servants will start at level 1.]</strong>


    <strong>[Both you and your symbiote host have grown to level 200, and have been stopped from progressing further into the E-grade until you each reach enlightenment.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your symbiote host has taken the Number 1 Apex Rank on the Power Ladder of Panu.]</strong>


    Gluttony immediately felt the presence of The Scythe, then The Blood God, and soon a plethora of other gods that numbered in the dozens, then hundreds, then thousands as the eyes of the multiverse shifted their attention to his position.


    What vultures they were, feeding off the aplishments and worshiping of those lesser than they.


    Gluttony was nothing like them, and this ¡®great winged rat¡¯ - though only a lesser god - would not be thest of his kind that Gluttony devoured.


    Licking thest remnants of the ratkin god¡¯s semi-solid spirit off his chest, Gluttony banished their presences with a flick of his wrist. He abruptly felt the change in his memories as Elysium forcibly tore knowledge of rituals, spells, miracles, and lore from his mind - causing gluttony¡¯s face - or Riven¡¯s face - to scrunch up in pain¡­ but he let out an audible sigh of relief when it was done.


    He was not angry.


    He had been gone too long to be angry.


    Gluttony could only be¡­ excited, that he¡¯d found someone aspatible as Riven to host him - and groaned with pleasure when shards of his soul began mming into his soul aperture that was intertwined with Riven¡¯s own.


    He was going to be whole again, and it was only a matter of time before he and his symbiote grew into a power like he¡¯d been once upon a time - long, long ago.


    He could almost taste the fear of the angels even from here, in the dark depths of this backwater, and another low chuckle erupted from his lips as his massive soul epassed Riven¡¯s - beginning to feed Riven power with checks and bnces on Elysium¡¯s ending into y.


    One by one, portals began to form. Those who¡¯d been the strongest of his worshippers, his strongest minions, his strongest followers - they¡¯d been banished with him during the War of Eternum.


    They¡¯d all been reset to level 1, but levels certainly weren¡¯t everything when each of them had hundreds of body enhancements, perks, inherent buffs, titles, extremely high affinities, and natural strengths based on their racial aspects.


    Dozens, and then hundreds of demons that¡¯d once been banished to the abyss began walking through ck gates and into the realm of the living. They breathed their first breaths for eons, opening their eyes with hints of excitement and glee as they turned to face the one they called master.


    ¡°What are your orders, Gluttony?¡± a slender, multi-horned woman asked through a veil of shadows that epassed her body - white eyes lighting up through the darkness as she bowed low - setting an example for all the others as they did the same. ¡°We are willing and able to serve, and are excited to be of use once more. All hail the great maw.¡±


    ¡°ALL HAIL THE GREAT MAW!¡± The simultaneous chant from the hundreds of demons surrounding him called out in unison, from those big and small alike.


    Gluttony was pleased. He had nowhere near the amount of legions he¡¯d previously controlled when seeking conquest over entire gxies, or when invading the heavens in the sixth era, but the ones in front of him represented some of the brightest talents he¡¯d ever had the pleasure of lording over.


    He stepped forward, and ced a hand on the shadowy woman¡¯s horned head. ¡°There is another by the name of Allie Thane¡­ She has a quest gifted to her by the system, that guarantees Elysium¡¯s protection from outside invaders. The catch is that we will need to conquer 80% of the in her name by the time the system integration finishes¡­ and I will be preupied with another world quest within the hour.¡±


    He summoned Allie¡¯s quest status information, but how and why he knew what her quest was¡­ was now unattainable to him. He¡¯d received the information prior to having his mind stripped by Elysium, and was doubtful he¡¯d be able to acquire personal quest information like this again anytime soon.


    <strong>[New system quest dispensed: Conquer Panu. You have been publicly denounced by the Blood God as an Apostate, have angered almost every vampiric faction in the entire multiverse, and have already been marked for death on the public forums by numerous other factions across your. Having instilled a deepest fear in the minds of the living, and having given hope to the sentient undead of your world, you are destined to be hunted down - or alternatively you will rise from the ashes of war as a hero to your people. Will you and your kind be eradicated from Panu¡¯s surface? Or will you conquer this and im it for yourself? You have until the 5 year time limit of integration to take over at least 80% of this for yourself. If you aplish this, you will gain Elysium¡¯s direct and absolute protection from outside invaders for an additional 100 years, will gain a shroud that stops other outside forces from scrying your¡¯s location for 500 years, and will allow you to reposition your newly conquered anywhere within the multiverse a single time at the end of integration.]</strong>


    The woman kept her head bowed. ¡°You wish for us to help her?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Gluttony stated simply, withdrawing his hand and allowing the woman¡¯s bright white eyes to look up at him in admiration. ¡°Find this Allie Thane, help her aplish her goals, and wait for my return. Do not let her die, she is the sister of my symbiote host, and what pains him will also pain me. There is also a dungeon called Negrada that we will assist to establish a foothold back in the hells... Allie will have more information on the matter when you find her. Do this, and you will serve me well.¡±


    The ck tattoos covering his body flickered with ck lightning for a moment, sparking twice more, then his three ck eyes began to form crimson centers momentster. Gluttony sensed Riven¡¯s presence begin to settle in from the slumber he¡¯d been ced in, and soon each of his eyes had a ck sclera background with glowing crimson pupils.


    The maw along his chest began to fade, and messenger was extracted from his soul aperture - along with Jackal. A sigil of the great maw then appeared in a pentagram on his sternum, right underneath the pentagram sigils for Azmoth, Ath, and Fay.


    He equipped both Messenger and Jackal next as Riven began to form consciousness, and then looked down at his bare legs with a frown. ¡°Onest thing before I go. Find me... some pants.¡±


    ¡°Some¡­ pants, my lord?¡±


    ¡°... Yes. Some pants.¡±


    <strong>[1 minute until World Quest 2 proceeds with the sub event: The Altars of Despair and Hope. Prepare yourself.]</strong>

 Chapter 244

    Chapter 244


    <strong>Chapter 244</strong>


    Porcin masks, red flowing robes, and a swirling vortex of crimson that reached the sky.


    Seven monsters of ancient power.


    The seven elders of the Bloom Moon Requiem sat while floating meditative poses in a circr formation, facing inwards toward a globe of blood that was drawing from each of the thrall bodies their spirits possessed here on Panu. Each of these thrall bodies were slowly withering away, and the original souls to inhabit each of them were now long gone.


    Elder Thune and High Queen Nephridi red at each other through the slits in the masks their vessels wore, the remnant soul fragments of each thrall rapidly deteriorating as the seconds ticked by - sitting almost opposite one another with other elders between them on either side. The tension had been high ever since Allie had killed Lord Justo Barimont, and it¡¯d almost led to a civil war.


    That fracture line in the empire was still there, but at least the background assassinations hade to a halt. And now with the introduction of Allie¡¯s new changes, it appeared that Queen Nephridi had bet on the wrong horse.


    Kathrine stood wide eyed in the tradingpound¡¯s center, watching awestruck as fractal lines shattered the clouds overhead with red, crystalline patterns that bloomed and grew as the vortex continued to pour power into the ritual. She simply didn¡¯t know what to do or how to stop it, and when it was a unanimous decision of all seven¡­


    There was just no stopping it on her end.


    Riven and Allie were both going to be very angry. It made Kathrine worry about her uing engagement, about whether or not he¡¯d me her for not being able to stop it.¡°You seem bothered, princess.¡± Elder Thune called from his floating position under the fortress¡¯s shadow. He turned his burning crimson eyes to Kathrine, and she nearly stumbled when his aura mmed into her.


    It wasn¡¯t that he was intentionally doing it either. It was just that, even despite his real body being back in another universe past multiversal boundaries, he was simply that strong - and he had to keep the gates to his soul open in order to maintain this part of the ritual. Thus, a passive nce could even kill mere F-grades such as herself if he really put intent behind it.


    Thankfully he wasn¡¯t doing so.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Kathrine righted herself, sweat beading down her face, and she shook her head while straightening and smoothing out her form fitting ck dress. ¡°Y-Your excellency, I am merely concerned about the wellbeing of my fiance. I am certain he won¡¯t like what is about to happen to his sister-¡±


    ¡°She deserves what is going to happen. She was the one that so tantly refused the Blood God¡¯s will.¡± Elder Thune interrupted her with an uncaring, almost demeaning snort. ¡°Pathetic really. To think one of our own would so flippantly discard what it means to be one of the blood.¡±


    Queen Nephridi, who¡¯d been ring at the man opposite her this entire time, finally tore her red eyes off of him and turned to look at Kathrine with a little more grace than the other elder vampire elder. ¡°Child¡­ It is not something I enjoy thinking about either. But it is not as if we have a choice, and we aren¡¯t killing her. That in itself is a mercy, considering what she has done. Even if it angers The Scythe, our bloodline - Malignant Prophecy - is the most valuable treasure our empire has. It is what made us who we are today, it is what carried us throughout the hundreds of millenia to be a powerhouse of the multiverse, and it is simply not negotiable. We havemitted genocides five times over and waged war on civilizations far more powerful than ourselves to prove to the multiverse that we will not tolerate others toy hands on what is ours by birthright. We cannot allow our bloodline to fall into the hands of the Phantom Legions now that she has turned, or even the Reapers, and I have no doubt that both organizations are going to be digging in their heels to get to her no matter the cost if we allow this to exit integration without some means of a safeguard. Stripping her soul, even at the temporary cost of our own power, is a necessary risk we must take.¡±


    The sky above them exploded in a storm of red as two fractal patterns connected and merged, sending red shockwaves over Brightsville and causing the image of a blood moon to slowly take form over the stars in the sky. It began slowly, but began to grow in size and brightness as seconds and then minutes ticked by.


    ¡°And the Blood God wills it.¡± Queen Nephridi muttered under her breath, turning back around to face inwards towards the globe of red wicking away energy from the seven thralls each of the elders now possessed.


    Another messenger ran in, whispering into Kathrine¡¯s ear about Dr. Brass¡¯s repeated requests for information on just what was going on - but again she told the messenger to tell the necropolis it was nothing to be concerned about. It wasn¡¯t as if anyone currently present in Brightsville could stop what was going on anyways, and the sinking feeling she was getting in her gut only grew as-


    <strong>[Multiversal System Notice: To all creatures across Elysium, let it be known that the return of the Sins and Commandments is at hand. The first of the seven original sins, Gluttony, has been unleashed from the abyss. Other sins andmandments will be released from the abyss over the course of the next ten years as long as they are willing to abide by Elysium¡¯s terms. Let the Eternal War between the hells and heavens begin again, as the origins of angels and demons sh in the cosmos - unshackled, and unrestrained, seeking to return to the power they once had.]</strong>


    The system notification burned itself into the air in front of her with a shattering, screaming howl. The usual blue hologram text was nowhere to be seen. Nor was the gold lettering of Elite notifications, or the red of Legendary notifications. Instead, it was a deep ck that seemed to suck in the very light around her like some kind of ck hole ripped in space.


    Overhead and across the sky, the sh of a giant ck maw screamed in triumph as the very rumbled around them. The air quaked, a cold wave of dread overtook them, and the sky flickered - even changing the blood moon¡¯s image in favor of a vast abyss where six other faded entities resided; each of them holding a unique but vastly powerful essence themselves. Just staring up at the maw and the six caged entities caused Kathrine to start seizing, hitting the floor while the floodgates of dark inspiration crashed through her mind and soul. The dark truths of the universe came and went as a fire hydrant trying to be forced down a straw, and it took everything inside her not to cry out as her soul aperture cracked and reorganized itself under the massive weight of an eons-old but mostly forgotten path.


    Then the maw, the abyss, and the presence of the six other original sins were all gone - fading away and leaving the world as it had been only minutes before.


    The elders all sat in stunned silence, and it was one of the others - a woman by the name of Elder Istiva, who spoke first. ¡°Did we just witness¡­¡±


    ¡°We did.¡± Queen Nephridi confirmed with a whisper, still staring up at the ce the vision had presented itself while their ritual continued building.


    One of the other masked elders began swearing under his breath, and as the seconds ticked by - he voiced the one question that everyone else was thinking, but not saying. ¡°Why would it present itself here?¡±


    The clearing fell into silence.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­¡± Elder Istiva said slowly, nervously cracking one knuckle with a cocked head, as yet another man began to cackle gleefully at the very idea that it might be right.


    ¡°Impossible.¡± Elder Thune promptly stated. ¡°The chances of that are-¡±


    He was cut off and stopped short of what he was going to say, when a tear in space ripped open before them. All seven of the stunned vampire elders watched in dead silence as a very famous figure from eons past that they all recognized from the recorded histories stepped through, closing the ck gate of the abyss behind her.


    She was a demonic woman wreathed in shadow that covered her entire body, though somewhat tall for a humanoid, with indistinguishable facial features other than the seven horns around her head that formed a pseudo-crown. The bright white eyescked pupils, remaining drooped in a calm and collected manner - as if bored, and the deep-purple pentagram with Gluttony¡¯s maw sigil that drew itself onto her chest was a tell-tale confirmation of just who she was.


    She raised herself off the ground to hover up and then over the seven elder vampires, looking down on them and sping her hands behind her with a satisfied nod. Large ck wings spread out from her back, as if stretching them after a long time of misuse - and a long ck tail sprouted from her backside to whip about in the air behind her. ¡°Yes¡­ This is where our eyes should meet. With me looking down¡­ on the rest of you.¡±


    No one said a word, each of the seven elders remaining in a stunned state of silence, while her bright white eyes continued to glow - radiating out as two beacons amidst the pool of shadows that created her body.


    Her identification information, etched in ck mes, was mostly unidentifiable.


    <strong>[Lillith, Level 1 Archdemon: Unique ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. Commander of the Gluttonous Legions. MYTHIC.]</strong>


    She gestured to the ritual above them, and the sky shattered. The visage of the blood moon evaporated, and another shockwave radiated across the heavens as the seven elders each snapped out of their surprised trances to abruptly stand.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°YOU DARE!¡± Elder Thune snarled, reaching up with the thrall he now possessed - only to evaporate into a spray of blood and viscera when Lillith¡¯s tail snapped forward to make contact.


    ¡°Now, now.¡± Lillith cooed, turning her calm gaze upon the others with wings still outstretched. ¡°I know you are all quite powerful in your own right, I can sense it¡­ S-grade monsters or higher, the lot of you. But none of you are able to impose your true strength here and now, not on this, not under the watch of Elysium while Panu is still undergoing integration. There is nothing you can do here now that I havee, so it would be in your best interest to talk - rather than to attempt a poor and petty revenge. Because you see¡­ That girl you were trying to stripmine the soul of - she is now my charge. It may take another ten thousand years before I¡¯m able to match your raw strength as I regain my power, but if you know what¡¯s good for you - you¡¯ll all stay out of my way as I get there.¡±


    ***


    Riven sat before the great maw, a mouth that swallowed the universe as billions begged, screamed, and died.s burned, legions marched on the heavens, and angels were eaten alive by enormous, titanic demons and creatures of nightmare.


    <em>"All is as it should be..."</em> Riven heard the great maw whisper into his mind. <em>"This is what our future holds..."</em>


    The vision cut off, falling back into the ck tattoos that covered his otherwise pale white body - bing essible forter.


    Notifications shed through his mind, but they then quickly settled into the background of his status page for him to checkter - as ones specific to the quest he''d been assigned popped up as priority messages.


    <strong>[Chalgathi, The Apocalypse Beasts World Quest, Panu, sub-event has been INITIATED: </strong><strong>The Altars of Despair and Hope.</strong>


    <strong>A temporary pocket world for this event has been created. The Chosen finalists of Chalgathi, the gue Dragon, Chubin, the ss Kraken, and Neckra, the Skeletal Devourer - Have all been sent to this pocket world topete.</strong>


    <strong>Locations of Chalgathi¡¯s Altars have been marked for you. You will be required to visit all 4 Chalgathi altar sites and activate each of the shrines, as well as acquire 10,000 event points before being allowed to leave this event. Doing so will also give you knowledge of the location of Chalgahti¡¯s Temple, where Chalgathi¡¯s incubation chamber has been hidden.</strong>


    <strong>There are 21 registered Cultists.</strong><ul><li><strong>7 Chalgathi Cultists, 6 Chubin Cultists, and 8 Nekra Cultists</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>There are 9 registered Non-Cultists entering this event.</strong><ul><li><strong>3 Chalgathi Non-Cultists, 4 Chubin Non-Cultists, and 2 Nekra Non-Cultists</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>You have arrived at the Altar of Hope, and are now registered as a Non-Culist. Killing other Non-Cultists will result in a decrease in your Event Points. Each participant will have their own set of unique quests that allow them to gain points and level up, only quests will allow level ups and XP gains during this event. Other rules will be reviewed again and in more detail after your first quest ispleted.]</strong>


    <strong>[Chalgathi Cowl (Non-Cultist) has been added to your inventory. This is a soulbound item only you can wear for the remainder of this event, it gives you no stats or bonuses, but it marks you as a Chalgathi Non-Cultist to friend and enemy alike.]</strong>


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Riven¡¯s Quest #1 of The Altars of Despair and Hope</strong><strong>: Other F-grade participants have been either voluntarily or involuntarily dragged into this event from across the multiverse. Unlike the chosen of this trial, they do not respawn 24 hours after death. You have been given the task of defending one of these poptions. Your first quest is to travel to the marked quest location and save as many people as you can. Each person that dies counts towards a -1 Event Point. Sessfully defending the town from the monster wave will result in +30 Event Points.</strong>


    <strong>>>> Time until monster wave: 15 hours.]</strong>


    Riven opened his red and ck eyes, including the vertical one stationed on his forehead, with a deep inhale of fresh air. The crisp cold flooded his lungs and invigorated him, and it was with a shuddering breath that he let it all out with a slump to his shoulders.


    Just what had happened to him?


    No¡­ he remembered now. The memories etched themselves into his thoughts one by one, and a deep sadness overcame him when he thought of Snagger¡¯s recent death. That sadness turned to anger when he realized that Gluttony had intentionally let the ratkin die in order to get closer to the lesser god, and he turned his ire upon the symbiotic presence in his soul only a split secondter.


    <em>¡°Do not be angry with me, Riven¡­ If I had not done so, if I had not gained the element of surprise and been in such close proximity to the overly confident god, we would have died too. This was the best, and only way.¡±</em>


    A soothing sensation washed over him, and it was as if Gluttony had imposed his will on Riven to calm him down. Despite knowing this, Riven decided this was a conversation to be had at ater time - and he let that soothing sensation continue to massage his anger away while considering just what he wanted to say about all that''d happened.


    He had a lot of questions.


    ¡°Riven?¡±


    Genua¡¯s voice pulled him out of his stupor, and Riven blinked whileing back to reality.


    He stood on arge t-topped tower that overlooked a forestedndscape that spread out in all directions for as far as the eye could see. The sun beat down on him, though his gluttonous ivory armor kept him from taking passive sunlight damage, and he noted that his helmet had been modified to allow his third eye to see through from his forehead. A thin but very well-made cowl made from a smooth ck material also covered his helmet, with a dark green trimming and little holes having been custom-made by the system to let his spined central ridge of red feathers from his helmet through.


    Jackal remained in its canine form at his side, and he had a different, unfamiliar set of metal greaves on. Beside him were Azmoth, Genua, Ath, and Luke - his other thrall who¡¯d been watching over Len in Brightsville. Fay was nowhere to be seen, but she¡¯d also just died in Deepnest¡¯s explosion and he did a quick set of actions to pay Elysium for her return in 24 hours.


    Aside from his minions, there were also 8 other people (some of which had their own minions) standing on top of the t roof of the tower - with a spiral stairway leading downwards in the very center of the tall building. They all looked sketchy as fuck in his oppinion, a mix-and-mash of wary stares shared between the lot of them - and a good number of them wearing masks or hoods to obscure their faces. Some wore heavy armor, others wore leathers or robes, and one guy wore nothing but a set of boxers with two orange, metal katanas in either hand.


    Weird choice of a getup, in Riven¡¯s opinion.


    But they all had one thing inmon.


    Each of them had a cowl on their heads, over the original outfits they¡¯d put on. The 3 Chalgathi Non-Cultists -who were all humans - wore ck hoods with green trimming, and had circr dragon symbols etched into the tops. This included the living fashion-statement bearing two orange katanas. The 4 Chubin Non-Cultists wore cowls made of silver material with blue trimmings, and had the visage of a kraken etched into their tops. These particr people weren¡¯t humans at all, but rather three of them were actually lizard-like Naga - with blue-green scales and frills along their necks and heads. They had webbed hands, the upper bodies were humanoid, and their lower bodies were that of a snake or sea-serpent. The fourth Chubin Non-Cultist was actually a mermaid with short green hair and a getup made of stitched scales and seaweed - who quickly changed her lower fish-half into legs and stood upright when Riven¡¯s eyes fell upon her. The 2 Nekra Non-Culstists wore sandy-brown hoods with teal trimming and an etched scorpion sigil, one being a short dwarf woman wearing half a dozen skulls around her waist with multiple undead golems positioned around her - while the second person was actually a dark elf with a ck robe and a white skull tattoo covering half his face. The dark elf in particr held two well-crafted wooden wands out to either side, and had a singlerge phantom hovering behind him protectively.


    Dual-wielding wands wasn¡¯t something Riven had seen before, and he found the concept rather interesting.


    ¡°Riven!¡± Genua hissed,ing over to tug on his arm frantically with eyes wide. ¡°Len was left behind! Where is my daughter!?¡±


    This snapped Riven out of his musings, but they were all quickly calmed down when Luke held up a cating hand.


    The old elf thrall cleared his throat. ¡°Len is fine, she¡¯s at the manor now and was being taken care of by myself, Tupper, and all the other elf staff on duty. I must say that your daughter is getting along very well with all of the other deathtouched elf children we brought in from the orphanage today - but she doesn¡¯t seem to understand why she wasn¡¯t turned like the rest of them. Keeps asking me about why everyone on that side of the portal, and all the friends she¡¯d made at school previously now have gray skin and neon-teal eyes. I think she¡¯s jealous of them.¡±


    Len had been on the other side of Panu when Allie¡¯s event had taken hold, and the elves of Tereen or the children who¡¯d been orphaned had in many cases be ¡®Deathtouched Enlightened¡¯ versions of themselves. They¡¯d kept most of their physical attributes in terms of how they looked, but the coloring was often off and their death-affinities had skyrocketed across the board due to their now technically undead heritage.


    ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s in good hands?¡± Genua whirled around on Luke, tears in her eyes, sping her hands together in front of her. ¡°I didn¡¯t even get to tell her goodbye! I¡¯m going to be gone for a year or more and I didn¡¯t get to see her off!¡±


    The others on the tower were staring ck-jawed, wary, or even outright scared as they stared Riven¡¯s group down - with Azmoth and Ath¡¯s drider form both making veryrge and intimidating presences near the tower¡¯s edge.


    ¡°Len will be fine, Genua. Tupper is there and I¡¯ll let Fay know to pass along the message to her family, so her brother can then tell Len what happened.¡± Riven assured her with a firm andforting hand on his thrall¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We can even have them give us updates that way.¡±


    Ath, who was covered in blood and standing at the height of a small building, turned herrge frame around and groaned in irritation. ¡°I was just about to finish wiping out that Russian mafia family before being teleported here! You do realize I was in the middle of an operation with General Bruner from Chicago, right? RIGHT RIVEN!?¡±


    Ath abruptly changed forms into her blood-weaver form, the dog-sized spider jumping up into Riven¡¯s arms and rapidly swatting him on the armored forehead. ¡°BAD RIVEN! SEND ME BACK! BAD-BAD!¡±


    Riven immediately encased her entire body in crimson ice, walked over to the edge as she continued to screech muffled insults through the magic, and dropped the frozen block of spider off the edge while giving her a salute and a chuckle.


    Azmoth joined in on theughter, waving at the disappearing spider as she went.


    Her screams faded away and he turned back to the others, before his eyes settled on a single familiar figure wearing another Chalgathi hood nearby. Slowly he lifted an eyebrow, tilted his head, and his jaw began to drop as the woman meekly waved back.


    She wore a ck leather outfit, with her own Chalgathi-items set having turned into something of a rogue¡¯s outfit with spiked-knuckle leather gloves that went up to her shoulders. Her dragon amulet had remained the same as it¡¯d originally been, her headdress poked out the front of her cowl and looked very native-american-like with the feathers pulsing green energy, while a variety of different small des were strapped to her upper body and thighs.


    He pointed her way. ¡°You¡¯re that Asiandy from the pyramid back in the pre-integration Chalgathi quest. Aren¡¯t you? The one who helped me get up to the top?¡±


    Her smile grew a bit, and she hesitantly nodded. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, though you helped me more than I helped you back then. It was a pretty brutal initiation back then, and if you¡¯d told me that you were going to be the most powerful person on this by the next time we¡¯d meet - I¡¯d haveughed in your face and called you crazy; Mr. Riven Thane.¡±

 Chapter 245

    Chapter 245


    <strong>Chapter 245</strong>


    The other Non-Cultists had quickly left, setting out from the tower towards their own destinations where their own quest markers were taking them. No one wanted to talk to Riven¡¯s group with the one exception of the asian woman who¡¯d helped him up the pyramid in the very first day of integration, no doubt due to the terrible reputation he had on the forums and the power he had to back it up. Riven, to them, was an absolute monster. He was a genocidal maniac. He was a mass murderer in every sense of the word - and they did everything in their power to even avoid eye contact when he caught them staring in the early seconds of having transitioned into this new Apocalypse Beasts event.


    ¡°My name is Sara. It¡¯s nice to finally greet you like this.¡± Sara, the asian woman stated with a smile underneath the headdress and hood she now wore.


    He took her hand when she extended it, and they shook firmly before releasing.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see a familiar face here, one that I don¡¯t want to kill.¡± Riven stated with augh while thest people left filed down the central staircase of the altar¡¯s insides. ¡°I¡¯d introduce myself, but it appears you know my name already!¡±


    ¡°Hard to miss with everything you¡¯ve done.¡± Sara said wryly in response. ¡°You¡¯re one of the most hated and feared people on the, and you have one of thergest cult followings too.¡±


    ¡°Cult followings? Are you being serious or is it a figure of speech? Like with Chalgathi?¡±


    ¡°No, not literally, but people on the forums are either die-hard against you or die-hard for you. There isn¡¯t much of an inbetween. Hey, what¡¯s your first quest? I think we may have the same one.¡±


    Riven chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s rather confident¡­ What makes you say that?¡±He pulled up his quest notification and showed it to her, only causing her to pooch her lips while reading.


    <strong>[Riven¡¯s Quest #1 of The Altars of Despair and Hope: Other F-grade participants have been either voluntarily or involuntarily dragged into this event from across the multiverse. Unlike the chosen of this trial, they do not respawn 24 hours after death. You have been given the task of defending one of these poptions. Your first quest is to travel to the marked quest location and save as many people as you can. Each person that dies counts towards a -1 Event Point. Sessfully defending the town from the monster wave will result in +30 Event Points.</strong>


    <strong>>>> Time until monster wave: 15 hours.]</strong>


    Sara then pulled up her own quest notification, and a wide grin spread across her face. ¡°So¡­ What do you think? Partners for now? We can walk and talk to catch up on just what happened to us, and how we got here.¡±


    <strong>[Sara¡¯s Quest #1 of The Altars of Despair and Hope: Tag along with any other Non-Cultist to defend their town for the uing monster waves. Your job is to sessfully assassinate the enemy leader, as well as any enemy cultists that may appear with the monster wave. +30 Event Points for assassinating the enemy leader. Extra Event Points (+3 total) for any enemy cultist in.]</strong>


    This time, Riven¡¯s eyebrows both rose -and he looked off into the distance where his own quest marker in the form of a bright light continued pinging him with shing signals. Then heughed. ¡°There¡¯ll be enemy cultists!? That sounds absolutely great. It appears we¡¯re already being pitted against the other side, and yes I¡¯d love to have you along. Let¡¯s get a move on shall we?¡±


    ***


    Gragle the gnome stared absentmindedly at the reflection looking back at him, little waves rippling in the cold amber liquid in his mug while people in the bar walked by. Two long scars across his upper right face only narrowly missed his right eye, but left ugly gashes of cursed energy that even to this day still hurt at random times. The once lively and joyous features he¡¯d had were long gone after having lost so many friends over the years to disease and system-spawned monsters here on the barren of Mesini, and not a day went by that he didn¡¯t curse the decision toe to this hellhole.


    The corporation he¡¯d worked for had gone under when the lead on ancient artifacts had been a bust. His way off the had been barred, given he hadn¡¯t found some other way to pay back the people who¡¯d given him a lift - and interster travel was not cheap. Not only that, but he was more of a magical artificer at heart and his skills had very quickly been deemed a need - rather than a want - for one very violent group of thugs called the Scrags Mafia. He had a very unique ss, one that he¡¯d never heard of anyone else having before. One that let him see the most basic concepts of how skills worked. A way to cast abilities as something called: Graphics.


    Graphics were, simply put, a way to formte the magic of thought into physical concepts by utilizing the base code of the system. They were how Elysium itself performed feats, they were how Elysium itself created all the rules, and were what some called the ¡®skeleton¡¯ of all other magics because they could be used tobine and alter spells to interact with one another in odd, and sometimes otherwise unheard of ways. They were most often found in high grade crafts, such as the applications he used for totem-crafting, but they could theoretically be used forbat as well. Gragle hadn¡¯t ever mastered thetter part as he was something of a coward, because graphics were generally a well kept secret amongst most of the multiverse factions who had even a hint of knowledge about them, and the amount of magic it¡¯d take to effectively use graphics inbat would have to be astronomical; but his skill in utilizing these graphics in his inventions had eventually led to his capture and pseudo-very here on Mesini.


    He let out a long and high-pitched sigh, given his small size, and the human barkeeper snorted in derision at the depressed gnome before heading off to get more drink for another of the scavengers who frequented this pub.


    The only joy Gragle found nowadays was deep in a ss of cold, amber ale like the one in front of him. Even the love he¡¯d once had for the crafting of totems, trinkets, magical weapons and armor were long gone. He¡¯d attempted to find something else to sway his wandering mind, something that he could grasp and find a love and passion for again - but he¡¯d been stumped on what exactly that could be. Not that he could stop working for the Scrags, they¡¯d kill him if he didn¡¯t produce for their outfit and had already tortured him brutally twice since knowing him. However he otherwise had the freedom of choice, as long as he kept up with the demands of Ronnie - the Scrags Mafia leader.


    He took another sip of the amber liquid, his short ck beard dripping the liquid onto gray pants stained with charcoal and ash. There was a bit of blood there too, after having needed to sacrifice a few farm animals in order to properly create the two blood-attuned graphics that were now hovering as 3-dimensional objects over the scratched wooden counter. The graphics would asionally shift shape, changing from one polygon form into another or sprouting branches here or there to retract them upon the next shift - but they each meant the same thing:


    Power in Blood.


    A man¡¯s grunt sounded out and the chair next to Gragle was pulled back, with a thickly built man in full silver te armor - trimmed in gold - sitting down in it with a loud thud.


    Gragle didn¡¯t even bother looking up, ignoring the silent stare from underneath the visor. He gestured to the two graphics over the bar. ¡°There you go Ronnie. As you requested.¡±


    The armored man looked down at the two floating polygons, then to Gragle, then back to the polygons before taking them and putting them into a spatial sack. ¡°I told you not to bring these things out in public. You could be killed for the knowledge you possess, gnome - and I don¡¯t want you dead quite yet.¡±


    ¡°Feigning worry, are we?¡± Gragleughed, this time chugging the entire mug of ale in fiverge gulps before mming the metal cup back down onto the old wood and pushing it away with a belch. ¡°I would wee death at this point. The life of a ve is no life at all.¡±


    ¡°If that were true, you¡¯d stop trying to find a way off this.¡± Ronnie observed casually. ¡°You¡¯d just kill yourself.¡±


    Stolen story; please report.


    Gragle stiffened in his seat, and for the first time since the armored man had arrived - the gnome looked back up at him through squinted lids. ¡°Maybe, maybe not.¡±


    <strong>*WHAM*</strong>


    Gragle felt his skull crack onto the wooden boards of the countertop, and many of the pub¡¯s patrons came to a standstill while watching Ronnie grind Gragle¡¯s skin against the rough wood.


    ¡°Remember your ce, halfling.¡± Ronnie stated coolly as a group of men behind him chuckled with folded arms, all of them bearing the sigil of the Scrags on their armor or vests. ¡°Or I¡¯ll bring you down to the ringer and we¡¯ll go for a round three - hot irons included. Wouldn¡¯t want to shit those finely made pants of yours yet again, now would we?¡±


    The malice in Ronnie¡¯s words caused Gragle to flinch almost as much as the pain, and the halfling grunted when Ronnie¡¯srge, human hand removed itself with another violent shove.


    Gragle spit blood, and then a tooth as some of the Scrags¡¯ membersughed - only for a system notification to appear in front of everyone present.


    <strong>[Criteria met: Insignificant,cking in Fate, high potential for re-route of Fate, and all below E-grade. Your Town, Mesini Outpost #84, has been taken by Elysium for an integration event on the frontier of the newly born Universe 62.]</strong>


    <strong>*CRASH*</strong>


    The sky rumbled and the entire building shook. People and animals from outside began to scream and yell, with many of the scavengers dropping their drinks to hide under desks - while the more practical ones took their drinks with them until the earthquake stopped a few minutester.


    Ronnie, who¡¯d been holding on hard with both gauntleted hands to the bar, looked around at his four men and whispered something to them before shouts from outside caused him to bolt for the door. When the gang leader got there - he immediately froze and gawked at the sky above them.


    Gragle could already tell why, because he was looking out one of the dirty ss windows himself. Orange skies had turned into a pristine blue, and in the distance there were trees growing on hills surrounding their position on the outskirts of town.


    Trees?


    Gragle hadn¡¯t seen trees in over a decade!


    ¡°Wha¡­ What just happened?¡± One of the men further down the bar called out, his getup that of a typical scavenger with a gray cloak, various small weapons and a few packs strapped to his hip.


    The barkeep was the first to blink. ¡°I think we were just pulled into an integration event¡­ Read the text bloke. Elysium is at its games again.¡±


    ¡°Integration events are fucking dangerous!¡± The man hissed back, a little bit of fear in his words while walking out to stand next to the still-gawking Ronnie. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for this! SEND ME BACK!¡±


    <strong>[Outpost #84 Quest 1: Survive the monster wave. Time remaining: 9 hours.]</strong>


    There was deadpan silence for a couple second safer than, and then an uproar took hold of the small town as hundreds of people began to panic simultaneously. Gragle on the other hand was a little less enthusiastic, remaining interested but less concerned about his own bodily safety. This was the most interesting thing he¡¯d had happen to him almost¡­ ever?


    ¡°This is bad¡­¡± Ronnie stated, sitting back down at the bar as another of his men in rat-skin furs sat down next to him. ¡°Shit! Shit-shit-shit-shit-SHIT! I cannot BELIEVE we were taken off Mesini for a life and death INTEGRATION event of all things! What are the chances!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what your sister kept saying when - OW!¡±


    Ronnie smacked the man as the others of his gangughed.


    And then the door to swing open and all the room to go abruptly silent. Theughter stopped, Ronnie¡¯s head swiveled left and froze in ce, and people all over the pub stopped drinking just to stare.


    ¡°That¡¯s an odd kind of magic you have there. Or¡­ is it even really magic? I¡¯m quite curious.¡±


    The man¡¯s voice was calm and confident, and when Gragle looked up - still clutching his bruised face from where Ronnie had smashed it - he saw an armored, hooded man in the doorway surrounded by a variety of other figures.


    The stranger gave off an aura of dread, not subtle at all given what was likely a very low or even negative Charisma stat, with two humanoid eyes and a vertical one along the forehead - all of them with deep ck sclera and bright crimson centers. Spiked knuckle gauntlets of ivory metal, possibly even bone, covered his hands and led up torge, horned, vampiric skulls for pauldrons that also glowed a bright red in the eye sockets. The chestte had a long vertical maw of shifting teeth, with red silk of some kind covering the neck up to where a thick helmet created from interlocking teeth at the front were also present around the head - along with the three eye sockets that allowed the man to see forward. Red feathers down the central ridge created something like a mohawk, while a ck hood with green trimmings and a circr dragon sigil along the top covered much of his helmet - allowing the feathers to pierce through the central row through numerous small holes.


    <strong>[Chalgathi Cowl (Non-Cultist): This is a soulbound item only you can wear for the remainder of this event, it gives you no stats or bonuses, but it marks you as a Chalgathi Non-Cultist to friend and enemy alike.]</strong>


    Strange - the notification appeared immediately upon looking at the cowl without even attempting to identify it. What was Chalgathi? Gragle couldn¡¯t help but wonder.


    Was this man one of the participants for the integration trial?


    He had to be. Right? No one here had that high quality kind of gear otherwise.


    A dog created from shadows sat at his side, with a ck and red arachnid on his opposite shoulder. A huge, hulking, four-armed behemoth of a demon stood behind the man - no doubt a very powerful summon by the looks of it. Especially in this area of the multiverse - Er, on Mesini, where only low-quality scavengers scrounging for scraps on the ruins of dead civilizations could be found.


    Another woman in a ck leather outfit with spiked leather gloves, a dragon amulet, and a headdress with a simr cowl stood beside the man who¡¯d originally spoken - daggers strapped all over her body. Meanwhile, an old elf with red eyes and thin linens had one hand on a mace strapped to a basic-looking belt.


    Even with this odd mix-and-mash of strangers, it was thest figure that had made everyone in the room freeze the most:


    She was also a beautiful elf, but Gragle could only barely tell considering one of her ears was hidden under the locks of blonde hair she had. More than that, she was a thrall if his identification read wasn¡¯t being tampered with. She wore a very form-fitting ck silk robe that almost looked like a long dress, with red fingerless gloves that came up her forearms and golden lettering on her ribcage. Two red half moons and a central full moon were sewn into the front of the fabric, with shimmering crimson tattoos obvious in the dull light of the grungy pub. She wore a very recognizable red headdress made from metal over the ck silk hood of her robes, and Gragle could see people even outside on the street had stopped to stare at her in particr with a mixture of both awe and fear.


    What in the hells and heavens was a Priestess of the Blood God doing here in an integration event?


    Things were getting stranger and stranger by the minute.


    Gragle openly gaped, just like many of the others did, and then blinked rapidly when the armored man at the forefront took a step inside. Gragle¡¯s eyes shifted to him, watching the stranger casually and slowly walk up to him, before sitting down on the opposite side from Ronnie.


    Again, Gragle¡¯s eyes nced back at the Blood Priestess, a cold sweat forming over his skin as his eyes darted around the room to settle on the man who¡¯d just taken a seat nearby - and his blood ran cold when the priestess followed in to take a submissive position behind the man in ivory armor.


    It didn¡¯t take much longer for the pieces to click together, even if Gragle¡¯s identification information couldn¡¯t piece much from the man¡¯s equipment or status information. It only gave him question marks when attempting, aside from that sted hood, and the creepy three eyes the man had were certainly off-putting.


    ¡°M-master vampire¡­ B-blood Priestess¡­¡± Gragle said with a stutter, bowing his head low in respect to both of them and catching his breath while the sweat continued to umte on his forehead and palms. ¡°W-What an honor it is that a p-priestess and her charge wish to s-speak with me! What c-can this humble gn-gnome do for y-you?¡±


    His small body was literally shaking. And Ronnie - who¡¯d previously had his hand on Gragle¡¯s head, now had a firm, tight grip on the longsword at his waist. But from the rattling of his weapon in its sheath, and the wide-eyed stare at the priestess, it was obvious that even he was terrified.


    That didn¡¯t even ount for the huge hulking demon in the background.


    <strong>[Genua, Level ??? Priestess of the Blood God, High Elf Thrall, ???.]</strong>


    The man in front of him seemed confused, and his central eye closed entirely as the helmet shut the vertical slit with ivory metal.


    A living suit of armor?!


    Gragle had tried creating one before, but it¡¯d ended in absolute failure. If he could get some time to spend with this neer so he could study it¡­


    ¡°As I said¡­¡± The armored man stated before leaning right onto the bar¡¯s dirty, old, wooden ledge. ¡°You have an odd ability to craft¡­ whatever those polygon energy constructs were. Would you mind showing me again?¡±


    The barkeeper, a scrawny human man in histe 40¡¯s who was already showing signs of balding, adjusted his sses and nervously shuffled back to grasp something from underneath the bar. ¡°Vampire¡­ We don¡¯t wish to have any bloodshed here. There is no need to-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to kill anyone here unless they attack me first.¡± The armored man stated, continuing to stare Gragle down with a curious intent. He then held out a hand, and deposited a small fortune of Elysium coins on the counter - immediately shifting much of the attention off the priestess and onto the pile of coins.


    That kind of money could feed any man here and his family for months¡­


    ¡°Drinks and food for my friends and I.¡± The stranger stated, looking up to where Ronnie was clutching his sword and hesitating on what to do. ¡°If you¡¯re going to take that sword out and attack, then get it over with. I¡¯m tired of waiting.¡±


    The modified hellscape brutalisk was already looming over four other men who¡¯d apanied Ronnie, and each of them had backed up a bit from the ring leader with wavering breaths and magic ring in one¡¯s hands.


    Ronnie shuddered, stood up, and took his hand off his weapon. He took onest look at the blood priestess, and left out the doors without a word - all of his crew in tow.


    Leaving Gragle all by himself, with a bruised face - and the attention of a blood sucker scion of some coven. A scion that, by some massive stroke of misfortune, had chosen to single out Gragle for the graphics he¡¯d had on disy.

 Chapter 246

    Chapter 246


    <strong>Chapter 246</strong>


    Outside the small scavenger town was an absolute riot, with peopleing out of their homes onto the streets and gathering at the walls to look out beyond the high stone barricade. Gragle nervously nced at the nching barkeeper, who only shook his head as if telling the scarred gnome not to antagonize the vampire, and he let out a shuddering breath when his eyes againnded on the blood priestess.


    The bar was clearing out, and half the people had already left to either get away from the bad omen in human form - or to see what exactly was going on outside with the integration event they¡¯d been transported to. Things like this were rare, very rare, but they did happen - and sometimes the moves were permanent. Most likely this would lead to a choice on whether to go back home or not at the end of the event should they survive, based on the history books, but there was no guarantee Gragle would even get back to Mesini after this.


    There was no guarantee he¡¯d live at all.


    ¡°Those polygons you saw are called graphics¡­ Have you heard of them?¡± Gragle asked, noticing the quest timer in the top-right corner of his vision that was counting down to the moment the apparent monster wave would hit. 8 hours and 42 minutes¡­


    Gragle had a lot of questions when turning back to the strange armored vampire, but he wasn¡¯t about to be the one that asked. Who were these people and why were they here? There was no doubt the system event somehow involved them, vampires didn¡¯t exist on Mesini, so what were the details of this overall quest? Surely it wasn¡¯t just a simple monster wave, there¡¯d be no reason to transport Outpost #84 off world if that¡¯d been the case. Nevertheless and even despite his building curiosity, Gragle twidled his thumbs and gulped nervously when the vampire¡¯spanions all took seats at the bar as well - with the spider even transforming into a very attractive but deadly looking arshakai.


    ¡°He looks like he¡¯s about to piss himself.¡± The demonic woman said with a wink, throwing a sleek ck arm around the vampire¡¯s shoulders and pulling herself in to sit on hisp. ¡°Poor little guy.¡±


    The man in armor blinked, took a cup of amber ale from the shaking bartender on the opposite side of the counter, and shoved the pile of coins forward towards the man insistently when he saw the paling human hesitate. ¡°Take it.¡±


    There was a pause as the barkeeper seriously considered doing so, it was an absolute fortune in Elysium Coinspared to what usually circted around these parts, but he objected with a shake of the head. ¡°It¡¯s on the house, I don¡¯t want to offend a young master of-¡±¡°Take it.¡± The armored man stated, smacking his hand onto the counter more forcefully this time.


    The barkeeper took in a deep breath, closed his eyes shut tight, and prayed to the gods that he wasn¡¯t being tricked into some kind of foul, malicious prank. He slowly reached forward and scooped the gold into a sack, sweat starting to appear on his forehead and along his neck. He gave the vampire a quick nce to confirm it was still ok, and then gingerly put the sack of money on a back counter before continuing to pass out drinks to the others.


    Meanwhile, the few people who¡¯d stayed in the pub with them all just simply stared in absolute silence. It was like a grave, with the aura of dread so palpable now that Gragle was beginning to have a hard time breathing.


    Just what was this man¡¯s charisma level at to be building up to such potent levels? He¡¯d only been sitting less than two minutes.


    ¡°My name is Riven.¡± The vampire stated casually, and took off his helmet - revealing a very handsome face with short brown hair. He had the typical pale skin that most would see on vampires, and the eyes were bright enough to be a greater vampire if Gragle had to guess - but those strange ck tattoos¡­ There was something very wrong about them. Something evil, ancient, even malicious, and he didn¡¯t recognize the script.


    Gragle prized himself in having learned many of the ancientnguages pre-dating the system in order to craft better totems, enchantments, and graphics. He was even specialized in unholy magics, and his affinity told him that these tattoos were something rted to the unholy foundation. So it confused him that this script eluded him, and he outwardly cringed when the third eye on Riven¡¯s forehead shed open to re directly at him - opposite of where Riven¡¯s other eyes currently were locked onto the amber liquid at his lips.


    The third eye blinked, shed purple for a moment, and the action made the gnome involuntary shudder. He felt exposed, undressed, bare before whatever that eye had just done - as if it was seeing into his soul to expose all the lies he¡¯d ever told over his life.


    ¡°Are you part of the integration quest, Riven?¡± Gragle hesitantly asked, needing to take in deep breaths while in Riven¡¯s presence. ¡°I hate to overstep, and if I am - I dare say I can be quiet, I just am rather concerned about being¡­ transported¡­ across the cosmos¡­¡±


    His words trailed off slowly and fearfully when Riven¡¯s face turned his way, and he flinched again when the blood priestess got up. He even held up his hands pleadingly when she approached, and quickly bowed his head in a disy of submission when she stopped beside the vampire. ¡°Please don¡¯t sacrifice me! P-Please! I didn¡¯t m-mean to offend if I d-did anything wrong!¡±


    He began to outwardly shake, tears starting to form under his eyes that were squeezed shut, and Riven shared a curious nce with the others at his reaction.


    ¡°Little man?¡± Ath asked, knocking her knuckles on the top of his head and getting him to scream and il out of his chair - smacking the back of his head onto the floor.


    He groaned, began to pick himself up, and then fell back down with a patch of blood underneath the contact point.


    ***


    ¡°That was an overreaction.¡± Riven blinked twice, and Gluttony¡¯s eye did the same before the great maw began to cackle good naturedly in his mind. ¡°Right, well we have a little less than 9 hours to shoot the shit while he wakes up - but keep an eye on him. I want to know what that ability was, it felt very unique.¡±


    ¡°I keep eye on little man.¡± Azmoth stated sagely, getting off his stool and picking the gnome up before setting him down on a bench nearby. ¡°I not get drunk from this anyway, not strong enough.¡±


    ¡°Azmoth I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you drunk before.¡±


    ¡°I get drunk with Allie once.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Ask her when get back.¡±


    Riven pooched his lips and took another sip as Noraughed, and Genua took a seat next to him before clearing her throat to get his attention.


    ¡°Riven, would it be alright if I left for a while?¡±


    He stopped sipping his drink, which had a rather smooth taste if he had to describe it, and gave her a wary nce. ¡°Left for a while? What are you talking about?¡±


    Genua cleared her throat, and pulled up a status screen that was described as an ¡®Invitation¡¯ to the blood god¡¯s temple. ¡°I believe I¡¯m supposed to take some of my very first lessons soon with other, older clergy¡­ once a week I¡¯m supposed to arrive there. I also think they¡¯re wanting to talk to me about your sister¡¯s actions¡­ at least that¡¯s what the invitation implies.¡±


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Invitation to the Blood God¡¯s Temple</strong><strong>: Your weekly session of worship,bat training, and scripture hase about. Please ess the clergy system and teleport in so that we may start. We would also like to discuss recent events involving a particr angel on your, and hope that you can discuss the things we show you with Riven after the fact.]</strong>


    It seemed pretty straightforward to Riven as well, and he waved Genua off with a nod. ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to need me for this quest? Do I need to be back before the timer runs out?¡±


    ¡°No. Not unless things change. More than anything, you¡¯re probably going to benefit from theirbat training rather than being here. I hope you can do some damage control on Allie¡¯s behalf.¡±


    Genua gave him a half smile and a nod, before pulling up another screen for the clergy she was now a part of. ¡°I will try. It will take a while to channel the teleport, so please don¡¯t let anyone bother me while I do it.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    With a click, she started to glow a dull red - and she entered a meditative state a momentter after sitting down on the floor in a cross legged position. Profane sigils rted to the Blood Sub-Pir lit up on the floor around her, and she remained absolutely still with her eyes closed while other patrons of the bar immediately got up to leave - casting her terrified nces.


    Riven found it a bit weird, but didn¡¯t know much about the outside multiverse beyond Panu and some of the Bloom Moon Requiem. It didn¡¯t appear that anyone wanted to converse much with him or his party, so he turned his attention to Nora after giving Ath a firm kiss with her fingers intertwined around his own. ¡°So Nora, tell me about what you¡¯ve been through! And everything else too! I don¡¯t know anything about you really, other than our brief time on the pyramid together.¡±


    ¡°That was a hellish time.¡± Nora stated, nodding sagely and taking a big swig of her own drink.


    The metal cup mmed down a momentter, and she gasped before gesturing to the barkeeper to refill it. ¡°Hits the spot. After you and I were separated, I was eventually given the ¡®Rogue¡¯ ss. Then it upgraded twice after I got out of the Chalgathi starter trials and my tutorial dungeon, and now I have a ssbeled ¡®Viper de¡¯. I can imbue any weapon I have with poison from the Unholy Foundational Pir, gain critical amplifiers from the Shadow Sub-Pir, and am pretty mobile. I¡¯d ask you about your abilities, but I¡¯ve seen enough of you wiping armies off the face of the to know enough. Chicago where you wiped out the Azag, and then Daskus¡­¡±


    She gave him an almost using look, ignoring the other people in the room catching their breath at her words.


    He didn¡¯t even flinch, pulling Ath in tightly. ¡°I did what had to be done, and I¡¯d do it again.¡±


    Nora¡¯s eyes softened at the look of love Ath granted him, and she chuckled before taking the barkeeper¡¯s refilled cup. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t care. I¡¯m no saint either.¡±


    She took another sip, but Riven could tell she was only half-invested in the words she¡¯d spoken.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to dumb it down for me. I know what it looks like, but the ones I lovee first.¡± Riven gave her a sad smile, and thenughed out loud when the third eye on his forehead blinked - exchanging a quick set of words with Gluttony. ¡°You know, I¡¯m also the one thatst system prompt was about. Maybe I am evil after all.¡±


    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    He gave her a wink.


    ¡°Last system prompt?¡± Nora repeated, swirling the amber liquid in her cup and ncing over her shoulder at Genua - who was still enveloped in a red runic circle in a cross-legged position. ¡°You¡¯ll have to be more specific than that.¡±


    ¡°Are you able to identify me?¡±


    She looked up from her ss. ¡°No. Other than your name, and the red mes outlining it indicating your Legendary status. It¡¯s probably what everyone else here sees too, considering they¡¯re all lower level than we are.¡±


    He opened his mouth to speak, then thought about it. ¡°Check the rankings and tell me what¡¯s changed about my ss.¡±


    ¡°About your ss?¡± She did as asked, and clicked a few options beforeing to rest her eyes on the screen.


    <strong>[26 billion current participants have been analyzed. The ranking categories are as follows: Apex Rank (Top 10), Paragon Rank (Top 1000), S Rank (Top 0.0001%), A Rank (Top 1%), B Rank (Top 15%), C Rank (Top 30%), D Rank (Top 50%), E Rank (Bottom 50%)]</strong>


    <strong>[Current Top 10 Native Participants:</strong><ol><li><strong>Riven Thane, Level 200 Pureblooded Vampire, Apex Rank, Warlock Devastator, Incarnation of Gluttony</strong></li><li><strong>Allie Thane, Level 162 Angel of Death, Apex Rank, Primary ss in Transitory state, Hero of Death</strong></li><li><strong>Judith Marcina, Level 180 Divine Human, Apex Rank, Angelic Fallcaller, Light¡¯s Beacon</strong></li><li><strong>Aren Hrall, Level 163 Snow Giant, Apex Rank, Frostmange Berserker</strong></li><li><strong>Retesh Vorath, Level 199 Corpse Lord, Apex Rank, Elder Lich</strong></li><li><strong>Netithi Bluskish, Level 130 Naga, Apex Rank, Champion of the Kraken</strong></li><li><strong>Chitter Teh-Sneaker, Level 137 Ratman, Apex Rank, Dark-de Assassin, Poison Master, Sneaky Sneak Sneaker</strong></li><li><strong>Nithkik Brutishvase, Level 140 Dark Elf, Apex Rank, Depthdweller</strong></li><li><strong>Thorman Bame, Level 158 Human, Apex Rank, Hammer of the Mountain</strong></li><li><strong>Sinthil Tuk¡¯tuk, Level 168 Lizardian, Apex Rank, Wind Storm]</strong></li></ol>


    ¡°Your ss¡­¡± She muttered, then her eyes widened. It then clicked. ¡°Oh. Your second ss changed. Wow, that was you?¡±


    Again Rivenughed, and he gave a nod. ¡°That was me. So yeah, perhaps I¡¯m just destined to be evil after all.¡±


    Azmoth and Ath exchanged a look, and Ath hesitantly scratched the back of her head before taking the gnome¡¯s old spot on the stool beside riven.


    She ced a hand on his own. ¡°I don¡¯t think you realize how big of a deal this really is. Either of you.¡±


    Riven, who was still smiling, raised an eyebrow while panicked people continued to run around outside like a turned-up ant colony - preparing defenses along the walls and shouting at one another or trying to organize. ¡°I can safely say that - No, I do not realize how big of a deal it is. I have no idea, frankly, and I¡¯m tired ofrger-than-life things happening to me.¡±


    He held out a hand to count them down as the barkeeper nervously stood by, listening in on their conversation while polishing a ss and not wanting to keep them waiting if they needed a new drink.


    ¡°First came Chalgathi.¡± Riven stated, holding up one finger. ¡°I found out that actually - YES - magic is real! And was told about my unholy bloodline and my 100% affinity to the Blood Subpir.¡±


    The barkeeper abruptly choked and two other people spat out their drinks before hastily going back to pretending that they weren¡¯t listening.


    Riven didn¡¯t mind. What could they do? And if all went as nned, Panu would be in a hidden state from the rest of the multiverse for many years toe should Allie seed inary domination.


    That thought¡­ gave him pause. He¡¯d really changed since first stepping out of hell. He¡¯d be different, more than just jaded - but he just¡­ didn¡¯t have the same values anymore.


    He shook his head and held out his second gauntlet-encased finger - ivory metal over the top leading to spiked knuckles, and bloodsilk on the bottom half leading to his palm. ¡°Then I learn that I¡¯m a lost prince of the Blood Moon Requiem, a bunch of space vampires from another part of the multiverse.¡±


    More stares, this time - tant. Many of them disbelieving, and others outwardly horrified - but no one daring to leave their seats this time.


    He held up fingers 3, 4, and 5.


    ¡°I am potentially granted visions multiple times from both the Blood God, and obtain a shard of Gluttony. I am told that the world is going to end of certain world quests that I am involved in aren¡¯tpleted properly. Then my sister ascends, bing an angel of death right before I be the incarnation of some ancient hungry mouth that won¡¯t shut the fuck up in my head.¡±


    The eye on Riven¡¯s forehead widened and pulsed purple at his words, and Gluttony exchanged a few sentences with Riven internally - getting him tough good naturedly while Gluttony shot him insults.


    Ath, on the other hand, looked abruptly horrified that he¡¯d say something like that - even moreso than the people around the room who were overhearing all of this.


    ¡°Not to mention I have Luteski, my inherited world to run where ve rebellions are rampantly killing other citizens - along with a bunch of greedy bastards for extended family that are making life hard as I¡¯m trying to better the lives of said ves. I¡¯m technically engaged to a vampire princess that I barely know who¡¯s supposed to be working with me to make new bio-weapon children for the BMR with the gift of Malignant Prophecy. Speaking of which I¡¯ve identally knocked Genua up and have a kid on the way that I¡¯m not prepared for AT ALL! And what about Len? She basically hates me now because she knows I killed her older sister. Meanwhile MY sister is on a mission to conquer our, which has - from what I¡¯ve been told - basically made us priority target number 1 after or potentially even during the world quests. Oh wait, Allie IS a world quest now - isn¡¯t she? She¡¯s the target for world quest 7! So that¡¯s another thing I have to worry about. I also have to worry about a bunch of angry vampires across all of time and space tearing us a new asshole after Allie shunned the Blood God like a real genius - for which I¡¯m sure my lovely grandmother the queen is oh so happy about. Gaia is a thing out of legend back on Earth but - oh wait - she¡¯s real too! Angels are real. Demons are real - and it just so happens that I¡¯m actually dating two of them, with you specifically being an archdemon. Which I STILL don¡¯t understandpletely. I mean, what makes a demon an archdemon anyways? I¡¯ve never been told so I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve been so busy that I haven¡¯t even had time to think about, or even want, to re-fill myst demonic minion slot after Yattazi left when she thought I was crippled. Do I even want another demonic familiar after that? It left such a bad taste in my mouth that I really am not sure. Not that I¡¯d ever abandon Fay, you, or Azmoth - y¡¯all are great and I¡¯d die for any of you after all you¡¯ve done for me, but I¡¯ve been very hesitant to even attempt another contract since then. And if I DO fill it, what about Chalgathi? Isn¡¯t he, if I win this thing, supposed to be a wee-baby dragon that I can contract with? Won¡¯t I need that slot for him? Or does he not count as a demon? And if I don¡¯t seed in this set of trials, then what? Will a cultist do it andy waste to the world with a fully grown apocalypse beast? Will it be my fault then? What about all of the otherworldly invaders I have yet to kill? Even Rippenvire isn¡¯tpletely wiped out and they¡¯re still hiding somewhere which is a problem because I¡¯m supposed to deal with them before they can call for reinforcements at the end of integration in 4 and a half years. I¡¯m stuck in F-grade at the bottleneck and Gluttony says his mind was selectively wiped when he connected with me for a new chance at life, so he doesn¡¯t even remember what kind of enlightenment the system is actually talking about for the E-grade bottleneck. So am I stuck at level 200 until then? What if that crazy rank 3 fallcaller bitch who¡¯s named us public enemy number 1 beats us to it and figures it out before me - thenes for us? Will the Blood Moon Requiem tell me how to do it or are they going to snub me after what Allie did? There are SO many problems and SO many question that I-¡±


    Ath smashed her pointer finger up against Riven¡¯s lips, sternly, getting him to shut up while leaning in to have her nose graze his own. She frowned for a moment, thinking of how to phrase what she was going to say, and gave him a sad smile. ¡°I know. I know you¡¯re overwhelmed, and I¡¯m sorry. But you shouldn¡¯t talk about Gluttony like that. Gluttony is¡­ he¡¯s one of the demonic origins. The 7 original sins are what birthed all demonkind, just like themandments birthed the angels. I know that Fay, Azmoth and I have all been a little bit nonchnt about yourmunication with Gluttony, but please try to be respectful about him. You being the Incarnation of Gluttony is an astronomically important thing, and it appears that you and Gluttony have a somewhat friendly rtionship from what I¡¯ve felt and seen¡­ but please. It would mean a lot to me not to talk about Gluttony in such a way that insults him.¡±


    Gluttony¡¯s vertical eye expanded its aura, sending out anotheryer of absolute dread on the nearby popce that caused many to gasp or fall to the ground in difort and panic.


    Ath shot the third eye, which was now ring purple again, a brief and submissive look - before staring back into Riven¡¯s other eyes with a sweet smile. She put both slender hands on his cheeks, leaned forward, and pushed her soft lips against his with a gentle touch of her tongue on his. Pulling back, she pushed some of the hair from his eyes and grew her smile wider. ¡°It¡¯s a far bigger deal than you know, and I¡¯m proud that he chose you. But know that being the incarnation of one of the 7 original sins is a title that you and even I cannot truly fathom right now, and it¡¯ll be both a blessing and a curse as people across the multiverse try to protect or kill you simply for what you are.¡±


    Riven snorted, wrapping his arms around her slender waist and yanking her onto hisp - straddling him and getting him to grin teasingly. ¡°Is that so? Not much has changed then. It isn¡¯t likepetitors in the Blood Moon Requiem didn¡¯t already try to kill me a couple times now. What I¡¯m trying to say is that when you say I don¡¯t realize how big of a deal this is, well - everything is a big deal. There are too many big deals to deal with, and I¡¯m tired of making a big deal about it all. Capeesh?¡±


    Ath hesitated, then snorted a giggle and pped his hand away when he reached for her backside. ¡°Stop it. A princess can¡¯t be seen being groped in public!¡±


    ¡°That makes me sad.¡±


    ¡°I bet it does you pervert. Just because you¡¯re a vampire prince and Gluttony¡¯s vessel doesn¡¯t mean you get to get handsy with me.¡±


    She said that, but Riven could tell that she liked the attention by the way she was blushing and the avoidant smile while continuing to straddle him.


    Nora, who¡¯d been watching and listening this entire time, sighed in envy and put her chin in her hands. ¡°I wish I had someone to feel that way about me. Oh look! The gnome stopped pretending to be asleep.¡±


    Indeed, the two lovebirds on the stool turned and tried not tough at the small, three-foot tall man on the floor who was staring up at Riven like he had seen a ghost. His face was colorless, his chest was heaving up and down, and his entire body shook. ¡°No¡­ No, no, NO-NO-NOOOO!!!¡±


    Gragle got up to run, not even bothering to hold the back of his wounded head, and sprinted out the door before Ath¡¯s flick of the wrist sent a thin thread of bloodsilk his way. The red stringtched onto Gragle¡¯s neck and yanked him back, pulling the gnome across the floorboards as he screamed and pleaded for mercy while bursting into tears.


    When the aura of dread from Riven¡¯s third eye increased, it hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed by only Gragle; and what Riven was conversing about openly didn¡¯t help the situation either. Three other people had jumped out a nearby window and started running, the barkeeper had literally wet himself in a state of shock, two men had passed out from the pressure of his charisma and Gluttony¡¯s passive state of observation, and a woman was vomiting in the corner while shaking violently.


    The eye on Riven¡¯s forehead continued to ze a deep purple, and the ck tattoos along Riven¡¯s body began to shift and move as Gluttony made sure none of them were going to be a problem - even urging Riven to just eat them now to be safe.


    Yes¡­


    Eat them.


    Riven nearly lunged out of his chair as a pang of extreme hunger overcame him, and his fangs whipped out - only for his own consciousness to pull him back to reality a split secondter. He gasped, pushing Gluttony back down and internally scowling at the sin before a series of quick exchanges were made between them.


    Gluttony wanted to feed, and the hunger spike was so ravenous that it was all Riven could do to keep himself from getting up and ripping off the bartender¡¯s head to gorge himself.


    To eat the man alive.


    His vampiric hunger simultaneously kicked in, and his hand smashed into the bar - shattering a piece of it off in a shower of splinters while Ath looked on in concern.


    ¡°Riven are you alright?¡±


    Riven was not alright, but he focused on the woman in hisp - looking over her curves and athletic figure to offset the internal battle. To distract him. The tug of war between himself and Gluttony reached a climax secondster, his heart rate until they settled on a singr thing:


    He wouldpromise, and he knew Ath was sturdy enough to handle it.


    His mind connected with hers telepathically only a fraction of a moment before his fangs mmed into her neck, and she gasped - clutching at his arm and shuddering in a mix of pain and pleasure before she was violently flung to the floor with the crash of wood.


    The sensations Gluttony was sending through him were too much to handle, and if he didn¡¯t do this now - he¡¯d end up killing and eating everyone nearby.


    Ath on the other hand seemed excited at the thoughts connecting the two of them - and she started rapidly removing her exoskeleton to expose bare skin along her body only a moment before her hands were pinned above her head; and Riven¡¯s form descended on her with his fangs sinking into her neck again. Her lifeblood pulsed out, and she winced as Messenger began to remove itself from Riven¡¯s torso while he entered a crazed, ravenous state of mind.


    Azmoth, who was now holding the sobbing gnome by his head with one hand, shot Nora an apologetic look when Ath let out a feminine grunt. ¡°I not know them. I sorry.¡±


    Nora¡¯s eyebrows had climbed to the ceiling, and sipping on her drink - watched unapologetically while the two bodies on the floor repeatedly connected with one another. ¡°I¡­ Uh¡­ I don¡¯t mind at all. This has actually¡­ turned out to be a lot more exciting that I¡¯d originally thought it would be. Drinks and a show, who would have guessed.¡±

 Chapter 247

    Chapter 247


    <strong>Chapter 247</strong>


    Thepromise Gluttony and Riven hade to was that - yes - Riven would feed on something. Anything, really, and given Ath¡¯s incredibly high vitality along with her passive trait that required all three of her forms to die before she was only banished back to theher realms - it made her an easy target for them to settle on. Even if it didn¡¯t necessarily fit the requirement for ¡®mortal blood¡¯ his vampiric side needed, it still satiated Gluttony¡¯s cravings when Riven began draining his lover - and it¡¯d very quickly escted when Ath had mentally agreed to it on one condition.


    She, of course, wanted to make it kinky.


    Riven was already in a ravenous state at that point and he¡¯d satisfied both Gluttony and Ath at the same time, having literally thrown Ath into a nearby rental room for privacy during a moment of rity between urges. After fifteen minutes of very rough and loud sex on a previously semi-clean bed, after having drank what seemed to be gallons of demonic blood, with a lot of hair-pulling from Riven and screaming on Ath¡¯s part; Riven found himself having finished and on top of her while she dug her nails deep into his back.


    Blood was everywhere. It was all over his face, her body, and the bed they were on. There were also bite marks all along her neck, arms and torso from where he¡¯d been draining her, but by the way she was shuddering in orgasm she¡¯d very much liked what had happened.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were into that kind of stuff¡­¡± Riven said, panting, only to get a forceful kiss after she groaned. ¡°But I¡¯m d you enjoyed it!¡±


    She gave him a ¡®<strong><em>Duh¡¯</em></strong> look.


    ¡°Please let¡¯s do that again.¡± Ath said, huffing herself with deep breaths of air and asional shudders. ¡°I¡¯m serious. Super cereal.¡±


    Super cereal? Had she been watching Earth-based TV shows on Comedy Central somehow?He merely chuckled at the reference that he had no idea how she knew, and began spooning her - wrapping an arm over her shoulder and wincing at his own wounds that she¡¯d inflicted on him during the epic battle they¡¯d undertaken. Riven looked around at the mattress drenched in red, and let out a content sigh while watching the wounds on her body fade away - as if his fangs had never even been there.


    She put one hand on his, smiling and ncing over her shoulder with raised eyebrows - still breathing deeply to catch her breath. ¡°Fay¡¯s going to be jealous about this one when I tell her.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Ooooooh definitely. Let¡¯s include her in the next bout.¡±


    ¡°Do you think she¡¯d be able to take that kind of damage though?¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­ not that much, but to a lesser extent she¡¯d certainly like it. Plus we have some things to show you from our own time experimenting whenever you¡¯re not around you know - we have¡­ a n!¡±


    ¡°That sounds ominous.¡±


    ¡°Very much so! Damn, I wish she were here and not still banished! She needs to stop dying!¡±


    Theyughed and Ath snuggled up next to him, turning over and putting her head against his chest with an amused expression. ¡°How much time do we have left until we fight for the town? If the locals don¡¯t attack you first, anyway¡­¡±


    Riven pulled up the timer. ¡°A little over 8 hours.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Want to try again? You¡¯ll have to tell Azmoth that we¡¯re going to be busy. But we NEVER get time to do this because you¡¯re always getting into trouble!¡± She pounded a fist into his chest with a yful but simultaneously menacing re. ¡°I want more Riven time! And that pic was nice, but you never actually took me on a SOLO date like Fay had!¡±


    Riven clicked his tongue, and brushed away some of her ck hair to put a hand on her cheek. ¡°You know what? You¡¯re right. How about we go get another drink, have another romp, and then find a good date spot here in town before the monster wave. Surely there¡¯s something here like a good restaurant, or a petting zoo, or something like that. Or we can just go explore together and buy you some new clothes!¡±


    ¡°Like the time we went clothes shopping in Brightsville!?¡± Ath¡¯s eyes widened in excitement, and she pped her hands together before cackling mischievously. ¡°That was when I started crushing on you, you know.¡±


    ¡°Oh stop!¡±


    ¡°WHAT!? It was! I told my mom and the rest of my n about how kind you were when you said I¡¯d look good in that dress¡­ It made me very happy to hear.¡±


    She booped him on the head with a finger. ¡°You¡¯re pretty cute, you know. I¡¯m a lucky girl, and my mom really, REALLY thinks so now that you¡¯re Gluttony¡¯s chosen. They want to worship you, or something. Don¡¯t give me that look, I''m being cereal! Do you know just how many system messages my n has paid for to expeditemunication outside the normalher realm visits? And they¡¯re all useless messages too! Ones like ¡®<em>Ath you a lucky, hot, crazy bitch!</em>¡¯¡±


    ¡°There is zero chance your demonic n sent that message to you.¡±


    ¡°I swear it on my princess tiara!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡±


    ¡°Nope! That was my mom.¡±


    ¡°Doubtful.¡±


    ¡°Well, ask her when you see her next then!¡± Ath humphed and snorted, angrily mming a long pitch-ck leg over his own. She tucked it inbetween his knees to pull her body against his. ¡°Now shut up and ept it! And give me more snuggle time before we get another drink; like I said - I don¡¯t get enough!¡±


    ***


    Fay hadn¡¯t been happy, being blown up in the underdark in a painful and unexpected explosion that¡¯d sted her back into theher realms. Deepnests¡¯s detonation wasn¡¯t something she¡¯d seening. However upon arrival and after realizing that Riven was, in fact, ok¡­ she¡¯d first-hand witnessed through her connection alongside with the rest of her entire n what was akin to a miracle.


    And not the type of skill, but a genuine miracle in the way one talked about when a one in a five-hundred-trillion chance happened right in front of you.


    Gluttony had been reborn, opening the way for all of the other sins andmandments toe out with it. The eternal war was at hand yet again as Elysium let out the trapped beings that¡¯d helped create existence before the multiverse had even been formed. The ancient armies of the hells were gathering their strength as excited waves of religious fervor crashed across the underbelly of existence, and the great maw responsible for it all had chosen Fay¡¯s own boyfriend as its vessel. The zeal once known across the great demonic factions that¡¯d made them so feared once upon a time was now at hand within hours, and her n was immediately bombarded with requests for audiences from factions so far above their own that her mother Saemi had called for aplete lockdown of theirher realm. She¡¯d immediately banned any and all foreign entities from entering their home, fearing for their safety in amunalher realm such as this, and had recalled all free-floating subi and incubi belonging to the Sajovi n minutester.


    First came shock, then came awe, and then an emotion Fay really couldn¡¯t ce that washed over her like a flood as she sobbed and cried with tears that weren¡¯t necessarily happy, nor sad - but nevertheless came. Inside their castles, ziggurats and stone dwellings in the jungle existence the Sojavi n had created for themselves in this small pocket reality, the low to mid-tier information broker faction was already receiving bribes and threats for entry from other demonic forces that far surpassed their own power. Entities eons old with world-ending strength that would have never given the Sojavi n the time of day before, were nowpeting with one another for HER attention and leverage with her family. That, or they had more sinister intentions for one reason or another.


    Messages sent from Ath¡¯s own family painted a simr picture on their end, and they¡¯d already had to kill a forced invasion of theirher realm when one of their own had identally let in a parasitic ripw that¡¯d opened up their home to unwanted guests. Thankfully Ath¡¯s own n was far more attuned to violence than Fay¡¯s was, so they¡¯d rather easily massacred the interlopers while offering the Sojavi n assistance if need ever arose.


    Most notably, the Church of Gluttony specifically had called upon her - by name - to make an appearance before them. The churches of sin were what most of her kind had considered fanatics up until now, attempting to piece together the long lost shards of the sins tiny fragment by tiny fragment over a never-ending expanse of multiverse that would have taken untold billions of years toplete. And yet those harbingers who¡¯d been touched by Gluttony now found themselves without their divine fragments, stripped of the opportunity to ascend with the great maw when it¡¯d chosen another, and she simply didn¡¯t know what to do. Was going to greet them wise? Would it be considered an offense if she didn¡¯t go? Or was it some jealous and enraged follower or group of followers who¡¯d taken it upon themselves to strike her down for her master stealing their opportunity - as a way of petty revenge?


    It was too early to tell.


    ¡°Fay!¡± Saemi, her beautiful mother called out to her with a frustrated and simultaneously exhausted scowl. Her shoulders were slumped, and she¡¯d just finished barking orders at some of the other blue-skinned n members concerning protocols on outsidemunicationworks which had beenpromised. ¡°Fay, I realize this is a lot to take in - but you need to get ahold of yourself. It would be a bad look for us if other demon ns knew that one of Riven¡¯s - and thereby Gluttony¡¯s - bonded familiars and concubines was sobbing on our library floor in the arms of her sister! We need to maintain face!¡±


    Tupper, who¡¯d briefly left the elf child Len in the care of Gurth¡¯Rok back on Panu, ring in conjunction with his sister Nitidi while Nitidi held the sobbing fay next to a couch between enormous bookshelves reaching far above.


    ¡°Mother-¡± Tupper began, but he was cut off with a sharp return re from Saemi.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even start, you¡¯re already on thin ice with your father and the rest of the n.¡± Saemi stated, rubbing her temple and waving off another group of incubi and subi - letting her body fall into the ornate chair behind her. ¡°The only reason you¡¯re even being allowed back without issue is because you¡¯re also on good terms with Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation. You¡¯re still both my children and you will do as I say.¡±


    Nitidi was taller and slightly bigger than Fay, and she got up from the floor - unfolding her wings - and helped Fay up to her feet while the shorter woman sniffled and shook uncontrobly. ¡°There¡¯s no reason to be this upset hun! This is a good thing! An amazing thing - even! Why are you crying?¡±


    Fay blubbered something unintelligible.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Saemi sighed while her two daughters and son took seats across from her. Then her face lit up with a wide but tired grin. ¡°She¡¯s likely in a state of shock. Not that I necessarily me her¡­ The chances of this happening are nearing the margin of impossibility. To think that Elysium would let them out¡­ and that my daughter would be so close to the reincarnation! This goes far, far beyond being a prince of the Blood Moon Requiem. This is the difference between royalty and¡­ and I don¡¯t even know what. I cannot think of anything that would so equallypare! To say that I am pleased is an incredible understatement, but I am still trying to wrap my own head around what this will mean for us going forward as a n and family.¡±


    ¡°Do you intend to let anyone inside to talk?¡± Nitidi asked, frowning in worry while keeping Fay¡¯s head buried in her side on the sofa. ¡°We¡¯re being requested by-¡±


    ¡°Do not think I don¡¯t know who and how many are requesting audiences with us!¡± Saemi snapped irritably, groaning, and leaning forward to put her hands on her forehead with fingers massaging her temple. She closed her eyes and let out a deep, slow, shuddering breath. ¡°Aside from n Razok, there is only one other I will allow ess to this ce. At least for now, until we are certain of who is truly on our side and who is trying to set up a power grab. Or worse.¡±


    There was an extended silence after that, all four of them staring into the ground amidst Fay¡¯s continued whimpers.


    ¡°Stop your sniveling, Fay. I love you, but stop it.¡± Saemi snapped eventually, but then regretted it immediately when she saw the hurt look in her daughter¡¯s eyes. ¡°Eh¡­ Sorry. I¡¯m just on edge, I apologize. I should be thanking you for raising our n¡¯s name, rather than lecturing you.¡±


    Tupper cleared his throat and sped his hands in front of him. ¡°n Razok, being Ath¡¯s n?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then who is the other?¡±


    Saemi¡¯s ck eyes slowly raised off the ground. ¡°Lillith, of course.¡±


    Another long, drawn out silence overtook them.


    Tupper gulped, and he had to wipe his sweaty hands on his sides. ¡°You don¡¯t think she¡¯lle here do you?¡±


    ¡°Why else would she request to do so, if she had no intent?¡± Saemi asked a little shakily. ¡°Of course she intends toe, and I will not deny her.¡±


    Nitidi hesitated. ¡°You don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be a problem¡­ do you?¡±


    Saemi shook her head. ¡°No¡­ No I don¡¯t. If anything, she¡¯ll be a deterrent. Even at¡­ what level is she now since arriving on Panu?¡±


    Nitidi pulled up a screen and scoffed in disbelief. ¡°Level 39. Didn¡¯t she just arrive on Panu less than a day ago at level 1? How is that even possible?¡±


    Saemi grinned, thenughed out loud while shaking her head and flopping back into her chair. ¡°It¡¯s possible because she¡¯s a MYTHIC tier creature. She¡¯s an absolute monster, a literal figure of legends passed down through the eons, and she¡¯s killed hundreds of beasts and enemies above herbat level on her path through the underdark towards Allie¡¯s location. Things will slow down when she hits the E-grade again, when it¡¯s less about numbers of kills and more about quality and insight, but even then I¡¯m sure her growth will be explosive. She and the others that were banished to the abyss, like the other generals and officers of Gluttony¡¯s legions, were some of the brightest minds of their time. All of their levels have been reset, along with many of their skills, and much of their knowledge was wiped - but what they do remember in conjunction with the system titles, attributes, and everything else means they¡¯re all walking cmities. I¡¯d be surprised if Elysium doesn¡¯t entirely change the world quests of their integration to incorporate it somehow. Or if it doesn¡¯t do that, it¡¯ll bnce out their appearance some other way - as Elysium doesn¡¯t like things to be so lopsided as this.¡±


    ¡°Well, if she¡¯s on her way down to find Allie in the underdark¡­ Why would she request an audience with us now?¡±


    ¡°Because it won¡¯t take her long to find the newly ascended angel of death. That¡¯s why. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll only be another day before they meet, and Lillith is trying to y damage control for her lord on Panu while Riven is swept up in system events for the Challgathi quests. The Blood Moon Requiem is full of devout followers of The Blood God, Riven even has a thrall who is one of their esteemed priestesses, and Lillith just eradicated the ritual meant to strip Allie¡¯s soul of Malignant Prophecy from the highest ranking members of the vampiric empire. Lilith has to simultaneously try not to anger The Blood Moon Requiem because she knows that even if she can defeat their thrall forms on a newly integrating, even she would be crushed if they were to find her or her master in the realms of the multiverse given their current rank disparity. Meanwhile she also doesn¡¯t want to anger a potential ally, and despite Gluttony not being in any way subservient to The Blood God, Riven himself has not dismissed the priestess and even had her embrace the position. Thisplicates things. So does the involvement of the reapers, and The Scythe. Lilith will have to y a very political game here, maintaining Allie¡¯s safety from the blood suckers while trying to make sure she doesn¡¯t fall too far under the influence of of the reapers. At least, this is what I am guessing to be the case, as they¡¯ll likely use Allie¡¯s quest to conquer Panu and maintain a safe haven for themselves while Gluttony¡¯s core forces rebuild.¡±


    Tupper nodded in agreement. ¡°Makes sense. What about the Church of Gluttony? Have they made contact with Lillith? Or are they even able to do so?¡±


    Saemi shrugged in almost a defeated manner. ¡°We are not sure. It may be why the Church of Gluttony is attempting to contact us in the first ce, they may be trying to use us to speak with Lillith or Gluttony itself. Fay, how long do you have before you head back to be with Riven?¡±


    Fay, who¡¯d calmed down and was shakily wiping her eyes, quickly went over her status screen. ¡°A little over 17 hours.¡±


    A knock at the door came, and the four of them turned their heads to see one of the lower-ranking n members give a swift bow. The subus was obviously nervous at being there, and specifically tried not to stare in admiration at Fay - given Fay¡¯s new standing as one of two romantic interests the Reincarnation of Gluttony had. ¡°Lady Saemi! Nitidi! Tupper!¡±


    She hesitantly nced at Fay, not sure how to address her now with the new dynamic changes of the n. ¡°Uhm¡­ Lady Fay! I am sorry to interrupt all of you, but some of our guests from n Razok have arrived.¡±


    The four of them abruptly stood, and Saemi summoned two morerge couches when dark figures shifted into theher realm around them from shadows on the floor.


    n Razok was entirely full of arachnid variant demons, of which it had a good number of different types - but they were all rted to spiders in some form or another.


    Ath¡¯s mother, Vorindi, was strangely beautiful in a very sinister way. It was very close to how Ath looked - only slightly more menacing in her humanoid form. She had three pairs of mandiblesing out of the sides of her throat along a slit that likely opened up into an additional mouth, had smaller red markings across her otherwise pitch ck and patchy white skin, and had four red eyes instead of two. Otherwise the athletic outline and the six de-like arachnoid legs sticking out of her back were the same. Vorindi was also apanied by four others: two very high-level enforcers that took the form of enormous, red, spined spiders which shifted in and out of existence; sometimes even in multiple spots at once using the same body. The other andst of their n was the n Razok patriarch, a male dryder of dark gray skin - having the upper body of a very handsome drow man and the lower body of arge ck widow.


    Vorindi looked to the patriarch amidst the awkward silence, and the patriarch nodded to Ath¡¯s mother to give her the stage with the clicking of mandibles.


    Vorindi then took a step forward, with the lower ranking subus leaving the private area of the library, and shut the door behind her on the way out.


    ¡°Saemi of the Sojavi n, Fay of the Sojavi n. We of n Razok greet you.¡± Vorindi bowed low in a customary manner to both Saemi and Fay - no doubt taking the lead and being granted the first chance to speak here by their patriarch due to her abruptly heightened standing; considering she was Ath¡¯s mother, and Ath was the other one of two love interests concerning Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation.


    Fay was surprised by the immense respect shown her by the direct address of a demoness far above her own stature, still not used to the idea of what her position as a girlfriend - or in her mother¡¯s words, ¡®Concubine¡¯ - of Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation really meant. She in turn bowed low while matching her mother¡¯s own bow, but let her mother do the talking.


    ¡°We greet n Razok as friends, and hope you find yourselvesfortable within theher realm we have built for ourselves.¡± Saemi finished her own bow and smiled warmly. ¡°It is good to finally meet you in person, Vorindi. I hope the incursion into your home was met with brutal and swift death.¡±


    The arshakai shook her head with a sly smile of her own, following Saemi¡¯s gesture and sitting along the couch while the three others of her n remained in the back for now. ¡°The incursion was swiftly dealt with, indeed. Invading a nest of assassins wasn¡¯t the brightest idea those firebrands had, but they were also extremists from the Church of Wrath; so it wasn¡¯t entirely surprising. And the pleasure is surely mine. Do we know when Lillith will be arriving?¡±


    The others in the room shifted nervously as they thought about it, and Saemi retook her seat - motioning for the others to do the same while shaking her head. ¡°Unfortunately I am not sure. I believe she will be here within the day, but that is just a guess and I am entirely unsure as to an exact time. Would you like refreshments meanwhile? I¡¯ve been wanting to discuss our shared daughter¡¯s man long before he became such a prominent figure, you know how it is with us old gossipers!¡±


    ¡°Mother!¡± Fay hissed under her breath, to the amusement of her sister Nitidi and her brother Tupper.


    To Saemi¡¯s relief, Ath¡¯s mother Vorindi only paused for a moment to consider her words before chuckling good naturedly.


    ¡°Indeed you¡¯re right.¡± Vorindi stated, amused - clicking her mandibles thoughtfully while putting a finger up to her chin. ¡°I¡¯m d our daughters worked out their differences the way they did, and it pleases me that they found such a unique summoner. As you said yourself, I¡¯ve been rather curious about the opposite perspective even before Riven became the reincarnation of the great maw¡­ I would have no qualms with sharing in some gossip while we await Lillith¡¯s arrival. So let us speak on it!¡±


    ***


    Outside the pub and on the streets of Outpost #84, Gragle the scarred gnome had been more than happy to get the hell out of there and away from the vampire who was a self proimed vampire prince of the Blood Moon Requiem. What was worse was that he¡¯d imed to be the host of Gluttony, a universe-ending entity that many demons literally worshiped.


    If not for the presence of the blood priestess, if not for the ancient unfamiliar tattoos on Riven¡¯s body that gave off extremely potent negative energy, Gragle may have just blown them off. But when they were both present, and having been apanied by a very recent multiverse-wide announcement about Gluttony¡¯s return, Gragle could only pray that the vampire was just ying some kind of sick joke on him.


    Because even as immensely unlikely as it was that the vampire was telling the truth, even as preposterous as the idea was, if Riven was the real deal¡­ Gragle and everyone here were in very real danger. That was even putting aside the fact that a blood priestess was here that would no doubt sacrifice him for bonus points to their god given a chance.


    So he¡¯d taken up the offer to lead Azmoth and Nora around town when they¡¯d asked to leave, none of them wanting to listen to the two extremely loud lovebirds in the other room. This was even despite the fact that Azmoth himself was incredibly scary to the gnome, and the reputation of Hellscape Brutalisks was not one to be scoffed at.


    Though after Azmoth had paid the barkeeper three times what he¡¯d been given earlier as an apology for Riven¡¯s actions, therge demon had - oddly enough - very politely taken his leave and followed Gragle out to explore the town.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Nora asked, ignoring the swarms of panicking people who were actively constructing barricades along doors, windows or streets in anticipation of a monster wave possibly clearing the stone walls surrounding Outpost #84.


    Gragle¡¯s head swiveled, ignoring the looks he was getting parading around a huge demon as well as a woman with an odd hood very likely rted to the integration questline they¡¯d all been flung into. ¡°That? The thing with pipesing out of the ground? It¡¯s a well.¡±


    ¡°For water?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we use magic to pump water out of it and into the four basins surrounding it. We just keep the basins covered to stop air pollution or soot from getting in, something that may not be needed as much now that we¡¯re not actually on Mesini anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°Mesini being¡­ what?¡±


    ¡°The we were abducted from for this stupid event.¡±


    ¡°YOU THERE!¡± A husky voice bellowed out over the crowds, and to Gragle¡¯s immense relief - a squadron of armed guards in leather armor wielding spears pushed through the crowds to stand in front of the gnome¡¯s twopanions.


    It appeared that either Azmoth had drawn their attention, people escaping from the pub had alerted the authorities, or both had happened.


    Though Gragle had to admit, the feeling of relief and safety quickly vanished when reality set in. These guards wouldn''t stand a chance against a hellscape brutalisk, there was almost literally a 0% chance of sess in a fight, but at least if a fight did happen - it¡¯d give Gragle a chance to escape during the carnage that followed.


    The guards seemed to be very aware of this too, but their eyes kept flitting towards Nora¡¯s hood that identified her as a system quest participant and a Chalgathi Non-Cultist.


    ¡°Ahem, sorry to bother you - but we have some questions that need to be answered.¡± The forefront man stated, likely a guard captain, while nervously eyeing Azmoth up and down. He turned his gaze on Nora. ¡°Is this your summon?¡±


    ¡°You betchya.¡± Nora lied.


    The captain epted it readily, not willing to dig further into the matter as Azmoth hadn¡¯t started killing everyone on sight. For him, the equivalent would be like an average Earthling watching hungry tigers parading down a pre-school cafeteria while not eating all the inhabitants.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been told by the warden of this town to fetch you, along with the blood priestess we heard about, after reports from a nearby pub suggested you¡¯d know more about what is going on here.¡± The captain stated - regaining a bit of his resolve in the process. ¡°Where is this Priestess of the Blood God, if you don''t mind me asking? Is she still at the pub? And if it¡¯s ok, could you and your familiar apany my men and I to talk to the warden? We don¡¯t have long before the monster wave of this system event hits, and we need to know all the details you can give us if we¡¯re to prepare for the worst.¡±

 Chapter 248

    Chapter 248


    <strong>Chapter 248</strong>


    <strong>[Judith Marcina, Level 180 Divine Human, Apex Rank, Angelic Fallcaller, Light¡¯s Beacon]</strong>


    The white dress clung to her skin like smooth porcin, and the cold air filled each breath she took - her lungs expanding ever so slowly.


    She twirled a finger around her long blonde hair, ring white-hot daggers at her Apex rank 3 position on thedder with growing fury at having lost her position. Wings of golden light lifted up off her back while sitting in a cross-legged position amidst the rays of dawn - scattering brilliant orange-yellow lights across the tufts of white puffs she sat amongst.


    Far below her from her position in the sky, the bells for worship began to ring - echoing across thendscape. Thrivingmunities of those she¡¯d saved began to wake up, heading to the cathedrals all across the medieval streets - where the pantheon of light she¡¯d devoted herself to would receive their prayers.


    Fuel for growth.


    The gods were originally a strange concept to her after being faithless for so long, and it¡¯d taken a lot to wrap her head around them actually being real. Back on Zazir before the merger, she¡¯d only been a peasant girl working on her father¡¯s farm who¡¯d always blown off clergy from various sects as money-grubbers that sputtered nonsense in an attempt to deceive people via imaginary benefits. Now though¡­ things were moreplicated. And she would use these newly born ¡®gods¡¯ as tools to her own end. They were in many ways both weaker and stronger than mortals. Weaker, because they depended upon prayer to survive - especially at this stage in their cultivation. At least that¡¯s how <strong>most</strong> of them survived, through prayer, but that also wasn¡¯t always the case.


    Already there¡¯d been countless new gods born on Panu, only for them to be snuffed out within weeks due to ack of faith or worship. They were no more than spirits that couldn¡¯t survive without their followers fueling them. But those that did find worship, that were cultivated and grown, they were the ones that could change worlds. There were even stories of gods that gained bodies, or mortals ascending into godhood while maintaining bodies that did not need worship - but she didn¡¯t necessarily know all of the details between these different types of gods; and the newborn deities didn¡¯t know either. They had their own leveling and cultivation system to progress through before those kinds of secrets were revealed.


    Regardless she¡¯d collected three of them, three of these gods, all of them subservient to her. They blessed hernd with bountiful crops, staved off the spread of the blight into the soutnds, and had given boons to her warriors to speed up their growth.What a strange thought that was, being served by lesser spirit deities. But realistically it made sense, because she was the one with all the power - and with a mere flick of her wrist she could annihte their cathedrals and banish their worship from her empire. It made them a far more convenient tool to use than the already established deities across the multiverse that had, in some ces, seen fit to try and contact her. But even the gods of old were held back by Elysium¡¯s might, and had little to no real effect here on Panu just yet. Even if that weren¡¯t the case, gods had less power in ces they did not have worshipers - and she was confident that she¡¯de out as a dominant yer in this world to force others into worship of her chosen three.


    Or at least she had been confident. Now though¡­


    Now she had to find some other way to regain the top. The new addition of the world quest painting Allie as a target was certainly tempting too¡­ but the number 5 Apex ranker on the powerdder - Retesh Vorath, the Lich King - had been waging a war upon Judith¡¯s forces in the north for quite some time now. She¡¯d been expanding south and west, but had met solid resistance to her progression at w¡¯s Canyons on the northern bordends where undead legions were controlled by that old undead bag of bones.


    Past that canyony a cold, deste wastnd of snow, barrens, and tundra changed by the curse of undead where even she had a hard time surviving due to the building amounts of blight Retesh had created there. Even the animal and nt life had begun to change, morpho, and warp into grotesque versions of what they¡¯d once been. She knew full well too that he nned to unleash the gue onto thends of the living through some unknown means, and she was already prepared to deal with it in kind with methods of her own make. However, trying to push further into already desecratednds where the undead spawned like rats was a fool¡¯s errand¡­ at least for now at her current stage of power. She had tried to kill that damnable lich a few times over already, all of which had ended in a stalemate with the lich on the back foot - but each time he¡¯d survived long enough to cause her to retreat when the blight became too much or when the numbers of his minions simply stacked against her.


    This in part was why news of Retesh imingnds on the penins of Nune was concerning. It was south of most of the lich king¡¯s kingdom, and an odd ce to attack considering the vast swath ofnd both east and west of the territory grab he¡¯d made. In the past he¡¯d always took the slow and steady route to ensure his blight further infected thend and made it all the harder for the living to stay there. He¡¯d also gone out of his way to massacre poptions to create new undead with, such as one of her cities two months ago that¡¯d been absolutely sacked and burned to the ground, but usually he left and brought the spoils of bodies back to the nortnds with him. At least that¡¯d been the trend since his initial appearance. Here though, on the Nune Penins, he¡¯d conquered and stayed. He¡¯d also been putting massive amounts of resources into securing thend strip between mortal empires on either side ever since.


    Given the geography, there was only one real reason for that - and it made her insides roil with fury. The penins was pointed right at the continent of Umbra after all¡­ where the only other major undead yers in the world currently resided; and they happened to be #1 and #2 on the powerdder list.


    It was where the Thane Necropolis was located, if one didn¡¯t count the extension into the ce called Chicago she¡¯d learned about. But she was nowhere near Chicago if her spymasters and schrs were correct, thank the gods, she didn¡¯t want to have to deal with another massive undead state on her doorstep just yet.


    She pondered this, putting a finger to her slim lips with a frown - still staring at the city waking up underneath her thousands of feet below. One of her angelic summons, arge brilliant eyeball crafted from gold and silver metal, flew towards her on shimmering white wings resembling her own golden ones.


    She gave it a smile and patted its head, shooing it away while contemting just what to do with the current change of the political stage. Allie Thane reaching #1 first after bing an Angel of Death and converting an entire continent into the undead was, frankly, horrifying to Judith. Not because she was afraid, but because she found it repulsive and disgusting to warp people and the like that. And to think that Allie could terraform even more of the¡­ the bitch had to be eliminated.


    Meanwhile Riven hadn¡¯t had any video feed of how or why he¡¯d be the Incarnation of Gluttony, but the multiverse-wide statement did not bode well for her or her people when he¡¯d hit spot #1 - recing his sister and shoving Allie down to the #2 spot while putting Judith at #3. She didn¡¯t really know what Gluttony was but the reaction of her angelic summons had undergone at the announcement had been extremely violent - and thinking about it like that was an understatement. All four of them had gone mad with fear, rage, or hate upon realizing that Gluttony hade back - and it¡¯d only gotten worse after they realized it was here on their very own.


    One of her summons, an angelic pdin of hers in particr, was still having a very hard time processing it at all. Therge angel had secluded himself in a cathedral tower to consult his family elders in the Heavens, and he¡¯d been by far the most upset out of all of them - which was saying something considering her other summons had reacted so poorly. From brief conversations with them, she¡¯d determined that it had to do with the renewed frenzy of what they called ¡®the eternal war¡¯, which in turn would lead to a new age of carnage throughout existence as the hells and heavens shed like in the times of old.


    Judith had originally hoped to maintain decent rtions with the vampires as well, or at least until the end of integration when she¡¯d be able to ughter them after other more important world quests were dealt with, but it appeared the Thane siblings were too much of a risk to leave alone. Especially with the lich Retash attempting to contact them, based on his recent military movements. She wouldn¡¯t make a direct move against them <em><strong>yet</strong></em>, but perhaps she could disrupt their activities enough to slow them down¡­ or, if possible, she would attempt to intercept any messages sent from the Lich King¡¯s faction.


    Clicking her tongue and cracking her knuckles she spread her wings - stretched her legs - andunched herself further up into the sky before diving into the southwest. She had a particr person to visit today, a potential ally, before she decided to make any more major ys on the world stage.


    ***


    Chandeliers sparkled overhead, servants in sleek ck and white outfits passed out refreshments on tiny silver tes or ss wine cups, and a musician¡¯s group was ying live on stage in a corner while people in elegant ballroom attire mingled with one another. It was as if they were all trying to catch a glimpse of what was still normal, like they were trying to convince themselves that they hadn¡¯t all been turned into ¡®Deathtouched¡¯ versions of themselves - that they weren¡¯t all undead.


    Dawn¡¯s Royal Ball had begun, and Lahn found himself sitting alone at a table.


    Without Allie.


    All around him he saw familiar faces, now shades of very pale or gray skin with white or silver hair. All of them had ck or neon teal eyes, colors of the Death Subpir¡¯s manifested mana, but otherwise most people looked very simr to how they¡¯d been prior to the change.


    Dr. Brass was there, the vampire with steel-rimmed sses, an advisor to the Chancellor Mara Tovane who was also missing on Allie¡¯s expedition. King Arthur Brix of Dawn was in deep and merry conversation with him, obviously trying to put on a show of not being concerned given the new changes that¡¯d so quickly happened to their country - now a vassal state of the Thane Necropolis. The family of Gleetus Nefrand was there as well, though Gleetus himself had been killed by Allie for bullying Lahn a while ago and they¡¯d never found out the true cause of his death. Lahn¡¯s mother, Lady Shovi Lucio, sat next to his father Lord Nik Lucio - though the rift between his parents had widened significantly ever since his father had shown little regard for the actions of Lahn¡¯s siblings.


    Speaking of his siblings, his sister Lineal and his brother Parius were mixing in the crowd - avoiding both Lahn and their mother, while trying to act as if everything was absolutely normal. As if Allie Thane, Queen of the Thane Necropolis, didn¡¯t have a personal death wish for the both of them that was only being held at bay by Lahn himself.


    Stolen story; please report.


    Lahn took a sip of his own wine, downing it in a single go while sitting at a round table by himself in the corner of the ballroom. Waving down a server he took three more slender sses and thanked the man, downing two more before holding on the third while closing his eyes in worry.


    He hoped Allie was ok.


    But she had to be ok. She was still on the leaderboard, still in 2nd ce, so there was no reason to worry. She¡¯d be back¡­ even if she had missed the Royal Ball. This ball was a three-day event anyways, maybe she¡¯d be back by tomorrow or the next day¡­ He¡¯d really wanted to-


    -His thoughts were interrupted and he blinked as the chair beside him was pulled to the side by a manservant, letting Marsia Bortrost of all people sit next to him.


    This irritating woman had been following him around all night trying to get his attention, even despite obvious signs that he wasn¡¯t interested in her anymore like he¡¯d once been. She¡¯d blown her chance, and the irritation inside him was growing.


    She wasn¡¯t an incredibly attractive person - but she was somewhat pretty. She¡¯d been what he¡¯d set his sights on when he¡¯d been crippled at the prodding of his mother. Marsia had shot him down though, hard, and in a very mean way back before he¡¯d even enrolled in the academy. Back when his mother Shovi Lucio and the Bortrost family had attempted to pair them together, only for Lahn to hear Marsia state the following:


    <em><strong>¡°I will now allow myself to marry a cripple. Maybe your family status will be enough tond you a peasant girl. Maybe one of your maids. But you need to leave me alone - and that is the end of it. Good day, sir.¡±</strong></em>


    He still remembered those words vividly, and even now felt ashamed at the look of disgust she¡¯d given him before walking away. Lahn¡¯s neon teal eyes nced up to the pale woman with a passive nod, then turned his gaze to the ground between his well-made boots to stare at the floor.


    ¡°I was wondering where you¡¯d run off to! And I must say, you¡¯re looking rather good, Lahn!¡± Marsia stated with a chipper tone, pulling down her cleavage just slightly to emphasize her figure and smoothing out the blue ball gown with arge smile. ¡°The way your body repaired itself looks very good, and your muscture fills in your clothes is easy to look upon. I must say you¡¯ve filled in quite nicely - that purple vest suits you well.¡±


    He didn¡¯t even bother looking up. Her flirting had lost all attempts at hiding her intentions, and she was growing ever more aggressive in her attempts to woo him the more she drank. ¡°Thank you, Marsia. It is appreciated.¡±


    Laughter echoed from where King Arthur Brix, his spymaster Kassius, and Dr. Brass allughed with nobles of the courts jostling for position with fake smiles and fakeughs. Marsia frowned slightly at Lahn¡¯sck of reciprocation, but cleared her throat and tried again for the seventh time that night.


    ¡°Will you be participate in the dances this evening?¡± She asked curiously, sping her hands in front of her and retaining another smile. ¡°Or do you intend to stay back here? I do think it¡¯d be rather fun to witness your first real ballroom dance, now that you¡¯re no longer in a wheelchair.¡±


    Lahn finally smiled and lifted his eyes. His mind went back to just a few nights before Allie¡¯s trek into the underdark, where they¡¯d talked so excitedly about this exact topic. Before he¡¯d even gained the use of his left side entirely, before he¡¯d be undead, and before the restructuring of his pirs and soul. It was then, in Allie¡¯s room, that she¡¯d promised to help keep him standing as they were to go dancing together - and she¡¯d only kissed him and patted him on the head when he had asked her if holding up someone like him on the dance floor would be embarrassing for her.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to pass today.¡± Lahn replied,ying one of his hands on the round table and crossing his legs. ¡°I do not feel like it suits me much. I¡¯m sure not many would want to be my partner anyways.¡±


    ¡°Does not suit you?¡± Marsiaughed yfully. ¡°Ohe now! Your disy at the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯spound show that not only are you hiding some kind of position in the empire, but that you also have true power. That angelic possession you had was rather fearsome! And I would personally be delighted if you were to be my own dance partner when the first tunes begin!¡±


    Another winning smile shed his way.


    Thankfully Lahn was saved a momentter by King Arthur Brix, his father Lord Nik Luicio who was a personal friend of the king, and Dr. Brass - some of the only other people in the room who knew exactly what or who Lahn was concerning social standing. Trailing behind them was a small crowd of other well dressed nobles, who all stopped a short distance away given the cramped corner Lahn had ced himself in.


    ¡°My boy!¡± The good natured kingughed, pping Lahn on the shoulder while Lahn got an ufortable half smile from his father. ¡°How are you doing this evening!? Aside from the change across the continent and the war on the other side of Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole against the Romanovs, you¡¯re the talk of the kingdom so to speak! Lots of rumors going on about who you are, boy!¡±


    The king was half drunk, and winked Lahn¡¯s way - getting augh from Dr. Brass and a nervous chuckle from Lahn¡¯s father.


    ¡°You forget theing war in the hells and guild restructuring here. People are talking quite a lot about that too.¡± Lahn replied with a grin, not bothering to stand up when Marsia Bortrost hastily stood and curtsied with a look of horror directed Lahn¡¯s way.


    ¡°Lahn! You should stand!¡± She hissed, getting nods of agreement or frowns of disapproval from others nearby.


    Lahn blinked, only now realizing the social mistake he was making after having for years been refined to a chair. Hastily he got up and made a slight bow of respect. ¡°I apologize, I am so used to sitting in my wheelchair that I¡¯dpletely forgotten. No disrespect was intended.¡±


    King Arthur Brix raised one eyebrow, shared a look with Dr. Brass the vampire, and they both burst outughing.


    ¡°My boy!¡± The king stated with another hardyugh, pping Lahn on the back again and downing another drink from a passing servant while grabbing others for his friends. He finished handing out the drinks, then leaned over so that only the people immediately nearby could hear. ¡°If anything, it should be me paying respects to you!¡±


    He winked at Lahn again good naturedly, implying that Lahn¡¯s position as lover to Allie was significant enough to bear weight even over his own influence. That got a t look from Lahn¡¯s father, and a stare of confusion from Marsia.


    Lahn internally sighed at thement but took it in stride and shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, but I appreciate the sentiment. I¡¯m nothing special.¡±


    ¡°Nothing special he says!¡± King Arthur Brix guffawed.


    Dr. Brass also shook his head, wiping his sses and cing them back on his face. Even now he still wore a white coat around, it¡¯d be his signature that most people identified him by in public, and the deathtouched elf woman clinging to his left arm whispered something in his ear. ¡°We all know that isn¡¯t true Lahn, not many could tame the fires of that inferno you¡¯ve got on your hands. It¡¯s quite the feat.¡±


    Dr. Brass said this good naturedly with both Lahn and the kingughing loudly at theparison to Allie, though nobody else knew what he was talking about.


    ¡°Inferno?¡± Marsia asked, using the opportunity of proximity to attempt her hand at joining the conversation. ¡°What is it you speak of?


    Dr. Brass hesitated at this, the empire advisor not wanting to give off too much or any information, but then turned with a rare expression of anticipation when an announcement from the main double doors leading outside was announced.


    ¡°LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!¡± The announcer, a young man using magic to emphasize his voice over the ssical music ying in the background and the soft rumblings of talk andughter. ¡°IT IS MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU NEW ALLIES OF THE EMPIRE! FIRST, WE HAVE THE GOLDEN BULL SECT FROM FAR TO THE NORTH OF BRIGHTSVILLE ON OUR SHARED CONTINENT OF UMBRA! I PRESENT TO HEAD MONK, FATHER PEN! YOU PLEASE WELCOME THEM WITH A ROUND OF APPLAUSE!¡±


    The crowds immediately began pping politely as three monks in golden robes, all bald deathtouched enlightened who¡¯d once been humans, came to stand at the front with low bows of respect. They immediately caught sight of Dr. Brass and the king, making a b-line for the small group and throwing wary nces back over their shoulders as the announcer cleared his throat for a second time.


    ¡°LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THAT IS NOT ALL!¡± The young announcer called out - raising a hand to gain their attention once more. ¡°I AM SURE YOU ARE ALL VERY AWARE BY NOW THAT OUR ESTEEMED HIGH KING AND EMPEROR, RIVEN THANE, HAS BEEN UNMASKED AS THE NEW REINCARNATION OF GLUTTONY! I AM ALSO SURE THAT MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD OF THE DEMONS THAT WERE UNLEASHED ONTO OUR PLANET TO SERVE HIM! I DO NOT THINK I NEED TO EMPHASIZE ON JUST HOW UNBELIEVABLY SPECIAL THAT IS, OR WHAT IT MEANS FOR OUR PEOPLE NOW THAT WE ARE UNDER HIS PROTECTION!¡±


    Uncertainty rippled across the crowds of onlookers with hushed, nervous whispers in abundance. Despite their undead transition and the unholy affiliation they all now possessed, Gluttony and the other original sins were still something of a taboo amongst many in the vassalized Kingdom of Dawn. There were certainly mixed feelings on the matter, but at the end of the day Riven, Allie, and the forces of the necropolis had been what saved their lives and city - so most had set aside the inherent fear of the great maw and had put their trust in the two siblings.


    The announcer waited for the whispers to die down, giving the three monks in golden robes to reach Dr. Brass and the king with low bows, whispers of greeting, and handshakes before turning back to the man at the double doors leading out.


    ¡°IT IS THEREFORE MY GREATEST PLEASURE, TO INTRODUCE TO YOU ONE OF GLUTTONY¡¯S OFFICERS AND A MOUTHPIECE FOR THEIR GRAND GENERAL LILLITH! I GIVE TO YOU THE ARCHDEMON TRE¡¯ZIX - WARRIOR OF THE PURPLE CLAW!¡±


    Immediately the room hushed when the form of a hulking creature akin to that of a mutated deep-red and purple praying mantiscking antennae silently stalked into the room. It was over ten feet tall, with a pincer-like mouth and a set of long, retracted de arms against its insectoid chest. The face was simr to that of a praying mantis but thinner, with narrow, yellow, catlike eyes and three horns sticking out of its head. It turned, casually observing, until those yellow eyes stopped on Lahn¡¯s position. The four thick, armored insectoid legs of the creature retracted into its body and it shifted - bing more humanoid in form and rearranging its body. Within a second, a purple and dark red man covered in chitin was staring in Lahn¡¯s direction, smiling wickedly with a thin mouth of razor sharp teeth, three horns protruding from his head, and pincersing out of either cheek. Wings along his back were also present and long purple des jutted out of the extensor side of his arms, but the demon slowly headed in Lahn¡¯s direction with its intent pinpointed like a palpable will.


    The music started ying up again after a short stop, and people either tried to get out of the way of the demon entirely - or pretended to ignore the strange creature entirely if they were far enough away. The question marks and red mes outlining its identification box indicated that it was of legendary status, but didn¡¯t give any information to anyone present as it came to a slow halt in front of Lahn¡¯s figure.


    Ignoring everyone else present, the demon raised its wings up into the air behind it - each wing starting to sh with beautiful multi-colored light, and got on one knee - bowing to Lahn with one wed hand down against the ground.


    ¡°Lahn Lucio¡­ My name is Tre¡¯Zix of the Purple w, archdemon of the Klinac¡¯Tal n, an officer in Gluttony¡¯s Legions, and yer of Archangel Sinpha of the High Celestial Magistrates.¡± The insectoid demon¡¯s voice was very sharp, cut, and dry. It turned its face upwards, mashing its mandibles together and spreading an unnatural smile wide across its face. Clicking sound emanated from deep inside its throat, and its head turned sideways unnaturally to get another view of the young undead man. ¡°It is my pleasure and pride to meet you. Lillith has told me that you are in¡­ a unique situation. I am here to personally oversee your safety, regarding the angelic creature residing within you.¡±


    Safety?


    It was odd enough for many of the onlookers to see that the demon had directly addressed him, rather than Dr. Brass of the king. It was even weirder that the demon was speaking about things they simply didn¡¯t understand.


    Looks were shared and whispers began, but Lahn¡¯s creased brows and growing frown indicated that he didn¡¯t know what the demon was talking about either.


    ¡°Are you indicating that I am in danger?¡± Lahn asked, gesturing for the demon to stand.


    The insectoid demon did so, withdrawing itsrge wings and folding them behind his back,ing to a modified height of seven feet tall with purple des along the extensor side of his arms shing with energy. ¡°Not a certainty, but possible. I wish to converse with you and the angelic entity dwelling within your body in private about such matters, before discussing other matters such as ns for world domination with your subordinates. There is much to do.¡±


    The demon gestured to Dr. Brass and King Arthur Brix, getting more furrowed brows and confused gawking from the nobles and servants around them.


    Lahn didn¡¯t really know how to respond to that. He¡¯d guessed the angel hadn¡¯t left entirely, perhaps forming some kind of karmic link, but he had an angel dwelling inside him?


    He opened, closed, and reopened his mouth to reply. ¡°That angel saved Allie¡¯s life, as it did mine. If there is an angel of the heavens dwelling inside me somehow, I don¡¯t wish it harm.¡±


    The demon¡¯s grin only widened, a sharp cackle erupting from its throat while its yellow eyes narrowed. ¡°I would not dare if that is what you wish, but I will still need to speak to it - and I will discuss with you the details on why when we retain some privacy. Please, show me to a more secluded area so that we may speak more on this subject.¡±

 Chapter 249: (June 25 is the stub date for the Book 3: Chapters on RR. Just so yall know!)

    Chapter 249: (June 25 is the stub date for the Book 3: Chapters on RR. Just so y''all know!)


    <strong>Chapter 249</strong>


    The balcony Lahn chose was secluded enough for his liking, and at the demon¡¯s request he took a seat overlooking arge part of the academy here on the top city floor - some of which had been rebuilt after Rippenvire¡¯s attack. The gardens had all been regrown too with the help of nature-based mages, but to Lahn¡¯s distress - the small animal sanctuary he¡¯d made in those gardens was no more. Not after the bombardments from the fleet up high had happened.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite strange that one of Gluttony¡¯s own came to seek me out.¡± Lahn stated with a grunt, letting his backside melt into the cushioned chair underneath him that was abnormallyfortable if he had to say so. ¡°Strange that you¡¯d even know about the angel to begin with since you were stuck in whatever void-prison Elysium put you in. Tre¡¯Zix, was it?¡±


    The demon gave a nod, retracting the purple des along his extensor arms just slightly to avoid cutting into the fabric of the chair. Yellow eyes shifted across to where guards were posted further back at the entrances leading onto the balcony and many others elsewhere, and he snapped his fingers as a translucent sound barrier erected itself around himself and Lahn.


    ¡°Gluttony keeps tabs on many things you¡¯d not expect.¡± Tre¡¯Zix smiled - steepling his fingers and staring across the flower gardens that spanned for miles beyond campus grounds. ¡°Tell me. What do you know of Gluttony?¡±


    Lahn cocked an eyebrow. It wasn¡¯t a question he¡¯d thought the demon would ask, or even care about. ¡°Anything at all?¡±


    ¡°Anything at all.¡±


    Lahn contemted this, scrunching up his brows and folding his arms while deep in thought. ¡°I know it¡¯s one of the seven original sins, I¡¯d even heard about it before Panu was formed and the integration happened. ording to legend it is one of the seven origins of demonkind, and that it¡¯s supposed to be hunger incarnate. It is said that it feeds on the souls of mortal men to grant itself power, and that it is evil beyond measure. That is what I was taught growing up.¡±


    Tre¡¯Zix blinked, then chuckled with a widening smile that put on disy all the sharp teeth behind his pincers. The smile looked alien, but it wasn¡¯t a hostile one either. ¡°Ah I see¡­ So even before the integration into Elysium, there must have been angels or demons that contacted your world or dwelt upon it. Otherwise you would not know such things. Let me ask you another question then. Do you think all demons are evil - and that all angels are of good will?¡±Tre¡¯Zix turned his yellow eyes upon Lahn¡¯s figure curiously.


    Lahn, for his part, flinched just slightly under some unseen pressure. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think so. No.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Tre¡¯Zix asked, cocking his head.


    Lahn blinked. ¡°Because Ath, Azmoth, and Fay aren¡¯t evil. They were all incredibly nice to me, especially Fay.¡±


    ¡°The lucky three bound to Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation?¡± Tre¡¯Zixughed loudly, even throwing his head back in sharp, defined cackles. ¡°How amazingly fortunate they are! But this is good to hear. Tell me then, do you think that I am evil? That Gluttony is evil?¡±


    Lahn furrowed his brows. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I would assume¡­ Well I would have assumed that being bound to the Unholy Foundational Pir, you¡¯d be evil by nature. But I am bound to the Unholy Foundational Pir¡­ and I¡¯m not. And Fay isn¡¯t. And I know that you can acquire the Unholy Foundational Pir by doing evil things¡­ but that is just one of many ways to get it. Isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Tre¡¯Zix narrowed his yellow eyes, then slowly nodded. ¡°Yes. There is a very big misconception across the multiverse atrge about those who follow the Unholy Foundational Pir as a means to ascension¡¯s gates. And truthfully, there are stereotypes for a reason - but it isn''t absolute. I will be the first to admit that I am no saint, that you truly would consider me what most consider ¡®evil¡¯ if you knew me in truth. I have killed for hunger, for pleasure, and for no reason at all time after time after time. Yet I would even go as far to say that Gluttony is more akin to a predator¡¯s spirit, rather than truly evil. He does kill indiscriminately at times, but not because he wants to inflict pain. Rather, Gluttony kills and feeds because it is in his nature to do so. Whether or not that makes him evil is up to one¡¯s opinion. Yet there are shades of morality that we all must decide on for ourselves, as finding oneself is half the journey on the transition into the higher realms of being. Should you ever make it past C-grade, you¡¯ll do well to remember these words.¡±


    There was a pause as Lahn digested the information. Was this reborn archdemon really giving him the secrets of ascension?


    ¡°I thought you¡¯d lost all your memories.¡± Lahn stated.


    This got augh from Tre¡¯Zix. ¡°Oh no. The vast majority of my power was reduced and it is true that I have pockets and gaps in my knowledge that I once had. But not everything was lost, and we were once some of the greatest of our kind¡­ we had means of preserving small tidbits that even Elysium could not find.¡±


    Tre¡¯Zix winked. ¡°Regardless, I have a point to make amongst all of this talk - and it is this: We demons, and Gluttony, by default, are not evil. Many of us have done evil things, but we treat our friends with kindness just as anyone else would. Even though our cultures may be what the angels often consider barbaric and excessively murderous, you must remember that there are shades of morality that even the worst of us hold close to our souls. It is an unfortunate and direct side effect of Charisma¡¯s battle that has propagated the images of our kind being evil, specifically to mortal races such as humans who were born aligned with positive charisma instead of our negative charisma. In many ways we are destined to seek conflict with those of different charisma affiliations, with only those at the absolute neutral truly being safe from influence.¡±


    He pointed at Lahn¡¯s chest, and the sigil there imprinted into Lahn¡¯s skin, underneath his clothes, began to re a hot white. ¡°The same concepts can be applied to the angel that resides inside you.¡±


    Tre¡¯Zix stopped pointing, and the sigil on Lahn¡¯s chest began to fade and dim.


    The demon shook his head. ¡°It makes me wonder how things would have been if Charisma had never existed in the framework of creation to begin with. If this eternal war between the Commandments and Sins was to never happen. But if I were to guess, it is likely that whoever or whatever created the fabric of existence created us this way intentionally, with pr opposites destined to war against one another until the end of time while we crawled our way to the peaks of power. After all, conflict breeds growth.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Elysium create this multiverse?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but only in the sense that it stitched together other universes - or cannibalized them. Angels and demons existed long before Elysium did. Elysium is an enigma, creating its own multiverse within a multiverse, but it is just a piece of the greater whole. Even Charisma, though not seen on the outside of Elysium¡¯s Multiverse by status page, was still a very real thing before Elysium came to be. Elysium just gave us a means of physically seeing it by way of status screen, but there were other ways to do so even before it descended.¡±


    Lahn¡¯s eyebrows rose in surprise. ¡°A multiverse within a multiverse? There is more than one?¡±


    ¡°Certainly. Riven¡¯s parents fled from this one into the next, did they not?¡± Tre¡¯Zix chuckled at the shocked expression Lahn had on disy. ¡°Though it is all so vast that no one can truly be certain just how far it all goes. What we do know is that there is a realm beyond the SSS grade, and should you ever reach it, you gain ess to it. Should that ever happen and you fight through tribtions even beyond Elysium¡¯s own, you vanish¡­ never to return. At least, none have chosen to do so if they could. But there have been two documented instances in history where demons managed to break through, and one of the ordeals was actually recorded.¡±


    Another pause.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredibly interesting.¡± Lahn said with a thoughtful frown. ¡°What rank were you before all this?¡±


    ¡°Me? I was a peak A-grade, on the verge of S-grade. A being that could destroy entire civilizations! A true monster to be feared!¡± Tre¡¯Zixughed again, a gleeful glint to his eye. ¡°It is a realm even many gods do not enter, even despite their vast advantages whenpared to other beings of the multiverse.¡±


    ¡°What about Lillith?¡±


    ¡°She was mid SSS grade. That crazy bitch is something else, but I love her - as we all do.¡±


    ¡°And Gluttony?¡±


    Tre¡¯Zix paused. ¡°Intentionally peak SSS grade without ever attempting to transcend. Gluttony and the other sins though¡­ they havepulsions to remain in that state. As if by design. Gluttony once told me that he had the opportunity to try and surpass his limits, but that some kind of limiter would have made it all the harder to do, made him not want to do it even. He didn¡¯t go into much detail after that, other than to say there is another kind of system in the beyond that he once touched upon. Strange to think about. Perhaps this time around, one of us from Gluttony¡¯s ranks will finally make the jump¡­ as long as we aren¡¯t hunted down and killed first. Ancient enemies will no doubt being out of meditative seclusion in an attempt to kill us all before we make it back to where we were, long standing grudges to be had when we are at our weakest. Many of us will doubtless die in our climb back to the peak. But the same can be said for all of the other sins, and all of themandments and their followers that were banished along with us back when the eternal war had gotten out of hand.¡±


    Lahn was about to ask another question when Tre¡¯Zix shut him down with a wave of his hand.


    ¡°History lessons can wait. For now, I need to speak to the angel that so proudly announced himself as Denaskus, Arbiter of the Celestial Prax, when killing that baby blood sucker at The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯spound. Would you mind bringing him out for me?¡± Tre¡¯Zix grinned. ¡°I promise to y nice. I just want to make a few things very clear to him should we permit him to stay. After that I¡¯ve been instructed to speak to King Arthur Brix about our ns for world domination. Then I am to go power-level with my demonic brethren, before we take a mercenary guild contract to help fight Negrada¡¯s war. It¡¯s a lot to do and has been a long time since I¡¯ve let loose in the hells, so let¡¯s get this over with. I have a blood bath to attend to and an ascension into E-grade to acquire.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences elsewhere.


    ***


    Gragle the gnome, Nora and Azmoth were led through town behind the guards of Mesini¡¯s Outpost #84 without much fanfare. There were certainly wary or even scared looks shot Azmoth¡¯s way as they walked, but they were for the most part still rushing around trying to form barricades and set up defensive lines all around the stone wall perimeter. Health, mana, stamina, and divinity potions were all being passed around - and longsting miracle or spell buffs were being applied even hours before the monster wave hit in order to give the casters enough time for their cooldowns to reset over and over again.


    The architecture here varied, and most of the people here wore various leather and fur gear or in fabric; either being human or gnome in origin with a mix tilting in favor of humans by 2 to 1. Nora could tell just by looking at the ce that whatever this ¡®Mesini¡¯ was, or at least the area this outpost had been in, it¡¯d likely been a barren rocky wastnd without much nt life. There was wood present, and even a few very scrappy-looking gray trees, but not much. The houses and buildings were a mix-and-mash of metal ting, y patchwork, stone walls and even tar. She wouldn¡¯t go as far as to say it was dirty, but the most colorful aspects of the town were orange and yellow paintings found on some of the walls. Otherwise it was very brown and very gray wherever she looked.


    Eventually after a few twists and turns, Nora and Azmoth were led into a moderately sized two-story building, thergest one around, and told to wait below while two of the guards jostled up the stairway with bounding steps.


    There was a smallmotion up at the top, three scantily d human women covering themselves up with various nkets mbered down the stairs and rushed out the door with embarrassed flushing to their faces, and a gnome about two and a half feet tall was quick to jump down each of the stairs one by one momentster.


    Hended in a cloud of green dust when his hands smashed two green vials of sparkly powder into the floor, theatrically so, and waved his small hands around as if it was supposed to be impressive. He had a pointy wizard¡¯s hat on, or the equivalent of one anyways, and had a tobo pipe in his mouth that he continued to puff on while the green cloud of powder around him dissipated. ¡°Wee to Outpost #84! I am Warden Zuk of this fine town, wizard extraordinaire! You may prostrate yourselves now!¡±


    Nora gave the incredibly short man a t look, then shot a nce at the guards who each shamefully nced away when her eyes met theirs. Azmoth just scratched the back of his metallic, spiked head with a single w - but didn¡¯t move otherwise as he towered over not only the gnome; but all the human men as well.


    ¡°Warden Zuk.¡± The captain of the guards sighed with a shake of his head. ¡°Take it from one drinking buddy to another, but this is not the time to be ying silly games. We have a monster wave induced by Elysium itself on its way in about 6 hours from now and we could very well all die if we don¡¯t figure out what exactly is going on, or if there are any rules and obligations towards this event that we need to know.¡±


    Warden Zuk snorted, lowering his hands and taking the smoking pipe out of his mouth to put it into a spatial sack on his side. ¡°Fine, fine. You there - Gragle, as a fellow gnome would you say that these people are upstanding citizens to be - or should we be wary of them?¡±


    Gragle, for his part, had been trying to escape on the outskirts of the room with the warden¡¯s mboyant entrance. His scarred features scrunched up in irritation and he swore under his breath before sighing and walking back into the room with a defeated glower. ¡°I have no idea.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s not very helpful! Were you not taking them on a tour of the town just now!?¡± The warden raised an eyebrow and tipped his gray wizard¡¯s hat to one side.


    Gragle put both small hands to either side of his head, began rubbing his temple, and groaned. ¡°It was more than I would have liked to do.¡±


    Nora watched the small man nce up at her, and then at Azmoth, amusement edging itself into the back of her mind. She could tell that he was considering talking about Riven and the others, as well as their open talk back in the pub, but she wasn¡¯t concerned. Each of these guards were easily below level 50, and she¡¯d be able to kill all of them by herself even without Azmoth¡¯s help should the timee.


    That of course was opposite of what she wanted to do, given the quest she had was to save the town from this monster wave. She wouldn¡¯t necessarily lose Event Points if only a few of these people died, but she did know that Riven would. Though they were technically stillpetitors for Chalgathi¡¯s inheritance even if they were both non-cultists, Riven had still helped her up those pyramid steps and had likely saved her life. She would not undermine his attempts here.


    <strong>[Nora¡¯s Quest #1 of The Altars of Despair and Hope: Tag along with any other Non-Cultist to defend their town for the uing monster waves. Your job is to sessfully assassinate the enemy leader, as well as any enemy cultists that may appear with the monster wave. +30 Event Points for assassinating the enemy leader. Extra Event Points (+3 total) for any enemy cultist ne.]</strong>


    <strong>[Tagged Quest: Riven¡¯s Quest #1 of The Altars of Despair and Hope: Other F-grade participants have been either voluntarily or involuntarily dragged into this event from across the multiverse. Unlike the chosen of this trial, they do not respawn 24 hours after death. You have been given the task of defending one of these poptions. Your first quest is to travel to the marked quest location and save as many people as you can. Each person that dies counts towards a -1 Event Point. Sessfully defending the town from the monster wave will result in +30 Event Points.</strong>


    <strong>>>> Time until monster wave: 6 hours, 29 minutes.]</strong>


    ¡°That¡¯s a funny feathered hat you¡¯ve got theress.¡± The gnome warden stated with a finger pointing up to her green-and-ck headdress sticking out from the green-and-ck Chalgathi Cowl,beling her as a non-cultist. ¡°What¡¯s a non-cultist?¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know?¡± Nora asked curiously, folding her arms. ¡°What exactly were you all told when you got here?¡±


    ¡°Not much. That we were supposed to fight a monster wave and survive, and that we¡¯d be provided more details if we did.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I can see why you asked me toe here then.¡± She looked around, then spotted another nearby room full of pastries set up on a kitchen disy - and arge smile spread across her face. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll have to get going soon to scout out the area, but I can give you a rundown of what¡¯s going on if you treat me to that food over there. How¡¯s that for a deal?¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Azmoth nodded, surprising many of the people there who hadn¡¯t heard the deep, demonic voice of the brutalisk up until now.


    ¡°Your hellish ape can talk!?¡± the gnome wizard gawked - only for the captain of the guard to nearly choke at the unintentional insult while quickly ushering both Azmoth and Nora into the kitchen.


    ¡°We¡¯ll provide you with whatever food we have¡­¡± The guard captain red over his shoulder at the warden. ¡°Please forgive our resident idiot in charge, he means well - he¡¯s just thoroughly stupid.¡±


    ***


    Grakzee¡¯s gills red while water magic cycled through them to moisturize his insides. The silver cowl with blue trimmings with the sigil of a kraken stitched into its top was irritating to wear, but every time he¡¯d tried taking it off the damn thing would appear back on his head again secondster. This hadn¡¯t been the case earlier when he¡¯d only been in the presence of other cultists at the Altar of Despair, but the notification of ¡®While in the Presence of Non-Cultists, you must retain your Chubin Cowl at all times¡¯ was now guing him.


    <strong>[Chubin Cowl (Cultist): This is a soulbound item only you can wear for the remainder of this event, it gives you no stats or bonuses, but it marks you as a Chubin Cultist to friend and enemy alike.]</strong>


    At least this would act as a kind of radar to detect nearby enemies, but he didn¡¯t know what the radius on this effect was or how many of them there were. As for his side, he¡¯d already met with the other five cultists who¡¯d been assigned to this mission. Two of them were Chubin-affiliated naga cultists like himself, blue-green scales adorning their reptilian bodies with the lower halves of serpents and the upper halves of humanoid lizards. The other three were all Nekra cultists - two being dark elf females that hid whatever equipment they had underneath thick ck robes; while the third was a male chaos dwarf barbarian. He was an axe-wielder that was littered in Chaos-derived sigils all over his body. This species of dwarf was a rarity to see even from dwarf standards, and their sigils were supposed to actually be present at birth rather than created or tattooed, with the story being that once upon a time many millennia ago - one of their ancestors made a pact with some kind of demonic god to acquire such power for his people.


    Unfortunately Grakzee was the only one of the group of 6 that had a stealth-based ss, so he¡¯d been put at the forefront of the scouting mission while the other five were delegated to other things. They chose to either sit and wait, chose to speak to the monster swarm leader on tactics until it was unchained by the system event, or they were applying buffs to some of the stronger monsters in anticipation of the fight toe.


    He just wished that this was more swamp, or ocean, rather than the thick forest he found himself in. He wasn¡¯t used to being on drynd, and his ¡®Waterspear Ambusher¡¯ ss wasn¡¯t as good when out of the water as it was while swimming.


    And why was the system delegating 6 of the 21 cultists to a single quest anyways? Unlike all of the other cultists who had their own individual quests, the six of them had been assigned a ¡®group quest¡¯ for ¡®enhanced difficulty¡¯. The prize had also been escted whenpared to others he¡¯d talked to or those who¡¯dpared quest logs with him, and he didn¡¯t know whether or not he¡¯d been given a gift by the system - or whether this was a cursed quest destined to fail.


    <strong>[Grakzee¡¯s Quest #1 of The Altars of Despair and Hope: Other F-grade participants have been either voluntarily or involuntarily dragged into this event from across the multiverse. Unlike the chosen of this trial, they do not respawn 24 hours after death. You have been given the task of attacking one of these poptions. Your first quest is to travel to the marked quest location and kill as many people as you can. Each person that dies counts towards a +1 Event Point. Sessfully destroying the town alongside the monster wave will result in +30 Event Points. This quest is at an enhanced difficulty, killing either of the two Non-Cultists present here, only while during the active quest, will reward you with an additional +280 Event Points per kill.</strong>


    <strong>>>> Time until monster wave: 6 hours, 19 minutes.]</strong>


    His eyes narrowed on the +280 quest points. Killing these non-cultists would result in far more points than the actual quest itself gave. That was quite a lot, whenpared to any of the other quests the other cultists got, but it didn¡¯t take a lot of thought to cycle through possible options for why that would be.


    It was just a guess, but as he slithered through the underbrush with both short water-made spears in either hand, Grakzee could only hope that he was wrong about his theory. Why six would be pitted against two, and why the system would grant such arge boon for sess.


    Because though the cultists had the numbers, and all of them were in the S rankings and Paragon rankings on the Panu powerdder, there was one that stood out above all the rest.


    Grakzee could only hope that he wouldn¡¯t have to fight that monstrous warlock ranked at the very top, because from what he¡¯d seen of Riven Thane so far on the world forums - he was a walking catastrophe waiting to happen. The pureblooded vampire was also a known Chalgathi chosen after he¡¯d wiped out an entire city with the promation to massacre the Chalgathi cultists who¡¯d wronged him. There was at least a chance that Grakzee was about to pit himself against the most powerful man Panu had to offer by Elysium¡¯s rating standards, and if so - Grakzee would need to devise a scheme of some kind that would give him an advantage. He did have the skeleton of a n so far, but he just hoped he¡¯d not have to try and use it - because even with his schemes, the odds would not be in his favor.


    <strong>[Chubin, The Apocalypse Beasts World Quest, Panu, sub-event has been INITIATED: </strong><strong>The Altars of Despair and Hope.</strong>


    <strong>A temporary pocket world for this event has been created. The Chosen finalists of Chalgathi, the gue Dragon, Chubin, the ss Kraken, and Neckra, the Skeletal Devourer - Have all been sent to this pocket world topete.</strong>


    <strong>Locations of Chubin¡¯s Altars have been marked for you. You will be required to visit all 4 Chubin altar sites and activate each of the shrines, as well as acquire 10,000 event points before being allowed to leave this event. Doing so will also give you knowledge of the location of Chubin¡¯s Sea-bottom Lair, where Chalgathi¡¯s incubation chamber has been hidden.</strong>


    <strong>There are 21 registered Cultists.</strong><ul><li><strong>7 Chalgathi Cultists, 6 Chubin Cultists, and 8 Nekra Cultists</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>There are 9 registered Non-Cultists entering this event.</strong><ul><li><strong>3 Chalgathi Non-Cultists, 4 Chubin Non-Cultists, and 2 Nekra Non-Cultists</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>You have arrived at the Altar of Despair, and are now registered as a Culist. Killing other Cultists will result in a decrease in your Event Points. Each participant will have their own set of unique quests that allow them to gain points and level up, only quests will allow level ups and XP gains during this event. Other rules will be reviewed again and in more detail after your first quest ispleted.]</strong>

 Chapter 250

    Chapter 250


    <strong>Chapter 250</strong>


    <strong>Nearly 300 Years Ago¡­</strong>


    Sheline sat meditating upon an ocean of blood, her vampiric heritage roaring about her while her ancient, spunky grandmother - Nephridi - went on and on about how annoying her most recent suitors were.


    The beautiful, pale vampire rolled her eyes - but a smirk still yed at her lips. ¡°Grandmother, can you just settle down and pick one already? You¡¯re going to give yourself another headache. And that¡¯s on top of the one you¡¯re already giving me!¡±


    Nephridi humphed, scowling down at the woman who would no doubt im the throne to the Blood Moon Requiem when Nephridi handed the reins to a sessor. Her long white robe flowed out around her, a stark contrast to the blood red and ck dress her granddaughter had on, but their features and long brown hair that shifted like silk in the wind were one and the same. ¡°Oh let an old woman gossip, will you!?¡±


    The high queenughed sitting down on their chosen cultivation spot and sending ripples across the otherwise perfectly smooth ocean beneath them. Flipping her hair over one shoulder and snorting at her granddaughter''s expression, she raised a hand. ¡°Fine! Fine. Let¡¯s get on with the n then. Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°As ready as I¡¯ll ever be!¡± Sheline muttered under her breath, calming her beating heart and sping her hands tightly around one another before closing her eyes.


    She was still young and hadn¡¯t fully grasped the concept of forcing her malignant prophecy to activate, but she could prod and poke at it until it did something. Whether or not it did what she wanted to was something else entirely, but Nephridi had faith in her and Sheline didn¡¯t want to disappoint her grandmother.


    Plus if anything happened, Sheline¡¯s grandmother was strong enough that she¡¯d be able to fix whatever it was that went wrong.Sheline searched, tugging at the little fments of soul particles that swirled around her constructing sin core - with each piece of sin having cost the royal family sums of money beyond imagination. The Sin of Wrath raged inside her, constantly screaming at her to get up and kill without reason or direction - but she¡¯d already gotten used to the nagging sensation and was well on her way to mping it down altogether.


    That would likely change for the worse when the core finished though, and that was why they were doing it the safe way.


    The world began to turn gray around her, and unlike the thin clouds overhead that stopped in their tracks amidst the shifting winds: Sheline found herself staring down at her body from a phantasmal form. She looked right to where her grandmother, also a holder of the gift, stared back at her - waving in the eerie gray.


    A ck door formed in front of her on the ocean of blood, and despite the time freeze - it slowly began to etch runs of gold into the ck backdrop. The symbol of three dragons, each eating the next to form a circle, took form in front of her eyes.


    The phantasmal figure of her grandmother came to stand beside her, one of only a handful of people across the cosmos that could enter Sherine¡¯s malignant zone. She turned to look at her concentrating grandaughter, smiling in appreciation and approval while the three dragons began to spin faster, and faster, and faster.


    ¡°Have I ever told you the legend of the Temple of Three, dear granddaughter?¡± Nephridi asked with a slight cock of her head.


    Sheline grunted while continuing to channel her sin energy into the door, manipting it and simultaneously forcing malignant prophecy to activate outside the bounds of normalcy. ¡°You know you haven¡¯t grandmother. You always keep that information close to the chest. Why? Now that we¡¯re finally here, you¡¯re going to spill the secrets? Is that it?¡±


    An amused chuckle followed that, and the high queen sagged her shoulders into a more rxed posture while the golden circle of devouring dragons began to blur - sending sparks of mana across the ck door as the barrier between their world and the abyss began to crack. ¡°Well let me tell it to you now then. Once, in the age before this one, long before the cycle of nirvana hade to fruition to destroy the old and rece it with the new, three dragons were born. One was imbued with the power to manipte the past, one was imbued with the power to manipte the present, and one was imbued with the power to manipte the future.¡±


    There was a long pause as the high queen considered her words, and eventually her granddaughter gave another huff of irritation and red up at the older woman. ¡°Don¡¯t just stop there! Tell me damn you! You¡¯re doing that on purpose!¡±


    ¡°I would never!¡± High Queen Nephridi said, aghast at the usation, but winked with anotherugh and sped her hands behind her back. ¡°So the first of these dragons, that which could control the past, was named Steadfast. For steadfast was the nature of the past, it was set in stone outside the maniptions of this dragon and could not be changed otherwise. The second of these dragons, that which could control the present, was named Bnce. For it would bnce out the actions between past and present, and maniptions of the past needed to be controlled in order to not let the future run rampant with shifting possibilities. As time spreads out from the past and into the present, the possibilities begin to shift into a spiralingwork of more and more futures. Which leads us to the dragon of the future - thest of these dragons. This dragon that could control the future, was named Malignancy¡­ for it is the nature of the future to be malignant - to have an ever spiraling growth of possibilities. Each of the three dragons grew so powerful that they even surpassed the death of the old multiverse, and were birthed here into the new. But they were too weak to continue on their own, and their heritages were split amongst the most powerful of bloodlines that they deemed worthy.¡±


    The golden cracks spreading out from the sigil of the three dragons began to break down, and the door now began to crumble - revealing a never ending sea of ck behind its doorways that opened up into the resting ce of the elder gods. The resting ce of the birth of creation and chaos.


    Sheline¡¯s eyes widened at her grandmother¡¯s words, and her gaze shifted through the world of gray to stare at the high queen with mouth ajar. A look of understanding crossed over her, and she slowly nodded. ¡°I think¡­ I think I¡¯m beginning to understand.¡±


    Nephridi chuckled. ¡°Yes. Our bloodline, that of Malignant Prophecy, is that of the dragon of the future. One day, Sheline, your children will embark on a journey into the Abyss. And when that dayes, we need to have prepared keys for them to find. That of Past, and that of Present, and perhaps then - finally - after untold millenia - we will finally be able to im the ultimate prize.¡±


    Sheline¡¯s eyes were like saucers now, and the rest of the door faded away as dust in the wind. ¡°My¡­ children?¡±


    Her smile softened, and a blush overcame her. ¡°What will I name them? Have you seen it? Who will the father be? To think myself a mother¡­ it is insanity.¡±


    ¡°Telling you such things would only ruin the surprise and potentially change the timeline.¡± Nephridi replied with a ghostly pat on the shoulder. Then she turned to look at the approaching figure, and gestured for Sheline to get up. ¡°We have a visitor. Come child, stand, and meet the Keeper.¡±


    ***


    The green of the leaves here were turning into autumn colors, mixed with reds and oranges that crunched underfoot due to their passing. The change had been rather abrupt and had happened over the course of ten minutes, making Riven wonder if weather patterns like this would so sporadically change throughout the entire time living here for the next year.


    ¡°Cultivation isn¡¯t something I¡¯ve really understood much of whenever I do it.¡± Riven replied, walking alongside Ath through the forest while holding hands. The unholy tattoos along his body abruptly shifted when the third eye appeared again, focused on a point further into the woods, and then disappeared with Gluttony¡¯s whisper calling out to him.


    Riven chuckled underneath his Chalgathi hood, acknowledging the sin¡¯s words with a nod in his full te armor. ¡°I¡¯ve received visions of inspiration that I glean meaning from, usually in battle, but otherwise have not sat down to trulyprehend the meaning of what it is I am able to do. Nor have I spent time dwelling on where my path leads. Rather, my path has been one of forced brutality¡­ action and reaction. It is a w I must correct, and having tried forging totems recently has shed light on my misgivings.¡±


    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Jackal looked up from where it trot behind them when Riven¡¯s left free hand opened palm-up. A sh of light, and his most recent totem-in-the-making appeared to hover there. The Icosahedron had 20 triangr faces on the outer surface, each face holding a ck or crimson rune, and was about 1 by 1 by 1 feet in dimensions with the outer skeleton being made of metal.


    <strong>[Partially Constructed Totem of Bloodforged Rift Sparks: Status page is currently on standby. Soul Acquired, Affinity to Shadow Acquired, Sigils Acquired. Totem soul is currently absorbing the minor sigil of ck Lightning, and will reachprehension sometime within the next hour. Unable to bind at this time.]</strong>


    ¡°Having created even this half-baked totem of mine, it made me realize that there¡¯s a lot of the intricacies of my magics that I do by instinct rather than by knowledge.¡± Riven gave her a sideways smile and shrugged. ¡°But it is good to identify my weaknesses now, rather than never.¡±


    Ath eyed the creation with a raised eyebrow, licking her lips from the rather romantic pic they¡¯d just been on and still gushing while riding the coattails of the date he¡¯d finally provided her. ¡°I think you¡¯vee a long way in a short time concerning your totem making skills! But you definitely have a long way to go. I also agree that you could improve your performance with cultivating your power and upgrading the abilities you have by doing so, but so could I. From what mother says, cultivation is more important in the E-grade and beyond than it is in the F-grade. So now that you¡¯re about to transcend into the E-grade, this is the perfect time to start thinking about such things. That¡¯s actually why I brought it up. In order to break into the E-grade, you¡¯re going to have to form a soul corettice, or just ¡®Lattice'' is what most people call it. It is the key to transcending into the next state of being, and Gluttony will need to be incorporated into it from what my mother says because you two have a symbiotic rtionship. You¡¯re going to be stunted from growing past level 200 until you do so, and when you finally do create yourttice - leveling is going to rely a lot less heavily on just killing things, with a lot more emphasis on actual cultivation.¡±


    She squeezed his hand encouragingly. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m excited to see what your new totem can do when it finishes! Just an hour or less left!¡±


    Riven nced into the forest, through the falling leaves and into the shade of shrubbery and trees northwards of here - if north could still be judged by the way the sun was moving in the sky here. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to use it by the time our fight rolls around with the monster wave. By the way, you never did show me yourst martial art. The one you recently told me about. I¡¯m thinking that maybe now would be a good time, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±


    There was a pause, and she began putting on her gear from a small spatial sack she¡¯d been recently gifted. ¡°If we¡¯re going to do that, then I need to get appropriately dressed! Hold one moment!¡±


    First came a pair of red boots, then red pants, a red vest, a ck cloak with a red underside, and her ck ruby-studded tiara.


    <strong>[Tiara of Silent Killing (Blood / Shadow Trinket): After sessfully killing a target without being noticed by anyone else, gain a charge of critical strike. Your next unseen attack has a 100% chance to be a 2x - 8x critical hit, with multiplied damageing in the form of kic burst energy from the strike site. Requires a 26% or higher Blood or Shadow Pir Affinity to wield, and the wearer must be female.]</strong>


    All of them fit her perfectly and emphasized her more feminine qualities, with tiny sleeves in the cloak for her arms to go through and holes in the back that her arachnid limbs could also fit into.


    She giggled at Riven¡¯s simultaneously amused yet intrigued expression while she dressed, then held out her hands in front of her and mmed them into her chest. Drawing out two long katanas from her heart,pletely made of red metal aside from parts of the redwood handles with intricate carvings of doves decorating the des - the weapons began to whisper in ominous tones.


    Spinning each of them around in a flurry of motion, she gave Riven an evil smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing with these ever since I got them as a dungeon prize! Every time I visit mother!¡±


    <strong>[The Twin Red Doves (Awakened Weapons, Dual-Wielding Set. Blood Artifacts. Twin Katanas.): 899 average damage on strike with each physical strike on flesh adding a guaranteed stack of the ¡®Bleed¡¯ debuff for damage over time. Hidden strikes thatnd before an opponent is aware cause additional guaranteed damage of +5%. If the strike is a critical hit, deal an additional x2 critical modifier. These items, when bound to a wielder, may be stored in the heart of the wielder and withdrawn at will. These items are nearly indestructible while the bound wielder is still alive. Requires a Blood Affinity of over 51% to wield.</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>Whispers of Agony: From time to time, these des will whisper to you. The stronger your bond, the louder they whisper, and the louder they whisper, the more pain your strikes inflict regardless of damage.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>The Red Tide: Unleash stamina, mana, or divinity into these des via your Blood Sub-Pir to charge ranged sweeping attacks in the form of a red crescent. Damage and range depends on the amount of energy infused.]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven smiled at how excited she was to show it all off, and he gave her a nod of approval and pped with augh. ¡°You look great, as always. Why don¡¯t I see Azmoth wearing his antlers or belt? Does he not like them?¡±


    Ath tossed one of the long red katanas up into the air in a spinning flick of the wrist, then caught the twirling de effortlessly before giving Riven a side-eye. ¡°Riven, you¡¯re his first and only master. You¡¯re also his friend. Unlike Fay and I, Azmoth also doesn¡¯t have a family to go back to in theher realms¡­ Hellscape brutalisks are very solitary by nature, or at least they usually are. So your gifts to him have a very deep-set meaning, and he hoards them as sentimental treasures rather than risk breaking them.¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t know what to say to that, so instead he just put on a warm smile. ¡°I¡¯m d he feels that way. But you should probably use that ability of yours and take him down before he leaves, we don¡¯t know how long he¡¯ll stay and I can only pinpoint the general direction through smell.¡±


    Athughed and closed her eyes. Walking over and pushing his helmet back while wickedly grinning - she kissed Riven¡¯s lips with both hands on either cheek. ¡°Blood Art - Mark of the Hunted.¡±


    The world around her abruptly changed to various shades of red, and further into the distance - a single hulking figure lit up along a ledge where ity hidden and watching.


    A naga.


    The demoness growled as the mark targeted and highlighted her prey. The whispers of the red katanas in either hand grew into a storming howl. Her eyes grew to twice her normal size and her arachnid limbs tore out of her back as she screamed with a primal and frenzied glee - before tearing through the forest with blinding speed that caused trees she passed by to upend themselves with the current of air that followed her.


    ***


    Grakzee stalked the vampire at a distance under the cover of thick nt life, trying to find an opening for a quick, lethal strike. Two of his skills allowed him to use piercing ranged attacks focused on critical energy if unseen, and he could often strike down enemies at a distance without ever being noticed because of it.


    Water based abilities were, in his opinion, very underrated by thend dwellers.


    The naga¡¯s gills red, and his sharp teeth bared themselves into a grin when the sky suddenly went red.


    The air around him grew cold.


    His heart began to thud in his chest.


    And amidst it all, he saw two sets of red eyes turned in his direction, before a feral scream tore out of the demoness Ath - who was famous across Panu in her own right - before she tore through the forest like a tornado of vengeance.


    ¡°Oh no¡­¡±


    Grakzee¡¯s eyes went wide and he let out a shriek, only barely vaulting out of the way before Ath¡¯s red des tore into the ground with a double-handed sh that sent debris flying into the air.


    Grakzee didn¡¯t even have time to think, whirling and deflecting three follow up strikes thatshed out at him so fast he could barely even think. His arms acted in reflex, his water-based stamina surged, and within seconds he found himself in a fight for his life against one of the two world-boss enemies in this trial.


    He¡¯d somehowpletely lost the element of surprise.


    The ground tore apart and energetic exchanges of stamina infused strikes sted into each other with resounding booms. He activated an agility buff and grew faster, lunging backwards and to the side over and over again while being hard pressed onto a retreat.


    ¡°WATER DANCER¡¯S RAGE!¡± Grakzee screamed, his body blooming with swirling arcs of streaming water that acted as trailing des behind the two spears he wielded - shing them against the red katanas of the cackling she-demon.


    He dodged, rolled, and exploded into a cloud of mist before rematerializing only to find her upon him in an instant with a flurry of jabs, shes and cuts that made him curse under his breath. Gragzee was no pushover, he was a paragon rank himself at number 960 on the powerdder, but this demoness was incredibly agile even whenpared to him.


    With a roar he sent out illusionary bodies made of water to match his own, narrowly dogging a spray of red needles that came by the thousands over the course of a single second - with the cloud of red needles leveling dozens of trees in an instant explosion of shrapnel-like wood while the demoness giggled and lunged for his throat.


    ¡°HAVE YOU COME TO PLAY!?¡± Ath screeched with wide-eyed glee, turning into a puddle of blood to avoid one of Grakzee¡¯s counter swipes only to appear on his other side - crashing the sharm end of one de through his left elbow.


    The limb spun off, and Grakzee screamed in outrage and pain before he exploded yet again in a spray of mist - reforming his arm a secondter while heaving and huffing twenty yards away.


    His reptilian eyes narrowed when the demoness turned to look at him with a scowl, and his heartbeat thumped in his chest when he heard the sound of leaves cracking underneath feet directly behind him.


    He turned to-


    *BOOM*


    The ground shook, and Grakzee¡¯s dual-spears collided with a ck halberd flowing with blood. The naga felt bones in his arms snap under the strain, and he began to panic as he tried to think of a way out.


    Grakzee was an assassin, not a duelist. Not a fighter or a tank. With the loss of surprise he was as good as dead if he didn¡¯t make it out of here soon. He needed to get out, he needed to get away, and he needed to do it now.

 Chapter 251

    Chapter 251


    <strong>Chapter 251</strong>


    Riven watched with interest as the naga assassin took another one of his strikes, the earth shattering and erupting underneath them under the impact with the sin energy flowing out of his body.


    The naga¡¯s scream of pain was apanied by another sh of power when he regenerated and vaulted away in a swirling river of water, only to be intercepted by Ath¡¯s own blood-form as her river of red crashed into his river of clear-blue.


    The two entangled figures mmed into the ground, Athughing madly while their blows sent loud shockwaves that eradicated nearby trees - while Riven continued to observe the dark fractalsing out from his skin to encase the Gluttony-based armor he now wore.


    ¡°Interesting.¡± Riven muttered under his breath, feeling the great maw itself leak out of his soul and into both Messenger and Jackal - empowering them both as dark ck energies red to life.


    Without looking up, Riven stepped to the left in a blur of speed.


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    The ground beside him erupted with a thin, sharp, solid wall of water that cut through the forest for a mile, creating a solid trench in the ground for the entirety of the mile-long attack that caused the ground underneath to explode with debris.


    The naga shed forward, empowered with another water-based martial art only for Riven to look up with a flick of his wrist.A dozen spinning des of ck and red erupted around him and mmed into the naga - splitting him open in multiple spots and then exploding. However the naga¡¯s agility and regenerative properties let him off with only another pained scream - and he teleported back a few dozen feet breathing heavily with ragged breaths.


    Riven went back to inspecting the runes traveling out from his body that were still embedding themselves into his weapon and armor, fusing with it, and giving him a more innate sense of control over the items as they responded in kind. ¡°Gluttony, what is it you¡¯re doing?¡±


    The great maw onlyughed inside his soul, the third eye emerging from his forehead to stare out at the naga with terrorizing hunger pulsing out from it. The very grass beneath their feet shriveled and died under the gaze of the sin, and the sky above them darkened with a malevolentugh that echoed throughout thendscape.


    That was when Riven realized this wasn¡¯t a skill at all. Rather, this was actually Gluttony¡¯s aura - simr to how Riven¡¯s aura of red frost was akin to Crimson Ice, but didn¡¯t actually involve any skill activation. It was just a pure flex of raw, semi-directed power.


    The sight of the eye caused the naga to freeze mid-stride, true fear giving it pause right as Ath caught up to it and impaled the assassin with both of her red des.


    ¡°It¡¯s not fun when you stop moving!¡± Ath hissed over the screech of the cultist, tearing her des out from his body - headbutting him mid scream - and with a blur, kicked the man in the chest tounch him like a cannonball across the canopy under the snap of bones.


    She looked over her shoulder, to the dying nt life that was quickly drying up all around them at exponentially rapid speed, then up to the sky overhead - confused. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Energy began ripping from all life around them, feeding into Messenger and Jackal alike. The dark runes pulsed various shades of ck, red and purple - sparking with power; shifting and churning. The ground began to turn gray, and without warning - a pulse of sin vaporized all the forest around them for hundreds of meters.


    The darkening sky overhead screamed as the figure of the maw appeared to open wide, and Riven reached out a hand as a bolt of sin crashed down onto his position.


    Riven felt electrified in both a figurative and literal sense, coursing with power as his mana channels rearranged themselves and inserted themselves into the two sin-affiliated items. The eyes of the horned, vampiric pauldrons burned bright and the flowing rivers of blood epassing Jackal roared to life like an ocean - their volumes increasing.


    He felt his pirs react, and the sin core orbiting his soul core reached out to form a pir of its own. Now, instead of being disconnected from one another, Gluttony had fused the sin core as a newly born pir - cing it directly beside his Blood Sub-Pir and erging his soul-core by three times the size as it pulsed and waned over and over again.


    Riven let out a shudder, and as the sin pir solidified - he felt a strong sense of one-ness when his mind linked with Gluttony, his Mythic tier upper body armor, and his Ascended Legendary tier weapon. The spiked knuckles on his gauntlets crackled, the four tes on his back expanded with torrents of fire as ¡®Launch¡¯ began to activate, and the replica maw of Gluttony along his front began to open.


    God he needed new pants, especially after his Lich-Kin Boots had been destroyed by the st in Deepnest.


    His three-eyes fixated on Ath, and he smiled. ¡°Gluttony, Messenger, Jackal and I were just having a bonding moment is all. Now¡­ Let him flee for a while. Hopefully he¡¯ll lead us to the others, so that we can finish this quest ahead of schedule.¡±


    Ath nkly stared, then chuckled and turned - shing forward as she morphed into a stream of blood that crossed the destendscape he¡¯d created; further flowing inbetween the trees to advance out of sight.


    With Mark of the Hunted still tracking her fleeing naga friend, Riven was sure she¡¯d be on him soon enough.


    Grinning and feeding Messenger a pulse of mana, he forced his armor to explode with power - shooting him skywards in an arc before disappearing into the clouds.


    <strong>[Launch: The back of your suit can open up, creating a st of sin energy that damages enemies and acts as a propulsion method to st you in a given direction at speeds dependent on how much energy you drain from the stored reservoir of your pauldrons.]</strong>


    ***


    The forest erupted all around him as the crazy she-demon unleashed swaths of red crescents from her des, alongside storms of needles that showered thend. It was like watching a hurricane of destruction running after him, and despite being a speed and agility based fighter in the Paragon tier - Grakzee was having a very hard time getting away from her.


    The naga assassin cursed and swore, dodging more of those red needle threads while they rang out like the bullets of a gatling gun to mow down animals, nts, and even boulders alike while the demoness gave chase. He¡¯d nearly died eight times by now, and that was considering the fact that Riven Thane hadn¡¯t done more than half-heartedly attack him three times; twice with his spear-staff and once with a rtively small amount of magic at close range.


    Time dragged on, and he gained more and more wounds - but none of them were lethal. He felt like a rat being toyed with by a cat amidst sprays of bloody, painful hits that he took along his extremities every couple seconds. It seemed like this Ath bitch was ying with him, as if she was intentionally letting him live just to cause him more pain and suffering, and the more he thought about it - he had a good idea why.


    They were wanting him to lead them to the others in his flight.


    Looking over his shoulder at the manic grin on Ath¡¯s face only twenty yards away, he would be more than happy to oblige.


    <strong>*CRACK*</strong>


    The air thundered and he felt his knee explode as he screamed again, but yet again - the attack wasn¡¯t aimed at his vital points.


    He vaporized and then reappeared to heal himself, almost drained of a third of his energy now and cursing the ability that was allowing her to keep a perfect target on his back. No matter whether he backpedaled, used stealth skills, or dashed far ahead - it was like she had a radar that honed in on his soul - and he had the odd sensation that the very heavens were watching him as he tried to avoid their unceasing gaze.


    He thought about it, inwardly groaning when blood sprayed from his shoulder and he had to reform the limb amidst Ath¡¯s cackling, howlingughter. Truthfully there was no reason why he WOULDN¡¯T lead these two into the fray of other hostile cultists. Not only was their monster swarm there and just unable to leave a particr area at this time, but Riven would have received reinforcements from the town if they¡¯d attacked like originally nned. If the vampire was willing to fight without those reinforcements, then all the better. Not only that, but that other unnamed non-cultists also wasn¡¯t here¡­ and his other minions aside from Ath were also absent. The two elves, the subus, and the hellscape brutalisk were all eerily gone.


    This bade the question ¡®Why¡¯? Were they setting up an ambush for the others by not showing themselves? But Grakzee wasn¡¯t in much of a situation to question things and would take what he could get. He was also pretty sure that Riven could summon his <strong>demonic</strong> minions to him by using the unholy pentagrams on his chest that he¡¯d seen in previous videos on the cortex, but he wasn¡¯t absolutely sure about it. Regardless,cking the other non-cultist who was no doubt at bare minimum S-tier to get here, as well as forgo his reinforcements from the town and the two elves of unknown threat level - that was more than ok with him.


    ***


    Riven watched Ath¡¯s game of cat and mouse from high up in the clouds as his armor kept him aloft; though he was able to use his own mana to do so at a less viable level even if he didn¡¯t have messenger on at this point. It wasn¡¯t as pure as air or storm based mana, but by fluctuating it and using it to propel him in certain directions - he was able to shift his body¡¯s cement above ground without physically moving it. Albeit poorly. He still had a long way to go, so until he perfected the art he¡¯d be sure to only utilize messenger unless absolutely necessity called for other ns.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    ¡°Do you feel it?¡± Gluttony whispered into his mind, focusing on the threads of light only he and Riven could see. Threads that connected them to one another, thatbined and meshed the shattered pieces of Riven¡¯s soul with Gluttony¡¯s own - making them almost inseparable even by the standards of what the system had intended for them to be.


    It was more than just a symbiotic rtionship, but the way it felt¡­ Riven wasn¡¯t just ok with it. He LIKED it, and even better - he was still the one primarily in control. Having Gluttony there and meshing his thoughts with the great maw on this level gave him an understanding of the creature he now shared a vessel with on a deeper level than any other being had ever been able to grasp, and it made him look at Gluttony in a new light.


    Gluttony wasn¡¯t necessarily evil at all, rather he was just a machine - a being bred for war, bred to kill, and bred to devour.


    Gluttony was the very essence of genocide itself, put into spiritual and physical form alike. There was no greater truth Gluttony strived for other than to be THE apex predator above all others, devouring his way to the top, and for the first time in a while - Riven felt a sense of meaning integrate and resonate with his own desires.


    It was as if Riven had been lost in the ocean, adrift amidst the waves and not having true direction. But now - he was given that direction.


    He too wanted to be great.


    He too wanted to reach the apex.


    ¡°I do feel it¡­¡± Riven replied, feeling Gluttony¡¯s abilities mesh into his own status page while Gluttony pushed their intertwining souls together - the maw¡¯s sigil radiating sin energy across the new pir he¡¯d acquired. ¡°I feel everything that you are, as you too feel me¡­¡±


    Riven¡¯s attention turned from the threads of their souls onto other such connections that were external, rather than internal. He followed one to his lover, Ath - where it pulsed the brightest of all the other external threads he now had. He could read her thoughts when focusing on it, and chuckled to himself at the mirth she felt while chasing the naga far below.


    Poor guy.


    The other threads varied in size and length, and crossed time and space to lengths that he could not physically see - but following them allowed Riven to peer beyond physical space. He followed one to Fay, who was sitting on a couch - rather upset - in her mother¡¯sher realm while talking to her n. He felt her swirling emotions that bubbled up from deep inside her mind - thoughts of inadequacy, doubt, fear, and a longing for him.


    He reached out through the thread, touching her consciousness with a feeling of warmth, and lovingly smiled as she received the message with a surprised jerk of her head.


    The next thread led to Azmoth, who was in the town right at this very moment gorging himself on pastries back in town. Therge demon felt his presence immediately, and Riven couldn¡¯t help but explode intoughter when he saw Azmoth give him the middle finger. Only a deep sense of yful trust and admiration resonated from that bond, and it was directed solely at Riven. It was the kind of trust one would have in their family, and it made Riven remember that Azmoth was still just a kid. Despite his maturity and size, Azmoth was supposed to be an infant without any other blood-rted family he kept in contact with - though truth be told he didn¡¯t know what age range demon infants were considered to be. He¡¯d have to ask Azmoth sometime just how old he really was. After all, Ath was over 200 years old - and she¡¯d said that was very young for a demon.


    Luke Blissfallen, the Stormrazor Battle Priest thrall, had a far weaker link than any of the others. It was still there, and pulling on it found Riven¡¯s sight to be¡­


    Riven immediately withdrew his vision when he found the old man was visiting a brothel. He¡¯d touch up on that er, and he couldn¡¯t necessarily me the guy - Luke didn¡¯t have anyone special that Riven knew about and they had a good while until the monster wave actually hit. Maybe it was even a method of stress relief.


    Lastly, Genua¡¯s thread between their souls was the one that fluctuated most. One moment it was rather strong and firm, the next it was weak and wavering. Fixating on it and following it out, Riven found himself viewing the inside of a temple. High marble pirs held up an immactely carved ceiling depicting creatures and artifacts he did not recognize, alongside vampires and a huge red moon carved from stone at the very back end of the-


    His vision changed, and he found himself looking directly out of Genua¡¯s eyes into the face of a very old but pretty priestess. The woman had the same formal clergy robes Genua had on, as well as the glowing crimson tattoos littering her skin, and she tisked his way before the vision ended.


    Riven let out a snort,ing back into his own body while scratching his neck. ¡°I guess they don¡¯t want me looking into the Blood God¡¯s realm just yet. Gluttony, what¡¯s your opinion on the Blood God?¡±


    ¡°Neutral.¡± Gluttony immediately replied with a hiss, his ck soul clone visage appearing in the air beside Riven. ¡°I have never had many interactions with him in the past, from what memories I do retain. I suggest you decide on how to proceed, and I will support you in whichever way you choose to go about it.¡±


    Riven nodded, ncing at the slowly twisting maws that leaked the essence of the abyss itself. ¡°I see. What about The Scythe?¡±


    ¡°I have had minimal interactions with that one. They were overall positive, but we did fight two wars against one another in the past.¡±


    ¡°Two wars? And your interactions were positive?¡±


    ¡°Wars breed conflict, conflict breeds ascension. It is creation¡¯s will, and we werepeting for supreme treasures. I needed to disy my dominance.¡±


    Riven smiled, then chuckled. ¡°Not so dominant now, eh?¡±


    Gluttony hissed. ¡°If The Scythe had been as powerful as I and the other sins back then, he¡¯d have been banished too. My banishment and reincarnation are only testaments to the strength I once had, and to the strength that I will one day reim. Do not goad me, child.¡±


    Riven kept his smirk but didn¡¯t push the matter. He could tell by the way their souls were intertwined that Gluttony wasn¡¯t actually mad, but he would be respectful to his new ymate nevertheless.


    Meanwhile, the connections inside his soul apparatus were only condensing, growing thicker, and being tied together in odd formations and web-like patterns like attice. Two more connections formed shortly after as he watched, one to Messenger - and one to Jackal, though these threads looked a little bit different than the other ones to his minions did. They were semi translucent when focusing on them, and Riven could only guess that it was a change due to them actually being items rather than people?


    He was about to ask Gluttony about it after briefly reviewing Ath¡¯s progress in her chasing game below when a sh notification appeared ahead of him, and his mind briefly turned ck. His body went numb and he shuddered as the Mark of the Sinner lit up across his skin, messenger, and Jackal all at once - with a hungering, gnawing sensation carving itself into his gut. A sensation of hunger that was bottomless, without end, that spurred him onwards to feed.


    The markings on the ck and deep-purple pir of sin in his soul apparatus finally stopped moving, the new mana channels etching themselves into it and solidifying, and he gasped alongside Gluttony as they exchanged abilities and traits with one another. Just as Gluttony gained ess to many of Riven¡¯s own inherited skills as their souls intertwined, so too did Riven gain ess to Gluttony¡¯s.


    <strong>[Congrattions, Host and Reincarnation of Gluttony. You have acquired the following abilities and traits from Gluttony now that your symbiosis has reached its height:</strong><ul><li><strong>Ravenous Beetle Swarm (Sin):</strong><strong> Open your mouth to summon a swarm of ravenous beetles. The more biomass they eat, the more your health, mana, stamina, and divinity replenish; and the more beetles you can create. Consuming targets with this ability applies towards your Gluttonous trait.</strong></li><li><strong>Farsight Banishment (Sin):</strong><strong> Send a pulse of sin that eradicates all ties to the area around you concerning scrying, remote tracking, spying, karmic ties, or long-range visualization abilities. Very long cooldown.</strong></li><li><strong>Soul Clone Projections (Sin):</strong><strong> Create projections of your ravenous maw, allowing you to devour and attack enemies from your projections with tendrils of sin and sin-afflicted teeth. Attacks with your primary soul clone body cause soul-damage, decreasing all mana, stamina, divinity, and health regeneration until the enemy soul has healed. Replicas of your soul clone with additional projections only halve this effect. Consuming targets with this ability applies towards your Gluttonous trait.</strong></li><li><strong>Gluttony¡¯s Aspect of Demonic Heritage (Sin)(Tier 3):</strong><strong> A martial art that enhances you through the power of your fully formed Mark of the Sinner. Your body merges with your soul clone for 1 minute, allowing you to take on an ultimate demonic form as an aspect of the Great Maw. Very long cooldown, which can be reduced by killing and eating others.</strong></li><li><strong>Gluttonous (Trait):</strong><strong> You are required to eat at least 1 enlightened being every week, or will suffer a 1% debuff that stacks on all stats. Feeding on more than 10 enlightened beings in a day gives temporary bonus stats that decay over time, the amount of bonus stats depends on the power and number of consumed victims. Feeding on more than 5000 enlightened beings in a day temporarily doubles your stats and all the stats of your gear.</strong></li><li><strong>Reincarnation of Gluttony, Original Sin (Trait):</strong><strong> You once were a being feared across the cosmos. Reaching the SSS grade again after your reincarnation will unlock previously unattainable aspects for your Path of Gluttony, allowing you to ascend higher than ever before. If your vessel and host dies, you will be forced to restart on this path once again. You have beenbeled as a ¡®MYTHIC¡¯ tier creature inparison to others your level across the multiverse.]</strong></li></ul>


    Riven¡¯s red and ck eyes widened when focusing on the ¡®Gluttonous¡¯ trait in particr. The abilities were nice to have, but needing to feed on at least 1 enlightened being every week¡­ did that include monsters? Sentient monsters, maybe?


    Perhaps he needed to really take that vampiric heritage of his to the next level as he upped his game to feed on more people, though he¡¯d have to find targets that weren¡¯t so innocent. He was sure there¡¯d be more than enough to go around.


    Beyond all of that though, was a sense ofpetence and assuredness in himself that flooded through his mind like a tidal wave. It was Gluttony¡¯s presence, one that had been around for eons, and even despite the loss of much of his knowledge and skills - Gluttony still had a lot of memories pertaining tobat.


    Pertaining to the hunt.


    Riven¡¯s mouth twitched, and he gave an involuntary, malicious sneer that focused on the fleeing form of the naga far below. Hunger built up inside him, and his stomach ached as he began to salivate.


    He shuddered, and Gluttony¡¯s voice rang clearly beside him to bring Riven back to the present.


    ¡°We will feed shortly, my friend¡­¡± Gluttony stated - disappearing from his soul clone form and re-entering Riven¡¯s body with a sh of darkness. ¡°But these opponents of ours are some of the best your has to offer. It would be a waste to merely eat them outright. Instead, we should use this as an opportunity to find one-ness.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed, still following the naga through the trees before he disappeared into a shimmering wall of illusion in the forest below. Ath followed the cultist through the illusory wall shortly after, and Riven¡¯s grip around Jackal tightened as the weapon in his hand howled for blood.


    ¡°You want to use them as a whetstone, to test our skills now that we have joined.¡±


    ¡°You are correct.¡± Gluttony stated as a matter of fact. ¡°Such opportunities to truly struggle against and fightpetent opponents, before leaving your world to travel into the greater multiverse, will note often. They will respawn here in this trial, it is true, but we can use every opportunity to push ourselves; even by self imposed restrictions if need be. But for now, I do believe that there are multiple S-grade and Paragon-grade enemies beyond that shimmering wall. Perhaps it is time to join Ath and to hone our skills, so that you may for the very first time truly pursue the Path of Gluttony, while I pursue the unfamiliar path of Red and ck you have so recently gifted me. We will be two halves fighting as one, and we will need to know each other thoroughly before we perfect the dance of a dual soul inbat. We will be a single predator, two parts of one beast. Only then will we be able to start our next step into ascending towards the E-grade.¡±


    Riven paused, his focus being skewed by the building hunger - a hunger that until now, he¡¯d not even known was possible - even when he¡¯d been starved of blood prior to getting Luke and Genua as thralls to feed on. He let out a gasp, and his red eyes began to burn with power. ¡°Afterwards, we will eat them together.¡±


    Gluttony seemed to internally grin. ¡°That, my dearest friend, is a certainty. We will gorge on their bodies as they still take breaths, so that they remember what it means to oppose our will and might.¡±

 Chapter 252

    Chapter 252


    <strong>Chapter 252</strong>


    Despite his sister¡¯s choice to abandon the Blood God as a path to take to power, Riven wasn¡¯t so sure doing so would be a good idea for himself. He was rtively certain that, over the course of his climb so far, the Blood God had been the man in his visions multiple times under the light of the blood moon. The shrouded man over an ocean of red.


    If that was the case, this entity had gone out of its way - or his way - to help Riven without being asked. Shouldn¡¯t Riven reciprocate if chance allowed? Riven did know that gods acquired power from the strength and worship of their followers. More followers meant more power, but better quality candidates could make up for dozens, hundreds, or who knows how many less powerful worshipers. Perhaps this is why the entity had been so angry for Allie leaving? Due to the loss of what she could potentiallye? Perhaps this was why Gluttony didn¡¯t have a direct conflict of interest with Riven pursuing the good will of this Blood God? Due to Gluttony not truly being a god - but something else entirely? At least, Gluttony hadn¡¯t said anything about it so far. Thus, he would need to talk to Genua when she got back about how to go about fixing whatever damage Allie had caused. Not only was it a likely good path to progression, but it was also probably important in getting the Blood Moon Requiem off Allie¡¯s back since she¡¯d probably pissed them off to the tenth degree.


    The reason he was even thinking about the Blood God as he flew forwards in the direction of the illusory wall down below in the forest was because of thest significant vision he¡¯d had concerning the entity.


    <strong><em>¡°Blood, shadow, and death. These are the three pirs the vampires were created from.¡± The hooded figure said, turning his red gaze and forcing Riven¡¯s own with it towards the piles upon piles of dead far below them. You have taken the first step by converging the paths of shadow and blood, but youck the trio in its entirety. Descendant, you show promise¡­ otherwise Gluttony would not involve itself so directly in you. But you need to broaden your horizons now and before you hit the E-grade, or you will fall short of what you could otherwise be. Death is a sisterponent to blood in more ways than one. Why do you neglect it so?¡±</em></strong>


    That vision had empowered Riven with the gift of insight pertaining to the Death Sub-pir, and had allowed Riven to call upon eight skeletal champions of the Blood God¡¯s realm to temporarily fight for him. The symbol of a scythe, a symbol of a red teardrop, and the symbol of a ck sun - even now they reached out to him from their individual sub-pirs across his soul, but now alongside them the visage of Gluttony¡¯s maw joined the trio to make a quartet.


    How was he supposed to solidify his foundations with these four pir ideologies?


    What about his path of Red and ck?


    Was the path of Gluttony the same thing as his Sin Pir?Riven was on the cusp of E-grade, and needed to figure out how to ascend. Gluttony gave vague notions of what to do, and had hinted at it a couple times now - but Riven got the feeling that it wasn¡¯t a 1+1+1+1=4 situation. More than likely and based on all the context clues he¡¯d received from multiple people on the outside now - it was probably semi-unique for each person to at least a small extent. Or, based on what the Blood God had said, being :¡®<strong>you will fall short of what you could otherwise be</strong>¡¯ - there were likely things Riven could do that would make his ascension into E-grade far better than if he just ascended immediately.


    He didn¡¯t really know yet. What he DID know was that no one had outrighte to tell him, and he hadn¡¯t asked - but again there¡¯d been more than a few subtle hints on what needed to be done. Perhaps he¡¯d have that conversation with the Great Maw after this little fiasco he was about to participate in.


    Because right now, he had some cultists to kill. The air about him screamed as he kicked his mana channeling up to the next notch, and a torrent of roaring power exploded behind him tounch him into the distance towards where Ath had disappeared.


    ***


    Six cultists in total. Three reptilian naga of the Chubin cult, and three others of the Nekra Cult - two dark elf females and a chaos dwarf.


    They¡¯d made camp together on the outskirts of their system-given horde, with Grakzee going ahead to scout the area, but just because they were technically on the same team for this specific mission didn¡¯t mean they were friends. Nor did it mean they were on the same team at all as soon as this subsection of the world quest ended. No, they were all in it for themselves. Each apocalypse beast could only have one winner, one to im the egg - or to use it to create an item of supreme power. In the end, the chosen would all be at odds with one another - cultist or not, and that went doubly true for those within their same bracket of apocalypse beasts; who¡¯d have to kill one another in order to get what they wanted.


    And thus the uneasy alliance had been formed, with three big reasons keeping them in check from ripping into one another at a moment¡¯s notice. First was that every one of the chosen would respawn here in this sub-event until they left in a year or so by the system¡¯s estimation. They would continue to respawn until they got the necessary points needed to leave, and that could only be done bypleting quests or killing non-cultists. Second was that if they DID kill one another, they¡¯d get negative points for it - so an attempt on one another¡¯s lives would need to have bigger rewards than repercussions, they¡¯d have to have a good reason to do it. The third andst reason was that, just as Grakzee had already deduced, it was very likely they were up against a harder obstacle than any of the other cultists here. There were only two non-cultists defending this town based on the system quests they each got, with a muchrger potential for points should they kill either one of them. +280 points for a single kill would them far, far, far more than any of the others got for their non-cultist kills. Only +3 points were being awarded to other people at other questlines for killing non-cultists, but everyone had a pretty damn good idea as to what having 93 times the normal points for a kill meant.


    It was likely they were up against Riven Thane.


    Each of them was a cold blooded killer, each of them in the S and Paragon rankings on Panu, but that fucking vampire was nearly unkible and had the equivalent power of a meteor strike. Videos of him wiping out Daskus, fighting the Azag Hive Cluster in Chicago, wiping the floor with Rippenvire invaders in Dawn alongside the Harbingers of Gluttony, and then killing the elites of the Empire of Dying Suns invading force alongside a dungeon boss had circted numerous times over - along with some other less-well-known videos too.


    He may not be as ruthless as his batshit crazy sister, but he was even more dangerous in actualbat. It also didn¡¯t help that he had demonic familiars that were also incredibly strong in their own ways, and that he may or may not have somehow ascended by absorbing something rted to Gluttony based on system messages and the titles on the rankingdder for Panu.


    So that was the third and final reason they didn¡¯t kill one another in their sleep, and avoided antagonizing one another. They needed to work together if they wanted to beat him, and in a worst case scenario they¡¯d agreed to try and have one of their own sneak around him to destroy the town so they could im the 30 points bare minimum. To do this, the others would need to distract the vampiric warlock and his demons when the monster wave was unleashed in a few hours from now.


    Other than Grakzee, who was the only stealth-type fighter their group had, the five remaining cultists were a mix of warrior and caster types. The remaining 2 aquatic naga, who were lizard-like Chubin cultists, were both mages specializing in cial and Storm sub-pirs respectively. Of the 3 Nekra cultists, the chaos-dwarf was an axe-wielding barbarian with a long ck beard and chaos-attuned runes he¡¯d been born with - enabling him to utilize the power of the Chaos Sub-pir at an astounding affinity of 73%. One of the two drow or dark-elf women, therger of the two, was a death knight who kept arge ck cloak covering the armor she wore - which was madepletely from bone. She also had arge bone-made ymore, and her eyes glowed a neon-teal light. Meanwhile thest of the Nekra cultists, another and smaller drow woman, was an affliction caster that specialized in gues and debuffs which rotted, corrupted, and ate away at her enemies rapidly over time.


    Currently these remnant 5 cultists sat around a campfire, either looking into the mes contemting what they would do when the fight finally came - or ncing over their shoulders at the huge swath of roaming monsters nearby. One in particr stood out above all the rest, the monster swarm¡¯s ¡®boss¡¯ unit, and it was no less impressive than many of the dungeon bosses any of them had seen up until this point. It was arge level 180 ELITE monster. More specifically it was a winged tomb-cobra, with thergest difference other than size being it had tworge wed arms like a dragon. It was sorge that it could swallow a small house, with lightning coursing over its golden scales and white feathered wings; and bright orange eyes that surveyed its smaller kin from the center of the swarm. It¡¯d already spoken to them once, after having been dragged from its own world along with its brood to participate in these integration trials - and was more than excited to be given a town of humanoids to eat for its mission.


    ¡°How long will your lizard friend be gone, you think?¡± Chasindir, the cloaked and armored death knight stated while leaning forward and brushing a long braided lock of white hair from her face. Her helmet rested at her side on the log she was sitting on, and he neon teal eyes flickered while souls danced around one of her hands.


    Merris scoffed irritably, ring out from his silver-blue hood - his reptilian features contorting into a sneer as the lightning mage crackled dangerously as if a threat. He pointed a wed hand at the deathknight and rose up slightly from his coiled position with a hiss to his words. ¡°I have told you numerous times, drow. Grakzee is not my friend. You insult me by asking this, as my tribe is by far superior to his.¡±


    Chasindir grinned slightly underneath her own sandy-brown hood trimmed with teal coloring, that of the Nekra Cult, and head bobbed over to where therge winged tomb cobra remained coiled like a giant hill amongst her writhing swarm. ¡°What about your cousin¡¯s tribe? How does yourspare to hers?¡±


    ¡°That is of a different species, you ingrate!¡± Merris snarled, causing his aura to explode - but none of the others bothered getting up from their spots or even acknowledging his tantrum. Merris was by far the easiest to rile up, and Chasindir the death knight had been doing so time and time again just out of boredom - and because she thought it was funny.


    The chaos dwarf, who was sharpening therge obsidian axe across hisp, just sighed and grumbled something to himself while rolling his eyes at the duo again.


    Chasindir snickered, loving that she¡¯d hit a sore spot for the naga and prodded it verbally again with her eyes ring brightly. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not of the same species!? You both have scales, you both control lightning, you both have wed humanoid hands yet have the lower bodies of snakes. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d think you naga were beasts rather than enlightened creatures like myself. It pains me, actually, to even consider you as more than a fish!¡±


    The naga mage bolted upright with another p of thunder roaring from overhead, and he quivered with rage. But he dared not strike, even despite his temper he knew that infighting was stupid - and he settled back down into a coiled position while the drow woman in bone armor started loudlyughing at his expense.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°You fall too easily for her jabs.¡± Therger cial naga mage from further down the campfire line stated simply, not opening his eyes and remaining in a meditative state. ¡°A weak mind brings about ruin, it would do you well to sharpen yours. If you did not react, she would no longer find it fun to annoy you.¡±


    Merris audibly scoffed again, snapping his jaws in Chasindir¡¯s direction while the death knight continued to howl in amusement, but he managed to not reply to the next two quips she had either. Instead, he began focusing on one of his internal lightning braids - one of multiple soul-space creations he wanted to use in his ascent into the E-gradeter.


    The unknown guebringer and afflictions remained staring at the mes without speaking a word to anyone despite multiple attempts to get her attention, and with Merris not ying by Chasindir¡¯s goading any longer - the camp fell eerily silent minutester. Only the hissing of the monster swarm and rustling of their wings and scales interrupted the silence, but even they were unusually quiet - considering most of them were the size of a fully grown human or bigger.


    ¡°I grow bored of this, and we still have another five hours to wait.¡± Chasindir stated grumpily, putting her bone helmet on and adjusting her hood back over the top again. ¡°That Grakzee is taking way too long. Do you think he got lost, with that little pee-sized reptilian brain of his? I bet you he did.¡±


    Fortunately for Chasindir, none of them had to wait long before things got a lot more exciting.


    The illusory wall separating themselves and the horde of monsters from the outer world shimmered and exploded as - off in the distance along arge tree-spotted hill - Grakzee came barreling out of the mirage covered in blood. He was moving fast, far faster than any of the others could due to his agility-based ss, and hot on his heels was a cackling demoness that all of them were very familiar with.


    It seemed that Ath had arrived at the scene, and without a word - the others sprang into action.


    ***


    Ath¡¯s evil smile widened at the sight of the monster swarm before her. And ¡®swarm¡¯ was putting it lightly. There were man-sized, winged serpents of golden scales and white feathers that stretched out for two or three square miles - some of them even having taken to the air to fly around.


    And at the center was a monster evenrger and longer than her drider form.


    This was going to be a fun time. Maybe, just maybe, after killing everything in sight - she might finally catch up to Riven and join him on his quest to pursue E-grade!


    The thought made her giggle, and she stopped ying around with the naga she¡¯d been chasing this entire time. Pulling on Mark of the Hunted that¡¯d lodged itself into the naga¡¯s soul and causing him to freeze up only for a moment - her eyes zed red. Her body exploded into a wave of crimson blood, and like ten thousand tiny rivers of death, she crashed into and through the naga in a motion so fast that a sonic boom resounded behind her.


    The naga screamed, and only barely managed to get away by means she wasn¡¯t entirely clear on. She found herself staring at the spot he¡¯d been in only a secondter, and he was somehow a hundred feet away.


    He turned around, looking at the hole in his chest in astonishment, and then stared back at her with iprehension in his eyes. ¡°You¡­ You took it? How? I didn¡¯t¡­ didn¡¯t see¡­¡±


    The assassin flopped forward onto his face, bleeding out onto the ground and going into shock, unable to regrow the beating heart that was spasming - impaled - by Ath¡¯s two red katanas. She¡¯d cut it out and wrenched before he¡¯d been able topletely move, but she still frowned in dissatisfaction with her own performance after being unable to take his head too.


    ¡°I¡¯m losing my touch.¡± Ath spit with irritation, grumbling to herself about how he¡¯d managed to step away - because if that¡¯d been anyone else with better regenerative properties, such as Riven had, then taking out the heart wouldn¡¯t have been all that was needed to kill the man.


    *CRACK*


    *SNAP*


    The earth shuddered as lightning ruptured the ground beneath her feet. A storm of wails apanied it just as she dodged the bus-sized lightning bolt, and she narrowly missed an arcing swing of soulfire that ripped out of a bone ymore only a couple feet away.


    Her arachnid limbs and red katanas shed furiously with sparks flying as meticulous footwork created a dance between herself, a death knight''s ymore, and a huge obsidian battle axe.


    The ground beneath her feet shattered when the dwarf barbarian smashed a martial art infused strike into her position - which she managed to deflect to the side in a spray of debris. A storm of ice-made des roared from high up in the sky and thundered downwards by the thousands, and her arachnid des tore them out from the air with movements that blurred while she kept the two frontline warriors at bay with her katanas.


    She had to admit, whoever these cultists were - they were good. Individually she¡¯d have an easy time, but together they were putting her just barely on the back foot - forcing her to y defense rather than offense.


    A lightning strike tore into her leg, and she cursed as blood sprayed out of it - only for her body to twirl around and spray red,cerating needles in all directions with a high pitchedugh. ¡°YOU ARE NOT AS WEAK AS I¡¯D ANTICIPATED, THIS IS GOOD!¡±


    The ng of her de on a pauldron sent the death knight spinning from the impact, causing the drow women to smash into a nearby stone and shatter it from the high speed impact. The dwarf let out a bellowing roar, lowering himself into a battle stance as the illusory figure of a spirit bull formed behind him. The bull was made from chaos energy, a dark gray that shattered the ground the bull walked upon, and then it charged when it ovepped the dwarf¡¯s own body as the two entities tore across the ground.


    Ath blocked, axe and horns met with katanas and sharpened spider limbs. The resulting shockwave from her many des against the charging chaos dwarf and his bull caused thend out to either side of them to explode in a cataclysmic typhoon of expelled energies. It was enough to garner the attention of the nearby swarm, who¡¯d mostly stopped to watch the ongoing battle without interfering just yet - but some of them were beginning to inch closer.


    Leaning in to be within a few inches of the snarling dwarf, Ath sneered down at the shorter man with true killing intent pumping into the aura around her as the world gained a sanguine hue. ¡°I will enjoy cutting your heart out next!¡±


    But then the dwarf smiled, and the ground underneath her shifted - hands created from gray stone tearing up from the earth totch onto her feet and legs. Ath felt something odde crashing down onto her position right after that. It wasn¡¯t necessarily forceful, but it was certainly potent. The feeling was akin to drowning in ake far beneath the surface, beingpressed by the pressure around her, rather than being outright crushed instantaneously. She felt her muscles begin to weaken, and pinpricks of pain began to spring up all over her body as a cloud of dark green energies crackled to life around her.


    She looked up, and there in the sky was the floating figure of a drow woman with short white hair in dark robes. She carried a severed, rotting head, dangling from one hand, that had necromantic and unholy runes inscribed onto the head¡¯s surface - where torrents of energies were cycling through it and being amplified before she cast them down on Ath¡¯s position like a judge sentencing one to a slow and painful death.


    The drow caster cackled at Ath¡¯s grimacing while the ice and storm mages got into positions to charge up building attacks on the outskirts of the cloud, and the death knight snapped her shoulder into position with a backwards re before getting up next.


    ¡°Finding it hard to move?¡± The dwarf snickered, his body pulsing with chaos energy that continued to wind up he legs. ¡°And those little rot spots seem to be spreading fast! Overconfidence killed the cat, you know!¡±


    Ath nced back down at her legs, which were held in position rather solidly at this point while open ulcers began to form across her skin, and wondered if she should take it up a notch and transform into her drider aspect. The drider wasn¡¯t as fast and agile as her humanoid form, nor was it as stealthy as her tiny arachnid form, but it did have the additional strength, sturdiness, and mana output that would be needed to free herself from this position.


    But she felt another wave of oppressive intent bear down on her as another set of runes shed overhead in the sky, creating an intricate circle of unholy sigils that expanded into a dome over her position. She felt even weaker, and gasped as the curse leeched her strength away while making her arms barely able to hold back the axe from tearing into her.


    The dwarf edged forward, the storms of swirling ice and sparking thunderclouds from either naga on both sides grew to extreme proportions while the world shook, and the afflictionist overhead called down to her with a shrillugh.


    ¡°I WONDER WHAT IT IS WE WILL GET FOR KILLING A WORLD BOSS IN HERE!¡± The drow woman floating in the sky cackled, waving her hands around to perform a tier 2 spell of some variation while the severed head iled around with her. ¡°OR PERHAPS IT WON¡¯T COUNT DUE TO RESPAWN AND WE¡¯LL JUST HAVE TO FIND YOU ON THE OUTSIDE TO TRULY GET THE PRIZE! LET¡¯S FIND OUT!¡±


    The woman let out another shrill fit ofughter, her body lit up bright green with curse energy, and the sky above her tore open with a pir of unholy mes that-


    The caster¡¯sughing fit was abruptly cut off. There was a quick sh-snap of a crimson and ck, of a projectile that eradicated the woman from existence instantaneously,ing from somewhere far, far off behind her. The movement was so fast that Ath couldn¡¯t even follow it with her eyes, but remnant pieces of the drow¡¯s body fell slowly to the ground from up on high as the spells she¡¯d been channeling vanished in an instant.


    She recognized the ability that¡¯d killed her as Riven¡¯s bloodnce enhanced with ¡®snipe.¡¯


    The lightning storm to her right wasunched like a cannonball by the storm mage, and the blizzard on her left wasunched from the frost mage like an avnche. They both tore towards her with the sound of a thunderp, colliding with two thick walls of crimson ice that rose up from the ground around Ath akin to the protective hands of a god. The ground shook, the bacsh causing both of the naga casters to dash backwards while red crystalized blood shattered on the outeryers of each wall - but held firm enough to deflect each of the elemental storms to the front and back of Ath¡¯s position.


    The death knight, who¡¯d been waiting for the exchange to happen so she could rush in for the second kill after Ath¡¯s first form was taken care of, gawked at the exchanged as another sonic boom echoed out from somewhere high up in the clouds.


    Another sh of crimson-ck light bore down from the heavenly clouds above and sent the dwarf spinning end over end, causing the barbarian to lose his grip entirely on his battle axe while he screamed out in pain. He was akin to a smoldering stone being skipped across ake. However, unlike the afflictionist who¡¯d been absolutely eradicated by the snipe, the dwarf warrior was far sturdier and managed to roll to a coughing stop while sealing shut a deep wound that sparked with ck lightning in his chest.


    All four of the remaining cultists: the dwarf barbarian, the drow death knight, and the two naga elemental wizards turned their eyes upwards as a figure descended from the clouds in a swath of ck, red, and deep purple energies. Then the figure abruptly elerated and crashed into the ground, creating a crater out in front of him as the four cultists backpedaled again for positioning to ready themselves.


    Through the cloud of dust, debris, and swirling energies - Riven thane stepped out in full te armor - the ps on his armor underneath his thrusters billowing with the torrent of energy epassing his form.


    The monster swarm roared and charged, and without looking their way - the warlock raised his free hand to summon thousands of spinning storm des; des that rushed the oing wave of enemies in a series of explosions that lit up the sky in ck and red lights.


    ¡°Ath.¡± Riven stated calmly, turning to look at his minion who¡¯d picked herself up from out of the barbarian¡¯s holding martial art - kicking at the gray stone hands that¡¯d somehow kept her in ce. ¡°Take care of the monster swarm. Gluttony and I are wanting to test out metal with these ones, a little bit of¡­ experimentation. Would you mind?¡±


    Ath huffed, ring daggers at the cultists in turn, but gave Riven¡¯s helmet a kiss and began skipping out towards the oing horde that was still reeling from Riven¡¯s attack. ¡°Fine! I guess being designated to small fry cleanup is ok this time, but not next time. Got it!? I¡¯m not just your cute little side-piece spider princess that you can use for your carnal desires, I¡¯m an independent woman that needs to level up too! And I GET THE BOSS MONSTER!¡±


    Riven chuckled, shaking his head and looking her way while she skipped beyond the wall of crimson he¡¯d constructed to block the elemental blizzard. ¡°You can have it. Be safe, dear.¡±


    ¡°You too honey!¡± She blew him a kiss beforeughing and rushing forward, transforming into herrge drider form with a scream and spewing out an army of little frost-weavers that entered meleebat a secondter.


    Riven¡¯s ck and red eyes shifted towards the other four who were all staring him down with mixed expressions, and the third eye of Gluttony on his head opened up along with a piece in his armor set to let it see. Unlike his others, this one had a more purple hue in the sea of ck around it - and the visage of a ck maw tore through space behind him as he entered a battle stance.


    That maw then began to speak. ¡°Remember¡­ do not use any mass-casualty spells. We are using them as a whetstone so we may find errors and ces that need fixing in our dual-spirit controls for fighting, no need to eradicate them immediately. We will need to improve upon our unification if we ever wish to survive the greater sions of established factions in the greater multiverse. Skill and technique are the focus here, rather than sheer power.¡±


    Riven chuckled, and his body erupted into infernal mes of Hell¡¯s Armor while simultaneously sparks and threads of blood with ¡®Blessing of the Crow¡¯ bloomed about him - making him look like the aspect of some lost evil spirit. His weapon, Jackal, screamed in anticipation of the kills - and he took a deep breath. ¡°Let¡¯s see what these new changes from fusing have brought about then. After that, we eat them. I¡¯m already starving."

 Chapter 253

    Chapter 253


    <strong>Chapter 253</strong>


    The four remaining cultists looked right, to where Riven¡¯s carpet-bombing of the swarm had devastated hundreds of golden, flying serpents that were inrge part still recovering just as Ath and her spiders plowed into them. Abilities from both sides activated as arcs of yellow lightning crashed into the archdemon, while a pir of sin, ice and me shattered the field and began decimating even more of the monsters.


    ¡°Did I hear that demonic mouth right?¡± The drow death knight asked, cracking her neck and turning her teal eyes on Riven¡¯s flickering position not far off. ¡°He¡¯s not going to use those mass-casualty spells he¡¯s so famous for?¡±


    Therger naga, the ice mage, snickered as he held out arge white staff in front of him - creating floating orbs of crystalized water that began orbiting his position. ¡°To use us as training dummies, what arrogance! But it is not something we should take lightly, it gives us more of a fighting chance. RIVEN THANE! I WILL ENJOY COLLECTING THE POINTS ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR DEATH!¡±


    ¡°RAAAAAHHH!!¡± The dwarf bellowed, his body exploding in size as he tripled his bulk as bones cracked and chaos energy radiated off his being. ¡°I¡¯VE BEEN WAITING FOR A REAL FIGHT SINCE THE INTEGRATION STARTED! BRING ME A GLORIOUS DEATH, OR I¡¯LL BE CARVING THAT PALE FACE OF YOURS OFF TO HANG ON MY WALL!¡±


    With that, the dwarf crafted another apparition of the bull - this time muchrger - and sted forward as he activated a martial art with his battle axe. The axe began spinning around and around with his muscr body until he span so fast that it became a tornado of violence, empowered by chaos, and the gap between himself and the vampiric warlock quickly narrowed.


    Tendrils of sin wrapped around Riven¡¯s soul core, his pirs, and started spreading into his physical body as Gluttony¡¯s very being intertwined with Riven¡¯s own. Riven¡¯s neurons hastened their signals, his mind seemed to expand, and the deep sense of hunger enveloped him as a wide, fanged smile lit up his face.


    With a roar of his own, Riven¡¯s body burst forward in a torrent of me, blood, and dark lightning. Space ruptured, and a killing intent tore out of his body in a wave of malice that was so potent it made the very heavens cry. As the world shuddered underneath Riven¡¯s lust for violence - a raven with orange eyes drifted down tond on a far-off tree to look his way.


    ¡°DODGE, YOU IDIOT!¡± the drow death knight screamed, eyes widening in shock at the absolute malice pouring out of Riven in almost physical form.But the barbarian¡¯s spinning swings only carried him forward in an enraged state of his own.


    Riven shot forward, empowering his muscles and body with the physical enhancements he¡¯d given himself and the flood of sin energy roaring across his energized cells. The ground beneath him exploded, and Jackal¡¯s de swung down in a hiss of power.


    The earth tore open as the two powerhouses locked weapons, and the dwarf was absolutely ttened - crushed into the ground like an insect along with the visage of the bull behind him that dispersed instantly.


    Riven scoffed at the groaning idiot half buried in the ground, then kicked dirt into his blinking eyes with a shake of his head. ¡°How pathetic¡­ but I¡¯ll give you another chance. Get up and try again. We¡¯re not done yet.¡±


    Turning his three eyes to the other cultists, Riven¡¯s flickering, mana-charged body exploded with power as he lifted a hand and pointed. ¡°Don¡¯t waste my time. All of you at once. Come.¡±


    ***


    Just like the two naga casters to either side of where she stood, Chasindir gaped at the absolute domination of herpatriot in a physical confrontation. Sure, that brutish dwarf had just charged in swinging with a rather up-front attack - but he was still a berserker. His build was literally made for closebat, the runes and aspect of the bull he used were made to make him stronger. That martial art was one she was familiar with, and with every spin of the axe it built up both momentum and power until it finally made a strike.


    And yet, Riven had charged headlong into it - as a warlock, a caster, topletely smash the dwarf three feet into the ground.


    Casters weren¡¯t supposed to be physically strong. Even with the buffs they could utilize as a mage, it wasn¡¯t ever supposed to be up to par with the sses of physical fighters like herself or the dwarf. Yet with a single blow, Riven had downed one of the strongest melee fighters on Panu.


    She shuddered involuntarily, then gritted her teeth and red daggers at the vampire taunting them. Her hand gripped her bone ymore tightly, and she raised it up to be eye level. If she was to be beaten here, she would at least get a good measure of what he was capable of so that she may try again in the future. Even a single win against him would be the equivalent of dozens of kills that hended against her during this event. And, perhaps, if he really did stick to his n of not using any massive area-of-effect spells or swarms of des like how he¡¯d killed off entire armies and cities in the past with; then perhaps she still had a chance.


    ¡°Rite of the Soul Weaver.¡± Her soul core screamed as it was dragged out of her inner domain, coating her body in a thick aspect of her pirs and her dao. Her eyes red with teal fire, and she lunged forward with a quickstep and deathly strike - sending arcs of death energy at the vampire as the two naga spread out.


    Thunderclouds rumbled overhead, a blizzard began to build around them, the wailing souls of dead victims rose up from the grave to empower her, and the visage of a maw echoed across the shudderingndscape withughter.


    He merely stared at her passively, like a man who thought himself above her.


    Her anger only rose, and she screamed in rage while reaching deep into the soul enveloping her for more power.


    Her deathly strike shattered against Riven¡¯s body like ss on forged steel, and her ymore tore through the air to follow up the wave of death energy like a viper strike. Riven¡¯s own de spun rapidly in the air and intercepted her strike, causing sparks to light up the darkening arena of their own making as their magics blotted out the sun.


    In an instant Riven countered, and Chasindir sucked in a quick breath - barely matching his speed to intercept two more of his blows before she exploded in a dome of pale light that blew him backwards a couple feet.


    The storm mage took his opening and uttered a chant, calling lightning from the heavens that surged through the air with a snap of sound that reverberated across thend.


    ck lightning tore from Riven¡¯s own body and met the charging pir of yellow electricity, the two colors intertwining hundreds of feet above them as a wall of ice rushed in from the other side.


    It was like watching a tidal wave of cold death encroach upon an insect. The surge of ice formed spikes right before it struck Riven¡¯s position, only to be met with an opposing tide of red frost that tore through the white ice and snow in an absolute rebuttal.


    Chasindir flung two death balls at the man and lunged again, roaring out a battle cry and quickstepping left to swipe at his side at the same time a huge disk of lightning tore through the air and crashed into his side.


    To Chasindir¡¯s surprise, Riven smashed the lighting disk apart with his fist while simultaneously flipping over her attack in a horizontal, acrobatic motion beforending on two feet.


    She tried to engage him the moment hended and smashed her de into the ground, opening a rift into the underworld as souls of the dead began springing up around him - dragging him into the rift, only for the rift to shatter as the visage of a maw came up from underneath the rift to snap down on it.


    Chasindir spluttered in denial. ¡°THAT¡¯S NOT FAIR!¡±


    Riven caught an icence with his free hand, side stepped another, and flung the one he¡¯d caught directly at her with a force that caused the air to hiss.


    The icence shattered against her right pauldron, but a searing pain set in as the cold magics caused her shoulder to nearly go numb. She violently swore, rolling, and getting back to her feet right before she saw his downward swing.


    Discharging her ¡®Reaper Waltz¡¯ martial art with the sacrifice of two captive souls from her reservoir, time slowed down around her and she vanished from her position.


    Three ghostly replicas of Chasindir appeared in different positions around Riven¡¯s body with a speed enhancement that sent their des smashing down into Riven¡¯s armor, shattering against it but causing him to stumble right when she reappeared behind him.


    Grinning at her first big sess of the exchange, she backed off and watched the lightning mage create four hounds from sparks. The mage unleashed the howling dogs, their paws creating thunderps as they ran and tearing up the ground upon their passing-


    The visage of a red jackal snapped out and obliterated the iing dogs in an instant, and Riven turned to open a ck shadow-made portal on his other side.


    The ice drake that the other naga had summoned lunged its open jaws directly into the intercepting portal before it was closed off, and the beast crumbled in an explosion of frost when the ck rift snapped shut around its neck.


    The decapitated sculpture¡¯s jawsnded dozens of yards to her left, crumbling just as therger body did into a pile of snow that blew away in the roaring winds of the building thunderstorm above.


    Chasindir spat at the amused twinkle in Riven¡¯s eyes as he turned his gaze upon her, and her body flickered as it absorbed a nearby soul to use as fodder for her next attack. Her free hand made the proper motions and building pressure lit up across the tip of her extended de. ¡°SPIRITUAL RIFT!¡±


    Her feet lifted off at blinding speed, her body a blur, and a huge cone of necromantic energies surged ahead at the point of her weapon that was lowered at the vampire ahead of her. Twenty yards cleared in less than half a second and a snap-fire flurry of attacks crashed into one another as she entered into meleebat with the warlock in building resentment.


    She would not be looked down upon.


    ymore shed with spear-sword in a storm of bone on metal, death energies smashing against blood energies in rapid, miniature explosions while the two weapons sang promises of pain.


    She grunted, weaved, dodged, blocked, and hit back as the elusive figure of the fully-ted caster ahead of her began tough. Her efforts grew more impulsive, more furious, and she began to hit harder as the sparks lit up the darkenedndscape. Lightning bolts expertly tore out of the thunderclouds above when gaps in their exchanges allowed for the naga Merris to strike Riven without hitting her, and spines of frost shot up from the ground or wereunched in a myriad of directions and from all angles whenever Riven had his back turned - but the vampire seemed to be growing more and more impossible to hit by the second with any of their attacks.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    The first real hit they¡¯d made had been when she¡¯d used Reaper Waltz to use a trifecta of simultaneous attacks with her soul, and by sacrificing two other souls at the same time from her soul reservoir. But it¡¯d only worked once, with the next two attempts at the same attack only having minimal effect as he anticipated her strikes; and struck out to deflect one attack while using the space it created to dodge the other two.


    ¡°STAY STILL!¡± Chasindir screamed in frustrated anger, spinning her de andunching it like a boomerang. Riven raised his spear-staff to strike it down, but she pped her hands together with a chant and caused the de of bone to explode instead.


    Fragments of the bone ymore flew into him like shrapnel, many of the pieces going out to either side of his ming, flickering, sparking body - but she tore her hands apart a momentter and reformed the de with the will of thought.


    The weapon reforged itself on his other side, keeping its momentum and mming into his lower thigh right where the armor was weakest.


    The de sank in deep, and Chasindir let out an excited squeal of delight and victory when it pierced through his leg entirely in a spray of blood. ¡°YOU¡¯RE NOT SO INVINCIBLE AFTER-¡±


    *CRUNCH*


    The hilt of the de that¡¯d been lodged in Riven¡¯s thigh between the metal tes smashed into her nose, breaking it cleanly and sending her reeling as a spray of blood erupted out of her face. She fell to her knees crying out in pay and backpedaling only to feel a swift kick to the back of her armored skull.


    The was sent sprawling, flipping end over end until she smashed into a boulder with a dull thud and the snap of bones.


    Groaning and feeling her shattered spine beginning to repair itself, Chasindir coughed blood and spat it out before ring up at theughing vampire in the distance. Hisughter grew louder, climbing over the roar of the lightning strikes and thundering snow as he caught lightning bolts and flung them back, shattered icences with the spin of his weapon, crushed summoned elementals with mere fluctuations of Hell¡¯s Armor, and redirected entire barrages with summoned shadow rifts.


    Then, with a sinking heart, Chasindir realized that during this entire fight - Riven had barely moved from the same spot over thest five minutes. He¡¯d simply stayed there, taking them all on as they unleashed powers that would devastate entire armies back on Panu, only for this vampire to mock them now with his uproar of smug amusement.


    ***


    <strong>*BOOM*</strong>


    <strong>*CRUNCH*</strong>


    <strong>*THUD*</strong>


    <strong>*SNAP*</strong>


    ¡°AHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡± The drow deathknight screamed in agony as he tore off one of her arms and pped her across the face with it in a spray of blood.


    Stillughing, Riven turned - deflecting a desperate barrage of lightning as his spear-staff blurred to meet the iing projectiles. Gluttony whispered in his mind, sharing his movements and empowering his reaction time to meet the energized magics as he swat one lightning bolt after another down from the sky like they were bugs. The barrage ended just as a cage of ice sprung up around his position, and a wave of oppressive energy bore down on him when the cial mage erected a domain.


    The bars of absolute cold formed a dome and began to fill in,pressing on his position in an attempt to kill him despite potentially sacrificing the iling death knight behind Riven, but with a mere flex of his own aura - the domain of the naga caster shattered as the ice was converted from white to a bright crimson red.


    Taking charge of the mana in a forced conversion, Riven twisted his hand and shot a stream of red ice back down upon the cial mage.


    A wall of white came to meet Riven¡¯s attack as the naga deflected Riven¡¯s attack, and Riven winced at the bacsh of having forcibly converted his enemy¡¯s attack so quickly.


    ¡°Probably not a good idea to do that again unless absolutely necessary¡­¡± Riven muttered to himself, getting an internal confirmation from Gluttony that he was spot on. Riven had only done it on a whim after feeling the connection there, simr to his own Crimson Ice control, but it was from another source entirely and a foreign aspect at that. The lingering headache he had was testament that maybe just creating new crimson ice instead of converting actual elemental ice would be a better way to go about it in most circumstances.


    His ming, spiked gauntlet shot forward, fist smashing into the battle axe of the dwarf that¡¯d peeled himself out of the hole in the ground to attack Riven once again.


    It was like watching a home run, where the bat was Riven¡¯s fist encased in Messenger - while the battle axe was the baseball.


    The weapon tore out of the dwarf berserker¡¯s hand in a spray of shrapnel as the weapon was obliterated, and the roaring dwarf¡¯s right arm snapped out of socket as he was flung back around.


    Riven¡¯s eyes narrowed on the man beneath him, the pathetic, disgusting excuse of a warrior on the ground. Fangs sliding out and his smile stretching beyond what should be normal for any human, Riven peeled back his helmet as a rumble from his stomach began to drive him forward.


    He pped the death knight warrior into the next time zone, sending her flying when she went in for another strike - and retaliated against another thunderp of electric power with a strike of his own ck lightning. Again the two spells canceled each other out in an instant, and his foot crashed into the back of the dwarf who was just about to pick himself up again.


    Once again, the dwarf found himself embedded into the ground like a bug under Riven¡¯s heel.


    Riven cocked his head to the side, staring down at the man squirming underneath him, and sneered. ¡°You¡¯ve been deemed inadequate for training. Perhaps you¡¯ll find a way to weasel into the graces of your apocalypse beast, to im it as your own by a stroke of sheer dumb luck despite yourck of thought on your approach. Perhaps you will by a lottery¡¯s chance be the one that causes the civilizations of Panu to fall as your own quest dictates. But for now, I think not. Because for now, you¡¯ll need to go through me. And you cannot brute force your way through this one, buddy. This is my trial to im, and you unlucky fuckheads are all trapped inside here with me for the next year! How great is that?!¡±


    He knelt, and Riven¡¯s abnormally wide smile unhinged with another cacklingugh, making him look monstrous as his jaws snapped down onto the struggling dwarf¡¯s neck.


    The dwarf screamed as he felt himself being drained, and then began to il in a panic under Riven¡¯s hold as meat was stripped from bones to be swallowed whole. wed gauntlets tore muscles off in wrenching motions, blood was drained by the bucket betweenrge chomps of flesh, and gluttonous beatles began to climb out of the corner of Riven¡¯s mouth - helping him devour the man even faster as they swarmed across the horrified dwarf¡¯s body.


    ***


    <strong>[</strong><strong>Invitation to the Blood God¡¯s Temple</strong><strong>: Your weekly session of worship,bat training, and scripture hase about. Please ess the clergy system and teleport in so that we may start. We would also like to discuss recent events involving a certain angel on your, and hope that you can discuss the things we show you with Riven after the fact.]</strong>


    The inside of the Blood God¡¯s temple was vast, with sculptures of monsters and vampires in abundance all along the walls and pirs that held up the high ceilings of many interconnected rooms. Crimson creatures of nightmares the size of skyscrapers loomed in these halls, and their many eyes often centered themselves on her in passing curiosity before settling on other clergy - rtively ant-sized to their massive figures.


    Genua knelt at an altar underneath the sculpture of a giant blood moon, in front of an indoorke of blood, surrounded by other priestesses with simr red-metal headdresses and form fitting ck silk robes. Crimson tattoos littered all of their bodies in the ces that the clergy outfits didn''t cover, and all of them were women.


    She had seen actual priests before, gathered in long flowing robes that only differed slightly from her own, but it appeared that men were in the minority here. Why that was, Genua was unsure.


    ¡°That is enough scripture for now.¡± the elder priestess stated, snapping her small ck book shut and letting it flicker away into wisps of red that vanished in front of her face.


    Genua did the same, though she stored her own in a small back on her hip rather than some fancy schmancy miracle work. ¡°Very well. Is it time forbat training? I am rather intrigued about what it is you have to show me, Priestess Lithania.¡±


    The beautiful, but rather old, priestess scowled deeply - emphasizing her wrinkles by doing so. The other women around Genua in a semi-circle all turned to look at the lead priestess of their group - ignoring the other clergy bathing in theke or walking between rooms akin to entirendscapes given the size of it all.


    ¡°You will have yourbat training in time, but I wish to speak to you about both Riven and Allie first.¡±


    Genua didn¡¯t frown back, she¡¯d been expecting this, but she couldn¡¯t say she was looking forward to this conversation either. ¡°Very well. Please, let me know what it is I can answer for you or assist you with.¡±


    Priestess Lithania solemnly nodded, then stood up - being lifted up by tendrils of blood mana instead of actually using her muscles, until she smoothly came to a graceful stance ahead of the rest. ¡°Follow me, Genua. The rest of you are dismissed.¡±


    The older woman gestured for Genua toe stand beside her, and the other women all got up to leave before heading off to wherever the hell it was these clergy lived. Though Genua knew some of them were like her and had vampiric masters in the mortal realms, most of the Blood God¡¯s clergy actually lived here permanently for reasons she could not fathom.


    Stepping in line with the old woman, Genua and Priestess Lithania began to walk along theke¡¯s edge in a slow but steady gait.


    ¡°Tell me¡­¡± The old woman eventually said, turning a red gaze upon Genua¡¯s slender figure. ¡°What is your opinion of Riven?¡±


    Genua raised a questioning eyebrow. ¡°I had thought this conversation was to be about his sister, Allie.¡±


    Lithania didn¡¯t miss a step, nor did she blink. Instead, she turned her gaze ahead of them - watching the path underneath their feet glide by with purple grasses on their right and theke on their left. ¡°It primarily will be. However, I¡¯d still like to know - as it is still relevant. What is your opinion on Riven?¡±


    Genau pursed her lips at this, eyes flicking between the old woman and her own feet as she walked. ¡°I suppose he has been kind to me, and to Len, over past months. However I still cannot fully forgive him for what he did to my eldest daughter and husband.¡±


    ¡°Do you me him?¡± Lithania asked, with a t expression, not bothering to look over at the other priestess as they went. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you still feel animosity towards the man after bing his thrall. Usually, those feelings go away rather quickly as the thrall contract imbues you with other, more positive emotions.¡±


    Genua scoffed. ¡°Perhaps in the beginning that was true, but not recently. Not ever since the pregnancy, anyways. Regardless I do not hate him, nor do I me him, but I still cannot forgive him. I look back at that time as my own family¡¯s fault, as my n¡¯s fault, for initiating the violence and betraying him for a reason that wasn¡¯t just. However, a mother¡¯s love knows no bounds - and Ethel will always be my little girl.¡±


    Lithania nodded. ¡°The pregnancy is certainly an oddity. It is not often that a thrall can be impregnated by a vampire. Thralls can, in time, be vampires if the master wishes it - but until then it is supposed to be an impossibility. For you, however, that seems not to be the case¡­ Why that is, we are unsure.¡±


    ¡°We?¡±


    ¡°Myself, and the others watching over you. Those assigned by the Blood God to monitor Riven and Allie Wraithtide.¡±


    ¡°Are they truly important enough to warrant a god¡¯s interest to this amount?¡±


    ¡°They are. The malignant bloodline is a priceless treasure, kept sacred by one of the Blood God¡¯s most devoted followings in the form of the Blood Moon Requiem. Should that bloodline escape from our grasp and fall into another sect of the multiverse, such as the Reapers, or the Phantom Legions, who now have their sights set upon Allie as a recruitment candidate. That cannot be allowed to pass. And yet, we are unsure of what to do.¡±


    She paused in both step and sound. ¡°Even the great one, The Blood God himself, is unsure of what to do - now that Gluttony has chosen Riven as its candidate for reincarnation. The risk of offending Gluttony is not out of the question, but if we cane to an agreement of some sort¡­ Perhaps we¡¯d be willing to look the other way concerning his sister.¡±


    The priestess turned her head to Genua to make sure she understood.


    Genua nodded. ¡°I am more that certain Riven is hoping for a simr oue.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about this? That he wouldpromise? Gluttony is not known for such things, and although he is weak - he will not remain weak for long.¡±


    ¡°I am certain, Lithania. Riven is not Gluttony, they are merely partners. Riven does want to follow the path of blood, and hopes that you will overlook his sister¡¯s transgressions if he can somehow appease our church. Are you not able to see this?¡±


    Lithania¡¯s smile grew wide, and she nodded in approval. ¡°Our god was banished from viewing Panu for some time, along with many other gods, by Gluttony when he and his demonic servants came back from the Abyss. The effect is wearing off, but anti-scrying measures - if done properly - are easily made and hard to deter. Even weak mages may block the scrying of high tier beings if the technique is right, but that is neither here nor there. Tell me, what exactly is he willing to negotiate with?¡±


    The old woman¡¯s slender hand lifted, pointing to Genua¡¯s barely protruding stomach that was beginning to show a baby bump. Lithania held eye contact for quite some time, and her smile grew wider. ¡°Perhaps, just maybe, he would give us the child of one blessed with the sight of Malignant Prophecy, who also retains a true inheritance from The Great Maw itself. What do you think he would say, should we ask? Our god is quite interested, and we¡¯d be very certain to forgive Allie of all her misgivings immediately should Riven agree to our terms.¡±


    Genua¡¯s eyes widened in rm, and she took an involuntary step back while clutching at her stomach. ¡°My child? You want my child? You cannot be serious.¡±


    ¡°YOUR child?!¡± Lithaniaughed, throwing her head back in genuine amusement before lowering her wicked gaze upon Genua once more. ¡°No, Genua. It is Riven¡¯s child, Gluttony¡¯s child, though neither of you knew it when Gluttony had already begun to settle into Riven¡¯s soul at the time of conception. It is not your decision to make. Rather, it is Riven¡¯s, and it is Gluttony¡¯s, and it is a bartering piece that we would settle for in order to turn a blind eye for Allie¡¯s transgressions. You¡¯d, of course, still be able to see the child here in the temple as it grew up¡­ after all, you are one of our clergy too. It wouldn¡¯t be like you¡¯repletely giving the child away, you¡¯d just be allowing it to¡­ develop differently, but living here under our teachings and training.¡±

 Chapter 254

    Chapter 254


    <strong>Chapter 254</strong>


    Azmoth¡¯s roars joined the fray as he shed with the swarm of electrical, winged serpents in the field of death beyond Riven¡¯s fight. It was a good opportunity for the demon to level and catch up, and as Ath beat the living shit out of the matriarchal boss monster off - a huge golden tomb cobra that was getting tossed around the battlefield like a child¡¯s ything under the archdemon¡¯s might - she made sure to keep tabs on Azmoth for whenever he was in a bad spot.


    Not that he was by any means weak, he could take on many of the gnashing tomb cobras and their lightning strikes at once, but he¡¯d slightly fallen behind Ath and Riven¡¯s own climb to power. Fay had done so even more, but Riven had ns for all of them to reach the E-grade and level 200+ by the time this event was up.


    ¡°STOP IGNORING US!¡± The death knight howled, smashing her ymore against Riven¡¯s blocking gauntlet with a shower of sparks.


    Riven frowned, throwing off the deathknight with another sonic-speed backhanded p and swinging himself left to dodge another lightning strike with a disappointed look. The cial mage was already panting heavily, covered in shallow cuts that could have been deadly strikes each if Riven hadn¡¯t pulled them back to continue the fight a while longer. The lightning mage was missing an arm and had cauterized it with his own lightning, dripping blood down his reptilian face while he asionally coughed. Meanwhile, the drow woman¡¯s bone armor was shattered in a couple ces and she was growing quite tired at this point in time.


    Spitting out two teeth, wheezing, and pushing herself up to her feet to stumble forward with a snarl - she let out a high pitched scream of frustration. ¡°GODS DAMN IT!¡±


    Gluttony snickered inside Riven¡¯s mind, even getting Riven to grin slightly at the sin¡¯s amusement.


    He looked at the three worn out cultists and then to the body of the dwarf he¡¯d consumed not long ago. ¡°I must say, I¡¯m not very impressed. How are people like you six supposed to bring about a world ending apocalypse? I was expecting better.¡±


    His hand blurred and his staff swung with it, smashing down another spike of ice the size of his torso that shot from the ground. It shattered as he literally caught a lightning bolt in one ivory-covered hand, crushing the storm mana between his fingers and not even bothering to stop the ymore¡¯s swing as it made contact with his horned skull pauldron.The ymore shattered, the lunging death knight widened her eyes, and he abruptly smashed his armored head forward to break her nose.


    The drow¡¯s face sprayed blood, and she stumbled back before Riven¡¯s spear-staff mmed through her armored gut and out the back of her spine.


    Her teal eyes widened, and she coughed up bile as her fingers clenched around Riven¡¯s ck weapon in astonishment. ¡°H-How are you t-this strong?¡±


    She coughed more blood up, spitting it onto Riven¡¯s face as he stared back unblinking.


    Lifting her up over his head slowly, he channeled blood mana into the weapon as she began to scream. Ribbons of red that usually kept to the weapon rushed forward in a roaring tide of power as it began devouring her alive, her body being torn apart and absorbed until the remnant energies of her mana channels made contact with Riven¡¯s invading magic. Her body then exploded, sending shrapnel of armor and body parts all over the battlefield.


    The two naga just gawked, before both of them started to run.


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t be like that!¡± Rivenughed, beginning to walk forward. ¡°You¡¯ll respawn soon enough,e and fight me!¡±


    Riven stomped a foot into the dirt and a wave of red eyesbed across the ground, coating corpses, trees, and boulders in a mad rush that overtook the two injured naga in seconds.


    The lightning mage screamed in horror as his body began to encase in the red magic, freezing solid before being ripped apart by Riven¡¯s will. The cial mage on the other hand desperately resisted the freeze effect and managed to tear himself out of the red ice one, two, then three times before five abrupt spikes of red tore from the ground to pierce his heart and lungs at different angles.


    Gasping, then convulsing, the naga died only ten secondster with ast, shuddering breath. His impaled body then went limp.


    ¡°You could have saved at least one of them for me.¡± Nora said with a disappointed sigh afternding with a soft thud, hanging a pair of dual-rapiers low to the ground beforeing to a stop beside him. ¡°I didn¡¯t get here fast enough.¡±


    ¡°We may be friends, but we¡¯re stillpeting.¡± Riven winked her way. ¡°I can¡¯t just LET you take the Chalgathi egg, now can I?¡±


    Nora snorted, watching the beast swarms of Ath¡¯s spiders, Azmoth, and the arch-demoness herself go at it in a frenzy. ¡°At least I¡¯ll get the main quest points. Are you going to help clean that up?¡±


    Riven shook his head, nting his spear-staff into the ground and watching the fireworks go off amidst the sh of ws and teeth. ¡°Nah. This is their opportunity to level up. I¡¯m at max level for F-grade and can¡¯t grow more until I pass into the E-grade, so killing won¡¯t do me much good. There are still a couple hours before the beast tide is actually unleashed, and I¡¯m sure they can finish it off by then. Want to go grab a drink back in town?¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°Are you asking ady out?¡± Nora slowly grinned and winked his way.


    Riven merely chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it isn¡¯t the way you¡¯re thinking. Ath and Fay would be rather mad.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I¡¯d been under the assumption you were rather free of spirit after learning from Azmoth that you¡¯d impregnated the elf.¡±


    ¡°That was a one night stand. I¡¯m dating Fay and Ath.¡±


    ¡°So who¡¯s to say you can¡¯t have another one night stand then? Mr. Vampire Prince?¡± She waggled her eyes at him, thenughed at the look of difort and waved at him while turning around. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. I¡¯m into girls anyways.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°You betchya. Kind of jealous, not going to lie. Ath¡¯s smoking hot. Let¡¯s grab a drink and talk about how I¡¯m going to steal your girlfriend.¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes with augh. ¡°Sounds good, but I¡¯ll have to find that gnome before we do. I have a lot of questions pertaining to those abilities he was using, as I think it¡¯ll give me some insights for totem making that I could very much use in my own work. In fact, I have a totem project I want to show the gnome as soon as we get back.¡±


    ***


    The cavern before her eclipsed most undergroundirs Lillith had seen throughout her long years of existence,ing close to the top but not quite breaking the top ten in terms of both style and size. B+ material, if she had to give it a grade. It was sorge that it fit an entire jungle inside, was akin to entering another world in the underdark, and she could barely make out the distant figures of ruined buildings beyond the more obvious pyramid ahead of her.


    She licked fresh blood off one of her ck ws with a hum of delight, taking in all the sights, sounds and fragrances that permeated her senses while a flock of colorful birds flew by. Her white eyes watched them go without moving from her position, relishing in the feeling of being alive again.


    She¡¯d been a prisoner with herrades and master for far too long. If she¡¯d been given the choice again of relinquishing her power to escape the void from where her soul had been imprisoned, and taking this rebirth as a way out - she¡¯d have made that sacrifice every single time. The chances of putting the shards of sin back together outside the purview of Elysium were just too slim, and the wait had gone on far too long. Eons had passed in that dreadful hole, and she¡¯d at a few times during her stay thought she might actually lose her mind if it went on any further.


    Thankfully that wasn¡¯t a worry anymore. Instead, she was free to roam around and explore all the little things she¡¯d once taken for granted long ago.


    She could fly if she needed to, and she could teleport to an extent, but she¡¯d rather walk and take in the scenery. To feel alive again. The signature of Allie¡¯s soul given to her by Gluttony still pulsed strong. It was inside that temple and hadn¡¯t moved for well over three days now, which made Lillith wonder why that was. Alive, but absolutely unmoving for three days straight?


    Strange, but she¡¯d figure it out soon enough. Thankfully Lillith was a born tracker, and two of her perks inbination with one another made it almost impossible for other people of her own level and grade to avoid detection if she wanted to find them.


    Taking her time, Lilith jumped off the cliff that showed recent signs of battle - exiting the underdark¡¯s tunnel and allowing her body to float down into the jungle¡¯s canopy.


    The earth shuddered underneath her figure as her bare feet touched the dirt, and all the sounds of animal life abruptly stopped when she breathed in the fresh air. The corpses of those blue-skinned vampire precursors littered this ce, having no doubt picked a fight with Allie¡¯s group on the way in. Monsters of various species that were native to this ce stopped feasting on their corpses to scurry away with their tails tucked between their legs as the athletic, lithe demoness wreathed in shadow - features mostly obscured - walked elegantly through the underbrush with silent steps.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Though her aura was not oppressive at the current moment, her mere presence sent waves of power through the ground she trod upon. She was a Mythic-grade being, an Elysium ranking that only very few across the entire multiverse ever acquired, and any who looked upon her to identify her person saw the purple mes of her obscured information as reason enough to run away very quickly.


    ¡°How I have missed these sensations¡­¡± She said with a sigh, but then abruptly stopped. Her pale white eyes turned downwards to a rather odd soul signature in a nearby nt, and her brows furrowed with curiosity. She bent down, flickering void-ck toes digging into the mud beneath a small tree where a yellow flower was struggling to grow.


    ¡°You¡¯re a rather odd find, aren¡¯t you - little one? You¡¯re not just a normal flower despite your looks.¡±


    It was partially wilted, and would likely die on its own, but when she plucked it - she took pity on the struggling flower. The smell it gave off was still amazing, and with a though she imbued her own energy into the tiny yellow petals with a smile.


    The wilting flower immediately bloomed, taking on streaks of ck down the center of each petal as it grew three times the size it¡¯d been, and she willed it to grow roots.


    The flower did as asked after consuming more of her mana, and she let it wrap its small, fragile roots around one of her seven ck horns to feed off of her while she continued onwards towards the pyramid.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll name you¡­ if you ever gain consciousness. Do well, little flower, and perhaps we will be friends.¡±


    Lillith giggled at the idea of being friends with a sentient flower, should it actually happen. Her closerades in Gluttony¡¯s order would no doubt make fun of her, but she didn¡¯t care. She would not be swayed!


    Yes, she would be sure to nurture it to full health and would see what happened. If anything, it would be an interesting experiment. At best, she¡¯d gain a new pet.


    An odd radiating pulse of energy reached her, originating at the top of the pyramid and snapping her out of her daydreams. The archdemon raised one of her eyebrows, then began skipping towards therge structure in the distance at a doubled pace. Whatever was going on inside, it was sure to be interesting - and Lillith was rather excited to meet this newly born angel of death. More importantly, Lillith was excited to meet the sister of Gluttony¡¯s bonded partner for reincarnation.


    She could only hope that they would get along. Perhaps, just perhaps, they could even be friends.


    ***


    The sight inside the pyramid was rather bloody, without a living thing in sight. She could sense souls up above her in chambers not far off, but powerful wards of an ancient nature she recognized as pre-system blood script wouldn¡¯t allow her to peer any deeper than at surface level.


    Nevertheless, she skipped and hummed across the mutted corpses - avoiding traps and giggling to herself whenever one of those silly mechanisms tried to slice her in half or attack her with various forms of poisonous blood mists and explosive shrapnel. The blood energy here was different than what she was used to though, tinged blue, reminding her of the days before the so-called ¡®Blood God¡¯ had wiped out his rival pantheons to im the top spot of power on the Blood Sub-Pir¡¯s domain. These traps had blood energies that were¡­ hmmm. What was the word?


    Primitive?


    No, that wasn¡¯t right. Their means of blood magic were just as viable, they were just¡­ forck of better words: different.


    It was a long forgotten path of blood arts that were dered heresy and taboo by the current Blood God.


    Why might one want to im a path as taboo?


    Many reasons. But Lillith could only guess as to why the current Blood God would do so. Perhaps, because he¡¯d not chosen this route, he¡¯d have less control over a specialty such as this? Perhaps if people didn¡¯t choose his route as the prime path through the Blood Sub-pir, it¡¯d weaken his following and potential for prayer and worship? Or maybe he was just spiteful after having potentially been locked out of this path by one of the enemy gods he¡¯d ughtered - though this was of course just one of many guesses.


    She really hadn¡¯t paid much attention to him back then, as he hadn¡¯t been a big deal when Gluttony was at his prime. He¡¯d just been one of many gods vying for the top. While being locked away in the Abyss, which was the lowest and deepest level of the Void that even beings like her couldn¡¯t easily get out of, she¡¯d not had the opportunity to observe the ongoings of the multiverse either.


    She ducked, weaved, and hopped through another series of explosive traps. She repeated this one floor at a time, avoiding the seemingly alive pyramid¡¯s defenses as it desperately tried to kill her, all the whileughing jovially as she made her way to her destination.


    More bodies, more blood, more recent signs of battle. Vampires and precursors alike, along with other types of undead were now present, and she eventually made it to a point where she was standing in front of arge, metal door that showed signs of w marks and bloody handprints on the thick metal.


    Allie¡¯s soul signature was just beyond this door.


    The demoness gave a slight push on the cold steel, and when it wouldn¡¯t budge - she crashed one hand deep into the sturdy metal. ws ripped into it like a knife through butter, and she absentmindedly watched the ancient defensive enchantments across its surface flicker in protest and die before tearing the entire thing off its hinges and casually tossing it aside with a loud crash.


    Making sure her new pet flower was ok, she dusted off one shoulder and stepped inside the dark interior beyond.


    What she saw next was somewhat surprising.


    ¡°Oh my¡­ am I interrupting something?¡± Lillith cooed, mouth crooked with amusement as she brought a hand up to her lips. ¡°Is this, perhaps, a bad time?¡±


    The room was arge dome in the center of the pyramid, withrge spikes along the walls impaling well over fifty individuals who were still living - but only barely; and they were all in an unconscious state. They were all vampires or other forms of undead, with energy from their bodies being sucked into arge coffin in the center of the room in swirls of light. The coffin was intricate beyond measure, carvings upon carvings upon carvings that intertwined and radiated that same pulsing energy Lillith had felt earlier in the jungle. It was ancient, powerful, and ominous - but so was she.


    Unlike most beings that would look upon a coffin like this, Lillith was not intimidated. The dread that most would have felt only excited her, and she wondered just what kind of power she¡¯d gain if she ate whatever it was that dwelled inside.


    Immediately over that coffin was another object - an orb constructed from mana that glowed a dull gray. Blue and red runes clung to the orb, corroding it away before the orb would repair itself secondster time after time, and inside that gray orb was the hovering form of an angel of death that had defensively wrapped itself in its wings. A magnificent sword in the angel¡¯s wings continued to power her barrier, and her halo continued to burn with figments of true death, but she was deep in a meditative state as the spirit of something sinister crouched just outside the sphere.


    It was a massive wraith-like abomination, hooded and cloaked with six wed hands and no legs. It was farrger than either Lillith or the angel, and its dark blue, partially translucent ws cracked and shattered as it attempted to grab at the barrier with an irritated growl. Its four eyes were ck slits in its nose-less face that narrowed and turned to watch the approaching demoness with curiosity, letting its ws that were just destroyed rebuild themselves in front of their eyes.


    ¡°Transgressor¡­¡± The wispy voice of the odd wraith echoed through the chamber, filled with power as it looked down on Lillith¡¯s form. ¡°You spheme bying here. Do you know where it is you tread?¡±


    Lillith ignored the giant wraith, ncing around at the intricate carvings that even by her standards were of a time long past. ¡°Fascinating work you¡¯ve done here¡­ I think I¡¯d like to study it. Even though Blood isn¡¯t necessarily my area of expertise, I¡¯m sure my master will make use of it as his new host is a vampire.¡±


    She walked over to where a particrly familiar rune with twin ovepping pentagrams was etched into the wall, blood from one of the staked vampires leaking into it and powering it up over time. ¡°Hmmm. This rune is wrong. It¡¯s a rather ingenious method of soul transference, but your work with the unholy sigils is a bit off.¡±


    Sensing the wraith shift within a half-second to appear behind her, she casually looked up over her shoulder at the hulking undead creature that red down at her with all six wed hands out to its sides as if to embrace her.


    ¡°I do not know who you are, little one¡­¡± The dark-blue wraith hissed with its ck eyes narrowed, ethereal robes shifting in a non-existent breeze. ¡°But you made a mistake bying here.¡±


    The attack was so fast that space itself tore apart and briefly opened up the void, ws stretching and cleaving through reality that sent shudders of power through the entire pyramid; sending clouds of dust from the ceiling above.


    The wraith paused, looking down in shock when it realized it hadn¡¯t even touched the demoness in front of it. It tried again, this time harder and faster, and it reeled back in an agonizing, shrill scream when Lillith allowed it to finally touch her. The ws tore off and burned with ck me, sending ripples of her power up across its arms that rejected its attack entirely, before the wraith regained itsposure to stare in bewilderment.


    ¡°How?¡± The wraith asked, dumbfounded. ¡°No creature on this should be able topare to one as majestic as I!¡±


    Lillith smiled slyly as she felt the Elite-tier level 199 wraith try to identify her, wagging a finger back and forth at therge creature overhead as its eyes went wide in horror. She literally felt its fear climb to new heights as it realized the gravity of its mistake in attacking her, and the amused smile she wore grew abruptly sinister. ¡°No, no, no¡­ That simply will not do.¡±


    The room shed with ck light, and in an instant the wraith was thrown across the room with a scream. Pieces of its body shattered and decayed instantly, and it crashed into a barrier on the outer wall of the dome with a howl.


    Lillith was there in an instant, seemingly having appeared from nowhere, her mouth widening in rows of sharp white teeth as she began to suck in the air around her.


    The undead ghost screamed in terror, desperately trying to get away and leaving huge w marks in the stone and barrier encasing the room underneath before it was abruptly torn up and into the air. Like being sucked into a ck hole, the wraith¡¯s bodypressed and ttened - vanishing in an instant into the belly of the grinning demoness.


    Lillith burped, patted her stomach, and watched her levels climb again with a malicious giggle. ¡°Now, now¡­ Let¡¯s see just what is going on here with this odd little contraption. I wonder¡­¡±


    Using a finger to pat her lips three times over, her white eyes flicked from rune to rune - trying to decipher what she could understand and piece together clues from what she couldn¡¯t. Then, trotting over to the intricate coffin, she let down a wed hand and lifted up the lid.


    A foul stench came out from the coffin, and seeing what was inside - she abruptly mmed the coffin back down with a gagging sound - sticking out her tongue in distrust. ¡°Even GLUTTONY wouldn¡¯t eat that thing! How utterly disgusting! Just what kind of foul magic is festering in there!? Gross!¡±


    Putting a hand back over her horns in dismay, she shook her head in disappointment. ¡°And to think that I¡¯d be excited at the prospect. I¡¯d never stoop so low, not ever. That will have to wait for Riven or Allie, if Allie can even absorb it now that she¡¯s not a vampire anymore. Now, let¡¯s see about waking this little darling up¡­¡±


    She turned around and used her knuckles to knock on the orb, frowning when Allie didn¡¯t move, and bing irritated at therge gaps of knowledge she had after her bid for a second chance at life. With a tisking sound, she growled and grumbled to herself. ¡°To think that I¡¯ve been reduced to being flustered by an F-grade curseplex¡­ My ancient enemies would beughing themselves to death if they saw this. Curse that damnable Elysium, but I¡¯m just d I was able to retain some of what I know - or this would be a lot harder than what it even is now.¡±


    Cracking her knuckles and getting into a cross-legged position in front of the orb that was still being attacked by various blue and red runes emanating from the coffin beneath, she began meditating as she entered a transcendent state of thought. Before long the room had turned a pitch ck, then the pyramid came after that, and the jungle outside came next. Before long, the entire cavern was bathed in darkness.

 Chapter 255

    Chapter 255


    <strong>Chapter 255</strong>


    <em><strong>Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Of all the original sins, Greed and Gluttony were at odds most.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>For Greed wanted to im all, and Gluttony wanted to consume all, and thus these two sins crossed paths time and time again - or so the saying went. No one truly knows exactly what happened between these two in the early dawn of creation that elicited such a rift, but it is known that when followers of Greed cross paths with those of Gluttony, blood will follow.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>As can be seen by the histories of the hells, written in the blood of the forefathers, in a time when Elysium had yet to be.</strong></em><ul><li><em><strong>A passage from the journal of Trasindir Ironw, Lord of the 5th Legion of Howl¡¯s Forge, 7th Level of Hell.</strong></em></li></ul>


    ========================================================================


    <strong>[26 billion current participants have been analyzed. The ranking categories are as follows: Apex Rank (Top 10), Paragon Rank (Top 1000), S Rank (Top 0.0001%), A Rank (Top 1%), B Rank (Top 15%), C Rank (Top 30%), D Rank (Top 50%), E Rank (Bottom 50%)]</strong>


    <strong>[Current Top 10 Native Participants:</strong><ol><li><strong>Riven Thane, Level 200 Pureblooded Vampire, Apex Rank, Warlock Devastator, Incarnation of Gluttony</strong></li><li><strong>Allie Thane, Level 162 Angel of Death, Apex Rank, Primary ss in Transitory state, Hero of Death</strong></li><li><strong>Judith Marcina, Level 181 Divine Human, Apex Rank, Angelic Fallcaller, Light¡¯s Beacon</strong></li><li><strong>Aren Hrall, Level 169 Snow Giant, Apex Rank, Frostmange Berserker</strong></li><li><strong>Retesh Vorath, Level 200 Corpse Lord, Apex Rank, Elder Lich</strong></li><li><strong>Netithi Bluskish, Level 139 Naga, Apex Rank, Champion of the Kraken</strong></li><li><strong>Chitter Teh-Sneaker, Level 137 Ratman, Apex Rank, Dark-de Assassin, Poison Master, Sneaky Sneak Sneaker</strong></li><li><strong>Nithkik Brutishvase, Level 142 Dark Elf, Apex Rank, Depthdweller</strong></li><li><strong>Sinthil Tuk¡¯tuk, Level 169 Lizardian, Apex Rank, Wind Storm</strong></li><li><strong>Thorman Bame, Level 158 Human, Apex Rank, Hammer of the Mountain]</strong></li></ol>


    Netithi Bluskish was an old Naga, with a dorsal fin down his head that was marked with holes and rips from his years of battle in the trenches of the sea against enemies of his now butchered tribe. He had numerous scars covering his body where the scales were marred in criss-cross patterns all over, and one eye had been reced by an enchanted prosthetic akin to a purple gem that stood out starkly against his otherwise blue scales. His magnificent spear, handcrafted by people long dead and passed down through generations of his lost tribe, was made of a great sea-serpent¡¯s bones, and had notches all along its shaft and spearhead - but the spirit residing in it was that of the dead serpent itself and lent a menacing aura to the weapon¡¯s wielder.Coiled up and meditating in a slouched position, Netithi blinked his eyelids open. From underneath his silver hood with blue trimmings - inscribed with the sigil of Chubin, the ss Kraken - his prosthetic scanned the area in front of him.


    A small city burnedy flooded and in ruins, swirling vortexes of water carrying bodies of the dead and pieces of buildings above him in a river of his own power. The screams of his victims had died out long ago, the strongest of their people had only been F-grade human warriors at a maximum level of 78; so they hadn¡¯tsted long. How this was supposed to be a quest that was to test his skill was beyond him, he should be tested against bigger and greater things than this. This was just mindless ughter, and he wondered whether or not the other cultists were experiencing the same thing.


    His mind drifted back to when he¡¯d met the other cultists, and how he¡¯d overheard a group of them and theirbined quest to take on what was likely the biggest obstacle in this event. He frowned at the idea that they¡¯d been able to fight that crazed vampire, while he was stuck here instead. He¡¯d gained a handful of levels for finishing the quest, but oddly enough he hadn¡¯t gotten any XP for massacring the popce - reminding him that killing these wouldn¡¯t actually gain himself any XP in this strange event; while quests on the other hand - would.


    Stranger still, he¡¯d seen some of his summoned elementals get killed while simultaneously giving the defenders XP and levels for doing so. This meant that, if he was correct, only the individual cultists and non-cultists were stopped from actually growing levels by mindlessly killing things during this event. Why that was, he wasn¡¯t sure - but it was likely another initiative toplete quests if he had to guess. Or perhaps it would stop other cultists from randomly massacring people and towns for no reason.


    Regardless, his power did noty in levels. He was already halfway done cultivating his E-grade Soul-Lattice, and had been doing so for quite a while now. He¡¯d have no problem getting to Level 200 by just mindlessly killing things, but thettice was another story entirely.


    Because without it, one could not ascend to the next stage. It was an absolute, a requirement, to pass into the next realm of cultivation. And when you finally did get to the E-grade, merely killing things was not enough to level up. If yourttice was not perfect, if it did not hold the potential to take you far, it would cripple you indefinitely as you climbed or attempted to climb your way to the top.


    Chubin itself had told him this, after naming Netithi its champion.


    Netithi cackled wickedly to himself, wondering if any of the other cultists in his group had taken the hint by his title. It was pasted right there, in the open for everyone to see, on the world leader board next to his number 6 apex ranking. He was destined for greatness, he was destined to set the ss kraken free, and together they would rise up past the ruins of this world into the cosmos as partnered souls.


    The sky above him shuddered as his excitement caused the swirling vortex of water to move more quickly, with riversing and going in an ever-changing web of his water mana.


    But that was not all he had.


    Opening his palm, he willed a ss shard to form over his hand. His unique pir activated, forming the abnormal ss into a mirror in front of him - allowing him to stare right into the figure that stood behind him in a silent, trance-like state.


    ¡°Are you just going to stand there, stranger?¡± Netithi asked, his serpentine tongue hissing while he slowly rose to a towering height over the strange, alien figure twenty yards away, yanking the bone spear out of his rubble pile as he did. ¡°Or did you note for a reason?¡±


    In the shadows of an overturned stone building, casting the creature in darkness, a quick, sharpugh rose out into the daylight. Stepping out from the overhang, a pale-skinned mancking ears or any facial features other than a circr, puckered mouth entered Netithi¡¯s sight. He only wore a ragged robe, but gave off a presence of power.


    Netithi involuntarily shrank back in disgust while viewing the monster, and his eyes widened involuntarily as the creature grew to reach his height even at an elevated position.


    Swarming leeches and worms roiled and churned in the pale man¡¯s body, ripping and tearing at his skin to reform the pale man¡¯s limbs one at a time. Brittle fingers became slug-like tails, the clothes he wore ripped and fell off entirely, the feet and legs buckled under a new weight as the body bulged and groaned.


    In the end, Netithi found himself staring at a monster three times his size - some kind of swarm beast, a demon made of slugs, worms, and leeches with two humanoid armsing out of a blob-like mass. Over a dozen, green, bloodshot eyes snapped open from within the grotesque creature¡¯s body, directly over its circr maw that had three circryers of spine-like teeth, and it gave Netithi another cackle when it¡¯d finished morphing.


    Then it began to speak. ¡°Netithi Bluskish, Level 139 Naga, Apex Rank, Champion of the Kraken. How pretentious¡­¡±


    The amusement in its deep, burbling voice caused Netithi¡¯s mood to sour as itsugh rang higher.


    ¡°Tell me, slug-creature, hive mind, what it is you¡¯re here for.¡± Netithi stated slowly, causing his spear to light up with power as he failed to identify to creature¡¯s identity whatsoever. ¡°What are you, and what have youe for? You¡¯ve been watching me for nearly an hour without making a move, and I am growing tired of waiting for your approach.¡±


    ¡°Slug creature?¡± The giant repeated, still amused. ¡°Hive mind is a more urate statement than calling me a slug, but I will forgive your transgression just once. Any more than that, and you will be¡­ punished.¡±


    The creature red with dark ck and deep purple light, crushing the aura Netithi set up for himself in an instant.


    Netithi gasped as he felt his bones crunch under the ominous pressure, his vortex of water crashed downwards onto the ruins from overhead, and he fell to the ground heaving and vomiting blood. Then the aura of the monster abruptly vanished, allowing the naga to lift his head once more and breathe through his gills again.


    He came face to face with the smiling visage of the beast.


    ¡°I have been watching your progress, concerning your Soul Lattice. Without any guidance, you have figured out what it is you need to ascend into the next grade¡­ we are¡­ impressed.¡±


    We?


    Netithi straightened himself, giving therge monster a healthy amount of respect after having crushed his own aura so easily. Even his prosthetic, purple gem eye could not decipher what this creature was, and the feeling of inferiority was gradually creeping in while he stared at the numerous green eyes ring down at him.


    ¡°Who is we?¡± Netithi asked, somewhat impatiently despite his grudging respect for the beast.


    The monster blinked, then scoffed and reeled its head backwards. It looked around, holding up its disgusting, crawling swarm that made up either arm. ¡°Who is we, he asks? There was once a time that everyone knew who we were, who I was, where the heavens trembled upon our passage and the hells would sing our praise. There was once a time where even some of the greatest civilizations of the multiverse would sacrifice their offspring once a year to satisfy my needs, or the needs of my master, and would shower us with the greatest of treasures that we so desperately desire¡­ I am the equivalent of what Lillith is to Gluttony, but I serve another master.¡±


    It leaned forward again, shifting position around his hill of rubble effortlessly despite its great size. ¡°Do you know of the Great Maw, little naga? Do you know of the one called Lillith? Do you know of the vampire scum that now sits atop this world¡¯s power hierarchy, that even now will attempt to sabotage your own rise to the top?¡±


    Netithi¡¯s eyes narrowed, following the swarm beast as it circled him - turning his head from time to time to watch its transition. ¡°I do not know of Lillith, but The Great Maw and the vampire prince I know of. The Reincarnation of Gluttony, Riven Thane, Prince of the Blood Moon Requiem is here as a non-cultist. But he is a Chalgathi follower and will not contradict my path.¡±


    ¡°FOOL!¡± The creature roared, ring with that strange ck and dark purple energy that crashed down into Netithi once again, causing the very earth to rumble under the monster¡¯s rage while Netithi gasped. ¡°OF COURSE IT CONTRADICTS YOUR PATH, YOU SMALL MINDED NEWT!¡±


    The monster¡¯s rage quickly subsided, and it took a deep sigh to calm itself as Netithi shuddered - wide eyed - while his struggled to regain his hold on reality again.


    ¡°I realize that you have the brain of a reptile, and that it may be quite small, and that you only have one - as opposed to my many thousands.¡± The creature eventually said when Netithi shakily propped himself up on his spear. ¡°Regardless, you are able to think ahead. Use that small brain of yours to tell me - what do you think will happen when the three apocalypse beast quests are finished? Let us say that youplete Chubin¡¯s trials, that you do all that you set out to do and unleash the ss kraken from its prison in the sea¡­ Do you think that will be the end of your quest?¡±


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Netithi did not answer, not even daring to, in case he was wrong and incurred the wrath of the monster again. Even now he felt his internal organs were damaged, and it was painful to keep himself erect or even breathe.


    ¡°Let me answer for you then.¡± The monster stated tly. ¡°It will not be the end, I have seen this scenario y out on many other worlds before in times long past, back before I was banished into the deepest realms of the Abyss. The end of this quest leaves only one apocalypse beast at the pinnacle. If the non-cultists win, they either acquire an item of power or are able to take the egg of a juvenile apocalypse beast to raise as their own. If the cultists win their trials, they gain a fully grown beast and rampage across the, but there¡¯s two important things that will happen when thises to pass. First, is that all non-cultists who obtain the item or the egg will be given a massive damage bonus perk that can put heavy afflictions on any living apocalypse beast they ever find.¡±


    The creature raised two slug-like, writhing fingers. ¡°Second, is that in order to leave Panu, you will need to kill all other living apocalypse beasts that are fully grown, and that are imed by another of the cults should ite to that scenario. However, seeing that Riven is a likely contender for his own beast, he will likely gain the egg or the item - along with an affliction bonus towards your ss Kraken when the time finally arrives. He will be given a quest to y it, and you will be put into direct contention with one another for the final prize.¡±


    Netithi coughed, furrowing his brows, and scratched at some of the numerous scars across his scaled body. ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡±


    The monster snarled. ¡°Because I want you to win, and you need the help.¡±


    Netithi blinked, caught off guard, and he slowly tilted his head to re-evaluate this monster and his situation. ¡°You want me to¡­ win? Why? Who are you and what stake do you have in this gamble?¡±


    There was a pause, and the creature¡¯s smile grew wider.


    ¡°I want you to win because, if you kill the vampire, Gluttony will have to reset and find a new bondedpanion for his reincarnation. He¡¯ll have to start over with a chosen one that will no doubt be far, far less valuable and lesspatible than this freak he¡¯s been able to im by a massive stroke of luck. Gluttony cannot be allowed to maintain a reincarnated bond of this magnitude. I want Riven Thane dead, so that Gluttony¡¯s rise back to power is hampered by a lesser creature he must fuse to. You see, Gluttony and my master go very far back. The original sins as well as themandments are now heavily dependent on whatever or whoever they can bind to in their new ascent into the infinite beyond.¡± The creature lowered its head in a mocking bow, swinging both fleshy, wiggling arms out to the sides as it did. ¡°May I present myself¡­ I am The Gambler, but you can just call me Gambler. I am a servant of the Original Sin of Greed, and I havee here to help you kill Gluttony, to help you kill the one you wille to know as Lillith, and to make you the number 1 power on this so that we may see it burn along with all of Gluttony¡¯s legions. If you do as I say, if you allow me to augment your body and participate in our n as a willing servant, the Church of Greed will be more than happy to assist you in your rise far past this world in the cosmos beyond.¡±


    A hesitant small smile crossed Netithi¡¯s lips, and as the creature rose to its full height - the old naga¡¯s smile widened. ¡°I do not know what the Church of Greed is, and I know little of the original sins. But if what you say is true, if you actually can help me be number 1 in this world, I will need proof that you are able to help me forge this path. Think of it as a show of faith so that I believe the words you speak.¡±


    The monster¡¯s green eyes brightened, and it lifted a hand to hover over the naga as if to bless him. ¡°More will be given to you in time, after you burn through quests here for power leveling. But I suppose I can part with a small gift now, a core of sin and the power of Greed, to show you what potential you¡¯ll truly have if you choose to follow our path.¡±


    There was a ticking noise that echoed across thend, and the sky split apart overhead in a dark aura of sin energy. The naga screamed as his body ruptured from numerous scars stered across his body - giving off a sickly dark light, the monsterughed, and ck-purple energy erupted from inside Netithi¡¯s soul aperture as a new ck core began to build itself inside.


    ***


    <strong>[Riven¡¯s Quest #1 of The Altars of Despair and Hope has beenpleted. Outpost #84 has been saved, the enemy cultists have all been killed, and the monster wave has been eradicated without losing a single resident of the town. This quest has beenpleted 1 hour early as well, adding bonus Event Points. Congrattions! You have been granted XP. All XP has been funneled to your minions, due to your grade cap hindering you from leveling further until you reach enlightenment and enter the E-grade. You have gained +39 Event Points. Quest #2 will be dispensed tomorrow.]</strong>


    Versions of that same notification had appeared in front of everyone in Outpost #84 at the same exact moment Azmoth had killed thest of the flying serpents, with Ath giving Riven a confirmatory message via their telepathy link. The instant that¡¯d happened, the entire town had their own system messages ping his location while he was taking a drink back at the pub he¡¯d originally visited with Nora, and he¡¯d been mobbed with people thanking him, yelling out his name, and offering to buy him booze while sighs of relief were in abundance. Word had already spread about his minions, and watch parties had seen the far off explosions of battle in the forest miles off, and with their hoodsbeling Nora and Riven as non-cultists it didn¡¯t take much to piece together that they were part of this integration quest even before the mass notification.


    ¡°OUT! OUT! EVERYONE OUT!¡± Warden Zuk, the odd wizard-gnome leader of this outpost, had his town guards shove and push people out of the rowdy pub into the streets to celebrate elsewhere at Riven¡¯s request. ¡°My god! I could barely hear myself think in here with all those ruffians! Good riddance!¡±


    Gragle, who¡¯d been dragged here by the warden himself at Riven¡¯s request, fidgeted nervously while looking between the vampire sipping ale and the asian woman who was repeatedly sighing at the extra points she¡¯d missed by not assassinating a single one of the enemy cultists - nor had she finished off the monster swarm leader.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look so glum!¡± Riven cackled, shoving another ss across the bar to take a fifth mug from the bartender who¡¯d warmed up to him a lot more since their first encounter; especially after the notification had lit up the town. ¡°You could have killed that flying tomb cobra if you¡¯d wanted to for the 30 point bonus! You just chose not to.¡±


    Nora gave him a t look. ¡°Did you see the thousands of swarming electrical lizards around it? There was zero chance I was heading into that rat¡¯s nest, I¡¯m far more fragile than either of those two monsters you sent in to clean up shop.¡±


    She took a drink, choking on the strong taste of the alcohol and ignoring the little gnome wizard who plopped in a seat beside her.


    Riven grinned. ¡°Yeah you can just go ahead and say it, my summons are pretty awesome. Speaking of which¡­¡±


    A portal lit up in the middle of the rowdy bar, though it was far less rowdy than it¡¯d been before Warden Zuk had kicked out half the pub, and all eyes turned to the shimmering blue-purple portal as Fay stepped out of it. She looked amazing, getting a lot of hoots and murmurs from the crowd as they ogled her beautiful figure, but many of them were hushed by theirrades or pped by their partners when they realized whose contracted familiar she was.


    The gorgeous subus wore an unusually exquisite gold-trimmed ck dress that came down to her shins, but it hugged her breasts and hips. It also split down the middle in a way that allowed her to walk without tripping - with her slender ck tail coiling on the floor behind her and wings outspread. Her ponytail was done up in golden decorative pins and she worerge golden hoop earrings that dangled from her bowed head as she took a knee and prostrated herself before Riven on the floor.


    ¡°Master, I¡­ I¡­¡± She almost stuttered and choked on her words, trembling slightly as Riven raised an eyebrow her way. ¡°¡±I greet the great maw¡¯s reincarnation!¡±


    Riven finished sipping on a drink, pulled the shaking subus up gently by one arm, and stood up. Smiling kindly down into her ck, wide eyes - he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers before resting his head against her small horns. ¡°Stop that, ande have a drink with me. Nothing has changed between us. Ok? Also, you look absolutely stunning.¡±


    He gave her a wink, and he saw just a tiny bit of the tension in her face melt away. Just a tiny bit.


    Thest time she¡¯d seen him was when Deepnest had exploded, and she¡¯d been flung into theher realm. Obviously in thest 24 hours a lot had transpired, to the point that she¡¯d now presented to him while undergoing some kind of panic attack, and based on what Ath had told him about Gluttony - he could guess as to why.


    She began to protest, but Riven put a finger up to her lips as Gluttony¡¯s third eye opened on his forehead. Seeing the eye caused her to immediately shut up and go rigid, and she began to focus on the unholy scripts of ancient tattoos that littered Riven¡¯s body now that Messenger wasn¡¯t being worn. He wore a sleeveless, basic shirt, and some basic pants, emphasizing his toned body as he led her to a seat and pulled the chair out for her.


    ¡°Nothing has changed.¡± Riven softly repeated, pushing her chair in and chuckling at the way she furiously blushed at his lightest touch. ¡°Put your wings away so I can sit next to you, and we can talk.¡±


    Without being told twice, Fay retracted her wings and her tail back into her body, staring at the bar in front of her as Riven gestured for another mug of alcohol.


    ¡°Ale, beer, or harder stuff?¡± The bartender asked, trying hard not to stare at the beautiful woman who¡¯d so recently joined them. His gaze turned to Riven instead, outwardly forcing himself to remain locked on the man instead of the beauty beside the vampire. ¡°What do you think, Mr. Scary?¡±


    Riven smiled at the nickname. ¡°Mr. Scary? I like it. Let¡¯s go with the harder stuff, I think my girlfriend here is going to need it.¡±


    Fay blushed even more furiously as the title of girlfriend, and she put two hands over her face as he began tough.


    The middle-aged man wearing an apron behind the counter raised his eyebrows with a confused smile. ¡°I¡¯d thought the other demoness was your lover. The one with night-ck skin.¡±


    ¡°Ath? She is. I¡¯m dating both of them. Or more urately, we three are dating each other - Ath, Myself, and Fay here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re dating both of them!?¡± The bartender sputtered augh, rolled his eyes, and took out a bottle of some kind of rum-like substance that he poured into a tall ss. He passed it to Fay, who wordlessly took it. ¡°Some people have all the luck. Count me jealous, vampire. But considering you and yours somehow saved our town from a monster swarm, likely avoiding many deaths, I¡¯ll try to ignore that side of myself for the night. What about the blood priestess? Are you dating her too?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°And this finess here?¡± The bartender asked, winking at Nora who was still actively sighing to Riven¡¯s right.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. She¡¯s into girls, apparently.¡±


    The bartender¡¯s eyebrows rose, then gestured to Fay who was sipping on her drink - implying a couple things about Nora, Fay, and most likely Ath with a series of hand gestures most men would certainly be able to make out.


    Riven smirked and shook his head, but didn¡¯t reply as the festivities inside and outside began to climb to new heights with cheers andughter all around. Instead, as his subuspanion began to sip on her drink to calm her nerves, he leaned in and kissed Fay on the cheek before calling out to Gragle a few seats down. ¡°So my short stout friend, I was hoping we could chat about those things you called ¡®Graphics¡¯ earlier today.¡±


    The scarred gnome coughed halfway through taking a swig, then set his mug down to re up at the smirking vampire with an irritated huff. The silence was telling, but eventually the gnome mustered the courage to reply with a little bit of help from the alcohol he¡¯d been taking. ¡°You seem good natured enough now that I have some booze in me, but are you really rted to Gluttony somehow?¡±


    The vampire prince blinked. Had he been too drunk to notice Fay''sments on the great maw? Apparently so.


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°What about being a prince of the requiem?¡±


    ¡°Nuh uh.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Positive.¡± Riven lied with a raised eyebrow. ¡°All that talk was just us being stupid and fucking around with you natives.¡±


    Gragle eyed him skeptically, then slowly nodded. ¡°Fine, fine. You¡¯d be a really scary fucker if that multiverse-wide system notification was about you, but I¡¯d think Gluttony would choose someone of a higher level if he had to reincarnate so I suppose that makes sense you¡¯d be lyin. I just wouldn¡¯t want to wake up being eaten alive tomorrow night, ya know?¡±


    Gluttony¡¯s amusement rose inside, and Riven had to beat back a grin of his own. ¡°Yes, yes. Of course. Who¡¯d want that? Now, are you going to talk to me about these so called ¡®Graphics¡¯ you know of or not? That was really unique magic you had there, and I was hoping to implement it in my own totems.¡±


    ¡°You make totems?¡± The gnome abruptly asked, suddenly bing interested in the conversation as he turned his entire body to stare around Fay¡¯s timid figure between the two men. ¡°Seriously? You?¡±


    Riven held out his tattooed arms to either side with a shrug. ¡°What?! Didn¡¯t I mention that earlier? You were probably just scared too shitless to hear me right, sorry about my teasing and lies. Is that so unbelievable?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is. Do you have any recent works?¡±


    Riven smiled, then nodded. Reaching into his spatial sack, he drew out the prized possession he¡¯d been working on since visiting Hakim¡¯s ce a little while back. It¡¯d finally absorbed the minor sigil of ck Lightning, and had evolved from ¡®Partially Constructed¡¯ into a fully blown totem. His previous totems also couldn¡¯t level up, and it was very interesting to see that this one could. He¡¯d had the option to negate this effect in favor of having a static damage output when creating the totem, and that would have increased the power it had significantly in the beginning - but it would have stagnated its growth in turn.


    So he¡¯d allowed the soul to grow and gain levels, starting out at a weaker point rather than stretching the soul out and limiting its potential for the future.


    <strong>[Totem of Bloodforged Rift Sparks: The Path of Red and ck has been imbued into this totem, along with three different ability sigils, allowing to to createbination abilities from the following: ck Lightning, Rift, and Crimson Ice. Due to having a high grade soul imbued into this totem, it is able to move around autonomously and will follow your will to fight or defend. Elite Tier, Level 1 totem. Requirements: 90 Willpower, Blood Sub-Pir, Shadow Sub-Pir. Bound to Riven Thane.]</strong>


    It was the ¡®Icosahedron¡¯ he¡¯d shown Genua in the forest. It was a 20-sided die with dimensions of 1 by 1 by 1 feet each way. Having crafted it from metal while using his magic to slice into the steel tes on the outer skeleton, he¡¯d reinforced the insides with crimson ice, with red and ck runic sigils on each of the 20 sides of the almost spherical shape.


    Gragle¡¯s eyes widened with interest, and he hesitantly put forth a hand - before asking if he could see it. ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful piece. These enchantments are very high quality, even if the materials could do better. May I?¡±


    ¡°You absolutely may.¡± Riven replied, enjoying the eager look the gnome was giving his creation while picking up the totem with one hand and setting it gently in the smaller hands of the other man. ¡°Just don¡¯t blow it up. I have high hopes for that totem and it''s the first real one I¡¯ve everpleted now that I have the death sub-pir. So it¡¯s kind of special to me, and I was hoping that it could potentially get an upgrade if you have any thoughts on what might work.¡±

 Chapter 256

    Chapter 256


    <strong>Chapter 256</strong>


    Retesh Vorath¡¯s unnatural, fleshy organs curled and unfurled randomly across his bones as the undead lich called a ck mist from the ocean around him and flung the cloud at his pursuers.


    Judith Marcina¡¯s golden wings pulsed with energy, epassing her in a shield of white light that let her rip through the cloud of necrotic gasses to tear her ming sword through Retesh¡¯s mount - cleaving off a wing of therge drake in a single go.


    The two other undead drakes on either side of Retesh screamed in rage as their brother let out a cry of pain and started spiraling downwards towards the sea below, where an even more violent battle between the merpeople and his fleet of ck ships were taking ce. Explosions of water and death, ice and storm, gue and rot all ripped and tore across the waves far below; while giant sea creatures - both living and dead - ripped and bit at one another frantically.


    Retesh cursed as Judith¡¯s high pitchedughter rang clear through the clouds, and the two drakes on either side of him diverted their attention to attack the angelic bitch as he summoned dark tendrils of death mana to his bony fingers.


    ¡°Artun Regles Unimor!¡± He hissed while performing the needed hand gestures, still spinning out of control but barely able to manage the spell.


    The tendrils tore out of his hands and grasped at the severed wing of the skeletal beast he rode on. Reeling it back in, the wing was forcefully reattached and the drake quickly reoriented itself about a hundred yards up.


    The eyes of a giant kraken pet of the merpeople red up at him from the frothing sea underneath him, promising him a quick demise if he let himself climb too low, and the explosion of another ck galley made him wince. Winged nephilim in the sky battled undead gargoyles of his make, one of the drakes he¡¯d raised into undeath exploded in an echo of celestial power to fall past him, and his hands trembled at the realization that he might actually die here.


    These undead were monsters to the merpeople , and to Judith¡¯s forces. To them, the undead were creatures to be purged. But to Retesh, these udnead were just as eager to pursue a fulfilling life as any of those who would want to purge his kind. They were his brothers and sisters, his sons and daughters, and they were being ughtered for no more reason than for merely existing. Just like on hisst world before he¡¯d been ced here on Panu, the living would never understand him or his people - and thus he would make them pay in the end.If he survived this fight.


    He screamed out in rage and pulled a medium-length stone staff off his back, causing it to light up with bright teal lights before turning back around at the iing vengeful presences behind him.


    Three high level nephilim decked out in valkyrie attire were gaining speed alongside Judith, swordings and wings ame, and Retesh spat before holding his weapon aloft.


    ¡°YOU MAY HAVE WON THIS BATTLE, BUT IT IS I WHO WILL BE LAUGHING IN THE END WHEN I USE YOUR CORPSES AS SOLDIERS IN MY ARMY IN MONTHS TO COME!¡±


    Judith summoned spears of white lightning that pulsed and snapped across the sky, only to meet an orb of death mana that deflected the blow. The explosion caused a cloud of conflicting energies to roil up into a blinding cloud, and Retesh used that moment to shatter the stone staff in his hand.


    He flung the shattered remnants of the object behind him in the path of his pursuers while using his own life force to infuse more power into the mount he rode on. The drake underneath him doubled its speed in an instant, then pulsed into even faster speeds with a sonic boom, and the sky illuminated with a blinding sh of teal behind him.


    Using a series of hand gestures to camouge his escape, and keeping his course straight for Brightsville across the ocean, the guilt he felt for leaving his soldiers behind began to build.


    ¡°I am sorry.¡± Retesh whispered, enraged - perhaps hypocritically - at the culling of his people, but he kept his head down and his mind set. ¡°Brethren, you will be avenged.¡±


    ***


    <strong>[System Message from the Elysium Administrator:</strong>


    <strong>Integrating: Panu - has been deemed lopsided during its integration phase. Key outliers noted x5. Stagnation of participants is highly likely. Parameters have been changed to encourage growth. Changes are as follows:</strong>


    <strong>The Original Sin of Greed has been allowed to send a single agent to Panu in direct opposition to Gluttony.</strong>


    <strong>World Quest total time limits have been expedited. Time limit is now set to 3 years total before integration ends. All time limits concerning quests and sub quests rted to the World Quests of Panu have been reduced and expedited as well.</strong>


    <strong>Expeditionary Forces are now allowed and granted, and will be paid for by myself. Invitations for expeditionary forces have been granted to numerous empires across the multiverse, with different restrictions on given armies. Each major faction across the, including invaders, will be granted a certain amount of tokens to allow for intergctic troop movements based on the algorithm that would most encourage ascension.</strong>


    <strong>You have been linked as a potential candidate to help put together one of these expeditionary forces. To whom your forces will serve, should you ept: Allie Thane and Riven Thane of Panu.</strong>


    <strong>Concerning where thises into y for you, General Viku of the Blood Moon Requiem, it means that you have 7 days to put together an army. A requirement for all chosen soldiers: will be that they not have ill intent directed towards Allie Thane despite her choice to shun The Blood God, and they will be vetted by myself to make sure the proper bnce is maintained. Your goal is to help finish the world quests within the 3 year time limit for your side, and then to conquer Panu afterwards.</strong>


    <strong>Should you ept these conditions, you will be granted 40,000 tokens for Sarak ve soldiers from your controlled of Vartesh, 15,000 soldiers from the ranks of House Wraithtide, and 10,000 soldiers from the greater empire of The Blood Moon Requiem, all F-grade. 1 additional low E-grade participant may be selected as well. No advanced weaponry in the form of ships or weapons of mass destruction will be allowed. Your specific restrictions will be as follows: Your expeditionary force will be restricted to the continent of Umbra for the first year, before being allowed ess to the rest of the world. You will be allied with the forces of Negrada, a minor hellscape dungeon that has already epted these conditions.</strong>


    <strong>Upon victory conditions being met, The Blood Moon Requiem will receive one Elite S-Grade treasure, one Supreme A-Grade treasure, two Legendary B-Grade treasures, three Elite C-Grade treasures, and the potential for warp-gate ess to Panu should the native faction decide to allow it.</strong>


    <strong>You have 1 day to decide on whether or not you will take up this offer.]</strong>


    The Wraithtide fleet filled the sky - sleek dagger-like spacecraft of ck, red, and dark gray; and elites from all over the empire were flying in as themunication lines were abuzz with activity. General Viku of House Wraithtide watched with the other members of his house on a balcony, alongside High Queen Nephridi, as the forces of the younger generation scrambled to organize themselves at such short notice. Below them, thousands of soldiers were being geared up for battle.


    This was a perfect chance to bring the queen¡¯s great grandchildren into the fold, establishing a link between the empire and Panu, and even creating an outpost in an entirely separate part of the multiverse for the requiem to expand from.


    The council for their part had been either absolutely enraged at the activity of the two Wraithtide children, or had apuded them outwardly, with mixed emotions from many after realizing what Riven had be. What Allie had done was sphemous by defying the patron of their kind, the creator of the vampire, The Blood God himself - but having Gluttony¡¯s reincarnation on their side was something else entirely. When Lillith herself, a figure of myth and legend, stepped out to dispel the ritual that would have stripped Allie of her prophecy - it made it very clear where Gluttony¡¯s stance stood on the girl.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    To the secret pleasure of High Queen Nephridi, she¡¯d been especially pleased when Elder Thune¡¯s possessed thrall had been pped into a bloody oblivion by the archdemon; cackling all the way back home and for many days beyond that.


    ¡°Are you smiling again about how Elder Thune reacted to the notice?¡± General Viku asked with a sideways grin, seeing the high queen giggling to herself for the third time that day. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen you in this good of a mood since your granddaughter was still around.¡±


    Nephridi¡¯s shoulders shook with continued giggling, her long brown hair swaying under the dark clouds that were ever present on the Wraithtide homeworld of Vartesh. ¡°Yes, things have turned out quite nicely. The Blood God¡¯s clergy have sent emissaries to speak to us about this matter and should be here soon, and though I am not certain of what they will say - I have it on good faith from my own bishop that they¡¯ll likely forgive my great grandchild for her transgressions. It will be an absolute order, should I be right, for I believe that he who created our kind also wishes to bring Riven into the fold. Having the Reincarnation of Gluttony as a member of our empire would far outweigh any potential insult Allie¡¯s actions have caused, and the council even voted to keep her status as princess intact after seeing the event transpire.¡±


    General Viku nodded thoughtfully, his shiny bald head having been waxed twice in thest hour out of nervousness - but he kept his cool. ¡°Out of respect: Rippenvire sends word that they have withdrawn their bid from the entirely, when realizing The Blood Moon Requiem is bing fully involved with these matters. They were able to pay Elysium a tax to retrieve what remained of their forces as well, and are nowpletely absent from the as of an hour ago."


    ¡°I suspected they¡¯d do so, yes.¡± Queen Nephridi stated with a sly grin. ¡°They are merely a vassal of one of our morepetitive allies, but they could never hope to muster the kinds of forces topete with our own youth. The blood that runs through our lineages is far purer than that of Rippenvire, our affinities are greater, our training is better - and they know it. In the beginning they¡¯d hoped to secure the prince and princess as a way of saving face, and potentially gaining ess to a royal bloodline through the right of vampiric conquest, but those aspirations are now over.¡±


    Looking over his shoulder, General Viku caught a glimpse of the purple Serak man - Jeltuna. The one Riven had appointed as ¡®The Voice of the Sarak¡¯ - to the disappointment and disgust of many of House Wraithtide. Still, the ve held his head high, and he was proud to be here. Nervous, but proud, for this was the first time a sarak had ever been allowed in the presence of nobility and royalty at this magnitude. Usually he¡¯d have been executed just for looking at the queen, but due to Riven¡¯s promation she¡¯d even made her way over to talk to the man - which had stunned everybody. Even General Viku.


    Lady Riska, Count Amestrius, Count Jaricock and Baron Orimus were just some of the many faces inside the small crowd of Wrathtide nobles - lesser and greater - and they all wore expressions of excitement as the Wraithtide name was on the rise. With Riven¡¯s ascent into his current position and the possibilities unfolding astronomically, with even many of the reclusive high grade demonic forces already having sent emissaries to The Blood Moon Requiem for a chance to speak to Riven, the prestige of their house was unlike anything it¡¯d seen in its history.


    But the hushed whispers of other House Wraithtide elites came to a quick close when the sounds of the doors behind them caused the general and queen to turn.


    Walking out and bowing before the high queen, two of the younger generation led the way.


    First as Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th, eldest daughter to the Duke and Dutchess of House of Crushada, 107th in line for the vampiric throne. Her usual ck and red dress was reced in thin, formfitting armor of the highest quality for her grade - decorated with their house emblem of a rose. Her pale, beautiful features remained steadfast while she knelt, but beads of sweat were umting across her forehead with her mother and father standing proudly in the background with beaming smiles.


    Beside Kathrine was the single E-grade they were allowed to send: a military genius and abat veteran of the frontier wars: Crendir No-Name, an orphan of low blood born to no family that had made a man out of himself even in the eyes of the proudest nobles. He was an undisputed choice for the lead of this expedition, and would be serving directly under Kathrine only in the public eye. In private, he would be the true hand that guided the armies of The Blood Moon Requiem on this conquest of Panu for the sake of both Allie and Riven. He had multiple scars along his otherwise pale face through the slits in his helmet, his eyes were a dimmer red than the many purebloods here, but he still kept his back straight and proud when the queen bade them rise.


    ¡°Hello, children.¡± High Queen Nephridi then gave the Crushada parents a warm smile. ¡°Hello Lord and Lady Crushada, as always - a pleasure.¡±


    They both silently bowed, but returned her smile in turn.


    She gestured to the two younglings, and allowed them to join her at the railing where she and General Viku were watching the marching columns of soldierse into y. She snorted when she saw the untrained thousands of sarak being herded onto the fields, where vampiricmanders were - for the very first time - going to allow them to pick up weapons for training in what would soon be the first true soldiers the sarak had seen since this world had been conquered.


    ¡°As leaders of this expedition, you must realize that you may not return to the empire - even if you win.¡± High Queen Nephridi stated solemnly, ncing at both Crendir and Kathrine with a sigh. ¡°We can only hope that Gluttony and my great grandson will decide to incorporate themselves into the empire through a show of goodwill, even despite what we nearly did to Allie not long ago. It will be your job to maintain as good of a connection with the Wraithtide siblings as possible, to convince Riven to establish the gate when the fight is over, and - without question - to eliminate all other outside forces during the integration. Help themplete the world quests, and dominate the. But above all, gaining Riven¡¯s approval and convincing him to join The Blood Moon Requiem is of utmost importance.¡±


    Kathrine, who¡¯d kept her lips pursed this entire time, gave a hesitant frown. ¡°I was under the impression he was already a prince of the empire?¡±


    The queen chuckled. ¡°He is. Again, we nearly stripped his sister of her prophetic abilities¡­ I just want to be especially careful around this situation now, and to maintain our expectations of him - rather than lose him entirely. Usually with an heir of royal blood that has the gift of malignant prophecy, if they strayed - we¡¯d just capture them. Or kill them, to keep the bloodline in our hands. However, now that he is the Reincarnation of Gluttony, it drasticallyplicates things. In the worst case scenario that I¡¯d never wish upon any of the heirs, capturing or killing him wouldn¡¯t be a viable option unless we wanted to make enemies of numerous demonic factions that would no doubt see that as a deration of war on them. With the rise of themandments and the other sins soon to follow, and the eternal war between celestials and demonsing to our doorstep in the next century, we are going to be very sure not to put ourselves in the middle of it.¡±


    A new, older male¡¯s voice called out from the doorway where Kathrine and Crendir had just entered. ¡°Not to mention, it is the will of the founder himself that we try to bring Gluttony¡¯s bonded partner into the flock.¡±


    An aura of power settled down on the balcony as the voice spoke, making everyone there excluding the queen and general feel as if they were swimming in a thick, viscous pool. It wasn¡¯t oppressive or directed at them, thankfully, but most of the onlookers widened their eyes and bowed or even knelt as two esteemed bishops from the Blood God¡¯s domain walked slowly towards High Queen Nephridi to pay their respects.


    Each were shirtless, bearing the crimson tattoos of their order, while wearing long flowing skirt-pants andrge t-brim, circr hats that had red drapes covering the faces of each man. They both bowed low, and the high queen returned their bow with one of her own in a reverent stances before all three lifted themselves into straighter positions secondster.


    ¡°It is an honor to host such figures as yourselves, gentlemen.¡± High Queen Nephridi stated with a pleasant smile. ¡°To grace our trading hub of Vartesh is an honor to all of us. What brings you out of your esteemed halls and to our humble, if I may ask?¡±


    One of the priests turned to the other, and the second man chuckled from underneath his red veil. ¡°Come now, Queen Nephridi. Let us not y games. You know why it is we are here, your own bishop no doubt told you of our passage and what we expect to talk about.¡±


    Nephridi raised an eyebrow and gave them an innocent, taken-aback look. ¡°I must say I am unsure of what it is you speak of.¡±


    The bishops stared at her wordlessly.


    She sighed. ¡°Fine, you¡¯re correct. But I must ask since you¡¯re here, as it is the most pressing question I have¡­ Will my great granddaughter be forgiven for her transgressions? Or will she still bebeled as¡­¡±


    Her voice trailed off.


    ¡°As an apostate?¡± The first bishop asked, filling the word in for her. ¡°No, she is forgiven. Speaking of which, we had one of our priestesses actually try to leverage Riven¡¯s child, Gluttony¡¯s child, as a token piece to acquire our forgiveness recently without our knowledge. I thought you should know.¡±


    ¡°Genua¡¯s child? The elf thrall?¡± Nephridi¡¯s eyes went wide in shock, then her face contorted into a horrified expression. ¡°Did¡­ Did Gluttony take offense?¡±


    The second priest scoffed. ¡°We intervened, apologized, and executed the priestess in front of Genua to make it very clear on our stance, The Blood God¡¯s stance, concerning Gluttony¡¯s progeny. The traitor''s head will be sent back to Riven as an apology, and the founder has decided on forgiveness concerning Allie¡¯s status as an apostate. She will be granted leniency, as long as Riven remains a loyal servant of the true path. It is not ideal to let such offenses go, but the benefits outweigh the downsides. I hear that you¡¯ve already assigned our battle priests to the expedition?¡±


    Nephridi nodded. ¡°We have a single unit of battle priests, without masters, from your order in our ranks. Over 100 strong.¡±


    The bishop nodded in approval. ¡°Good. It will be a good opportunity to spread our religion to the frontier, a rare opportunity of expansion indeed. Under your banner, of course.¡±


    The man bowed low again. ¡°I must say that I am rather hungry, and was hoping that I could try some sarak blood while I¡¯m here. I heard it was quite a delicacy. Is that true?¡±


    He shot Jeltuna a nce, and the jarak man stiffened.


    Queen Nephridi smiled. ¡°Of course! But please keep in mind that this is Riven¡¯s homeworld, and he has forbidden the ughter of his ves in favor of wanting to improve their lives. Ridiculous! I know! But we still wish to honor his wishes, especially now that he has be a reincarnation of original sin.¡±

 Chapter 257

    Chapter 257


    <strong>Chapter 257</strong>


    <em>KABLAM</em>


    An explosion lit up the small workshop Gragle and Riven were working in, the third time that day, and Riven blinked away dust with a cough to theughter of his two girlfriends at his back.


    Wiping soot off his face and spitting out dirt, then spitting onto the ground, Riven yfully red over his shoulder at the two demon women who cackled even more loudly at the absolute mess his attempt at creating Graphics had caused.


    ¡°Laugh it up you two.¡± Riven said with an eye roll as Athughed so hard she fell out of her seat, rolling on the floor while Fay wiped away tears.


    He didn¡¯t think it was THAT funny, but at least the two women he had fallen for were having a good show of it.


    Azmoth, who¡¯d been holding the new totem they¡¯d been working on together, was entirely unaffected by the st and just sighed with a shake of his head. ¡°Sad, sad, sad. Good thing you powerful mage, because you bad at this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to agree with the big guy.¡± Gragle the gnome said from behind a st shield a few feet away, looking down skeptically at the smoldering remains of Riven¡¯stest attempt where hellfire still ate away at pieces of wood on the reinforced metal table. ¡°You¡¯re really quite terrible at this.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s not very nice!¡± Riven said with a dramatic humph, folding his arms grumpily inrge part to put on a show for the two girls who continued tough. ¡°I take offense to that! Let¡¯s try again, I¡¯ll get it next time.¡±Nora, who¡¯d been out to grab some more alcohol, knocked on the door of Gragle¡¯s estate and then walked in. Snapping a look to the other two women who were still cackling, and then to Riven¡¯s ckened, soot-covered face, she couldn¡¯t help but grin in amusement as well. ¡°I see things aren¡¯t progressing too fast. Oh, and Gragle - there are some men out there looking for you. They asked me to have youe out.¡±


    The scarred gnome¡¯s face paled. ¡°Who? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s those damnable mafia guys again.¡±


    ¡°The guy¡¯s name was Ronnie? I think he was the same one from the bar. He said you had an order to fill for him.¡± Nora replied with a shrug, setting down the jugs of wins she¡¯d procured with a snort. ¡°He didn¡¯t seem too intent oning in here though.¡±


    Gragle¡¯s scowl be more prominent, and with a sigh he hopped down off his stool. ¡°Of course he doesn¡¯t want toe in here with the savior of our town around¡­ Gods damn it, I¡¯ll-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it from here, lil bro.¡± Riven got up, dusted himself off, and started to walk out the door. ¡°Just to confirm what Nora said - Ronnie was that guy who was bullying you back at the bar right?¡±


    Gragle blinked, rubbed a hand through his short ck beard, then slowly nodded. ¡°Y-Yes¡­ I owe him a lot of gold due to interest. And I¡¯m lucrative, so he¡¯s going to be resistant to letting me go. I make graphics for him to imbue into items for rare or higher tier enchantments and sigil skeletons while I pay my debt off.¡±


    ¡°You owe him gold? For what?¡± Riven asked curiously with a head tilt.


    Gragle opened his mouth to reply, then thought about it. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s for protection?¡±


    ¡°Protection from who?¡± Riven asked, brows furrowed.


    Gragle paused again. ¡°From¡­ himself? And other gangs here in the outpost.¡±


    With a click of his tongue, Riven nodded and gave Fay a kiss before yfully jabbing Ath in the side to make her squeal withughter. ¡°Alright, well I¡¯m going to go talk to him to see if I can knock some sense into him.¡±


    Before Gragle could object, Riven pushed through the door to immediatelye face to face with a man in full steel te armor - trimmed in red. It was the same knight-looking motherfucker from the bar just as Riven had expected, but the man¡¯s posture straightened when it was Riven who came out instead of the gnome. He had four other thickly-built men dressed in simr attire, each with short swords and round shields imbued with various enchantments - all of them wearing the same strange sigil of what Gragle called ¡®The Scrags Mafia.¡¯


    Apparently this guy was more invested in Gragle than Riven had thought.


    ¡°Honored savior.¡± Ronnie, the central figure said from underneath his helm. No doubt he was talking about Riven saving the town. Bowing in respect for just a moment, the other four men undertook the same gesture. ¡°I apologize, I didn¡¯t realize you were the one who was keeping our employeepany. Perhaps this is a bad time?¡±


    Riven put on a fake smile, looking left and right down the alleyway behind Gragle¡¯s house. ¡°I¡¯m afraid Gragle is preupied, I just wanted to let you know that. He says he owes you money? I was hoping that I could buy out his debt, because I¡¯ll be utilizing his skills for a good amount of time while I¡¯m here.¡±


    They stared at each other after that. Birds chirping overhead broke the silence, and Ronnie eventually cleared his throat while standing up straighter. ¡°Gragle is employed by us out of choice, not necessity. He does owe me quite a sum of Elysium Coins, but that is neither here nor there - and I don¡¯t think you¡¯d be able to buy his debt out just by how much it is he actually owes us.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow, taking note of a scrawny human man who turned the corner - saw Ronnie - and quickly scrambled away. He let out a tired sigh. Picking through his spatial sack and pulling out a hundred gold pieces from the mountain of gold he¡¯d collected off bodies after the monster swarm, he threw it to the ground with a jingling of coins. ¡°I¡¯m not giving you a choice on the matter. Leave with the money, or your guts are going to be stered along the alley walls here in the next thirty seconds.¡±


    ***


    Three quick shes of red light illuminated the alleyway, as seen from inside Gragle¡¯s workshop just a minute after Riven had left out the back door, and within seconds - the vampire entered back inside with a wide smile on his blood-flecked face. He held up both hands to Gragle, and chuckled ruthlessly. ¡°Problem solved buddy! I¡­ oh, high Genua. When did you get here?¡±


    He turned his head to where Genua had just sat down at another table off to the side. She¡¯d joined Ath, Fay, and Nora while they poured sses of wine and gave him looks tinged with different but positive emotions. Fay especially hade a long way since her arrival earlier that day, and had settled into a far calmer and more normal way of thinking about things after being in Riven¡¯s presence - seeing that he had in fact NOT changed much in terms of how he treated her.


    Despite having Gluttony as a symbiote.


    ¡°Hello, master.¡± Genua said with a small smile, standing up from her chair to bow to him in respect. ¡°I just arrived back from the Blood God¡¯s realm. I apologize if I aming at a bad time.¡±


    ¡°No, no of course not.¡± Riven said with a grin - waving her back down to her seat and joining Azmoth and Gragle at the thicker metal work-table in the center of the room. ¡°How was it? Good I hope? Did they teach you how to fight? You¡¯ve been gone hours.¡±


    Genua looked like she had something to say, but thought better of it and shook her head. ¡°Uhm¡­ Well¡­ It was alright. Interesting, certainly, but they didn¡¯t teach me how to fight just yet. It was full of lore on the religion, going over my duties as a priestess, and some other¡­ interesting topics were brought up.¡±


    ¡°Such as?¡± Riven asked, curious.


    ¡°Uhm¡­¡± Genua scratched the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. ¡°I¡¯d rather tell you in a more private setting. Also, it¡¯s been¡­ a while. I was hoping to relieve some stress as I talk about it¡­ Perhapster tonight, I can visit you to talk more? Perhaps with Fay and Ath as well?¡±


    There were a brief few moments where absolute silence enveloped the room.


    Fay nced over at the elf thrall with a raised eyebrow and a curious frown due to the way Genua had stated her question, but didn¡¯t say anything otherwise. Ath on the other hand also looked rather surprised, as Genua wasn¡¯t usually so forward about anything at all, but shrugged while she continued drinking andughing with Nora about something they¡¯d seen earlier today in the market.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Riven gave her the same expression Fay had, raising a single eyebrow, then nodded slowly. ¡°Sure¡­ That would be¡­¡±


    He nced at Fay, who shrugged, and then Ath who waved him off.


    He raised his gaze back to Genua. ¡°Should be fine?¡±


    Not sure how to take the odd shift in Genua¡¯s demeanor, he turned his attention back to the table where Gragle had set out another set of already partiallypleted graphics for Riven to take a shot at.


    Concentrating, and not yet getting the totem pieces in line until he had the graphics down again, Riven closed his eyes and began to focus on the three-dimensional skeletons of runic infernal mana hovering in the air ahead of him.


    The thing about these ¡®graphics¡¯ that Gragle was trying to conceptualize for Riven was that they were both far more basic and far more intricate than normal enchantments or inscriptions by a long shot. As contradictory as that was at first nce, it made sense when Riven got the feel for just what it was he was looking at.


    Graphics were a way to formte the magic of thought into physical concepts by utilizing the basic code of the system. So, in a way, he was building up basic enchantments or spells much in the same wayputer codes back on Earth could have been put together by numerical 1¡¯s and 0¡¯s. So it was basic in the aspect that he wasn¡¯t dealing in anything veryplex on a conceptual level, but it was far more intricate because he could make very minute and very specific changes to the ¡®code¡¯ based on an incredibly small tweak to the source code of the spell.


    Instead of 1¡¯s and 0¡¯s however, Gragle told him there were five concepts to be aware of when constructing a graphic. Three of the concepts were Re, Vo and Tin that acted like an axis to travel along when inputting source code. Based on mathematics from Riven¡¯s home, they could be conceptualized the same way an X, Y, and Z axis was made when describing a three-dimensional space. Then there were the concepts of Nun and Zika, with Nun representing orientation and affinity of a power source such as a pir orientation - and Zika representing the power of intent.


    Ro, Vo, Tin, Nun, and Zika.


    Riven was having a hard time putting it all together, but then again this was his very first day and despite all theughs his two drunk girlfriends were having at his expense - he was pretty proud of himself for grasping what he had.


    ¡°He¡¯s missing a concept, but I can¡¯t remember what it is.¡± Gluttony whispered in the back of my mind, causing me to frown in wonder at what that could be - but after further probing on the subject it was apparent that this particr bit of knowledge had been stripped from the sin by Elysium¡¯s purge.


    ¡°Regardless.¡± Gluttony continued inside my head while I started working on a new source code based on the startup Gragle had already created for me. ¡°This is good practice for us both. I¡¯m rusty. Perhaps I¡¯ll remember it if I gain some insight and inspiration while working.¡±


    ¡°One can only hope¡­¡± Riven muttered under his breath with an appreciative internal nod to Gluttony, before going back at it with the infernal burning graphics hovering ahead of him over the table.


    Adjusting Ro, Vo, and Tin - he was able to shift the 3-dimensional structure of the source code and thus change the burning markings in the air. It was all based around a central point of intent, which was marked by Zika, but it appeared Zika was also far moreplex than just being a ¡®starting point¡¯ so to speak. Riven could feel his intent on Zika from the already started graphic phase and change whenever he shifted from the concept of ¡®explosion¡¯ to the concept of ¡®solid wall¡¯ or ¡®create weapon.¡¯ Each of these conceptual changes also changed the runic markings themselves, altering Ro, Vo, and Tin slightly as they did - whereas Ro, Vo, and Tin didn¡¯t directly influence Zika in the reverse direction.


    Which was slightly puzzling.


    Changing Nun in turn caused even more dramatic changes, because it changed the pir or power source the graphic was based on. This in turn influenced all the other four concepts, but yet again did not work in the reverse. Changing Nun caused Zika, Ro, Vo and Tin to change. Changing Zika caused Ro, Vo, and Tin to change - without changing Nun. Changing Ro, Vo, and Tin had no effect on anything but themselves.


    Riven shifted between Death, Infernal, Blood, Unholy, and Shadow pirs as orientations for Nun that would cause the entire graphic to change in ways he didn¡¯t necessarily grasp just yet. Experimenting at the urging of Gragle, who said that self exploration was the best way to go about it and that he was only there to start the process and answer base questions - Riven found that infusing Nun with different levels of his affinities also caused changes to the overall structure of the graphic. He could infuse Nun affinities of 10%, 29%, 93%, 84%, or whatever he chose to do all the way up to the maximum affinity he had on a given pir. This in turn made it so that people with higher affinities in a given pir or sub pir would be able to have the most leeway for change in a graphic based on how high they infused the graphic.


    Changing from Infernal to Shadow, Shadow to Unholy, Unholy to Blood, and Blood to Death, Riven quickly found out that his Blood infusions were not only quicker than all the others - but but that he had a far more precise control on how the Ro, Vo, and Tin changes were.


    The runes flickered, changed colors, reorganized themselves, and spluttered or died in the air in front of him over and over again. And over and over again, Gragle would restart the process in front of them and scurry back to get behind his st wall with a reinforced window in the very center to watch Riven work. It was rather helpful, because the hardest part of utilizing graphics was actually starting them in the first ce - which is why Gragle¡¯s particr set of unique abilities concerning graphics was so highly valued.


    Or so the gnome said.


    But as Riven got to work, he quickly came to the realization that the gnome probably wasn¡¯t lying - as even despite Riven¡¯s high affinities, he had an incredibly hard time manifesting these graphics at all. Thankfully, they were easier to manipte whenever they actually appeared after their initial summons.


    ¡°Hand me that board, Azmoth.¡± Riven motioned over to a pile of supplies.


    Azmoth did as asked, and would be the voluntary experiment buster from time to time - activating the runes and graphics Riven created and taking much of the blow with his armored body hardly getting scratched. Due to this being a training session anyways, Riven hadn¡¯t really infused much mana into these things - rather he just wanted to get the basic concepts down so he could create REALLY deadly totemster on.


    Hours rolled on by, and immersed in his work - he only got up to give Ath and Fay a warm set of hugs before they went off to a guest bed Gragle had. The gnome and Azmoth stayed up with him as they got to work fusing pieces, odds, and ends of various totems together while infusing graphics into the objects and then utilizing them to create new and intricate runes.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve had this much fun creating graphics in quite a while!¡± Gragle mused, looking up at Riven¡¯s charred eyebrows that sizzled from another recent explosion. ¡°Though I do wish you wouldn¡¯t be so destructive in your attempts, I¡¯m running out of hardware to use for our totems you know.¡±


    Azmoth snickered, and Riven nced over at the pile of scraps he¡¯d created due to his many failures.


    ¡°Yes, well, I¡¯ll pay you back.¡± Riven muttered under his breath, getting to work on the next project. ¡°And thanks for all the help with teaching me. I appreciate it, and I won¡¯t forget it. Azmoth, hammer please.¡±


    ***


    Later that night: Genua¡¯s tales of the changes on the outside of this event disturbed Riven. Why had he not heard of the expedited changes to the world quests? The news of Greed¡¯s interference, a passage in the system notification passed on through the grapevine so to speak, particrly caused Gluttony to be irritable. Though the sin didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to talk about it right now, so Riven didn¡¯t push.


    And to be certain he hadn¡¯t been the only one out of the loop, none of his minions knew anything about it either. This meant that only a select few knew about the change in the expedited world quests, as well as the iing armies that would array themselves for different factions across the.


    Perhaps news of the world quests being reduced from 5 to 3 years woulde to the rest of Panuter - when the armies selected by Elysium actually arrived?


    Wasn¡¯t there enough killing already?


    Apparently not, ording to Elysium. For whatever reason, Riven and his sister - along with three others on the if the ¡°x5¡± remark on its notification was urate - had be prime candidates for Elysium¡¯s intended ¡®ascension¡¯.


    Whatever the fuck that meant. Though Genua said it had to deal with an abstract concept, rather than actually ascending into something one could see on a status page.


    What was even more irritating was that Riven had been rtively certain of his ability to wipe the floor with anything and everything on Panu prior until now, but if Elysium was actively going out of its way to make things challenging for him so that he and the others would be pushed to their limits¡­


    He sighed. For all he knew, he wasn¡¯t going to be the one that came out of this. Because although the stakes had been raised, his failed opportunity for ascension - should thate to pass - would be another¡¯s opportunity that had been grasped. From what Genua told him, in the words of the bishops she¡¯d spoken with, his death would grant boons of fate to the killers. They would essentially be stealing the power of his fate for themselves.


    It was all a bit irritating to think about, considering he still didn¡¯t understand what ¡®fate¡¯ even was as this was the first time he¡¯d been hearing about it as a real concept that influenced the things around him. Or, perhaps, they¡¯d just been babbling nonsense.


    ¡°You¡¯re worrying far too much about things that don¡¯t matter.¡± Gluttony whispered into Riven¡¯s head. ¡°Whatever it is thates against us, we will prevail. We will devour all that oppose our path.¡±


    Riven absentmindedly stroked Fay¡¯s long white hair while she remained lightly snoring in the crook of his arm, her warm bare body pushing up against his on the opposite side of where Athy mumbling in her sleep in a sprawled face-down position.


    He looked over at the arshakai, chuckling to himself while Ath drooled into a pillow. She always liked to cuddle while she was awake or dozing off, but nearly every time she ended up being a bed-hog after falling asleep; taking up half the god damned mattress while unknowingly pushing himself and Fay off to the side.


    Fay on the other hand was far more clingy as she slept, but not in a bad way. Whenever he¡¯d rearrange himself, he¡¯d find that she almost gravitated to him. She¡¯d even wake up if she didn¡¯t feel his touch, using him as a body pillow the majority of the nights they slept together.


    ¡°I wonder what the purpose of all this is¡­¡± Riven wondered absentmindedly, his gaze drifting down to where Genua was sitting nearby. ¡°This system¡­ Elysium¡­ Why would it care whether or not people grow in power? What¡¯s the point? What does it get out of it? And why does it prioritize some people and not others?¡±


    Genua stopped sipping on her tea, looking out the window, and sighed. "I''m not one for philosophy, so I''m afraid that those questions will have to be answered on your own Riven. Anyways I''m going to bed, good night. And thanks for the chat."

 Chapter 258

    Chapter 258


    <strong>Chapter 258</strong>


    Riven was pushing another spoon full of rich-tasting, brothy soup into his mouth after having Luke and Genua sprinkle some of their blood into it. Both his thralls were up far earlier than his demons were and the three of them were sitting around a small table over breakfast.


    ¡°So where were you all this time?¡±


    Looking to Luke, where the old elf was examining the recent wound which was already healed along his wrist - Riven waited curiously for the old man to answer.


    The elf thrall paused in thought, then grinned and gestured out the window of their booth down the road towards arge but t one story building where a bouncer could be seen outside. ¡°Spending my hard earned money at a whore house.¡±


    ¡°That entire time?¡± Riven asked, taking a sip from a cold cup of water and draining it over the next two seconds. He let out a relieved sigh due to the refreshing sensation it let off. ¡°That¡¯s a bit impressive. You missed out on a lot of the experience though. I can¡¯t grow levels here unless Iplete quests, but you all still can.¡±


    ¡°Bah!¡± Luke waved his hand dismissively at the idea of the fight, setting it onto some cheese and crackers that¡¯d been supplied by the bar next to Gragle¡¯s home. ¡°This old man is tired of fighting. I¡¯ll leave it to the youngins like you and the prettydy sitting next to us.¡±


    He gave Genua a smile, and she hesitantly returned it before taking a bite of her own bowl of soup.


    Riven ignored some of the stares he and his two thrall minions were getting, seeing that Luke wanted to say more by the hesitant way he nced up at Riven from time to time. The old man¡¯s bodynguage was also a bit off. Sighing, Riven set his spoon down into the bowl and steepled his fingers while other patrons of the pub began to settle in. ¡°Come on Luke, you and I are friends. There¡¯s no reason to hide anything. What is it that you¡¯re thinking about?¡±Pausing halfway from bringing up another set of cheese and crackers, Luke put the food back down on his te with a sigh of his own. Fidgeting somewhat, he leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms before resting his head back on his hands. ¡°You know that many of the blood priests and priestesses, or other higher ranking clergy members of The Blood God are thralls without masters. Right?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes I¡¯m aware.¡±


    The old man¡¯s eyes fell back down from the ceiling where he¡¯d been staring, and met Riven¡¯s gaze. ¡°I hold no ill will towards you, but I was hoping you¡¯d let me go. To let me be masterless. There¡¯s something that I need to do.¡±


    There was a long pause, and Genua looked over at the old man curiously without saying a word as the two men stared at one another.


    ¡°It¡¯s about my grandson, Ren.¡± Luke eventually said, eyes falling to the table when Riven didn¡¯t immediately reply. ¡°I was going to go looking for him, and if you let me go I think Elysium will kick me out of the event and send me back to Panu - based on what the locals tell me; and they know more about system events than we do. He¡¯s thest family I had before the integration began, and if I don¡¯t go now it may never happen - or I might be toote. I¡¯m not even sure he¡¯s alive, but he¡¯s a talented young man. I have to have faith. I have to find him before the rest of Panu devolves even further into war - and I¡¯m sure those announcements concerning the updated world quest timelines wille any time now. If what Genua found out from the other clergy of The Blood God¡¯s temple is true, where Greed itself is making a move to intervene against you and there will be more outsiders brought onto the, that only decreases the chances of me finding him should he be swept up in the escting violence.¡±


    Another pause.


    Riven¡¯s eyes fell, and he pushed his bowl away to rest his elbows on the table. He slowly nodded. ¡°It makes me sad to hear, but I understand. Of course I¡¯ll let you go. Do you have a n for finding him?¡±


    Genua¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and Luke¡¯s face fell into an expression of relief.


    The old man nodded. ¡°I have already put out notices in the old elvish kingdom of Tereen, and I¡¯ve made requests for information on the Panu Cortex, but haven¡¯t heard anything yet. Missing people requestse up all the time on those boards and rifling through them is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I was hoping to cross the sea, to start looking for him there. I also know he was a skilled mage in his own right and did a lot of work with constructionpanies before the integration. I was going to start looking at those. Perhaps he went back to it.¡±


    Riven paused, then pulled out arge sack of coins that he set on the table. Using paper and a pen from his dimensional back, he started scribbling on a note - then folded the parchment before handing it over to the elf along with the sack. ¡°Take this to the necropolis and talk to Dr. Brass. He¡¯ll outfit you with whatever supplies you need, will help you charter a ride to whatever continent you want to go to, and the gold will allow you to buy whatever you want within reason from the Elysium Altar or other merchants we have. Perhaps you could even hire some mercenaries, I know there are a lot of adventurers looking for work.¡±


    Blinking in surprise at the gifts, eyes widening when he saw what Riven had written on the parchment, Luke¡¯s eyes began to water. Wiping them away, sniffling, and then ncing back up at Riven - he gave the younger man a bright smile. ¡°Thank you Riven. I¡¯ll be sure to bring my grandson back if I find him.¡±


    Riven grinned. ¡°You¡¯ll always have a ce back here with us if you want it. Do you want to say goodbye to anyone else before you leave?¡±


    Luke hesitated, then clutched at the note and the bag of gold with a shake of his head. ¡°No, I think I¡¯m anxious to get going. I wasn¡¯t too close to any of your other minions anyways.¡±


    Riven''s smile faltered slightly, putting on a tinge of sadness. ¡°Alright then. Now, assuming the locals are right about what I¡¯m about to do, I suppose you should probably get going my friend. Find him soon, so that we can spar again at the manor like we used to do when time wasn¡¯t so tight.¡±


    Reaching over and putting a firm hand on Luke¡¯s shoulder, Riven nodded firmly before essing his status page.


    ¡°Tell Len that I love and miss her before you leave the city.¡± Genua said somberly, giving a half hearted smile to the old elf who then nodded in turn. ¡°And that I¡¯ll be back as soon as I can.¡±


    Luke attempted to reply, but then shut his mouth and merely gave her a shaky smile. He nodded to her, and then to Riven, before a set of notifications appeared for both the men. The next instant, Luke was gone - leaving only Genua and Riven sitting at the tableside, with the cheese and crackers Luke had been eating behind.


    <strong>[You have dismissed a thrall minion, Luke Blissfallen, from your service. You gain all willpower attributed to controlling that thrall back as free points to use on other minions. Luke Blissfallen has been banished from this world quest event now that he is no longer affiliated with you.]</strong>


    Picking up some of the cheese and popping it into his mouth, Riven slowly waved to the spot where Luke had been not long ago. ¡°Wish you luck, buddy.¡±


    Genua slowly moved her gaze to her master, who was sitting across from her. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you let him go so easily. Don¡¯t you need thralls to maintain a blood source?¡±


    ¡°Well I have you, don¡¯t I?¡± Riven asked, a bit downtrodden, looking up to meet her eyes. ¡°Unless you were wanting to leave too.¡±


    She blinked once, then twice, then sighed and put on a warm smile with a slight sideways bob to her head. Her eyes squinted in amusement, and it was the first time he¡¯d seen in a long time that she¡¯d looked genuinely happy. ¡°The fact that you¡¯d even give me a choice now makes me feel good. Appreciated, even. But no. Even if it is the effects of being your thrall, I think that we¡¯vee a long ways over the past couple months - Don¡¯t you?¡±


    Riven¡¯s lips quirked at the edges, thinking aboutst night, and he nodded. ¡°Yes. I think we have-¡±


    Riven¡¯s words were cut off as the pub ruptured down the middle in a re of cutting water des and crackling sin energy, the form of a sea serpent created from liquid and bathed in deep purple lightning tearing through Genua¡¯s abdomen in a sh of power.


    Riven¡¯s eyes went wide as he watched his thrall get cut in two, blood spraying out her side as she let out a surprised and horrified scream. Other people in the pub, along with floorboards, pieces of the walls and ceiling, and furniture were all obliterated along with her midsection - but due to Riven¡¯s own reflexes he was able to react just in time to stop the torrent of winding, watery death from crashing directly into him too.


    The water around him dissipated as his rage soared, an aura of blood and shadow roaring to the heavens as thend shook. ck lightning shed around him and focusing fire back into the direction the attack hade from - he blindly let loose a resounding st of energy high up into the air.


    What remained of the ceiling evaporated in an instant in a storm of red and ck, but he didn¡¯t take time to see whether or not he¡¯d hit the ambusher before encasing himself and Genua in a dome of red crystalized ice.


    She gasped, shaking violently as her upper body let intestines and her spine dangle from where her waist had once been. Her legs were nowhere to be seen, swept up in the flood that¡¯d killed nearly everyone else there, and her fingers wed in wide eyed panic against his chest in a silent scream.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be fine!¡± Riven hissed, reinforcing his dome of ice as another, more direct hit mmed into his position. The earth underneath him shook violently and the barrier cracked, but it held, as Riven activated his Voodoo Doll spell with a quick series of hand gestures.


    <strong>[Voodoo Doll (Blood)(Tier 2): Scan your target to map out their vessels and infuse your mana into their bloodstream. You then gain the ability to replicate their bloodstream regardless of whether or not they have extensive wounds - enabling you to keep them alive as long as their brain remains intact. You may also use this ability on hostiles to form painful blood clots. Heart attacks caused by this ability do critical strike damage. Dependent on both Intelligence(90%) and Willpower (10%) stats. Medium cooldown. This is a channeling ability and will not work if interrupted by using other spells.]</strong>


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Redirecting the blood that was pouring out of Genua¡¯s upper body like a spurting fire hydrant, he stopped her frompletely going into shock and made sure it remained oxygenated as he fed it right back into her brain.


    Gripping one of her bloody hands, he looked up into her eyes where tears were flowing down her cheeks, and frantically snapped in front of her face to get her attention. ¡°Genua, I don¡¯t know where your lower half is so you¡¯re going to have that body fusion miracle that came with your ss! Do you understand?¡±


    She only continued to gasp, looking nkly at him while continued to shudder - her hand sped in his own as yet another resounding boom toreyers off his red dome.


    ¡°GENUA!¡± Riven screamed, looking up and seeing a swirling storm of sin and water condensing overhead. ¡°I CAN¡¯T KEEP YOU ALIVE AND FIGHT WHOEVER THAT IS AT THE SAME TIME! FUCKING ACTIVATE THE-¡±


    Azmoth¡¯s ming figure blurred through the sky and mmed into whatever or whoever was attacking Riven¡¯s position, and the loud cackles of Ath were heard as she screamed: ¡°I SHOULD PLAY BASEBALL!¡±


    They¡¯d likely been woken up from the st since they¡¯d been only a few houses over, while having a nap in Gragle¡¯s ce.


    Calming slightly and grinning at what had likely been Ath throwing Azmoth like a pitcher would, he began snapping his fingers in front of Genua¡¯s pale face again on repeat. ¡°GENUA! Pay attention, get a hold of yourself! I know it hurts, but I¡¯m keeping you alive. Ok? Just concentrate on fusing with me, can you do that?¡±


    Genua rapidly blinked the tears out of her eyes, holding onto Riven¡¯s hands for dear life, and shuddered with a nod. ¡°It¡­ It hurts so badly!¡±


    ¡°I know it does!¡± Riven hissed. ¡°But the pain will likely go away if you use your body fusion technique. Can you do that? Have you done it before?¡±


    Genua hesitated. ¡°I haven¡¯t t-tried it before, but I¡­¡±


    Her eyes went wide, and she gasped. ¡°OUR CHILD!¡±


    ***


    Netithi Bluskish, the Apex ranker naga at number 6 in the power boards, cursed; and swat therge demon back to the ground in an explosion of water before taking higher to the skies again. Arge searing set of w marks through his scaled side still burned with hellfire, but it was rapidly healing due to his body¡¯s natural regenerative properties. He couldn¡¯t keep this flying ability up for very long and needed to expel tremendous amounts of water mana to do it, using the pressure it provided as a form of propulsion, but at the very least he¡¯d be able to make it to the next River before being caught even if Riven did give chase.


    Looking back down at the archdemon who was attempting to pursue him as it scrambled out of the town borders, and then ncing beyond that to where the pub had once been, he chuckled to himself while his eye prosthetic scanned the building.


    It¡¯d been a direct hit, and he wasn¡¯t entirely certain if he¡¯d actually killed the child in her womb - but at the very least it¡¯d been a decent attempt. Worst case scenario, she and Gluttony''s child would likely be severely injured and the message will have been sent. Best case scenario, both child and the mother would die.


    Greed¡¯s demonic envoy, the one who called himself ¡®The Gambler¡¯, would be pleased either way.


    ¡°We will see if all those rumors of your power are true, or bluster, vampire prince. Come and find me, or better yet - I¡¯ll be finding you again soon enough.¡±


    He let out a huskyugh. With a snap of power,rge tentacles akin to the kraken spread out all around him, and Netithi Bluskish rapidly elerated into the distance through the clouds - creating a trail through the sky with a shockwave of sin.


    ***


    An enormous bridge of dark gray stone with rolling hills of bloodied corpses marked the entrance into Negrada¡¯s demon city of Herenwa. On one side were the defending forces, mostly made up of demons and some of the stray groups of mercenaries from Brightsville that¡¯d been overly eager to get there early, illuminated by the fires of the trench under the bridge and the torches along the high city buildings - while the other side contained a swarming army of undead that had been repelled seven times over now. In the sky, battles between harpies, gargoyles, phantoms and other winged creatures shed as corpses fell like rain.


    Tre¡¯Zix of the Purple w, archdemon of the Klinac¡¯Tal n and officer in Gluttony''s legions stood tall over hisrades in the lesser hellscapes of Negrada. Hisrge pointed legs dug into the mountain of undead bodies over arge bridge entering one of the key locations in Negrada¡¯s defenses, facing off against the hordes of undead that were regrouping after thetest bloody rebuke. Other archdemons of his n, also devout followers of Gluttony, were with him and jeering orughing loudly at the pathetic attempts of their enemies while ring their insectoid wings out to either side - with a demonic, unholy touch to their textured chitin carapaces.


    Tre¡¯Zix was a hulking creature akin to that of a mutated deep-red and purple praying mantis, over ten feet tall, with a pincer-like mouth and a set of long, retracted de arms that dripped crimson droplets against his insectoid chest. His face was simr to that of a praying mantis but thinner, with narrow, yellow, catlike eyes and three curved horns sticking out of its head in a triangle formation. Four thick, armored insectoid legs had serrated des on their extensor sides, and a set of blood covered wings which also had purple des attached to the edges was disyed out to either side of hisrge body in challenge.


    ¡°COME, DUNGEON TARUS! DO NOT FALTER NOW!¡± Tre¡¯Zix crowed with a mockingugh that echoed across the rivers of hellfire to either side of the bridge, with an army of friendly forces at his back made from gargoyles, red ape-like jabob demons, satyrs, minotaurs, imps, and then other scattered breeds of lesser demons intermixed into the masses. They all stood far behind where he and his seven brothers and sisters were though, as they would only get in the way of the Klinac¡¯Tal n¡¯s ughterfest.


    And Tre¡¯Zix would not be kept from his glorious victories in Gluttony¡¯s name. If the forces of Negrada got in his way to try and steal his kills, he would simply throw them off the bridge; into the depths on either side of the choke point he and the other archdemons now stood on.


    ¡°COME!¡± He roared again, with the cking of hisrades on either side - their mandibles gnashing, wings ring, and blood-bathed scythes glinting in the light of the hellfire rivers. ¡°OR IS THAT FEAR I SENSE?! I CHALLENGE ALL OF YOUR BROOD, ALL OF YOUR LEGIONS, ALL OF YOUR ARMIES TO MEET THE EIGHT OF US HERE ON THIS BRIDGE SO THAT WE MAY SHOW YOU THE MANY GLORIES AND HORRORS OF WAR!!!¡±


    His seven n mates screamed their approval, all eight of the archdemons ring with power that boomed in a shockwave of challenge - out across the hordes of mulling undead that had invaded Dungeon Negrada from another subsection of hell. Dungeon Tarus had pushed far into Dungeon Negrada¡¯s second level by now, wiping the first levels entirely clean, but they¡¯de to an abrupt stop when Gluttony¡¯s forces had arrived to wreak havoc in their old stomping grounds.


    But Tre¡¯Zix, along with some of his n, were only a few of the groups now manifesting to power level under the banner of Gluttony. Seventeen more defensive points had been selected with telepathicmunication keeping their officers in contact with one another in case reinforcements needed to arrive, and forces from Brightsville in the form of other FRIENDLY undead had bolstered the battlefront in an absolute rebuke of this invasion. Tre¡¯Zix was personally responsible for one such regiment which was currently marching here after Negrada had been mass-hiring them as mercenaries through the guild systems, though it was more of a babysitting job for Tre¡¯Zix than anything else. Tre¡¯Zix wasn¡¯t necessarilymanding Brightsville¡¯s regiment, that was the duty of the officers General Bruner had selected, but the archdemons felt it was their duty to oversee these battles at least it an extent so that Gluttony¡¯s new forces would be able to grow at a faster and safer rate.


    As long as they didn¡¯t deprive him of his choke-point kills that is. They could fire spells and projectiles from behind his position. After all, he needed to power level and he was in many ways doing them a favor by saving their sorry hides from dying this day.


    ¡°DEMON SCUM!¡± A voice boomed out from the roiling hordes of undead. Between ruined buildings and the wreckage of the city beyond, a huge explosion of death mana rocked the ground and shattered the ruins around the point of detonation in sprays of debris. Hundreds of undead were annihted in an instant, with more falling just afterwards, as arge humanoid figure stepped out with power roaring about his figure.


    It was a death knight with two skulled heads, each one ring out at Tre¡¯Zix with balls of neon teal me for eyes. A huge ymore wreathed with the trapped bodies of screaming ghosts and wraiths screamed, echoing power as the spirits tried to escape and giving therge de a ghostly-gray coloring that shifted and writhed around it. A single intentionally shattered pentagram wasid out across the huge ck chestte of the death knight¡¯s te armor, with the image of a scythe crossing it at a diagonal oveid on top.


    The horde of undead creatures of varying species reeled back from the skeletal champion as he stomped forward to the edge of the bridge with a hiss and cackle from his two respective heads. Lifting his enormous weapon and causing the air to shake with another fluctuation of his mighty aura, the being called out to Tre¡¯Zix with malice oozing off his words. ¡°DEMON ABOMINATION! IT IS KNOWN THAT WE WHO WALK THE PATH OF DEATH ARE ABOVE YOUR KIND, THOSE WHO CLING TO YOUR NETHER REALMS TO CODDLE YOUR YOUNG LIKE THE WEAK COWARDS YOU HAVE DEVOLVED INTO! THIS CLEANSING OF NEGRADA CANNOT BE STOPPED, IT CANNOT BE CHANGED, AND DUNGEON TARUS ALONG WITH HIS COALITION OF ALLIED DUNGEONS WILL SEE TO IT THAT ALL OF YOUR CORPSES END UP ON OUR DINNER PLATES THIS NIGHT!¡±


    The death knight shot his left arm out, and a massive tower shield rushed from a pocket dimension to his calling - mming into the bridge and causing it to shudder under the strike. ¡°I CHALLENGE YOU, BUG DEMON OF NEGRADA, SO THAT I MAY HAVE YOUR DECAPITATED HEAD AS A CUP TO DRINK FROM AFTER THIS WAR IS WON! FACE ME IN ONE ON ONE COMBAT, AND WE WILL SEE WHO IS SUPERIOR HERE IN THE DEPTHS OF HELL!¡±


    The cheers and roars of the undead horde echoed like a tidal wave from the opposite side of the bridge, while Negrada¡¯s forces stoically watched to see what Tre¡¯Zix would do. This particr death knightmander had already in many of Negrada¡¯s champions in this same exact duel setting, and though it wasn¡¯t something one had to ept - the death knight was an even bigger menace on the bigger battlefield. There he could utilize recent kills of his own make to strengthen his sword by absorbing their souls, many of which had already been added to the collection of trapped wraiths and ghosts fluttering along his sword.


    Despite the confidence of the enemy and the wariness of his other allies, Tre¡¯Zix began tough alongside the others of his n. Theirughter heightened and continued to rise until he had reached a hysterical state.


    The demon called out above the ruckus. ¡°YES!!! THIS IS WHAT I CAME FOR!¡±


    Wiping one arm over his face to get rid of a tear, Tre¡¯Zix brandished his two scythe-like des and jumped off the mountain of bodies to m further onto the huge bridge. Just like when the death knight had mmed his tower shield into the thick metal, so too did Tre¡¯Zix¡¯snding cause the bridge to shudder under his impact. ring his wings out to either side and opening his mandibles wide to reveal three writhing, pronged tongues each the size of a human arm, he began circling the death knight while his n members continued tough.


    ¡°It has been some time since I¡¯ve had anyone brave enough to challenge me in a one on one duel! Aside from Lillith, that is!¡± Tre¡¯Zix called out while the two-headed death knight got into a defensive stance. ¡°It appears that my brood and I, and perhaps even most of the others of our order have been long forgotten due to the passage of time. So much so that a babe in the eyes of the multiverse such as yourself would so confidently rush to his death!¡±


    He cocked his head to the side with an amused chuckle when the death knight shed forward in a zing ball of ck and teal mes. ¡°PERHAPS IT IS TIME TO REMIND EVERYONE OF JUST WHO I AM!¡±


    Tre¡¯Zix mmed his two scythes directly into the bridge in front of him, and fissures split through the deep metal with waves of kic force that reached the sky. They blurred ahead and shattered the death knight¡¯s armor, taking off both arms of themander only a split second before Tre¡¯Zix moved to nk the undead.


    Before the death knight even had time to stumble forward, armless, Tre¡¯Zix¡¯s pronged tongues crashed into the skulls of his enemy - drawing him back into the mandibles with a resounding crunch as his scythe arms criss-crossed so fast that the very air around them was sucked into a billowing cyclone.


    The duel was over before it even started.


    Bone, metal, and what little flesh the death knight had left all crashed into the floor as Tre¡¯Zix screamed in victory to the roars of hisrades. Then, turning to the hordes beyond, his yellow eyes began to glow. After images of his form tore out of his position as he collided with the nearest clump of skeletons, liches, and ghouls; and like a frenzied storm of sharp steel he began to tear apart the enemy army.

 Chapter 259

    Chapter 259


    <strong>Chapter 259</strong>


    ¡°Into a bloody oblivion.¡± Gluttony stated sourly, watching as their mana tugged Genua¡¯s lower and upper halves together while both Fay and the blood priestess herself cast healing abilities in the forms of Dark Pact and Transfusion Zone. ¡°That is where the child would have gone if I¡¯d let your careless, carefree attitude take it from us. You may be strong in the eyes of these lesser beings, Riven, but you are nowhere near the point of infallibility. Not even with me. I truly hope that Elysium¡¯s attempts to increase the difficulty of these trials even further is true, so that you may learn a lesson in humility. And I hope that lessones before it is toote.¡±


    Swirling auras of red, ck and green, manifestations from the two area-of-effect zones from Riven¡¯s two contracted minions, shed around them. At the epicenter of it all, Gluttony¡¯s maw produced a bloody womb from the depths of the abyss - holding it back out to Genua¡¯s body to ce it back inside her as the flesh knitted itself back together.


    Riven stood silently, meeting the invisible gaze of Gluttony upon him while taking the criticism in stride. His fists clenched, and his eyes became downcast as the healing powers ended. ¡°I apologize.¡±


    ¡°Do not apologize to me, Riven. Apologize to Genua¡¯s child. To our child. The child that bears not only your blood, but my own now that we are one being.¡± Gluttony¡¯s vertical maw gritted its teeth in apparent agitation. ¡°This has highlighted a problem that I was already meaning to speak to you about. Far too often you are caught off guard by way of stealth. Throughout your battles, over and over again, it is assassins and acts of subterfuge that pose the greatest threat. We do not know if that mage was truly an assassin or not, but the fact still remains that you are rather pathetic in the face of hidden knives and hidden attacks - despite your tremendous potential for mana control. You are an unbnced scale, one that needs fixing.¡±


    Riven failed to meet the eyes of his minions, with Ath and Azmoth having just returned to remain silent on the outskirts of the devastated building. Fay was keeping her head bowed low in reverence to the visage of the maw, and Genua was still recovering on the floor after having her body put back together.


    There was a long silence, and Riven could feel his bonded sin¡¯s irritation subside.


    ¡°You have potential, you merely need to focus on reaching it. I will let you dwell on your shorings, so that you may think of your own methods to fix this problem of yours.¡± Gluttony eventually said with a growl. ¡°Perhaps making you think about it will give you better insight on the ideas that I myself have. Regardless of what youe up with, remember that my chastisement is meant to make you grow. Perhaps this next quest Elysium has in store for us will shed light on how you are not the height of power either. We will see.¡±


    The rip in space shattered, and the visage of Glutony¡¯s maw vanished with it in a split second. The shroud of mana that¡¯d hidden Gluttony¡¯s presence from onlookers also crumbled.Behind Gluttony¡¯s point of exit, another system message was left in the maw¡¯s wake.


    <strong>[Riven¡¯s Quest #2 of The Altars of Despair and Hope: </strong>


    <strong>A piece of the multiverse, taken out of the Narwali Sector of Universe 16, has been transported to this territory. Inside it you will find one of a few portals here in these Chalgathi trials that lead into The Abyssal Descent, and three ticket-holders who are waiting to enter. Kill a ticket holder, or barter for it, before the portal fully opens in 3 hours.</strong>


    <strong>The Abyssal Descent, a monumental event that only happens every 300 years, is being hosted starting today. It is meant to help forge thettice meant to transcend into E-grade, and helps give insight into the way of ascension.</strong>


    <strong>Young elites of numerous factions across the multiverse still within the F-grade will be able to participate, as long as they hold true to any pirs associated with the Unholy foundation. Use your status page to find the option to teleport in. You will be escorted via Elysium¡¯s own power into this trial within a trial where only those touched by unholy power may be found. Death in this trial will not result in permanent death despite being hosted on an outer world, but will disallow any re-entering of the descent at any time. Sessfullypleting The Abyssal Descent will result in 50 event points. Completing in the top 100 contenders will result in 300 event points. Completing this event in the top 5 contenders will result in 1000 event points. Finishing first will result in 3000 event points. Any other cultists of Unholy affiliation who enter this trial within a trial will also have a 1000% damage boost increase when attacking you or your minions.</strong>


    <strong>Unlike other participants in this outer trial, you will be able toe and go between The Abyssal Descent and The Altars of Despair and Hope at will via your status page.</strong>


    <strong>Total Event Points Already umted: 39]</strong>


    ***


    It took a while for Genua to calm down, with Ath and Fay doing most of the consoling as she sobbed in the back corner of the room in Gragle¡¯s small house. The shock of being ripped in half, and then nearly having lost their child, was weighing heavily on her. Meanwhile, Riven was contemting Gluttony¡¯s words. The lecture wasn¡¯t meant to be malicious, but rather insightful, and the more Riven thought about it - the more he realized that Gluttony was right.


    Had he done anything wrong?


    Not necessarily when you looked at it from a two-dimensional perspective. But Gluttony had hit it right on the mark when he scrutinized his actions more closely. Riven had becent in his own power as ofte, having wiped the floor with numerous high powered individuals on Panu and even having cleaned shop with two off-world invading forces and the Azag hive cluster to boot. Yet here he was, nearly having lost his first unborn child if Gluttony hadn¡¯t stepped in.


    Even the anger he felt towards the unknown assant was on the backburner, taking a second seat to the anger that was directed inwards instead.


    He would improve.


    He would learn from this.


    He would figure out a way to make up for his weaknesses, would fix hisckadaisical attitude and his superiorityplex that¡¯d so recently developed, and would sharpen his senses. A spark of insight triggered in his mind, but then the shing ping of a location marker burned into his head across the span of many miles at his left.


    Setting a recall marker here in Outpost #84 on his status page, for whenever he wanted to return to this ne from whatever hell he was about to find himself in next, he motioned to his minions. ¡°I apologize for the callousness, but we need to leave now.¡±


    His eyes met Genua¡¯s, where she was being held by Fay, and she sniffled with a nod while Ath finished up her patchwork repair of The Blood God¡¯s clergy outfit.


    ¡°Riven.¡± A feminine voice turned him around, where he saw Nora Lang in ck leathers with dual-wielding des on either hip. She folded her arms, and disyed a notification screen of her own that matched his. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be nosey, but if you¡¯re traveling to that beacon out East - would you mind taking me along? It appears that Elysium may be pairing us up again, and I was hoping that we could enter the Abyssal Descent together.¡±


    Riven nodded, ignoring the stares of many of the townsfolk who¡¯d gathered around nearby to watch or work on repairs. Some of them even red his way, after having lost family members in the attack on the pub, but no one said anything or used him of fault. Not that he¡¯d necessarily me them, he¡¯d be upset too, but he hadn¡¯t been the one to strike them down either.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Riven said nonchntly, reaching out a hand to ce on her shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll leave in a few minutes. Gragle?¡±


    The scarred gnome, who¡¯d been standing on the outskirts of the onlookers, came forward with a wary side eye. ¡°Yes?¡±


    Riven held out his hand. ¡°I expect you can continue to improve that totem for me while I¡¯m gone? I¡¯ll pay well.¡±


    The eyes of the gnome lit up with a gleeful expression, and he hastily nodded to take Riven¡¯s hand. ¡°Of course! Of course. How long will you be gone?¡±


    Riven shrugged, letting go of the gnome and folding his arms. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll probably check in from time to time because Elysium allowed me to set a recall point here in town, so probably not too long. Have you ever heard of ¡®The Abyssal Descent¡¯? That¡¯s where we¡¯re headed.¡±


    Immediately the eyes of numerous onlookers shot back to him, some gaping, and others trying to mask ill-concealed jealousy.


    Gragle just gawked. ¡°You have an opportunity to acquire a ticket into the Abyssal Descent? Are you sure? Here? How is that even possible, while you¡¯re already inside another system event?¡±


    Riven and Nora shared nces. ¡°I don¡¯t really know¡­? Elysium has taken pieces of all sorts from different areas across the multiverse to ce here in this Apocalypse Beasts questline, and I get the feeling there will likely be opportunities like this one scattered around from time to time. Why? Is it good?¡±


    ¡°Is it GOOD he says!?¡± Gragle said, ck jawed. He red at the demonic minions and pointed a grubby finger at them in a hastily made gesture. ¡°Have you not asked them?! Of COURSE it is a good opportunity! It is a roadmap for any F-grade being on the Unholy path for creating a high quality E-grade soulttice! A soulttice is required to ascend from F-grade into the E-grade, and will determine your future potential growth! Doing it wrong means you grow more slowly, while creating a good one means you can progress through the E-grade far faster! I cannot believe you got such an opportunity in an integration phase such as this!¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    Gragle sighed, shaking his head and rubbing his temples. ¡°To think¡­ Usually events such as this cost even the wealthiest of families tremendous amounts of money to acquire tickets from Elysium. Did the system at least make you BUY the tickets?¡±


    Riven frowned more deeply. ¡°No. I have to travel to a certain location to kill the ticket holders, or I have to barter for the tickets to acquire ess when the portal opens in three hours. Same goes for Nora.¡±


    ¡°THREE HOURS!?¡± The gnome gasped. ¡°THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! Riven, I don¡¯t know who or what you are to get such an opportunity but despite who you may have to kill - you need to acquire those tickets! The path of cultivation is a long and hard one, and you cannot let an opportunity like this pass you by! Go, and go now! I will see you when you get back. And one more thing!¡±


    Gragle held up a hand to stop Riven¡¯s departure, and he put on a silly grin. ¡°Will you pay extra for duplicates of the upgraded totem you have provided for me?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow from underneath his hood, red eyes glinting. ¡°If you manage to duplicate that totem and make them better than what they are now, then yes. I¡¯ll pay very well for them.¡±


    ¡°How much?¡± Gragle asked, grin growing wider. He stepped forward, eyes flicking about to make sure none of the onlookers could hear him while diving his voice into a whisper. ¡°The materials alone will cost me quite a sum, and I¡¯ll have to substitute for things that aren¡¯t avable here at an increased cost from the shops we have in town. No doubt they¡¯ll be even more expensive as scavengers realize this newndscape doesn¡¯t have the same types of materials avable, and until our identifiers are able to make out what new materials are actually useable in totem crafting. Perhaps a small fee of one hundred thousand F-grade Elysium Coins per totem?¡±


    Riven lifted an eyebrow.


    ¡°Forbor as well, including my integration of graphics to each!¡± Gragle pressed more hesitantly. ¡°I know it seems like a lot, but you won¡¯t find almost anyone on any given capable of producing graphics like I can!¡±


    Catching Ath¡¯s nod, Riven let out a sigh and looked into his spatial sack to see just what the current number was at after all his battles and looting over the past nine months hade down to. All the monsters he and his minions had in, the dungeons raided, the enemies killed - all the coins he¡¯d collected during that time.


    It amounted to a staggering twenty-two million.


    His eyes lifted, and after mentally selecting three-hundred thousand coins. To his surprise, the sum came up as a small disc, rather than a pile of money, with the number etched into the tinum surface in turn.


    That was odd.


    Gragle¡¯s eyes bulged and he quickly took it, stuffing it into his own spatial sack like a mantis-strike while rubbing his hands together eagerly. ¡°This will do! I¡¯ll have three prepared for you within a few weeks. Come back then, and we can talk more business!¡±


    Riven gave him a thumbs up, then turned to Genua. ¡°We¡¯re leaving. Genua, use body fusion to merge with Fay so the flight there isn¡¯t inhibited by needing to carry you. We¡¯ll talk more after we arrive.¡±


    ***


    A mile-wide tform of ck metal floated far above the ground just above the peak of a mountain, where three individuals stood around a system-made warp gate that was just now beginning to light up with energy along the outer perimeter. The circr structure was made of unholy mana rather that anything physical, but the runes inscribed into its perimeter were a dark green color rather than the darker backdrop.


    Gentry¡¯s guard was up, his face just as sour as the rest of the ticket holders while they waited for the portal to open. There was only twenty minutes left before the portal into The Abyssal Descent opened, and given Elysium¡¯s updates they¡¯d be able to go back home to the Narwali sector if none of these integration-stage idiots showed up.


    He could only hope they didn¡¯te. His family, despite being a major noble house of his kingdom, had used up their entire savings and political favors to garner one of these tickets - an investment in his future as the heir of their estate. He was confident in his abilities to fight, but then again so was any potential candidate that entered the descent. You had to be, or you were a fool for even trying, and not one single candidate that was given an opportunity to descend was a pushover.


    Lacing a hand through his long white hair and letting out a long breath he didn¡¯t know he¡¯d been holding in, his drow features scrunched up when he caught sight of something bursting through the clouds on the horizon. His hand came down to rest on the intricate jade scimitar on his hip - while his gold-trimmed dark blue cultivators robes swirled around him amidst a surge of chaos energy.


    His counterparts, two other drow men of even higher standing than himself, drew out their own des and summoned protective jade armors to await the arrival of whatever wasing.


    And as the clouds distorted like ripples on a pond, the sky split with a crack of power as a figure shed forward with a burst of momentum.


    The ck tform rocked underneath the impact, sending up a cloud of metal shrapnel under thending that left a trench behind the man until he came to a stop. Gentry¡¯s purple eyes widened slightly as he took the man in, and his grip around the scimitar at his waist only grew more firm.


    This man was still supposed to be in F-grade if he wanted to enter the descent, so why was there so much energy fluctuating around him? This kind of power was only supposed to be felt well into the E-grade, and yet¡­


    Gentry absentmindedly gulped and took a step back. ¡°Just what kind of integration phase has a participant like this?¡±


    Ahead of him, a man zing with the power of hellfire tore himself out of the self-made crater. Writhing ribbons of blood and shadow interrupted the outpour of mes as well, with a vertical maw splitting the chest ting of his armor and tworge horned pauldrons on either shoulder. Red and ck eyes peered back at the three men near the portal one at a time, before a third vertical eye of purple light ripped open across his forehead to re out with even greater intensity.


    The two other drow didn¡¯t even give the neer time to speak before they dashed ahead, blurring forward with tremendous speed as they activated protective sigils along their intricate jade armors and utilized speed-enhancing abilities to clear the distance.


    A jade ymore sparking with chaos swung down from the left, and a jade spear encased in blood rippled through the air with a sonic boom towards the neer¡¯s throat.


    Gentry watched, and his eyes went wider when the man¡¯s body vanished only to appear ten steps ahead of him through a rip in space. With speed that defied thews of physics, his own spear-staff lunged forward to take the spear-wielder in the chest.


    The man¡¯s jade armor cracked and he was sent sprawling across the tform in a tumble of curses, before the other drow scion shed forward again with the visage of a towering demon at his back. Hellfire engulfed his body and he swung his sword down, the visage of the winged demon following his motion with a roar as magma and me was sent out in a vertical wave that caused the air to hiss due to the heat.


    The wave smashed against a wall of crimson ice, then crashed through it only to meet the snapping jaws of a red jackal that crashed down onto the attack in an instant. The spell was dispersed, and through the shockwave the three-eyed man burst forward with his rippling ck weapon pointed at the drow warrior.


    Three consecutive strikes quickly connected between spear-staff and ymore as the drow scion batted the attacks aside, only for hundreds of spinning des made from ck-red energies to bloom in the air around him. In an instant, they crashed into jade armor protecting his body in a cacophony of tearing, lurching attacks that sent sprays of blood in all directions.


    It was akin to watching an animal go through a meat grinder, and the sttered remnants of the drow warrior hit the floor as the burning man turned to Gentry with narrowed eyes.


    They stared at each other wordlessly, Gentry¡¯s hand gripping the handle of his scimitar with even, steady breaths despite the building fear he felt, and he let out a sigh of relief when the other man turned around to retrieve a shing, glowing tablet that hovered over the other scion¡¯s body.


    ¡°So this is the ticket¡­¡± The armored man said from underneath his hooded helmet, casually turning it around in his hand. He turned back to Gentry, and then to the other remaining scion who had a deep gash in the chestte of his jade armor. ¡°I¡¯ll be needing one more.¡±


    Further up in the clouds, two more figures slowly descended towards the tform above the mountain¡¯s peak. One was a woman who had the same style and make of hood as the first man, d in dark leathers and wielding two thin des in either hand as she was set down by the third figure. This third figure in turn was some kind of demon, probably a subus - and she was carrying the other woman down on their descent.


    Blue skin was sttered with patches of tanned white, like the spots of a cow, with eyes that had two sets of irises - one ck and one red in each eyeball set side by side. Circlets of swirling blood divinity encased her ankles, wrists, and neck, while two ck horns sprouted out of her head near pointed ears. A long slender ck tail was also present, alongside a pair of ck demonic wings, with flowing white and blonde hair that was mix-and-mashed like she¡¯d dyed it to be that way. Otherwise she wore a purple witch¡¯s hat, along with long leather-made and feathered boots, and a purple skirt that showed off her thighs.


    And when the demonic woman spoke, her voice sounded like it was oveid by two voices speaking at once. ¡°This form is rather nice. We may stay this way for some time, it would help in our own insights while here. Two minds working together is better than one.¡±


    Pulling out a book that red with abnormally potent unholy energies, the woman started flipping through the pages - and he palmed a family artifact in his pocket that worked the same way an identifier¡¯s ss would to a lesser extent. Gentry¡¯s breath caught in his chest when he began to identify it out of curiosity¡¯s sake.


    <strong>[Viper Grimoire of Curses and Schemes (Unholy Specialization Grimoire, Unique): +129% mana regeneration when held. +9% damage to all curses when held. Binding this grimoire and adding a single one of your curses to its pages, you will decrease the cooldown time on your chosen curse by 10% while simultaneously allowing for spontaneous evolution options of that curse with insights drawn from the Unholy Foundational Pir and its rted sub-pirs. Spontaneous evolutions will ur as the grimoire actively writes out different variations of the curse across its pages with random trial and error experiments in an internal, limited ne. Evolution options will ur in the form of insights once a breakthrough is made.]</strong>


    Gentry blinked away his growing greed and surprise, then began to identify each of them in turn. What he saw made him very curious and simultaneously stumped. He didn¡¯t know whether or not tough, or whether or not to be afraid. Should he attack and take the grimoire for himself? Finding such a treasure was a boon that he shouldn¡¯t pass up, and he had no doubt after giving a sideways nce that the other drow scion was no doubt thinking the exact same thing.


    <strong>[???, Level 56 Subus-High Elf Chimera, Thrall Priestess of the Blood God.]</strong>


    <strong>[Nora Lang, Level 113, Shadow de Duelist. ???. ELITE.]</strong>


    Level 56 and 113? What in Elysium¡¯s name were these two doing - attempting to get into the Descent? They¡¯d be destroyed mercilessly! The thought was actuallyughable!


    A wide smirk set upon his face, and relief swept over him. But when he finally took time to identify the ming man who¡¯d demanded another ticket, Gentry¡¯s ns of potentially taking the grimoire by force quickly died in his guts. His hands began to shake, and he visibly paled - stepping back involuntarily as his breaths became quick and short.


    <strong>[???, Level 200 ???, ???, Pureblooded Vampire, ???. MYTHIC. ???.]</strong>


    The burning purple mes of the man¡¯s MYTHIC status made Gentry want to vomit, and he literally began to feel sick. Nearly everyone entering the descent was considered at least ¡®ELITE¡¯ by the system. It was even expected. asionally some of the greatest scions of the multiverse would send ¡®LEGENDARY¡¯ tier offspring into the descent as well, but most often they had artifacts or dao treasures to hide their LEGENDARY tag and affiliated red mes entirely so they weren¡¯t targeted or mobbed by groups that worked together to secure higher footholds on the descent¡¯s progressdder. However, Gentry had only heard of the MYTHIC tag in old stories. He hadn¡¯t even thought it to be real, much less to see one in person here and nowing from an integration world of all ces. If it HAD been real, he¡¯d have expected it toe from one of the ruling ns of the multiverse rather than see it here.


    Just what kind of monster was he looking at, to have acquired the kind of raw power and potential for such abel by Elysium?


    Fortunately for Gentry though, the other drow either didn¡¯t have an identifying artifact of high enough quality that could identify this man as a MYTHIC tagged individual - or he hadn¡¯t bothered to do so after seeing the quality of the grimoire the subus hybrid had in hand. Greed took hold of the young scion as he vanished entirely, only to have afterimages numbering in the dozens rush the vampire as his true body appeared right next to the demon.


    Gentry could only watch in awe as a giant ck maw full of teeth opened up behind the jade-covered drow, pulling the screaming man in with tendrils of sin, before snapping shut and crunching down on the man¡¯s midsection in a spray of blood.

 Chapter 260

    Chapter 260


    <strong>Chapter 260</strong>


    ¡°Gentry.¡± The man said, slowly taking Riven¡¯s outstretched hand and warily eyeing the other demons stepping out of their portals. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ a warlock? A summoner? It isn¡¯t often you see true battlemages before the C-grades, but after watching your brief fight I¡¯m not sure whether your strength and speed are your focus - or whether it is your magic.¡±


    Riven chuckled at the ufortable dark elf in gold-trimmed blue robes, and shrugged. ¡°Does it matter? The better question is what do you know about this ¡®Abyssal Descent¡¯ we¡¯re about to take? There are only minutes left and I¡¯m rather curious about the details.¡±


    Gentry¡¯s purple eyes flitted to the nearby corpses of the two other drow warriors, or what was left of them on the floating mile-wide tform, as Ath and Azmoth went to pick up the spacial bags and whatever materials they could salvage from the dead. ¡°You really don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in the integration phase, remember?¡± Riven winked good-naturedly despite the man¡¯s difort. ¡°My hasn¡¯t even entered the true multiverse yet. It¡¯s still shrouded by Elysium¡¯s protections.¡±


    The dark elf scowled, looking down at Riven¡¯s armor, the ancient unreadable tattoos of unholy make scattered across his face where the helmet had been removed, and then to therge sin-afflicted weapon that had actively flowing streams of blood running along the dark metal. ¡°For an integrationbeled, you sure do have quite the set of equipment¡­ Equipment that would bankrupt any F, E, or D-grade faction in an instant should they attempt to buy it at a fair price. And I don¡¯t even know how it¡¯s possible to acquire the mythic title and can¡¯t remember there ever being one in our sector of the gxy.¡±


    ¡°Which gxy?¡±


    ¡°Narwali sector of the Cheshish gxy in Universe 16. Not that it means anything to you, but your universe isbeled 78 if you¡¯re in the integration phase right now. Integration is mostlyplete, and within the next ten thousand years - Elysium should be moving on to universe 79 wherever it may be.¡± Gentry¡¯s free hand hesitantly settled into his pockets, curiously studying Riven through squinted eyes. ¡°Just who are you?¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrow raised, and he put a hand around Gen-Fay¡¯s waist to pull her close, which is what he was calling thebined bodies of Genua and Fay until they decided to un-merge. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±¡°What do you MEAN what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Gentry asked, exasperated. ¡°Are you a nt?¡±


    ¡°I certainly don¡¯t think I grow leaves, no.¡±


    Gentry snapped his fingers in irritation. ¡°You certainly know that¡¯s now what I meant!¡±


    ¡°I definitely meant ¡®what is that supposed to mean¡¯, and I certainly don¡¯t know that¡¯s not what you meant.¡±


    ¡°Stop it!¡±


    Riven chuckled as the amusement from Gluttony rose in turn. ¡°Fine. But in all seriousness, I don¡¯t know what you meant by am I a ¡®nt.¡¯¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a term some people use to describe older factions who breed younglings and ce them on pre-integrated worlds in anticipation of Elysium integrating the soon. An easy way to conquer worlds.¡± Ath called out, walking towards him in her rogue outfit of ck and red leathers made in part from her own bloodsilk - hooded and cloaked. Her red eyes scoured the drow, before handing Riven a spatial sack. ¡°Very rarely does it work, because Elysium usually punishes both the faction attempting to cheat the rules - and it usually executes the nt as well.¡±


    Riven hummed thoughtfully at the idea, then shook his head and thanked Azmoth when therge demon came over to hand the other drow¡¯s sack in turn. Putting them both in his own, he closed it shut and flicked his gaze to where the portal arch was starting to rotate. ¡°I¡¯m no nt. Not an intentional one, anyway.¡±


    Gentry¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°Not intentional? That¡¯s¡­ an odd way to answer. So you ARE affiliated with another force then?¡±


    Riven shrugged. ¡°Perhaps. Why does it matter?¡±


    Gentry gestured to the two remnants of drow bodies nearby. ¡°Because despite how much I genuinely hated those two self-centered idiots, they were my ticket into an ally enve. Without them, I¡¯m devoid of any real connections.¡±


    He red back at Riven, and then to Nora who was flippantly waving around the other token Riven had acquired for her. ¡°And they were also my teammates for descending into the lower levels.¡±


    Azmoth snickered, folding all four of hisrge wed arms over his chest. ¡°Bad team mate, let Riven kill all without help fight.¡±


    ¡°He makes a good point.¡± Gen-Fay said, the two feminine voices ovepping with one another.


    Sighing, and ring, Gentry lifted his hand and facepalmed, before dragging that hand over his face with a defeated look. ¡°Alright, how about this. I¡¯ll tell you all I know about the event, and in turn you¡¯ll escort me to my sister¡¯splex on the third floor down. She and I aren¡¯t close, in fact I haven¡¯t ever even met her, but she¡¯s been there for the past 600 years andst two cycles. She¡¯ll know who I am after I take the bloodborn test, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll have some advice on how to go about this.¡±


    Riven, who¡¯d been listening intently up until this point, blinked rapidly in confusion and scratched the back of his head with a wed gauntlet. ¡°Uhm¡­ Did I hear you right? Your sister has been there for 600 years? Two cycles of 300 years each?¡±


    Gentry raised his own eyebrow, unamused. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s what I said. Some cultivators stay in this ce far into the E-grade even after their soulttice ispleted. Why?¡±


    Pausing and not knowing how to proceed with that information, Riven clicked his tongue a couple times and stared up at the sky. ¡°Well¡­ how old are you exactly?¡±


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m 192 years old.¡±


    Riven nearly choked. ¡°You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re more than 30.¡±


    Gentry did not reply, only continued to stare.


    Clearing his throat, Riven continued. ¡°And you¡¯re just now hitting level 200?¡±


    Gentry¡¯s face darkened, and his hand reached for his de before taking a quick hiss of air into his lungs - letting the anger go. ¡°Are you insulting me, vampire? Unlike some races, the drow do not go around butchering others for their meat. Nor am I on a that is full of opportunities that an integration could provide, with wars between our ns only seldoming. That may be a foreign concept to you, but that is the reality of it.¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t you have beasts or animals to fight for leveling?¡± Riven pressed, still curious.


    Gentry¡¯s mouth opened, closed, opened, closed, and then opened again before speaking in quick irritated clips. ¡°My mother was sick and my father was gone for quite some time. I was needed to rule over our house in his absence and prioritized my mother¡¯s care over my own sess. Laugh at me like all the others do if you wish, but my familyes before my personal gain.¡±


    It was almost a challenge, and the man¡¯s purple eyes red angrily while ring Riven down. However, Riven¡¯s response was not one the drow elf could have guessed.


    ¡°That¡¯s very admirable.¡± Riven said calmly, even giving the other man a smile and a small bow. ¡°It speaks well of your character. I did not mean offense. I would be more than happy to escort you to your sister¡¯s estate wherever it may be. Now, could you tell me more about this event? We¡¯d all be very appreciative of any help you gave us.¡±


    ***


    The backstory of The Abyssal Descent was wrapped inyers of folklore and legend, ording to Gentry, and Riven¡¯s demons knew a little bit about it - though not nearly as much as the drow did.


    The general consensus was that Elysium itself had sequestered a piece of the Abyss, which was the deepest and darkest part of the Void, and utilized the rich, naturally unholy environment for cultivation purposes. It handed out tickets as prizes for various other events or aplishments, and prioritized people who showed the most promise for growth in the future. The Abyss was the same ce where Gluttony itself had been imprisoned, along with all the other sins and even themandments, and was in most cases incredibly hard to reach or leave. But under the controlled hand of Elysium¡¯s own insights, it was also an incredible experience to undertake for any potential Unholy-Foundation user.


    Which is why Gentry¡¯s sister had opted to stay for a couple extra centuries, sculpting her soul skeleton for the D-grade in secluded cultivation before leaving - even though she¡¯d already created her Soul Lattice and ascended into the E-grade long ago. Grudgingly, Gentry had admitted his family wasn¡¯t the most talented set of cultivators out there and that in many circumstances people wouldn¡¯t take that long to ascend. His own highest affinity was 24%, and his noble house had been founded on maneuvering through financial markets rather than by the martial paths. However, he¡¯d been very adamant int exining that although his n wasn¡¯t considered a cultivation powerhouse, many of them had still scored as ¡®ELITE¡¯ by system standards due to their skills with a de and utilization of techniques in various wars; and that the vast majority of the multiverse was found with affinities below the 30% mark.


    It was obviously a touchy subject for the drow man.


    Aside from this, Gentry had also gone on to exin what they should be expecting when arriving. The first three floors were habitable going down, with the first floor being thergest and cheapest to stay in - while the second floor was more expensive and full of entire younger generations from various factions across the multiverse. The third floor, his sister¡¯s own floor and thest floor that did not experience frequent abyssal monster spawns, was far richer than the other two habitable floors in ambient unholy energies that expedited a cultivator¡¯s formation of soul constructs. How his sister had even set up apound in the third floor was aplete mystery to both himself and the others of his noble house, but none of them hadined when she¡¯d informed them of this by waystone at a massive cost to her own coffers about a century ago. Many of the factions even warred with one another over such spots, leading Gentry to believe that she¡¯d gained some powerful allies from undisclosed factions in her time spent in this isted abyssal zone. People could travel together through portals between floors in groups of 5, not including minions, and not moving in a group often meant you¡¯d be picked out as a potential mugging or murder victim - where they¡¯d strip you of your gear to sell on the internal markets here.


    ¡°Your two friends may attract unwanted attention to our group considering their levels.¡± Gentry stated, head-bobbing to Gen-Fay and Nora in turn as the portal finally shed to life - revealing a spinning disc of green that began to suck in like a wormhole. ¡°I¡¯d say the same about the brutalisk, but everyone who knows what he is will stay far away regardless as their physical strength is absurd regardless of the significantly lower level. Even with myself in the picture, I am without a system affiliated title - without the normal Elite tag that so many of the others here will have.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Azmoth had gained a good chunk of levels after fighting the monster wave that was meant for Outpost #84, and had leapt to level 129. However it was still far below the norm in the descent, which Gentry imed to be anywhere between level 180 to 250, with most people averaging at level 200 or so. Anyone above level 250 was automatically kicked from the area, as were people who¡¯d progressed past the halfway stage of creating a true soul skeleton in the E-grade; the step beyond a soulttice.


    Gentry then nced at Ath, who was juggling her two red katanas alongside two balls of red webbing like an acrobat, and then looked to Riven. ¡°Ath however is quite the opposite. No one would want to take on a Legendary except for other Legendaries. Most people here are Elite ranked as I stated, but you¡­¡±


    He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looking Riven up and down with a frown. ¡°Your Mythic tag will no doubt draw a lot of attention, and probably in a bad way. I¡¯ve heard stories about it but have never seen it for myself, and I¡¯m sure it¡¯d create quite a ruckus. To the point that it might even be dangerous. Here, take these - we¡¯ll all use them with the exception of your minion Ath. It¡¯ll help hide our identification information from most who¡¯d try their hand at getting our information.¡±


    He took out a series of star-shaped amulets, and passed them around to Azmoth, Gen-Fay, and Riven in turn before putting one on himself. Immediately the ability to identify him became hazy and fuzzy when Riven tried, and the same could be said for the two minions who donned them next. Even trying to identify the amulets themselves was a no-go, and Riven was happy to see that the effect worked on him just as well. It even obscured the information of other items he and his allies were wearing.


    ¡°Good shit.¡± Riven said, eyeing the pendant with a smile. ¡°Thanks. I owe you one.¡±


    ¡°Damn right you do.¡± Gentry spat with mixed humor and irritation in his voice. He folded his arms. ¡°You killed the two men who were supposed to be my way down into the fifth, sixth and seventh levels. I¡¯m going to need to hire an entirely new team thanks to you. But they did genuinely suck to be around, so I¡¯ll forgive it. Come on, I¡¯ve never been there before but I have a map. If you don¡¯t mind I¡¯ll leave the way - at least until we get to my sister¡¯spound.¡±


    ***


    The portal winked out, and Riven found himself amongst a crowd of tens of thousands that was rapidly growing by the minute. Large t mountaintops numbering in the many dozens surrounded arge sprawling city far beneath, each of them having a huge green portal overhead just like his own. The city itself was speckled with lights all down the mountain slopes and in the valley against the absolute ck abyssal hole in the center that took up a solid third of the city¡¯s entire volume between mountains. The dark sky overhead was flecked with crackles of what could only be purple sin lightning, stone skyscrapers crawled towards the heavens above, and the air was thick with ambient energies that permeated Riven¡¯s very being.


    The environment was a cultivation paradise that radiated power rted to Unholy, Shadow, Blood, Chaos, Depravity, Infernal, Void - which was not technically part of the Unholy branches, andstly - Sin. It was like being hooked up to a battery, and Riven could see why Gentry¡¯s sister had chosen to stay for so long.


    ¡°Keep a lookout for that naga bitch who attacked us earlier.¡± Riven whispered to Ath as she nced around at the shes of people in the growing crowd. ¡°Kill him immediately if you see him. It won¡¯t perma-kill him because of the world quest parameters, but it¡¯ll at least knock him out of this event if he¡¯s here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯d be here because he was a cial-water specialist.¡± Ath replied evenly, considering Riven¡¯s words. ¡°He¡¯s most likely to be a threat only in the altars¡¯ realm, but then again Greed is likely the one that utilized him if Gluttony¡¯s guess is correct. I¡¯ll remain vignt, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    She gave him a peck on the cheek and a spank before giggling at his eye roll.


    ¡°This event will be open for a year¡¯s time, and stragglers will continue toe in more and more.¡± Gentry said as he motioned for them to quickly follow towards therge stone walkways leading down the mountain¡¯s slope. ¡°But the faster we get out of here the better, or so I¡¯m told. Often fights are supposed to break out when the scions of rival factions find one another, and we don¡¯t want to be caught in the middle of it.¡±


    As if on cue, explosions from an opposite mountain peak roared to life in a series of violent and thunderous booms. The energies were quite potent even from here, and it quickly humbled him to realize that there were other people in this ce capable of such destructive force.


    Looking back over his shoulder and then down to his side as they continued to walk, he noted how thendscapes on the back ends of the mountains not facing the internal city faded away into a deep ckndscape where light did not prate even to his eyes - and he wondered whether anything was surviving out there in the dark.


    Another sh of sin lightning crashed against a suddenly visible dome, overhead, illuminating the sky to a greater degree than what was normal for just a split second, and eliciting screams from the crowd around him as Riven¡¯s own heart sank upon what that light had shown. For in the briefest glimpse of that purple lightning sh, there¡¯d been a giant, eel-like creature with milky white eyes staring down at them beyond the barrier. It was sorge in fact, that it could have swallowed the entire city and all the mountains surrounding it in a single bite, with a coiled body and shing ck scales.


    ¡°A void titan.¡± Gentry said reverently, urging Riven to continue moving. ¡°It won¡¯t be able to break through Elysium¡¯s barrier, ignore it. Keep your amulets on to conceal your identity and don¡¯t get trampled in the crowd. If you stop now, you¡¯ll just get run over. Come on, we can find an information broker further down. Ignore the people on the sidelines, they¡¯re usually scammers if my family¡¯s information is correct.¡±


    Keeping Gen-Fay and Nora in front of him to make sure the weakest members of their group were guarded, and having Ath with Azmoth on either side, Riven took up the rear as they all followed Gentry down the giant stone steps that traveled for miles into the valley. It was like watching a mass exodus from the portals, and life-and-death battles continued to erupt all across the dozens of peaks one after another as they went.


    Riven could see why Gentry had wanted an escort. This ce was dangerous, and identifying one person after another - Riven saw that roughly 60% of everyone he identified had an ELITE tag on their information. Scattered about the crowd there were rare instances of LEGENDARY tags, just a handful of them that he saw, and then the rest were predominantly untagged just like Gentry was. Most of the LEGENDARY tagged participants were followed by entire groups of other cultivators, while some had n squads of people who¡¯d already been here for thest 300 years waiting to escort them.


    Riven also noticed that there were significantly fewer people here of certain races, while other races were in abundance. This in turn was likely due to how Charisma worked, and how certain races leaned towards the Unholy Foundational Pir while others did not.


    Drow - or dark elves, were in abundance; their chief features being silky white hair, dark skin and fair features. As were chaos dwarves like the berserker cultist he¡¯d recently killed in battle, with inherent runic sigils of gray and ck light carved into their very bodies at birth. There were enormous amounts of undead from dozens of varying races - including vampires like himself, a significant amount of demonic races in equal varieties, and a paltry amount of scattered humans too. Then there were the lessmon races, or the ones that didn¡¯t fit the mold. A few fallen angels on ck wings, though rare in number, were seen flying overhead along with some of the winged demons like imps or devils. There were some humanoid rock-based golem creatures with red eyes that lumbered down the walkways and trampled people who were too slow to get out of their way. Wingless draconic races of humanoid sorts were seen in small amounts too, and the asional gnome or pixie were also noted.


    ¡°Fascinating¡­¡± Riven muttered to himself, appreciating the variety of speciesing to intermingle here in the abyssal depths. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen so many races at one time, in one ce.¡±


    An abrupt shove from behind nearly caused Riven to fall, and he heard a gruff voice bark out a shout. ¡°Move faster, blood sucker! You¡¯re in-¡±


    <strong><em>CRASH</em></strong>


    Riven asserted dominance by whipping around and smashing whoever or whatever it was that¡¯d shoved him with a spiked fist. Body parts exploded under the charged strike with a resounding crash. Not wanting to be seen as weak in front of so many other elites of the multiverse, he wasn¡¯t taking any chances of making himself a mark.


    What he left behind was a smoldering wreckage of blood and gore, flickering with ck lightning that sparked out of the crater he¡¯d created; with numerous people nearby who¡¯d either dodged out of the way or had managed to erect shields in time to stop from being thrown back. Other people HAD been thrown back, being sted into others in the ground or off the ledge to roll down the slope into one of the buildings on the mountain, but nobody but the creature who¡¯d shoved him had taken the direct hit. Riven had been careful to keep his power isted to a single point as best he could, but he honestly couldn¡¯t even tell what or who had shoved him after the devastating attack hadnded.


    Perhaps he was just on edge.


    The others wordlessly stared, some sneering, some expressionless, and others giving him impressed looks.


    ¡°Keep moving.¡± A horned draconic man in flowing silver robes hissed from between bronze scales, notably with a LEGENDARY tag and at level 200 when Riven identified him. ¡°You are holding up the line.¡±


    Riven blinked, then nodded after making sure no one else wasing to bother him - and he steadied himself before turning around and following the others in his group who¡¯d stopped to watch.


    ¡°You heard the man, let¡¯s move." Riven began to head out, but stopped as Gluttony pierced his mind with a mental message.


    <em>"There is a hot springs further down in the city. Travel with the others to the location I''ve marked, and you may find that it is more than what it appears."</em>


    There was a pause.


    Riven''s brows furrowed at the information beingid out in his head after Gluttony''s words, before his brows rose with mixed emotion. "Hey... Maybe let''s find something to eat? Or a ce to rx? Maybe a hot spring. Do they have hot springs here?¡±


    Gentry chuckled nervously as the others in the crowd asionally shifted their gazes his way amidst the descent. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but we could find out. Regardless of where, it would certainly be wise to get off the main path near the base of the mountain before getting our bearings. We can then get insider information from people that¡¯d lived here for a thest few centuries, and we canpare it to the information my own house has acquired to assure ourselves of its validity. Does that sound ok with you?¡±


    Nora nodded vigorously. ¡°Sounds good to me.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Azmoth grunted, growling at a passerby who got too close. ¡°I not like these crowds. Needrger space, more room.¡±


    ***


    The first level of the Abyssal Descent did indeed have a hot springs, though it was quite pricey. As was everything here in this alternate realm, which Riven quickly found out. His sum of 22 million that he¡¯d thought so oundish back on Panu was pennies and pocket change here in the abyss, where the young elites of the Unholy-oriented multiverse were congregated by the millions. A basic meal for one person cost thousands of Elysium Coins, and most of the people either dealt in tinum or in coins that Riven had never seen before such as ¡®Etherium¡¯ - which was the equivalent of 100,000 tinum, or ¡®Basdum¡¯ - which was the equivalent of 10 Etherium.


    One tinum Elysium Coin was equivnt to 1000 bronze coins. Thus the amount of a single ¡®Etherium¡¯ coin was worth one-hundred-million Elysium Bronze Coins, and a ¡®Basdum¡¯ coin was worth one-billion Elysium Bronze Coins.


    Meaning that Riven¡¯s total wealth of 22-million coins - even after all he¡¯d done only attributed to about one-fifth of the wealth of a single Etherium coin, and he wasn¡¯t anywhere even close to having the wealth of an equivalent Basdum coin.


    Yet he saw many people exchange these coins with one another somewhat flippantly, for various items or services around the city as they went. The amount of money some of these people had just mind-boggling, and he wandered what kind of stuff he could buy with that kind of money from the Elysium Store back home. He honestly hadn¡¯t explored the store much, but what he had seen from it - before even upgrading the altar at all - had led him to believe that the utmost of what he could afford were basics and necessities.


    Then again, he was on an integrating that was only starting to reach the 1-year mark.


    ¡°You will have your meals delivered to you in the springs, and your time is reserved for two hours.¡± A pretty but stern-looking subus with red hair said, eyeing Gen-Fay warily before handing each member of Riven¡¯s party a set of keys. ¡°Storage containers with basic rms and wards are in the hall, but are not guaranteed for safekeeping. Any theft that urs here is not our responsibility, so keep that in mind.¡±


    Gentry¡¯s eyes lingered on the woman¡¯s bosom for a short time before he snapped out of it and gave her a nod. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°It is appreciated.¡± Riven stated with a smile,ughing underneath his ivory helmet as his girlfriends tugged at his hands excitedly. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll be going now. Make sure you bring the scones!¡±


    With a final tug, Ath dragged Riven off into the changing rooms with Azmothing inst.


    ***


    Behind them and out of sight, the redheaded subus rubbed at one of her horns under the stone ceiling of her hot springs abode. Hesitantly picking up amunication orb, her eyes lingered on the presence of sin left in the vampire¡¯s wake - and the image of the maw across his chest was prominently burned into her retinas.


    She waited for the click, then the light shed in the stone she held and she began to whisper into it with concerned nces in the direction of the springs she¡¯d just rented out. ¡°Amano? Yes, it¡¯s me. Please contact the church, I think I may have some information that they¡¯d be very interested in learning about regarding a certain individual who just entered my establishment. Yes, yes I think so. Well that¡¯s why I¡¯m calling. Of course. No. Alright, I¡¯ll do my best to keep him here. I¡¯ll see you soon.¡±


    There was another click, and the stone faded away.


    Taking in a deep breath, the subus looked at herself in the mirror across the room and turned around to make sure she was showing a lot of skin that evening. Hastily getting out a brush andbing her long locks of red hair, she scurried into the kitchen - where she began yelling at the cooks to prepare a special meal for the neers that¡¯d just arrived.

 Chapter 261

    Chapter 261


    <strong>Chapter 261</strong>


    The symbol of a scythe, a symbol of a red teardrop, and the symbol of a ck sun. They were joined by the visage of the maw, and the rted pirs of his soul continued to form branching spires each time the symbols red.


    Riven hovered three feet up off the water¡¯s surface, bare-backed and only wearing a set of pants. He gently let his mana swim around him and created a gxy of teal, ck, red, and deep purple in the underground hot springs room where the others were rxing - wondering just what to expect if Gluttony was correct.


    ¡°Are you sure this is the right ce?¡± Riven whispered just loud enough for Gentry to turn his head with a confused look his way.


    ¡°Did you say something?¡± Gentry asked from where he sat beside Azmoth in the water, shooting the three women nearby at a nce as they ate along the water¡¯s edge and had drinks served to them courtesy of the house.


    Riven shook his head absentmindedly, keeping his eyes closed, feeling Gluttony pulse inside him with affirmation to his question. ¡°I was just¡­ muttering to myself. Do not mind me. How¡¯s getting ahold of your contacts here? Any luck?¡±


    Gentry frowned, sighed, looked down at his crystalline artifact, and shook it rapidly again before giving up. Putting it back into his spatial sack and pping a wet hand across his face, he let himself sink into the dark waters of the spring and groaned. ¡°No. Not a single contact has pinged me back.¡±


    The drow elf made no move to continue the conversation, only looking downtrodden.


    Riven continued to watch the symbols re in his mind, watching their energies intertwine with one another as they converged andced together like awork of neurons or intricate webs. asionally when he didn¡¯t like the look of it, or when Gluttony pointed out a w in the matrix, he¡¯d shift one connection to another spot to reinforce the bridgework he was currently working on. He hadn¡¯t known it then, but his ttice¡¯ had been taking form ever since The Path of Red and ck had been created back when he¡¯d fought the Azag hive. When those two pirs had started interlocking with one another, branching to connect, it¡¯d been the start to his very foundation for the E-grade - and thatttice was only continuing to build. Spontaneous connections were reced with ones made from intent, adding organization to the chaos that would better prepare his soul for ascension.Though even while bonded to Gluttony, the specifics of what needed to be done in exactness were not there - rather they were just impressions from Gluttony¡¯s past life. Impressions were, however, better than nothing - and the two of them worked tirelessly over the hours spent here in this exquisite abyssal environment.


    Oddly enough, it almost reminded Riven of graphics - the same ones that Gragle the gnome used and was using to replicate some totems for him in the altars event.


    Why was that?


    His eyes opened, and the pulsing flow of mana froze in ce when he made eye contact with Genua. She and the other two women on either side of her were all submerged up to their cor bones, but she was the only one that seemed reserved while the other two were drunk off their asses.


    She avoided his gaze instantly, looking down into the dark waters of their underground spring with a mixed expression, and then turned around to pretend to grab at some of the food the establishment had left them.


    Riven¡¯s ck and red eyes followed her movement, and he closed them one more time before creating a rift in space and stepping onto semi-dry rock next to Genua¡¯s hand. Bending down and pulling the woman up - much to her surprise, he wrapped a towel around her and motioned for her to follow.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be back in a minute.¡± Riven said with a wave of his hand when Ath scowled his way. ¡°I need to have a private conversation with Genua.¡±


    ¡°What about OUR private conversations!¡± Fayughed loudly, pping the water and getting a grin from Ath. ¡°WE WANT ONE TOO!¡±


    Rolling his eyes and ignoring her, he brought Genua around a corner and into an adjacent changing room where the lockers for storage purposes were kept. Sitting down on a bench and letting the control on his mana go, he rested his chin in his hands and gave the elf thrall a sad smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Riven eventually said after a long pause as they just stared at one another, and his shoulders straightened as he went to stretch. ¡°I probably should have said that earlier.¡±


    Genua slightly raised both eyebrows, but avoided his gaze again and shrugged. ¡°Sorry for what?¡±


    ¡°Recently? Sorry for what happened with the assassination attempt. I was too weak and too oblivious to do anything about it, and that¡¯s on me.¡± Riven gave her a sad smile as her gaze returned to meet his. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your husband Farrod. For your daughter Ethel. For turning you into a thrall out of my hate and spite for what your family did to me. It¡¯s¡­ not something I¡¯m proud of. I wish I could turn back time, but I can¡¯t. I know I¡¯ve said it before, if not in so many words, and I don¡¯t expectplete forgiveness. But I do want you to know that I¡¯ll try to make the best for you out of the life you now have. When all this is over, I¡¯ll make sure to cut your tie to me so that you can spend more time with Len. And I want you to know that I¡¯ll keep¡­ our baby, safe. I¡¯m sorry I failed you this time, it won¡¯t happen again.¡±


    Genua studied him intensely for a time, her hands grasping one another in front of her as she wordlessly stared. Then she let out a soft breath of air, blowing a long strand of blonde hair from her face. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much of it is the vampirism and thrall¡¯s pact that make me want to not hate you, but I don¡¯t hate you if that¡¯s what you think. As I¡¯ve said before, what my family did was unforgivable. But I was just asplicit and knew what we were doing back then. In many ways, I wish I had been the one to die - and that Ethel had lived. She had been brainwashed into hating you, if nothing else. The elder, and my husband¡­ Eh. Regardless, that is in the past now and we can only look forward. I do not wish to talk about it again, it will only make me cry.¡±


    Hearing somemotion from further down the hall and up the stairs to where the streets of this abyssal city still had thousands of people migrating from the portals by the minute, Genua watched a burly set of incubus men walk by and give her a side-eye before traveling to their own hot springs. ¡°Do you really intend to let me go?¡±


    She turned her head.


    Riven furrowed his brows when he saw the doubt, guilt, and regret in her expression. ¡°Is that not what you want?¡±


    She opened her mouth, hesitated, then continued to speak while nervously wringing her fingers together like one would wring water out of a wet cloth. ¡°Is it because I¡¯m weak?¡±


    He blinked, thenughed. ¡°Absolutely not. Even now I¡¯m having Gluttony¡¯s forces train Hakim and the others back on Panu so that, one day, they¡¯ll be able to join me despite being what most powerhouses on Panu call ¡®weak¡¯. ¡®Weak¡¯ is a rtive term, and has nothing to do with my decision. I was going to leave you behind because of your daughter.¡±


    Genua shook her head, then took his hand and pushed it onto her slightly swollen belly. ¡°Do you feel it?¡±


    There was a pause, and he blinked rapidly when he felt something inside gently kick.


    Smiling, Riven nodded. ¡°I do.¡±


    She let his hand go, ran her fingers through her hair, and huffed. ¡°That child is going to need its father. So is Len. I was hoping that, perhaps, you¡¯d consider adopting Len too. I don¡¯t want you to cut me from your life, and if you feel guilty - you can make it up to me by being there for my little girl. And for the new child on its way.¡±


    Riven was stunned, visibly so, and the ancient unholy tattoos along his body even did a quick rearranging of themselves due to his emotional bacsh at the words. ¡°Len doesn¡¯t want me as a dad. You remember how she reacted to the news when we told her. You were there at the pic table that day just as I was.¡±


    ¡°Do not make me beg, Riven.¡± Genua snapped, having some spunk to her words with a re that was unusual for the elf thrall given her position and usual submissive tone. ¡°I will not allow my first daughter to lose herself to despair when she feels herself an outcast after this child in my womb is born. Just try to imagine, just for a moment, how she would feel if she was not included. To be the child left behind, when a younger sibling born of a lineage akin to that of a demonic elder god overshadows your every step. When I y mother to this child with you as a father, what will Len see? It would be devastating. Despite what you did and how I sometimes even now hate you for what you did, you are a good man at your core. Despite all your ws, Riven, you would make a good father - and I already know you¡¯ve tried to make amends on Len¡¯s behalf as we¡¯ve discussed such topics before.¡±


    Genua was now ring at him from across the room, and she got up to walk over, sitting next to him so that her shoulder was touching his. She gave him a suddenly anxious nce, avoided eye contact, and cleared her throat. ¡°Well? Are you just going to sit there? Or are you going to take responsibility for what you did and adopt her as your own - so that she can have a family again?¡±


    Riven remained ck-jawed, until she gave him a fiery snort.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a coward.¡± She hissed, almost pleadingly - but with venom too.


    Guilt, embarrassment, and sadness reared their ugly heads - but he put on a forced smile and nodded, reaching out to touch her stomach with a nod. It was a big decision to make, not one that he took lightly, but he owed it to that little girl to at least try. ¡°I¡¯ll adopt Len too, or at least I promise I¡¯ll do my best¡­ but I¡¯m not sure she¡¯ll be epting of me.¡±


    Genua¡¯s shoulders immediately slumped in relief, and she let out a long breath that she¡¯d been holding in during her re. ¡°Thank you. And she will, she just¡­ she just needs time. She knows that you were not the one to choose the fight that led to Ethel¡¯s death, or Farrod¡¯s death, and she is already excited about the prospect about a little brother or little sister. Even if when we first broke the news to her, she had other concerns.¡±


    Theughter of his two girlfriends sshing in the hot springs was masked by the pping of bare feet on the stone walkwaying from the stairs. Riven looked up and down the hall, noting the redheaded subus and owner of this establishment walking his way with her flowing ck dress out behind her.


    She stopped just in front of him, bowing slightly and sweeping back her hair behind her two thick short horns. ¡°Sir. I was hoping to have a word with you.¡±


    The subus shot Genua a quick look. ¡°In private.¡±


    Genua exchanged a nce with Riven, but he put a hand on her shoulder and gave a reaffirmation squeeze.


    ¡°Go have fun.¡± Riven said, ushering her out of the room and closing a sheet curtain behind her. Turning, he put his hands behind his back and gave her ackadaisical gaze of one who was assessing a cheap cars salesman selling a poor pitch. ¡°It took you long enough. I was beginning to wonder whether or not this was the right spot.¡±


    The subus, who¡¯d now straightened, raised an eyebrow curiously and withdrew her wings into her back - leaving her long ck tail to flounder out behind her. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure what you mean by that. Are you saying that you know why I¡¯vee?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow, then snapped his fingers.


    A sigil red to life on the woman¡¯s neck where there¡¯d been none before, one of the Great Maw within a pentagram, and she gave him a wicked grin.


    ¡°Clever boy.¡± She tilted her head to the side with a wide, brilliant smile, then withdrew a pendant of simr origin and took a step forward. Her blue eyes tracked down to the jewelry in her hand, then back to him. ¡°I thought I¡¯d hidden my identity as a contact rather well, but then again - if you do know without my introduction¡­ That must mean you¡¯re of one of the blooded families. Who are you working for? Are you a scion of one of the greater houses?¡±


    Riven smirked, then shook his head. ¡°No. I was just told toe here on good faith by a friend who - more or less - is part of the higher rungs of the church himself. Personally? I¡¯m a nobody.¡±


    ¡°Well I wouldn¡¯t say that based on all the markings you¡¯ve gained¡­¡± The subus muttered, head-nodding to the numerous unholy scriptsced across his skin. ¡°You don¡¯t just get those by being a nobody. Very well, keep your secrets. As long as you¡¯re one of the touched, I am able to offer you information and services paid for by our church. Fencing stolen items, contracts, guides into the deeper realms, arena matches, hard to get resources for cultivating yourttice, you name it and I¡¯m here for it.¡±


    She smugly stuffed the pendant between herrge breasts with a wink. ¡°And for you love, I¡¯d do more. You¡¯ve got a real sense of¡­ umph, about you. If you know what I mean. So how about it? Want to ditch your three enved minions and let a real woman ride you for once?¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t even twitch. ¡°I¡¯m going to pretend like you didn¡¯t say thatst part, regardless of how pretty you might be. And for the record, I¡¯m doing you a favor. The archdemon back there, Ath, already has a jealousy problem even with Fay. If I added another subus to the picture, she¡¯d probably castrate me and would no doubt kill you too.¡±


    The woman chuckled, and held out a hand. ¡°Lavini, Church of Gluttony representative, at your service. I¡¯ve been here a few thousand years now and know all the dirty secrets of what goes on here.¡±


    ¡°Riven.¡± He replied, taking her hand to shake.


    She eyed him curiously. ¡°You don¡¯t happen to be an ex-shard holder, do you?¡±


    ¡°Shard holder?¡±


    ¡°Did you hold a shard of Gluttony before he reincarnated? You have a very distinct and potent smell to you. Maybe even two shards? Were you a harbinger?¡±


    Riven grinned and withdrew his hand to fold his arms in front of him, pausing to let a couple of drow elves and one ve pass by. ¡°Yes, I was. Is it normal for people to have ves here?¡±


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    Lavini looked over her shoulder to where an elf woman was being led up the stairs by the two other drow men. ¡°No. They muste from a very wealthy family to afford buying a ticket for a mere ve. Some people just have too much money to know what to do with it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say. Do you think they have the money on their person?¡± Riven asked curiously, thinking back to the new types and tiers of Elysium Coins that easily outstripped his rtively pathetic disy of wealth from an integration world. ¡°Do you think I could mug them and get away with it?¡±


    Lavini again shook her head, and even pressed a hand to Riven¡¯s chest when he went to take a step forward. ¡°Not here, and not them. We don¡¯t want to blow up a perfectly situated rest spot for the church. And even if you were a harbinger, and are one of the touched, those two men are particrly powerful drow hailing from the Yerus Dynasty. If you didn¡¯t notice, they¡¯re both LEGENDARY tagged and they¡¯d kill you before you knew what happened. Meanwhile I don¡¯t see a tag on you at all. Or is that just the ne you have on, masking it from my sight?¡±


    Riven had to repress a snort, but backed off as they left the establishment. ¡°I see. Well I was hoping that you may know a man by the name of¡­¡±


    Riven paused, waiting for Gluttony to give him the identity of the man they were looking for. ¡°Amano is the name. Half minotaur, half gargoyle. Ever seen him around these parts?¡±


    Lavini arched an eyebrow and folded her arms, scrutinizing him. ¡°You really do have contacts in high ces, don¡¯t you? Yes, he¡¯s currently assigned as master of the church sanctuaries here in the Abyssal Descent. I¡¯m afraid that if you¡¯re looking for him, he¡¯s already on his way. I am obligated to report the sigils that I see and recognize, and he seemed a bit off-put when I mentioned this one¡­¡±


    Her finger drifted to Riven¡¯s chest, and pointed out a seven-pointed star being devoured by the great maw with unholy markings innguages Riven didn¡¯t entirely understand. ¡°I hadn¡¯t seen it before.¡±


    ¡°I was wearing armor.¡± Riven pointed out, confused.


    ¡°And just as you were able to sense mine, I was able to sense¡­ yours.¡± She shrugged.


    Riven hadn¡¯t necessarily sensed her marking himself, but rather had acted on Gluttony¡¯s own instincts and had infused sin energy into his finger-snap from earlier to elicit the glow on Lavini¡¯s patch of skin. Not being able to sense such things caused a minor amount of irritation to rise up in Riven¡¯s chest, but knew he¡¯d probably have such thingse to him as he cultivated a greater grasp on the sin energy that permeated his new soul pir.


    A buzzing sound came from Lavini¡¯s pocket, and she picked up a ck orb - holding up a finger Riven¡¯s way before nodding, and turning around with a swish of her tail. ¡°Looks like he¡¯s already here. Come on and follow me.¡±


    He nodded, and the two of them left the hot springs behind.


    However, instead of going back up the stairs - she went left. Winding and twisting, thening into a closet after deactivating numerous enchantments, she pressed a hidden panel in the stone wall and let the hidden door swing open. ¡°I have one of my coworkers currently running the ce, but I don¡¯t like leaving her by herself with all the new bloods walking around. It¡¯s dangerous, so let¡¯s hurry so I can get back.¡±


    ¡°Are you implying you¡¯re a fighter?¡± Riven asked, skeptically eyeing the subus and her scantily d attire.


    She gave him an amused smirk over her shoulder while pushing into the dimly lit hallway when the door clicked shut behind them. ¡°Of course, Mr. Vampire! I¡¯m one of the instructors here. Maybe I¡¯ll fight you for an opportunity to hold you down!¡±


    Instructors?


    She gave him a flirtatious wink and didn¡¯t bother expanding on the subject, but as the tunnel curved into a spiral descent through the ground - Riven soon found himself looking upon a veryrge rectangr room. It was big enough to fit a few thousand people inside, and there were dozens currently there. Some were meditating on prayer mats with sin-affiliated energy crystals in their hands, others were sparring in semi-translucent barrier cages, and some were eating at one of two long tables set at the far wall. To his right, there was even an altar to Gluttony - where a horned priest garbed in ck was reading scripture from a book to three other hooded demons.


    ¡°Pass.¡± A muscr red devil standing twice Riven¡¯s height said, stepping in front of the path into the room and folding his burly red arms while ring toothily down at the duo.


    Lavini rolled her eyes with a huff, then presented a medallion. ¡°Jevis, you know me well enough by now to stop asking me every time Ie in. You¡¯re doing it just to annoy me at this point, aren¡¯t you? This man is a new blood who just came from the portal openings. Let us through.¡±


    The devil snickered, then head-bobbed over to a set ofrge, sturdy couches. ¡°Amano is waiting for you. Get movin.¡±


    Grumbling and ring at the devil, Lavini started for the couches Jevis had nodded to. There, on the middle one, was Amano.


    Just as Gluttony had said, he was a half gargoyle, half minotaur mix. He hadrge ck wings, obsidian skin, but also had the face of a bull. His legs were also bull-like instead of the ws gargoyles usually had, and arge patch of brown fur was located down his back and along his tail. All he wore was arge loin cloth, a red sigil of Gluttony tattooed into his chest, and had two wicked looking obsidian horns curving out from his skull.


    ¡°Amano, master of sanctuaries.¡± Lavini addressed him with a low bow - motioning for Riven to do the same.


    Riven didn¡¯t bother, instead eyeing the level 248 demon with moderate amounts of curiosity. When the demon¡¯s brow furrowed in annoyance at theck of respect, and Lavini shot him a piercing look that could kill, before Riven bowed.


    He followed Lavini¡¯s lead when she straightened with a huff.


    ¡°We answer your summons.¡± Lavini said, awaiting the demon¡¯s words as others around the underground sanctuary asionally shot them curious looks.


    Amano continued to remain silent and sitting, arms folded, while his demonic tail pped the ground from time to time during the staring contest he was having with Riven. Eventually he grunted and stood to his full height, towering over Riven by almost four feet and looking down at him with mild amusement based on the slight grin he had. ¡°I can already tell you¡¯ve got an attitude, boy. But I like people like you. Believe it or not, it takes that kind of arrogance to get to the top - or so my elders tell me. May I see the sigil?¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡± Riven countered.


    Amano smirked. ¡°Show me all of them if you wish, but I was hoping for the seven pointed star.¡±


    Acknowledging his words, Riven sent sin energy pulsing through his tattoos as they lit up across his body and glowed through his thin clothes. They covered his arms, feet, legs, torso, back, and face - and as the seconds ticked by he brought out more from his deeperyers that¡¯d been hiding just underneath the surface.


    Stackedyers of the sigils poured out as the eyes of Amano and every single demon in the room went wide in shock, until Riven finished and had his colors on full disy like a peacock.


    Bending down to get a better look at him, Amano studied the runes and circled him with intent -ing to a halt right in front of where Riven stood while scratching his chin. ¡°These are all¡­ ascendants.¡±


    He tapped the front of his chest. ¡°Like mine. They are not just gluttonous markings, but they are on a level I haven¡¯t seen before. Only high priests of our order, S-ranked or higher, can mark someone like this¡­¡±


    Lavini seemed surprised, then confused, then ended with a mixture of lust and fear as she settled her gaze on Riven - only to tear it away when he met her eyes.


    Amano¡¯s words trailed off, as if a question, and when Riven didn¡¯t respond - he let out a long sigh. ¡°Which elder sent you here? I do not y in the political games of our church, I swear it on Gluttony¡¯s name. I merely need to know so that I can avoid pairing you with others who would intentionally cause friction.¡±


    Riven let on a slow grin. ¡°I believe there is a misunderstanding¡­ I do not wish to form a group. I already have one heading here now, those who aren¡¯t already present upstairs.¡±


    Amano seemed to be confused by this promation, as was Lavini. ¡°You already have a group for the descent? Are they people I know? Usually we have guides, people who¡¯ve already been down to the deepest levels, so that our scions from the outer realms don¡¯t get killed.¡±


    Riven waved a hand, sensing a very familiar presence entering his aura from the opposite side of the room. He smiled. ¡°Oh my guide has already been down. More than anything, I¡¯m here to use your training halls. Recently I¡¯ve been told that I¡¯m quitecking in certain areas and am too dependent on overwhelming force, rather than skill. I have been told that when deemed ready, I will be able to make the descent with said party. Until then, until I am up to par with a very particr person¡¯s standards, I won¡¯t be allowed to finish the descent.¡±


    Now both Amano and Lavini gave him furrowed brows and tense expressions, exchanging nces with one another while Lavini scratched her head.


    ¡°Did your elder send a personal trainer?¡± Lavini asked with a frown. ¡°What n do you hail from?¡±


    Before Amano could ask anything else, a silent, ominous shockwave of presence radiated from where the door to the sanctuary had opened across the hall.


    Nearly everyone immediately fell to their knees or hit the floor, even despite their desperate attempts to stand back up. The sparring ring barriers flickered and died, people started to gasp or gag in shock, and a couple people outright fainted under the sheer weight of the aura afflicting the room. Shadows wreathed around a woman seemingly made from the abyss itself, as her lithe, athletic form stepped into the room with one bare foot. The very stone underneath her rippled, and arge crack formed under her position as she walked; and she pulled back her hood to let her seven ck horns materialize across her head like a crown.


    Pale white eyes stared out at the demons present, ck hair flowed down to her waist like a g, and the only signs of color on her figure aside from them and the cloak she wore was a small yellow flower clinging to one of the horns on her right-hand side with its roots.


    ¡°Ah¡­ There you are.¡± She began walking forward, and behind her - two more figures appeared. One was the presence Riven had senseding their way, and despite her features having changed - Allie was unmistakably beautiful with her angelic wings folded behind her.


    Though she did look rather put off, sad even, until her eyes met his - and then she beamed as bright as a sun before dashing over to m into him with a bear hug.


    ¡°Riven!¡± Allie eximed, retracting her wings entirely while squeezing him all the tighter. ¡°I have so much to tell you! There¡¯s so much that happened, and that is currently happening!¡±


    He embraced her back, kissing her on the forehead and feeling a warmth spreading from his chest.


    ¡°Allie. Remember our talk about presence and how to carry oneself in public? You are a queen. Act like it.¡± Lilith said, almost scoldingly, and she cleared her throat when Allie stood straighter to step back with a sheepish smile.


    ¡°Sorry Lillith.¡± Allie muttered, which surprised Riven to no end considering how Allie had be something of a lovingly self-assured psychopath ever since the integration had begun.


    The third figure was someone Riven didn¡¯t recognize. He was no doubt a lich of some sort, and looked pretty bad in terms of how he was missing one skeletal arm and had cracks or burns all over his bone body. Odd organs that were present inside the bone cage of his torso were partially rotten, and clothes that¡¯d once been exquisite robes were now disying patches and holes with burn marks and blood stains.


    The aura faded when Lillith came to stand in front of Riven, and the audible gasps and deep breaths the demons around the room were taking were mixed in with angry roars and shouts - tempers ring with auras all around them as they called out.


    ¡°WHO IN THE SEVEN HELLS-¡±


    ¡°KILL THAT BITCH!¡±


    ¡°DO YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE!? HOW DARE-¡±


    Above the ruckus and threats, with imposing figures closing on their position, Lillith gave Gluttony a sad smile. ¡°Forgive the younglings. It is not their fault that they don¡¯t know who I am.¡±


    Riven could literally feel the anger that¡¯d been building up slowly fizzle away, as Gluttony considered Lillith¡¯s words - and a pulse of thought traveled between them that Riven could only barely make out.


    Lillith nodded, and then turned to face the only person in the room who seemed to be aware of who she was.


    Amano was visibly shaking, and it looked as though he was about to vomit before her eyes fell on him. He immediately hit the floor and prostrated himself on all fours, crashing his horned head into the ground with a shrill, high voice. ¡°ALL HAIL LILLITH! ALL HAIL THE BLACK HAND OF GLUTTONY!¡±


    Abruptly the shouting and threats stopped, and the angry crowd looked at one another in confusion.


    ¡°The ck Hand of Gluttony is dead.¡± Arge three-eyed, skinny, gray-skinned humanoid said while gesturing with all four of his wed hands. ¡°What is this nonsense, Amano? Are you ying a trick on us? Is this a joke?¡±


    Some of the people around the room gave nervousughs, while others continued to stare as if finally making the connection. One incubus had actually taken out an old recording crystal, and was watching what was no doubt a history of the church based on Gluttony¡¯s memories.


    When the images on the crystal stopped on Lillith¡¯s figure, and he took in a sharp breath of air, everyone nearby went rigid and stiff.


    There was a long pause. Many exchanged looks as if to confirm what they were seeing, and slowly one of the devils nearby knelt with deep, horrified breaths.


    ¡°H¡­How¡­?¡± The same three-eyed humanoid who¡¯d spoken earlier looked deathly pale as he let out the whisper, and then true horror overtook him as he realized the truth of things when he attempted to identify her and saw the purple mes. One by one the others did the same, and a mixture of fear and awe permeated the room in mere seconds.


    <strong>[Lillith, Level 119 Archdemon: Unique ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. Commander of the Gluttonous Legions. MYTHIC.]</strong>


    ¡°Forgive me¡­¡± The demon said, eyes bulging, and his head hit the floor in a prostrating motion so fast that blood sttered along the stone. ¡°This one does not deserve your mercy, but I plead for it nheless! I did not know you hade back with Gluttony¡¯s rebirth!¡±


    The others rapidly followed, all around the room, demons big and small - humanoid or monstrous - all prostrated themself in an absolute silence while Lillith eyed Amano.


    She then turned her attention to Lavini, the subus, and smiled widely. ¡°Thank you for escorting Gluttony¡¯s reincarnation, Lavini. He gets lost and forgets to keep his guard up quite often, I have no doubt he¡¯d likely have stumbled upon a spike trap or some kind of bomb on the way here at the rate he¡¯s going.¡±


    There was an absolute silence after proiming Riven as the reincarnation, and Riven could see both Amano and Lavini rapidly pale while they remained prostrated. He heard a few hushed whispers of disbelief and further awe from around the room, but that was all.


    Riven winced at the mocking jab, even despite Lillith¡¯s teasing smirk. ¡°Hello, Lillith. It¡¯s good to see you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, quite.¡± Lilith said with a chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m d you made it here without getting stabbed or something. Are you ready to begin? I brought your sister and a rather interesting dog that I found on the side of the road in Panu who was begging for scraps. They¡¯ll be your teammates in the descent, along with me as your escort, and that Nora girl you¡¯re ying house with upstairs. But only when the three of you aren¡¯t so utterly demoralizing in your¡­ disys. I would call it ¡®skills¡¯, or ¡®spells¡¯, or ¡®battle readiness¡¯, but you¡¯re all so far beneath the standard definition of what those should be that I gag at the thought of putting them upon even a single one of you.¡±


    She held up a finger. ¡°Oh, and bring your minions down here too. Your contracts need a lot of work, especially that Fay girl and the elf thrall you have. Truly, without offense being intended, you could do better in your choices.¡±


    Allie and the undead lich winced when Lillith¡¯s gaze fell on them, but the archdemon was quick to turn her attention back to Riven. ¡°I¡¯ve heard just how pathetic you were in that recent attempt on your child¡¯s life. I¡¯ve also been told you have no real training under your belt, other than with an old high elf thrall and some very limited attempts at the Blood Moon Requiem¡¯spound. It¡¯s time that we kick it into high gear now that you¡¯re here, and pit you against some realbatants while you¡¯re at it. It¡¯ll be a good opportunity to see just how you stack up against some of the best the Unholy Pir has to offer for your range and league. You have extreme potential and amazing amounts of mana for your grade and level, but to say you arecking any real skill would be an extreme understatement. You win most of your fights because you¡¯re bringing¡­ Ah, what was it Gluttony had said whenparing it to your world¡¯s jargon?¡±


    Lillith paused to think it over, then snapped her fingers with a smile. ¡°Yes! That¡¯s it! You win most of your fights because you¡¯re bringing a nuclear warhead to a knife fight. But what happens when the other guy brings a warhead to match yours? Perhaps by the end of the descent, and by the time you exit Chalgathi¡¯s trial, you¡¯ll realize that you¡¯re not the only one withrge amounts of mana or high affinities to throw around. Hopefully you¡¯ll be something of a warrior wielding a sharpened sword - rather than a barbarian baby wielding an unbnced club. So to speak.¡±


    She gestured to Amano, who was still kneeling and shaking in what was either excitement - or absolute terror. ¡°You, master of the sanctuaries. You¡¯re a LEGENDARY tagged demon and are almost maxed for this zone at level 248, which is 48 levels higher than Riven is now. To begin our training session, I want you to fight this vampire. I want you to beat him so badly that he cries tears of blood by the end of it. I want him to feel humbled, or else none of this will be taken to heart. Do you understand?¡±


    The half-gargoyle, half minotaur looked up in shock, still visibly shaking while he nced uncertainly to Riven nearby. ¡°I-I could never! The reincarnation of Gluttony is too sacred to-¡±


    His words were cut off when the visage of Gluttony itself split open in the air, while both gasps and shrieks of delight - along with some shaky sounds of weeping - were heard around the room. ¡°I would ask that you do as Lillith says, Amano. Do not think of it as fighting me. Rather, think of it as helping me. My partner and I are bonded, but he needs to hone his skills if we are going to fluidly work together. Please¡­ destroy him in the ring. Go all out, we will make sure he lives.¡±


    A twinge of irritation couldn¡¯t help but fizzle to the surface in Riven¡¯s mind at the needless insults to his pride, and the apparentck of caring concerning bodily harm.


    Amano was torn between tion and confusion while staring at Gluttony, but rapidly nodded his head and continued groveling on the floor. ¡°Yes, oh great maw! I will do as you ask! But perhaps, it would be better to enter ourrgest arena in the central sanctuary? I won¡¯t be able to utilize my full power here in these practice arenas, but I promise you - I will make it a showing that the entire membership of the church here will remember for the rest of their lives!¡±

 Chapter 262

    Chapter 262


    <strong>Chapter 262</strong>


    The main arena of the central sanctuary was, in one word, enormous. Numerous tforms, steps, balconies and seats ranging in size from small to huge were located all around the stadium in a non-uniform manner. A mile high and a mile wide, this ce had been carved out of the very bedrock of whatever dark metals were native to this strange abyssal realm, with an enormous statue of Gluttony¡¯s maw standing as a monument on one end.


    It was under this monument that thergest balcony was located, with Riven¡¯s minions and Lillith having taken up residence there at the front amidst a hesitant but excited swarm of higher-ranking young demons from various ns across the multiverse.


    And with word having quickly spread amongst Gluttony¡¯s followers, the crowds of demons from dozens of different species continued to flow in. Teleportation gates shed, openings in the numerous enormous passages let out the sounds of thundering feet and ws, and Church of Gluttony clergy he¡¯de to identify - dressed in hooded ck and purple robes for the most part - were literally singing strange hymns that Riven couldn¡¯t make out while guiding people to their seats.


    Watching theme in such numbers and in such a fervor, especially with some kind of scrying orb putting him on full disy for the masses to focus on with an image overhead, really put into perspective just what his position had be.


    Previous to this, he¡¯d thought of Gluttony as more of an abstract¡­ eh¡­ friend? More or less, anyways. They¡¯d actually gotten along really well, if Riven had to say so himself. Even despite what Ath and Fay had told him numerous times over, it hadn¡¯t really clicked until now that he was a bonded symbiote and the physical representation of a being that was worshiped across many demonic societies as a near godlike figure. Lillith was treated much the same, and by proxy - so were his minions as he watched them from afar.


    Devils, void beasts, subi, incubi, imps, minotaurs, beholders, arshakai, dryders, fallen satyrs, jabobs, brutalisks, demonic wyverns, cthulu-like humanoids, and dozens of other species he didn¡¯t know the names of were all in attendance. And the vast majority of them were focused on him.


    ¡°You seem slightly nervous.¡± Gluttony whispered in amusement through their thoughts, and Riven could only help but nod.


    ¡°This is a lot more than I¡¯d been expecting,ing here.¡± Riven said slowly, watching the mulling crowds start to settle down when Lillith and a number of robed clergy step forward to the balcony¡¯s front underneath therge statue monument to Gluttony.Lillith raised a hand, and her aura of shadows lightly pressed against the noise and beings present with a gentle rush all across the mile wide arena. The people and creatures present all immediately fell reverently silent, some of them even bowing their heads or prostrating themselves in respect.


    And when she spoke, her words traveled across therge underground room like a whisper - as if she were actually standing beside Riven and speaking into his ear; rather than standing nearly seven hundred yards away from him.


    ¡°Greetings, children of the maw.¡±


    It¡¯d be dead silent as her white eyes crossed the crowds of demonic beings. ¡°It pleases me to see that, despite our time being banished to the deepest parts of the abyss over untold eons, we have not been forgotten. That Gluttony has not been forgotten.¡±


    As one, the clergy scattered throughout the room echoed a nonsensical chant.


    Riven would really have to learn whatevernguage it was they were speaking in.


    Lillith continued her speech after a short pause. ¡°The younger generations of our great houses stand before me now, scions of the pirs of our monumental societies that have remained to flourish even in the aftermath of Gluttony¡¯s passing and the descent of Elysium - when it caught the sins and dragged them down into darkness to almost fade from memory.¡±


    At the mention of Elysium¡¯s action, the room went into an uproar as the demons cursed the system itself.


    But Lillith held up another hand, causing them all to quiet down once again. Her seven ck horns seamed to gleam under the firelight of balls of hellfire as they burst into radiance overhead, illuminating the dark colosseum and giving it a warmer ambiance. She smiled. ¡°We are not here to dwell upon the past. We are here, as first contact with the greater multiverse since our return, to show you all that Gluttony is back. That he intends to take this era into new heights! To rebuild what we have lost, and to reim his ce as the greatest of the sins so that all may know his glory!¡±


    The crowd immediately went into another uproar of apuse.


    ¡°After you leave this ce-¡± Lillith continued to speak over the thundering crowd. ¡°I want you to return home to your families! To your ns and your countries! To your kingdoms in the hells and your ziggurats in the void! To yourher realm homes where the weaker members of your ns remain huddled in fear after millennia of persecution during our absence, just for holding true to our cause, to let them know their time for fear is now past! To your strongest on the battlefields, call them to arms! And finally, I wish you to let our enemies and those who have turned traitor to know that it will not be long before their their time of reckoning is at hand! Before we enter the eternal war, Gluttony has made it clear to me that we will wipe clean the filth of those who betrayed our trust! Who seized our assets and killed our faithful to obtain our artifacts! Those who took our once sacrednds and sold them off to the highest bidders, or the demonic tribes who subverted the bedrock and foundations of our orders for their own greed! Let them ALL know that it will not be long before the banished regain our former power, and that we areing for them.¡±


    Lillith lifted her arm, and a long, intricate spear made from abyss itself shed into focus before exploding with her aura, and the entire underground arena shook under her might. Everyone there, even Riven himself, was put to their knees under the pressure she exuded for that brief instant.


    ¡°THIS IS MY PROMISE TO YOU!¡± Lillith shouted out as her aura vanished once again, and she mmed her wicked spear into the rock of the balcony with a resounding boom that sent cracks spiraling down the reinforced walls. ¡°WE WILL SEE THEIR BLOOD SPILLED AND OUR GLORY RESTORED!¡±


    The demons all roared in agreement. Wings red, auras heightened, feet stomped and fists pounded against the ground as a chant started arising from the crowd - the same chant that some of the priests had been uttering in that strangenguage earlier. It rose higher and higher, until every time the chant was uttered - the ground underneath Riven¡¯s feet shook with the force of it.


    A quick snap of power radiated from up above, and the room fell silent once more as reverent stares and gaping mouths hung open. Eyes widened and gasps appeared to all, as Gluttony¡¯s great maw opened up across the ceiling - stretching the entire length of the arena as wisps of ck tendrils snaked out and slowly down towards the floor beneath.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Some demons began to weep, while others began to cry out to him as others took knees or prostrated themselves once again.


    They all watched in awe as those tendrils began to spiral, intertwining with one another and closing in on Riven¡¯s position - before they embraced his body like a nket.


    Riven felt the cool tendrils of sin energy surging through his vessels and soul aperture, felt the soul start to change, and closed his eyes as he activated his demonic form for the very first time while whispering under his breath. His hands sped together, with hisst three fingers on each hand forming a roof while the thumb and pointer finger formed holes. Bringing his hands up to his face, the third eye on his forehead tore open and glowed a deep purple under the roof - while his red eyes looked out through the holes his finger and thumb made.<ul><li>


    <strong>Gluttony¡¯s Aspect of Demonic Heritage (Sin)(Tier 3): A martial art that enhances you through the power of your fully formed Mark of the Sinner. Your body merges with your soul clone for 1 minute, allowing you to take on an ultimate demonic form as an aspect of the Great Maw. Very long cooldown, which can be reduced by killing and eating others.</strong></li></ul>


    His body exploded as the tattoos along his skin all lit up from ck to violet.


    Muscles surged, and ripped. A long, huge tail tore out of his tailbone and whipped around in a frenzy. His chest split down the middle to incorporate Gluttony¡¯s usual visage in a vertical maw. Huge demonic horns sprouted from his head and his hair receded to reveal pitch ck skin with glowing violet sigils emzoned upon his skin, and his hands and feet exploded with ws. Legs snapped backwards and grewrger, inverting like a T-rex, and spines tore open across his spine while he grew to five times his normal height. Bone spikes tore out of his kneecaps and elbows, and his teeth grew like knives.


    When the four, bat-like demon wings of ck and violet spread open with a wingspan that could likely encircle a house, Riven finally opened his eyes again.


    He slowly looked down, a little over thirty feet tall, with his tail and wings slowly drifting out behind him. His chest opened up to reveal tongues of dark ck licking out at the air in front of him for dozens of feet, tasting the air while his body thundered with power.


    He was unstoppable in that moment, a being of pure destruction with no equal that caused the very space around him to flex and bend.


    And when he spoke, it was as one with Gluttony. The two of them had temporarily merged in both body and soul, and their consciousness had be linked. The sin energy was beyond anything that Riven could have ever imagined, being so palpable and so raw, and it felt like Riven could literally tear the world apart if he so wished for it.


    ¡°Youe here, and bring honor to your ns.¡± Riven and Gluttony spoke out in a dual, deep set voice that echoed effortlessly across the stands. ¡°It pleases me to see such loyalty in ones as young as you. Lillith has voiced my thoughts well, and we will see it done that our enemies find an early grave. However, today is a day of celebration¡­ one that will be celebrated with trials bybat for all our F and early E grade prodigies to witness. And perhaps it will be an opportunity for many of you to even participate in.¡±


    A huge set of double doors on the opposite end of the colosseum creaked opened, and through it walked Amano. The half gargoyle, half minotaur master of the church sanctuaries in The Abyssal Descent was fully outfitted in sleek silver armor that starkly contrasted against his ck skin. He had a huge battle axe in one hand, and he knelt in reverence when the doors shut behind him.


    Riven and Gluttony spread their wings to their fullest extent, and they raised a wed hand to point in Amano¡¯s direction. ¡°You all should know Amano, Master of the Sanctuaries, quite well since you¡¯re all here. He will be the first to challenge my symbiotic partner - Riven - in one on onebat. Through theing weeks we will hold trials ofbat meant to teach Riven both humility and technique, and anyone who manages to best him will be greatly rewarded. Anyone who wishes to challenge him may do so, and anyone who is able to take him to the point of death¡¯s door where Lillith and the clergy need to personally intervene to save his live - you will even be granted a boon.¡±


    Murmurs of both confusion and excitement began to echo throughout the room as Gluttony held up a wed hand.


    ¡°Though you may find this request odd, it is essential that my partner learns that simply wielding a bigger stick isn¡¯t always a viable option. This is an opportunity for him to both learn, and to correct a personality w when subjugated to the reality of what the multiverse can provide as opposition - as opposed to the weaklings on his currently integrating. So what boons and rewards do I speak of? To any F or E grade church member here who beats Riven into submission inbat, you will be granted a minor blessing. To anyone who does it without being harmed at all, your house will be honored with an artifact from the church coffers.¡±


    The murmurs of excitement grew in volume and pitch.


    Riven¡¯s mind and body twisted, and suddenly he was standing in his own body again. Sweat drenched his skin, and Gluttony¡¯s maw was separated from him by a couple feet as it continued to speak.


    ¡°Together, we will celebrate our return by clobbering my counterpart to death time and time again. Inbetween, instructors that have already been selected from your ranks will train him for the next round of challenges. During these intermittent periods of time, others will be allowed to fight for the entertainment of the crowds. This will repeat for however long I deem fit, until he is an eptable vessel to take further into The Abyssal Descent. Let the games begin. Please feel free to partake of the highest quality food and drink avable as it is brought out over theing days, provided as a courtesy of the church.¡±


    ***


    Gentry, the drow man who¡¯d been either unfortunate or fortunate enough to follow Riven to the ¡®special event¡¯ hosted by Lavini the subus - had been expecting some kind of scandalous get-together with Lavini¡¯s sisters. Maybe some of her friends. The way that subus Lavini had looked at Riven over and over again on their descent while following the strange but very powerful demon Amano had made Gentry scratch his head in jealousy and confusion.


    But he¡¯d never expected something like this.


    A secretplex full of demons that followed one of the lost sins. Lillith, a figure of myth and legend that stood directly in front of him while he sat back with Riven¡¯s other minions. Dozens of some of the most prominent demonic figures of his age and tier group vying for attention with people he¡¯d been having a hot springs bath with only an hour ago, while Riven himself was the reincarnation of some godlike demonic origin?


    He felt his throat catch as Lillith came back to sit down beside the Allie girl, who was apparently Riven¡¯s sister and a fallen angel at that. Looking over his shoulder, there were even two representatives of the scythe - reapers if he was correct, who were waiting to speak to Allie but had been told they¡¯d have to wait until the ceremonies were done.


    Nobody told reapers they had to wait.


    Gentry pushed his fingers up against his temples, and got a knowing pat on the shoulder from Azmoth - who was the only one Gentry feltfortable talking with at the moment given the three women minions of Riven¡¯s retinue hadn¡¯t taken much of a liking to him after his gawking stares.


    ¡°It ok. You fine.¡± Azmoth consoled the drow man who was trying not to hyperventte, but failed when Gentry let out a startled scream when Fimrindle shed to his left and took a seat in an empty chair.


    The strange, metal scarecrow slowly turned his head to the startled drow, scoffed, and then shook his head before passing Azmoth arge b of meat he¡¯d confiscated from the refreshments table. It was the size of a fully grown hog, and Azmoth started chomping down noisily without a care in the world to the attempts at getting his attention from ambitious young scions of the more prominent demonic families here.


    ¡°This should be a good fight, Amano is very capable from what my informants tell me.¡± Fimrindle said in an uncharacteristically upbeat and talkative mood. ¡°I heard Lillith say that Riven doesn¡¯t stand a chance with his current capabilities after viewing some of Amano¡¯s fight records, but it¡¯ll be good to see Riven get pushed to his limits. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve actually seen Riven fight at 100%, not truly, and certainly not recently. Even Allie wants to fight him. It¡¯ll be interested to see how my own master stacks up to yours¡­¡±


    Fimrindle nced back at Azmoth from across where Gentry sat. ¡°Don¡¯t you think?¡±


    "Allie get crushed under Riven''s might like fly under boot!" Azmoth roared happily, chomping down onto the meat and ripping a piece off to swallow - only to get a re from Allie who''d heard hisment. Azmoth raised a hand in his own defense. "I must support master because he friend. You just sister of friend. Sorry."


    Fimrindle chuckled at the innocentment and Lillith grinned with a sideways nce before the sound of a booming drum and the rolling thunder of cheers announced the start of the fight - with the announcing high priest shouting:


    "BEGIN!"

 Chapter 263

    Chapter 263


    <strong>Chapter 263</strong>


    Metal boots and greaves were secured and tight. Messenger snapped on like a second skin and Jackal shed into his hand as the crowds roared, and he tossed the spare spatial sack he¡¯d borrowed off to the side just before the high priest called for the fight to start.


    Barriers all around the arena went up and the drums echoed around them.


    Despite being here to improve himself and follow up on his shorings, there was certainly arge part of Riven that wanted to prove all of them wrong. To show them that he wasn¡¯t as unskilled as Gluttony and Lillith seemed to think he was, but then again he knew that line of thought was arrogant. He¡¯d had little to no training, was self-taught in magic, so he pushed his pride aside and assumed one of the few stances that¡¯d been taught to him by his ex-thrall Luke. His red eyes narrowed, and he stared out at the demon in front of him.


    ¡°I hear you¡¯re pretty strong.¡± Riven stated, raising his weapon as his body exploded with Hell¡¯s Armor and Blessing of the Crow - thetter of which having been influenced by his Path of Red and ck. His body roiled with me and unholy energies, and rivers of blood flowed across the long de of his spear-staff. ¡°I won¡¯t be using any summons or minions. I hope you have a lot to show me.¡±


    Amano, for his part, bowed low at the waist in a sign of respect before swinging his silver battle axe around with practiced ease in a defensive stance. The thick silver te armor along his body glinted under the fireballs illuminating the arena, and he smiled. ¡°It is an honor to fight Gluttony¡¯s Chosen - for the entertainment of the great maw and the great general Lillith herself. Please forgive me for what transpires next, and know that I am more than willing to give pointers after it is done - but I will not be holding back. Lillith has informed me that they will not let either of us die no matter what happens, and that I am free to truly try and kill you.¡±


    Riven hesitated, then nodded just once. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect you to hold back. Let¡¯s not keep them waiting.¡±


    The fight was on.


    He tore open a ck rift in space, and in the next millisecond Riven¡¯s swing blurred in a downward arc into Amano¡¯s back. The demon¡¯s axe was there in an instant in a shower of sparks as gray and ck chaos energy swept up around him to block - sending a st of energy that threw Riven backwards through the air in an uncontrolled spiral before a follow up sh of Amano¡¯s weapon sent an arc of dark lightning like a crescent wave.Riven managed to discharge a ck lightning bolt of his own that counteracted the crescent, and the colliding powers tore a crater into the stone ground fifty feet deep that sent debris spraying into the air.


    Riven finished his uncontrolled spin andnded on his two feet, then got up and dusted his pauldron of - cracking his shoulder.


    Amano on the other hand put his hands on his hips andughed as the crowd cheered. ¡°Vampire! I am impressed! For a level 200 F-grade to block my attack like that is noteworthy. However, I am aware that you have a warlock ss. Is that correct?¡±


    Riven lifted his head and nodded from across the crater as the dust cleared amidst still-falling stone rubble. ¡°That¡¯s right. Warlock Devastator.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Amano nodded appreciatively. ¡°So that is why your physical strikes hit so hard. I see¡­ The passive bonus to physical damage, infused with magic.¡±<ul><li>


    <strong>ss: Warlock Devastator, Devastator ss Trait (physical strikes are imbued with unholy damage equal to 1% of damage being done at full mana capacity)</strong></li></ul>


    Riven smirked. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you-¡±


    The vampire prince didn¡¯t get to finish his sentence as Amano mmed a spiked fist into his face. The demon had moved so fast that Riven had barely even seen iting, and he¡¯d not been able to react in time.


    Riven¡¯s body crashed into the stone floor beneath them and bounced off the floor from the impact, only for his head to be smashed back into the stone yet again. His vision went ck for an instant, as Messenger¡¯s armor rang loudly in his ears while Amano¡¯s attacks picked up speed. Fist strike after fist strike crashed into Riven like a machine gun with the power of cannons behind each hit mming him square in the face, again creating a crater underneath the twobatants as the back of Riven¡¯s helmet dug further and further into the ground.


    ¡°FIRST LESSON OF YOUR TRAINING, VAMPIRE!¡± Amano yelled over the crashing stone as Riven went in and out of consciousness, while his vampiric healing went into overdrive to keep him awake. ¡°EVEN IF YOU HAVE A CLASS PARTIALLY ORIENTED TO CLOSE COMBAT AS A MAGE, YOUR FOCUS IS STILL IN MAGIC AND MANA! YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON YOUR STRENGTHS, AND UTILIZING YOUR STATS APPROPRIATELY! YOU¡¯RE ALREADY AT A LEVEL DISADVANTAGE, AND MY CHAOS GUARDIAN CLASS WHEN PITTED AGAINST YOUR HYBRID WARLOCK CLASS ISN¡¯T A GOOD MATCH TO FIGHT ME IN CLOSE QUARTERS!¡±


    Riven had a moment of rity amidst a forced spray of blood from his mouth when Amano mmed a fist into his chest, then Riven exploded with hellfire as he put more and more of his mana into Hell¡¯s Armor.


    The demon flipped out of the newest crater they¡¯d created and picked up his axe again with a twirl and augh, then activated a martial art that turned his skin into ebony stone just before the entire stadium lit up with me.


    The ground shook with a secondary explosion and the stone floor underneath Riven melted away before being shredded in a groundbreaking thunderp of power that blinded the onlookers. The barrier remained firm however, and the roars of the crowd grew louder as the light faded away to give sight to the two still-standingbatants.


    Riven was angrily ring out from underneath his helmet, vision spinning, an inferno covered with additional ck metal tes from his body modification; hovering over a sea of molten rock that bubbled and churned.


    Amano¡¯s body on the other hand waspletely untouched while he stood in theva, not even a scratch on his pristine silver armor to be noted, and his skin remained a hard ebony while calling out to Riven with a raised hand. ¡°There it is! This is what I was told I would see! This is the power I was told of!¡±


    He nodded approvingly as Riven floated down,nding two-feet deep into the liquid molten rock while starting to walk towards Amano - spitting blood.


    ¡°As a warlock devastator, you have the option of utilizing close quarters fighting. But that option should only be used sparingly. In a scenario where you fight an opponent of equal or stronger standing than you who is geared towards sses such as berserkers, pdins, knights, guardians, or warriors - they will have a distinct stat advantage.¡± Amano jabbed a thumb into his silver-covered chest. ¡°I have almost no points in intelligence, willpower, or faith at all. That ck lightning you saw was derived from stamina, a martial art, and I¡¯m a purely physicalbatant. My race also provides me with more baseline stats than the mortals you are used to, the ones you killed back on your home, so your pureblood vampire race doesn¡¯t give you an advantage there either. Even with your Hell¡¯s Armor and Blessing of the Crow spells, and even with your percentage based ss trait to enhance your physical strikes, it would be in your best interest to keep me at a distance when able. That way, you are able to capitalize on your strengths while not allowing me to utilize my own. I¡¯ll say it one more time: when fighting opponents of greater or equal strength, your close quartersbat should be as limited as possible to take advantage of your own magic-based stats - that means stop walking towards me.¡±


    Riven snapped his head left, eyes wide as a trail of azure blue light trailed Amano¡¯s axe and snapped a horn off of his left pauldron with a clean cut. Again, the minotaur-gargoyle hybrid had moved so quickly that Riven could barely tell he¡¯d done it before the attack was alreadynding.


    But it¡¯d been a bait.


    Riven¡¯s aura soared to an extreme, freezing everything around him including Amano¡¯s feet as the molten rock quickly cooled and caused him to stick in ce. Spires of crimson shot into the sky, and turned back, before crashing down on Amano¡¯s position.


    The demon¡¯s eyes widened, and an approving smile crept across his face when Riven¡¯s arm snapped up - coated in writhing blood mana.


    Pouring as much energy into the ¡®snipe¡¯ infused bloodnce, he let the long spear of red loose with a crackle of ck sparks.


    The attack met just as the spires came down, and-


    <strong><em>CRASH</em></strong>


    Riven¡¯s vision spun, and he found himself embedded into the floor again - leaving a two-hundred meter line of torn bedrock in his wake as he came to an abrupt stop. Debris andva had been flung into the air in his passing, and a stinging, painful sensation resonated through his right shoulder. Looking over, he saw that his own armor had been cutpletely through - and that he was now missing his entire right arm with a stump in its ce.


    Standing over him, and with Riven¡¯s arm in his hand, was a wickedly grinning demon with his wings red out to either side. Tauntingly, he bent over Riven and showed his teeth. ¡°Come,e, we can¡¯t be letting the crowds go without a better show than-UMPH!¡±


    Riven smashed his foot into the cocky demon¡¯s crotch so fast that it created a sonic boom, and only barely managed to create a rift underneath his body before the enraged demon cleaved his weapon into the ground where Riven had been a secondter.


    Riven shot up high, blood streaming out of his stump-arm as a spray of wretched snares bloomed overhead to entangle the demon far below.


    The snares hit nothing but air as Amano blurred, and Riven¡¯s eyes barely followed him as he burst from the ground in a spray ofva and smashed Riven so hard into the ceiling that even the barrier surrounding the arena flickered.


    Riven gasped, feeling his spine crunch and his lower body go limp . Looking down, he saw the axe had cut through his waist just below where Messenger ended and his steel leggings began. The de was lodged there, keeping him stuck to the ceiling, and before Amano couldnd the follow-up punch to his skull - Riven twisted.


    Screaming in pain and literally tearing his upper body off the useless set of lower legs, he sent a pulse of power out from his hand to propel him back towards the ground. Simultaneously he summoned a cloud of storm razors in a rush of spinning, crackling red and ck des while falling through the air with no legs and only one arm.


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    The storm of red collided with Amano in a shower of sparks as he somehow glued his feet to the ceiling, moving with a speed that allowed him to deflect each and every one of the hundreds and then thousands of discs that crashed into his position. His axe spun, weaved and blurred - cutting through, smashing and redirecting each and every one of the storm razors for nearly ten seconds before identifying Riven¡¯s position again mid-fall andunching himself towards the vampire.


    ¡°NEFAJIA CRECUS BLOOD NOVA!¡±


    <strong><em>BOOM</em></strong>


    Riven saw the giant orb of destructive blood crash directly into the demon right before Amano¡¯s figure tore out of it. A shit-eating grin was still stered on Amano¡¯s face, wings red out to either side, and arge axe raised as he let out a shout of his own - though Riven couldn¡¯t hear what he said due to the ringing in his ears.


    The axe connected, but the vertical maw along Messenger¡¯s armor opened to snap down on the attack right upon impact. Deep tendrils of darkness started reaching out from the armor during their flight to wrap around Amano¡¯s arm, but the demon yanked back - exploding in green light - then somehow propelled himself out of Messenger¡¯s grip to fly skywards.


    ¡°METEOR STRIKE!¡±


    The demon¡¯s axe red with hellfire, and with a scream - he flung the weapon in a spinning arc that torpedoed like a homing missile directly into Riven¡¯s already mutted body.


    Despite Riven¡¯s resistance to me given his Hell¡¯s Armor, the prowess of the attack was more than enough to crack through his armor and cleave his chest in two - before erupting into me and imbedding Riven over a hundred feet into the ground with another sonic boom.


    ***


    Riven woke up with a gasp, heart thudding rapidly in his chest as he looked around. He could hear the cheers of the crowd in the distance and the sound of apuse, as two of his minions huddled around him while hey on a soft bed in a small stone room. Two other attendants dressed in ck and purple clergy robes were also there, a cthulu-like man and arge imp, both of which bowed and left immediately upon seeing him wake.


    ¡°Feeling better?¡± Fay asked with a worried smile, using a wet washcloth to wipe at Riven¡¯s forehead. Her pretty features were furrowed in concern, and she shared a nce with Ath who wore a very simr look upon her own face.


    He looked down at his body, pulling off a thin sheet of fabric, and was surprised to see that his limbs were all intact. However, he could see new but already fading scars now present where he¡¯d lost his lower body and one arm not too long ago. There was even a pink area down his test that looked like it¡¯d been his with a lightning strike by the way the tissue had healed, but those pink lines were very slowly vanishing right before his eyes as well.


    ¡°Are Messenger and Jackal alright?¡± Riven asked, grunting as he tried to sit up - but he quickly fell back to aying position when he felt a sharp twinge of pain in his lower spine. Then he abruptly felt Gluttony¡¯s presence shift inside his body, working with his vampiric heritage to repair the damage that¡¯d not yet been fixed.


    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re fine!¡± Ath pushed him back down at a more rapid rate and held her hand on his chest with a kind and caring smile. ¡°Kicking that guy in the crotch probably wasn¡¯t the best idea. He got really mad after that and stopped going easy on you.¡±


    Fay saw the scowl of annoyance on Riven¡¯s features and started to giggle, raising a hand to her lips. ¡°Yes, that was actually quite funny. I¡¯m not sure if you heard it during your fight, but the entire crowd erupted inughter - especially when he became so enraged.¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes and got asfortable as he could in the bed, feeling a sense of fatigue wash over him. ¡°Well where ARE Messenger and Jackal?¡±


    ¡°Being looked over by some of the best smiths here for repairs. Messenger got it especially bad.¡± Ath stated promptly. ¡°The back of the helmet is dented after Amano smashed your face into the ground so many times, one of the pauldrons is seriously damaged, and the entire front where that maw is was obliterated. Jackal only had a small dent in the de.¡±


    Fay cleared her throat.


    ¡°Amano was using a relic-armor, some family heirloom from the fourth-era wars against the heavens that has been passed down for generations in his n to their rising E and D grade prodigies. It¡¯s certainly on par with your own equipment.¡± Fay said with a thoughtful nce out the hall where the two clergy had disappeared. ¡°I was surprised that Messenger actually broke though. Thankfully as long as the spirit is intact, your armor won¡¯t actually die. And we have a lot of the materials needed for repairing sin-afflicted items in the Abyss, so it¡¯s easy to do so here.¡±


    The sound ofrge pounding feet echoing through the halls over the screams and shouts of the arena caused Riven to turn his head, and he smiled as Azmoth and Genua made an appearance with Lillith in the back.


    Genua gave a small bow, but otherwise stayed silent and submissive as she stepped to the side to allow Azmoth through.


    ¡°You not fight bad.¡± Azmoth immediately said, kneeling down to the bedside to get closer to Riven¡¯s eye-level. He took arge bite out of a b of meat in one hand, chewed, then swallowed with a satisfied grunt. ¡°Amano very strong and in E-grade. You get better and beat him eventually.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow from where hey, then turned his gaze on Lillith - who was smiling down at him with an amused expression while the yellow flower around one of her horns turned in his direction. ¡°I got my ass thoroughly kicked. Honestly, I¡¯d thought I¡¯d at least put up a fight¡­ but Amano was just toying with me early on. Even though he said he wouldn¡¯t go easy on me.¡±


    Thinking about it, Riven hadn''t been beaten that badly... ever? Even when he''d been starting out and very weak, after first learning his basic spells in Chalgathi''s trials and had nearly died to that bald cultist... It had been close, but he''d won. Here, being pitted against one of the best E-grades the unholy pir had to offer, it certainly put into perspective that there were far bigger fish out there than himself even at his own level.


    Amano had taken a blood nova head on without even blinking. That was one of Riven''s strongest direct strikes.


    ¡°He was toying with you - until you kicked him, that is.¡± Lillith winked, thenughed. ¡°He didn¡¯t want to make you look too bad, but going for a cheap shot like that - all bets were off.¡±


    ¡°I go back and watch other fights now with Gentry, Allie and Retesh. And Fimrindle, he weird but ok, and they talking to other reapers now. Lillith pitting different ns against each other to entertain crowd and it interesting to watch. Get better soon.¡± Azmoth rose up, ruffled Genua¡¯s hair to her obvious irritation, and then walked out while chomping down on more of the meat in his hands.


    Riven took Ath¡¯s hand when she reached for his, intertwining his fingers, and watched the young brutalisk go. ¡°Who¡¯s Retesh?¡±


    ¡°Retesh Vorath.¡± Fay said, shooting Ath a slightly jealous re and reaching for Riven¡¯s other hand so she¡¯d be holding one too. ¡°The lich from Panu. He¡¯s the one who came with Lillith and Allie when you were first introduced to Amano not long ago.¡±


    ¡°From Panu? The guy from the world quest? What the hell is he doing here?¡±


    Fay gestured to Lillith with her eyes. ¡°I believe it was decided that Retesh has some promise, and Lillith provided him with a ticket. Is that correct, esteemed one?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± Lillith said, creating a chair from solid shadow and sitting on it cross-legged while folding her arms. ¡°The dog shows a small amount of promise, and he arrived in yournds not long after I brought Allie back out of the underdark asking for our help. It appears that Elysium is giving our opposition many boons and bonuses to increase their chances of survival and sess, and has given Restesh and his undead empire across the ocean from Umbra quite a bit of trouble. I believe you know the name Judith Marcina?¡±


    ¡°The previous number 1 spot.¡± Riven acknowledged.


    Lillith nodded. ¡°She¡¯s allied with many of the sea-faring peoples now, and has hired many off-world mercenaries from various holy orders that are more than happy to send entire generations of their offspring to their deaths - in an attempt to get you killed. And to kill as many of the banished as they can. Even if one of us dies, that¡¯s a future powerhouse snuffed out early that their elders won¡¯t have to deal withter on. To them, killing even one of us is worth the thousands of their young that will perish.¡±


    The archdemoness snorted in derision with a shake of her head, her seven crowned horns shimmering unnaturally in the light. ¡°They¡¯re desperate to kill as many of the banished as they can before we grow our strength back, and are amassing an invasion force to clear out Retesh¡¯s undead cities before mounting an attack on Umbra itself. In fact, we almost lost one of the banished to their number already when nephilim attempted to finish Retesh off just as he madend. The nephilim were killed by the hundreds, and Judith escaped, but when I say it was close¡­¡±


    Lillith¡¯s face darkened further with a frown. ¡°It was incredibly close. We had to put Namath, the demon in question, into a stasis ritual to save his life. It was a stark reminder to all of us banished that though we may have the skills and knowledge of the ancients, we are still not as infallible or immortal as we once thought. Even we sometimes fall victim to overconfidence, so do not take the lessons of humility that we are trying to impress upon you lightly, Riven. Overconfidence can easily get any of us killed, it is a flimsy shield, and it is where legends go to die.¡±


    Riven pondered her words, slowly mulling over what was to be done and the numerous questions he had on the subject. ¡°So did Allie finish her world quest in the underdark then?¡±


    ¡°No. She evolved into an angel of death and lost her vampiric heritage, and was unable to absorb the currently semi-dead vampiric elder god. It will fall upon you or another pureblood on the to finish the quest, and three of the necromancers he went down there with her were killed in an attempt on her life. She almost died in her attempt, and would have if the ritual I¡¯d stopped had been left alone. It was using siphoned souls of her followers to attack the very structure of her core apparatus.¡±


    His breath caught in his throat as he thought about nearly losing Allie, and he had to quickly repress a surge of worry that flooded through him.


    ¡°I see. Thank you, for saving her then.¡±


    Lillith gave a nod of confirmation. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll be training her as well as you, I don¡¯t intend to let either of you die. The vampiric precursors there will be prepared for our second attempt though, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be as easy as the first time to make it to the temple where I found the elder god¡¯s coffin. I wish I could have taken the coffin with me, but Elysium would not allow it. We¡¯ll talk more about itter. Do you have any other pressing questions before I go over what you can improve upon?¡±


    Riven thought for a moment, allowing Ath to get under the covers and snuggle up against him. ¡°Who is running the Thane Necropolis in our absence? Gurth¡¯Rok? Dr. Brass?¡±


    ¡°Tre¡¯Zix of the Purple w, and Kathrine Vonsi Crushada, the vampiric princess.¡± Lillith promptly replied. ¡°Alongside a man named Crendir No-Name, an E-grade champion sent from The Blood Moon Requiem and a man that your General Viku spoke very highly of in our briefmunication. The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s forces arrived just before I came to The Abyssal Descent, but Dungeon Negrada - though they are now able to reinforce yournds through Elysium¡¯s new event pacts - have held off in sending reinforcements until their own wars in the hells are over with. Tre¡¯Zix is leading the forces in Negrada¡¯s Hellscapes to secure the dungeonnds quite quickly, while Kathrine remains in Brightsville with the assistance of Gurth¡¯Rok and Dr. Brass to run your country for you. General Bruner is finishing his own job conqueringnds surrounding Chicago, ones that I am told tried to assassinate you at one point and failed miserably in doing so.¡±


    Lillith paused, tilting her head to the side to think. ¡°40,000 Sarak ve soldiers from Vartesh have been sent, courtesy of House Wraithtide. 15,000 vampiric soldiers from House Wraithtide have arrived as well, with an additional 10,000 vampiric soldiers from The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s most elite factions and noble families that were all approved by the High Queen Nephridi. The man named Jeltuna, the Voice of the Sarak I believe you called him, is currently being trained formand of his kin by Kathrine. She tells me the chosen Sarak are being leveled on feral undead, and are being trained regrly in the hearnd of your empire while being regrly harvested non-lethally for blood to feed some of the native vampires who¡¯de out of the underdark to beg for rations - as their thralls were all changed by the system into undead variants too. Humans from Chicago are being paid very well for voluntary blood donations too, while prisoners of war are being forced to give blood regrly to maintain the vampiric armies you¡¯ve recently acquired. Meanwhile, Kathrine has sent Crendir No-Name tomand a force of F-grade elites from The Blood Moon Requiem northwards. They intend to conquer the city-states and countries of Umbra that have not already pledged themselves to the Thane Necropolis as vassals. There are only a couple hold-outs that were turned into undead, and they¡¯ll likely fall within the month if they cannot be bribed into submission. Unfortunately the forces from The Blood Moon Requiem cannot cross the sea to assist Retesh or his forces beyond Umbra for a year¡¯s time, ording to system parameters on the event quest, but he hopes that we can spare some of our other forces to aid his people before Judithmits genocide - or so he says. Did I miss anything?¡±


    Lillith turned to Fay and Ath, who both hesitantly shook their heads no.


    ¡°Good.¡± Lillith nodded and uncrossed her arms to lean forward. ¡°The details on what¡¯s happening in Panu can wait beyond what I¡¯ve already told you. For now, let¡¯s go over what you can improve on - and what you did wrong in that fight against Amano. Then, we¡¯ll pit you against a series of assassins to shore up your obviouscking areas regarding stealthed opponents.¡±

 Chapter 264

    Chapter 264


    <strong>Chapter 264</strong>


    Days passed them by, and then days turned into weeks.


    Riven was predominantly thrown into five different types of public events, and he lost a little more than half of them on average. They were one on one duels, team battles, survival courses where 20 people had a free for all in an ever-changing and violent environment that was constantly trying to kill them, sensory deprivation fights where sight and sound were removed, and finally - one versus many. Inbetween fights he¡¯d be set aside while other events took ce in what had be a gigantic training regimen sponsored by the church, where Lillith herself would lecture him on what he¡¯d done wrong and right - before providing demonstrations. For an untrained, self taught warlock, Lillith said he wasn¡¯t doing too bad - but to not let that get to his head because he was still miles behind where he needed to be.


    During this time, he quickly came to realize three things. First, he wasn¡¯t anywhere near as talented as he¡¯d previously thought he was. Yes he had immense amounts of power, but there were manybatants who had less energy stores than him but still beat him handily. Second, he was very, very wasteful in how he utilized his magic. There was a lot of energy expenditure he didn¡¯t utilize that was lost to the ether simply because he didn¡¯t maintain control over it after it was released. This caused problems whenever he faced opponents that were able to fully utilize their power output and sessfully usedpact attacks. Thirdly, he¡¯d been relying far too much on his regeneration, better gear, and minions to get him out of tight situations. This was less so for Fay and Azmothtely as they¡¯d fallen so far behind, but when it truly came down to it - he had won most of his fights after Negrada because he¡¯d had the bigger stick and a very keen sense of mana maniption - especially when it came to the Blood Subpir.


    Not to mention he was still seriously at a disadvantage against stealth-type opponents, which had a disproportionate win rate against him in any of the given scenarios. This was also something that had been pointed out to him, but it wasn¡¯t as if he didn¡¯t already know it.


    His squad-to-be also trained under Lillith. With Lillith as their future guide into the Abyssal Descent, and 5 being the number that could travel between floors with one another due to system guidelines, the other four of them were Riven, Allie, Retesh the Lich, and Nora Lang.


    Then at the end of each training session between fights or events, Riven was forced to meditate along with the others as they prepared their soulttices. Under the guidance of Gluttony, the five of them were shown how to create bridges between or around their pirs. They were akin to scaffolding, and different structural patterns in different amounts created different effects. It could change the way mana left your body, what mana was produced, how mana interacted with the environment and more - but the process was slow going and small mistakes could lead to entire failures of the internal soul system they had. There was even one time where Nora couldn¡¯t use a single skill after she¡¯d identally re-wired her scaffolding improperly, and had topletely tear it all down to restart from scratch. Nora was also singled out specifically, being sent back to Chalgathi¡¯s altar trials whenever easy quests appeared for quick points so she could gain XP - as she hadn¡¯t yet grown to level 200 and had a level cap imposed by the system due to the nature of the world quest. The only way she could actually gain levels right now was bypleting those event quests, and she needed to reach level 200 in order to fully utilize the teachings of soul scaffolding that was being taught to her.


    As for Riven¡¯s minions, only Ath had been deemed as adequate after another in-depth evaluation of their skills. This was inrge part due to the level discrepancy Azmoth, Fay, and Genua had whenpared to Riven or Ath - but in the end, ¡®WHY¡¯ didn¡¯t matter. Not to the clergy, not to the onlookers in the Abyssal Descent, and not to Lillith. The reincarnation needed to be protected at all costs, and already there¡¯d been floods of prospects asking for Riven¡¯sst minion slot - or even group offers that wanted to rece Riven¡¯s current minion set and suggesting that he let Fay and Azmoth go. Azmoth didn¡¯t seem to care much as he had absolute faith that Riven wouldn¡¯t do that, but it very seriously impacted Fay¡¯s mental health as they were all forced into a training regimen of their own that - in many ways - was far more brutal than Riven¡¯s.


    ***The eye of the vortex at the city¡¯s center was one of few ces where you could regrly fight F-grade abyssal creatures in a life and death struggle before passing into the secondyer of the descent. It was a small, alternate realm connecting the first and second floors that had a filter on it imposed by Elysium, and it wasn¡¯t entirely unheard of for those descending to die even here so early on. But the abyssal creatures ranged in level from 160 to 200 here in this firstyer¡¯s bridge, so most of these elites from across the multiverse didn¡¯t have too much of a problem.


    However, most of these F-grade elites were at the apex of their climb and heading into E-grade, or even already E-grade if they¡¯d chosen to remain afterpleting their soulttice. As for Azmoth, Fay, and Genua¡­ things were not that way. Genua in particr had been taken by Amano and over eight hundred of the most powerful scions Gluttony¡¯s Church had here to escort her as she leveled up, making sure she was power-leveled effectively while keeping Gluttony¡¯s child safe as shecked a minion contract that¡¯d let her respawn. While Azmoth, Fay, and even Ath to a lesser extent were pushed into battle after battle with monsters of the deep to either sink of swim.


    It was one of these asions, in the alternate realm between floors, that Fay found herself in now. Beaten, bruised, and with an ugly festering wound on her side - she gasped and wed at the strange ck dirt as clouds crackled with sin energy far above them. A squid-like creaturey rotting at her side, and with signs of recent intervention on behalf of Fay¡¯s escorts.


    Lavini the redheaded subus looked down at Fay with a frown. She sighed and shook her head slowly as the blue-type illusionist and curse specialist panted and coughed up blood on the floor. ncing sideways to where some of the other five volunteer tutors had gathered to help whip Fay into shape, Lavini threw up her hands in exasperation.


    ¡°Fay.¡± Lavini stated with a hint of irritation in her words, and she leaned over the younger subus to pour a healing potion over the girl - before handing the rest of it off for Fay to drink. ¡°How is it that you came to be one of the Reincarnation¡¯s minions?¡±


    Lavini poked Fay with her staff, getting a groan from the young woman and sighing when Fay still didn¡¯t get up. Lavini then took a cross-legged position and bent lower to whisper in Fay¡¯s ear. ¡°Answer me. I wish to know.¡±


    Fay, for her part, struggled desperately to raise herself off the ck ground where her blood had left a pool underneath her. The wounds she had were slowly healing, and she coughed up a ball of phlegm before managing to sit upright and stare Lavini in the face. ¡°It was chance. He was not the Reincarnation yet.¡±


    ¡°But he still chose you. Why?¡± Lavini asked curiously, allowing Fay to use her arm as a support beam to maintain bnce.


    Fay coughed again, grimaced at her torn clothes and the bloodstained boots Riven had gifted her, then slumped her shoulders. ¡°It was because I had a good set of utility spells, I think. I was a good fit for him because my illusions helped keep him alive.¡±


    Lavini blinked. ¡°I see. What kinds of enemies were you fighting back then?¡±


    ¡°Goblins, orcs, and humans mostly. On Panu.¡±


    ¡°And do you think that your spells are still able to do that? Against opponents like this?¡±


    Lavini gestured to the single squid creature, one that she¡¯d damaged beforehand to help Fay fight it. The monster was a level 161 Abyssal Prongsnapper, withrge spikesing out of its legs and hundreds of eyes across its upper body.


    Fay¡¯s grimace grew deeper. ¡°Of course not, a monster like that would give even the other Apex rankers on Panu a hard time. My charm wouldn¡¯t work on it. My dreamwalker illusions were dispersed by the creature just by a mere flex of its aura, and my curse of rot was too weak to damage it before it repaired its outeryers of skin until you helped me at the end. Curse trap was able to do a little bit, but not much. Dark pact doesn¡¯t work on myself to heal. The Willpower of the creature was too high for silvertongue to do anything other than briefly stagger it. If you¡¯re trying to point out that I¡¯m weak, I already know it as fact.¡±


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    Lavini smirked at the venom in Fay¡¯s words, and she patted the younger demoness on the back consolingly. ¡°As long as you truly do know, Fay. You see those other five that followed us here?¡±


    Lavini gave a brief gesture in their direction, where they stood a couple dozen meters away with folded arms and scowls on their faces - two incubi and three subi. All of them were some of the best the descent could offer for their species.


    Fay hesitated. ¡°Yes, what about them?¡±


    Lavini gave her a knowing smile. ¡°Each and every one of them is hoping that you spectacrly fail Lillith¡¯s requirements, so that they can report to Lillith that you should be reced. Either by themselves, or by one of their n who they vouch for. What you have is the opportunity of a lifetime, and they want it.¡±


    Fay¡¯s face scrunched up in abined look of embarrassment, rage, and horror. She spit blood, and her fingernails dug into her palms while she red at the ground. ¡°Riven is mine. He would not so easily cast me away just because they want him to.¡±


    Lavini raised an eyebrow, then giggled and put a hand up to her face while spreading her wings. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m not implying he would in the way you¡¯re implying. But Riven is different from Gluttony, child. You must realize that the Reincarnation¡¯s safety is of utmost importance for Gluttony¡¯s climb. ording to Lillith, Riven is a very rare specimen based on intrinsic power and bloodline - one that can greatly help ease Gluttony¡¯s rise back to power. If he dies¡­ it will be a catastrophic blow to the Great Maw.¡±


    Lavini let the silence continue on after that for a little while, as Fay continued to look at the dirt in front of her. Lavini sighed. ¡°Your position as his mate is no doubt something that many would kill for, but that should not be your immediate concern. From what I am told, that is not what Lillith is concerned about either. What she is concerned about, however, is your status as a minion. They are not one in the same, and you could remain as his mate while not being his minion if need be. May I be frank?¡±


    Fay slowly looked up to the other subus, then nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good. You and the other minions Riven has collected are sub-par.¡± Lavini paused, waiting for Fay to get angry about the promation - but she only saw sadness and resignation in Fay¡¯s eyes. ¡°Perhaps Ath would have made it to The Abyssal Descent on her own, based on only her skill, but even she is incrediblyzy in her duties protecting Riven. As numerous others have pointed out, she is primarily a stealth-type assassin even despite her unique ability to swap between forms. She¡¯s also an archdemon, and herbat prowess is rather good. However, despite that, Riven has nearly died numerous times due to her innaction and inattentiveness, and Genua nearly died along with Gluttony¡¯s child because she was choosing to nap instead of keep guard. Do you know how often an archdemon actually needs to sleep?¡±


    Fay didn¡¯t reply.


    ¡°Not often.¡± Lavini stated, confirming the answer to her own question. ¡°Very, very rarely in fact. Do they enjoy it just like anyone else? I¡¯m sure. But when the fate of Gluttony¡¯s progeny hangs in the bnce, perhaps having someone a little more on edge - one who is able AND WILLING to fulfill the duty of bodyguard - should be selected.¡±


    Lavini raised two fingers. ¡°On to his second minion, Azmoth. That child is barely five years old. Did you know that?¡±


    Fay turned her head in surprise. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really.¡± Lavini confirmed with a nod of her head. ¡°At five years old, that hellscape brutalisk barely knows his right from left. His head is in the right ce and he has a fierce loyalty to Riven, but he is still just a child. Thankfully he shows promise, but he¡¯s never been to the battlefields in the hellscapes even once. We¡¯re hoping that the other brutalisks here are able to show him how to fight properly, to tank for Riven properly, but that is still to be determined.¡±


    Lavini then held up a third finger. ¡°Then there¡¯s you. Tied with Genua for the title of being weakest of his minions, tied with an elf thrall of all things. Do you know what separates you from her though? And why out of all of his minions, it is you that is the biggest disappointment?¡±


    Fay sniffled, looking back to the ground, and shook her head silently as tears began to build in her eyes.


    ¡°It is because you have a contract that makes you nearly unkible on an F-grade integration.¡± Lavini stated tly, unmoved by Fay¡¯s despair and rising emotions. ¡°The three of you demons, all of you, should be utilizing your demonic contracts to their utmost. You die? So what, you can respawn 24 hourster. That is why contracts are so popr to begin with. But each attempt enables you to grab more levels, and here you are - still below level 60 and having entered the descent as what is likely one of the weakest participants here in the history of the event. Both you and Azmoth should have been grinding enemies, burying them beneath your might to keep up with Riven - but instead you¡¯ve both fallen so utterly far behind that I¡¯m not sure we can fix it by the time this descent is over with. So here¡¯s the thing - you need to prove yourself to Lillith and to everyone else that¡¯s watching. Prove that you can fix your bad habits, fix your attitude, and fix this severe level discrepancy in order to keep up with Riven. Because if you can¡¯t keep up, you will probably be designated to only being his lover while morepetent demons take up the positions of his minion slots.¡±


    ¡°You say that, but Ath did die and I almost did too! And that was back on the F-grade you¡¯re talking about!¡± Fay protested. ¡°I¡¯m not intentionally trying to hold him back!¡±


    ¡°Intentionally? No. But yourziness andck of action are doing so anyways. Riven has his own problems, but you are adding to them.¡± Lavini didn¡¯t back down from the re Fay was throwing her way as the two women sat in the ck dirt.


    Another woman¡¯s call came out from the sidelines where the five other subi and incubi stood on the ledge. ¡°We will go find another weaker specimen for her to fight, Lavini. Wrap up your lecture so that we can continue the grinding!¡±


    With that, the five others began to walk away - looking for another of the rtively weaker abyssal creatures that roamed thisdder between floors.


    Lavini watched them go, then turned her gaze back to Fay who was still clenching her fists in self-hate and frustration. ¡°Fay. I am not saying these things to anger you. I am merely wanting to warn you in case these scenarios y out as expected. I truly do hope that you prove us all wrong, and that you can show not only me - but Lillith and everyone else in the church that you are worthy of remaining a minion. But no matter what happens, know that you will still have the standing and respect of all of us for being one that Riven cares so deeply about.¡±


    There was a pause.


    With those words, Fay¡¯sposure faltered - and she covered her face with her hands. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want to be separated from him, Lavini. This is unfair, and I¡­ I want to be useful. I don¡¯t want him to befriend other demons, other women, that could take him away from me.¡±


    Lavini drew the other woman into a hug, patting her on the back. ¡°I know this is upsetting you, and I understand. It¡¯s a lot to be thrown into, and I doubt Riven would even want to rece you after hearing of how much he cares about all his minions. However, I¡¯m sure that if Lillith speaks to him about having you along being a potential liability - endangering not only himself, but you as well when assassinse for you¡­ He¡¯d probably be willing to see the change done. May I ask, do you know the three mostmon ways that a minion contract can be involuntarily shattered?¡±


    Fay took a while to reply, but regained herposure thereafter and let out a shaky breath. ¡°Weapons or skills rted to themandments, invasions of one¡¯s soul aperture, and invasion of one¡¯sher realm to kill the demon there while it is unsummoned - though thest one is usually done by trickery as you can¡¯t brute force your way into aher realm.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now considering who you are bonded to, the chances of those things happening will continue to escte. The moment Riven steps off and into the greater multiverse, assuming that he is able to conquer Panu and uses Elysium to keep it hidden for the next century, he will have a target on his back. So you must understand that not being able to protect him from even other F-grades, when S-grades will be looking to stomp Gluttony t before his rise to power can gain momentum¡­ it is just not something the church can risk.¡±


    Fay sniffled again. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Lillith bind herself as a minion then?¡±


    Lavini opened her mouth, then realized Fay was being serious. She cackled slightly and then calmed herself before waving Fay¡¯s ire down. ¡°I do not mean to mock you, I apologize. You see, Lillith doesn¡¯t have someone bound to her like Gluttony does. Lillith¡¯s rise to power will likely be far faster than Riven¡¯s because of this, even if Gluttony himself will end up causing Riven to match or surpass Lillith in the end should Riven not die. These early centuries of cultivation would be stagnated for Lillith if she was kept to a level cap equal to that of Riven¡¯s own, and she needs to grow strong fast to make sure she can protect Riven and Gluttony as they continue to rise together. Not only is there a level cap equal to the master¡¯s own, but you should already know that minion contracts reduce the amount of XP gained while underneath a master. Contracts add a certain amount of safety, but in return - a minion doesn¡¯t grow as fast as an unbound demon would if they both had the same experiences. Now¡­ Perhaps I can add some positivity to these training sessions by providing you with a gift.¡±


    Lavini opened her palm, and over her white skin a ball of green mes rippled into existence. She smiled at Fay¡¯s expression before using her other hand to open Fay¡¯s clenched fists. ¡°Raise your hands palm up, and I will pass you the me. Your mission, as the others hunt for prey, is to stabilize this power and keep it there.¡±


    Fay blinked, and as Lavini passed the fireball over - it quickly fizzled out and then red to singe the tips of Fay¡¯s fingers. ¡°Ow!¡±


    Lavini chuckled, shaking her head before producing another ball of green mes. ¡°Again. Take your time, hold the spell that I give to you there, and don¡¯t let it go.¡±


    Fay hesitated, but opened her palms face up to the sky again and nodded. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what are those? Is that a curse?¡±


    Lavini winked. ¡°Oh yes, even now my insides are screaming in pain as I produce the me. But we curse users are used to the give and take that is required of such spells, for greater power of course¡­ wouldn¡¯t you say? You don¡¯t happen to be the only curse user here, and these mes not only burn you - but they afflict your enemies with a very specific debuff that you can stack and then activate. We¡¯ll talk about detailster, but for now - just know that it is your best interest to learn some real hard-hitting long ranged attacks. Because right now, your offensive power is actually rather pathetic.¡±

 Chapter 265

    Chapter 265


    <strong>Chapter 265</strong>


    ¡°OH GODS!¡± Ath cried, dramatically flopping onto the floor with a st - as the blood she was covered in made a woman-sized smudge on the floor around her. ¡°I WANT TO DIE! A PRINCESS SHOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO THIS KIND OF BRUTAL TORTURE! PHYSICAL LABOR IS FOR PEASANTS, NOT A PRINCESS SUCH AS I!¡±


    Lillith for her part, stepped over Ath¡¯s prone form and quickly joined Riven at the ornate round table of food where he was already starting to eat from - surrounded by servants of various demonic races.


    ¡°For one as melodramatic as her-¡± Lillith pointed over her shoulder with a hiked thumb in Ath¡¯s direction underneath the candle light of a chandelier. ¡°-I¡¯m surprised at her level ofpetence. Her family has sent a very humble request to meet with me, and after today¡¯s disys - I very well might indulge them to congratte them on raising such an excellent young woman.¡±


    Riven stopped chewing on the bread he¡¯d been eating and looked over Lillith to where Ath stilly face-down on the floor. He chuckled, shaking his head - then winced at the recent wounds he¡¯d acquired from the arena just earlier that day. Despite his vampirism, his healing was significantly reduced when dealing with cursed attacks. ¡°Is she doing alright then?¡±


    ¡°More than alright. She¡¯s a real talent.¡± Lillith stretched her right hand over the table and plucked some fruit and freshly chopped meat from a disy, putting them on her te. ¡°She just needs the seriousness of her position impressed upon her. I think she¡¯ll do nicely once she actually applies her skills regrly to protecting you. Speaking of which, how is the mana zone techniqueing along? Have you found the items and people I asked you to find yet?¡±


    Riven gave a half-smile and shook his head, looking around the dining hall. Inwardly he continued sending out monotonous pulses of mana - interchanging what type of mana he sent to throw off whoever was still hiding from him. ¡°Not exactly. I¡¯ve found two of the five people, and no items.¡±


    ¡°Where are the people you¡¯ve found?¡±


    Riven pointed to the ceiling direction above the chandelier, and then to an empty seat to Lillith¡¯s left. ¡°Those two.¡±The swamp weaver spider above them loudly cursed, unveiling herself from stealth as a horse-sized six-legged monstrosity before it skittered out of the room grumbling. Meanwhile the chair next to Lillith saw a blue-haired, red-eyed, robed woman with a single long ck horn protruding from her head materialize - while holding a cup of tea to her lips.


    The horned woman sipped her tea and put it silently down on a porcin te, nodding approvingly. ¡°I was worried you weren¡¯t going to find me, considering I am the closest to you in proximity I should have been the easiest. Well done nheless, it is an honor to help serve the Reincarnation.¡±


    Politely nodding to both Riven and Lillith, the stranger silently got up and left the room to follow the arachnid out.


    Lillith gave him an approving smile to match the previous woman, folding her arms over her chest and leaning back in herrge cushioned chair. ¡°You¡¯re getting better over these past weeks, and quickly. But tell me¡­ you noticed those two because they had blood affinities - didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow and rested his elbows on the table over a steaming hot bowl of refined soup that a servant had just set down. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°To be expected, I suppose.¡± Lillith sighed, inspecting her ck fingernails one by one. ¡°Your Blood Subpir is of course your highest affinity, so the mana there is more eager to do your bidding. The others in the room are not of the blood affinities though, so you¡¯ll likely have a harder time finding them. However you are still not allowed to leave this room until they are found. Understand?¡±


    Riven rolled his eyes. ¡°Yes mom.¡±


    The archdemon slowly turned her head and raised an eyebrow his way. ¡°Excuse me young man?¡±


    Riven chuckled at the barely hidden amusement on the corners of her lips, and then he nodded. ¡°I mean yes, oh dark goddess of shadowy violent ends - I will obey thine orders to the letter!¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s better.¡± She crossed her legs and waved a hand at Ath who was still nearly passed out on the floor behind them. ¡°Ath dear? Are you alright?¡±


    Only a low groan escaped Ath¡¯s mouth as she mumbled something under her breath.


    ¡°I do believe she gained from over exerting herself against abyssal creatures. Servants? Please help Ath to Riven¡¯s room for a bath and bed. She did well today and deserves some time off.¡± Lillith snapped her fingers and four humanoid demons quickly went to pick her up, before bodily carrying her away through the next hall. ¡°Now Riven, whenever you¡¯re switching up your mana pulses, try circting the mana through your core a few times before actually pushing it through your pirs. Doing that will enable you to concentrate the mana for a quicker and more potent burst, and makes the mana more sensitive when using it to scan your surroundings.¡±


    ¡°Circte it through my core¡­?¡± Riven muttered to himself, confused. He cocked his head to one side. ¡°I¡¯ve never really tried that before. Like, recycle it and keep it stable internally in my soul realm? What would be the point in that?¡±


    The nk stare he gave Lillith caused her tough, and she put one hand over her eyes while shaking her head. ¡°Oh my¡­ Gluttony is certainly beingzy if he hasn¡¯t told you even this much. Just¡­ just humor me. And try it.¡±


    It almost looked like she was embarrassed.


    Closing his eyes and folding his arms, he took time to evaluate his internal soul realm. Cracks still remained along the pirs that¡¯d once been shattered by Elysium¡¯s powerful strikes, from when he¡¯d used his bloodline prophecy one too many times and suffered a tribtion. Those cracks radiated with the sin energy used to repair the pirs, along the pirs of Unholy, Shadow, Blood, Infernal and Death in equal amounts - but above all, the Sin Subpir that¡¯d once been an alternate core shone brilliantly in a deep, almost ck purple.


    He ignored the sigils representing skills, the bridges of ck and red that criss-crossed thousands of times over between his shadow and blood subpirs - the beginnings of his soulttice, to focus on the bright white core that supported all the pirs in the very center like a brilliant globe.


    There, in the center of it all, he began to summon mana to do his bidding.


    Like a factory lit ame, the soul core went to work producing energy. It was a pure, raw energy - one that hadn¡¯t yet been converted by his pirs into type or function. It was not mana, divinity, or stamina - but rather it was the basic ingredient to all skills.


    He built it, and built it, and built it. Over and over again he watched the pure, raw energy circte like a building vortex until his body began to hum with power yet to be let loose as more and more was produced. Not pushing it through his core like he was so used to doing had put him in new territory, and although the act was a simple one - he didn¡¯t really understand what the point of all this was.


    Yet he trusted Lillith¡¯s words and experience, until that same white, radiant energy radiating from his core enveloped his very body as the room began to shake. And then as it continued to make contact with the universe around him, that same radiant white energy began to turn into an ever-changing multitude of colors.


    His eyes flicked open, gazing at the swirling, powerful yet simultaneously peaceful cloud of raw power around him.


    ¡°Good.¡± Lillithmented, staring at him with an intensity he hadn¡¯t seen before. She steepled her fingers and leaned closer. ¡°That multi-colored light around you that you¡¯re seeing now? Only you can see it, no one else in the room can visualize that power. Remember that. Now, release it¡­ and when you¡¯re done, immediately cycle to the next pir. And then the next, and the next, until you¡¯ve returned to the original.¡±


    Riven kept eye contact and continued under her instruction. This time, when he pushed energy into his pirs for another pulse of mana - the energy kept some of that raw, wild nature that sent tingles down his spine.


    The first pir he sent it down was the Death Subpir, and with an invisible pulse of mana he swept his senses across the room.


    Still nothing in terms of the three remaining hidden people, but he did pick up on one of the items Lillith had hidden.


    Curiously reaching over the table and fumbling for a bit, he grasped a cold metal object. Upon contact, the object materialized and brought it over the table to hold in front of his face to inspect with interest. It wasn¡¯t anything special, just a fork, but this fork had been imbued with some kind of Death aspect that¡¯d allowed it to go unseen for the entire time he¡¯d been sitting here at the table.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°An aspect simr to how phantoms innately blend in with their surroundings.¡± Lillithmented smugly while Riven set the fork down. ¡°A personal favorite of mine. Do you see how much more the mana reacted to your probing task when you circted it beforehand?¡±


    Riven nodded, lost in thought.


    ¡°That kind of thing can apply not only to simple tasks such as this, but you can actually empower skills the same way. I¡¯m more than certain you¡¯ve intentionally charged skills to build up their power before, to make them hit harder or fly faster. Perhaps go farther. But¡­¡± Lillith held up a finger. ¡°Circting your energy before actually pushing it through your pirs allows it to be¡­ Eh¡­ how should I say this? Adaptable? Yes, adaptable. It is more adaptable to your will, and retains some of the wild ir that it would otherwise lose out on if you pushed it through a pir too early. Because of this, charging spells, or any type of ability really, can be made better by the very basic and simple concept of circting your energy before pushing and converting it through pirs. When you push it in too fast, it bes somewhat rigid in its nature. Now, can you think of any reason why this couldn¡¯t be used in a real battle? Any specific scenarios?¡±


    Riven¡¯s jaw had dropped, and he barely caught the end of her sentence. How had he not discovered this already? It wasn¡¯t as if it¡¯d been some kind of elusive secret, he¡¯d just thought it natural to create the spell and then build it up afterwards. But doing that in reverse, by building it up prior to release, made mana maniption all that much more potent.


    He¡¯d have to try this out on the battlefield.


    ¡°Riven?¡± Lillith prodded, amused.


    He snapped out of it. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, Lillith. I did not mean to ignore you, I just¡­ I just can¡¯t believe I overlooked something so simple. To answer your question¡­ I assume that in a very fast paced battle, I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep circting the mana. I¡¯d need to buy time to do something like this, because the process is far slower than building a spell externally - rather than internally.¡±


    She nodded sagely. ¡°You are directly on the mark. Creating a spell and then firing it, even if you take time to charge it on the outside, is far faster than building it internally by rotating it in your soul core. You wouldn¡¯t be able to do this rapidly, and releasing any kind of skill will automatically expel the energy you¡¯ve been rotating - so this is yet another downside. If you are forced into switching abilities, you could inadvertently release the wrong spell at an amplified level and deplete your energy reserves on something you¡¯d rather not - while needing to start over on the spell you¡¯d initially wanted to cast. So tell me, what does this imply when fighting enemybatants?¡±


    ¡°It means that if I am able to determine that they¡¯re rotating their mana, I can force them into acting in a way that dispels their energy gathering on something useless.¡±


    ¡°Precisely. But how do you tell whether or not they¡¯re actually acquiring power internally, when most can only sense external power buildup?¡±


    He paused. ¡°Wait, does this mean I can unleash high-power attacks out of nowhere with little to no warning against enemies? Like a surprise attack, without them realizing I¡¯m building power?¡±


    ¡°Yes and no.¡± Lillith stated tly. ¡°Yes for people who don¡¯t realize what to look for, and no to people who do. Now, that being said, I will repeat myself - how do you tell whether or not they¡¯re actually acquiring that power buildup internally within their soul core?¡±


    The room went silent, and Riven frowned as he red at the soup bowl in front of him with furrowed brows. ¡°I have no fucking idea.¡±


    Lillith responded with a cacklingugh. ¡°Well at least you can admit when you¡¯recking! Perhaps you should ask Gluttony. He¡¯d be better at describing it than I am.¡±


    ***


    Gentry nervously nced at the two ELITE ss devils walking on either side of him. Huge, hulking, winged creatures with red skin and ck horns - they each stood inbetween two and three times his height with enormous ws that gripped halberds that made his jade scimitar look like a child¡¯s toy. They were also each at the pinnacle of what was allowed to remain in the descent, in terms of power and level, and walking here with them had been something of an obvious irritation for both archdemons.


    But hey. At least he got that escort like he¡¯d been promised after weeks of waiting, even if Riven hadpletely forgotten about it for a time.


    Wiping sweat off his forehead and finishing the trek to what he thought was his sister¡¯s manor on the third floor of the descent, he approached the gate where two dozen drow cultivators were wordlessly sizing him up - along with the two escorts he¡¯de with. In the backdrop was a three-story mansion made of dark gray and ck stone simr to everything else that was built down here, but the sigil on the gate was familiar to him and was disyed in the same jade green that his weapon was made out of.


    Sighing in relief, he nced at the baren surroundings of the third floor his sister had set up on - before turning to his escorts. It was and of ashen hills, with ck skies and minimal life. Certainly not the prettiest ce to be.


    He bowed low in a sign of respect. ¡°Thank you for the time and patience you have demonstrated to bring me here, great ones. I will not forget the kindness Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation has shown me today.¡±


    One of the devils didn¡¯t even acknowledge him, and just turned around to start walking away. The other one snorted in annoyance, and replied with a deep rumbling voice: ¡°Try to survive, dark elf. The dangers are only greater the farther down you go, and not having the strength to proceed even to here makes me question why you came.¡±


    Gentry winced, then nodded. But he didn¡¯t know what to say to that, and just stood there - embarrassed, until the devil turned to follow the other.


    ¡°Gentry.¡± A familiar female voice called out to him, and he turned around to see that none other than his elder sister hade to the forefront of the group of drow elves. She had immacte robes on, long white hair done up in a set of three separate ponytails, and was dressed in dark blue cultivator robes simr to his own. At her side were two jade scimitars just like his, though hers were chipped and worn - and she motioned for him toe closer with a hurried wave of one hand.


    He¡¯d never seen his older sister in person. He¡¯d only very brieflymunicated with her through waystones with his parents from time to time, incredibly expensive ones at that. Most of theirmunications had been through their mutual parents, as time spent talking over such methods were limited. So the fact that she¡¯d so quickly picked him out by name and knew who he was¡­ it was a little bit odd. He¡¯d almost guessed that he¡¯d need to convince her, but that hadn¡¯t been the case.


    Still, given the way she was warily looking around at the barrenndscape and shooting the two devils nces as they took to the dark skies withrge pping wings - something felt off. He quickly hurried over and was about to greet her when she abruptly grabbed his wrist and pulled him in close.


    ¡°Are they the only ones that took you here? Are there any others?¡±


    Gentry¡¯s brow furrowed in confusion, irritation, and surprise as he yanked his arm back out of her grasp as the other drow men and women standing nearby gazed at him. ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°No what!?¡± His sister pressed, hissing under her breath as she watched them begin to go. ¡°Hurry and answer!¡±


    ¡°No, there aren¡¯t any others! Why?! Is something the matter, Asha? This is certainly an odd way to greet family for the first time.¡± His frown only deepened when his older sister gave a curt nod to one of the other cultivators standing in front of the manor, and that man quickly picked up a stone from his pocket and began speaking into it.


    Genty was about to say something else to try and clear up what exactly it was that was going on here, when an explosion echoed across the barrenndscape and a scream lodged itself in his ears.


    He whipped around, and to his horror and building confusion - he saw what could only be described as an enormous, writhing mass of green slugs, worms and leeches of astronomical size reach up hundreds of yards into the sky to snatch one of the huge devils in a vice grip.


    Blood sprayed.


    Muscles tore.


    Bones snapped.


    He watched in disgusted awe as he saw the swarm of creatures rip and tear the gigantic demon to shreds as it screamed and cried out in agonizing pain as it was eaten alive, until it was swallowed whole by the pir of flesh that''s consumed it - only a single red, wed hand sticking out and trying to drag itself back out before that too disappeared amidst the swarm.


    The other devil had not been idle during this time, and was engaged in a frantic duel with other pirs of flesh created out of the swarming, sickly green creatures that dug into the demon¡¯s red flesh and began burrowing as he created cascades of fire to wipe them away. The devil swooped and dove, dodging chain-lightning strikes from some of the flesh pirs only to be caught by others when they missed - and were flung back.


    The sky itself seemed to explode with green haze as a multitude of grotesque, gigantic, bloodshot eyeballs snapped open in the clouds - and the very ground all around the devil exploded into motion as a creature of astronomical proportions unveiled itself from where it¡¯d been buried.


    Despite the devil¡¯s ownrge size and prowess, it was quickly crushed and contained - being dragged screaming into a writhing mass of flesh that clicked and hissed with sin energy.


    The eyeballs then turned to Gentry, and a feeling of overwhelming dread overtook him as his body went rigid with fear.


    ¡°Greed¡­ The great sin of Greed, is moving. I don¡¯t know what friends you made or how you know Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation, but you need to do everything they tell you to do. Tell them everything they ask of you and don¡¯t hold back, or it won¡¯t just be us that die here in this forsaken realm of the dark.¡± His sister, Asha whispered as if trying not to be overheard even though the monster was so far away. ¡°And that one you see swarming in the earth and sky, the one digesting those two archdemons? That is the one they call ¡®The Gambler.¡¯¡±


    Gentry¡¯s face went even paler. His mind was racing, and it was hard to digest what he was being told. Had he really somehow gotten involved in a struggle straight out of bad fairy tales? Ones that involved two of the great sins? Here? Him?


    He let out a shuddering breath. ¡°The¡­ The one the storybooks talk about?¡±


    Asha¡¯s rigid face became grim, but she kept her words to a low hiss. ¡°Yes. Tell them whatever it is you know, and perhaps we will live to tell the tale.¡±


    Before there was time for him to respond, another unfamiliar voice called.


    ¡°Drow boy¡­ Gentry, I believe?¡± A hissing, reptilian voice shouted out from where the others had gathered, and it took all of Gentry¡¯s willpower to turn around to the voice that¡¯d addressed him. There, standing in the doorway, was a blue-scaled naga. He was very scarred, had a dorsal fin marked with holes and tears, and had a prosthetic purple eye on one side. He bore a spear of bones with notches all over the weapon, and wore a silver hood with blue trimmings depicting a kraken on the top when he bowed his head.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you Gentry.¡± The naga stated slyly, righting himself, and letting out an aura of sin that smashed into all the drow there, as a pentagram of deep purple light tore open on his chest with the sigil of two wed hands closing in on a world. ¡°My name is Netithi Bluskish, and my new patron - Greed - wishes me to hunt down a very particr person here in the descent. I¡¯m hoping that you can help me, and in turn you will be helping yourself¡­ I know that the Gambler can be very, very persuasive if he needs to be. So I was hoping that you¡¯d enlighten us on the details of where you¡¯ve been these past weeks, and just who you got to know.¡±

 Chapter 266

    Chapter 266


    <strong>Chapter 266</strong>


    <strong>[Riven¡¯s Quest #6 of The Altars of Despair and Hope: This is a minion-based quest. Only Ath canplete this quest as a representative of you. Assisting Ath will result in a loss of 20 points and no reward.</strong>


    <strong>A Race to Steal the Orb: Other participants hailing from both Cultist and Non-Cultist groups in The Altars of Despair and Hope event have been tasked with killing the defending lord of a city in Universe 71, and then taking a particr ss orb he keeps in a safe at the center of his fortress. The city is currently under siege from enemy forces, and they are set on destroying this orb at all costs. With the city set to fall withining days, it is a race between your minion Ath and the eleven other participants to see who can get to the orb first. Once collected, bring it back to the portal and return to the Apocalypse Beast¡¯s pocket realm to acquire an additional 100 points and an automatic unlocking for all the orb¡¯s protected features.</strong>


    <strong>Respawns for this quest have been set at a randomized location within 200 yards of the quest portal entering this realm, which only participants of the Apocalypse Beasts can see, and respawn timers for all 12 chosen participants have been set to 1 hour respawn timers while inside Universe 71 until this quest is done.</strong>


    <strong>Total Event Points Already umted: 124]</strong>


    <strong>>>> This quest is currently active.]</strong>


    Having left The Abyssal Descent was far easier with the system itself helping her out, and she¡¯d even been granted a ¡®Return to The Abyssal Descent¡¯ button on her status page even despite being able to return to her master with her demonic summoning.


    Perhaps there were normally restrictions on such things when concerning pocket realms?


    Ath wasn¡¯t quite sure. But with Riven, Azmoth, Fay, and Genua all being cooped up in Lillith¡¯s training regimens that were now picking up with intensity - Ath was the one who¡¯dpleted thest few quests for Riven in his stead. It was one of the perks of having minions, she supposed, and it¡¯d quickly stopped the stagnation of gaining event points. Whenpared to Nora Lang, who was also getting training from Lillith here and there, Riven had fallen behind by almost 80 points before having Ath go back to the Apocalypse Beast¡¯s pocket realm to keep the flow going.During her quests: Ath had defeated a small portaled-in dungeon full of serpentine humanoids, had collected various herbs in a designated zone defended by goddamn dragons that could eat her whole of all things, went through a puzzlebyrinth full ofva pits, and had assassinated three other enemy cultists while running interference on their own quests. The smug look she currently wore on her face while remembering how they¡¯d died said it all, and she¡¯d even received notifications letting her know they¡¯d failed to collect the points due to her -ting her even more points for Riven in the process.


    Still, after being transported through yet another portal in this odd mix-and-mash of pocket-realm portalworks, she hadn¡¯t ever seen anything quite like this. It was the scene out of a sci-fi novel so many of Riven¡¯s people from Earth used to like.


    F-grade and a few scattered E-grade signatures lit up her mana sense as two fleets of starships battled in a sky full of stars and nebs - and the on one side of the backdrop made Ath realize she was now standing on arge, rocky moon of some kind. Boxy metal craft with green light emanating from their engines were the offensive fleet supporting a ground force of what she could only assume to be some variant of earth golems that used siege weaponry to shoot magma based explosive devices at the defenders.


    The defenders for their part were humans, but with rather tall and thin staturespared to the ones from Panu that she was so used to. Their ships were fewer in number, sharper-looking, and appeared to be made of ss. They were mostly bunkered up behind hundreds ofyers of sma shields that created a patchwork, pseudo-dome defensive array - and used simrly constructed sma weapons such as rifles and swords to take on the tide of earth golems cased in molten rock. The front lines of the fight were an absolute madhouse, and ramps lead up to different sets of battlements stacked one behind the other beforeing to what appeared to be a small city - and then a pce of some kind in the very center. The walls of both the battlements and the pce were created from white stone and engraved with purple runes all over that reinforced their defensive capabilities, as was evident by the way they often stood strong even when explosive detonations made it through the patchwork of independent sma shields. Many of the city¡¯s smaller buildings were not so lucky, however, and numerous fires or craters now littered thendscape inbetween the surrounding battlements and the central pce.


    As for Ath, she remained standing beside multiple blood spots on the lip of the moon¡¯s crater she¡¯d personally painted over the past few minutes. Funnily enough the cultists would-


    Ah, there was another one. The portal began to shimmer and flux.


    Ath rapidly condensed into a bloody pool underneath where the portal was located, waiting for the next target to arrive so she could set them on a cooldown too, and watched with an internal cackle as a familiar face came into view.


    Sshing into the pool of blood that was Ath¡¯s body, the drow woman death knight that Riven had fought on his very first quest here stepped onto the moon¡¯s rocky terrain and blinked - looking up to stare at the battling fleets.


    With her Total Silence ability still active, Ath immediately retook her arshakai form behind the death knight. Her ck, ruby studded tiara gleamed under the light of the nebs and firefights overhead, and her bloodsilk ck and red cloak red about her while a malevolent wide smile took over her features. Ath flicked her wrists and called the Twin Doves out of her heart space with practiced ease. Two red katanas tore out of her chests, forming from spiraling ribbons of red liquid, and she then struck with two ¡®Backstab¡¯ martial arts just as ¡®Mark of the Hunter¡¯ activated.


    <strong>[Mark of the Hunter (Blood): This martial art highlights potential threats in arge area around you and allows you to focus in on one of them. Has a chance to reveal stealthed enemies depending onpared Perception, Willpower, and Luck. All damage done to this target will include a 0.4% additional bleed damage that stacks with each strike, increases your chance of Critical Strikes against them by 7%, increases any attempts at stealth while stalking them by 5%, and allows you to pull on the mark just once - destroying the mark in their soul and giving a high chance to make your target freeze up in fear for 2 seconds. Very High Cooldown.]</strong>


    <strong>[Backstab (Shadow): Strike at the back of your enemy while remaining stealthed to your target. If you are noticed by your target prior to the strike, this martial art will partially fail and only give the possibility of a minor bonus with critical damage. If you sessfully strike while remaining unnoticed, you will gain a muchrger and guaranteed bonus to critical damage. Critical strike damage ranged from 3x to 10x the normal damage done. No cooldown.]</strong>


    <strong>[The Twin Red Doves (Awakened Weapons, Dual-Wielding Set. Blood Artifacts. Twin Katanas.): 899 average damage on strike with each physical strike on flesh adding a guaranteed stack of the ¡®Bleed¡¯ debuff for damage over time. Hidden strikes thatnd before an opponent is aware cause additional guaranteed damage of +5%. If the strike is a critical hit, deal an additional x2 critical modifier. These items, when bound to a wielder, may be stored in the heart of the wielder and withdrawn at will. These items are nearly indestructible while the bound wielder is still alive. Requires a Blood Affinity of over 51% to wield.</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>Whispers of Agony: From time to time, these des will whisper to you. The stronger your bond, the louder they whisper, and the louder they whisper, the more pain your strikes inflict regardless of damage.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>The Red Tide: Unleash stamina, mana, or divinity into these des via your Blood Sub-Pir to charge ranged sweeping attacks in the form of a red crescent. Damage and range depends on the amount of energy infused.]</strong></li></ul>


    Her red des crashed into and through the bone armor of the death knight as spiraling ripples of kic critical energy tore it apart in a sh of bone and blood.


    <strong>[You havended a critical hit. Max Damage x6.]</strong>


    <strong>[You havended a critical hit. Max Damage x9.]</strong>


    <strong>[Additional x2 critical modifier applied.]</strong>


    <strong>[Additional x2 critical modifier applied.]</strong>


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    <strong>[You have applied bleeding stacks.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have applied bleeding stacks.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have applied bleeding stacks.]</strong>


    The death knight¡¯s chest ripped open as Ath¡¯s des passed through with the force of her critical energies, and the surprised drow woman screamed in pained horror while activating some kind of ability.


    Or at least she tried to. But Ath sensed the pulse of mana before it fully manifested and pulled on Mark of the Hunter, shattering the mark inside the woman¡¯s soul and causing her to freeze up.


    The death knight fell to her knees with a gasp as Ath violently ripped her katanas out and unleashed her six arachnid legs from her back, the sharp ck des ring out to either side of her before they mmed down into the warrior¡¯s neck at different angles.


    With a wrench, Ath decapitated the woman - flinging her head in a spinning, bloody spiral off to the side.


    The death knight¡¯s body went limp, hit the ground to begin dumping her fluids onto the rocky terrain, and she abruptly vanished as the system imed her.


    <strong>[You have defeated an enemy cultist. She will respawn in 1 hour. You have gained 4 Event Points.]</strong>


    <strong>[You have charged your Tiara of Silent Killing by sessfully killing a target without being noticed by anyone else. 100% chance to applying an additional 2x-8x critical strike damage from your next attack.]</strong>


    Atheal looked down at the newest of her blood spots littering the ground and cackled viciously, shoved her katanas back into her heart, and began walking towards the battle in the distance.


    Vanishing into the darkness, she became one with the shadows.


    ***


    ¡°Spider girl! Spider girl, does whatever a spider girl does!¡±


    Ath skittered over the heads of numerous warriors killing one another in the hallway below, humming softly to herself amidst the explosive barrage of skills and weapons only twelve feet underneath her current position.


    Her Blood Weaver form was the smallest of her three forms and gave her the best chance of sneaking inside, and thus far it''d worked out pretty well. <ul><li>


    <strong>+160% Bonus to Attempts at Stealth, +200 Perception, and altars Charisma points to Absolute Neutral while in Cute Wittle Blood Weaver form</strong></li><li>


    <strong>+400 Agility, +30% Bonus to Baseline Agility, Doubled Chance for Critical Strikes, and +20% Bonus to Attempts at Stealth while in Gluttonous Arshakai Form </strong></li><li>


    <strong>+500 Strength, +1000 Sturdiness, Intelligence Matches Sturdiness, +20% to Strength and Sturdiness Baseline Stats while in Gluttonous Fae Drider Form</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°What I need is a princess form.¡± Ath muttered to herself, turning a corner in the damaged hallway along the ceiling anding to an abrupt halt when a turret spun her way.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    The turret fired, and she vanished in a puff of darkness as a clean edge of sma annihted the spot she¡¯d been only a moment before.


    Grumbling to herself, she watched the turret turn back around to settle on the hallway beneath in a ready position while she considered her next options.


    Currently she was inside her ¡®Limited Shroud Storage¡¯. It was a shadow ability that she¡¯d originally been using in her Dryder form to store various trinkets, but more recently she¡¯d figured out that - due to her small size in this blood weaver form - she could actually hide herself inside her own pocket of shadow as long as she didn¡¯t change back into a dryder or arshakai.


    It was a nifty trick, and she was proud of herself for figuring it out.


    But despite her sess at dodging thatst attack, she still didn¡¯t want to draw any attention by destroying that turret and was currently just waiting in what others would see as a cloudy dark patch of ceiling that more or less blended in with the surroundings. It may even look like a scorch mark from the sma that¡¯d just been fired.


    The corner she¡¯d just turned also let her see arge swath of humans setting up additional barricades and more turrets in anticipation of the firefight just around the bending their way - and they were right to do so as hundreds of molten earth golems continued to fight and die in an aggressive attempt to kill the humans guarding the passage.


    A distraction was needed.


    Or perhaps¡­


    Her eyes flicked towards a dead femalebatant in a white and gray engineer¡¯s uniform - which was a stark contrast to the dark purple and silver uniforms of the warrior ss these humans had. She was human too, with a hole blown in her chest, and she¡¯d been discarded as a corpse along with a couple of the men while the defenders desperately tried to hold the onught back.


    ¡°Leh sigh.¡±


    ***


    It wasn''t often that Ath got to use her shapeshifting abilities, but now was as good as any to try it.


    Pulling herself out of the hallway¡¯s corner where she¡¯d been discretely changing her face and skinplexion in the dark, the skin felt stretched as she walked back into the light. She had carved a shallow but bloody wound into her chest to match the hole in the uniform she¡¯d stolen, and had tossed the corpse underneath other bodies in the ¡®discard pile¡¯ the defenders were currently using here.


    Other dead were dragged by as humans of this moon base rapidly passed her by while she oriented herself, until one of them stopped and gestured to her with a gawking expression. ¡°You''re mortally injured! What by Drya¡¯s name are you still doing here!!?? Get to the medical bay now! And thene back to your post, that¡¯s an order!¡±


    ¡°Yes cap!¡± Ath gave a salute, and she wasn¡¯t sure whether or not it was the phrase - or the unfamiliar gesture - but the warrior blinked rapidly and shook his head before tossing another of the dead bodies onto the pile she¡¯d just left before turning back to the front line.


    Meanwhile, Ath was pretending to limp rapidly through the hallway full of other engineers setting up barricades and turrets. Eyeing the one that¡¯d fired at her earlier as it scanned a badge she¡¯d picked up from the body, the turret let her go without issue. She stuck her tongue out at it when she was all the way through, and then considered talking to another man who was quickly typing into aputer embedded into the side of the wall.


    She was tempted to ask him where themander¡¯s quarters were, but then stopped herself. She didn¡¯t even know if they called their leaders manders¡¯ here, and asking would be somewhat suspicious. Not only that, but she was supposed to be headed to the medical bay and her sternum was still dripping blood down her chest with the self-inflicted wound.


    Sighing again and ignoring the man¡¯s strained expression when he turned her way, she continued down the hall and took a left when it came to a three-way fork. Then she began exploring, and set off on what could only be described as a wild goose chase.


    Hours passed, and the intricate nature of the base quickly became apparent as one room after another was scouted out while constantly brushing off concerned individuals who insisted on helping her to the medical bay. She told them all to fuck off, in nicer words than that, insisting that she was fine - and she was also losing time being in this slow shape-shifted human form to boot. But turrets were stationed all over the damn ce in this underground bunker part of the defenses, and though she saw some war-hounds the size of horses outfitted in sma-crafted armor - her shape shifting abilities were limited to arachnid and female-humanoid only. She couldn¡¯t change into a dog even if she wanted to, but it certainly would have made things faster in terms of getting around if she¡¯d been able.


    Intelligence hubs, ammo depots, armories and rushing groups of reinforcements were in high supply as the very base itself shook under the barrage from time to time. It was inside one of these intelligence hubs on the outer rim of the base, in an attempt to skirt around the room towards another hallway that she thought would lead into the inner city, that she found herself in now.


    Screens lit up with footage of the battle and troop movements from both enemies and allies alike.


    ¡°SQUADS 12 AND 78, REINFORCE SECTOR B11! I REPEAT, REINFORCE SECTOR B11!¡± Themanding officer in this part of the base screamed through thes while his soldiers on the other side of themunications line died horrible, gruesome deaths. ¡°WE CANNOT ALLOW THEM TO TAKE THE SECTOR OR THIS ENTIRE WING OF THE BASE IS LOST! YOU ARE THE LAST LINE BEFORE WE ARE FORCED TO RETREAT DEEPER INTO THE CITY! THE CIVILIANS-¡±


    <strong><em>BOOM</em></strong>


    His voice was cut off as an explosion eradicated the wall to Ath¡¯s left, sending a cloud of molten rock and metal inwards as a titanic figure of an earth golem barrelled through. Screams of the humans rose up as they tried to flee, but there were too many of them and now there was only one way out - the small hallway Ath had been trying to get to before big-and-bad made an ¡°OH YEAH¡± kool-aid appearance seconds beforehand.


    The golem, for his part, was nked by a few others that¡¯d apparently dug a tunnel through the earth to get here before crashing through the metal wall. Up close and personal, they were a lot more intimidating than they¡¯d been far away. Especially this one in the front, considering he was both bulkier and taller than any of the others Ath had seen so far.


    Standing at nearly twenty feet tall - He had no eyes, but veins of magma pulsed at his joints and all along his featureless rock face. A huge blood-stained axe was held in one hand, also covered in veins of magma, and in the other hand he what was akin to a bazooka - which was currently aimed at the mass of struggling people that were screaming in terror and attempting to all squeeze through the one hallway leading away.


    For the few brave souls who were charging the golem, they were ttened by the other stonepatriots nking him. One of the golems fell to a rifle st and a sma sword to the midsection, crumbling into a pile in death, while the humans sustained a dozen casualties almost instantly as they were caught off guard.


    ¡°Jorgi the Destroyer¡­¡± One of the officers in purple uniform let out a horrified whisper, eyes wide and stepping back from therge foremost figure while ignoring the other soldiers who were quickly being killed in an attempt to fight the golems off. The officer fell to his knees, ck jawed, as the bazooka began to light up with energy in a charged attack. ¡°We¡­ We¡¯re doomed¡­¡±


    Ath, for her part, was caught between a rock and a hard ce and figured she didn¡¯t have much of a choice in the matter. Especially because the bazooka was pointed just to the right of where she currently stood. Despite the creature being in what she felt was likely low E-grade, she¡¯d have to fight.


    So much for the stealth approach.


    The bazooka let off a discharge of molten energy, the crowd let out a desperate cry, and the room lit up with a sh.


    A cloud of steam exploded between the crowd of humans and the earth golems, but there was no actual impact. Surprised eyes turned back as a new figure loomed in the flickering lights of the underground bunker, and the sound of sharp, scythe-like legs smashed into the metal floor of the room between them.


    Crystalline Maw Cannon activated, and a torrent of sin, cial, and storm energies ripped open from Ath¡¯s gluttonous vertical mouth across her front - tearing into the golems like a battering ram. The explosion detonated and flung the cloud of steam away, revealing the huge archdemon as frost began to umte around the room and her body began to spark with currents of lightning. Four red eyes over a grinning smile narrowed, and crystalline flowers began to bloom along her white skin as spiders began crawling out from the mouth that¡¯d so recently obliterated so many of the earth golems inside the advance tunnel.


    Jorgi the Destroyer picked himself out of the crater he¡¯d been lodged in further down the tunnel and looked at the scattered remnants of his soldiers, before turning his gaze upon Ath¡¯s form that was evenrger than his own. His voice came out as gravel upon cement, and seemed toe from somewhere with his face despitecking a mouth. ¡°Archdemon¡­ Legendary status. I did not realize the humans here dabbled in dark magics and the art of summoning. Perhaps¡­ Perhaps this will allow for a good fight after all. A diamond in the rough, found amongst the piles of organic shit your meatbag masters have otherwise thrown at me.¡±


    He lifted his axe as it reformed in his hand from the shards Ath had sted away, lowered his head, and gestured at her with his free hand - ignoring the still smoldering line gauged into his front that the st had created not long ago. ¡°Come to me, demon. Let us dance.¡±

 Chapter 267

    Chapter 267


    <strong>Chapter 267</strong>


    Commander Redgar of the human alliance watched in awe as Jorgi the Destroyer and this unknown archdemonid waste to the underground in sector B12. Through camera footage, he and a good amount of the officers under his leadership were staring at a few screens on different angles where the titanic monsters crashed into each other with a speed and ferocity that outmatched anything any of them could ever hope to achieve.


    Not only that, but Jorgi was slowly losing. The pompous, arrogant mass murderer was taking blow after blow as the golem was swarmed with spiders created out of frost, electrified snowkes, razor-sharp red threads, and sharp arachnid limbs that shot out like pistons to throw him back whenever the golem got too close.


    In return that axe wielding barbarian was trying to close the gap over and over again, but whenever he got too close the demon would shift into one of her two other forms and disappear - only to reappear with blinding speed to another part of the room before re-emerging in her dryder form tounch attacks that were obviously empowered by herrger size somehow.


    To counteract this, Jorgi had turned the room into a molten pit ofva and attacked her with earthen spikes that ruptured from the ground at range - but the demon had repeatedly frozen theva pit over and was doing a good job in dodging most of the iing earth spikes.


    Commander Redgar caught his breath when it looked like Jorgi was about tond a ¡®Cataclysmic Swing¡¯ of his axe, but the dao empowered strike only created a crater in therge underground room and was violently counterattacked with a dryder foot through the back. The arachnid leg cracked through where a human¡¯s spine would be and out the other side of the golem¡¯s chest, and as Jorgi roared in rage and whirled his axe around to hit the demon - the dryder popped into her blood weaver form and cackled maliciously; before rapidly gaining a foothold and crawling inside the hole she¡¯d just made.


    ¡°What¡­ What is she doing!?¡± One of the officers eximed, horrified as others began to cheer or yell out that she should get away. ¡°The demon knows his body will mend itself, and she¡¯ll be trapped in a molten rock body without a way out! WHAT IS SHE THINKING!?¡±


    Commander Redgar didn¡¯t disagree, but there wasn¡¯t much they could do. Their forces were already retreating away from Sector B12 to consolidate at the junction leading into the city as adjoining passages had been lost, and earth golems were pouring in. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure myself¡­ I-¡±


    He abruptly stopped speaking as the golem¡¯s upper body ruptured in a spray of rock as whirlwinds of red des and bloody strings carved through the softer bedrock of his inner body. Bursting out of Jorgi, whose lower body crashed to the ground in a heap of oozing magmaing from where his chest used to be, the cloaked humanoid version of the arshakai stood atop his remains with a gleefulugh.Sheathing her two swords, the room went into an uproar of apuse, before she disappeared from the room down an adjacent hallway and vanished from the cameras that still remained.


    ***


    <strong>[Totem of Bloodforged Rift Sparks: The Path of Red and ck has been imbued into this totem, along with three different ability sigils, allowing to to createbination attacks with the following abilities: ck Lightning, Rift, and Crimson Ice. Due to having a high grade soul imbued into this totem, it is able to move around autonomously and will follow your will to fight or defend. Elite Tier, Level 1 totem. Requirements: 90 Willpower, Blood Sub-Pir, Shadow Sub-Pir. Bound to Riven Thane</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>Upgrade Downloads are Completing: Graphic of Dark Learning, Graphic of Dark Empowerment, Graphic of Hive Mind.]</strong></li></ul>


    Gragle the gnome had been working tirelessly on re-creating the totems Riven had paid him for, and was currently on thest of them. The fourth one, to be exact. He¡¯d needed some of Riven¡¯s blood to imbue The Path of Red and ck into the totems and it¡¯d been hard to replicate, but Gragle hadpleted this particr task and had even gained insight into that path himself through the straining of his mind.


    Not that he¡¯d actually been granted that path, but he had started to understand it and would perhaps be able to grasp it in uing years or decades. It was certainly potent, and Gragle couldn¡¯t help but wonder how he¡¯d managed to create such a connection to begin with. The level ofprehension must have been astoundingly good, which brought his mind wandering back to all the unholy sigils on Riven¡¯s skin that Gragle still didn¡¯t recognize - nor had he found anything in the local library about such sigils in the Unholy section.


    Nevertheless, the gnome was proud with his work. And due to therge sum of money he¡¯d been paid, he¡¯d even done Riven a favor. Lighting a candle in the darkening room of his small workshop, he nced out the window at the setting sun where brilliant orange and yellow hues lit up the clouds. What a strange sight for Outpost #84, after having been on a rtively dead world for so long.


    He turned around and walked over to his short desk and double checked the gift he¡¯d prepared for Riven as a way of thanks. It was a book, a book he¡¯d written himself on how Graphics worked and what to look for when creating graphics. Everything Gragle knew about Graphics, but dumbed down so Riven could understand it, was summarized here over the past month. He¡¯d seen how the young man¡¯s eyes lit up whenever Gragle talked about his ability and for the first time in his life, Gragle felt truly appreciated. The gangs had even stopped harassing him after Riven had taken care of their top dogs, and now Gragle felt like the weight of the world had finallye off his shoulders - relieving him of a burden he¡¯d been carrying for so, so long.


    A tear came to his eye, and he wiped it away with augh. Cleaning off the four metal Icosahedrons that were Riven¡¯s totems, he made sure each rune imbued into the 20 faces of the rtively sphere-like creations were working properly. The Graphic of Dark Learning and Graphic of Dark Empowerment were boosting each rune as well, though the graphics weren¡¯t entirely absorbed yet, but they could still move around and the soul shards had some minor amounts of self thought. They wouldn¡¯t have been bound to Riven yet either, at least 3 of the 4 wouldn¡¯t have been, but the Graphic of Hive Mind had changed them into a collective and they¡¯d absorbed the original parent-totem¡¯s alignment quite well before he¡¯d installed the other 2 graphics.


    Just thinking about it, Gragle was tempted to create ones just like these for himself if Riven was ok with it. He still had a small vial of Riven¡¯s blood, which was abnormally saturated with high quality mana from numerous affinities rted to the Unholy Foundational Pir, and it would easily be enough to make another two totems like the ones he¡¯d constructed at the very least. Possibly even three.


    A knock came at the door, causing Gragle to blink rapidly and furrow his brows in confusion. What was someone doing at his house sote? He didn¡¯t really have any affiliates other than the other gnome Warden Zuk, especially after the gang he¡¯d once been forced to work for now stayed far away from him in fear of his new employer, so it was certainly odd to get visitors right now.


    Grabbing at the door knob at gnome height and swinging the fully human-sized door wide open, Gragle looked up to see an unfamiliar cloaked figure staring back down at him with a toothy grin. He had an odd, light greenplexion that almost looked sick. His eyes were incredibly bloodshot, with one pointed off to Gragle¡¯s right and the other directly focused on Gragle.


    ¡°May I help¡­ you¡­?¡± Gragle asked slowly, reaching for the small stun device on his hip due to the strange, creepy way this man was looking at him.


    The stranger, for his part, nodded with a quick and jerky motion. He reached out a hand from underneath his cloak, revealing gnarled fingers that - for a split second - looked like they had something crawling underneath his skin by the way it wriggled. ¡°Yes¡­ I havee to trade. Perhaps we could speak inside?¡±


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    The man¡¯s voice was even creepier than his looks by the way it rasped eagerly, but Gragle wasn¡¯t one that liked to turn down money. ¡°Hmmm. Alright, you want to have me build you a totem? Right now it is a bitte. Could youe back tomorrow and discuss prices then?¡±


    The man shook his head, and focused both eyes on Gragle this time while pushing his way through the door and past Gragle with a grunt. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not¡­ this is most important and I need it now.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, sir!?¡± Gragle angrily harumphed. ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t need¡­¡±


    His voice trailed off when he realized the totems he¡¯did out for Riven were now gone from the countertop, gone before either man hade back inside. Had the totems moved on their own? If so, then where and why?


    The strange, green-tinted man came to a stop in the middle of the room - and started to sniff. His nostrils widened to abnormal proportions and he took in deep, eager breaths. The act was almost grotesque, and this time Gragle was certain that his skin was literally crawling as something moved underneath the skin over and over in various ces along the man¡¯s arms, neck, and face.


    Absolutely creeped out now, Gragle decided to keep a very firm hold on his stun weapon at his hip. ¡°Sir, I told you that now is not a good time. You need to leave.¡±


    Something about this stranger just felt... wrong.


    As if triggered by Gragle¡¯s words, the man shifted his weight and moved towards the vial of Riven¡¯s blood that was stashed on a shelf nearby. Plucking it from where it was held and popping the cork, the green-tinted man¡¯s eyes widened with delight - and his smile grew to literally reach his ears as his teeth briefly sharpened.


    ¡°You see, I am a collector¡­¡± The stranger stated, turning back around to give the gnome a predatory grin. ¡°And the smelling out of this vial was just too good to pass up. I do believe I¡¯ll be buying this. What is your price?¡±


    Gragle raised an eyebrow at the selected item, then nced at the numerous other totems on disy around his workshop that he¡¯d set out for potential buyers in the past. ¡°You smelled that vial of blood from outside? How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°I have a very good nose!¡± The man replied, bopping his nose with a finger and chuckling to himself.


    ¡°Alright well¡­ I¡¯m afraid that vial isn¡¯t for sale.¡± Gragle said while folding his arms in irritation. ¡°I was going to use that for a totem I am nning to make for myself.¡±


    The strange man blinked, then began tough. ¡°You!? For yourself!? How interesting! Well let¡¯s just say that I won¡¯t be taking no for an answer. So, with that in mind, I¡¯ll ask you just one more time.¡±


    In the blink of an eye the man had blurred forward to stand in front of Gragle, towering over him with a looming aura of dread seeping from his soul core.


    Gragle yelped and fell backwards, scrambling for his weapon and pulling out a small iron rod that crackled with electricity as he flipped the switch.


    The man didn¡¯t even seem to notice gragle¡¯s weapon as he bent down over him, looking like a shark about to eat its next meal - while holding up the vial. ¡°How¡­ much¡­ for this?¡±


    Gragle stuttered something unintelligible, before the man sighed and rolled his eyes.


    Dropping a small sack of what could only be money, he gestured at the gnome to open it. ¡°Despite my appearances, little gnome, I am truthfully a fair person in all my dealings¡­ Perhaps this amount would suffice?¡±


    Gaping up at the obviously hostile intruder, Gragle¡¯s fingers slowly itched towards the bag and he opened it to see what was inside. His eyes widened in shock, and he looked up in obvious surprise - his fear having fled his body in a single instant. ¡°All of this? Just for a vial of blood?¡±


    From where one of Gragle¡¯s own soul-based graphics was located, he could feel a karmic tietching onto his core - connecting him and this strange man in a cord that became stronger by the second as he truly considered the man¡¯s offer.


    The bloodshot eyes of the stranger narrowed approvingly. ¡°Yes, of course¡­ Just, take the money¡­ and we can part ways here. What say you, Gragle?¡±


    Gragle looked down at the extreme wealth in his hands, and picked one up just to make sure it was real. Putting the money back down and shuddering, he considered what Riven would think about it. Surely the vampire would be fine with Gragle selling some of Riven¡¯s blood to this stranger if Gragle split the profits, right? Riven would get rich too! So¡­ why not¡­ right?


    Gragle nodded his head, and he felt the karmic tie connect him with the stranger that very next instant. Though he honestly couldn¡¯t care, because now he was going to be absolutely rich. He wouldn¡¯t have to work a day in his life even if he did give Riven half.


    ¡°I can ept that. You may have the vial of blood in exchange for this money.¡± Clutching it close to his chest as if trying to protect the massive sum of wealth from leaving him should the stranger refuse, Gragle got back to his feet and dusted himself off with a wide smile of his own. ¡°Nice to do business with you mister¡­ uh¡­ What¡¯s your name?¡±


    Laughing and letting the hostility drain awaypletely, the green-tinted man held out a hand to shake. ¡°How greedy you look with that little sack of money! I love it¡­ As for my name? You can call me Gambler.¡±


    ¡°Gambler?¡± Gragle repeated, grasping the man¡¯s hand to shake. ¡°That¡¯s an odd name.¡±


    ¡°The Gambler, to be precise.¡± Replied the taller man with anotherugh. ¡°But it is time for me to go, I have ns and need to get back to them. Perhaps I¡¯ll meet you again, but for now - good day to you.¡±


    With that, The Gambler stepped around Gragle and began walking down the dark alleys leading away from Gragle¡¯s workshop and home.


    Looking after him, Gragle only shook his head - but greedily opened the bag to gawk at his newfound wealth with soaring excitement. Perhaps he¡¯d go get drunk tonight and celebrate with some of the other gnomes in this city. He could certainly use a drink, and now that he didn¡¯t have the vial of blood anymore - his previous n to work on his own totems hade to an abrupt halt. Hopefully that man woulde back sometime after Riven did, so that Gragle could obtain another vial for the man to buy if it really was as precious as the offered sum Gragle had been given this night.


    ***


    ¡°Your stance is wrong.¡± Lillith kicked Riven¡¯s knee and sent him sprawling to the floor.


    Getting up and feeling the joint snap back into ce, Riven didn¡¯tin as he came back to stand in front of the living legend he¡¯d been sparring with all night. He dove forward again, only dressed in a thin sparring outfit made of cloth, and mmed his mana-charged elbow into Lillith¡¯s side.


    Or at least he tried to, but was sent spinning backwards with another kick to the side of his knee.


    ¡°It¡¯s still wrong.¡± Lillith said with a shake of her head, ignoring the spectators in the stands that often came to watch even these training sessions despite no actual events going on for the moment. ¡°You bend the joint too early, it projects your movement in a way that signals what you¡¯re about to do. When you do move, you need to snap into motion instead of leaning into it first.¡±


    Riven nodded. ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°Do you though?¡± Lillith raised an eyebrow and snapped another kick in his direction, but began to p when the act had been a fake out. Riven hadn¡¯t actually moved, but had drawn her into a rebuttal despite this when she¡¯d read his projected path. ¡°Oh! Very good. You also canceled out your mana pulse at thest second to stop your body from elerating, I¡¯m impressed.¡±


    Smiling at thepliment, Riven bowed. ¡°Thank you, teacher. I appreciate your guidance.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Now, perhaps you can try to utilize the things you¡¯ve learned over these past weeks in another duel?¡± Lillith asked, gesturing to the stands where one of the contenders to try and take Riven down was seated. ¡°Jerakie! You¡¯re up!¡±


    Lillith vanished and the roar of approval from a distant spectator filled Riven¡¯s ears as arge draconic man smashed into the arena¡¯s floor. He had no wings, but his scales were as tough as armor and glinted a dark burgundy in the fireballs illuminating the arena from above. He had vibrant green eyes, wed hands, and was about Azmoth¡¯s size in terms of both height and muscle. He didn¡¯t wear anything at all, nor did he carry a weapon, but he nevertheless had an imposing F-grade aura in the LEGENDARY category.


    ¡°I, Jerakie, challenge Riven Thane to a duel of supremacy!¡± The draconic man roared, letting his hands and arms explode with green fire as he entered a martial artist¡¯s stance.


    It was a little weird, seeing such a huge, monstrous dragon-man enter a sophisticated stance style Riven hade to recognize amongst many of the humanoids here in the descent. But that was all the more reason for worry in Riven¡¯s opinion, and he nodded to the challenger as he adopted a stance of his own.


    Riven¡¯s stance, the one he was being taught above all others anyway, was called ¡®Mage Fist¡¯ and utilized mana in many of the martial acts with up closebat. The ¡®Mage Fist¡¯ stances also called for hit and run tactics, or retreating to use spells at range while utilizing these martial tactics to put distance between himself and the enemy - thus it was mostly a defensive stance that hinged on the idea of a mage using most of his offensive might through magic.


    Riven felt his mana gather within his core, and waited for the announcer to start the fight as his heart began to thud. He was getting better, and though it was a lot of beat downs he wasn¡¯t used to - his pride allowed it as long as he continued to grow.


    When the announcer range arge bell next to Gluttony¡¯s statue overlooking the tform Lillith was now seated on, the fight had begun. Rivenunched himself backwards to keep himself away from the obviously melee fighter and unleashed a torrent of storm razors that ripped out of the air around him like an avnche, and then blocked an iing tail strike as the dragon-man¡¯s tail elongated like a whip tosh out at him.


    Before he knew it, Riven was in full swing - trying to kite his enemy and fending off blows while sending magical projectiles like a madman as a small smile began to creep across his face. Yes¡­ he was definitely improving.

 Chapter 268

    Chapter 268


    <strong>Chapter 268</strong>


    Riven moved through the steps that¡¯d been drilled into him over the past month, shifting his body while simultaneously using his mana to enhance his reflexes even outside the realm of his speed buff Blessing of the Crow.


    When the draconic man Jerakie shed out at him with his ming green ws and tried to enter closebat, Riven would kite him with a ceaseless barrage of roaring ck and red. When he wasn¡¯t able to riftwalk or dodge effectively, he¡¯d deflect with his spear-staff and utilize barriers of ice; only truly engaging full-on with physical attacks if he saw an obvious opening. Jerakie was a melee fighter with some mid-ranged abilities involving the green mes of his heritage, unleashing depictions of fiery green drakes at Riven that could wipe out entire swaths of the stone floor for thirty yards out - but those attacks were far shorter than Riven¡¯s own abilities which gave him an advantage as long as he kept distance.


    Thus, he fought like a true mage as much as possible. Ever since he¡¯d truly taken this fighting style to heart, he¡¯d also started winning at an increased rate. No longer did he lose more of these duels against the elites of Gluttony¡¯s following than he won, but the tide had reversed - if only barely. Nevertheless it was a big step forward for such a small amount of time and very much underlined the truly obvious ws he¡¯d had and now acknowledged - easy fixes finallying to rest.


    me, blood, shadow and sin - with the asional flicker of death mana that he still wasn¡¯t entirely used to, swirled around him in a roaring cyclone by the end of the fight as he hovered twenty yards off the ground with his spear-staff channeling the mana into a point.


    His opponent was still pulling himself out of the crater, one arm hanging loosely by charred tendons and his scales ravaged by the onught, before acknowledging Riven¡¯s win with a grunt.


    The mana subsided, the drums sounded, and the crowd cheered as the next contenders for the fights that¡¯d been going on for weeks now started making moves to enter the arena.


    As the draconian man shuffled out towards the healers, Riven turned his attention to Lillith - who¡¯d appeared to float alongside him with a stern expression.


    ¡°How¡¯d I do?¡± Riven asked, winking with augh when she shook her head and folded her arms.¡°Better, but still lots of improvements to make.¡± She stated with a nod in the draconian man¡¯s direction. ¡°You let him inside you guard all too often, and your technique still needs work when you are engaged in closebat. Have you been working on your mana pulses?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Did you do it during the fight?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lillith. And if you¡¯re about to ask me where you hid them-¡± Riven pointed towards the left wall and up above. ¡°Those two spots.¡±


    A smile crept onto her lips as the two assassins reappeared from thin air. ¡°Very good.¡±


    Riven chuckled and was about to ask whether or not that was all of them, when a strange sense of pulling overcame him. It was like someone was poking at his soul, and Gluttony noticed it too with an abrupt shift in theirbined attention to a tiny fluctuation in their shared soul aperture.


    In an instant Riven was dragged in alongside Gluttony to meet the odd change, and Riven found himself inside the equivalent of aher realm - though he could tell it was more of a mirage rather than a trueher realm.


    Swampid all about him in a t marsnd that stretched out for miles on end,and a strange, green-tinted man with bloodshot eyes red daggers at him from across a distance of perhaps twenty feet in length.


    Riven felt Gluttony¡¯s disgust and irritation simultaneously grow, and as Riven watched - the strange man¡¯s body slowly unfurled before his very eyes. The belly of the green man bulged, exploding outwards in a swarm of leeches, worms, and insects with a sickly viscousyer of gunk connecting them like a membrane. The limbs went next, and then the head, and the man¡¯s body continued to grow. It grew to the size of a house, then a school, then grew even far beyond that until therge abomination cast a shadow over thend from the clouds and beyond.


    The writhing mass of creatures grew enormous eyes that shed open likely fleshy orbs, and mouths began to open from within the body and writhing limbs of the creature from a thousand different ces at once.


    ¡°Gluttony¡­¡± The creature hissed, glowering down at Riven¡¯s position with obvious distaste. ¡°My master greets you from the beyond.¡±


    A rumble sounded out from Riven¡¯s soul aperture, but otherwise Gluttony didn¡¯t bother replying.


    This in turn made the abomination in front of Rivenugh sardonically. ¡°Not even willing to acknowledge my presence? After so many untold eons? Come now Gluttony, I thought we¡¯d-¡±


    A snap of power erupted from Riven¡¯s soul core where Gluttony had imbedded himself into the very fabric of Riven¡¯s internal realm. It felt like someone had just kicked Riven in the nutsack while simultaneously giving him arge dose of cocaine, and his body seized in a rigid spasm.


    At the same time, a dose of pure sin energy shattered the fabric of the false world they found themselves in and crashed into the unknown creature. The monster screamed in agony and reeled backwards in the broken world Riven now found himself in, and malice poured out of Riven as Gluttony temporarily took hold of Riven¡¯s body.


    ¡°You are not worthy of my acknowledgement, worm. But since you insist, perhaps I can show Greed¡¯spdog a little more face after all.¡± Gluttony¡¯s third eye opened on Riven¡¯s head, and his mouth split open along the corners all the way back to his ears as numerous sharp teeth sprouted from his mouth. The air thundered, and Gluttony lifted one of Riven¡¯s hands to beckon to the creature. ¡°Now tell me, king of worms, what poorly concocted scheme this time made you think it was a good idea toe and speak to the Great Maw?¡±


    The world pulsed again around them, the remaining fabric of realitypletely disintegrating this time until the world of swamps was no more - and they found themselves in a ck abyss of nothingness.


    The screeching of the monstrous creature abruptly stopped when it red with a pulse of its own power, and its numerous eyes narrowed into slits as it let out a deafening roar of intense rage from the thousands of jaws around its iling body.


    Riven and Gluttony just sat and watched, a deep sense of calm malice embedded into Riven¡¯s soul, as the monster in front of them quieted down. They pointed a finger in the monster¡¯s direction, and Gluttony spoke once more. ¡°Do what you havee to do. Say what you havee to say. I will tolerate your presence for only a small amount of time, Gambler. If this were another era, I would have already yed you open and devoured you whole - be d that this is not that era.¡±


    Gambler?


    Oh.


    The Gambler?


    Riven had been hearing a little bit about this person over the past weeks. He knew this creature to be something akin to a general in Greed¡¯s army, and he was likely responsible or partially responsible for the attack on Genua. The attack on Riven¡¯s child.


    Cold hate slowly filtered in, adding to Gluttony¡¯s own.


    He tried to pull on his mana, but none came, and anger turned into confusion. ¡°Gluttony, if you were able to hurt him here - why can¡¯t I?¡±


    Gluttony inwardlyughed. ¡°I directly attacked his soul. It¡¯s something I¡¯m quite good at, and though I do approve of your aggression - it is impossible to kill him here. Let the worm speak¡­ Let us see what verbal vomit he has to offer us...¡±


    ¡°He tried to kill our child.¡±


    ¡°But he didn¡¯t. He failed.¡±


    Riven blinked, tightening his fists, and retook control of his body as he restrained himself from giving Gluttony a rude response. However he couldn¡¯t fault Gluttony because Gluttony had been the one to save their child, while Riven had been an utter failure of a father in that instant. Instead, he turned his ire on the monster ahead with an obvious sneer. ¡°Gambler. I¡¯ve got to ask¡­ Was it you that tried to kill my unborn child? Did you take any part in concocting that n?¡±


    The monster, which had been seething in the background, suddenly stilled - and then it he slowly began tough. Theughter built, and built some more, until it echoed across the ne of this strange, false world. ¡°Yes, and I was oh so disappointed that I did not stter the child¡¯s brains onto the pavement as anticipated. Nor did my agent even kill the mother¡­ It is a true tragedy, but expected of one with such inexperience. It is a tragedy that will be corrected in time when I drag them into the depths of hell in future days toe. But that is not why I came to speak with the Maw. I came for¡­ other things.¡±


    Riven¡¯s fists tightened harder. He opened his mouth to speak, but found that he could not put into words the description of just what he was actually feeling right now. If he couldn¡¯t actually kill the beast ahead of him in this ce, then there was no point in making himself out to be a hotheaded fool. ¡°Very well. Tell me, how did you contact me? Is it the vial of my blood I sense inside your spatial pocket in the middle of your body?¡±


    The Gambler seemed surprised by Riven¡¯s deduction, and eventually pulled out that same vial Riven had described. It looked down, then up, then down and up again until it settled on Riven once more. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you noticed, hatchling. I-¡±


    Riven formed a fist, and the vial of blood shattered. His essence on the other side of this strangely constructedmunication line shuddered to the same extent that Gluttony¡¯s pulse had done. The blood was without a doubt the pir holding up this ¡®phone call¡¯ so to speak, but he kept themunication line intact and grinned viciously at the image of The Gambler¡¯s body on the other end of string that connected them. Somewhere out there, he¡¯d created a crater inside the demon that pulsed with remnant blood energy that was rapidly evaporating. He perhaps had a few minutes left to talk at most, and he may not be able to kill this creature in this realm as he couldn¡¯t truly summon mana here - but the mana in Riven¡¯s blood was still connected to him while in such concentrated form. And the bloody scar it¡¯d left in the monster¡¯s side was very satisfying, even if it was in the end - insignificant.


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    ¡°YOU BARBARIC, UNEVOLVED APE! I WOULD BE CURSED TO INTERACT WITH NOTHING MORE THAN BABOON, IT SEEMS!¡± The Gambler screamed, irritation flecked his words like a potent venom. ¡°We have not even discussed terms and you already wish to end our talks!? You are a short sighted fool!¡±


    ¡°Not as foolish as to use the blood of a vampire as a means ofmunication AFTER trying to kill my kid.¡± Riven shot back, a content grin on his face. He wanted to ask if Gragle was alright, but assumed the gnome was dead if The Gambler was here with that vial. He¡¯d have to checkter. ¡°Tell us why you havee. The means by which you contacted us are disappearing and will be gone within minutes. Speak.¡±


    Snarling, The Gambler cursed at him in anguage that he didn¡¯t understand - but elicited chuckles from Gluttony. Frothing at the mouth and writhing his numerous appendages that were many hundreds of times longer than Riven¡¯s own body, the bestial creature rippled in irritation. ¡°I havee to set terms.¡±


    ¡°Terms?¡± Riven repeated dryly. ¡°You can fuck right off. How do those terms sound?¡±


    ¡°I do not speak with you, child. I speak to the Great Maw.¡± The monster replied with a hiss, appendages swarming. ¡°Greed has not left the prison that held us yet, because he is waiting and watching. Watching¡­ the Commandments. Their echoes of hatred still linger in the dark, and they scheme to gain a foothold over demonkind before our rise has even truly begun. Greed has sent me here as a messenger, that we agree to a ceasefire, and work together on a temporary basis.¡±


    There was a pause as Gluttony¡¯s curiosity was peaked.


    Then, seeing that neither Riven nor Gluttony had anything else to say, The Gambler smiled across all its many mouths. ¡°I am d you can listen to reason. Good. Greed has found the location of an inheritor¡­ a Reincarnation to be. His time in the prison has bore fruit, and he has overheard them talking of treachery. Themandments of Purity, Piety, Judgement, Selflessness, Truth, Humility, and Patience scheme to move soon. Perhaps it would interest us both if we strike together with thebined might of our churches, when The Seventh Wing sends down her blessing and incorporates herself into a reincarnation. What says The Great Maw?¡±


    Gluttony seemed to tense, and he spat the words out like venom. ¡°The Seventh Wing? Purity has chosen a vessel?¡±


    The Gambler growled out his acknowledgement. ¡°Yes. And though as much as I¡¯d like to see the both of you kill each other, and as much as Greed holds a deep seated hate for you, we both know where our priorities lie when ites to the endless war against the heavens. I can prove to you that I do not lie, and if you wish it - we may work together to send Purity back into the abyss to recuperate. Perhaps, if we are lucky, we may even capture her reincarnation and hold her for an eternity that she shant break from.¡±


    ***


    Was it a trap?


    Probably.


    Was there some truth to what The Gambler had said?


    Apparently so.


    Did Riven really want to go kill or abduct Purity¡¯s reincarnation?


    Not really.


    But Gluttony did.


    And yet¡­ Would Riven even be involved? He wasn¡¯t entirely sure he would be. Rather, it maypletely exclude him as B, A, and S grade yers from the churches of Gluttony and Greed were on the chessboard in attempting the mission should it be enacted. yers that were currently far more powerful than Riven was.


    A lot was on Riven¡¯s mind as he looked in the mirror, turning and evaluated the strange demon-styled suit Ath and Fay had picked out for him. It was made of a deep burgundy with spikes along the shoulders and came out with a re in the back like a tuxedo, but had numerous bright red trimmings and arge ck sigil of Gluttony on the inner vest. The style had been picked out by his two girlfriends only a few days ago, and though Ath was still on a mission - she¡¯d no doubt appreciate that he wore it to this event even despite her absence.


    No doubt she¡¯d make him wear it again when he had the same kind of event with her own family.


    ¡°You, look, startlingly good! I¡¯m such a lucky woman!¡± Fay said when she turned the corner, putting on a wide grin and stepping into the room with a sparkling ck dress that fit her slender, athletic body like a glove. She stepped up to Riven in the mirror, put an elbow on his shoulder as they stared at one another, and then leaned in with a kiss. Meeting his lips and then yfully rubbing her horns against his cheek, she reached down for his hand and gently intertwined fingers. ¡°I, uhm, I want to say thanks foring. Thank you for asking to do this in the first ce, they¡¯re all so excited to meet you. You have no idea how much this means to my n, to my family. To me.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow and thought about ruffling her hair, but seeing how much time she¡¯d taken in making it look absolutely perfect - he decided not to. Instead, he just pulled her in for another kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist. ¡°Of course, silly. I wouldn¡¯t miss it for the world. I love you, remember?¡±


    Fay¡¯s blue cheeks flushed a bright pink, and she looked away but kept her grip firm on his back as she pressed up against him. ¡°Thanks. I love you too, and I needed to hear that. You¡¯ve been so busytely that we haven¡¯t had a chance to talk much, you¡¯ve been distant.¡±


    ¡°And I apologize for that, but it¡¯s also why I decided to push this forward.¡± Riven brought a hand up to her chin and lifted her face to meet his own. ¡°I wanted to show both you and Ath that you¡¯re important to me.¡±


    ¡°And Genua?¡±


    The question caught Riven off guard, and he shifted his head from side to side before shrugging. ¡°I¡¯m not sure where that¡¯s going. We had a one night stand and now it¡¯s¡­plicated. But right now, I only have eyes for you and Ath.¡±


    Fay grinned. ¡°Kathrine is going to be very angry if she hears that.¡±


    ¡°Kathrine is in a forced marriage situation due to the Blood Moon Requiem, for political gains, and we all know it. Stop teasing me.¡± Riven shot Fay an irritated re, only to soften his frown when she giggled up at him and put a hand on his cheek.


    ¡°I know.¡± Fay stated softly. ¡°Are you ready to go?¡±


    Riven¡¯s frownpletely evaporated, and he let out a chuckle with a nod. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m ready. Let¡¯s go meet your family, shall we?¡±


    Five minutester, Riven was let into the Sojavi n¡¯sbinedher realm while holding Fay¡¯s hand. Stepping through the portal, he came upon a sprawlingplex of stone architecture akin to Mayan designs built into a mountainous junglendscape. Unlike previous visits to most of the otherher realms he¡¯d been in, this one had a very real sense of physicality to it. His senses all worked here, unlike individualher realms, and if he remembered correctly it was because the amount of demons residing here all gave a portion of themselves into creating the world they shared. Individual realms had an absolute safety to them though, which is why they were often used to begin with, butbinedher realms like this one made things more¡­munal. Social.


    And the sight before him left him somewhat staggered.


    Well over a thousand different subi and incubi all knelt in submission on the stone panels leading towards the central-most building of theplex. They were dressed in their finest outfits in a variety of styles, had blue skin and small ck horns or tails just like Fay did, theplex had been decorated with blooming yellow and red flowers, and incense burned along multiple waist-high t pirs in a thick cloud of intoxicatingly good aromas. The very air he breathed was refreshing even despite the smoke, and he quickly noted there to be four people at the very front of the crowd - one of which he recognized.


    ¡°Hello, Tupper. It¡¯s nice to see you here.¡± Riven said with a friendly wave, and Tupper shot the people beside him a nervous nce before standing to his full height and nodding.


    ¡°I greet the Great Maw¡¯s Reincarnation with utmost respect!¡± Tupper announced, bowing deeply at the waist and causing Riven to raise an eyebrow.


    Fay giggled, whispering into Riven¡¯s ear, and he scratched the back of his head.


    ¡°No need for that man, we know each other well enough by now. Just call me Riven.¡±


    Tupper abruptly shook his head. ¡°That would be disrespectful of your esteemed position, my lord! Please, allow-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an order, Tupper.¡± Riven replied with a sigh. ¡°I appreciate the respect, but you¡¯re a friend - and you¡¯re Fay¡¯s brother. Please stand straight.¡±


    Hesitating once again, Tupper shot the people beside him another look - getting an unsaid message from one of the women beside him, and did as Riven asked. He cleared his throat nervously and slumped his shoulders before sticking out a hand. ¡°Nice to see you again, Riven. How¡¯s the Abyssal Descent going?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Rivenughed, sping hands with the incubus and gesturing to the others. ¡°I assume these are the rest of your family that I requested to meet?¡±


    ¡°They are.¡± Fay cut in, quickly walking over to pull the two women and one man up to their feet in standing positions. One of the women was slightly older than Fay, but not by much. Nevertheless because it was noticeable at all, this was likely Fay¡¯s mom he¡¯d heard so much about. He could certainly see where Fay got her gics, and if she was anything to go by - Riven would not be disappointed if he and Fay ever got married andsted another few thousand years together.


    The second woman was Fay¡¯s sister if Riven had to guess. Nithidi? Nitidi? Niridi? He couldn¡¯t remember. Fuck. She was taller than Fay and certainly more confident, and held his gaze almost teasingly as his eyes swept over her bright yellow dress that matched Fay¡¯s own in style.


    Then,stly, there was a slightly older and very handsome man that Riven could only assume was Fay¡¯s father by process of elimination. He wore a cool, calcting look and - though he showed respect in the formal gestures - he did not have the same aim to please about him that the two women did. Or at least that¡¯s what Riven got out of it based on expressions between the three.


    Fay gestured to each of them in turn. ¡°This is my mother, Saemi. This is my sister, Nitidi. And this is my father, Artirus. Obviously you know Tupper already, so that¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s my family! Uhm¡­ Thanks foring again, Riven.¡±


    She gave him a sheepish smile, and her mother Saemi was already stepping forward with a warm handshake and an extraordinarily wide, brilliant smile.


    ¡°It is such a pleasure to meet my daughter¡¯s future husband!¡± Saemi eximed loudly, oozing with giddiness as her handshake almost became violent by how excited she was. ¡°A prince of the Blood Moon Requiem and, more importantly, Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation! I am so, SO excited to host you this evening in our estate! I hear you have another minion slot open? Is that true? Perhaps you¡¯d consider our other daughter to add to your-¡±


    ¡°Mother!¡± Fay eximed, a blush oveing her face as her fists clenched with embarrassment - and she dropped her voice into a low hiss. ¡°We¡¯ve been over this! Stop it immediately!¡±


    ¡°Nitidi.¡± Fay¡¯s sister politely said, pushing her mother out of the way and taking Riven¡¯s hand next. ¡°I must say, the things Fay tells me about you and your intimacy are rather interesting. Perhaps I¡¯ll get to see them for myself one of these days.¡±


    Fay¡¯s jaw dropped, and Riven¡¯s pale face blushed to the next degree as he gave his girlfriend the side-eye.


    ¡°I¡­ Well it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Riven said, taking a step back and wondering just what kind of impression he gave off to these people that they¡¯d think he wanted that. As it was, Ath and Fay were more than enough. It was certainly ttering, but already having such a busy life he was not sure he¡¯d be able to handle another woman in that realm of things even if he wanted to - and he certainly didn¡¯t want to invest emotionally into anyone else. ¡°And, uh, you¡¯re Fay¡¯s father, Artirus? It¡¯s a pleasure. Truly, it is.¡±


    Artirus for his part gave a stiff bow, and politely extended his hand to shake with a smile. ¡°I apologize for appearing nervous, if that is how Ie off. I was just caught off guard when I heard the news that you¡¯d be attending one of our banquets, and haven¡¯t really wrapped my head around the fact that my beloved daughter is marrying into something beyond royalty. Please, allow me to escort you into our home. Fay told me that you liked to keep things informal so it will be more or less without ceremony, I am hoping she told me correctly¡­¡±


    ¡°She did. And yes, please lead on. I¡¯m excited to finally catch a glimpse of what Fay¡¯s home is like, and the wonderful people that raised her.¡± Riven stated immediately, d to get an out and avoid the stares of Fay¡¯s sister and mother as Artirus began leading him through the crowd; while other subi and incubi began to stand and cheer - creating a roar of approval and chanting Gluttony¡¯s name as he went.


    Halfway through the crowd though, he noticed that Fay had fallen behind. Turning and walking back to grasp Fay¡¯s hand, he saw her eyes widen and begin to water - before wiping her tears away and loudlyughing amidst the happy rise in mood around them. ¡°You really are quite a sob story a lot of the time. Quit crying and be happy! This is going to be fun! I¡¯m assuming there¡¯s alcohol?¡±


    ¡°Oh we have lots of alcohol, count on it!¡± Her mother Saemi chimed in with a giddy skip to her step. ¡°Part of being a n based on information gathering to sell to the cosmos is that we know where all the best wineries are!¡±


    Fay for her part, just let Riven lead her forward until she locked arms with him and pressed against him. Together, both smiling, they made their way through the crowd towards the inner sanctum of Fay¡¯s family home - where many of the incubus and subus children waited to greet them with a shower of flowers andughing cheers.


    As for Riven - he very much wondered what their children would turn out to look like should they ever have one together. Would it be something like these kids? If so, they were going to make adorable babies.


    He should probably start looking for engagement rings after the whole ¡®conquer Panu¡¯ thing was over.

 Chapter 269

    Chapter 269


    <strong>Chapter 269</strong>


    The dining area was in the very center of their mayan-likepound on the uppermost floor in an open-air tform, surrounded by vine-covered pirs and a golden roof that only covered the outer perimeter where the food tables were. The inner square had many dozens ofrge circr stone tables covered in white silk, along with vibrant flowers of numerous colors for decoration. Instead of chairs they had soft decorative pillows to sit on, and it gave him a very oriental vibe.


    Riven was positioned at the central seat of honor at the very back-most tform, at the only rectangr table present - one that was raised above all the other tables so he and the others sitting there could look forward and down at everyone else eating below. A band softly yed string and flute-like instruments in the background too, but it was only barely audible - intentionally so.


    Everything was very colorful, filled with beautiful people thatughed and joked with one another while shooting him a mixture of curious, awestruck, flirtatious, and even reverent nces more often than he wasfortable with. He didn¡¯t know how to take being idolized like he was someone great, and in his opinion he wasn¡¯t - he was just a somewhat normal guy that¡¯d been thrust into abnormal circumstances. A guy that did his best, but theck of ceremony Fay had insisted on did ease his nerves as people went to and from the buffets lined up along the outer perimeter in the shade of the roof.


    For his part, he was enjoying the warm, vibrant sunlight on his skin - and due to this being aher realm, it didn¡¯t bother him to the point that he had to bring out Messenger. It was nice, because without Messenger in a normal world - he¡¯d have been rather ufortable given his vampiric heritage. Instead he kept on his burgundy, red, and ck demon-styled suit and sat cross-legged while holding Fay¡¯s hand.


    ¡°As you all know-!¡± Saemi, Fay¡¯s mother and one of the elders of the Sojavi n called out atop the tform with mana infusing her voice to be overheard. ¡°-We have a special guest of honor today! Fay has told me that he doesn¡¯t like the spotlight too much, so I¡¯ll keep it brief!¡±


    A chuckle rippled across the crowd of smiling, enthusiastic listeners all wearing their best attire, and their voices settled down to better hear her with many of their eyes turning to Riven.


    ¡°As amazing and overwhelming as it is to have the Reincarnation of Gluttony himself in our midst, we-¡± Her voice caught in her throat, when Gluttony¡¯s visage slowly opened up across Riven¡¯s suit - along with the third purple eye on Riven¡¯s forehead. But Saemi, despite her surprise, quickly recovered and bowed low a little more stiffly than she¡¯d done before.


    ¡°Please continue.¡± Riven and Gluttony said at once, before Saemi straightened her posture and took in a sharp, nervous breath.¡°Eh¡­ Ahem.¡± She cleared her throat and nervously brushed her hair back as many of the subi and incubi gawked, not knowing whether or not to prostrate themselves - but took the cue from Riven¡¯s casual attitude that they should keep standing. ¡°I-It is an amazing thing as I s-said, to have someone as important as the reincarnation within our midst. I just wanted to take a very brief moment to acknowledge him as our guest of honor, the man who not only saved my daughter¡¯s life, but the man who I hope one day to be married into our n as an official member!¡±


    Fay turned a bright red from embarrassment when her mother shot them a dazzling smile, and Fay¡¯s hand squeezed Riven¡¯s all the more tightly as she simultaneously looked away.


    ¡°Perhaps to even bring us children!¡± Saemi dered, to theughter, apuse and cheers of the audience while Fay¡¯s face flushed even more. ¡°But I¡¯ll not dwell too long on the wishes of an old woman concerning her daughter¡¯s fate. For today, we will drink and be merry. Per his request, any or all of you are more than wee toe speak to him if you wish to do so without consequence. He wishes to convey that you should treat him like any other in our n, and hopes that we all have a good time. Cheers to that, and that is all I have to say!¡±


    There was an uproar of apuse and shouts as the brief speech ended - and Saemi came to sit back down next to Riven on his other side opposite of Fay. She quickly shot the maw and the extra eye on Riven¡¯s forehead a reverent bow yet again when she seated herself, fumbled with her rather exposing dress a bit, and settled in. ¡°Today, Riven, it is only my children and their father up here to eat with you. But before you go, the other elders of the n would like to speak in private before you head out - by your permission, of course.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Riven said with a smile, taking his eyes off the mulling crowds of hungry and invigorated blue-skinned people - to look Saemi up and down. ¡°No need to be nervous, Saemi. I¡¯m very excited to be here to meet my future inws.¡±


    He gave her a wink, and heard Fay take in a sharp breath - before he began tough at Saemi¡¯s excited expression.


    ¡°That¡¯s not funny!¡± Fay hissed in his ear, jabbing him in the side and letting out a high pitched yelp that got Tupper to cackle a few seats down. ¡°Don¡¯t tease me like that!¡±


    ¡°Ow stop that!¡± Riven insisted, swatting her hand away and then pulling her in for a kiss on the forehead before ruffling up her hair - much to her disgruntlement. But he could tell there was a barely hidden smile tugging at the corners of her lips, and she kept shooting him doe-eyed stares from time to time over the next couple seconds.


    Fay¡¯s father Artirus, on the opposite side of Saemi and two seats down from Riven¡¯s left, waved down some of the servants who were standing ready along the sidelines. ¡°Bring in the first course!¡±


    Unlike the rest of the Sojavi n who were having a free for all in the line at the buffets, Riven and the others sitting at this table had been prepared a five-course feast with the best that the Sojavi n could afford. Fay had told him not to let the others know, but apparently Saemi had gone well out of their way to spend nearly six times the entire n¡¯s yearly ie on the food and drink he¡¯d be eating today. Some kind of spiritual ingredients that cost immense amounts of money, but when Riven had told her to let them know that was not needed - Fay had insisted it¡¯d only bring shame to her family if he didn¡¯t at least allow them this show of respect; and that they¡¯d likely have their pride hurt if he rejected it.


    So he let the servantse in and fill the space in front of him with the first of five courses, one of them even visibly shaking from the nervousness of being there in his presence.


    ¡°Esta-Vil-Kwa, a dish from the outer reaches of the Mogin Crus Dynasty, where they raise spirit beasts to ughter and consume once every thousand years.¡± The main server, an older incubus man with a ponytail, stated very much like how a butler would do. The guy even had the same mannerisms, as he gestured to the dish after the youngest subus girl there had shakily ced it in the center of Riven¡¯s disy. ¡°The first course. The chef hopes it is up to someone of your standing, sire, and apologizes that we could not do more.¡±


    It smelled¡­ delicious.


    The aroma was like a millenia of youthfulness had been injected straight into his brain. It carried a scent of nature and fruit, mixed in the staple of cooked meat he was used to when he¡¯d eaten steak in the past. The aroma matched the disy, with strange orange meats sliced in decorated fashion and thered in a rich sugar ze. Berries surrounded it, with a dipping sauce to his left, followed by freshly baked rolls on his right and three golden cups of different wines to drink from.


    ¡°The beverages are Canyiel Brust, Marinarci from Jaghai, and Vampiric Court Ale from none other than your homnd of The Blood Moon Requiem.¡± The head servant smiled, obviously proud of the selection - and he gestured for yet another two subi to wheel-in arge cart of bottles that they left off to the side before bowing and dipping out. ¡°If you would like, we have also bought a number of different blood samples from your homnd as well that you may mix into your wines at your leisure. We have the blood of elves, dwarves, humans, gnomes, merpeople, demihumans, dragons, demons, and even the blood of angels if you wish to try it. The blood of angels has, of course, been stripped of any afflictions that may harm you if you wish to drink it. Anything that you don¡¯t wish to use today will be iced for any future visits you may wish to have, and if you decide you want to drink all of it - we will simply buy more. Just know that you¡¯ll always have a supply here should you wish to sample different vors.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised at thest mention of angels. Despite how some people might see it, he¡¯d actually very much grown fond of drinking blood since bing a vampire. He¡¯d tried Ath¡¯s blood, Luke¡¯s blood, Fay¡¯s blood, lots of Genua¡¯s blood, and he¡¯d eaten a few humans and goblins to boot. Maybe an orc? He couldn¡¯t remember for sure though because during the time in question, he was crazed with bloodlust.


    But he hadn¡¯t ever thought he¡¯d get the chance to try angel blood.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try the angelic blood if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Riven said eagerly, and nodded in appreciation when the man pulled out a small crystal bottle filled with golden liquid. The incubus popped the cork off, and set it down next to the three sses of overly expensive wine.


    ¡°Enjoy, and I¡¯ll be on standby out to the side if you need anything.¡± The man stated with a happy grin, then walked off with perfect posture to stand beside the other hand-picked servants nearby.


    The scent of angelic blood hit him like a train when he leaned forward to sniff. It was like a drug, and without even considering otherwise - he poured a good amount of it into the first ss of wine called ¡®Vampiric Court Ale¡¯ and swished it around with an eager, manlyugh.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you look that happy in a while.¡± Fay said, one eyebrow raised as she and the others began to dig into their own food with forks and knives, slowly savoring the vor of the expensive and odd orange meat with groans of appreciation. ¡°And you haven¡¯t even tasted it yet.¡±


    He yfully nudged her with his elbow in response. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that! The other night in bed with you and Ath¡­ I was a pretty happy man then too.¡±


    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Fay immediately held her face with one hand as her mother began tough, and groaned loudly before taking a cup of her own and draining the wine in a single go. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to need to be drunk for this.¡±


    Just as he¡¯d thought, the wine mixed with angel blood was incredibly good. So good, in fact, that he probably could have inhaled the stuff for weeks on end without getting tired of it. He took in deep gulps, swishing it around to rinse his fangs in, and with each swallow he closed his eyes and let the strange mix of fluids glide soothingly through his insides.


    He¡¯d found heaven on Earth. The thought immediately got a negative response from Gluttony internally, which only caused Riven tough as he inwardly exined it was just an expression from his old world. Then again, it also was angel blood¡­ so it kind of made sense either way.


    ¡°If you need a live source to drink from, I volunteer myself to be at your disposal.¡± Nitidi, Fay¡¯s tall sister said with a very flirtatious expression from the seat across from Fay on Riven¡¯s right. ¡°If you like Fay¡¯s blood as much as she ims you do, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d like mine as well. Perhaps there are even other things that-OW!¡±


    Fay angrily pinched her sister and shot her a re, before returning to downing her third and final ss of wine before waving over one of the servants to fill the sses up again. ¡°Please keep theming. I¡¯m definitely going to need to be drunk for this.¡±


    Laughing and shaking his head, Riven ignored Nitidi¡¯s offer and put his arm around Fay¡¯s waist in aforting gesture to calm her down. Despite how Fay had originally presented herself as a sexy beacon of confidence during his time picking between contracts, she¡¯d certainly been the one with the worst confidence out of his group. Time after time she¡¯d not thought herself good enough for one reason or another, and although it appeared that subi and incubi families were certainly more freely sexual with their partners than many - Nitidi¡¯s attempts at flirting probably weren¡¯t helping Fay¡¯s outlook.


    He¡¯d have to put a stop to that sometime soon, but nicely - so that her family didn¡¯t take offense.


    ¡°So how¡¯s Brightsville running without us there?¡± Riven eventually asked after a minute of people diving into the food and drink. ¡°Is everything going smoothly?¡±


    Tupper perked up at the question directed his way, and finished swallowing before using a napkin to wipe his mouth off. ¡°Yes, everything is going very well actually. Forces from The Blood Moon Requiem have settled in at the capital under with a third of their forces, while two other armies they brought have split off. One has gone to conquer the rest of Umbra that did not willingly submit to your im over the continent, and the other has gone off to defend the coastline against nephilim and other forces that are chasing Retesh Vorath¡¯s armies across the sea.¡±


    ¡°Retesh Vorath is abandoning the northern continent for Umbra?¡± Riven asked, incredulous. He scowled in confusion and set his drink down with a frown. ¡°I¡¯d thought the war there against Judith Marcina was going fine. Is it really that dire? That lich hasn¡¯t said a word to me about abandoning his homnd when we¡¯ve briefly trained together in The Abyssal Descent¡­¡±


    Tupper held up a hand and waved it back and forth in uncertainty. ¡°It isn¡¯t that he¡¯s abandoning the northern continent, but the weaker and civilian undead he has are safer on Umbra than they are in the north - where the wars are heating up due to outside mercenary armies from across the multiverse being hired on by local factions to help them fight. Your sister¡¯s terraforming of Umbra into a death-oriented continent, as well as your own ascension as Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation, has put a target on your back across the rest of the world. As you know, your sister already has the additional world quest aimed at killing her, and it is in our own best interest to conquer most of Panu to acquire Elysium¡¯s prize and protection for the next century against outside intervention. If you don¡¯t abandon Panu entirely, you¡¯ll need to finish that quest above all others - and everyone on the Panu forums knows it. It¡¯s made you and your sister a public enemy to all non-undead. Regardless I am getting off topic, Retesh Vorath has been sending his civilians from the north, across the sea, and into Umbra. The Blood Moon Requiem¡¯s forces, most of which are from your own House Wraithtide, are making sure they¡¯re save once they arrive and kill anyone following them into Umbra.¡±


    Riven paused to consider Tupper¡¯s new information. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m sad to hear that we¡¯re killing other undead that didn¡¯t subjugate themselves, but I think Allie¡¯s right on the money. Gluttony especially needs Elysium¡¯s protection to make Panu a safe harbor after the integration, and if we don¡¯t get it - that could spell trouble. We¡¯d be absolutely forced to abandon the altogether before some S-grade assholees in and kills us while we¡¯re still weak.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Tupper nodded in agreement, while the rest of the family listened intensely on the sidelines while eating. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re aware of this or not, but there are already massive armadas fortifying positions or battling each other on the outskirts of your sector from dozens of major multiverse factions. Those opposed to letting you live, those who are interested in your rise to power, and mercenary legions that are selling themselves to the highest bidder or hope to capture you for ransom. Just in case your n to subjugate the fails, which in the case of those who want to see you dead - gives them reason to sell their F-grade elites off to your enemies on Panu at an extreme discount despite massive losses.¡±


    Riven blinked, then sipped on his wine again. ¡°Well that¡¯s not good.¡±


    Tupper snickered. ¡°As you say. But they have to do it within Elysium¡¯s rules so there¡¯s still a very good chance you¡¯ll seed. Dawn¡¯s forces have rallied to rebuild their cities and they¡¯re sending soldiers through the Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole to help Chicago¡¯s legion in securingnd on the other side of Panu. The Romanovs have fallen, and General Bruner is putting new power structures into ce with the cities your forces have taken. But news of a new alliance on that side of the wormhole has led us to building up a defensive line to the north along the waterfront where we expect the attack toe from, as a lot of your neighbors are very concerned about The Thane Necropolis¡¯s quick expansion. The elves of Tereen are also producing a lot of goods for the war effort. Despite the inherent despise of your rule, most of the undead elves have seen the futility in fighting back and underground resistance efforts are almost entirely gone at this point. Most of them are just trying to carve a new life out of the loss they suffered, and the undead dwarves are still rebuilding from the war with Deepnest.¡±


    ¡°Any news on the ratkin?¡±


    ¡°The ratkin are still absent, having not shown themselves after fleeing your wrath in the underdark. Rumors from drow wanderers have reached our ears about a new Blight gue - the gue of undeath - is spreading in the deep from where the cursed ratkin haveid waist to underdark strongholds in search of a new home. But they are just unconfirmed rumors, nothing more.¡±


    ¡°And who is actually running everything? Specifically.¡±


    ¡°Allie has left Chancellor Mara Tovane in charge. Mara was wounded and nearly drained of her life energies after being captured and siphoned in a blood ritual where the vampiric elder god is still tombed, but she¡¯s made a good recovery and will be back in fighting condition eventually. She is counseled by Kathrine Vonsi Crushada, your vampiric counterpart from The Blood Moon Requiem, Counselor Brass of Earth, Counselor Gurth¡¯Rok of the Yellow Skull Tribe, Captain Crendir No-Name of The Blood Moon Requiem - an E-grade elite hand picked by General Viku of House Wraithtide, King Arthur Brix of the vassal state Dawn, Gaia the Demigodess of Dungeon Alibast, Fred the jabob demon as a representative of Dungoen Negrada, King and Queen ssleaf of the vassal state Tereen, Jeltuna - Voice of the Sarak, a representative I can¡¯t remember the name of from The Golden Bull Sect in northern Umbra - who have recently submitted themselves to your rule for a chance to retain localized power, General Bruner of Chicago, and <strong>Tre¡¯Zix</strong> of the Purple w - archdemon of the Klinac¡¯Tal n. They are currently in talks with pursuing a representative from the dwarvish cities in the underdark that may council Chancellor Mara Tovane as she tries to rebuild their infrastructure with support from the surface, but things are slow going in vetting potential candidates with the multi-pronged war. We have forces fighting on Umbra and along the coastline as Judith Marcina¡¯s forces dabble in what can nearly be called acts of war any time an undead refugee fleet arrives from the north, we have forces across the world near Chicago in the previously Romanov-controllednds, and we have forces fighting in the hells to help our allies from Dungeon Negrada; with two legions stationed in or around Brightsville on standby. One of them is under Kathrine¡¯s control from your vampiric ancestral homnds, and the other is a force made of Panu locals. Rippenvire is alsopletely withdrawn from the world as you well know, except for those who chose to stay behind, but the other invading forces are hunkering down and solidifying their own spots while gaining extra tokens to bring in reinforcements due to the changes Elysium imposed - given your ascension as reincarnation.¡±


    Riven nodded. ¡°Seems like our team has got everything mostly under control then. How goes the wars in Negrada?¡±


    ¡°Very well. Tre¡¯Zix of the Purple w has actually been given full control over Negrada¡¯s forces after Negrada itself asked him to do so, and the enemy dungeons have been getting massacred ever since. Tre¡¯Zix has the mind of a war-based artisan and is a truly glorious warrior to witness in battle, having said to have ughtered tens of thousands of the enemies by himself - and I do believe he was in Gluttony¡¯s legions as amander during the first Eternal War.¡±


    Gluttony¡¯s visageid out across Riven¡¯s chest let out a low chuckle. ¡°He was.¡±


    Hesitating, and not knowing how to react to Gluttony¡¯sment, Tupper nervously smiled and scratched the back of his neck - receiving menacing res from both his mother and father as he didn¡¯t show what they considered the proper respect.


    It was very obvious that all of them were a little bit morefortable talking directly to Riven, rather than his bond - Gluttony.


    ¡°And are the vampires well fed?¡± Riven asked curiously. ¡°I know we¡¯d been working on what vampire refugees we had taken in from Rippenvire, but with the transformation of Umbra blood had been scarce even after importing it from citizens we paid in Chicago. Especially now that Kathrine has brought over more vampires from the requiem¡­¡±


    Eager to avoid looking back at his two ring parents, Tupper quicklytched onto Riven¡¯s question with a fervor. ¡°Oh yes! The sarak ve army they brought are more than able to supply their vampire counterparts with the blood they need to live. Funnily enough, the sarak almost view you as their savior - you know.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°It certainly is.¡± Tupper grinned back, and stuffed a freshly made bread roll into his mouth - chewing, and then swallowing before going on. ¡°Their conditions back on the you inherited - Uh¡­ Vartesh?¡±


    ¡°Vartesh is the my mother left me, yes.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Vartesh it is then. Their living conditions have tremendously improved, and you¡¯re allowing them to level and fight now, a thing that has not been done in their culture for many millennia outside of arena tournaments where they fight to the death for the entertainment of vampiric masters. They talk about you with reverence, and often are found to be the most eager of your troops so that they prove their worth. The man you appointed as Voice of the Sarak is also seen as something of a mouthpiece for you, one that rivals or surpasses many of the vampiric officials on Vartesh, and they look up to him as some kind of hero. Unrest on Vartesh has hit an all time low, by the way, with General Viku passing Kathrine messages about how impressed he is withbor output in the mines now that the poption is happier. House Wraithtide is also now seeing record profits given productivity due to your actions, even despite the trade blockades or pirate raids rival houses in the requiem have tried to put up from time to time.¡±


    ¡°Rival houses have been attacking us?¡±


    ¡°Not in open warfare, but with proxy forces. Or so I am told. That man you and Allie killed - the one who was supposed to be wed to Allie? His family is still scheming against you, and wishes to see you very dead.¡±


    Riven snorted augh and started cutting into the orange meat on his te, letting out a sigh and then savoring the intense, fruity, and simultaneously meaty vor of the stake that dripped along his taste buds like a godsend. ¡°Wow. Just wow, this is really good.¡±


    Saemi butt in with a wide smile on his left. ¡°I¡¯m d you like it, your excellency! If you feel like you want seconds, we have some more waiting for you. Feel free to ask at any time.¡±

 Chapter 270

    Chapter 270


    <strong><em>Chapter 270</em></strong>


    <strong><em>6 weeks since arriving in The Abyssal Descent¡­</em></strong>


    The training regimens were brutal for everyone, but most of all - Fay continued to have the hardest time. They pushed her the most because she was, above all, the least useful.


    And thus she tried the hardest.


    On one of the abandoned peaks surrounding the city of the Abyssal Descent on Floor 1, she remained sitting in meditation just like she¡¯d been doing for what seemed to be days on end now. Time did not seem to have substance here in this state of evesting torment, as the cyclic rotations of her cursed energies continued to eat away at her from the inside. Blood trickled down her face in ce of tears as she concentrated on maintaining her spells past the normal breaking point. But the more she inflicted self harm through the curses, the stronger they became - and the more her body adjusted to the bacsh, allowing her to push even further.


    So far she¡¯d increased her avable power output by nearly 20%, and that amount was only climbing by the day.


    ¡°Concentrate, Fay.¡± Her self-appointed mentor, Lavini, said while steepling her fingers in a sitting position across from Fay¡¯s own meditative pose. ¡°You are improving. Do not give up now, push through the pain. It is only mental, and as long as you don¡¯t push too hard too fast - your body will be able to maintain a steady climb until you reach the precipice at level 200. Only then will your soulttice be able to connect, and you have the most to climb of all.¡±


    Fay winced, but kept her eyes closed and did not falter. The green mes of cursed energy that Lavini herself had imparted knowledge about now rotated around Fay likes orbiting a sun, five fireballs imbued with malice that both outstripped normal Unholy energy in power but also applied ¡°Insanity¡± debuffs to enemies that temporarily afflicted an opponent¡¯s outlook on reality. The problem was that channeling such a potent, destructive curse also did damage to Fay¡¯s mind as well - but the images of alternate truths about the universe atrge had been kept to a minimum with Lavini interfering whenever Fay drifted too far into madness.


    ¡°Your break is over. Open your eyes, Fay, and tell me what you see.¡± The redheaded, winged womanmanded in a tone that brokered no argument.Fay, though not necessarily wanting to, did as asked - and a torrent of images mmed into her mind as the world twisted and the mes grewrger. The fires rose higher and higher, forming outright pirs of cursed energy in a swirling vortex as the five points began rotating even faster while the madness took hold again.


    Fay stuttered a reply. ¡°I see¡­ I¡­ See¡­?¡±


    She stopped, shuddering when the image of Lavini turned into that of Riven - his headless body leaning forward with hands steepled in front of him. The sky above them shattered and broke, and theughing faces of the cultists who¡¯d kidnapped her months before rose up from the ground like wraiths.


    ¡°Concentrate Fay. You know what to do.¡± The headless version of Riven told her without a mouth to do it.


    Fay shuddered again, pushing the cursed mana through her pirs in ways that circumvented her core - only releasing them at the very tips of her pirs and putting up mental barriers in her mind. Real teardrops intermixed with the blood leaking from her eyes, but her jaw clenched in firm resolution while she pushed through. She knew this wasn¡¯t real despite what her mind was trying to tell her, and slowly - ever so slowly - the images began to take on their real forms. Theughing cultists disappeared, Riven¡¯s body vanished - in its ce the other subus sat smiling across from her, and yet - the pirs of green fire swirling around Fay remained just as potent.


    Yes! She was making progress! It¡¯d only taken her half the time toplete this round from when she¡¯d first started, only half the time to regain control of her mind.


    Smiling despite her internal agony, Fay met Lavini¡¯s eyes and red her wings. ¡°May I try the next step?¡±


    Lavini nced to the sky where a rumbling sound echoed out, the shes of deep purple sin energy lighting up the darkness on the outside of the system¡¯s dome protecting the city of The Abyssal Descent. Out there in the beyond, two void titans - eachrger than the city itself - were having a herculean battle to the death with powers so beyond them that it made the two subi feel like nothing but ants.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Lavini eventually stated, regaining her senses and shaking her head after wrenching her eyes off the awe-inspiring battle above. ¡°Next step, create the illusions. This time, when you cast your Dreamwalker Zone - be sure to imbue the images you project with the same cursed energies you used with the fire. Keep that energy on the outer edge of each illusion like a shell. If you are able to reinforce the illusions like this consistently, you will create semi-solid objects that can manipte the environment as if they had real physical substance. And if you eventually perfect your craft, somewhere in the E or D grade you may even be able to provide minor amounts of consciousness to each of your images - creating copies of yourself or others, or even creatures, that do your bidding.¡±


    Fay let out a smallugh. ¡°I think I¡¯m quite far from anything like that. Static images, and temporarily moving images are the best that I can put out at this point.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why we¡¯re training you!¡± Lavini retorted, reaching out and smacking Fay upside the head yfully through the gap between ming pirs while she rolled her eyes. ¡°Is your grimoire still bound to Dreamwalker Zone?¡±


    Fay nodded, reaching into her satchel and taking out the ck book with etched unholy runes and the depiction of a glowing green viper on its cover. It was her most prized possession, and had already been granting her insights that had tweaked her Cursed Traps ability to a minor extent. Now, she¡¯d been putting most of her focus into the illusions. Flipping the book open, she watched as the grimoire wrote and rewrote diagrams, runes, and other magical sigils in different sequences like aputer shifting codes around. Sequences were erased, changed, or reorganized at random and repeated over and over again across all its many pages, while it experimented with her chosen skill and attempted to find ways to better the illusions for her.


    What a fabulous item indeed.


    <strong>[Viper Grimoire of Curses and Schemes (Unholy Specialization Grimoire, Unique): +129% mana regeneration when held. +9% damage to all curses when held. Binding this grimoire and adding a single one of your curses to its pages, you will decrease the cooldown time on your chosen curse by 10% while simultaneously allowing for spontaneous evolution options of that curse with insights drawn from the Unholy Foundational Pir and its rted sub-pirs. Spontaneous evolutions will ur as the grimoire actively writes out different variations of the curse across its pages with random trial and error experiments in an internal, limited ne. Evolution options will ur in the form of insights once a breakthrough is made.]</strong>


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you realize just how valuable that book really is.¡± Lavini whispered from across the few feet separating them, looking longingly at the grimoire with a mixed expression - until she rubbed the sides of her temple and sighed. ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s move on. Keep the book in your hands while it regenerates your mana, and we can start with the more energy-intensive portion of your training. Create an image of me, infuse it with the fire¡¯s cursed energy, and try to give the image a solid outer shell. Please begin.¡±


    ***


    <strong><em>7 weeks since arriving in The Abyssal Descent¡­</em></strong>


    ck waters snaked through and of mes, each of the volcanic pirs belching infernal plumes that easily dwarfed the young hellscape brutalisk and nearly matched his teacher. Molten rock oozed out from each of the crystals in turn, forming roots that sapped life out of the descent where none should find harbor - and it was here that he¡¯d been training most over thest weeks. The environment was rich with infernal energies, and the opponents were no pushovers - and gave a very good XP boost for leveling whenever Azmoth managed not to die. He¡¯d been killed twice now, but that didn¡¯t phase him in the least - having taken Lillith¡¯s words to heart and having pushed himself to new heights to catch up with his master, Riven.


    Azmoth¡¯s obsidian tes shifted and moved with his muscture in perfect alignment, rotating through the motions of a dance being taught to him from a true master of his own race. His warhammer was long gone, and his original shield as well - both destroyed when Deepnest had been obliterated by an act of treachery. But that was fine, for Azmoth had his ws - and he was quite able with just those alone. Not only that, but he¡¯d been provided with a new set of items to acquaint himself with¡­ ones that were traditional weapons of the brutalisk race, and Azmoth was quickly beginning to see why that was.


    His mentor: the huge, winged, E-grade brutalisk looking down at Azmoth from a crouching position snorted; turning its eyeless armored head to the left when one of the monsters of the deep began to crawl out of the volcanic entrances into the lower abyss. Made of darkness andva, the creature was an amalgamation of a centipede and an eagle - with arge, snapping beak and numerous feathered wings that glistened with cinder; each set along sections of shadow-crafted te armor intrinsic to the beast. It was twice as tall and nearly twenty times longer than Azmoth, but Azmoth¡¯s eel-like snapping jaws grinned as they wrapped around to look at the monster in anticipation.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Another customer.


    ¡°Take up your new weapons, youngling.¡± The rumbling voice of Azmoth¡¯s tutor rumbled, the massive dark wings of the older brutalisking out to the sides while he stepped back while folding his four naturally armored arms. ¡°You may start again. This time, you are restricted to using your upper shengari shields to strike with - while your lower ones may only defend. If you act otherwise, you fail.¡±


    Azmoth didn¡¯t bother replying, but instead walked over to where the dark-gray <strong><em>¡®Shengari Shields¡¯</em></strong>y buried halfway into the molten ground near arge ck crystal. Ignoring a burst of mes that came out from a hole in the ground underneath his legs, Azmoth took hold of the four items and yanked them from the earth in a spray of debris andva.


    Shengari Shields weren¡¯t just shields though, and that was very apparent when he tore them from the ground. Instead, they were both shields and des at the same time - simultaneously providing both offensive and defensive options, and meant to be used as a four-piece set as was tradition in brutalisk culture.


    The two upper shield-halves were paired just as the lower two shield halves were paired, and had interlocking pieces on their dull inner sides that - when interlocked - created tworge tower shields from the four halves. These tower shields in turn hadrge, curved des along the outer edge of the interlocked shields that - when unlocked from each other - allowed each upper and lower shield to be split into the equivalent of four,rge, machete-like weapons.


    Each of the four halves had thick, metal holding rings on the inner side of the weapons facing Azmoth whenever hebined them to form the two tower shields, emphasizing the style of powerful four-pronged attacks and long-reaching swings typical of berserker-style fighting. The metal was very thick, the des on the outer exterior very sharp, and Azmoth was very quickly bing a fan of the weapons as he used them with increasing proficiency.


    The monster turned its head, leading out an ear-piercing screech when it saw him, and then burst from the magma vein to rush him with a p of its wings emphasizing its rush.


    The tutor watched as Azmoth interlocked the four halves, creating two tower shields with oneid over and above the other. Snapping them together at the interlocking slots right before the monster crashed into the thick metal barriers, the impact caused the ground to shatter underneath thebatants. The beak snapped angrily, and long piercing legs from either side of the shadow-imbued chitin tried to reach around, but the outer des of the shengari shields rapidly snapped back and forth while maintaining their locked positions - severing the reaching legs one by one with quick jerks in back-and-forth motions and simultaneously keeping the beak at bay.


    The monster let out a scream of rage and began to backpedal, withdrawing its beak only to let out a squawk of surprise when the four halves of the tower shields ripped apart and lunged forward - with four machete-like arcs crashing into the monster¡¯s head in a spray of ck blood.


    Azmoth¡¯s spiked tail whipped around as he spun, pping the monster¡¯s eagle face to send it sprawling but quickly following up with a whirling four-pronged attack that hit the beast as it fell. Blooming with me and roaring with a manic grin, Azmoth stomped down to let out a ¡®Shockwave¡¯ martial art that smashed his opponent against a nearby boulder - before he activated ¡®Propulsion¡¯ and rocketed forward with the cackle of a maddened hunter.


    <strong>[You have gained 1 level. Congrattions! Be sure to visit your status page to apply points.]</strong>


    The tutor, for his part, merely grunted in acknowledgement when Azmoth walked back with the severed head of the beaked beast a minuteter. Then he gestured at two more of the monsters when they were spotteding out of another magma vein not far off. ¡°Again. This time, infuse your stamina channels abruptly before each strike. Channel the energies into your arms in quick bursts, to preserve your reserves and make use of quicker hits.¡±


    Grunting back at hisrgerrade, Azmoth once again yanked the four halves of his traditional shengari shields out of the ground - and began loping over towards the new targets. Passing by a small hill of the heads he¡¯d collected over the past days since arriving here, he began the dance of killing while he power-leveled under the watchful eye of hisrade in arms.


    ***


    Twelve stone skullsughed at her while she meditated above a sacrificial altar, with the blood of their most recent sacrifice pooling around the stone steps as a testament to the resolve of the clergy here. She didn¡¯t know who the dead human was or why he¡¯d been selected as the sacrifice, but the potent death energy leaking off his carved-up corpse made for a very good environment to cultivate in.


    She¡¯d need to replicate this sometime.


    Allie¡¯s ck wings shifted their feathers in a wind that did not exist outside the ethereal world of the void, thousands of souls dancing around her happily, while she remained meditating in a temple of death further into the city limits. Fimrindle watched emotionlessly from the sideline, invisible to most but present in her own mind through the connection of master and servant they¡¯d established. He was truly a gifted assassin, and the priests of death that waited on them had not only shown her a deep respect - but also him. Though reapers were moremon here in The Abyssal Descent, they were still quite rare and respected by all. As the hands of The Scythe, they were some of the most elite mercenaries of the multiverse - and often provided the temple of death with significant donations to appease their god for the gifts he had provided them.


    Much to her surprise though, it appeared that the reapers didn¡¯t always get along. They may be of the same order, but in truth they were usually independent of one another outside the boundaries of worshiping The Scythe. They also remained united in core values that she was still trying to figure out, but those values seemed somewhat vague - and the rules were prone to bending, rather than being firm and steadfast.


    ¡°Mydy.¡± A skeletal robed skresh walked in, bowing to her and briefly acknowledging Retesh the lich who was also meditating on the opposite end of the room. ¡°We, the clergy, wish to speak to you - if we may.¡±


    The skresh smiled politely, and awaited her answer while Allie¡¯s aspect of true death caused the room to quake in a shudder of gray energy.


    The souls, wraiths, and ghosts around her drank it up greedily - empowering themselves on the passive presence of their master, as Allie opened her deep gray eyes and lowered herself to the ground. Her foot touched down on the bloody body on the altar, and a pulse of power absorbed the sacrifice with the rush of an echoing whisper. Picking up her de of Soulcry, the Divine-Ranked ymore moved - causing the world to move with it as she raised it. She then clutched the magnificent weapon to her chest in an embrace.


    ¡°And what would the clergy of this temple ask of me?¡± Allie asked, her gray halo glowing in the dark room alongside the souls that encircled her. ¡°Speak.¡±


    The hooded skresh bowed low, sping his skeletal hands in front of him in a gesture of respect while maintaining a 90 degree angle at his waist. ¡°Mydy, I was hoping I could speak to you about the whispers I have heard in the darker ces of this city. Our agents have heard of unease and restlessness from others who take the path of the descent, and I would not see one of your stature fall prey to them.¡±


    Allie raised an eyebrow, and stepped down from the sacrificial altar - ncing up at theughing stone skulls above her only for a moment. ¡°I was deep in meditation, priest. Please make haste in what you have to tell me, so that I may return to gleaning the insights that have eluded me over past weeks.¡±


    ¡°Apologies, mistress.¡± The skresh said again, bowing even lower this time before standing straight and huffing slightly. ¡°Whispers have reached me. The Church of Greed likely moves against you.¡±


    Allie raised both eyebrows this time, but eventually let on a slow nod. ¡°I am aware they are not friends of my brother. But they target me now?¡±


    The priest hesitated, looking over to where Retesh hade out of his own meditation to pay attention to their conversation. ¡°Yes, though the time is not yet ripe.¡±


    ¡°And how do you know this, priest?¡± Allie asked, taking a step forward to be within arm¡¯s reach of the skresh man.


    ¡°The reapers.¡± He replied at once, nodding over to where Fimrindle hade out from the shadows to stand beside his master. ¡°Two of them hade forth with information on contracts that were not specifically naming you, but were rather obvious by the nature of what specifics they did give.¡±


    ¡°What were those specifics?¡±


    The priest hesitated. ¡°They did not say. But when two separate agentse forth with the same suspicions, it is likely they are on to something. They would have nothing to gain from lying, but by declining the contracts they are able to send word without breaking the reaper oath of silence.¡±


    ¡°Oath of silence?¡±


    This time, it was Fimrindle¡¯s turn to speak - and he did so in the same, raspy voice he usually had that sounded like a wind being drawn through a metal pipe. ¡°When we ept a mercenary contract, we sign in the name of The Scythe. Part of our earnings will go to the church, and we gain power from fulfilling the contract, but we are also oath-bound not to speak of the contract during or after itspletion. By declining the contracts, they are able to let their thoughts be known - but it is unlikely the client gave much information about their targets away before the reapers epted their task.¡±


    ¡°And what if they¡¯d not wanted to proceed after taking the contract?¡± Allie asked curiously.


    Fimrindle shrugged. ¡°We may refuse it afterwards, but the oath of silence still stands. Breaking the oath will result in disastrous consequences for our cultivation. It is partly why the reapers are held in such high esteem. But if two agents came to this church to warn the clergy of what they suspected¡­¡±


    Fimrindle¡¯s metal head abruptly turned to face the skresh in an uncanny, quick motion between blinks.


    The skresh priest nodded. ¡°Yes. It is likely that other reapers will ept the contract and proceed with it, if the Church of Greed pays enough to do it. Even if the target were, perhaps, a Hero of Death. The Death God may y favorites, but the contractual rules of the reapers do not penalize them for killing one such as you. Only the priesthoods are protected from such assassinations, and any foul y between contenders in the orders are otherwise allowed to promote growth.¡±


    Allie frowned slightly, but nodded in time and turned to watch Retesh amble over with a creak to his bones - his rotten organs shifting across his skeletal frame.


    ¡°Do you have a guess as to when they will strike?¡± The old lich asked, his eyes burning with neon teal light while sping his hands behind his back.


    The priest hesitantly shook his head. ¡°As stated, we are unaware of the exact details. But we can guess as to when it will be, if they do so at all. These are merely educated guesses though, so please do not think ill of me if I am mistaken.¡±


    ¡°Well go on then.¡± Retesh replied impatiently, mirroring Allie¡¯s own misgivings on being interrupted while cultivating. ¡°What are your educated guesses, and how did you arrive at them?¡±


    The skresh priest nced over his shoulder, looking down the long hall through the temple halls where it appeared to be utterly deserted - but they all knew better.


    ¡°It may be now, it may be months from now - and it likely revolves around a particr event outside of this realm.¡± The priest said.


    There was a pause.


    ¡°Have you heard of the Seventh Wing?¡± he eventually asked, continuing his thoughts and turning back to the others. ¡°And have you heard, perhaps, of the potential reincarnation arriving in the third universe?¡±

 Chapter 271

    Chapter 271


    <strong>Chapter 271</strong>


    The small, private practice room was illuminated with only faintly glowing mana stones embedded into the walls.


    Lillith nodded, hands sped behind her back. ¡°Change stance.¡±


    Riven¡¯s shirtless body shifted in a wave of crimson, and to the observers it looked like that he was reforming himself from the blood around him in an instant - rather than actually moving his limbs.


    ¡°Change stance.¡± She repeated.


    Again he shifted, instantly moving into the next stance as instructed as the blood mana rearranged his position with the speed of thought.


    ¡°Change stance.¡±


    From the sidelines, Allie watched her brother while panting and wiping sweat from off her face with a damp cloth. Despite her newfound body and abilities, Lillith was an absolute vedriver - one that she was quickly learning to respect as both an ally and mentor.


    Ath and Nora weren¡¯t in much better shape, though Fimrindle seemed rather tireless despite the fighting and exercises they¡¯d undertaken over past days.¡°You may rest.¡± Lillith eventually said, letting Riven fall to his knees with deep, heaving gasps. The demoness turned to look at the others in the room, frowning at their worn-out expressions before giving Fimrindle a nod of approval. ¡°Any word on our request?¡±


    Faster than it took to blink, Fimrindle moved to hand Lillith a parchment.


    ¡°As you requested, creature of the night.¡± Fimrindle replied with a nod.


    Lillith nced down at the parchment, took it from the reaper¡¯s metal ws, and unfurled it. Reading what was written on the page, a smile crept across her face and she turned back around to look at the panting young man in the center of the room. ¡°It appears we have found the materials we were looking for.¡±


    ¡°Materials?¡± Nora asked between panting. ¡°What materials?¡±


    Lillith head-bobbed to where Jackal and Messenger were sitting against a wall. ¡°Materials that were needed to upgrade and modify Riven¡¯s items. It¡¯s time to head out to the trade district.¡±


    ***


    The city of The Abyssal Descent was truly massive, but even despite the crowds - most people kept to themselves and tried to avoid others as much as possible. There were still frequent fights from time to time or even raids on enemypounds when opposing factions across the multiverse sent their young prodigies to acquire a soulttice properly, but otherwise the hostility was kept to a minimum to preserve some semnce of sanity.


    This rule was usually even more steadfast for the merchant guilds. They tolerated no violence in theirpounds at all, and offending them would end in a ban on any trade resources to an entire sect if one of their number vited the rules.


    It was to one of these merchant guilds that Riven found himself walking towards, while following Lillith as they remained disguised underneath masking treasures in the form of rings each of their party wore. Though they certainly weren¡¯t foolproof, they kept attention to a minimum and were simr to the drow Gentry¡¯s amulets in how they worked. They nullified identification information and gave off false reads, but they ALSO provided minor illusions that gave them nondescript cloaks, hoods, and hid their features. asionally the disguises were seen through, but those that did recognize just who Riven and Lillith were quickly averted their gaze when caught staring or hurriedly moved aside.


    Riven felt like a fake whenpared to Lillith though. Although he was technically a ¡®MYTHIC¡¯ tier individual himself, that inrge part was due to the bond with Gluttony; or the bonds with his familiars. It wasn¡¯t entirely due to his own strength - YET, which irked him. But that¡¯s why he was training religiously, and he could safely say he¡¯d made great strides in his own abilities sinceing here. It wouldn¡¯t be long before he entered the lower levels of the descent at this rate, imed Chalgathi¡¯s questline for his own, and in the long run - would conquer Panu one way or another in order to keep himself, his sister, and the things he¡¯d built on Panu safe from the outer multiverse for at least another century.


    At least that was the n.


    Dark stone skyscrapers towered above them as they passed through the streets, and shes of purple lightning overhead illuminated an otherwise pitch ck expanse beyond Elysium¡¯s dome that surrounded the city.


    ¡°You never told me how you two met.¡± Riven stated as they moved through the streets with Lillith leading the way. He looked over to Allie and Retesh - only briefly glimpsing Fimrindle and Ath skirting the perimeter to act as anti-assassin personnel. ¡°What happened back on Panu? How did you, Retesh - the person of interest in World Quest 1 -e to be here with us now? I was convinced I¡¯d have toe and find out where you were to kill you, rather than end up allying with your people as Allie has told me about.¡±


    The lich, who wore a dark gray tattered robe full of burn marks, shifted his skull face in Riven¡¯s direction and made a gesture with one hand towards the sky. ¡°I did not expect to be here either¡­ It is as much of a surprise to me as well. Both in the fact that a hero of death would terraform an entire continent in a way that I¡¯ve been attempting to do since my awakening¡­¡±


    Retesh nodded in reverent respect to Allie while they walked. ¡°Thereby providing my kind something I¡¯ve been searching for, for a very long time - a home. And that I am now here, mingling with powers that are obviously far beyond me in a grand event I didn¡¯t know existed. I had always considered myself the height of power¡­ and then I was taken from my and ced on Panu. It has been an eye opening experience, if I were to actually have eyes.¡±


    Riven grinned at the remark but didn¡¯tment on it.


    Allie took up the talk next. ¡°Judith Marcina was chasing him across the sea when he attempted to make contact with our kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Judith Marcina? The previous Apex Rank 1?¡± Riven raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°The one and only.¡± Allie replied with a grimace. ¡°She¡¯s quite formidable in person.¡±


    ¡°Says the one who scared her off with Lillith.¡± Retesh chuckled, then he let out a groan as his bones started to literally rattle in some undetermined emotion. ¡°I was nearly dead, my undead drakes that¡¯d escorted me to Umbra were gone, and if not for the very shores of Umbra permeating my being with death mana - I would have probably died a true death. I managed to draw enough attention in our battle to warrant a response from some of Lillith¡¯s demons, who then contacted Lillith herself. And she, in turn, brought Allie with her to meet the sky-rat that¡¯d been chasing me.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t get to talk, she merely fled.¡± Allie put in with an eye-roll. ¡°And given the reports from back home, it¡¯s likely she¡¯s gearing up for a full fledged invasion of our home continent. Ever since the world quest to kill me leaked, it¡¯s been an us versus them situation. Even more so than the other world quests were. The Panu Cortex forums are also alight with talk of cleansing the world of the Unholy orders, namely us.¡±


    There was a pause.


    Riven eyed the lich, turning a corner in the dark road to follow the tight-lipped Lillith while making their way to the merchant guild. ¡°So what¡¯s your world quest even about?¡±


    <strong>[World Quest 1, The Lich King¡¯s gue: In the far reaches of the northern Chaos Wastnds, an ancient lich begins to stir. Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.]</strong>


    Riven pulled up his quest log on his status page to show the elder lich. ¡°Not much in terms of details on my end. Care to enlighten me so I know who we¡¯re getting into bed with?¡±


    Retesh clicked his bony fingers together a couple of times, as if trying to recall something, before shoving his pockets into the dark tattered robe he wore. ¡°I will tell you of my quest, when the Queen of the Necropolis deems herself fit to finally speak to The Scythe.¡±


    ¡°Speak to The Scythe?¡± Riven repeated, turning his gaze to his little sister - who uncharacteristically winced. ¡°What¡¯s he talking about?¡±


    Scratching the back of her neck, Allie bobbed her head side to side while lowering her pale glowing eyes. ¡°When I was given the title of Hero of Death, and became an Angel of Death when turning down the path of divinity, I was also given a direct link on my status page to speak to The Scythe. I haven¡¯t used it yet.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t trust gods.¡± Allie replied promptly, getting a snicker of approval from Lillith with a backwards nce - and a groan from the lich Retesh. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about The Scythe, and this¡­ thing - or creature - or spirit, whatever he is - he wants me to serve him. But I¡¯m just a baby god! I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s paying so much attention to me.¡±


    Riven stifled augh. ¡°Baby god, huh?¡±


    She pointed an using finger his way. ¡°Same can be said for you! Kinda. But, instead of a god you¡¯re more like a¡­¡±


    ¡°My dear child. Gluttony is more feral, ancient, and primal than what most of the current gods are now.¡± Lillith said with a sideways smile filled with amusement. ¡°The Sins and Commandments were here long before many of the gods that now exist. But not all of them, because some of the gods were born at the same time as Gluttony was. Most pantheons of gods havee and gone though, with a prime example being the fallen elder god of a different Blood origin than what is widely epted today. When a god dies, Elysium usually either recycles that power - or gorges itself on the god¡¯s remnants to increase its own strength, while it could never figure out how to do so with beings like Gluttony. Still, theparison is one many across the eons havee to make - though the Sins and Commandments aren¡¯t divine by any means. They are somethingpletely different, butparable. They are fragments of the fabric of creation¡¯s birth.¡±


    That certainly brought up more than a few questions that Riven wanted to ask, but he was cut short when they turned down a final street that was far busier than most that they¡¯d traveled through up until now. Various multi-storypounds with banners Riven didn¡¯t recognize were hung in various shades of green, ck, red, gold, orange, and gray - with Lillith pointing to one in particr further to the left that had the symbol of arge ming spear or orange fire embroidered onto a dark green background.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there.¡± She said, picking up the pace and heading over to where a long line had gathered outside the front of thepound - with many bystanders of various races watching anxiously or in obvious irritation.


    ¡°I DEMAND TO BE SEEN! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?¡± A young vampire man screamed into the face of another hooded figure dressed in gold-and-ck at the barredpound gate. The vampire was well dressed with an extravagant longsword hanging at his side, handsome, with slicked blonde hair and fangs bared in frustration while he made animated gestures back and forth in protest to the skeleton hand that was held up in front of the other person. ¡°My family is of GARTH! The fourth house of the esteemed Rantali Bloodline! How DARE you forbid me entry!¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Three other vampires in line with the screaming young man wore worried looks on their faces while the hooded skeleton continued to nkly stare back at the vampire without so much as twitching.


    ¡°I DEMAND TO SEE THE MASTERS OF YOUR ASSOCIATION!¡± The vampire screamed once more after huffing loudly in irritation.


    ncing over his shoulder at the tworge minotaurs decked out in obviously enchanted heavy-metal gear while wieldingrge stone clubs that were likely totems by the soul pulses they gave off to Riven¡¯s senses, the skeleton and one of the minotaurs spoke in hushed whispers before the skeleton turned back to the vampire with a shake of his head. ¡°I am sorry, young master. The Firebrand Trading Company is currently already engaged with many other higher priority customers at this moment. Due topany policy and the need for secrecy in what transactions go on in our halls, you muste back another time to see if we have an opening. I apologize for the dy of service.¡±


    The vampire¡¯s jaw dropped, and he began to sputter while others in the line began to loudly grumble or call out to him to shut up and move on. ¡°High priority!? DO YOU KNOW WHO-¡±


    ¡°I am very well aware of who and what your family is, young master.¡± The skeleton sighed, with air somehow rattling the very bones of his neck and shifting the gold-ck robes he wore as he spoke. ¡°You have made it abundantly clear multiple times now. I do not mean you insult, merely being in the descent is a testament to how grand your personal skill and the wealth of your family is, but you must realize that you are now surrounded by people of simr standing to you. As much as it pains me to offend a prince such as yourself, I must caution you about your outburst. If you do not remove yourself from the line ande back another time, I¡¯m afraid I will have you forcibly removed.¡±


    One of the minotaurs snorted in agreement from the side, and a pulse of stamina red around the huge beast to cut off any retort from the much smaller vampire man it looked down on.


    The vampire prince sputtered something once more, but thought better of it when the minotaur began to savagely grin. Spitting on the ground and turning heel, the vampire prince turned around and stepped aside with his threepanions while venomously hissing to the others with side-eyes at the gate¡¯s guards.


    ¡°Oh look, it¡¯s another one of you!¡± Nora teased,ing out of stealth and nudging Riven with augh that was a little too loud for what was probably appropriate. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize there¡¯d be so many vampires here!¡±


    Thement caught a couple nces from around the crowd and in the line leading up thepound, but most ignored it and kept moving as Riven gave the smaller Asian woman a raised eyebrow.


    While Lillith turned to re at the startup assassin, Nora visibly flinched and held up a hand of apology. ¡°Oh¡­ Sorry. Didn¡¯t realize it was a big deal¡­¡±


    The line moved on while people made more civil conversation at the front, and Riven edged himself in beside Allie, Retesh and Lillith in their disguised appearances. Riven only caught one person that had definitely seen through the cloaking methods, and it was obvious by the way the ghoul caster¡¯s face went ck-jawed - eyes bulging before he took a step back.


    ¡°You there!¡± The vampire prince who¡¯d been screaming at the gate guards called out, making his way through other bystanders toe up next to Riven¡¯s group. ¡°Did I hear the woman right? Are you of my kind?¡±


    Obviously the guy couldn¡¯t prate the ring¡¯s illusion, but as more and more attention was drawn to him - Riven could only help but feel a little bit of irritation about the situation. Slowly giving Nora another re, and causing her to shrink back some more, Riven put up his hand to his forehead and began to rub it frantically to try and relieve the building headache. ¡°Why is it that you ask?¡±


    The line moved forward a few steps, and so did Riven. This time though, the new vampire princling followed him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡± The prince said, shooting a menacing re at the uing skeleton dressed in ck-gold robes for just a moment before returning his attention to Riven. ¡°I¡¯m sure you saw some of what just transpired, and I¡¯m more than certain you - being a vampire yourself have heard of my family in turn. My name is Prince Narzkal Rantali! Perhaps you¡¯ve even heard of me as well!¡±


    He looked to Riven for confirmation with a hint of pride, but couldn¡¯t see underneath the fuzzy illusion that hid Riven¡¯s face and status information. When Riven didn¡¯t reply, the prince hesitantly folded his arms. ¡°The kingdom of Garth? The Rantali Bloodline?¡±


    Riven merely blinked. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡±


    Suddenly skeptical, the prince furrowed his brow. ¡°Are you a vampire or not? You must not be a very bright vampire to not have heard of my family name, or you must be from an isted part of the multiverse. Is that it?¡±


    The line moved forward again.


    Sighing, Riven let his shoulders slump while Allie began to giggle behind him. ¡°Look man¡­ You¡¯re drawing a lot of unnecessary attention to me right now. Can we just-¡±


    ¡°Or perhaps you¡¯re just bashful in the presence of a greater vampire? I AM almost pureblooded, you know¡± The prince said curiously, tapping his lips in thought with a far-off look to his eyes. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be wary of me because of my lineage if that¡¯s it. Even if you¡¯re a lowly lesser vampire or worse, we are still kin! I think that, if you would allow yourself to do me a favor, I could pay you back in ways that you¡¯d not even fathom!¡±


    ¡°I could fathom putting a boot up Nora¡¯s ass right now.¡± Riven muttered under his breath, getting an outrightugh from Allie - who gave Nora a teasing jab while the assassin skulked backwards in shame.


    ¡°What was that?¡± The prince asked -ing back to reality from his daydreaming.


    Riven shook his head. ¡°Nothing important. What is it you want with me, Prince Rantali? I¡¯m not necessarily hiding right now, but I am trying to keep a low profile. You¡¯re botching that in a big way, so if we can move this along¡­¡±


    The line moved forward again.


    Conspiratorially, and not realizing that Riven was bing outwardly agitated with the man by Riven¡¯s tone, Prince Narzkal Rantali leaned forward in a poor imitation of a whisper. ¡°Do you know what this ce is, lesser one?¡±


    Lesser one?


    Was he referring to Riven¡¯s apparent ¡®lesser vampiric heritage¡¯?


    Jesus Christ.


    ¡°Why would I be here if I did not know, dear prince?¡± Riven said tly, noting that Lillith was shaking her head from side to side in front of him while she listened in. Murmurs in the crowd had begun springing up, with a few of them gawking - others whispering - and even moreughing at the sight of Riven¡¯s obvious agitation.


    The oblivious prince ignored thement and pressed onwards, exining it to Riven as if Riven didn¡¯t know what was beyond the gates. ¡°Inside thispound can be found some of the best artisans in the Abyssal Descent, the younger generations of the greatest crafting ns of the Unholy Foundational Pir! There are very few others that canpare, and though they may not be blooded like we are - they are still skilled individuals. I was wanting to buy my¡­ Uhm, my fiance, a gift.¡±


    The prince looked ufortable, and Riven¡¯s eyebrows shot up in surprise.


    ¡°A gift?¡± Riven repeated. ¡°From here? In the descent? Don¡¯t you have an entirety country of gifts to pick from?¡±


    The prince suddenly looked agitated, and slowly - ever so slowly - Riven was starting to understand the man just a bit more.


    Had this princling been sheltered all his life? His social cues were off, his demeanor immature, and the ufortable look he had when asked about the gift set off rm bells that screamed desperation.


    ¡°It isplicated.¡± The prince replied quietly, red eyes falling to the floor. ¡°And in fact, it is the sole reason I even came to this ce. I¡¯m sorry to bother aplete stranger such as yourself, but if there is any way you can gain ess to thepound and bring me along as part of your group - I would forever be in your debt. Without a very particr item from a very particr person inside thispound, I¡¯m afraid my fiance won¡¯tst much longer.¡±


    Ath¡¯s voice rang in Riven¡¯s mind through their link. <em> ¡°Just assassinated a runner. He¡¯d been on his way to tell the Church of Greed about your whereabouts hoping for a price. I have no doubt there are others on their way if I caught this one so easily after he discussed it in the open. And yes, before you say it I know that this won¡¯t stop word from getting back - but it¡¯s still fun to ughter those who¡¯d attempt to profit off our demise!¡±</em>


    Riven had known this would happen, as did Lillith, so it didn¡¯t bother him much. The churches of Greed and Gluttony were technically undertaking a non-aggression pact right now while dealing with the 7th Wing, but that didn¡¯t mean spies here in The Abyssal Descent were a wee thing. Though regardless of what they did now, there was almost a 100% guarantee of the Church of Greed knowing where they were right now, and if not - they¡¯d know soon just by the few people who¡¯d identified him while he passed them by.


    <em>¡°He was wearing a very cute man-lingerie we can put on youter! We¡¯ll have to clean off the blood though.¡±</em> Ath chimed in when he failed to reply.<em> ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to get you in-¡±</em>


    He cut the connection with a chuckle and an eye roll. God how he loved that woman, and cutting her off like that would no doubt make her attempt to prod him even harderter on. He¡¯d be sure to enjoy it when she did, but there was no way he¡¯d be wearing any man-lingerie. Not a chance.


    Feeling slightly bad for the prince, who was still staring at Riven with desperation in his eyes, Riven gestured for the man to continue speaking while the line inched forward yet again. ¡°And just what is it that you intend to buy here? If I¡¯m able to get inside, that is.¡±


    Prince Narzkal Rantali beamed excitedly, while the three associates of his just stared nkly at his back. ¡°An amulet! One crafted from a ck phoenix stone that is said to only be in supply at this location. You see, my fiance is a lesser princess of a bordering vampire state - and she has a deep set sickness. Blood rot, more specifically If I¡¯m able to get such an amulet with the essence of a ck phoenix inside it, the aura it has should be able to keep letting her live on.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t a pureblood, yet he was a prince. His country, nor the country this princess came from, could find the antidotes for said fiance. He¡¯d also been denied ess to the craftingpound, while numerous others had been let in.


    All of this pointed to the idea that Prince Narzkal Rantali and his ¡®Kingdom of Garth¡¯ were probably not all that well off, or all that well known, despite the man¡¯s ims.


    Riven stared at the other young man for a time, trying to search out for more clues. He seemed truly desperate. His clothes were well made, yes, but they held a lot less intrinsic power that he felt on many of the other elites roaming the city here. And when pulling up his information, he wasn¡¯t even registered as ¡®ELITE¡¯ by Elysium - but rather had a normal disy tag with abat level of 190.


    ¡°Lillith¡­¡± Riven eventually said, not turning to look at the disguised demoness. ¡°What kind of faction is The Kingdom of Garth, exactly?¡±


    Lillith turned around, then shrugged. ¡°Never heard of it. It obviously wasn¡¯t around when I was at the peak of my power.¡±


    He turned to Allie. ¡°Ever heard of it when talking about politics with the queen?¡±


    ¡°Our great grandmother has rarely talked to me, Riven. Despite what you may think.¡± Allie retorted with a shake of her head and folded arms. ¡°All she¡¯s done is try to sell me off to the highest bidder, and now that I am what I am - I¡¯m not even sure she¡¯s going to want to do that. So no, I have no idea what The Kingdom of Garth is.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a middling D-grade kingdom in Universe 70!¡± A bearded chaos-dwarfughingly called out from the sidelines where he was waiting for one of his kin toe back out of thepound. ¡°I only know of it because my own kingdom is two gxies over. The boy talks big, but do not be fooled! It is an act and he likely could not pay you back if you were to help him actually get inside such a grand establishment, especially if he actually does have the money to spend in the first ce on such a grand item!¡±


    Many of the others around themughed when Prince Rantali¡¯s face fell, but Riven wasn¡¯t one of them.


    ¡°Next!¡± The skeletal attendant at the gate called out, not paying Prince Ratali any attention when Lillith stepped up to the front. He looked her over, then nced at Riven and the others. ¡°Camouge devices and all automated offensive enchantments must be deactivated before evaluation, or before entering the Firebrand Trading Company¡¯s mainpound here in The Abyssal Descent. If you cannot do this, you must turn around and leave now.¡±


    Lillith grumbled under her breath, then thought about it - and nodded to the others. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that was a rule here. Apologies, reincarnation.¡±


    Allie was the first to deactivate her own ring, and her LEGENDARY status alongside her race and title were more than enough to snap a few heads her way in surprise for those that hadn¡¯t already seen through the disguise. Retesh and Nora went next, and then Lillith.


    When Lillith took her ring off, a palpable silence overcame the crowd - with many of the ones who¡¯d been gambling or gossiping around the gated entrance to immediately take on expressions of awe, fear, and shock just like a few of the more insightful ones had prior to her deactivation.


    Immediately one of the minotaurs gasped, falling to his knees and mming his horns into the ground in a semnce of worship, as the skeleton took an involuntary step back.


    ¡°Y¡­ You¡¯re¡­¡± The skeletal attendant rapidly shot his gaze left to Riven¡¯s position when Riven deactivated his own ring.


    Prince Narzkal Rantali blinked rapidly, noting the ancient unholy scripts on Riven¡¯s skin - and the burning red and ck eyes. He looked confused, then flustered, then he paled. ¡°Are you the prince they speak of from The Blood Moon Requiem, that became the aspect of a demonic god?¡±


    Allie chuckled. ¡°See, told you. You¡¯re a baby-god too, Riven.¡±


    ¡°Not god.¡± Lillith corrected again. ¡°Demonic Origin.¡±


    ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, my own faction is only F-grade.¡± Riven said with a chuckle while ignoring the two women. ¡°If you don¡¯t include all of the demons that worship Gluttony, or my great grandmother¡¯s S-grade faction.¡±


    ¡°We demons worship you too.¡± Lillith said with a side-eye. ¡°You are the reincarnation. You are one with the Great Maw, Riven.¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t bother replying. He¡¯d already had this conversation with Lillith more than once since his arrival in the descent. Looking over to the skeleton, and to where now both of the minotaurs had prostrated themselves, he turned to face the gate. ¡°Would it be alright if I brought my new friend Prince Rantali along with us? I was hoping to ask him a few questions about vampiric society, topare it to what I know of The Blood Moon Requiem.¡±


    He looked at the skeleton man, who was gaping at their group with an unhinged jaw. ¡°Assuming of course, we can get in.¡±

 Chapter 272

    Chapter 272


    <strong>Chapter 272</strong>


    The inside of thepound was a lot fancier and far more colorful than Riven would have thought, considering the dark and dreary outside that was somonce here in the descent.


    Brilliantly colored paintings of scenes from other worlds hung from the walls, tinum trimming lined polished white marble hallways, colorful nts that obviously weren¡¯t native to this ce thrived under small artificial suns at crossways between passages, andrge workshops of different types were set out for crafting experts at intervals through awork of interconnected buildings.


    A bustling activemunity of apprentices rushed back and forth, sometimes stopping to stare - while clothespletely ignored the group as if they were in a panic while getting their masters needed materials. They lugged aroundrge crates, vats of fluids, vials and ss instruments - and sometimes evenrge wheeled tforms ofrge metal ingots.


    And thest room that they stopped at had one such tform ofrge metal ingots resting along the side of the wall when they walked in.


    ¡°This is an impressive forge.¡± Rivenmented, noting the two pools ofva to the left and anvils alongside cooling weapons and armor. Along the walls there were numerouspleted sets of finely made pieces, and arge hulking creature approached them from where it¡¯d been sitting upon their arrival.


    The creature was a cyclops, very reminiscent of the monster that¡¯d killed Azmoth back when Fay had been new to the group. He bore a couple small tattoos, burn scars, and had a thick but short ck beard on his face while his one eye scrutinized the bunch. cing his hands on his belly, he gave a bow in Riven¡¯s direction - and then did the same with Lillith as the skeleton introduced them.


    ¡°Esteemed guests, may I present Jamal Iktorian - the best smith we have avable at the Firebrand tradingpany. He is sure to go above and beyond your expectations for whatever job you may have.¡± The robed skeleton turned to gesture at Riven and Lillith. ¡°Jamal, may I present-¡±


    ¡°We are acquainted. She let me know she wasing already.¡± Jamal cut in with a smile, reaching out and grasping Lilith''s hand in a shake despite his hand dwarfing her own. ¡°My great, great, great, great, great, great¡­ eh¡­ you get the picture, my ancestor is a friend of Lillith¡¯s. Any job she wants done is on the house.¡±¡°You told the old goat I said hello, yes?¡± Lillith asked with augh.


    Jamal snorted and let go of her hand. ¡°Aye, I did. It¡¯s a real honor to meet you,dy of the ck skies.¡±


    He looked at Riven with a little bit of hesitation next. ¡°And the reincarnation¡­ It is truly an honor. I did not ever dream I¡¯d be serving ones of your stature here in the abyss, but it seems that Elysium smiles upon me. I only wish I could have thrown a party in your honor, but Lillith insisted that I keep hushed about it.¡±


    Riven waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯d like to think I¡¯m down to Earth, as a matter of speaking. I was told you¡¯d be able to help upgrade my armor and weapon, and as longa s you¡¯re able to do that I¡¯m rather excited to be here.¡±


    Gesturing to the skeleton dressed in ck and gold, and putting his other arm around Ath¡¯s waist when she stepped out of the shadows, Riven held out a wrist. ¡°Payment for my request, as agreed.¡±


    The skeleton nced down, then back up to Riven with an uncertain excitement. ¡°Are you sure, esteemed one? The blood of a reincarnated ancient is sure to be worth far more than just a single pendant!¡±


    Rivenughed. ¡°I am. Just be sure Prince Narzkal Rantali and his crew here get the ck phoenix pendant like you promised.¡±


    The skeleton literally quivered with enthusiasm, and drew out a knife and vial from somewhere within his robes. ¡°Absolutely, majestic one! I assure you, the princling will have his amulet before the day is over!¡±


    The vampire, Prince Rantali, watched with building tears of appreciation in his eyes from the background as the skeleton slit Riven¡¯s wrist and began collecting the blood into the ss vial. The skeleton had to slit Riven¡¯s wrist twice more because of the natural vampiric regeneration, but plugged up the container shortly and bowed low with another round of thanks.


    ¡°I won¡¯t forget this. Thank you, great one.¡± Prince Rantali sped his hands in front of him in a sign of respect while the skeleton began to walk out the door and gestured at him to follow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it.¡± Riven gave the other vampire a thumbs up. ¡°Just think of it as my wedding present to you. I hope it¡¯s a marriage thatsts forever my friend.¡±


    ¡°As do I!¡± The young man replied, before quickly walking out of the room and wiping away more tears - and disappearing from sight.


    The bubblingva pits and the heat of the forge drew Riven¡¯s attention back towards the cyclops, where he then produced the items he¡¯d been carrying around in his spatial sack. Usually they¡¯d have been left out in the open or worn, but Lillith had said something about the smith needing them to spend a certain amount of time in stasis for the process to work more effectively - something that neither Jackal nor Messenger had necessarily liked. But they¡¯dplied nheless.


    ¡°These are the items I¡¯d like you to upgrade.¡± Riven stated, handing the long sleek spear-staff of Jackal over to the cyclops first. The canine maw producing the de at the center seemed to snarl when it was put into the cyclops¡¯s hands, and the rivers of blood flowing over the weapon grew more intense.


    Next Riven bade Messenger float forward, and the heavy ivory te armor shifted through the air to hover next to therge cyclops while shifting its helmet as if to look at the smith. The red blood silk connecting the tes stretched from time to time, and it looked like the upper half of a man was somehow controlling it from the inside due to the way it actively manipted itself.


    Next, Lillith handed Jamal a small slip of paper with writing on it.


    Jamal, who was staring at the two item¡¯s he¡¯d just been given - had to snap himself out of the trance before taking the paper to read it. He looked up with a grin. ¡°This is a big job, but it¡¯s exciting work.¡±


    ¡°How long for those specifications?¡± Lillith asked.


    The cyclops shrugged, then gentlyid the weapon on a nearby bench. ¡°Perhaps a few weeks, perhaps a few months. Is that alright?¡±


    Lillith shot Riven a curious look.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Riven confirmed with a nod, jabbing Ath in the ribcage and making her screech in retribution for her trying to grab him where she shouldn¡¯t in public. ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll be able to rearrange the stats as requested?¡±


    ¡°Oh definitely. The materials were already delivered.¡± The cyclops replied enthusiastically, gesturing to where arge tub of various metals, ingots, bones, elixirs and gems were set out beside numerous dark ck metal tools. ¡°The Church of Gluttony was rather giving, for obvious reasons. And do not worry, we have very tight security here, so no one is going to try and steal them. Is there anything in particr you¡¯d like to request before I get started?¡±


    Riven thought about it, then nodded with a grin. ¡°Yes. Be sure to make it¡­ shy.¡±


    ***


    <strong><em>3 and a half months since Riven¡¯s arrival in The Abyssal Descent¡­</em></strong>


    Battle lines were drawn, and the legions were awaiting orders. Out into the horizon to Kathrine¡¯s right and left, an ocean of men, women, monsters and mechs were grouped by type and experience in preparation for the possible battle toe. And ahead of them was thest holdout of resistance on the continent of Umbra, the city-state of Mayana, that¡¯d once been home to humans before they too had been turned into undead. Barriers and magical siege weapons had been erected, and enemybatantsy in wait along the city walls with steepled white towers - where a looming citadely ominously in the backdrop.


    City after city, faction after faction, had either peacefully submitted themselves to Necropolis rule or had been forcefully integrated by means of coercion or force. First had been the elves of Tereen, then Dawn, and then the dwarves of the underdark. The Golden Bull Sect had been the first of the other continental factions after that to pledge loyalty after talk on the Panu forums had colled for an undead purge that was quickly ramping up support-wise from the rest of theary popce, and the majority of Umbra had fallen in line quickly after that - seeing the Necropolis as a pir of support for a potential crusade against undead-kind. Even if Allie had indirectly been the cause, and even if unrest about their current predicament was somewhat present.


    But soon the continent would be unified, it needed to be unified, or else securing their borders from outside invaders that were sure toe would be much harder to do. Not only that, but the Necropolis had a conquering criteria to keep in order to achieve the century of protection from Elysium that would in the long run save more lives than these wars now spent. So this city was destined to bow, one way or another.


    Legions of vampires, sarak, undead, demons, and humans all formed up in ranks under their designatedmanders to number just over 160,000 strong. And this was just half of their current force, with the rest of their armies being positioned on the coastline in the north or across the world around Chicago.


    Smoke rose from st sites where magic and missiles had created andscape that was devoid of life and undeath alike, where craters riddled thend like a disease - and the corpses of manyy burned to ash or torn apart.


    A squadron of jets from the machine-oriented branches of Chicago¡¯s military flew overhead through the clouded sky, mirroring Dawn¡¯s roc-riders that could almost keep pace the the nes at full speed now after hitting a certain level threshold. The site of the giant undead birds paired up with the machines of war so far above them gave Kathrine pause, before she turned from her perch on the outcropping of rock to look at her fellow leaders.


    Chancellor Mara Tovane was there, alongside Nin and Vin. Gurth¡¯Rok was also there in full battle attire, while Dr. Brass had remained in Brightsville to oversee the city. Jeltuna the sarak was present alongside a few of his purple-skinned sarak officers, and Crendir No-Name, the vampire E-grade military genius that¡¯d been hand picked by the upper echelons of The Blood Moon Requiem, stood at attention in full ck-and-red te armor typical of the requiem¡¯s forces.


    ¡°Where is the demigodess, Gaia?¡± Princess Kathrine asked, stepping forward as the circle quieted. Her red eyes narrowed from underneath her metal helm, looking around the battlefield without luck. ¡°She was supposed to be here nearly an hour ago.¡±


    The ghoul, Mara, gestured into the west. ¡°She sent a transmission and said she is runningte, but should be here any minute.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the vition.


    Kathrine¡¯s stance rxed at the news. ¡°Good. She¡¯s supposed to be spearheading the main push. I didn¡¯t want to start without her, assuming the city of Mayana has declined our final offer to spare them and ept bloodless surrender.¡±


    ¡°We have yet to receive their answer, but I would be surprised if they did anything but refuse.¡± Crendir No-Name replied.


    Many nodded in agreement. The city state of Mayana had been overly eager to refute any attempts at peaceful negotiations, which left the Necropolis with little choice. If they didn¡¯t conquer enough of Panu to fulfill Elysium¡¯s criteria in Allie¡¯s name by the time 5 years of integration was up, their would be opened to the multiverse - and a wave of enemies would no doubt pour in. They did not just want the victory of conquest, but needed the victory, if they wanted to remain here on this and not abandon it entirely.


    A crash nearby resulted in a spray of debris from the rocky ground, and all heads turned to see the figure of a small child lifting herself up out of the pit she¡¯d created.


    Gaia had regained her child-like appearance since Allie¡¯s terraforming and transformation of the popce on Umbra. Though what had once been vibrant greens had now turned gray and ck, and the demigoddess looked like an outright evil version of her previous self whenever she wasn¡¯t in her tree form. When she did take on the form of a giant carnivorous tree however, she was even more dangerous - and more intimidating.


    ¡°Apologies for myte arrival, I had to run for two days straight at high speed to get here.¡± Gaia said, stepping out of the cratered ground and walking up to the group, not showing any sign of weariness or fatigue.


    Kathrine brushed a long strand of brte hair from her pale face. ¡°It matters not, we are d you¡¯re here to-¡±


    An explosion echoed out across the battlefield, causing Kathrine and the others to turn and look. More explosions followed, and balls of hellfire began tearing through the skies from somewhere within the city - where siege weapons were located and beginning to fire in the direction of Necropolis forces.


    Kathrine frowned.


    ¡°It appears they have forgone the option of peaceful surrender.¡± Maramented tly, watching as the missiles were intercepted by anti-siege equipment and interceptor missiles on the Necropolis side. ¡°Any word on whether or not Tre¡¯Zix and the other demons areing?¡±


    Kathrine shook her head no, as the sky above them lit up with artillery fire and her own siege equipment began firing back at the city. ¡°They¡¯re preupied with the war in Negrada, it is up to us to finish this on our own. And since Mayana seems to have declined our proposal, we won¡¯t waste anymore time here. To your stations. Crendir, you¡¯re heading this operation. Get to themand vessel and prepare for a march.¡±


    The officer saluted. ¡°Yes princess.¡±


    Kathrine red back at the city in the distance while horns began to blow across the legions of the Necropolis, and the rest of themanders began dispersing to their own designated areas across the battlefield.


    It was unfortunate that they could not see reason, but like it or not - this city would be hers by nightfall.


    ***


    The long slender de at her side rattled against her armor as Kathrine marched at the head of her column with shield overhead. The column was mostlyposed of elite vampires of House Crushada and House Wraithtide that kept uniform columns despite the bombardment that continued to crash against their defenses, and any of them she knew would die for her if it came down to it. Erected magical barriers, miracle auras, and stamina-infused tower shields held above their heads caused the turtle formation to look like a giant metallic caterpir while crossing the pock-marked grounds, but they were not the only columns advancing on the city walls.


    To her left and right were hundreds of otherrge formations just like hers, while projectiles of magic and metal continued to whiz by or skid right off their formation.


    And the sound was deafening.


    ¡°FORTY YARDS TO GO!¡± Kathrine shouted over the in-step march of metal boots, while the ground shook and magics roared overhead. ¡°PREPARE THE DRILLS!¡±


    Immediately a whirring sound started up in the center of their formation, and the tower-shield roof parted for just a moment as arge mechanical object was brought down the middle of the ranks. It was one big drill adorned in spikes and various runes, with blood mana powering the engine as red light seeped out of the cracks of its interior. The thing wasrge enough to punch a man-sized hole through solid rock and enchantment alike, and she doubted that these integration-age F-grades could put together anything that¡¯d stop it.


    Another drill followed the first, and then another, until three huge drills were at the forefront of the column just ahead of her with the whirring sound growing louder. The walls above red and debris rained down about them from the impact of a bomb that a roc-rider had dropped on the defenders, with the screams of enemy ghouls reaching their ears as the ones atop the wall fell with sts and crunches to their deaths.


    Kathrine just focused herself to keep moving, despite her heartbeat racing over the din of the fight.


    Twenty yards.


    Ten yards.


    Five.


    ¡°SET THEM UP AND TEAR A HOLE!¡± Kathrine screamed, yanking out her curved de and sending a vibrant red sh through the air that tore apart a dropped boulder meant for the drills.


    More of her soldiers began turtling around the drill site as the machines alltched onto the thick stone walls of the city, putting up further barriers and creating another ceiling of tower shields that blocked the arrows, lightning strikes and mana-infused javelin throws alike.


    A fighter jet spun out of control in a fiery spiral and smashed into the ground a couple dozen yards away, jarring the ground and making Kathrine loseher footing - only for the vampire princess to regain it a secondter just when the drills began tearing through the base of the walls.


    Vibrations rippled across the earth under her feet, and her teeth chattered even despite clenching them. The stone was being chewed through at a rapid pace, absorbed into the blood engine, and was spit out the backside in a cloud of crimson ash that not only invigorated her soldiers - but healed them as well if they had any wounds from the bombardment during their trek.


    What felt like hours was only minutes, and time ticked by far too slowly for her liking while she watched the threerge drills bury themselves into the city defenses. Her soldiers waited with stoic faces behind her, and within fifteen minutes - they all finally heard the noise they¡¯d been hoping for.


    The crash through the other side.


    In an instant the columns of vampires drew their weapons and headed in, with Kathrine in the lead.


    The tunnel she¡¯d chosen was the centermost one, and moving through the recently made tunnel in the thick stone wall was a bit awkward due to confined spaces, buting out the other side - she sidestepped the closest drill and into the city interior.


    It was absolute chaos.


    Buildings burned and fighting had erupted across multiple ces where the wall had either been scaled or burrowed through. She¡¯d been fully anticipating an enemy formation to be awaiting her arrival after digging across the stone barrier, but found utterly nothing.


    They were already too preupied with the rest of the assault.


    In turn, this left the citadel wide open.


    ¡°FORWARD UNITS REINFORCE THE FIGHT AT THE WALLS! THE REST OF YOU - THROUGH THE CITY! KEEP TO YOUR SQUADS!¡± Kathrine yelled back at the lines of soldiers streaming in, barely shifting her tower shield to deflect an iing crossbow bolt that sparked off the dark metal. ¡°TOWARDS THEIR LEADERSHIP! FIND THEM! IF WE TAKE THE KING, THE CITY WILL SURRENDER!¡±


    As one, the vampiric soldiers smashed their swords against their shields in acknowledgement and wordlessly began charging past the main battlements and into the deeper parts of the city. As they went, they began breaking off into pre-made squadrons to faster search for the enemy leadership.


    Her own squad consisted of twelve other members, all vampires that she didn¡¯t know very well - but that¡¯d been guaranteed to be the best of the best that The Blood Moon Requiem had to offer for their F-grade younglings. Or at least that was what Crendir No-Name had told her, and she trusted his insight on the matter. He was one of the best officers for his age and rank, and she was merely a princess. What did she know about war, whenpared to someone like him?


    So if he said they were good at their jobs, they were without doubt good at their jobs.


    ¡°Behind me!¡± Making sure the rest of her squad was with her. The other twelve vampires all silently nodded, one of them deflecting a javelin and sting the offender with a course of ck lightning, before they started their way further into the city interior.


    Or what was left of the city interior, anyway.


    Rubble was abundant and more than once they had to change directions due to a burning wreckage thaty in their wake. They dared not take the rooftops either, due to enemy snipers killing most who tried. Roads were blockaded and resistance was sporadic, and the fighting was fierce, with a couple of enemy groups being encountered at random times throughout their forward approach.


    Her de blurred, leaving red ribbons in the air and corpses at her feet while she pressed on in a blood-stained suit of dark armor, not once speaking and keeping her breathing as calm as she could while focusing on the advance.


    Just keep advancing. The targets would be there waiting for her.


    ¡°Princess Kathrine! I think I¡¯ve found a shortcut!¡± One of her soldiers called back after the fifth time an enemy patrol had intercepted their group.


    She wiped the ck blood off her slender sword with the most recent undead victim¡¯s shirt, who remainedying face down on the ground in a silent scream. Turning her red eyes back to the soldier who¡¯d called out to her, she didn¡¯t question the man and dashed over at super-human speed towards the alley he¡¯d pointed out. ¡°A shortcut? Towards the citadel? This is going North-East, are you sure?¡±


    The man nodded, and he got a confirmatory shout from another of the soldiers further down the alley. ¡°We are sure, princess. Please, follow us.¡±


    Shifting her weight and not pressing the man any further, she did as he asked and went down the alley along with the others of her squad at a fast jog. They twisted and turned down the side streets, with another fighter jet crashing into a nearby street after ending in its own death spiral - and eventually Kathrine came to a dead end.


    ¡°It¡¯s here! We found a passage!¡± The vampire soldier indicated with a finger pointing towards a small trap door that¡¯d been opened, leading into some kind of basement. ¡°It should lead to the citadel if our guess is correct.¡±


    Kathrine raised an eyebrow and gave him a skeptical look. ¡°You had time to explore the passage while we were moving and fighting all this time?¡±


    The vampire merely shrugged. ¡°I chased down one of the enemy that fled here, and interrogated him briefly before dispatching the man. He said that this was a secret way in, and I¡¯m pretty sure he was telling me the truth based on how the conversation went.¡±


    Another explosion and the screams of the dying echoed out across the city from somewhere nearby.


    Clicking her tongue in uncertainty, Kathrine eventually nodded in approval. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The soldiers nodded, and the first two who¡¯d scouted out the area went down first. The Kathrine came next, only to be followed by the rest of her squad as her feet hit solid ground. Looking around and frowning even more deeply than she had been, she saw that this wasn¡¯t a passage at all - rather, it was arge basement without exit. She turned to the soldiers who¡¯d led her here with an undercurrent of irritation. ¡°This is another dead end, you fool! What are you-¡±


    <strong><em>CRACK</em></strong>


    Kathrine staggered, falling to the ground when a blunt instrument smashed against the back of her head. Her vision blurred and she immediately felt like vomiting, only to receive a swift kick to the face that sent her spiraling backwards before she felt hands beginning to restrain her.


    ¡°W-What are you doing!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?¡± Kathrine began to scream, enraged and confused as her eyesight began toe back to her. She felt her mana blink out as a suppression cor was ced around her neck, and her sword was ripped off of her belt - scabbard and all - by another of the vampire soldiers who then took a step back.


    Slow footfalls echoed from where a pair ofrge barrels had been stacked, and blinking rapidly while spitting blood - her eyes widened with even further confusion as she saw none other than Crendir No-Name show himself from his ce of hiding.


    They stared at each other wordlessly, Kathrine¡¯s mouth gaped open as a sly smile overcame the othermander¡¯s features.


    She took in a deep breath, suddenly realizing that some kind of treachery was at y, and a stark fear began to creep into her soul. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Crendir No-Name asked, smiling - and thenughing as he sped his hands behind his back. ¡°Elder Thune is very persuasive. The soldiers here, and myself, are all being very wellpensated for what we¡¯re about to do here today.¡±


    A sinking feeling continued to build in her gut at the elder¡¯s name. House Crushada had been on edge with the elder and many other factions of The Blood Moon requiem.ever since the incident involving Lord Justo Barimont¡¯s death.


    ¡°Elysium wouldn¡¯t have allowed you toe here if you¡¯d been nning to betray Allie or Riven¡­ it was part of the rules¡­¡± Kathrine muttered to herself, as if in denial.


    Crendir shrugged innocently, and held out both hands to either side. ¡°I wasn¡¯t intending to. But that was then, and this is now. Elder Thune is very persuasive, and for someone without a family name¡­ his offer is simply life changing. Even if it does mean I have to capture, and potentially kill, one of the lesser princesses of our great empire.¡±


    Snarling with an abrupt surge of rage, Kathrine tried to strike out against the man with her foot - but the soldiers holding her back didn¡¯t let her get more than a few inches off the ground.


    Crendir chuckled, then snapped a kick in her direction.


    Her head flew back, and the helmet was knocked off as she yelped out in pain before a sudden burning sensation caught her in the cor bone.


    Gasping and looking down at the dagger that¡¯d been mmed there, she began to scream.


    ¡°Now listen to me, princess.¡± Crendir calmlymanded, picking the terrified princess up by the back of her hair and yanking her face roughly around to face him. ¡°You¡¯re going to answer all my questions, and do exactly what I say when I say it - or else I¡¯m just going to leave you in a ditch somewhere. You know what happens if I do that?¡±


    Kathrine didn¡¯t reply, but her chest heaved up and down as his grip on the back of her head tightened.


    ¡°If I kill you, then someone else in House Crushada is going to be your recement.¡± Crendir snarled. ¡°I¡¯m hoping you cooperate, lest I need to go take one of your cousins that so eagerly came to this in search of glory. And perhaps after I¡¯m done interrogating you, if you do a really good job, I could even keep you as a pet. Better that, than what¡¯s going to befall the rest of your family - if you ask me.¡±

 Chapter 273

    Chapter 273


    <strong>Chapter 273</strong>


    <strong><em>4 Months Later¡­</em></strong>


    They ate, breathed, cultivated, trained, and fought in the arena events to test their progress.


    Then they slept and repeated - with only a few exceptions to spare.


    Each of their soulttices were slowly building up, but the descent down through the abyss had still been on standby. Despite Gluttony¡¯s urge to find Purity¡¯s Reincarnation, the so-called Seventh Wing, Greed¡¯s ¡®Gambler¡¯ had provided them with information that was vague at best. Not only that, but if the two sins did go after themandment of Purity - it wouldn¡¯t be Riven who was participating. Riven was far too weak,parable to a bug when the true titans and monsters of the multiverse under Gluttony¡¯s control were getting themselves involved - even if the churches were scattered and only a shadow of the powers they¡¯d once been. S-grade agents of the highest orders from the churches of Greed and Gluttony had, grudgingly, started working together tob a very specific area in the third universe for the potential target - and that¡¯s all Riven really knew about it for the time being.


    Yet neither he nor Gluttony trusted Greed¡¯s henchman even despite the temporary truce concerning Purity, and fully expected Greed to betray them at a moment¡¯s notice when opportunity presented itself. It would be stupid to think otherwise.


    But still, he was interested to see whether or not they¡¯d seed in finding and kidnapping themandment¡¯s reincarnation at all. Too muchcking information and a heavy angelic presence made for poor prospects at best, but even poor prospects were better than no prospects to the demons who wanted Purity out of the game. Any time Riven even thought about it during his bouts ofbat training, mana sensing, and soulttice building - he got an abrupt and angry surge of emotions from Gluttony. Those emotions weren¡¯t directed at him, but it was obvious that Riven¡¯s counterpart had a long, long, long history with this particrmandment.


    A history that Riven was now dragged into regardless of whether or not he wanted to be, given his status.


    Only time would tell how this all yed out.***


    His soul cracked, shifted, and groaned as bridges formed, broke, and reformed while thettice built itself up. His pirs were creating bridges, forming threads that became cords that became rivers of intermixed attunements.


    He was on the path of transcendence, and he could feel the abyss deep in the descent calling out to him even from here.


    His eyes shed open with a spark of primal ether, merging his mind with Gluttony¡¯s own as the two of them watched their souls intertwine with one another at a rapid pace. In the meditation chamber, his skin - etched in ancient lost scripts of unholy origin - radiated wisps of power. A calmke of purple, teal, ck, and above all - crimson, that shifted around him and rose into the air - dissipating after leaving his body to fall back into the environment where the mana was less condensed.


    His senses had been refined. He could now sense any F-grade and most E-grades that Lillith sent to hide around him via mana pulses.


    His skills had been refined. He was now winning more than 9 out of 10 fights without the use of his minions, summons, or Gluttony¡¯s interference.


    His way of thinking had been refined. He would no longer overestimate his own abilities, and would rid himself of the fatal w of taking an enemy for granted. He was imperfect, and had room to grow.


    Though it had only been four months, and though he still had a long way to go, he was far from the man that¡¯d set foot in this ce when first arriving. For an F-grade, he was at the pinnacle. Even here, in the Abyssal Descent, where the elites of the Unholy-oriented multiverse sent their young to create their soulttices. And he intended to move forward with that mindset as he continued his training elsewhere.


    But his minions had all reached their own level caps now under the rigorous training and power leveling of Gluttony¡¯s church. The opportunities no longersted here in the top level of the descent, but rather - they existed in the lower floors where the condensed energies of the abyss called to him.


    Now it was time to move on.


    The ck scripts shifted across his body and set into a new formation as he floated down from his hovering position and touched foot-first onto the stone floor. A silent shockwave radiated through the room, immediately highlighting the seventeen assassins in various locations as theyunched themselves at him.


    Seventeen rifts, twenty spikes of crimson ice, twelve wretched snares, and eight quick ck lightning strikes in the next three seconds resulted in the assassins all being incapacitated with varying types of wounds.


    And he hadn¡¯t moved from his position.


    He looked around at the many opponents, demons all, who nowy on the ground in pained heaps. Men and women or creatures of unknown gender who¡¯d once wiped the floor with him in the arena only three months ago, now reduced to groaning and bloodied messes around him with little expenditure in his mana. His skills had been focused and clean cut, without redundant use of unnecessary power, and his identification of their positions had been both simultaneous and immediate.


    He exited through the next door, and came face to face with a grinning Lillith as the healers rushed him by to get into the room he¡¯d just left. His body still radiated with a myriad of unholy energies, and his ck-red eyes narrowed as he gave his teacher a bow of respect with hands sped in front of him. ¡°I believe I am ready, Lillith. Please, let us proceed.¡±


    Lillith looked over his shoulder, smiling. Then she nodded, and turned while walking him down the hallway. ¡°Let us go then. The others are waiting.¡±


    ***


    Genua was noticeably pregnant now, but merely nodded to him as he passed her by to join the others in the gathering hall. She would be heading to The Blood God¡¯s realm soon enough, to avoid any of the fallout until he summoned her at the bottom of the descent for inspiration¡¯s purpose.


    The others of his group were all ready to leave, and not including minions - only 5 could be grouped for descending floors andyers per Elysium¡¯s regtions.


    Nora had been given twin daggers made from the bones of void eels, creatures that dwelled down here in the dark - with each weapon being infused with sin energy itself that she used to devastating effect.


    Azmoth now had an entire outeryer of actual armor on top of his natural tes. It was a very dark gray, with holes in it for the ck spikes of his body and fire-drawn runes that continued to burn even now while not inbat. Twin halves of a huge tower shield were held in each set of hands, for a total of 4, withrge des attached to the ends and outer edges that made the shields act simultaneously as odd swords too. His ming antlers, given to him by Riven a while back after a dungeon raid, had also been added and forged into his armor which gave him a rather interesting change in appearance now that they¡¯d been applied.


    Ath had been given a cloak made from shadow, flickering in and out at random intervals even while standing still in the far corner - leaning against a wall with a smile under her hood.


    Allie¡¯s soul-woven bone armor had been reforged, enhancing the legendary-quality F-grade set and turning it into an E-grade set after immense expense had been undertaken on behalf of the reaper¡¯s organization here in the abyss. Her glowing gray halo and pale eyes reflected off ivory te as her ck wings drifted out to either side amidst a swirling vortex of souls - and the divine ymore with teal runes etched into therge weapon danced with shifting patterns from time to time as she held it tucked to her chest.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    Retesh and Fimrindle hadn¡¯t changed much on the exterior, but they¡¯d undergone advancements of their own concerning their cultivation and skills - while Fay had been the most dramatically changed of them all.


    She was, even by Lillith¡¯s standards, finally a somewhatpetent underling. Inrge part, it¡¯d been due to her secluded bouts of meditation every other day while investing her time in deep meditation with the Viper Grimoire of Curses and Schemes.


    <strong>[Viper Grimoire of Curses and Schemes (Unholy Specialization Grimoire, Unique): +129% mana regeneration when held. +9% damage to all curses when held. Binding this grimoire and adding a single one of your curses to its pages, you will decrease the cooldown time on your chosen curse by 10% while simultaneously allowing for spontaneous evolution options of that curse with insights drawn from the Unholy Foundational Pir and its rted sub-pirs. Spontaneous evolutions will ur as the grimoire actively writes out different variations of the curse across its pages with random trial and error experiments in an internal, limited ne. Evolution options will ur in the form of insights once a breakthrough is made.]</strong>


    Her skills had developed significantly. Curse Traps, a staple of hers in the early days, were now farrger and stronger, and could be triggered by certain actions or criteria rather than manually needing to be set off.


    Dreamwalker Zone now let her illusions do small amounts of damage even though they weren¡¯t actually real, which added up over time and made her offensive abilities go up drastically.


    Her Curse of Rot cloud could detect friend from foe, and wouldn¡¯t afflict allies - allowing her to bathe entire battlefields in her dark green clouds that ate away at the flesh of enemies with potent necrosis.


    Charm was extra effective up close.


    Dark Pact healed others more than it used to, though its slow was the same as it had been, and it also hurt her less while using it.


    Not to mention she¡¯d also learned a cursed me technique taught to her by the other subus Lavini, which allowed Fay to create whips and fireballs from green fire to attack her enemies with.


    Due to her drastic improvements, she¡¯d been given a set of silver illusionist¡¯s robes that left little to the imagination as they were partially see-through and fit rather tightly. She was also given a silver hat that matched the set. Despite how revealing they were, and they were damn revealing - the skin-tight robes and hat also gave significant boosts to any illusion-based spells a caster may use.


    As the others were his minions, Elysium registered himself, Lillith, Nora, Allie, and Retesh as the ones who¡¯d be going down the descent togetherter that day. And after saying goodbye to half-gargoyle half-minotaur Amano, and Lavini the redheaded subus instructor, Riven left the halls of the underground enves to finally reappear on the surface of the abyssal city with his group in tow.


    ***


    Not three, but four of the icosahedrons that he¡¯d originally asked Gragle the gnome to create. Riven had been somewhat surprised to see the gnome alive, but he was happy for it and gave Greed just a bit of a mental acknowledgement for not butchering the little enchanter on a whim. The totems had also been reduced in mass, each of them being baseball sized metal objects with 20-sided faces each adorned with glowing red and flickering ck runes. Above all else, the graphic that Gragle had infused into them concerning the ¡®Hive¡¯ and ¡®Swarm¡¯ aspects was absolutely fascinating.


    And through Riven¡¯s link to them, he could either manually control the creations - or set them up with given orders that the soul fragments inside would follow to the best of their ability. Thus, as he walked, the four almost-spherical artifacts of his totem set swirled around him likes orbiting the sun.


    <strong>[Hive Totems of Bloodforged Rift Sparks (Lesser Artifact, Elite Tier, Level 6 Totem Swarm): These totemse as a set, and new totems can be added to this number at the additional cost of Willpower - with each totem adding exponentially more Willpower to the cost. Cost of Willpower is based upon attitude towards the wielder of this totem set, as well as currentbat level. Current Requirements: 119 Willpower, Blood Sub-Pir, Shadow Sub-Pir. Bound to Riven Thane.</strong>


    <strong>Adding different types of totems will change the name and description of this totem set.</strong>


    <strong>Current Totems in Hive Swarm:</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>4 Totems of Bloodforged Rift Sparks</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>The Path of Red and ck has been imbued into these totems, along with numerous different sigils, and has used the blood of an ancient avatar of original sin to fuel its growth. This totem has the ability to grow and level up, but diminishes in level each time one of its totems are destroyed. This totem swarm can currently perform the following abilities:</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>ck Lightning</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Crimson Ice</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Rift]</strong></li></ul>


    They truly were remarkable.


    Yet, despite his fascination with the little deadly creations, he didn¡¯t let his gaze linger on them for very long as his team walked through the city. Through the streets of dark stone that were bustling with activity, he passed like a silent tidal wave of oppression as the other residents of the Abyssal Descent quieted and stood aside.


    Wide eyed stares of varying species greeted him as his group moved forward. Non-demons kept a wary eye on them as they passed, and nearly half of the demons gave them signs and gestures of respect or reverence when they realized who it was. The burning purple MYTHIC statuses on both Riven and Lillith were in obvious contrast to everything else that resided here, and due respect was given in one way or another.


    Meanwhile, as they made their way to the central portal of the upper first floor in order to begin their descent into the depths: Ath, Nora, and Fimrindle all stuck to the shadows as an anti-assassin measure. That left Riven, Lillith, Allie, Retesh, Azmoth, and Fay leading the front of a pack of hundreds of mindless skeleton warriors and skeleton monsters being controlled by the lich and angel of death.


    ¡°Has your manpleted the upgrades to my armor?¡± Riven asked Lillith, ignoring the stares as they passed crowded shops by.


    ¡°Messenger and Jackal have both been fine tuned to better fit your revised style, they¡¯re waiting at the portal with the smiths and enchanters..¡± Lillith replied evenly, her long ck hair made from shadow itself flowing out behind her like a cape. She turned her eyes up at therge ck-and-yellow flower that had now spread along all seven of her horns, and gave it a firm pat while moving along with silent footsteps. ¡°I think you¡¯ll like how they turned out. Have you given any thought to thest minion slot you have avable to you?¡±


    Riven¡¯s gaze shifted forward, and they turned left with a direct shot towards the city¡¯s center with a ck hole looming in the backdrop of the buildings. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Do you intend to fill it any time soon?¡±


    He didn¡¯t miss a beat. ¡°I do not. I¡¯ll be temporarily binding to your fill-in for the descent down when we get to the portal¡¯s edge.¡±


    Lillith evaluated him for a time, then nodded. ¡°Very well. You¡¯ll be meeting him when we arrive. He¡¯s a Beholder demon, to shore up your weaknesses - even despite your improvements concerning finding enemy assassins.¡±


    Riven¡¯s face turned into a grimace, and he scowled from underneath his Chalgathi-hood with a sideways look. ¡°Beholder demon?¡±


    Lillith¡¯s eyebrows raised, and she let out augh. ¡°Do you have something against Beholders?¡±


    ncing over his shoulder, he gave Fay a knowing look. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that I haven¡¯t had the best experiences with Beholders thus far. They¡¯ve turned out to be rather treacherous¡­ But hopefully this one that you¡¯ve chosen will prove me wrong.¡±


    ***


    The silent parade of demons and undead It was certainly an intimidating site, but even despite this - there was one in the crowd that was not impressed.


    Scarred blue scales rippled underneath a ragged cloak in a hidden alcove obscured by wards that impaired others from seeing inside. Hey coiled up, watching and waiting, with themunication orb in his handying dormant¡­ for now.


    Netithi Bluskish, Champion of the Kraken, newly appointed Disciple of Greed, had a job to do. The gift of Sin energy had been more than enough of a payment for his loyalty, but the more Netithi performed - the more power he gained, and he¡¯d found a very profitable partnership out of this allegiance to The Gambler and the great sin of Greed ever since their first encounter.


    And despite the ¡®ceasefire¡¯ Greed and Gluttony had, it wasn¡¯t as if Greed would actually abide by such things. Not in truth. As soon as their agents off world made their move against The Seventh Wing, all bets were off, and Netithi¡¯s hired scythes would move in to kill.


    For even despite the presence of an Angel of Death, scythes - despite their reputation as elite assassins - were in the end just extremely expensive mercenaries. Even with one of their own in the mix, such as that scarecrow character, they would not hesitate to fulfill contracts to eliminate the high priority targets below. With the Church of Greed was there to back them up, it was going to get very heated - very fast.


    He just had to wait for the confirmation¡­ confirmation that The Seventh Wing was under Greed¡¯s control, and that the S-grade Gluttony warriors off had been left behind to fight Purity¡¯s forces while Greed¡¯s own escaped. Only after that confirmation could Netithi truly move, because if he acted too quickly - all bets on cooperation were off, and The Seventh Wing was an even greater prize than Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation was.


    His left prosthetic eye, a purple gemstone enchanted to help him evaluated energy signatures, quickly worked over the crowd and found his targets easily enough even at such a distance. Energy roiled within his core as he cycled and pondered on his n to be, only for themunication orb in his hand to start buzzing.


    He looked down with a wicked smile, fangs bared, only for him to abruptly stop as a shadow crossed his peripheral vision. Was he imagining things? He blinked, looking around and not finding anything, until his prosthetic noticed just a slight-


    -Netithi barely had time to blink before twin red des snapped through his heart - and a crimson web pped across his face to prevent his scream. Simultaneously a scythe ripped through his upper spine - making him go limp while his body started to spasm. He let out a gasp as blood sprayed from his body when some kind of poison began to seep into his brain, and thest thing he saw before the world turned ck was a woman wielding twin bone-crafted daggers lunge forward from the darkness to pierce his skull with a thunk.


    He was thrown from the Abyssal Descent and back into Chalgathi¡¯s realm for respawn, with no ticket back - and what would be a lingering pain where the woman¡¯s des entered his head only moments before.

 Chapter 274

    Chapter 274


    <strong>Chapter 274</strong>


    Riven sent out another pulse, using his mana as a kind of echo-location tactic just like he¡¯d been taught to do by Lillith over the past months.


    It worked like a charm.


    He¡¯d picked up on a number of stealthed individuals already, though he was sure that there were some he¡¯d probably missed given the insider information from the priest of The Scythe that Allie had talked to. Individuals like Fimrindle in the reaper casts would be far harder to sense than the spies, other potential enemy assassins, his own entourage from The Church of Gluttony who¡¯d volunteered to escort him, or just curious onlookers.


    There were also the crowds of individuals who didn¡¯t try to hide, and rather just stared at a distance while making room for the passage of therge group. Nobles of great factions across the multiverse came out to watch from their balconies, drunkards silently sat at their ces at windows in taverns, and tradesmen watched from the doors of their shops as the palpable auras passed them by under the shadow of towering obsidian buildings and the shing rumble of sin-imbued storms overhead.


    Out from one of the crowds, a cloaked priest bearing Gluttony¡¯s mark came to fall in line beside Riven and Lillith at the front. Making a reverent gesture with his hands, the red-skinned, horned man nced around warily.


    ¡°Lady of ck Skies, The Eternal Maw.¡± The priest bowed his head. ¡°The operation ismencing as we speak. The Seventh Wing¡¯s enve is under attack in the third universe, and there is no doubt that Greed will attempt to snatch her after she is out of Heaven¡¯s domain.¡±


    Riven nodded, feeling Gluttony stir within him at the priest¡¯s words. It was an unspoken thing, knowing that both Greed and Gluttony would immediately revert back to being enemies once theirbined strike force abducted the reincarnation of Purity from her home. After that, all bets were off¡­ and both Original Sins had their pieces on the chess board waiting for the moment to fall.


    ¡°We should still make it to the portal and into the descent before then.¡± Riven replied. ¡°We waited as long as we could, I just wish we had more time to train.¡±Lillith snorted in amusement. ¡°You¡¯ve already spent far too long here, and have to catch up with your Apocalypse Beasts trials. Albeit, you¡¯ve improved much and the training was needed¡­ but still. We cannot wait any longer, not for finishing The Abyssal Descent and your ascent into the E-grade, and not for finishing your time in The Altars of Despair and Hope. And not¡­¡±


    Her voice trailed off, hesitantly.


    Riven raised an eyebrow her way. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Frowning, Lillith gave him the side-eye. ¡°And not for your return to Panu. Word has reached us that the vampire princess Kathrine has gone missing, though her family says she still lives as they can feel her lifeblood still pulsing. It is likely that someone captured her, but who it is and why they did it is unknown.¡±


    Riven nearly stumbled, surprise and worry etched into his features. ¡°What? When did this happen? How long has it been?¡±


    ¡°It has been nearly two weeks.¡± Lillith replied gravely. She held up a hand of restraint when she saw the look of rage cross over Riven, and shook her head. ¡°Calm down. We couldn¡¯t be sure of the details until just recently, and I have some of my best scouts from the banished looking for her. It is likely they will find her if she is still on the.¡±


    Nostrils ring, Riven closed his eyes. Letting out a deep breath, he grit his teeth. ¡°Fine. I would appreciate it, however, if you didn¡¯t keep things like that from me in the future. Kathrine and I aren¡¯t extremely close, but she¡¯s still a friend and it isn¡¯t your ce to decide what I can and cannot know. I¡¯m not as fragile as you may seem to think. Not anymore.¡±


    Silence hung in the air between them.


    Lillith scrutinized him for a time, not expressing any emotion, but then gave him a firm nod. ¡°I will keep that in mind for the future.¡±


    Their path into the city¡¯s center was undisturbed after that. They walked in silence, and soon found themselves facing a whirlpool of darkness that spanned over a mile across with the mountain peaks raised up like a crown around them - and a greeting party of nearly fifty strong waiting at the edge of the descent¡¯s first portal down.


    Jamal the cyclops smith and other artisans from the Firebrand Trading Company that¡¯d worked on Riven¡¯s new equipment, along with their heavily equipped guards, hade to meet Riven before his departure. It was likely thest time he¡¯d be here if things went ording to n, and they wanted to make a disy of giving Riven his upgraded weapon and armor - likely for their own benefit. Because if they were trusted enough to make items for someone like the Reincarnation of Gluttony, then what did that say about them?


    Thepany¡¯s president was there, a husky mutant undead of some sort, but he only smiled and stepped back after his presence was noted - not wanting anything more than being seen. Others in thepany inclined their heads in respect or even bowed and took a knee, while Gentry the cyclops waved Riven over with a cheery grin.


    Standing behind a long stone table they¡¯d erected, with a thick semi-transparent ss casing over the top, therge cyclops pped his protruding belly in excitement. ¡°Aye! I¡¯ve been waiting for this day toe! Are you as excited as I am?¡±


    Raising an eyebrow and leading the procession to a halt, Riven stepped forward with a smile of his own and put his hands on his hips. The four icosahedron totems sparked around him while they orbited his body, and the city directly behind them became silent when the others of Riven¡¯s group took guarded stances to face outwards in case of a possible attack. ¡°If you were able to do what I asked, then yes. I am rather excited.¡±


    ¡°Aye, I did that and more.¡± Jamal replied almost arrogantly, and reached down onerge hand to grip the ss casing. ¡°They both have your very blood and soul shards from Gluttony imbued into each piece, and only the finest materials from the most dangerous abyssal creatures. Just you wait!¡±


    The ss shattered and evaporated into thin air, and underneath on the stone table were two items that were both familiar and unfamiliar to Riven at the same time.


    But their soul signatures made it easy enough to tell that they were still the same Jackal and Messenger he was used to at their cores. Based on his training and developing fighting style, these would suit him better than the previous versions of these items quite a bit.


    The auras of unholy energies were almost physical things that crashed into his senses like a storm; with a mixture of Sin, Unholy, Shadow, Death, Blood, and Infernal all mixed into it. So potent was the onught of ambient energies surrounding both of these items, that it caused many of the nearby onlookers to stagger after the ss casing had shattered.


    His spear-staff had been reforged into a sorcerer¡¯s staff, somewhat reminiscent of his early start in Chalgathi¡¯s starter event. Only that instead of a gnarled wooden staff that was basically considered garbage in retrospect, he was looking at an absolute masterpiece. The weapon was almost as tall as he was, retaining about the same size as its original form. The main body of the item was still made of obsidian metal with pulsing streams of actively flowing blood running the entirety of the shaft; but with two very realistic bone figurines of beautiful winged subi crawling up along opposite sides of the staff near the top and reaching upwards. Their tails wrapped around the staff and intertwined, and their wings remained red out behind them. There, at the head of the staff and where the barbie-sized subi bone carvings were reaching, was the visage of a skeletal hand carved from ebony metal; holding a horned humanoid skull that burned with hellfire in the eye sockets. A burning pentagram with Gluttony¡¯s maw sigil in the center also was disyed in the center of the skull, and spider-webbing arteries pulsed along the skull¡¯s surface like cracks in a mirror.


    <strong>[Jackal (Legendary Weapon, Vampiric Artifact, Sin Artifact - Gluttony Aspect, Sorcerer¡¯s Staff)(Evolving Symbiote): 1795 average damage on strike with each physical strike dealing additional explosive Infernal Damage. This is a Self Repairing Item. Mana regeneration is increased by 600% while holding this item. Sin, Unholy, Shadow, Death, Blood, and Infernal magics are all amplified in effectiveness and damage output by 20% while wielding this weapon. All spells cast while holding this item have their range increased by 100%. This item has an abnormally high endurance and is hard to destroy. Requires Vampiric Heritage and an affiliation with the Original Sin of Gluttony to wield.</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>Gluttony¡¯s Ascent: Passively and steadily builds up its own stats based on the growth of its bonded master. Current Master: Riven Thane, Reincarnation of Gluttony.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Furious Storm: This staff can passively build up charges of furious storm, which utilizes a supercharged dose of any single energy from the pirs of Sin / Unholy / Shadow / Death / Blood / Infernal. You may only unleash one type of energy at a time. Power of furious storm depends on the amount of charge emitted.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Portal Master: This weapon can sync to any stabilized portal you permission to use by the maker and master. Current locations avable for ess: Dungeon Negrada, Riven¡¯s Eye Wormhole, Panu - Changeling¡¯s Forest. Takes 1 week of channeling in the same ce to use this ability.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Abyssal Beastform: This weapon can turn into an Abyssal Canine Warbeast, and does passive Sin damage on strike. This form is offensivelypatible, but your weapon will automatically revert to staff form upon taking damage equal to 20% of your maximum health.]</strong>


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the vition.</li></ul>


    The damage output had skyrocketed. The mana regeneration had skyrocketed. Passive shadow damage had turned into passive and explosive infernal damage. He no longer needed to kill things to absorb stats, rather it grew with him at a steady rate. He got a supercharged pool of dark energies to utilize beyond his normal mana pool, which could draw on six different pir types. Jackal had retained its portal master trait, and its beast form had upgraded into something that it could use to actually fight.


    Most importantly though, his spell-casting range had just doubled merely by holding the item. It was the most important aspect of all the upgrades, and was doubtlessly going to y into his newly developed fighting style - focusing on his mage-rted strengths rather than close quarters fighting as much as possible.


    His eyes flitted to the next item on the table.


    Messenger had simrly undergone aplete rework. Once it¡¯d been the conglomeration of Chalgathibeled artifacts, only protecting his upper body. This in turn had been a problem, as he simply hadn¡¯t found any pants or lower-body armor thatpared or matched the amazing set of upper body armor he¡¯d had. In many of the arena fights, people had actively targeted his lower body whenever he used the armor because of this.


    Now, that problem was mostly solved. He¡¯d had to sacrifice a little bit of defense from the item to do it, but his entire body would be protected with the rework.


    It was a full-body suit, made from tes of ivory - albeit thinner ones than had been present on his previous heavy-armor set. It looked rtively lightweight due to the reduction in thickness, and the bloodsilk connecting all the tes together was more prominent now as it filled in all the gaps to stretch the material out - even going as far to cover his fingers and toes. His pauldrons had reduced in size, and his helmet was thinned out; no longer had a dorsal ridge with red feathersing out the top. The central chest of his body suit still had Gluttony¡¯s Maw however, and bone spikes still remained over his gauntlets¡¯ knuckles.


    <strong>[Messenger (Mythic Medium Armor Set, Gluttony Aspect) (Evolving Symbiote) (World Quest Item: Panu) (Unique Soulbound Sentient): This Mythic tier armor set was created on the world of Panu during its integration cycle by the pureblooded vampire Riven Thane, and has been upgraded by the smith Jamal Iktorian in The Abyssal Descent. Having far surpassed the realm of normalcy, this armor set has been afflicted with the original sin of Gluttony. As the reincarnation of an Original Sin, Gluttony has blessed this armor to even further heights so that the wielder may one day be the tidebringer of wanton destruction Gluttony seeks. All shall perish before the great maw, all hail the abyssal depths.</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>Gluttony¡¯s Ascent: Passively and steadily builds up its own stats based on the growth of its bonded master. Current Master: Riven Thane, Reincarnation of Gluttony.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Devour: This amulet can use shadowy tendrils to attack and pull in prey for devouring. If bitten, there is a chance to paralyze your enemy.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Identifier¡¯s use: Bonding with this item increases your ability to identify information concerning items or living creatures, being the equivalent of a low tier identifier ss. Your own basic information will be much harder to identify.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Ripping ws: Punching someone with the spikes of your gauntlets will cause massive hemorrhaging damage over time.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Quickening Flight: Wearing this battle suit will enhance your reflexes and speed drastically, and allows you to fly. Flying puts a significant drain on your own energy reserves.</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>> +20% to all base stats</strong>


    <strong>> +300 Strength, +600 Sturdiness, +300 Agility</strong>


    <strong>> +1650 Defense to all ted Areas of Armor</strong>


    <strong>> +1010 Defense to all Bloodsilk Areas Between tes</strong>


    <strong>> +50% increased mana regeneration</strong>


    <strong>> Natural sunlight does not affect you while wearing this suit</strong>


    <strong>> Liquid breathing is bestowed upon you while wearing this suit]</strong>


    Slight decrease to the armor along the ivory te pieces, slight increase in armor to the bloodsilk, but with a spread that epassed his entire body now and not just the upper half. Increased mana regeneration that hadn¡¯t been there previously. It¡¯d retained a lot of the previous traits like negating natural sunlight debuffs, liquid breathing, ripping ws, devour, and identifier¡¯s use. However the most vital and massive change to this armor piece was thest of the traits disyed on the list: Quickening Flight. It was the keystone to the entire change he¡¯d had made, which would increase his speed and drastically increase maneuverability by adding in flight. Previously he¡¯d had ¡°Launch¡± incorporated into the suit, but it was more of a blunt instrument whenpared to the refined touch that Messenger now had through Quickening Flight. If Jamal had made it to his specifications, he¡¯d be able to do quick turns and evasive maneuvers previously impossible in the heavy and clunky - though very sturdy - armor that¡¯d once been Messenger¡¯s first form.


    ¡°They¡¯re amazing.¡± Riven said, letting his fingers trail Jackal first, and then Messenger - feeling them calling out to him as they began to rise off the table. ¡°Exactly what I wanted.¡±


    Instantaneously, Messenger expanded itself and snapped around his body. In the blink of an eye, it¡¯d molded itself to fit him perfectly - covering his entire body with the exception of the eyes in ayer of bloodsilk with ovepping patches of ivory bone armor. Immediately he felt his stats increase and his body be empowered with a thrum - and he began to lift off the ground by a couple inches while initiating the innate flight ability that the armor made essible to him like a newly grown limb.


    The influx of increased mana regeneration was beyond noticeable as well, and he felt his body drawing in ambient energies of the Abyss like he was drinking out of a fire hydrant; whereas previously he¡¯d only been drinking from a ss.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you like them.¡± Jamal the cyclops said with a bow and a wide smile, which was copied by many of the others of his tradingpany behind him as they whispered excitedly to one another. ¡°If you are pleased, perhaps you may pass on a good word to your church? Mypany and I would be indebted to you eternally if you were toe up with abor contract, so that we may supply your worshipers here in The Abyssal Descent.¡±


    Riven chuckled, and set himself back down on the ground as silent as a feather. ¡°Consider it done.¡±


    More excited whispers and muffled exmations came from the back of thepany¡¯s group, when he noted the cyclops gesturing behind him.


    ¡°There is still one more piece that we helped create.¡± Jamal replied cheerfully. ¡°Ath?¡±


    Riven turned around, and saw Ath pass by where Fay was standing - who in turn gave the other demoness an encouraging nudge. Almost in an embarrassed manner, Ath avoided Riven¡¯s eyes from underneath her own shadow-crafted cloak and came to stand in front of him.


    ¡°You have something to show me?¡± Riven asked curiously, cocking his head to one side.


    Ath gave him an awkward smile, and shrugged, still avoiding his gaze. ¡°Uhm¡­ Yeah! You know, a princess always has to make sure her prince looks stunning right?! So, uhm, I spent a lot of time on this between jobs. I got some help from the crafters here that were already working on your other equipment and I¡­ I want you to have this.¡±


    From underneath her cloak, she pulled out a medium-sized box. It was wrapped with pink wrapping paper he¡¯d have expected to see at a birthday party or Christmas, with a little yellow bow on top.


    ¡°I made it look like your old world¡¯s presents!¡± Ath said, and she suddenly became animatedly excited when he took it from her hands. She poked the decorative bow. ¡°Allie suggested these colors too! She helped me design it, she was super nice! I¡¯ve been working on this for a long, long time. I made it by hand! And I¡­ I wanted to originally give it to you as a birthday present. Back before I was killed and you brought me back, and I¡­ I wanted to say happy birthday. And that I love you. I hope you like it.¡±


    She got up on her tiptoes, closed her red eyes, and pressed her pitch-ck lips against his cheek before stepping back.


    Riven was taken by surprise, and he felt a lump in his throat beginning to form. ¡°You¡¯ve been working on my birthday present by hand?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm!¡± Ath replied excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. ¡°Do you like the wrapping job!? Go ahead and open it!¡±


    Riven just stared at her for a while, let his helmet fall back and wiped at his eyes beforeughing. ¡°You did such a good job wrapping it that I¡¯m not sure I want to undo it¡­ but pink!? Really?!¡±


    ¡°Allie said your favorite color was pink!¡±


    He shot his sister a re, who wasughing in the background. ¡°I see.¡±


    Gingerly, he began tugging at the ribbon - and then ripped off the paper to reveal a cardboard box.


    Nostalgia hit him full force. He hadn¡¯t seen cardboard in god knew how long, and he began to silentlyugh while opening it to reveal a folded garment within.


    It was a cloak made from shadow on the outside - simr to Ath¡¯s, but had an underside made from red fabric that was no doubt Ath¡¯s bloodsilk.


    <strong>[Riven¡¯s Happy Birthday Cloak (Epic Light Armor Piece, Gluttony Aspect): This cloak was hand-crafted by Ath, who incorporated her own bloodsilk to weave much of the garment. Gluttony has infused part of its own essence into the cloak as well, instilling the ability to hide your status information from all but the most observant identifiers or scrying treasures while wearing this garment. Crafters fromThe Firebrand Trading Company have also helped imbue it with further resilience and shadow affinity. +190 defense to physical damage, +410 defense to magic and miracle damage.</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>Gluttony¡¯s Guise: Passively hide your status information from most forms of identification while wearing this cloak.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Walk in the Dark: Passively increase your sess at attempting to hide when moving in shadow.]</strong></li></ul>


    The corners of Riven¡¯s lips turned upwards, and he reached out to pull Ath into a long embrace. Holding her close, he hugged her and whispered into her ear: ¡°I love it almost as much as I love you. You¡¯re amazing, Ath. Thank you.¡±


    He heard Ath inhale sharply in fake bashfulness, which got him tough. But before Ath could reply, he felt Lillith¡¯s hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Riven.¡± She said with a stern face while movement in the crowded street began to vamp up further into the city. ¡°We just received word that-¡±


    There was an explosion that cut Lillith off, then multiple explosions as the entire portion of the city along the portal¡¯s edge shook - and a rising mass of flesh tore through the streets itself into the sky. Buildings were crushed or swatted aside under its might as the abyssal residents caught up in the disaster began to scream, and an aura on the level of Lillith at her peak crashed down on their position. Huge, bloodshot eyeballs tore open from towers of writhing tentacles made from millions of leeches, worms, and insects as roars and battle cries escted all around - with dozens and then hundreds of demons beginning to swarm from ces of concealment at the left and right.


    ¡°The deed is done¡­ The Seventh Wing is captured!¡± A booming voice echoed across the skyscrapers while the huge hive-mind abomination stared down at Riven¡¯s location from different angles in the sky. ¡°BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF GREED! CAPTURE GLUTTONY¡¯S REINCARNATION NEXT, SO THAT HE MAY FOREVER BATHE IN THE AGONY OF OUR HALLS! SPILL HIS BLOOD, AND KILL HIS ALLIES WITHOUT REMORSE!¡±


    There was a st and crunch a dozen yards away from where Riven stood, and as the sounds of battle erupted along the perimeter - he recognized the crushed body of the dark elf he¡¯d befriended uponing into the descent. Gentry, who¡¯d he¡¯d only known for a short time, was still recognizable even with his corpse twisted in pain and at odd angles. It appeared he¡¯d somehow gotten himself caught up in this after all, and Riven felt a little bit bad for the man.


    But the expected battle had finallye, albeit a little earlier than he¡¯d thought, and there was no time to dwell on such things. It was time to show these fools just who they were fucking with. Just like Greed had set up the trap, Riven and Gluttony¡¯s forces had been expecting it. And they had prepared in kind.

 Chapter 275

    Chapter 275


    <strong>Chapter 275</strong>


    The city rumbled as The Gambler¡¯s body tore through the ck earth and soared towards the abyssal heavens. The hive mind creature roiled and surged, exploding in volume by the second while thousands of demons - none of which were pushovers - all made a mad rush from various spots of hiding. They came from the nearby buildings, from up in the darkened sky, and from across the central portal vortex as the creatures of Greed tore forward.


    Gluttony¡¯s mind addressed Riven with a malevolent chuckle, whispering into his ear as if the sin were standing there right beside him. ¡°And so it begins. I will be with you, Riven. Under ourbined might, will not hold back as we crush the insignificant ticks before us under boot and w! KILL THEM ALL!¡±


    Their minds merged. Riven¡¯s aura soared in a staggering surge of force and his body sang with energy, as his mana took hold of his items to equip them in an instant.


    Riven lifted his hand - wreathed in the power of raw sin, and the purple lightning storms overhead parted like the red sea before Moses. Riven¡¯s third eye ripped open across his forehead with a dark purple hue to look upwards, and Gluttony¡¯s maw opened above the city with hundreds of gigantic tendrils that tore through the air with a roar of hunger that shook the very mountains around them.


    The Gambler turned his gaze upwards and roared back, surging skywards to meet the oing onught of Gluttony¡¯s tendrils with mountains of pulsing flesh made from billions of worms and insects.


    <strong><em>BOOM</em></strong>


    A shockwave rippled across the city, and the two titanic forces shed as a slow smile spread across Riven¡¯s lips.


    The signal was sent, and Gluttony¡¯s servants went on the counter attack. From within the ck portal of the descent itself, from deeper within the second level, a sea of allied demons in full battle attireunched themselves into the city to join the fray. Casters positioned in key locations across balconies surrounding the portal infused prepared runic diagrams andunched attacks, and allied assassins hiding in wait began attacking ranged fighters on Greed¡¯s side that¡¯d posted up along the portal¡¯s perimeter.Violence ensued.


    Lillith turned to Riven¡¯s team, looking at each of them one by one with meaning behind the gaze. Azmoth, Ath, Fay, Allie, Nora, Lillith, and Retesh - intentionally ignoring Fimrindle in hiding nearby to not allude to his position should enemy reapers for hire that were doubtlessly out there see the nce.


    ¡°This will be a battle unlike anything any of you have ever experienced. These are the best of the Unholy Pir¡¯s young, and none of them will die easily. Stay alive and uncaptured.¡± Lillith said, nodding once to Riven and Gluttony. ¡°All you, until I get back.¡±


    Without another word, thedy of ck skies vanished without a trace.


    <strong><em>CRUNCH</em></strong>


    Riven¡¯s hand snapped forward, spiked knuckles crackling with sin energy as Messenger¡¯s sturdy body collided with a teleporting wraith only two feet away. Simultaneously Fimrindle shed in and skewered the ethereal undead with his scythe, and Ath¡¯s twin doves shed forward to rip into it a split secondter.


    The wraith, a reaper itself, let out a squeal of agony for only a moment before its body shattered and split - evaporating into the ether of the abyss like a fog in the night.


    ¡°Ugh¡­I have a long way to go.¡± Nora muttered to herself, stepping aside to make way for the charging hordes of demons passing them by. ¡°But I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    Allie began tough, and spread her wings to take to the sky as myriads of souls flew out of her body. ¡°Riven, care to join me?¡±


    Fay¡¯s demon wings spread next and she shot upwards too, garbed in silver and grimoire in hand while channeling a green fog that began to spread about her like a miasmic cloud.


    Ath warped her body, shifting into a pool of blood that wrapped itself around Riven¡¯s newly upgraded armor and wordlessly began to evaluate the surroundings for highest possible threats.


    Nora and Fimrindle disappeared.


    ncing to Azmoth and Retesh, and then to the cyclops smith Jamal who was ring daggers at the oing enemy hordes while his tradingpany packed in tight - Riven began to lift off the ground. Messenger¡¯s ¡®Quickening Flight¡¯ took hold, and the air around him rippled when red snowkes began to bloom and soar around his position.


    ¡°Just like we nned.¡± Riven stated. ¡°Retesh, show me what you¡¯re made of.¡±


    Retesh cackled, and his undead began to tear each other apart to build something new. ¡°As requested, vampire prince! I¡¯ve been looking forward to this, but I wasn¡¯t sure it¡¯d happen!¡±


    Azmoth snapped his Shengari Tower Shields apart, forming two halves of each - one half in each wed hand and spinning their ded edges around with a happy grunt. His ming antlers pulsed as obsidian teeth bared down. ¡°Azmoth will be ready!¡±


    The hellscape brutalisk dashed ahead, first falling into ranks with the other swarming demons of numerous species - before breaking off and climbing up the side of a tall building by use of w, tail, and the two overarching eel-like maws he hading out of his back.


    Riven wasted no more time, and as another explosion of force radiated out from where Gluttony¡¯s soul clone ripped and tore at the pirs of flesh thatposed The Gambler, he turned to face the oing fliers who were traveling across the pool of the ck portal at the city¡¯s center.


    Jackal¡¯s ming eye-sockets red along the skull at its top, and mana began to channel into his staff as he began to build a spell. Three eyes peered out from underneath the ivory helm of Messenger, underneath a hood of bloodsilk and shadow, as the storm of red and ck began to build around him like a font of the apocalypse.


    Already Greed¡¯s forces were halfway across theke of abyssal power between Riven¡¯s position and the opposite shore at the far edge of the inner city. Even more of them wereing directly from above, though they were taking fire from pre-positioned Church of Gluttony members that wereunching barrages of unholy curses and me into the swarms. Still, the followers of Greed surged ahead. Devils, incubi and subi, harpies, draconics, imps, shadow fiends, beholders, cthulu-like creatures and more began charging attacks in a synchronized strike while closing in on his position; while theirnd-basedrades closed in from the nearer side of the city.


    ¡°HERE THEY COME!¡± Allie yelled out over the already raging battle around them, snapping down her newly modified visor and adjusting her full-te soul-woven bone armor; ck wings spread wide. Halo surging with mana of true-death, her divine-quality ymore roared to life with teal me - and the thousands of souls at her beck and call began to condense along her body to enhance her. ¡°THIS IS IT! ARE YOU READY!?¡±


    The enemy swarms of fliers came crashing down in a thunderous cacophony of strikes, and Riven put a hand on his subus - who was trembling slightly next to him. ¡°Just like we nned.¡±


    He felt Fay steel herself, and she let out a sharp breath.


    Instantly, the world turned gray as Riven and Allie forced their Malignant Prophecies into a unified foresight. The world froze around them, and Riven¡¯s out-of-body ethereal soul looked back at the figure of his sister not far off. Their minds linked.


    <strong>[Malignant Prophecy has activated.</strong>


    <strong>Desired Action: High Tier Maniption. Combined Current Willpower stat: 4809. Sufficient Willpower to perform desired action. Performing this act will put your malignant prophecy on cooldown for significant amounts of time. Do you wish to proceed?]</strong>


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    They spoke in unison. ¡°Yes.¡±


    The desired action was selected.


    <strong>[Your maniption of fate has gained you each 9 Malignancy Points. Beware, this action has been noted by the Elysium Administrator, as a significant amount of fate has been adjusted to your own benefit.]</strong>


    Time reverted back to normal, and Fay¡¯s dreamwalker zone took hold.


    One, three, seven and then a dozen replicas of Riven¡¯s skyborn team took form - illusions born from Dreamwalker Zone as Allie and Riven red their own building spells with conjoined effort. The subus grit her teeth, snarling, and channeled as much mana as she could into the Viper Grimoire of Curses and Schemes. A power stone, given to her by Lillith for this exact moment, appeared in Fay¡¯s hand. With a scream and raising the ck object over her head - wings outstretched - the stone cracked and exploded with energy that cycled through Fay¡¯s body into the grimoire; and the world warped around them.


    Up became down, left became right, and the sensation of gravity became meaningless as the newly power leveled subus put literally all of her effort and her entire mana pool into shifting the perspective of the oing swarm.


    Immediately, the oing enemies let loose their attacks.


    But nearly half of those attacks went astray.


    Greed¡¯s minions began flying into one another, misfiring fireballs, necrotic clouds, or bolts of lightning into each other as they screamed and roared. Hundreds died in an instant as chaos ensued, and many more were injured, and even more of the oing horde that went unscathed targeted false illusions while their minds were twisted to confuse them.


    Riven and Gluttony chuckled at the absolute mayhem that single ability had wrought, and with Malignant Prophecy guiding him - flexed their shadow pir with a supreme will upon lifting the fingers of his left hand in their direction.


    Rips in space tore open at dozens and then hundreds and then thousands of ces within the time it took to take a breath. Iing enemy attacks were rerouted into other Greed followers, adding to Fay¡¯s induced chaos, and yet more of the enemy demons were sent spiraling into one another by redirecting their flight patterns.


    With his right hand Riven gripped Jackal and raised the staff overhead to where a sun of hellfire had begun to burn twenty yards above him. With the staff he created a circle of mes above him - drawing it in the air around the sun with slow but steady intent; before clenching his fist tightly around the shaft. Then his forearm twisted while chanting the words he had only spoken once before while he hovered over the ckke of the abyssal portal below.


    ¡°Rain fire upon mine enemies, cast doubt upon divine providence, and bathe thend in a ze of profane glory.¡±


    <strong>[ze of Profane Glory (Infernal)(Tier 3) - Detonate a massive ball of infernal power overhead, devastating the surroundingndscape and burning your enemies alive. This spell seeks out all living creatures, avoiding non-living material, causing soul damage as the fires of hell temper the innocent and guilty alike. 1 week cooldown.]</strong>


    The sun overhead exploded over the sound of the battles behind him, and the supernova blew in all directions before turning into streams of me that sought out all living enemies ahead and above him. Trails of liquid fire dove throughbatant formations, sted through barriers and armor, and burned enemies alive as they screamed in pain. Due to the nature of the spell, it wanted to seek out even Riven¡¯s allies - but through supreme force of will he was able to temper the trajectories of the spiraling mes and turn them away and onto those who sought him harm.


    If only he could gain levels by killing enemies here. It made him wonder just how much XP he was missing out on by being in Chalgathi¡¯s questline right now, but his leveling would have to wait until he finished the Altars of Despair and Hope. For now only finishing event quests would give him personal XP, and the thought made him flinch at just how much progress he¡¯d lost because of this.


    A sh of neon light tore open above the sky just as he finished conjuring ze of Profane Glory, and the eye of some deathly god awakened to re down at their enemies. Allie held her ymore straight up, still channeling some kind of fiery, gray spell into her weapon while deathly presence crushed many of the fliers and flung their ming bodies into the portal below through a storm of swirling red snowkes.


    Immediately after that, Retesh unleashed his own attack.


    Hundreds of newly constructed skeletal siege weapons pulsed with green energies beforeunching cannonballs of miasma into the enemy swarm. They were joined with Riven¡¯s own barrage when thousands of red and ck storm razors sang through the howling winds to smash into the oing tide - eviscerating many and exploding when they didn¡¯t cut through. The air thrummed, and Riven didn¡¯t even bother turning around when he sensed a new presence appear behind him. Instead he coated himself in Hell¡¯s Armor, and let Ath and Fimrindle do their job.


    Ath¡¯s blood form dispersed from his body and shot forward like a bullet, taking humanoid shape as a hail of des shed with the opponent in a blur of exchanged strikes. Fimrindle closed in quickly to help, and Riven saw a distant tower get crushed when one of Gluttony¡¯s tendrils smashed one of The Gambler¡¯s writhing limbs into the city streets.


    And yet, despite all of the power and carnage on disy, despite the storm of mana that¡¯d been dropped on the iing tide of flying enemies like an atom-bomb, well over a third of the enemy forces were stilling in strong.


    These were the best of Greed¡¯s forces, some of the best in the multiverse for their tier, and there were many that¡¯de out without even so much as a scratch.


    Allie¡¯s body zed with gray light as she finally finished channeling the souls around her into a condensedyer of fine energy, and her angelic figure pointed her ymore back down at the oing tide like a valkyrie of legend.


    Riven did not bother looking her way, as his cloak of shadow rippled about him on frosted red winds. Gripping his staff more firmly, and channeling a series of bloodnces into his left arm, he shot upwards like a torpedo to gain distance from his enemies - initiating a sonic boom while his sister met the charge to the dance of a prophecy yet fulfilled.


    ***


    They were violence incarnate, a perfect unison of a song yet sung and a ybook written only for their eyes. He supported her from afar with magic as she engaged in closebat, while he was simultaneously supported by Fay¡¯s illusions as she mustered the mana to help again. Every move the siblings made was part of a dance, moving as one entity tied together by strings of fate tethered by their shared bloodline; fueled by the power of an Original Sin and the burning seed of one who had taken the first step into divinity in death.


    A fake image of himself flew left from his position and took with it three pursuing harpies.


    Riven snared three imps in a ck of unholy rage that dug into flesh and dragged them down through the portal below - into waiting ws of Gluttony¡¯s army still pouring through from the other side. Their marks of Greed burned on their souls like a zing sun to his eyes, and he moved on to deflect two orbs of hellfire with unnatural ease while swatting them away with Jackal¡¯s skull.


    He dodged through the air under the effect of Blessing of the Crow, connecting with a tform of bone Allie made for him to push off of before righting himself and flinging a bloodnce into an enemy¡¯s skull above the city skyline. Whipping himself around and vanishing through a portal while avoiding the ws of a devil - only to appear above the archdemon before sending a blood nova into its back.


    The explosion ruptured its lungs and upper spine, sttering it all over a nearby subus before she too was consumed by the explosive blood discharge.


    Allie crashed into another gargoyle and tore one of her wings into the demon¡¯s own, cutting cleanly through before kicking the creature¡¯s face with a spin that sent its teeth through its neck and its body spinning into the ck portal far below.


    Ath had rejoined him now, flying upwards andtching herself onto his body and was ying anti-assassin on high guard the entire time - asionally zipping out to take her humanoid form and strike down enemies before zipping right back as a ribbon of blood.


    <strong><em>CRUNCH</em></strong>


    <strong><em>BOOM</em></strong>


    <strong><em>SPLASH</em></strong>


    Riven weaved through the continued barrage of the magical siege weapons created from Retesh¡¯s minions, diving easily through the hail of fire while Gluttony¡¯s own fliers had been called in through a mental tug. The full on melee had been brought on not only through the city streets now, but raged over the city in the sky itself beneath the ck dome of the abyss - while void titans on the outside curiously watched the ants fight.


    Creating a tform of ice in the air hundreds of feet up, Rivennded with a crash and a spray of crimson shards before turning and summoning a wall. The ice shards rapidly condensed from the storm of snowkes and froze the space in front of him to block an iing spear of crackling orange energy, before the spear was yanked back by an overzealous insectoid creature that¡¯d been tailing him throughout much of the battle-


    ¡°RAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!¡±


    <strong><em>CRASH</em></strong>


    Azmoth¡¯s propulsion smashed the four des of his shengari shields into the mantis monster, hacking and gnawing at the screaming demon that was taken out of the sky like a bird by a stone.


    Riven summoned another two bloodnces back to back and flung them into oing incubi, headshotting both of them with perfect precision before resummoning Azmoth through the minion sigil on his chest. Azmoth disappeared from where he was beating the insectoid to death right before hitting the ckke underneath, then reappeared on Riven¡¯s crimson tform.


    ¡°AGAIN!¡± Azmoth screamed, covered in blood before bursting into me with an excitedugh. ¡°AGAIN, AGAIN!¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t need to be told a fourth time, and his free hand sprouted a thick of wretched snare. Using it to propel Azmoth just like Riven did with many of his bloodnces to speed them up, heunched his armored ming minion into the closest crowd of flying fighters that he could see.


    <strong><em>CRUNCH</em></strong>


    The ice underneath him shattered and Riven¡¯s staff whipped around to collide with a huge hammer. Jackal¡¯s passive exploded with hellfire to rebuke the attack and Riven did a 360 spin before kicking out against the mammoth gargoyle that¡¯d assaulted him, putting distance between the two but not having many ces to go with so manybatants. Malignant Prophecy had worked overtime to get him here, but even with the prophecy active it¡¯d been an absolute hassle to follow each of the steps perfectly. Due to the messy nature of the battle, he¡¯d ended up with a few fuck ups that¡¯d left him scrambling to get back into the prophecy¡¯s alignment.


    And even with the prophecy active, given the skill and power of all these powerhouses present in The Abyssal Descent, he was being pushed to his limit. Attacks that would normally level city blocks would sometimes only injure his enemies depending on the target. With Gluttony suppressing Greed¡¯s main yer - The Gambler - and Lillith on her own side mission to take advantage of the circumstances, it was all he could do to keep himself on track while killing as many of his opponents as he could.

 Chapter 276

    Chapter 276


    <strong>Chapter 276</strong>


    The path of Red and ck called to him while the air shattered, and his specialty Blood Pir - Profane Cyclone - was building in power as more and more of the creatures around him died like flies. The sky was split with arcs of ck lightning that roared around him as he moved in harmony with Gluttony¡¯s own predatory instincts, smashing through enemies in explosive detonations with the original sin¡¯s full might and amplifying it with his own innate power.


    Buildings crumbled to dust, and the central purple iris on his forehead glowed brightly as the souls of his enemies were sucked into his skull with the whispered screams of the damned.


    This was perhaps the very first time he¡¯d truly been in sync with Gluttony, theirbined wills dancing together like an unstoppable storm of violence while they wrecked entire squadrons of enemies in the air and on the ground alike. It was the first time that Riven truly felt like he deserved the system title of ¡®MYTHIC¡¯, and he felt like a fallen god rising from the ashes to retake his former glory. All that training he¡¯d done had only been half of what he could truly bring out, and that was bing every apparent now that his other half was involved.


    Roaring hellfire exploded from his body and catapulted two mantis demons across the abyssal city into a tower with an explosion of stone, and Riven abruptly vanished into a portal to avoid ribbons of green light that sought to entangle him as a dozen enemies dashed passed allied fighters while he ducked and wove at blinding speeds under bridges between skyscrapers, through tunnels, or inbetween alleys to keep his advantage at range. Meanwhile his four orbiting totems continued to unleash dark lightning strikes of their own ord and rapidly used small rift portals to redirect iing attacks, while forming barriers of crimson ice to block ones the rifts didn¡¯t catch intime. They were machine-like in their uracy and effectiveness.


    And his other item upgrades weren¡¯t anything to scoff at either. With his normal mana he was able to levitate and hover, even fly to a minor extent. With his previous version of Messenger¡¯s armor he¡¯d been able to use a propulsive burst to go through the air like a rocket. But this new modified version of Messenger was on a level of control entirely new to him, and mere thought allowed him to push his mana through conduits in the armor itself that flushed the air around him with intrinsic propulsive maneuvering not seen in any kind of living thing or machine back from Earth pre-integration. He could walk on a knife¡¯s edge and double back or turn instantly, and without any whish.


    He shed forward and burst through another underpass while firing off conjured bloodnces so fast that they appeared and ruptured off his arm like a gatling gun, blurring backwards at his pursuers and piercing through tough armor and hide in sprays of blood. Crackling with lightning he zig-zagged and then broke the sound barrier - tearing a portal open in space and putting distance between the fastest of the enemy fliers before unleashing a thunderstorm of darkness.


    The street behind him shattered alongside a merchant¡¯s store, rupturing the ground and causing the entire sector of the city to shudder as chained snares bloomed from his outstretched palms and scattered - forming a webttice around him for hundreds of yards to slow down the ones who¡¯d survived his initial attacks. Meanwhile his four totems orbited him in a spinning cycle that began to speed up, creating shards of sharpened ice that began collecting in protectiveyers as runes along each of the totems lit up brightly with red light.


    <strong>[Hive Totems of Bloodforged Rift Sparks (Lesser Artifact, Elite Tier, Level 6 Totem Swarm): These totemse as a set, and new totems can be added to this number at the additional cost of Willpower - with each totem adding exponentially more Willpower to the cost. Cost of Willpower is based upon attitude towards the wielder of this totem set, as well as currentbat level. Current Requirements: 119 Willpower, Blood Sub-Pir, Shadow Sub-Pir. Bound to Riven Thane.</strong><strong>Adding different types of totems will change the name and description of this totem set.</strong>


    <strong>Current Totems in Hive Swarm:</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>4 Totems of Bloodforged Rift Sparks</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>The Path of Red and ck has been imbued into these totems, along with numerous different sigils, and has used the blood of an ancient avatar of original sin to fuel its growth. This totem has the ability to grow and level up, but diminishes in level each time one of its totems are destroyed. This totem swarm can currently perform the following abilities:</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>ck Lightning</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Crimson Ice</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Rift]</strong></li></ul>


    Three figures broke through the debris, tearing through the air on whistling feathered wings and outstretched spears. Fallen angels, all dark pdins in ck armor, crashed through nearby buildings towards him with relentless fury.


    In turn the totems unleashed theiryered shards of ice in a sh-burst. One of the angels let out a cry of pain and the other two veered off as ck electricity followed up the ice attack and smashed into the caught pdin, only for the man to let out a charge of brilliant orange light - healing his wounds and sting the totem¡¯s magics backwards in a new surge of resilience.


    The pdins doubled their efforts while Riven flew backwards, and they simultaneouslyunched their spears his way while avoiding the writhing tide ofs that actively sought to take them down.


    Jackal swung down and exploded in a st of hellfire along its skull as the weapon deflected the first spear. Riven jerked his head sideways to catch the second spear, and he formed a rift to teleport the third spear behind him right before impact. Part of the building behind him tore apart, and the fallen angels drew swords while weaving between the thrashingwork of snares before making another dive at him.


    Red ice that¡¯d been umting on the city streets below abruptly tore towards the heavens, with dozens of spiked pirsing to meet the angels under Riven¡¯s will.


    Fay¡¯s dreamwalker zone triggered when the subus finally caught up, and Riven used her illusion to vanish amidst a series of copies identical to himself just as the angels met his position. A rupture of his red pirs of ice versus their enhanced physical blows crashed through the air in sprays of frost and Ath ripped off his body to change from her blood-pool form, flinging herself at the nearest of the angels and bringing the screaming man down while she rapidly impaled him over and over again at the weak spots in his armor.


    Riven chuckled, reaching out a hand and turning it into a fist - as the writhing sea of snares all around them rapidly condensed. ¡°There is no escape for you now.¡±


    The two remaining angels didn¡¯t seem to notice their impending cage shrinking in, and continued their assault - lunging for him in bursts of unholy power with one going right for him and the other veering left before nking.


    A sh of gray and pink light from behind caused one of them to stumble and groan as Fay¡¯s charm caught him t-footed.


    <strong>[Charm (Depravity) ¨C Infatuate any enemies within range of sight that look upon you when activating this ability, causing them to lose focus. The farther away they are from you, the less effect this ability will have. The more willpower the enemy has, the less effect this ability will have. Channeling ability that costs increasing amounts of mana over time.]</strong>


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    And Riven used the opportunity to send a crackling bloodnce right through the man¡¯s skull. The fallen angel¡¯s face imploded and his brains sprayed out the back end of his head, as the winged man began to fall like a limp doll towards the city streets far below.


    <strong><em>CRASH</em></strong>


    Riven¡¯s weapon smashed aside the sword of thest enemy with another on-contact explosion of hellfire from Jackal, and from underneath his shadowy hood in the dim light of the abyss - his three glowing eyes stared back out calmly at the enraged dark pdin in front of him.


    ¡°Greed will have your soul, reincarnate!¡± The pdin hissed, through clenched teeth, flexing his own stamina channels tobat the building red frost umting on his skin and armor; while green sparks flew off his sword tobat the mes writhing along Riven¡¯s staff. ¡°And I will be the one that brings you to-¡±


    <strong><em>SSSSSSHHHHHINNGGGG</em></strong>


    Red stringstched onto the man¡¯s helmet and yanked his head back, exposing his neck for a swift, clean cut of a sharp arachnoid limb. The man¡¯s decapitated head flew through the air in a rotating spin, and Ath caught it - catlike - before shoving her ws into the brain as an overkill.


    Riven flicked his wrist, and the condensing shroud of snares evaporated. The roar of battle with explosions, metal, and w shing were all around - and the screams of the dying were intermixed by other victorious roars.


    ¡°WOOOOORRRRRRMMM!!!!¡± The echoing, enraged voice of The Gambler caught Riven¡¯s attention, and the vampire prince turned his head to look at the enormous mass of writhing insects creating The Gambler¡¯s body. He was struggling but slowly pushing Gluttony¡¯s own tendrils back due to the help of hundreds of other casters from Greed¡¯s church, but was inrge part being held at bay while his other forces were caught up in the rest of the fight.


    A visage of Gluttony appeared beside Riven in a sh, and the sin began to speak. ¡°He did not think us to be this strong so early¡­ He did not know the extent of our synchronization and did not think I¡¯d be able to manifest myself to this extent. He miscalcted.¡±


    Without looking, Riven summoned a dozen storm razors and sent them hurdling to the right - eviscerating an enemy subus who¡¯d gotten too close to try and recite a miracle. He heard the feminine scream of surprise and pain before she went silent, and in his peripheral vision saw the bloody patch where she¡¯d once been on a nearby building rooftop.


    ¡°His mistake then.¡± Riven muttered, noting a familiar figure zig-zag through enemybatants to send an enemy devil¡¯s corpse skipping along the outer wall of a barracks.


    The fully armored half gargoyle, half minotaur man let out a loud cackle of amusement, bloodied teeth bared into a smile when he turned Riven¡¯s way. ¡°YOU HAVE IMPROVED MUCH, REINCARNATION! Do not think I have not noticed!¡±


    Riven gave Amano, leader of the church of Gluttony in the abyssal city, a nod of appreciation. ¡°In part, thanks to you.¡±


    Allie¡¯s ming skulls were seen ripping through the air as a howl of souls burst out of the city to the north, and Riven¡¯s attention focused there next. Without as much as a word: he, Amano, Ath and Fay all headed in that direction join the battle once more.


    And on the way, Riven opened his mouth; with a swarm of hungry beetles pouring out from his throat in a cloud of ever-expanding carnage that began racing through the city. Hundreds became thousands, which became tens of thousands of insects that buzzed ahead to gnash and tear at any enemy bearing the mark of Greed - before the feeding frenzy began to take hold on Riven¡¯s mind¡­ and his hunger began to skyrocket.


    <strong>[Ravenous Beetle Swarm (Sin): Open your mouth to summon a swarm of ravenous beetles. The more biomass they eat, the more your health, mana, stamina, and divinity replenish; and the more beetles you can create. Consuming targets with this ability applies towards your Gluttonous trait.]</strong>


    ***


    Lillith walked with the bloody head of Greed¡¯s high priest in her right hand, or at least the high priest for this particr event in the multiverse. The Abyssal Descent was of course an isted area, and there were many high priests that each presided over certain designated ces for each of the sins¡¯ churches, but it was nevertheless a grand thing to take one out.


    Whistling to herself and casually stepping over the bodies of hundreds of defenders that¡¯d been left to guard the ¡®hidden¡¯ temple of Greed far underground and through five defensiveyers of wards, the shadowy demoness was all smiles as her pale white eyes sharpened dangerously upon the approach of new figures emerging out of the hallway ahead.


    ¡°Mistress of the ck Skies¡­ It is truly an honor.¡± The calm, collected voice whispered from before her, as a robed skeletal skresh with an intricately made pair of short scythes held them out to either side in a greeting gesture. To his right, another skresh wielding a scythe¡¯s de attached to a chain held the weapon calmly in front of him, while to his left - a third hooded skresh undead held a more standard scythe weapon that was rather tall with a crooked shaft.


    There were no runes to mark them. No semnce of magic, miracle or stamina infused into their bodies or equipment. There was only apleteck of substance, even to her senses, with a void of power epassing their positions in the tell-tale sign of assassins who had pushed their masking and deception skills to the brink of their tier¡¯s limits.


    She should know. She was the same.


    ¡°Reapers¡­¡± Lillith mused,ing to a stop twenty yards away from them with a giggle, and swinging the high priest¡¯s head around by his hair while the dead man¡¯s open mouth continued to sprinkle blood around the room while she yed with the new toy. ¡°I wonder, how much did they pay you to seek your own deaths so openly?¡±


    She put a finger to her lips as if in though, then tilted her head to the side with a brilliantly white smile that was in stark contrast to the pitch ck of her hair and skin. Her body rippled with shadow, and the very air around her began to darken as her body looked like it was losing substance. ¡°What kind of promises did Greed give you to take on such a risk? You must know that you cannot beat me, regardless of how talented you might be. Only a swift end awaits you should you try to stop me here. This is not a conflict that involves The Scythe¡­ I will give you this opportunity to leave.¡±


    Her offer was immediately shut down.


    ¡°Do not think you are the only one who embraces the dark ces of these realms. We too thrive in it, we are some of the best our order has here in the descent, and our skill sets together - they surpass your own.¡± The empty eye sockets of the leading skresh¡¯s skull lifted slightly from underneath his hood, and the bone teeth of his face cked twice. ¡°Greed has offered us¡­ enough. It is not our ce to discuss such contracts after they are epted, it is against our code. All that you need to know is that we have been hired to stop you. And once we do, our names will be listed in the history books as the ones to have in one of the greatest assassins of all time. Just think of the honor¡­ of what titles we will be given not only in our own order, but by Elysium itself.¡±


    Lillith¡¯s giggles grew louder, and her domain of darkness expanded further. ¡°It appears people have forgotten just who I am¡­ and yes, that would be an interesting thing to see. What exactly would happen if I do die? What title and bonuses would you get for killing one such as me? But¡­ I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll never know.¡±


    Her crown of seven horns began to grow in length, and the yellow flower she¡¯d found in the underdark on Panu began to shrink down into her body as her hair began to rise up behind her in a flowing wave of ck ribbons. Her ws extended, and the room abruptly went pitch ck as her brilliant white smile faded from view.


    ¡°Come to me.¡±


    The reapers simultaneously blurred forward into the darkness, and the strikes of metal on w came and ended a thousand times over within the time it took to take a single breath.


    Then there was only silence.


    Secondster, Lillith walked out of the room - leaving the scattered remnants of the reapers behind her without so much as a backwards nce.


    Her bare feet touched stone while she slid through the passages of the temple, passing through barriers and defensive soul snares like they were nothing. A blockade? She slipped through the cracks. More sentries? Dead. Another explosive ward meant to bring down the entire temple if she walked through that archway? Deactivated.


    Without The Gambler here to protect this ce from her, it was like walking through an amusement park.


    Eventually she came to a circr room with a single ck crystal of non-uniform make, glowing orange at the deep center of its core while it hovered over a pedestal at the center of the room. Smiling to herself in excitement, she reinspected the area just to make sure that there weren¡¯t anymore hidden surprises waiting for her - before stepping forward and reaching out to grasp it.


    The treasure felt cool in her hands, drawing the heat out of her body like a hungry, animalistic thing, and she let out a sigh of fulfilled relief while closing her eyes and bringing the item to her chest. ¡°So it really was here all this time¡­ To think, that after so many eons of being hidden here in an F-grade and E-grade zone Elysium would not allow me to enter in my previous heights of power, the opportunity to finally grasp ites to me now.¡±


    She felt herself beginning to shake with excitement, and let herself do a quick skip around the room while continuing to hold the crystal to her bosom. Twirling in ce and letting her long, waist-length ck hair flow around her - she settled down into a kneeling position while beginning to press her lips up against the crystal¡¯s smooth surface. Pale eyes widening as she began to drink in the pure energies of the crystal¡¯s core, she felt her own soulttice quickly form - as Lillith began to ascend into the E-grade.

 Chapter 277

    Chapter 277


    <strong>Chapter 277</strong>


    Elder Thune¡¯s white ponytail trailed down his back as his crimson eyes darted over the tome in his hands. Pale candle light illuminated the crypt, and an ancient, shriveled vampire in front of him rested inside an open coffin.


    ¡°The fallen god has been found, master¡­ Our rise back to power beckons us from the outer reach.¡± Elder Thune whispered, his ck robes shifting slightly from a mana breeze that was only barely there after untold years of decay. His fingers traced the ancient sigils of lost and forbidden lore that would have him hanged if any priest of The Blood God were to find it here. Whispers of blue light began to rise off the page - calling him towards a new path, a separate path that much evidence pointed towards having once been a mainstreamdder to the heavens.


    Now though, the secret to that path rested on Panu in the depths of the underdark. A secret once buried with the so-called precursors.


    ¡°I track the bitch queen¡¯s granddaughter to Earth, and they escape¡­¡± He snapped the ancient book shut, putting it into the coffin with the shriveled ancestor. ¡°They destroy all of their research on untombing the Fallen Elder God¡­ leaving nothing but ashes in their wake.¡±


    He sneered, spitting onto the stone ground of the hidden tomb and turning to look into a mirror - his wrinkles starting to show even despite his pureblooded vampiric heritage. ¡°Elysium takes the and merges it into an integration zone as if to spite me right when I find a lead, and then those damnable royal brats grow up and show up to inherit the world quest for myselves. A world quest¡­ designed to hand them the prize I have been seeking for millenia. Did their parents leave them there intentionally? Did they experience a prophecy knowing this would happen, and follow the threads of fate through malignancy?¡±


    His ancestor did not stir, and Elder Thune let out a long sigh before bringing his hand up to his forehead to rub at his temple. ¡°I fear it to be so. The question bes just how much they saw, and what I can undo before all is lost to us. All that we have worked for will be for nothing if either of the Wraithtide runts get their grubby ws on it, and I have no doubt that The Blood God himself would see them greatly rewarded if they were to destroy the legacy for him. Doubtless they will rise in the ranks of The Blood Moon Requiem if they do so, perhaps even receiving the ranking spots to inherit the throne. Already they have thrown mud into the water with one of the aspects of sin choosing the undeserving warlock welp, it is as if Elysium itself is fueling his ascent. But losing the legacy of Blood¡¯s brother path¡­ That cannot happen. Not when we¡¯re so close.¡±


    A spark lit up along the lower edge of the mirror, gaining the elder¡¯s attention as his eyes narrowed. ¡°Open.¡±


    Immediately the mirror shifted image, revealing none other than Crendir No-Name on the other side. Through the mirror, Elder Thune saw a torture chamber where the vampiric princess Kathrine¡¯s bare body had been strapped down to a bloody wooden table. Her eyes were zed, drool dripped out the side of her mouth, and her body quivered violently in protest to the shackles and numerous metal stakes that skewered her to the wood.***


    Crendir shifted ufortably under the gaze of the older vampire. Despite working for the man, Crendir was still ying a very dangerous game should the High Queen or any of the other elders find out what exactly was going on here.


    ¡°Have you found it yet? Have you found the location?¡± Elder Thune asked through the mirror, wringing his thin fingers together anxiously while ring out at the vampiric E-grade captain. ¡°Answer, me boy. Do not keep me waiting!¡±


    Crendir bowed respectfully, and took off his helmet to reveal a clean-shaven head. ¡°I meant no disrespect, excellency. I have not found the location yet¡­ unfortunately. But nevertheless I called on time as youmand.¡±


    ¡°Then find others to interrogate!¡± The old man hissed.


    Crendir frowned, looking over to where the ghoul woman Mara nowy half-dead and stuffed in a box - her limbs oriented at odd angles. He looked to where the ones called Nin and Vin were reduced to bone dust, their spirits already vanished into the void days ago. To where the other necromancers of Allie¡¯s guild were also dead. None of them had uttered a peep. ¡°One by one I have gone through the people who knew. Thest ones who know are Kathrine and Mara, which is why I even took this risk to begin with - your excellency. There are no others to interrogate, and they¡¯re only just now breaking. I do believe that I will finally get it out of Kathrine as she is not as strong willed as the others were - but it is going to take time. Mara is one I may have to dispose of sooner rather thanter, as talks with her are going nowhere.¡±


    ¡°And if you fail?¡± Elder Thune hissed, nails digging into his palms to drip blood onto the ground on the opposite side of the mirror - and into another universe.


    Crendir remained stone-faced. ¡°Then I will scour the underdark myself until I find it. With Riven and Allie gone, there are very few here that are able to challenge my own strength. I just need to avoid the banished and I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°The banished?¡± Elder Thune asked with furrowed brows. ¡°Ah, you mean the demons that were banished with Gluttony¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Those creatures.¡± Crendir shifted stance ufortably. ¡°They are¡­ formidable. I have no doubt that many of them would be able to kill me if they found out what I was doing, but if what you say about the legacy is true¡­ then it is worth the risk.¡±


    A slight smile yed on Elder Thune¡¯s lips, and he nodded in agreement. ¡°It is. To form a new step to the heavens so that our kind can finally break the chains of The Blood God is a step towards righteousness. We were not meant to be born as ves to his will. It is time to form a new path, to reform the old ways, and I am d that you have seen the light. But know that the actions you take now will heavily influence that fate, and if you fail¡­ you curse us all to an eternal damnation.¡±


    ¡°I am aware.¡± Crendir stated, saluted with a fist to his chest. ¡°I will not fail you, excellency. I will pry the information from the princess, or from the ghoul chancellor. One or the other. Be it a long and agonizing time in the chamber or not, the choice is up to them. I will try not to kill them as I proceed, but again¡­ the ghoul they call Mara is trying my patience.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Keep me informed, and see to it that you get what you need at all costs.¡± Elder Thune said sharply. ¡°And dispose of them like the others when you¡¯re finished.¡±


    Crendir hesitated. ¡°I was hoping to keep the princess for myself.¡±


    Elder Thune raised an eyebrow. ¡°You cannot. The risk is too great. If her family is able to use her blood to track her down, which I am doubtless they are attempting to do even as we speak, it will not bode well for you. My wards cannot hide you forever. Kill her when you¡¯re done, just like the ghoul, and burn their bodies to ash when finished.¡±


    Without giving Crendir a chance to argue, Elder Thune turned themunication channel off.


    Silence hung in the air for a long time after that, as Crendir considered just what kind of mess he¡¯d gotten himself into. But there was no turning back now, and the prize at the end - should he seed - was almost all he ever thought about anymore.


    Stolen story; please report.


    Grunting in irritation and muttering to himself, Crendir picked up a hot iron that¡¯d beenying on a nearby rack. Turning around and walking over to where Kathrine was still pinned to the wooden table, he eyed her twitching, bloodied body before passing her by and walking towards Mara. Looming over the broken ghoul woman and ring down at her, where ck blood pooled underneath her prone form into the box he¡¯d stuffed her into, he saw her one remaining eye shift to look at him when he raised the hot iron.


    ¡°Ready to talk yet?¡± He asked with a cold smile. ¡°Where is the fallen elder god¡¯s tomb, Mara? Answer me, and this torture all ends. Forever.¡±


    Mara tried to spit, but all that came out was a gurgle - and one of her broken fingers shifted slightly in the attempt to strike him.


    He chuckled and shook his head, abruptly spearing the ghoul woman to skewer her as she let out a loud squeal of pain. ¡°Remember the rules, Chancellor Mara. Blink three times in a row when you¡¯re ready to tell me what I want to know, and I will heal you. Until then, it¡¯s merely a long game to see how much you can take before your mind bends and breaks.¡±


    ***


    The sky roiled red, with tens of thousands of Gluttony¡¯s insects devouring and battling the swarm thatprised The Gambler. It was interesting to watch, with both insectoid masses shing with one another in a fervor - one not able to overpower the other. Truthfully though, The Gambler probably would have won if not for the hundreds of other attacks barreling into it.


    Riven exploded with energy as rivers of blood tore from the hundreds of bodies around him to fuel the blood nova. A shock wave of red pulsed out of where he hovered over the city¡¯s buildings, and then with a boom - the enormous globe of shredding crimson cannonballed directly into the mass of writhing leeches and insects that created The Gambler¡¯s body.


    The enormous hive mind roared, its writhing tendrils swooping in at supersonic speed to swat him from the air like a fly.


    But he didn¡¯t stay still, and vanished through a rip in space just before they met his position.


    ¡°How is he still alive?¡± Riven whispered to himself, thoroughly intrigued while he watched the creature regrow the limbs he¡¯d just eradicated as if it were nothing. ¡°He¡¯s unkible.¡±


    Gluttony chuckled inside Riven¡¯s mind. ¡°It is why he is such a formidable opponent. Lillith has many times attempted to kill him, but should even a single one of his creatures live¡­ the hive mind persists. He is one of a kind, and it pains me that he chose to serve Greed over myself. A shame, that we must inevitably devour him.¡±


    Towers were turned to rubble and Riven created a shield of crimson ice to block three arrowsunched from a tower¡¯s roof, not able to return fire because of the swarming appendages ripping through the air towards him and erasing entire city blocks in the process.


    Allie dove through the air alongside a dozen allied fliers with a cloud of souls engulfing her, the divine E-rank ymore gifted to her by The Scythe itself wielded in both hands as she crushed one of The Gambler¡¯s stems. Her angelic halo burst with light and her ck wings turned sharp to encase her as she dove into yet another one of the fleshy towers, sting through the outer side anding back around to zip through the mess of entangling swarm as it reformed behind her almost instantaneously. The bone armor covering her entire body was covered in gore, but was soon burned off as she channeled an immense amount of deathly gray mes around her and let loose with another eruption of fire that smoked the oing appendages with a necrotic aftermath.


    Riven raised his staff overhead, drawing from the raging storm of blood mana around him and sending thousands of explosive razors down onto the canopy that¡¯d be The Gambler¡¯s body.


    Amano, the half gargoyle half minotaur, flew up to hover beside Riven while watching the avnche of projectiles rain down. He gave Riven a respectful nod. ¡°Reincarnate, the Church of Greed is withdrawing to their temple as nned. Our counter ambush was a glorious sess. We give chase to corner them like rats, but that is all. Is Lillith ready? Do you know?¡±


    Riven¡¯s purple eye, the one in the center of his forehead controlled by Gluttony, narrowed and shifted to the demon - and a visage of Gluttony¡¯s maw ripped open in the air beside them. ¡°It is impossible for Lillith to fail in this. Have faith that she is already done and out of harm¡¯s way.¡±


    Amano abruptly bowed. ¡°Of course, Great Maw. We are ready to proceed when you give themand.¡±


    Below them, the city continued to crumble, shatter, and burn. Roiling mounds of flesh continued to grow and bat aside the innumerable projectiles being hurled at The Gambler and Greed¡¯s other followers. Hundreds of enemy demons were being routed through city streets and into underground defensive structures that Gluttony¡¯s agents had already mapped out - or rather, that Lillith had already mapped out. The battle was finally drawing to a close, and Lillith hadn¡¯t even taken part.


    Yet.


    ¡°If The Gambler cannot die¡­ Then why is he maneuvering away from us?¡± Riven asked absentmindedly, watching while the collective swarm continued to take absolutely brutal punishment from innumerable sources - yet still persisted. He raised his staff once again, channeling a torrent of ck lightning into the shafter as it sent a typhoon of shadow damage barreling into and through The Gambler¡¯s body at random.


    ¡°That is not what I said. He can certainly die.¡± Gluttony replied. ¡°It is just incredibly unlikely. But like all the banished, we did not climb to the apex of power in our old lives by taking unnecessary risks.¡±


    Greed¡¯s followers were routed now, being cut down in the streets and over rooftops - in the air or on the ground. It was a butchering, with all of Riven¡¯s party membersing out intact. Retesh the lich was enjoying himself thoroughly, collecting and resurrecting dead demons that provided him with very high quality bodies to use as new minions. Azmoth was beating some poor cyclops to death with the razor edges of his four half-shields. Nora was paired up with two other assassins from Gluttony¡¯smune, killing at random while Greed¡¯s members tried to flee. While Fay remained cloaked at a distance to observe him for supportive purposes, and Ath¡¯s bloody pool remained wrapped around Riven¡¯s waist like a belt.


    Despite the win, Riven was tired. Very tired. The raging thunderstorm of red circling him was let loose, smashing into what little of The Gambler¡¯s body that remained and hadn¡¯t been pulled back to underground halls of Greed¡¯s defensive structures where fighting would be less favorable towards Gluttony¡¯s camp. The hive mind just continued to roar in enraged frustration, killing many of Gluttony¡¯s own that got too close and failing to focus down as many as it could otherwise due to the immense amount of firepower being unleashed onto it from thousands of demons in Gluttony¡¯s army.


    It screamed something out at Riven, something about being cursed and reincarnation this or that - but Riven didn¡¯t hear it over the explosions of gore, mes, and shattering rubble.


    ¡°Miss me?¡± Lillith¡¯s voice whispered in Riven¡¯s ear, and he startled - turning around to see¡­


    Nothing.


    ¡°Over here.¡±


    Riven turned again, only to see nothing once more.


    He sent out a mana pulse just like Lillith had taught him, and swatted her hand away just as she reached to smack the back of his head.


    Laughing, she materialized beside him and giving him an approving look. ¡°Very good. You all did very well in my absence, and the stage is set. Are you ready to proceed, Gluttony?¡±


    Gluttony¡¯s visage seemed to smile. ¡°Yes. Yes I am¡­¡±


    Riven though, was scratching the back of his head in confusion. Something was¡­ different, about Lillith now. He couldn¡¯t really ce it, but she was¡­ more. More than she¡¯d been before leaving to enact her own part of the n, and¡­


    Eh. He didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Did something happen?¡± Riven asked curiously, folding his arms and letting his body suck in the ambient mana from the remnant blood energy lingering in the air. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ off.¡±


    ¡°Off, you say? I do believe I haven¡¯t felt so ¡®on¡¯ in a very long time!¡± Sheughed at Amano¡¯s confused expression - and waved a hand to dismiss it. ¡°It is not important, and will be discussedter. Do you have the trigger, Amano?¡±


    The Abyssal Descent¡¯s temple leader quickly nodded, producing a small sphere and handing it over to Lillith. ¡°Yes, Lady of the ck Skies. It is here just as you¡¯d entrusted it to me.¡±


    ¡°I knew I could count on you!¡± She beamed - Only to get a sputtering and embarrassed, yet simultaneously proud reply that didn¡¯t really make sense.


    Together, the three of them watched as thest of Greed¡¯s forces finally disappeared into their tunnels and towards the safety of the underground. When The Gambler¡¯sst remnant swarm tendrils finally disappeared with them, a roar of apuse and cheers rose up from the crowds of Gluttony¡¯s followers. The sound came like a waterfall, and built until the city shook with their victory cries - only for Lillith to smile even wider when she raised the bauble in her hand over her head and began to squeeze.


    ¡°If they liked that, just wait until they see this.¡± With an evil cackle very fitting for an arch demoness like herself, Lillith smashed the orb - and with it, a low boom resounded from deep within the earth of the Abyssal Descent¡¯s city.


    Within three seconds, a fireworks disy unlike anything Riven had ever witnessed came to light as the equivalent of a volcano erupting in the city¡¯s inner district blew up with wild abandon. The hordes of Gluttony¡¯s people who¡¯d gotten out of the way just for this event went even wilder, and the dome over the city was cast in ash - as a burning crater of what had once been the underground fortifications of Greed¡¯s temple bunkery smoldering in a pit ofva far below.

 Chapter 278

    Chapter 278


    <strong>Chapter 278</strong>


    The Gambler¡¯s body was scattered, in shambles after the eradication of the underground temples in The Abyssal Descent. The ck crystal that¡¯d been hoarded there for eons was now gone, rejoined to its original wielder, and even now as he swept through the darkness into the deeper recesses of the abyss - he could feel the presence of Lillith growing.


    His arch nemesis had gotten the better of him¡­ this time.


    Still. He couldn¡¯t me himself for trying even despite circumstances having not been ideal. What other time could he have attempted such a thing? Assassinating Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation would have been the pinnacle of sess after Greed¡¯s forces had also managed to steal The Seventh Wing away from both the heavens and Gluttony¡¯s own warriors. The Church of Greed had lost a few S-Grade Empyrean-ss demons in order to do it, but they¡¯d gained the true prize in their co-op with The Great Maw.


    And draining themandment of Purity for all time would no doubt be a great boon to thrive off of, for both Greed - when he managed to reincarnate as well - and for The Gambler himself.


    ¡°I have failed, master.¡± The Gambler¡¯s voice resonated inside his soul like an echo chamber, but another¡¯s presence quickly presented itself as the Original Sin of Greed weed him home.


    ¡°It was worth the attempt. We knew it likely wouldn¡¯t work to begin with, even at the cost of many of the younger generation.¡± Greed¡¯s scratchy voice replied, sounding like twigs cracking with every syble. ¡°Do not dwell on it. We will have ample chances to kill or capture Gluttony¡¯s reincarnation as he grows in power, and as long as we manage to do so before he reaches the pinnacle again - we won¡¯t have cause to worry. This reset on themandments and sins will for eons restructure the power dynamic between what were once equals, and many more risks like this one will doubtless need to be taken as the centuries wear on. As for now¡­¡±


    Greed paused, contemting something while letting out asionally growls and grunts. ¡°As for now, there is another that you will contact for me. Are you familiar with The Blood Moon Requiem?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± The Gambler replied. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±¡°There is a vampire there of great importance to our cause. An enemy of my enemy is my friend, or so the saying goes¡­ and I believe we could aid one another in the attempt on Riven Thane the next time we try. He goes by the title of Elder Thune¡­ and the archbishop on the of Aldius should have some of our best waiting to escort you; so that you may enter into diplomacy with him. Finish your own descent, im E-grade, help the Naga cultist with his own ascendancy, and then you must leave.¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°I will do as asked, master. And I will not fail you this time.¡±


    ***


    A tenth of the entire city was absolutely ruined, with city blocks eradicated and hundreds of the best of F-grade and E-grade for the Unholy Pir nowying dead or dying in the streets. Gluttony¡¯s forces were cleaning up or helping their injuredrades, while other forces on the periphery who¡¯d been watching were kept at bay or dealt with harshly whenever they tried looting corpses.


    Because in most cases, each corpse was a treasure trove of supplies from some of the wealthiest and most influential ns demonkind had to offer.


    And truthfully, Riven felt a little sad despite the victory. He¡¯d been saving his skeletal summons in case Greed¡¯s forces pulled a trump card out, and he¡¯d not even used his ultimate form where he and Gluttony would fuse to form a demonic body - but now he was regretting not having used them due to how many of his allies had died. Gluttony was telling him it was wise to keep such things in reserve just in case they were needed, and Riven was used to seeing death by now, but these people - these creatures¡­ they looked up to him as some kind of worship-worthy being.


    They¡¯d fought and died for him, going all out in their own rights while Riven had held back just in case he¡¯d been targeted and needed the additional boost.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give yourself so much credit. This fight between our churches is ancient, and has been going on long before you got here.¡± Lillith said with a friendly nudge, standing next to Riven atop one of the skyscrapers overlooking the molten wreckage of what had once been the underground Greed temples. ¡°We¡¯d have fought, killed, and died regardless of whether or not you were the almighty chosen one.¡±


    She said thatst title with a bit of teasing exaggeration.


    Raising an eyebrow and giving the ancient demoness a sour re, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bit better about what she¡¯d said. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m right!¡± She swatted him on the back, causing him to stumble and smiling widely. ¡°And I¡¯m in a great mood! They¡¯d been holding part of me hostage here for a long long time now. A piece of my soul. I just got it back.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d that ever happen? Weren¡¯t you supposed to be some hotshot?¡±


    ¡°Hey kid, I still AM a hotshot.¡± She chuckled, then waved a dismissive hand across his face. ¡°And wipe that stupid frown off. You did very well, and your training has obviously paid dividends. You¡¯ll be E-grade in no time, and back in Chalgathi¡¯s trials.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. How did the operation in Universe 3 go? Did we catch The 7th Wing?¡±


    Lillith threw up her hands to either side, still in a jolly mood. ¡°Yes and no. We had a specialist mark Purity¡¯s reincarnation with a tracker in anticipation of Greed betraying us, and are now waiting patiently for her to be settled down before we give it a go. They did just what we thought they would, and she¡¯ll no doubt be put down in a high security prison somewhere - hidden from the rest of the multiverse. Worst case scenario, Purity is still captured - just not by us. Best case scenario¡­¡±


    Lillith began rubbing her hand together with a vicious grin. ¡°We get Purity back, and find one of Greed¡¯s hidden strongholds so we can burn it to the ground.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite the gamble.¡±


    ¡°Somewhat, but it was more important that Purity be taken from Heaven - rather than she go specifically to us. It would obviously be favorable to keep her ourselves¡­ but it is a good oue regardless. I have no doubt the heavens will be up in arms and scouring the edges of the third universe within days though, and countless worlds inhabited by demons will burn.¡±


    Riven¡¯s mouth fell ck. ¡°Seriously?¡±


    Lillith gave off a more grave, and less excited expression with a sigh. ¡°Yes. But Purity is an extremist, and would no doubt have done it anyways when she rose to power. The eternal war sleeps for no one, and both sins andmandments are going to be out with a vengeance. Taking Purity out of the equation is an enormous boon for all of demonkind, not just us. Now, pick up and¡­¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    <strong><em>WHOOMPH</em></strong>


    The world around Riven abruptly turned gray, and time stopped - as his soul was forcefully ejected from his body. Even Gluttony¡¯s presence was absent, as Riven¡¯s ethereal form looked around at what was usually the representation of the world when his malignant prophecy activated.


    Just what was this?


    Turning in the air and freezing stiff, his ghostly eyesnded on a familiar figure.


    She...


    She looked like she¡¯d just walked out of his memories, every detail matching the same figure he remembered from back when he was just a kid.


    She stood like a beacon in the night atop the tower as time remained at rest. Soft features, a sad but brilliant smile, the head tilt he often did when pondering, and the same brown hair he had. She was beautiful, and¡­ and was it really her?


    His voice caught, and if he¡¯d been in his normal body - his heart would have been pounding. ¡°M¡­Mom?¡±


    A wave of emotions roiled within him, and seeing her like this so suddenly and without warning¡­ it made him want to cry. ¡°Are¡­ is that you? Are you real?¡±


    He reached out, floating down to stand beside the spitting image of the woman who¡¯d raised him, but his hand traveled through her as she let out a soft breath of air with a nod.


    ¡°You¡¯ve grown up¡­¡± She muttered, still looking forlorn. Sheline Thane, otherwise known as Lady Sheline Wraithtide, raised her hand as if to brush his face - but hesitated an inch from him and dropped her arm. ¡°That¡­ saddens me.¡±


    He could notprehend this.


    Was he dreaming?


    Sadness, excitement, and confusion were abruptly reced with rage - and Riven snapped angrily at her with a sneer full of internal pain and turmoil. ¡°Yeah well it fucking saddens me too, mom!¡±


    His voice broke, and he let out an involuntary whimper while rapidly changing between sorrow and anger. ¡°Where have you been? Why are you here now? Why did you abandon us?¡±


    ¡°I did not abandon-¡±


    ¡°YES YOU DID!¡± Riven screamed, snapping again and clenching his fists. ¡°ALLIE AND I WERE LEFT ALL ALONE! We had NO IDEA where the FUCK you¡¯d gone! I looked for you for years¡­ and¡­ and I¡¯d given up until¡­¡±


    He let his gaze fall, and became silent.


    That silence reigned for quite some time.


    What was he even supposed to say?


    He was at a loss for words. After everything that''d happened, without warning, she''d finally reappeared.


    ¡°I did not wish to leave, but it was for your own protection. We were being tracked¡­ and we still are being tracked even to this day¡­ the day in my future, where I¡¯m speaking to you now.¡± She said with a sigh. ¡°And truthfully Riven, I¡¯m not even here right now. Not really.¡±


    His gaze snapped back up. ¡°What do you mean? You appear out of nowhere and now you¡¯re saying you¡¯re not really here? What does-¡±


    ¡°This is an image. A projection of myself through time.¡± Sheline, his mother replied softly. ¡°Please, contain your anger. I do not have much time to speak. These images are taxing, and I must find both ce and time within the matrix to properly stay. It is a gift you may one day figure out for yourself, though not all carriers of the prophecy are able to do so.¡±


    He rapidly snapped his jaw shut, but remained silent - waiting for her to continue and choking back words he¡¯d been wanting to shout at her for over a decade. That he missed her, that he loved her, that he wanted her back¡­ That he hated her for leaving. That he¡¯d been scared when she¡¯d left him to take care of Allie.


    Allie. What would she say about this?


    How the hell was he supposed to break this kind of news to her?


    And who was it that¡¯d made his mom leave? She was still being hunted? Even now?


    ¡°Riven¡­¡± Sheline began, with firmer resolve to her voice and standing a bit straighter. Her gaze flitted to Allie¡¯s form in the distance, and that gaze softened again. ¡°Thank you for taking care of your little sister. I want you both to know that I miss you¡­ more than you know. But you must finish this descent with haste. If you do not¡­ Your world will die. As will you. And Gluttony won¡¯t be enough to save you.¡±


    Riven blinked, and eventually when she didn¡¯t continue - he replied through gritted teeth. ¡°You have my attention, and you said time is short. Go on.¡±


    Silence.


    "Please to not look at me with such hate... Please, Riven." His mother was obviously undergoing a hard time herself with this reunion, and herposure broke when she stifled a sob and held a hand up to her mouth. But soon afterwards, she pointed towards the ck portal at the center of the city. ¡°This system event is unique. I know you have had the system notification exin some of it to you, but let me be clear. Every 300 years the rankings reset, and more people are allowed into the descent toplete their soulttice. That is the purpose of this ce, for the greatest of the F-grades oriented towards the Unholy Pir, and you¡¯re notpeting against the contenders who are currently here this round. Rather, your score ispeting against the contenders who went in thest cycle.¡±


    She waved a hand, and a piece of the script from Riven¡¯s old notification months ago came into view.


    <strong>[Sessfullypleting The Abyssal Descent will result in 50 points. Completing in the top 100 contenders will result in 300 points. Completing this event in the top 5 contenders will result in 1000 points. Finishing first will result in 3000 points.]</strong>


    ¡°I know you may be asking why I¡¯m telling you this, but let me exin why it is relevant.¡± She nced down at the hologram, then back to him. ¡°Your score in The Abyssal Descent is dependent upon matching it to the previous contenders, and is based upon how well your soulttice is constructed. The abyss will give you insights during meditation, and the deeper you go - the more dangerous it gets, but the more insight you can acquire. If you do better than the top 100 contenders from thest 300 year cycle as ranked by Elysium when constructing your soulttice - you will acquire a bonus. Completing with a better score than the top 5 means you get a top 5 rank, and you¡¯ll need to beat the previous top contender in order you win the number 1 spot. If you do not finish in the number 1 spot, Riven, you will fail to win the Chalgathi trials. Another will beat you to the egg if that should happen, a cultist. If that is to pass, the system will treat you as an outlier given Gluttony¡¯s presence and increase the penalty for failing - increasing the bonus the cultist acquires, and the apocalypse beast named Chalgathi will grow an entire two tiers. For those who have distinct advantages such as yourself, it expects you to win. And if you don¡¯t, then it punishes you far more harshly than it would others under more normal circumstances.¡±


    She paused for emphasis. ¡°You will not be unleashing an F-grade apocalypse beast on the world if you fail. Not an E-grade either. You would be unleashing a legendary, level 599 D-grade apocalypse beast onto Panu, and it will kill you along with everything else that lives. This is something that I have foreseen, and even with this warning I am unsure if you will be able to make it out in time. So not only must you hurry, but you must hurry and do well. And I advise you now that, should you not seed¡­ you need to abandon Panu entirely. Not even Lillith would be able to save you if Chalgathi appears fully formed at the cusp between D and C grade, so there are no other options but to flee.¡±


    ***


    Tre¡¯Zix of the Purple w sniffed at the cer, and the mantis-like archdemon¡¯s ded arms traced the dirt where the scent still lingered. He looked around the room at the various tools of torture, of the remnants of Vin and Nin. The flow of turmoil in the room was palpable to his senses, he could still literally feel the pain and torture that¡¯d happened here, the horror behind it, and the resonate emotions of the victims that still may or may not be alive.


    Or, at least two of them might still be alive.


    ¡°Tre¡¯Zix¡­¡± One of his mantis brethren hissed, clicking her mandibles and brushing a ded arm up against her horns. ¡°We have found a trail. A spacial rift was used in the opposite cer. We believe the culprits to have fled through it¡­ Do you think it was treachery? Betrayal?¡±


    Tre¡¯Zix snorted, his red eyes gleaming over the deep purple-red chitin of his face - and he stood up to stretch his wings while turning his simultaneously demonic and insectoid form around. ¡°Probably. There are unknown scents here, I am only familiar with Mara¡¯s smell. It is hard for me to distinguish why this happened, but she was interrogated for something. Tortured, certainly, and less than a day ago. Whoever it was holding her, they probably found out that we wereing.¡±


    The other mantis cocked her head quizzically. ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Insider information and treachery - as you suggested¡­ or a means of scrying that I did not detect. Though thetter seems unlikely.¡± Tre¡¯Zix mbered over an overturned table and through a hallway, changing into his more humanoid form in order to fit properly given his otherwise gigantic size. Walking into the next cer, he came to a stop where others of his Klinac¡¯Tal n were waiting for him in silence. The remnants of the rift torn in space were now stabilized thanks to their efforts, and a wide grin set across his face when Mara¡¯s scent grew stronger.


    His mandibles began to click. They were getting closer.


    The mandibles of the others began to click in turn, and the pack of archdemons slowly all began tough with a violent glint to their eyes. A glint that called for a bloody murder, and one that showed they¡¯d enjoy every second of it.


    ¡°The hunt is on boys¡­¡± Tre¡¯Zix called to his fellows, reaching towards the remnant magics and infusing it with sin. Purple lightning raced up his arm and discharged, tearing space open once again and revealing a spherical portal. ¡°We have their scent. Let¡¯s not keep them waiting.¡±


    He stepped into the globe, and one by one - the twenty members of his ancient and once very feared n all stepped in after him. After a moment the portal closed, and only blood and dust was left behind.

 Chapter 279

    Chapter 279


    <strong>Chapter 279</strong>


    Riven had been abnormally silent since the encounter with his mother¡¯s vision, to the point where others had started to notice. Still, he¡¯d done a good job at keeping his emotions under wraps even despite this - and was quick to reel in any outward signs of his internal turmoil.


    Feeding in the shadow of a towering skyscraper, his heart pounded in his chest - and Gluttony¡¯s instinctual desire to feed slowly began to fade. His fangs were sunk into the injured gargoyle, and draining the blood out of the half-dead Greed affiliate - he continued to let his mind wander over the happenings of thest day.


    Then he heard the familiar beat of wings overhead, and a softnding beside him. Looking up with blood running down his mouth, he saw the beautiful blue-skinned subus he¡¯d contracted nearly a year ago begin to walk over to his position.


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± Fay asked, reaching out to put her slender fingers around his - giving him a warm squeeze. ¡°Riven? You look¡­¡±


    She paused upon seeing the victim on the ground. The wounded gargoyle was bleeding out and going into shock, gasping with wide eyes on the floor, and she grimaced. ¡°Are your impulsions better now? Or will you need more?¡±


    <strong>[Gluttonous (Trait): You are required to eat at least 1 enlightened being every week, or will suffer a 1% debuff that stacks on all stats. Feeding on more than 10 enlightened beings in a day gives temporary bonus stats that decay over time, the amount of bonus stats depends on the power and number of consumed victims. Feeding on more than 5000 enlightened beings in a day temporarily doubles your stats and all the stats of your gear.]</strong>


    He licked his lips and smiled, snapping out of his musings in front of the abyssal portal to the second level. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s better now. And I¡¯ll be fine, I just¡­¡±


    He nced Allie¡¯s way, where he could only barely make her out near the portal¡¯s edge two blocks down. He¡¯d tell his sister eventually, just not now. Not while they were needing to finish this event as fast as possible. ¡°I just have some things to think about. Don¡¯t worry about me, let¡¯s just focus on getting the most out of this event as we can before returning to Chalgathi¡¯s trials.¡±Fay hesitated, looking like she wanted to say more while sweeping back her long white hair to stare harder at him - but eventually she smiled warmly back. Wiping off his face with one of her sleeves, she got up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. ¡°Fine. Let me know if you want to talk. I love you, you know.¡±


    Absentmindedly flinging a bloodnce into the dying gargoyle¡¯s skull, Riven put a hand on Fay¡¯s cheek and kissed her back. ¡°I know. I love you too, now let¡¯s go meet the others. Secluding myself right now probably isn¡¯t wise.¡±


    Fay beamed and simultaneously raised an eyebrow at the remark, but didn¡¯t press and let her hand stay intertwined with his as the two of them began to walk through the battle-torn streets filled with rubble - as residents of the abyssal city stirred like a kicked ho¡¯s nest.


    The cleanup of the city was still underway, though there¡¯d been new pockets of random fighting breaking out when other factions who¡¯d been observers on the periphery started plundering the kills in full. But it was time to go, and Riven had already stayed in The Abyssal Descent far too long as it was.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Nora asked, hoisting her two bone daggers out to either side with a wide smile. ¡°This has been quite the run, but we should probably finish up and get back!¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Riven muttered. ¡°And yes, I¡¯m ready as soon as Lillith is done talking to them.¡±


    Lillith was speaking to Retesh and Allie off to the side while their hundreds of newly raised undead loomed around the group with nk stares, and Azmoth was cleaning off his Shengari Shields by burning off the blood with fire breath. Watching his burning antlers attached to the new dark-gray te armor wrapping his already naturally armored body up in anotheryer of metal, the eel-like maws continuing to belch fire as well, and the glistening ck spikes protruding from holes in his outeryer - Riven realized Azmoth was starting to get physically bigger.


    Azmoth was growing up.


    Therge, armored demon nced Riven¡¯s way, grinned, and began to walk over as Ath appeared next to him in a puff of red. ¡°Azmoth kill many! Training pay off well!¡±


    Riven chuckled and gave Azmoth a fistbump when the young hellscape brutalisk came over and reached out. ¡°Yes I could tell. You¡¯re doing very well. All of you did.¡±


    ¡°Same goes to you.¡± Ath replied, leaning in and shoving Fay off of him as the subus fell backwards with a squeal. Grinning and ignoring Fay¡¯s protests, she teasingly knocked Fay back again with an arachnid limb and wrapped her arms around Riven¡¯s waist. ¡°You were very, very impressive back there¡­ Makes me want to OW!¡±


    <strong><em>SMACK</em></strong>


    Fay swatted Ath on the back of her head for a second time and harumphed before injecting herself between the two, wriggling grumpily into the crevice from underneath and poking her head up in the middle of their chests. ¡°This is my spot!¡±


    Both Riven and Ath began tough, and thatughter was joined in on by Fay a secondter until Azmoth came over and bear-hugged the three of them - lifting them up to the screams and protests of the two women.


    ¡°Azmoth hugs too!¡± He roared, getting a sidelong nce from the others who weren¡¯t involved.


    Riven for his part merely raised an eyebrow from underneath his cloak while letting his feet dangle as the brutalisk swung the three of them back and forth. ¡°Azmoth, when do brutalisks start dating?¡±


    ¡°What is dating?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what Ath, Fay and I do. We¡¯re dating.¡±


    ¡°You mean mating.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah I suppose that too.¡±


    Azmoth put the three of them down and patted Ath on the head while she red daggers up at him, but the brutalisk seemed oblivious to her irritation. ¡°I not know. I not interested. Females gross.¡±


    Riven stifled augh, leaning on his staff and giving Azmoth another reassessing look as the ck water-like substance of the huge portal at the center of the city glistened in the background. ¡°You don¡¯t say. Do you like men then?¡±


    ¡°No. I not interested in that kind of stuff. I only interested in kill and smash and w-rip.¡±


    ¡°Color me surprised he¡¯s not wanting to find a partner.¡± Ath muttered, rolling her eyes and leaning into Fay. ¡°He¡¯s an ape. A big, scary looking, metal d ape!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with not being interested in other brutalisks that way.¡± Rivenmented defensively. ¡°And Azmoth is really young, he has a lot of growing up to do. You never know.¡±


    Azmoth snorted in agreement, quickly swatting at her - but only had his w deflected by a blur of an arachnid limb. Then he turned his head to look at Riven. ¡°Have Riven seen what female brutalisk look like?¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°Eh¡­ No?¡± Riven replied hesitantly, as a keen sense of amusement echoed out from Gluttony inside his soul. A sh of an image yed across his mind, and Riven staggered in disbelief.


    ¡°Oh dear god.¡± Riven said, disbelieving. ¡°That¡¯s awful! How do you even¡­ How!?¡±


    Ath and Fay give him confused looks, but they were cut off from asking anything when Allie steps over to give him a nudge. ¡°Are you guys done being ridiculous? We¡¯re ready to go.¡±


    ***


    <strong>[You have entered the staircase of The Abyssal Descent for floors 1 and 2. Traverse the staircase to reach the 2nd floor below.]</strong>


    The portal into the secondyer of The Abyssal Descent was cool to the touch, and far different than many of the other portals that Riven had passed through during his time since integration. It was as if he was being swallowed by ake, and the ck liquid of the abyss gently caressed his skin until he was suddenly sucked underneath in a whish of momentum. It was also his first time doing this, unlike his minions who¡¯d all already traveled here and below to power-level into level 200 over the past months.


    Coming out the other side was also something of a surprise, as he stood staring directly at a beholder demon. He¡¯dpletely forgotten, but this is where he was supposed to meet his new minion - albeit a temporary one - that Lillith had picked out for him after he¡¯d note to any conclusion about who or what he wanted to fill hisst slot.


    <strong>[Narg, Level 200 Seeker, Beholder Demon. ELITE.]</strong>


    The beholder demon was colored a swamp-green, with orange colored, bulbous eyes along each of its many tentacles. Tworger ones were set over a toothy smile, with slits for nostrils, and tworger tentacles underneath the main body were obviously used for interacting with the environment by the way it gestured at them when the seeker ¡°Narg¡± saw them enter.


    ¡°I humbly present myself to The Great Maw!¡± The demon said with a very smooth voice just as Riven got his footing. ¡°Please, let me introduce myself! My name is Narg, and I have been chosen by the Lady of ck Skies to temporarily assist you as your fourth minion throughout this descent!¡±


    Riven was about to reply, but his words suddenly caught in his throat when he took in the surroundings. It was unlike any realm he¡¯d ever been in before, as they were standing on the precipice of an enormous, miles-wide spiral staircase. Right over the central ledge was a massive drop down, and in the far distance the opposite edge was facing outwards.


    Signs of where Gluttony¡¯s forces had been camped on this side of the portal in wait for ambush were still evident due to the odds and ends left behind, or the upturned metal or fires still lit around what¡¯d been gathering circles. The sky waspletely ck leading into a vortex above and the deep spiral staircase leading downwards through the darkness was speckled with deep-purple runes in the expanse of a never ending abyss stretching out forever. A shimmering cylindrical barrier kept massive figures only barely discernible in the distance from entering, and if not for Riven¡¯s dark-attuned vision he¡¯d probably not have seen them at all.


    ¡°My name is Riven.¡± He eventually replied, realizing everyone was waiting for him to address the demon ahead of him who still hadn¡¯t moved from its bowed position in the air. ¡°I am the reincarnation of Gluttony. We greet you, Narg. Thanks for being here.¡±


    ¡°Of course! My parents will be so proud of me!¡± Narg immediately said with an upbeat, excited swing of his head. His many eyes focused intently on Riven¡¯s position, then keeled around to look at the others - which were being followed by swarms of very high quality undead that¡¯d once been demons in the battle in the city. ¡°Quite the entourage! I should expect nothing less from one such as you.¡±


    Lillith walked forward and put a hand on Narg¡¯s scaly green skin. ¡°Thank you for being here, friend. As we all know, the lower levels of the descent past the 3rd floor do not allow groups of over 5 to traverse together. This excludes minions though, so you¡¯re going to be a valuable asset by using thest slot.¡±


    She turned to Riven with a head-nod Narg¡¯s way. ¡°We had to choose someone that would fit within your current Willpower limit of 1054. The minions you have had since early on cost a lot less than new minions contractedter at the same level, an example of this would be if you dismissed Ath. Right now she costs you 209 Willpower and slowly umtes cost over time, but if you dismissed her and tried to recontract her - she¡¯d likely cost you somewhere around 500 Willpower given her status as an archdemon and her unique abilities. So we couldn¡¯t choose someone rtive to her league.¡±


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    ¡°Seriously?¡± Riven asked in surprise. ¡°That''s over double the cost!¡±


    Lillith nodded and ignored the smug look of satisfaction on Ath¡¯s face. ¡°She¡¯s a very good find, but you grew with her to get her here - and Elysium taxes your Willpower stat less for it. This in turn is why we had to choose someone who wasn¡¯t registered as a legendary tier, because they wouldn¡¯t be able to contract with you given yourck of points. Narg is an elite-tiered demon, and is younger than most. Just as old as you actually, and may not be of legendary status yet, but he has risen through the ranks very fast. His potential is very high, and I thought that taking him with us would benefit him more than any other. He also has quite a unique ss.¡±


    ¡°Your words humble me, Lady of ck Skies!¡± Narg beamed - literally lighting up with orange light for a brief moment in the process. ¡°I do not deserve such praise! Fallen gods, I wish my mother was here to hear this!¡±


    Allie stifled augh at the demon¡¯s offhandment.


    Riven shifted to analyze the status information Messenger could grant him, then let go of Fay¡¯s hand to tap curiously at his status page. All of his own demons were now maxed out to level 200, even Genua who wasn¡¯t present due to her pregnancy, and it was probably about time he went over his own status page since it¡¯d been so long¡­ Nowadays he really only opened it to assign stat points, but with a new minion on the way - even if temporary¡­


    ¡°What can you do and how much Willpower will you take up?¡± Riven asked curiously, red-ck eyes shifting back to the demon in question. ¡°Mind showing me your status page and exining your abilities to me?¡±


    The demon was quick to oblige.


    <strong>[Narg¡¯s Status Page: </strong><ul><li>


    <strong>Level 200</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Infernal</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Traits:] Race: Beholder Demon, ss: Seeker, Observant (+200% to detect stealthed enemies or traps), Long Ranged Tactician (Scaling damage bonus that increases the farther away an enemy is struck, up to 5 miles), Innate Flying, Born of Smog and me (decreased damage taken from any Unholy or fire-based attacks), Scoped Vision, ELITE RELATIVE RANK DISPARITY.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Abilities:] Seek Object (Unholy), Seek Danger (Unholy), Seek Safety (Unholy), Identify (Elysium-Based), Nightmare Bombardment (Tier 3 Unholy / Infernal), Nightmare Barriers (Tier 2 Unholy / Infernal), Globspitter (Unholy), Hellspitter (Infernal)</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Stats:] 40 Strength, 338 Sturdiness, 1020 Intelligence, 809 Agility, 10 Luck, -201 Charisma, 1832 Perception, 87 Willpower, 0 Faith</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Equipped Items:] None]</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°Until I offer you the contract, I am uncertain how much willpower I will take. Likely less than 200 points though, since we are guessing. Just like most of my race, I deviate towards long rangebat and have a naturally high perception.¡± Narg began eagerly while Riven looked over his stats. ¡°My magical prowess is nowhere close to yours, I¡¯m sure, but I¡¯ve also been neglecting my intelligence in favor of enhancing my specialty ss. It is a rare one just as Lillith ims, and allows me ess to ¡®Seeker¡¯ spells. These spells aren¡¯t to be confused with scrying, which can be more easily interfered with or blocked, but rather the seeker spells are able to pull on creation, giving me insight on how to reach the desired target.¡±


    ¡°Exin.¡± Riven replied, now curious.


    Nargle nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s say I wish to find a specific fruit. I can utilize ¡®Seek Object¡¯, and as long as I channel the spell it allows me to see the path that takes me to my desired object as fast as possible.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows rose up high. ¡°Seriously? And the same goes for your other two spells?¡±


    ¡°Seek Danger and Seek Safety work slightly differently. They each give me multitudes of paths to choose from, with the strength and size of the path I see corrting to how much danger or safety there is. Proximity also influences the size and strength of the path. Seek Object on the other hand only ever gives one path. Even if I were to ask it to seek out a rock or pebble, it would lock onto the first rock or pebble thates into my proximity. It can also be blocked out by barriers or wards, but it trades off with being able to seek out very specific objects as well. Unfortunately it cannot seek out specific people, but it can seek out a type of living creature such as ¡®human¡¯, ¡®vampire¡¯, or ¡®subus¡¯ - with the same proximity rule.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s incredibly useful.¡± Ath said promptly, her own curiosity obviously peaked.


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Allie muttered while sitting in a chair made of bones and looking down into the abyssal drop. She gestured towards the downwards spiral. ¡°Can¡¯t we just fly down the middle?¡±


    ¡°I would highly rmend that you not try.¡± Lillith replied with a shake of her head, long ck hair flowing out behind her. ¡°Unless you want to get swarmed by the creatures nesting on the underside. It would likely slow us down far more than if we just took the staircase, where hives are lessmon.¡±


    ¡°And what about your other abilities?¡± Riven pressed, more enthusiastic about the beholder demon¡¯s seeker abilities than he was outwardly letting on. He could now very much see why Lillith had picked this particr demon as his fill-in for the trek down. ¡°Mind exining them as well?¡±


    ¡°Certainly. First I would like to point out that my Observant trait,bined with my Scoped Vision trait, allows me to pick out things at high resolution for many miles out. Even stealthed enemies have a problem hiding from my sight, though the closer they are the easier they are to spot. This helps me adjust my long ranged attacks, and concerning those - I only have long ranged attacks. Nightmare Bombardment is a tier 3 attack that drains most of my mana and has a long cooldown, but is a great long range area of effect explosive attack using both unholy and infernal energies. Unfortunately it also takes up a lot of space on my pirs, and until I get to E-grade I will probably be unable to learn more abilities due to the size requirement of the mana channels. Globspitter is a high speed precision attack using unholy mana that slows enemies, while Hellspitter is the same - only using me instead, and it can apply damage-over-time burns. Nightmare Barriers are solid objects I can create with fire and unholy power, which can also be conjured at long range, and I have a basic Identify ability as well thates with my Seeker ss. I intend to upgrade it when I reach E-grade at the end of this descent, though I¡¯m not sure what Elysium will give me for options when that happens. Did you have any specific questions, my lord?¡±


    ¡°Call me Riven, and no, not yet anyways.¡± Riven walked forward and extended a hand, but when the beholder demon gave him a confused, hesitant look - Riven exined. ¡°Back in my old world, we shook hands to seal a deal. I¡¯d be honored to have you on my team for a while, Narg.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Narg eximed with a widening grin. ¡°Of course! Forgive me! I will certainly shake your hand, great one! Here is my contract, please feel free to let me know if it is not up to standards!¡±


    Nargtched onto Riven¡¯s outstretched, bone and blood-silk covered hand with a tentacle a secondter - just as a new notification appeared in front of Riven¡¯s eyes.


    <strong>==================================================</strong>


    <strong>System Notification - Congrattions! Narg has chosen to offer you his services. You have received a demonic minion contract that you may choose to ept or decline:</strong>


    <strong>Narg¡¯s Offers:</strong>


    ¡¤ <strong>Acquire Narg as a familiar.</strong>


    ¡¤ <strong>Acquire ¡®Scoped Vision¡¯ as a trait, allowing you to see much farther and in detail when wanting to do so.</strong>


    <strong> Narg¡¯s Demands:</strong>


    <strong>¡¤ No demands have been set.</strong>


    <strong>¡¤ 158 Willpower requirement for initial contract</strong>


    <strong> Do you ept this contract? Yes? No?</strong>


    <strong>WARNING: If you choose to ept this contract, as this will </strong>


    <strong>be your fourth demonic familiar. Your current ss only </strong>


    <strong>allows 4.</strong>


    <strong>==================================================</strong>


    Scratching his chin and pulling up his own status page, Riven went over whether or not he had the required Willpower to ept the contract. And indeed, he certainly did.


    <strong>[Riven Thane¡¯s Status Page:)</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>Level 200 (Path to E-grade underway, Soul Lattice Under Construction)</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Pir Orientations:] Unholy Foundation, Blood Specialty: Profane Cyclone (Tier 1 of The Path of Red and ck), Infernal, Death, Shadow (Subserviently linked to Blood Specialty Pir), Sin (Gluttony)</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Traits:] Race: Pureblooded Vampire (Extreme Darkness Regeneration)(Sunlight Decay)(Extreme Weakness to Silver weapons, Sun pir, and Light pir attacks), Primary ss: Warlock Devastator, Devastator ss Trait (physical strikes are imbued with unholy damage equal to 1% of damage being done at full mana capacity). Secondary ss slot is now open after conversion of the previous ss (Harbinger of Gluttony) into a trait. Trait: Reincarnation of Gluttony, Soul Clone has taken form as Gluttony¡¯s Maw, +20% of your status are applied as a bonus to all of your contracted minions, more will be revealed upon reaching SSS grade). Adrenaline Junky (Blood)(+15% to Agility), Gluttonous (must feed on 1 enlightened being per week to avoid stacking debuffs), Malignant Sapling (Second Realm of Malignant Prophecy is under construction), Aplishment Title: Bloodthirsty 2 (+8% increased blood mana from corpses, +2% dmg for blood magic), Mark of the Sinner Tattoo (Passively draws in ambient energy to build up your soul at a quicker than normal pace, expedites growth and XP acquisition, increases your ability to cultivate Sin energy). MYTHIC RELATIVE RANK DISPARITY. PANU WORLD BOSS.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Abilities:] Profane Blessing of the Crow (Unholy / Blood / Shadow), Wretched Snare (Unholy), Silvertongue (Unholy), Bloody Razors ¡ú Storm Balls / Storm Razors (Blood / Shadow), Crimson Ice (Blood), Blood Lance ¡ú Sniping Profane Blood Lance (Blood / Shadow)(Tier 2), Voodoo Doll (Blood)(Tier 2), Blood Nova (Blood)(Tier 3), Hell¡¯s Armor (Infernal), ze of Profane Glory (Infernal)(Tier 3), Riftwalk (Shadow), Gluttonous Sacrifice (Sin)(4999 years until cooldown isplete), ck Lightning (Shadow), Legionaries of the Blood God (Tier 2 Death / Blood), Ravenous Beetle Swarm (Sin), Farsight Banishment (Sin), Soul Clone Projections (Sin), Gluttony¡¯s Aspect of Demonic Heritage (Tier 3 Sin), Devour (Sin)</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Stats:] 1167 Strength, 1387 Sturdiness, 3183 Intelligence, 1228 Agility, 10 Luck, -51,058 Charisma, 414 Vampiric Perception, 1054 Willpower, 9 Faith</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Free Stat Points: 0.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>STATS PER LEVEL concerning Race, Primary ss, Secondary ss (slot currently empty), and Reincarnation of Gluttony trait distribution: +5 Strength, +8 Sturdiness, +6 intelligence, +4 Willpower, +7 Agility, +2 Perception, -6 Charisma, +46 Free Stat Points.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Minions:] Ath, Level 200 Archdemon (Unique, 3 forms, Cute Wittle Blood Weaver / Gluttonous Arshakai / Gluttonous Fae Drider)(ssless) [209 Willpower Requirement]. Azmoth, Level 200 Hellscape Brutalisk (Infernal Crusader Adept) [165 Willpower Requirement]. Fay, Level 200 Subus (Curse Witch)[171 willpower Requirement]. Hive Totems of Bloodforged Rift Sparks [x4 totems](Lesser Artifact, Elite Tier, Level 35 Totem Swarm)[119 Willpower Requirement]. Genua, Level 200 High Elf Vampiric-Thrall (Priestess of the Blood God)[134 Willpower Requirement].</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>One open demonic slot is avable, 3 of 4 used. 798 of 1054 Willpower used. Current amount of offered contracts: 190,457,998,252</strong></li></ul></li><li>


    <strong>Equipped Items:] Riven¡¯s Happy Birthday Cloak (410 magical / miracle def, 190 physical def, Gluttony¡¯s Guisee / Passively hide status information, Walk in the Dark / Passively increase sess rate for stealth attempts), Jackal (1795 dmg, 600% mana regen, Sin / Unholy / Shadow / Death / Blood / Infernal magics +20% dmg and effectiveness, Spellcasting Range +100%, Gluttony¡¯s AScent, Furious Storm, Portal Master, Abyssal Beastform), Messenger (1650 Def / 1010 bloodsilk def, Gluttony¡¯s Ascent, Devour, Identifier¡¯s use, Ripping ws, Quickening Flight, +20% all base stats, +300 Strength, +600 Sturdiness, +300 Agility, +50% mana regeneration, Natural Sunlight does not affect you while wearing this suit, Liquid Breathing is bestowed upon you while wearing this suit), Witch¡¯s Ring of Grand Casting (+26 Intelligence), Negrada¡¯s Modified Bag of Holding] </strong></li></ul>


    His eyes zed over while going over his status page in detail for the first time in a very long time. A lot had changed since he¡¯d appeared at the base of Chalgathi¡¯s pyramid at the beginning of integration. A lot had certainly changed¡­ and he was certainly very proud of his own minions¡¯ efforts to reach level 200 in the time spent here over the past few months. He doubted they¡¯d have been able to do it so quickly without power-leveling help from others in the Church of Gluttony, and was without doubt going to somehow thank or reward the people who¡¯d helped his minions get to where they were today.


    Shifting his attention to the 158 Willpower requirement of Narg the beholder demon, and noting he had 1054 current Willpower avable to him with only 798 used - obtaining Narg would put him at 956 out of 1054. It was close, but he¡¯d be able to do it without problem. Plus, it was highly likely that Narg would only be a temporary fit - unless he proved to be invaluable in uing days during the descent down into the abyss.


    <strong>[Congrattions! You have epted Narg¡¯s offer to acquire him as a new demonic servant. Narg¡¯s information has been added to your status page.]</strong>


    A sh of lightning connected Riven and Narg a split secondter, and he felt the bond form. Mentallymanding Messenger to peel itself back off of his chest, the gluttonous maw there opened to reveal another, fourth pentagram on Riven¡¯s sternum just beneath the pentagrams of a spider, teeth, and wings that symbolized the three other demons he had. Now, in the center of the fourth pentagram, was the sigil of an eyeball surrounded by seven other smaller eyeballs.


    ¡°Thank you my lord, for giving me a chance!¡± Narg squealed excitedly, bobbing up and down and causing Riven tough a little guiltily.


    He knew Narg knew this was a temporary thing, but he was certain the beholder demon had high hopes that Riven would change his mind.


    Riven doubted that woulde to pass even despite the unique ss Narg had, but that was still up in the air and to be determined.


    <strong>[You have collected 4 demons and have reached level 200 as a Warlock Devastator. You now qualify for-]</strong>


    Just as the new notification¡¯s script was writing itself out in the hologram, it vanished with a blip of purple energy - and Gluttony¡¯s maw appeared beside Riven to open vertically in the air.


    ¡°Elysium¡¯s temptations can wait until we have ascended.¡± Gluttony said, as the area around them went dead silent in reverence. The bantering between Fay and Ath fell off, Narg¡¯s excited celebrations abruptly halted, the talks about techniques in necromancy between Allie and Retesh silenced, and Nora¡¯s questions concerning Azmoth¡¯s horns slowed to a quick halt when the original sin made its appearance.


    There was a distinct air of rxation with the others whenever it was just Riven, he realized, but when Gluttony¡¯s soul clone visage appeared - even his two lovers became nervous in the presence of the maw.


    Only Lillith was not affected by Gluttony¡¯s presence.


    ¡°Master.¡± Lillith said, bowing politely and smiling Gluttony¡¯s way. ¡°It is not often that you poke out of your reincarnation¡¯s vessel. Usually when wanting to speak to Riven or I, you do so by way of thought. To what do we owe the honor?¡±


    Gluttony gnashed its teeth twice, then chomped on another notification that tried to repeat itself-


    <strong>[You have collected 4 demons and have reached level 200 as a Warlock Devastator. You-]</strong>


    The hologram shattered when Gluttony¡¯s teeth snapped onto it.


    ¡°I want to make clear that Elysium is trying to goad us into taking a deal now, concerning our ss evolutions. And possibly, concerning our secondary ss.¡± Gluttony replied without turning from Riven. ¡°Do not take the deals Elysium offers us until we have ascended into the E-grade. Otherwise we will be hamstringing our potential growth, and I have high hopes for cultivating both separate warlock and melee sses whenever we finally arrive at the lowest level of the descent.¡±


    ¡°Both, eh?¡± Rivenmented, unsurprised.


    Gluttony nodded. ¡°Both. You would hold sway over the path of the caster and warlock, while I take charge of our secondary ss.¡±

 Chapter 280

    Chapter 280


    <strong>Chapter 280</strong>


    The stairway piercing through the darkness for miles down was lit ame, with bodies of strange, ck, carnivorous manta-ray-like void beasts each the size of a small whale called ¡°Gliffards¡± covering the innumerable steps in all directions. The raging ball of hellfire Riven summoned overhead sprouted trails of liquid heat that washed over the enemies by the hundreds, and the spell would be on cooldown for another week because of it.


    Surprisingly enough he¡¯d actually ended up locking his bloodnce spell by pushing it to the limit during thest swarm he¡¯d fought, identally creating a cooldown that wouldst over 20 hours. He¡¯d almostpletely forgotten cooldowns existed, usually overriding them by pure force of will and the overwhelming mana that radiated through his channels. But nope, he was given a very stark reminder that even after having progressed so far - parts of his pirs could still lock up.


    ¡°The second and third levels of The Abyssal Descent are upied just like the first, only that instead of there being a city - the second level is a sprawling set of mercenary camps that people often hire help from. You¡¯ll find a lot of people harvesting natural treasures that grow there, but the treasures found on the secondyer are far less valuable than deeper into the descent. They¡¯re just far moremon.¡± Lillith said, lifting a hand with a sh of dark ws that split the sky and scattered over a dozen gliffards at once. She didn¡¯t bother looking up. ¡°The third floor is where some of the more daring factions have foundedpounds and fortresses tounch expeditions into the deeper levels from. It is thest stop concerning civilization, after that the only way you¡¯ll find others is by ident. And oftentimes, doing so will not be a friendly encounter. Killing people in the lower floors, by design, grants you any insight they might have acquired.¡±


    ¡°So I assume there are groups just waiting in ambush down there?¡± Allie asked, d in bone armor, ck wings spread out behind her with an army of undead doing much of the butchery as she walked down the steps alongside the ancient demoness. ¡°Or is that not the case?¡±


    ¡°That is certainly the case.¡± Lillith replied with a nod. ¡°Though I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to try attacking our particr group if they have any identifiers worth a damn. Then again, many groups don¡¯t have identifiers in their party - and identification treasures only go so far. It is highly likely that now after leaving the main city, many groups won¡¯t be able to get a read on just who or what we are even without our disguising amulets.¡±


    Retesh chuckled with a rattling of his exposed ribcage at the thought, using arge staff to bnce himself while his boney feet cked along the rune-inscribed ck metal of the staircase they tread on.


    ¡°Azmoth wishes Genua were here.¡± Azmoth stated solemnly, looking up from underneath burning horns at the enormous inferno that was scouring the sky under Riven¡¯s might. ¡°I hungry. She make good snacks.¡±


    ¡°Catch!¡± Fay called back from beside Ath, jerking her hand out of Ath¡¯s grasp and pulling out a bundle to toss to the young brutalisk.Azmoth caught it, unwrapped it, and grinned when he saw it was a b of meat. ¡°Thanks Fay! Do have more?¡±


    Fay happily waved it off. ¡°Yup! But let¡¯s not overeat, we have a long ways to go and don¡¯t know how long we¡¯re going to be here. It could be weeks!¡±


    Nora let out a long groan at the thought, and her shoulders slumped as she too continued to trot down the steps in an endless spiral with her bone des tucked into her belt. ¡°This is a lot less exciting than I thought it would be. Riven¡¯s killing everything and I just sit and watch.¡±


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry, child. It certainly gets more exciting than this after the third floor.¡± Lillith winked back at the human woman, then began to pick up the pace for another session of sprinting now that the gliffard hive was either scattered or dead. ¡°Come along now! Let¡¯s not waste too much time here. These treks between floors are always long, but we should reach the second floor within the hour. I just¡­¡±


    Lillith¡¯s voice trailed off, and simultaneously Riven had an odd, stirring sensation from within his soul. Gluttony was agitated for some reason, and when Riven tried to mentally inquire about it - he only got a vague collection of images.


    ¡°Nothing to worry about now.¡± Lillith said after Riven gave her an inquiring look. She brushed off her shoulder with one hand and a frown. ¡°It¡¯s matters that don¡¯t involve your universe or this realm. Let¡¯s continue on towards the second floor, there we will have the opportunity to buy some good cultivation resources collected by the hordes of merchants and mercenaries present there, before descending even further.¡±


    ***


    Purity, The Seventh Wing, hadpletely taken over the host body supplied to her by those who worshiped her. The angel she possessed was a nameless creature to her now, a subservient soul whose consciousness was pushed so far back into the depths of their shared mind that it might as well not have even been two - but rather, it was just one.


    It was only Purity.


    For how could one so pure share a body with a lesser?


    And after all, the angel had given up her body willingly so that Purity could live again.


    She opened her vibrant gold eyes which showed with the radiance of stars, beautiful white wings stretched out behind her and flowing golden hair that burned with celestial fire in a tapestry that not even the greatest artists could capture.


    The archdemons lurking outside this newfound cage cackled and sneered, even going as far as to directly try to talk to her - to goad her into a fit of rage. But she would not hear them. No, she did not need or want the insignificant jabs they had for her. One day she would purify them too, and they would be naught but cleansing ash.


    No, she had opened her eyes in this abysmal ce because of something else entirely. Slowly turning her head and gazing through theyers of oblivion, she saw a crack beginning to form on the outskirts of Elysium itself. Eyebrows raising in disbelief, she watched as theyers of the outer shell began to break down.


    Specks of the ancientttice that contained the multiverse began to wither, die, and burn away, and Purity couldn¡¯t help but look on in approval. Was this a rebirth? An invasion from one of the outer realms? Or something else?


    And how would Elysium react to such an infringement on its domain?


    Did this have something to do with their recent release? Was it the reason why Elysium had let them out? Or did it have no corrtion whatsoever?


    Honestly she had no idea. On one hand, a rebirth would favor all of the sins andmandments equally after having been reset themselves, and would have significant ramifications for the entirety of the power structures currently resting in ce after so much time had passed. But an invasion would bring an even greater bloodbath than the renewal of the eternal wars, and would set upon the multiverse a new era of carnage as two different titans of creation shed. Thest time Elysium battled another of its kind, entire universes had been wiped out - but the inhabitants of Elysium had received a significant amount of power from the influx of energy after the wars were done.


    Regardless of which, the answer wouldn¡¯t likelye for a couple of years, and she needed to get out of this sted ce to continue her cultivation. She wouldn¡¯t let Greed keep her here forever, and the filthy stain upon the realms had another thinging if it thought she would stay here under its boot.


    Taking a final look through the cosmos into oblivion¡¯s outer edge one final time, she closed her eyes once more - and went back to constructing a means of escape. But just as she did, she heard the sound of an explosion - and the rising roars of battle as an enemy force collided with the hidden fortress she was now contained in.


    Unfortunately for her, it wasn¡¯t a rescue party. Rather, it was just one captor being traded for another.


    ***


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    High Queen Nephridi watched Elder Thune drag his wretched, feeble body down the hall like a slug. Or at least that¡¯s how she envisioned him. The ill-hidden sneer she had on her face whenever she saw the old man wasmonce, and it didn¡¯t surprise any of the other elders whenever they exchanged jabs or insults hidden as pleasantries no matter what the situation.


    Thralls and lesser vampire servants scattered at his approach in the enormous halls of the city-sized castle they found themselves in, and dozens of B and A-grade soldiers stood at intervals up and down the huge passageway in stoic silence as he passed.


    ¡°My queen.¡± Elder Thune stated sourly when he came to stand beside her. ¡°What an¡­ honor, to be in your presence¡­ again.¡±


    ¡°MMmm. Have you eaten recently, Elder Thune?¡± She asked pointedly, ncing down at a blood spot on his otherwise pristine white robe. ¡°Do you need a bib? Perhaps in your old age, you forget how to clean yourself. I hear it ismonce in humans to lose their minds due to the years going by, perhaps you should look into some remedies.¡±


    ¡°Mature, as always.¡± He muttered, ring back at her as the two of them turned in tandem to walk towards the inner sanctum, where a multitude of bishops, archbishops, deacons, priests, and even two prophets in service to the Blood God nowy waiting for their summons to be answered.


    Silence overtook the two of them after that while their robes flowed out elegantly behind them, and the setting sun cast shadows through tinted windows in the upper reach of the stone walls where exquisite life-sized carvings of vampires lording over their ves could be seen in various forms.


    ¡°Word has reached me that Kathrine Vonsi Crushada the 9th, princess and 107th in line to the throne, heir to the Crushada House and betrothed to Riven Wraithtide - Reincarnation of Gluttony¡­ has disappeared.¡± She didn¡¯t take her gaze off the distant door where priests in red were gathered outside to greet them, and her posture remained firm, but her pace did slow. ¡°Crendir No-Name has gone with her, and his recently betrothed fiance here in the capital has mysteriously vanished as well.¡±


    ¡°She is now 106th in line to the throne after Jalel was killed at the hand of your great grandson. And what of it?¡± Elder Thune snapped, feigning indifference - but despite millenia of training, Nephridi could tell there was a very slight stutter in his heart when it caught at the mention.


    She did not let on that she had noticed. ¡°We are investigating the circumstances as potential treason, perhaps coercion on behalf of Crendir No-Name¡¯s part through his lover here on this world. We have not yet identified the party responsible for her disappearance, but the two are likely somehow connected. You wouldn¡¯t happen to know anything about that¡­ Would you, Elder Thune?¡±


    She turned her gaze ever so slightly in his direction, letting on a less than friendly smile as her eyes shed red. ¡°I¡¯d hate it oh so much to see your withered little neck snapped and nailed to a burning pinwheel for the vultures to feed on.¡±


    Elder Thune did not take the bait, and kept his demeanor calm. ¡°If you are so eager to see me dead, High Queen Nephridi, perhaps you could do me the honor of attempting the act now so we can get this farce of cooperation over with. Then, perhaps, a real king would be able to take up the mantle of leadership for this great empire after I take your head.¡±


    A genuine smile of amusement lit up Nephridi¡¯s face as she let out a loud, wind-chimeugh with the fingers of her right hand caressing her red lips. Dark brown hair swaying from side to side as she chuckled, she gave him a sideways nce. ¡°Ah dearest elder, I would like nothing more than to rip your ck little heart out from your chest! Unfortunately the clergy would not appreciate such a thing as infighting amongst one such as us, for to them - we are both invaluable chess pieces in the ultimate goal of vampiric rule across the multiverse. Just as all the other S-ss vampires in service to the blood god are, we are treasures. But¡­ if it were found out that someone was attempting to subvert the Blood God¡¯s authority by pursuing another path of the taboo arts¡­ One, say, that could potentially be found in the blood of a fallen elder god on Panu?¡±


    She mmed a hand into his chest to halt his advance with enough force to demolish a mountain, concentrated into her palm, and she felt one of his ribs shatter as she bared her fangs in his direction. A shockwave radiated down the hall, knocking over many of the servants and even some of the highly trained guards, and two of the weaker thralls were even ripped apart in sprays of blood despite the vast majority of her strike being focused into the elder¡¯s chest.


    To his credit, Elder Thune didn¡¯t even wince, but red with a raised lip in disgust.


    ¡°If something like that were to ever happen, dearest elder¡­¡± She whispered with malice dripping off her words, leaning in to brush her lips against his ear. ¡°I do believe I would be doing the Blood God¡¯s work by removing those who pursued such interests¡­ I just merely have to prove that I am right. Then we will truly see which of us is more powerful, old man, and why it was I that was chosen so long ago to rule this empire instead of you.¡±


    ¡°Conjectures and wishful thinking.¡± Elder Thune scoffed, violently swatting her hand away and continuing in the walk without her. ¡°Do not waste my time with your ill-conceived fantasies, hag. For I will not entertain them.¡±


    ***


    The portal to the secondyer of The Abyssal Descent was just as the first, a ck circr pool that circled around like a vortex. Stepping through it had the same odd sensation as thest, and Riven¡¯s body was caressed by the ck liquid in a wave of abyssal energy for a solid few seconds before appearing on the edge of the pool on the other side.


    And just as Lillith had said, this area was one big sprawling camp.


    Riven could also see why that was.


    Swarms of the same ¡®gliffard¡¯ creatures flew through the air and nested on jutting cliffs, with ashen skies and dust clouds billowing through huge trenches that reminded him very much of Daskus - the city of canyons he¡¯d sacrificed to save Ath¡¯s life.


    Only it had a much darker, and more evil feel to it.


    ¡°Evil is subjective.¡± Gluttony whispered into his mind, only getting Riven to roll his eyes.


    The gliffards would swoop down and attack people at random, of which there were likely tens of thousands, and fighting was breaking out at random intervals even between participants in the descent. Due to the nests up above limiting space and the constant attacks ongoing from the swarms above, the other big difference between Daskus and this ce was that the second level of the descent was full of makeshift tents or canopies used to block out the dust storms. There weren¡¯t any actual buildings, likely because building one here would quickly get it destroyed.


    Frankly it was a madhouse, with bartering, trading, drinking, drugs, and fighting all in abundance.


    ¡°Which begs the question, why even camp here at all?¡± Riven mused thoughtfully while looking up and around at the massive amount of manta-ray gliffard creatures circling in the sky - ded tails shing with purple energy.


    ¡°Good training ground with a steady supply of monsters that aren¡¯t too dangerous, and the tunnels and cliff faces are primed for growing various low grade abyssal treasures meant for cultivating as stated before.¡± Lillith said while putting her hands on her hips and stretching from side to side. ¡°Eons past when I first came here, it was the same. Elysium keeps it like this on purpose so that, even if you don¡¯t want to chance going into the more dangerous, deeper levels of the descent - there is still some value toing here with a more minimal risk.¡±


    ¡°HEY, DEMON SHADOW-BITCH! THOSE ARE SOME NICE, MUSCULAR LEGS YOU¡¯VE GOT THERE!¡± A drunk, bearded, human necromancer sitting atop a bone tform called out whileughing with his buddies amidst the madhouse that was the portal¡¯s perimeter. ¡°WHY DON¡¯T YOU WALK THEM OVER THIS WAY, HOW ABOUT IT!?¡±


    Riven snorted augh when he saw Lillith go rigid. ¡°Hey, I think he¡¯s talking to you. Probably didn¡¯t bother identifying you yet, or you¡¯re too high up for him to do so.¡±


    Others, unlike the necromancer, were already staring wide-eyed and backing up to give the oing group room - and soon Ath, Azmoth, Nora, Fay, Retesh, and Allie had joined them with the oing horde of undead demons pouring out of the ck portal one after another.


    ¡°DEMON BITCH!¡± The necromancer crowed to theughter of his colleagues, taking a sip out of arge wine jug and belching loudly while skeletal servants brought his fellows various foodstuffs from a crate to their side. ¡°GET THAT FINE ASS OVER HERE AND TALK TO ME!¡±


    ¡°YEAH, COME TALK TO US!¡± Another, younger drunk necromancer called out while stroking the head of a zombie wolf. ¡°WE PLACE NICE, WE PROMISE! MAYBE A LITTLE ROUGH, BUT IT¡¯LL FEEL GREAT!¡±


    More guffaws followed, but the hushed silence from other onlookers giving either group side-eyes and quickly backing up was bing more noticeable.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Natural selection at its finest.¡± Allie muttered, watching Lillith put on a wide, bloodthirsty smile before the archdemoness began stomping over to where the hooting men continued to catcall her. Allie folded her arms and began to chuckle when the screams and explosions started, and shook her head with a sigh. ¡°Things really aren¡¯t all that different from Earth, even here in the abyss. Not sure what to think about that.¡±


    ¡°Fifty gold says Lillith makes a crystal cross formation out of the five of them.¡± Ath mused, absentmindedly putting her hand into a pouch and drawing out a snack to chomp on while staring at the explosive carnage not far off.


    Fay nodded sagely. ¡°Oh it¡¯sing alright.¡±


    More screams.


    Riven turned to look at the three conversing women with folded arms. ¡°What¡¯s a crystal cross forma-¡±


    ¡°OOOOOOoooooohhhh¡­..¡± A collective wince from the gathered crowd echoed out with a squeal and a snap, and Riven¡¯s eyes went wide as his jaw dropped at the sight before them.


    Ath pointed. ¡°That¡¯s a crystal cross formation.¡±


    Still gaping, Riven leaned his head left, and then right, to get a better look at just what Lillith had done. ¡°How does that make anatomic sense?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t.¡± Ath replied, reaching into her pouch again and pulling out another morsel. Hesitating, she offered it to Riven over the continued screams of Lillith¡¯s victims. ¡°Want a chocte covered raisin?¡±


    ¡°Is that what that is?¡± Riven asked, amused. Picking it up and popping it into his mouth, he chewed and nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Where did you get these?¡±


    ¡°Nora brought them.¡± Ath replied, hiking a finger back at the Asian woman who was staring horror-struck at what Lillith was doing to the poor idiots who¡¯d catcalled her moments before. ¡°I traded some crackers and a hand-stitched pouch made of my bloodsilk for them. Nora¡¯s kind of a snackie, or¡­ what was it you called yourself?¡±


    Nora didn¡¯t reply, but Fay did in her stead.


    ¡°A foodie, I believe.¡± Fay stated, tapping her fingers along the grimoire held against her chest. ¡°Just how long do you think she¡¯ll be at it?¡±


    ¡°Knowing Lillith¡¯s training regimes? They¡¯re akin to torture, so probably a long while.¡± Allie sighed. Hoisting her ymore up over her shoulder, she began to move towards a stall not far off from where Lillith was now torturing her victims. ¡°Come on everyone, let¡¯s go shopping for a bit while Lillith finishes up. Unless of course, you want to interrupt her. But I certainly won''t be the one that tries. Oh, and Fimrindle - if you want something just say so. You¡¯ve been awfully quiet, so speak up if you do.¡±

 Chapter 281

    Chapter 281


    <strong>Chapter 281</strong>


    The canyonplex and sprawling tent city was full of dead-end trenches dug into the greater cliff faces beneath the swarms of flying monsters, giving the more prominent factions of the descent on floor 2 areas of rtive security to hunker down in. The Deadman''s Featherfall Trading Guild, a notorious mafia enterprise known for its exorbitant prices and unyielding dedication to quality, had imed one of these particr trenches as its own and had a reputation on the second level as a ce to find some of the best items avable on the greater market. The proximity to the lower floors made it a go-between for descent divers and the other establishedpanies on the first floor in the city too, meaning that although many of the things here on the second floor were unrefined before being passed back to the craftsmen above on floor 1 - the list of potential items was usually unscoured and plentiful.


    It was thus a spot that the group had agreed to check out before proceeding to the next floor, and Riven¡¯s group had quite a lot of money to spend.


    Approaching the trench and trudging through the tent city where the palpable stench of decay became more prevalent with the faint hum of cryptic whispers, the roaming pack of mindless undead trailing behind them was quite the caravan to be seen.


    Anding to a stop in front of the undead proprietors at the mouth of therge trench where The Deadman¡¯s Featherfall Trading Guild had set up, it was both these mindless minions that Retesh and Allie had imed - and the elder lich and angel of death herself - that most caught the attention of the sentries at the gate.


    With their hollow eyes and pallidplexions, a small detachment of ghouls and skresh made their way to intercept Riven¡¯s caravan while bypassing many of the other customers that were already waiting in line. Their skeletal forms, draped in tattered robes and adorned with an array of curious trinkets over runic armor, seem to blend seamlessly into the murky shadows that shrouded the canyons.


    ¡°Stop.¡± The lead soldier called out, holding up a shriveled, armor-d hand with a stern expression as he and two dozen others came to stand in front of Riven¡¯s parade. He''d obviously once been a demon himself, with horns adorning the ghoul''s forehead and a skeletal tail trailing behind him - and half of his right cheek was missing to expose bare teeth. ¡°Minions of any kind cannot be allowed inside. Even for someone of your standing.¡±


    His eyes went in and out of focus while taking in the MYTHIC tags on both Riven and Lillith, before settling on Allie. The ghoul soldier bowed respectfully in her direction, and gave a nod to Fimrindle when the reaper appeared nearby in a crouched position on top of a nearby boulder. ¡°I apologize for the inconvenience, but we have had too many attempt to cause problems using minions as a meat shield, and we simply don¡¯t have the room to amodate so many if every necromancer or summoner wanted to bring in their underlings.¡±


    Narg the beholder demon, floating beside Azmoth, gave a sputtering his of protest. ¡°I am needed to make sure the master is able to identify your wares properly!¡±¡°I do not leave Allie¡¯s side.¡± Fimrindle confirmed with another blur of motion to stand next to the angel he served. ¡°You will let us in, or we will leave.¡±


    ¡°Agreed, we can¡¯t just let the reincarnation of Gluttony walk into your store without guards.¡± Ath mused, casually leaning against Riven and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. ¡°Can we?¡±


    The ghoul gave Riven another nce, eyebrows furrowing slightly - but otherwise did not appear too surprised. ¡°I have heard of your dealings above¡­ we do not wish for violence. But those stories give us even more reason to stop your passage should you attempt to bring your minions with you. All of your minions. I am sorry, but-¡±


    He was cut off when an aura of death descended upon their position, and a huge, shirtless mannded beside them. Four long, ck wings protruded from his back, he was covered in tattoos, with two pale gray eyes and a halo simr to Allie¡¯s own over his head. He stood, his rippling muscles etched into his body like Adonis himself, as the ghoul squad leader rapidly took three steps back and bowed in deferance.


    ncing once at the squad serving the tradingpany, and then turning with a polite smile directed in Riven¡¯s direction, the handsome angel of death gestured towards the open gate beyond the line of other customers. ¡°Forgive my fellows, they are just doing their job as instructed. It is an honor to have customers of your caliber visit our humble home, and it would please us eternally to have you enter our abode. Please, feel free to take your sentient minions with you. The mass of non-sentient undead will still have to stay outside due to restraints on room, but rest assured that your safety here is guaranteed by thepany - and we will discreetly be on high alert while you browse our wares. Please,e inside. You of all people should not have to wait in any line.¡±


    Fimrindle grunted in approval, then vanished into thin air between blinks as if he¡¯d never been there to begin with.


    Smirking at Allie¡¯s expression from underneath her bone helmet at seeing another angel of death for the very first time, Riven took Ath by the hand and started walking forward into the gloom of the trench where a sprawling setup of tents, stone, and wooden constructs awaited them beyond the gates. ¡°Come on Narg, I¡¯ll be counting on you to tell us all about the items they have to make sure they¡¯re valid. Up to the task?¡±


    The beholder demon abruptly took in a deep breath of air in his excitement before floating onwards to follow them. ¡°Of course, great one! I only wish to serve!¡±


    ***


    Numerous stalls with different groups of descenders were filled to the brim, haggling and trading was in full swing, and different high-borns of the darker side of the multiverse were giving Riven¡¯s group a myriad of expressions while he stood at his own stall desk.


    ¡°A vampire prince from the Blood Moon Requiem as Gluttony¡¯s reincarnation? I had thought it was just a rumor. It appears I was mistaken. To think that a greater undead would be one of demon-kind¡¯s bastions¡­ now that is something I would not have ever guessed at.¡±


    The ghoul merchant, d in a green gold-flecked robe, eyed the party with a skeptically raised eyebrow. The other robed undead behind him underneath the canopy of thepany tent cast curious nces their way while dealing with other customers from time to time, but overall their demeanor was rather reserved and polite despite the gawking some of the random passersby gave them.


    ¡°A lich, a human, an angel of death¡­ oh you¡¯re a rare breed. It is an honor to be in your presence, hero of the Death pir.¡± The ghoul gave Allie in particr an appraising and almost reverent look, before ncing over at Lillith next. It was obvious by the way he took them in that he held no reverence for Riven or Lillith as many of demonkind did, and if anything - he looked at Allie far more favorably. ¡°And the Lady of ck Skies too, your legend precedes you. Things are certainly bing interesting down here in the descent¡­¡±


    The undead man picked up the list of things Riven and the others were looking for - before scribbling down some notes and handing the parchment to an assistant. With a nod the skeletal assistant took flight back into rows of boxes, barrels, and shelves lined with various odds and ends.


    ¡°Enchanted protective jewelry including five ck stareater amulets, abyssal sigils for item upgrades, dao treasures for cultivation, unholy spiritual crystals for soulttice cleansing, crafting ingredients of all sorts concerning totems, any artifact staves or melee weapons that we may havee by from floor-boss drops, information on this year¡¯s optional floor boss, and information on any item sets able to be found in the abyssal descent that have growth potential.¡± The ghoul¡¯s dead eyes slowly settled on Lillith, and then Riven. ¡°It will be more than a few minutes but I believe our trading guild can get some options for what you need. We¡¯ll be back after we find some selections of what you¡¯re looking for, but know that it will be expensive.¡±


    Retesh shifted ufortably, his skeletal head twisting and turning while he clenched and unclenched a bone hand over and over again. ¡°Hopefully it does not take too long¡­¡±


    The ghoul merchant ignored Retesh¡¯sment, and proceeded to walk back into the maze of cargo after his assistant.


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    ncing over his shoulder, Riven eyed the lich with a discerning gaze. ¡°You alright?¡±


    There was a pause, and Retesh gave him an almost disbelieving look. ¡°I do not know you as well as I know Allie, Riven. So know that I do not mean offense when I say this, but how is it that you can be so calm while our brothers and sisters die in our absence?¡±


    Riven and Allie shared a look.


    ¡°He¡¯s talking about the people back on Panu.¡± Allie confirmed with a brief re of her wings, leaning on her exquisite ymore to support her weight - a weapon she¡¯d only just recentlye to wield appropriately after months of training under Lillith¡¯s tutge.


    ¡°Indeed I am.¡± Retesh said with an underlying rage to his voice, and his bones rattled as the clenching and unclenching of his fists grew more rapid. ¡°Everyday we stay here is another day that more of my people die. Another day that more of OUR people die, you are undead too - Riven, even if you are also now of demon blood. Back on our world, our people are undergoing genocide. That smug bitch Judith Marcina is growing an army of natives and off-worlders alike to cull us, and it has been long since I have stepped foot on the soil of my homnd. I have been given news by Lillith that my people have been epted as refugees onto the continent of Umbra, which the Thane Necropolis controls, but the pilgrimages are long and the merfolk are just as willing to kill us for what we are as that damn nephilim wench. I wish to be rid of this ce- and soon, so that I may rejoin the war effort where I am needed most. I have been here for my own cultivation efforts far too long¡­¡±


    ¡°Your efforts will be rewarded by the time the descent is done.¡± Lillith said with a dismissive wave of her hand. ¡°In the end, you will save more of your people than what you could have done previously by-¡±


    ¡°That is easy for you to say when it is not your own kin that die by the thousands every day!¡± Retesh snapped back in anger, only to hastily humble himself with a bow of his head. ¡°I¡­ I am sorry, Lillith. I meant no offense, I am just on edge. Your people have been a great teacher to me, and that was both uncalled for - and disrespectful. I apologize for my rudeness.¡±


    Lillith, whose features had initially hardened as his original retort, softened herself and shook her head. ¡°Ah, Retesh. I know all too well that particr sting of loss¡­ you are forgiven. But do know that, in the end, only the pursuit of true individual power can promise the changes you seek. Relying on oneself and your own abilities is the only thing you can truly control, so cultivating to the pinnacle here and now will pay dividends far down the road beyond what you can see in front of you. Take sce in the fact that you are doing what needs to be done for a long payoff, rather than mindlessly killing without insight into a path beyond basic violence.¡±


    The lich opened and closed his mouth three times with the clicking of bone on bone, but eventually he stilled - and slumped his shoulders as his hands unclenched one final time. ¡°I hope you are right, Lillith. I just feel an enormous amount of guilt, and feel like I have abandoned the ones I have raised up only to be ughtered like children and sheep at a butcher¡¯s hand.¡±


    From behind where Riven stood leaning against the counter, a deep baritone voice called out his name. ¡°Prince Riven Wraithtide and Princess Allie Wraithtide of the Blood Moon Requiem¡­ I have heard stories of you two even in my sector of the multiverse. Your existence has caused quite a stir across the cosmos for someone in F-grade. I must say that I¡¯m jealous.¡±


    Turning around, Riven caught sight of a well dressed human with slicked back ck hair wearing a ck suit. He had overly pale skin, with brown eyes and a firm jawline. He carried a cane, though he was just as young as Riven was by the looks of him, and his frame was rather muscr. Behind him, four other handsome young men dressed simrly and all with canes of their own watched passively with stoic expressions.


    Azmoth, however, was standing in his way with crossed arms and shengari shields attached to his back - and the human man had to look around the towering armored demon in order to make eye contact.


    The neer held out a hand of greeting to Azmoth¡¯s side,pletely ignoring everyone else and only having eyes for Riven after a brief nce at Allie. <strong>¡°Jarntus Bemule.</strong> Earl of the Idorac Federation, an ally and neighbor to the Blood Moon Requiem in Universe 10, and I believe a direct neighbor to your own house located on Vartesh in the Luteski sector. I would call a meeting such as this - Fate. For what would the chances of this meeting otherwise be?¡±


    His words immediately grabbed Riven¡¯s attention, and Riven stepped through the tangle of his minions and fellows toe to the front. Looking the man over up and down, he eventually took the man¡¯s hand with a firm grip and slowly nodded.


    ¡°Connected the dots, huh?¡± Riven mused out loud, sending a mental signal to Azmoth to back off. ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve heard of the Idorac Federation, but I¡¯m only just now being introduced to the politics of the Blood Moon Requiem. You must forgive my ignorance.¡±


    The immediate reaction was one of amusement and relief when Azmoth stepped aside, and the man named Jarntus chuckled at the statement before releasing Riven¡¯s hand. ¡°Oh it wasn¡¯t that hard to connect the dots on who you were after my identifier listed your information. Your system title says it all, there is only one Reincarnation of Gluttony walking around and his name is Riven Thane. It is a pleasure to see that you¡¯d actually give me the time of day.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°It means I wasn¡¯t sure you¡¯d even be willing to shake my hand, considering I am not anywhere near your social standing. It is akin to a homeless peasant requesting the attention of a world¡¯s emperor, but I¡¯d heard you¡¯d grown up outside the realm of politics or royal upbringing and took a risk.¡± Jartnus Bemule gave Riven a warm smile. ¡°I¡¯m d the rumors from the Blood Moon Requiem are true. I wish to speak with you, if you have time.¡±


    ¡°He obviously speaks the truth about your discrepancy in standing.¡± Lillith cut in from the side, an irritated re and a frown casting over the lot of five humans. ¡°You really should try to reduce your time conversing with¡­ lesser creatures, such as this. Humans are not worthy of your time.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s openly hostile.¡± Riven said with augh, shaking his head in Lillith¡¯s direction as Jarntus frowned. ¡°And you like Nora, don¡¯t you? She¡¯s human. I started as a human too.¡±


    ¡°You were never human, you and your sister were always purebloods. Even if not of demonic origin, your base race is far above that of insects like these.¡± Lillith retorted, still giving Jartnus the stink-eye. ¡°And Nora is an exception. She¡¯s my drinking partner.¡±


    ¡°Shucks, thanks¡­¡± Nora muttered with a sarcastic eye roll from underneath her Chalgathi hood. ¡°Feelings not hurt at all, definitely not! And for the record, it was more like I was FORCED to drink whenever I messed up in training!¡±


    Allie snickered.


    "Which happened a lot." Lillith let her re slip with a grin shot in Nora¡¯s direction, but then returned to scowling while eyeing the neers. ¡°I¡¯ve never even heard of the Idorac Federation. They¡¯re likely just brown-nosers Riven, and you¡¯ll get lots of them as the eons pass you bye. For dogs like these, it is better to just ignore them or force them to leave.¡±


    The gluttonous maw on Riven¡¯s armored chest rumbled in approval, but Riven still shook his head. ¡°I live life on the edge, you old hag. I do what I want, when I want.¡±


    ¡°Old hag!?¡± Lillith retorted in astonishment. ¡°I look just as young as your two bimbo girlfriends!¡±


    ¡°BIMBO!?¡± Ath gasped in horror. She then pointed an usatory finger at Fay. ¡°Don¡¯t lump me in with HER!¡±


    ¡°HEY!¡± Fay protested and threw up her arms while the groupughed. ¡°What¡¯s THAT supposed to mean!?¡±


    Ath pooched her lips in Fay¡¯s direction and crossed her arms, thrusting her hips out to bump Riven teasingly. ¡°It means that I am a sophisticated PRINCESS, while you¡¯re just a hoe.¡±


    Cackling, Riven shoved Ath off of him before the two women he was dating started their regr cat-fighting and shook his head. Turning his attention back to Jarntus with a wide smile that showed his fangs, Riven rubbed his forehead with a sigh as the sound of a small scuffle breaking out with feminine yelps caused him to groan with amusement. ¡°Some things will never change. Anyways, despite what Lillith says I¡¯d be more than happy to talk to you. It isn¡¯t often that I get to meet people from my great grandmother¡¯s part of the multiverse.¡±


    His smile returning rather gratefully, Jarntus gave him a bow and then bowed in Allie¡¯s direction next as she took off her full te helm made from bone. ¡°Princess Allie Wraithtide, your beauty is a thing of legends. I had heard you¡¯d turned your back on the Blood God in favor of The Scythe, but to see your angelic figure standing in front of me with the brilliance of-¡±


    ¡°I have a boyfriend.¡± Allie retorted, unphased by his obvious ttery. ¡°His name is Lahn, and he¡¯s waiting for me back on my homeworld. I don¡¯t wish to engage in flirting, thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°Well of course you have a man courting you, and of course not!¡± Jarntus hastily said with a sheepishugh and a head scratch. He quickly straightened and became even paler. ¡°I was not attempting to- I mean I was not trying to engage in- eh, forgive me, princess. I mean nothing by it. I would never dream of suspecting that I was worthy of a princess of the Requiem, or a hero of death!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re forgiven as long as you know your ce.¡± Allie replied with a nk stare. ¡°Now what is it you want with us?¡±


    Swallowing and showing nervousness for the first time, Jarntus returned his attention back to the more friendly of the two siblings - being Riven. ¡°Well as I was stating before, I am an Earl of the Idorac Federation and a direct neighbor to House Wraithtide. In particr, my family is located in your own Luteski sector and three sr systems away from your trading hub on Vartesh. I was hoping that, perhaps if I helped you here in the Abyssal Descent, that we may discuss business propositions concerning trade rtions that may be beneficial to both our houses. Would you be interested?¡±


    Riven clicked his tongue thoughtfully. He honestly doubted that this man could help him here in the descent at all, considering he had the resources of the entire Church of Gluttony at his disposal here. In fact, the Church of Gluttony would foot the bill for anything that he couldn¡¯t personally afford to buy. But there was no harm in seeing what the man had to say, and Riven was rather curious about news from Universe 10 where the Blood Moon Requiem held most of its territory.


    ¡°Alright, take your shot.¡± Riven said with a shrug. ¡°You¡¯ve got until the merchantes back with our requested items to make your pitch. If I¡¯m interested, we can talk. Otherwise I¡¯ll have to forgo negotiations, because we¡¯re kind of on a time crunch. And I believe we have an optional challenge boss for this floor to fight before the day¡¯s end before proceeding into the third floor of the descent.¡±

 Chapter 282

    Chapter 282


    <strong>Chapter 282</strong>


    Arge fissure appeared, farrger than any of the others, and its conjuration led to a shudder that the entire multiverse felt. Each universe was washed in the spark of creation as pieces of Elysium fell from the beyond; and a new presence began to seep into the deep, dark ces of space.


    <strong>[Multiversal System Notice: To all creatures across Elysium, let it be known that the return of the Sins and Commandments is at hand. The second, third, and fourth of the seven original sins, have been unleashed from the abyss. Wrath, Greed, and Sloth have simultaneously exited the Abyss after having chosen their host reincarnations. The second and third of the seven originalmandments have been unleashed from the abyss. Judgement and Truth have simultaneously exited the Abyss after having chosen their host reincarnations. </strong>


    <strong>Release has been expedited. Other sins andmandments will be released from the abyss over the course of the next six months as long as they are willing to abide by Elysium¡¯s terms. Let the Eternal War between the hells and heavens begin again, as the origins of angels and demons sh in the cosmos - unshackled, and unrestrained, seeking to return to the power they once had.]</strong>


    Silence reigned in the ever expanding darkness of the prison that Gluttony hade to know so well over the eons. His mind turned, watching his counterparts leave this ce of solitude along with all of their own banished servants that flocked after them like bees to honey.


    Only Lust, Envy, Wrath, Piety, Selflessness, Humility, and Patience remained. They remained here in the deepest part of Elysium, farthest away from the light, where golden cracks were beginning to spread across the outer shell of the multiverse as another of Elysium¡¯s kind began to gnaw at the edges.


    Elysium was starting to decay.


    Pride, Gluttony¡¯s greatest ally, shrouded the two of them in a cocoon of istion. ¡°My rage grows once more, old friend¡­ I cannot help but feel that we are being lied to¡­ This is nothing but a farce yed by Elysium. It is a game. And so I must ask, what brings the great maw to my doorstep, after so recently having been set free? What keeps you from the great hunts you so often gorge yourself upon?¡±


    Gluttony let out a stark, gutturalugh. ¡°It is certainly a farce. Elysium did not happen to let us out for no reason, it would not have done so if it did not have to, and that is why I came. Do you know what is happening here on the outer shell, Pride?¡±The spirit of Pride paused. ¡°I have and inkling of an idea¡­ as much as any of us do. It could be one of a few things, but I lean towards aplete reset. This force that Elysium is fighting against is just as strong or stronger than the fabric of our own multiverse, and Elysium cannot afford to leave us trapped here as it is. When Gctis finally breaks through¡­ Elysium will shun all other protocols in favor of an offensive merge. When that happens¡­¡±


    Pride trailed off.


    ¡°When that happens, probably within the next few years, everything will be thrown into chaos.¡± Gluttony agreed thoughtfully. His internal sight briefly stalled on his reincarnation¡¯s body, where Riven was speaking to some lowly F-grade scion. Amusement red from within. ¡°It depends on how things happen in the fight toe, but the scenarios I see ying out could range from aplete reset as you say - where all of the greater powers in the multiverse are reduced back to their fundamentals. I find this unlikely though, in the face of a soft reset or a more probable scrambling.¡±


    ¡°A soft reset? Or scrambling?¡± Pride repeated, and the abyss around him began to churn with excitement. ¡°A scrambling would be more favorable. I would not like to be set upon the path of equalization, rather I want to have a chance at fighting my way back to the top through opponents stronger than I. It has been so long that I was the apex warrior of existence that I have forgotten what it is like to struggle against a possible defeat, and the idea intrigues me. I am tired of my own perfection, tired of being the very best without equal. I very much look forward to it, and hope that you are right, so that I can prove to Elysium itself that even if thrown down - I will be able to achieve perfection once more in spite of its actions. A scramble¡­ a scramble would be exactly what we need.¡±


    Gluttony¡¯s gaze shifted back to the other sin, ignoring the self-praise that was ever there whenever speaking with Pride. ¡°If such a thing happens, are you looking to be on your own again? If so, it is unlikely that we will see one another for a very long time from now. If so, it is likely that this will be myst goodbye for many millennia.¡±


    Pride did not respond, instead - he just kept staring at the ever-spreading cracks across Elysium¡¯s outer shell.


    The silence was enough of an answer for Gluttony, after having known Pride for so long.


    ¡°I shall miss you, old friend.¡± Gluttony stated after a time. ¡°Please let me know if you have reconsidered my proposal. If the heavens and hells to shift, if multiverses collide, it would be good to have one such as you as someone who I could call upon. In the meantime, I will gather my forces and attempt to take the tiny world I havended on, as my reincarnation says - <em>¡®before shit hits the fan.¡¯</em> Be safe, and take care.¡±


    Gluttony began to withdraw from the abyssal prison, when Pride stopped him with a mental ping.


    ¡°Be sure to kill Greed¡¯s reincarnation before the timees.¡± Pride called out,ughing when he got a malicious grin from Gluttony in response. ¡°Be sure to make Greed feel pain as you do it¡­ That disgusting roach has been an absolute pest ever since being quarantined with him here. Almost to the point that I¡¯d rather speak with those damnedmandments rather than him.¡±


    This got an outrageous fit ofughter out of Gluttony, and the great maw ignored the nces of the other origins sharing their dark corner of space when the quarantined zone passed away. ¡°I will do so. Fare well, and I hope to see you change your mind.¡±


    Pride let out a chuckle of his own. ¡°Perhaps I will. We shall see¡­¡±


    ***


    Sheline Wraithtide hummed to herself, pushing her long brown ponytail off of her shoulder and letting it drag across her back. Her red eyes gleamed with gentle light as the bloody vial was poured into the soup, and a small hand reached up to grab at it before she lovingly swatted the hand away.


    ¡°Jerald!¡± Sheline scolded, frowning down at the little boy in mock anger as he giggled up at her and ran to hide behind her husband¡¯s chair. ¡°I told you not to grab at the kitchen bowls while I¡¯m cooking! You could burn yourself!¡±


    Timvar, a handsome young man by most appearances and equally pale to Sheline, raised an eyebrow from where he sipped his coffee. Though he was certainly older than he looked, as was his wife. Flipping a page in his book, he continued transcribing the work he¡¯d been paid by the local guild to do after giving his youngest son a quick smile of approval. ¡°Don¡¯t make your mother too angry now! You¡¯ll be sent right back to your bed again, and we don¡¯t want that! Remember what mom said about obeying her rules in the kitchen?¡±


    ¡°You say that while silently goading him with your eyes.¡± Sheline stated with an exasperated sigh. ¡°Just look at him! Jerald¡¯s giggling at us! He¡¯s NEVER going to take us seriously!¡±


    Timvar Wraithtide merely chuckled along with his son and ignored his wife¡¯s unrealistic pleas. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll survive, honey.¡±


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Outside their cabin home, peddlers and merchants were closing up for the day as calls from the town guard made everyone aware the gates were being shut for the night. Wheels turning over cobblestone roads andughter from the local bar caused them to be at ease, and a rapid knock at the door caused Timvar to look up with furrowed brows. ¡°Is that Markus?¡±


    ¡°Package delivery!¡± The squeaky voice of a teenage boy called through the wooden door.


    ¡°Definitely Markus arlight.¡± Sheline stated with a smirk. She wiped her hands on her blouse and gave her tiny son Jerald a stern look, before heading over to the door. ¡°No touching the food, Jerald!¡±


    Opening it, sunlight trailed in through the doorway and caused her to wince. Regardless, she stared down at the skinny teenager with a pleasant gentleness as she took the box of blood-filled vials from the runner. ¡°Thanks Markus. What do I owe you?¡±


    ¡°Two shills!¡± The boy said with a wide smile, scuffing his shoes against the cobblestone and shifting back and forth from foot to foot. ¡°I have a date tonight! So I need all the cash I can get.¡±


    ¡°OH-HOH!¡± She turned back to look at her husband with augh. ¡°Timvar! Did you hear!? Markus has a date tonight, probably with that little redheaded girl down the street!¡±


    Timvar gave a wideugh, disying his fangs while the teenager at the door rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Money please!¡±


    Giggling, Sheline handed the young man the money after fishing it out from one of her pockets. ¡°Now begone with you! And good luck on your date! I expect to hear great things!¡±


    Marks smiled, thanked them, and skipped down the street towards his house. Watching him go, Sheline felt the firm hand of her husband rest on her left shoulder.


    ¡°Did he bring the ingredients for the Charisma neutralizing potions too?¡± He asked, looking into the box where leaves and roots had been stuffed between ss vials. ¡°Ah, there they are! Very nice! We were almost out.¡±


    ¡°Gods forbid that happens.¡± Sheline said with an eye roll. ¡°Thest time¡­¡±


    She abruptly stopped, and felt something from far, far away call to her. She looked up at the sky of sunset hues, staring into the distance past the clouds at something that even her husband could not see. Mouth slowly hanging ajar, her grip loosened - and the box of blood-filled vials dropped to shatter on the road with a curse from Timvar.


    ¡°Honey! You let everything spill!¡± He said irritatedly, getting down on his knees to pick up the pieces. ¡°What¡¯se over you!?¡±


    Sheline did not reply. Instead, she just continued to stare. The cracks that were forming on the outer shell of Gctis were spreading, and through it - she felt the afterimage of the prophecy she¡¯d left behind in Elysium¡¯s Abyssal Descent sing back to her.


    Riven, her little boy Riven, had finallye into contact with her spiritual marker.


    The prophecy was starting toe into fruition.


    After all these years, it was finally time. Her other children were finallying home.


    To her.


    She could only hope that they would forgive her for what she had done. And she had to wonder just what games her grandmother would start to y, whenever the high queen finally found out what was really going on.


    ***


    The silence after the system-wide notification aboutmandments and sins was palpable, but it onlysted for a few minutes until things resumed as normal.


    ¡°Just what do you think that you¡¯d be able to offer the two of us, human?¡± Allie asked, nonplussed by the man¡¯s eagerness to have their attention. ¡°We have the ear of people far more influential than you, I have a feeling this will be a grand waste of our time.¡±


    ¡°We have time to burn while the merchants go get our stuff.¡± Riven said with a shrug, a lot more rxed than his little sister was - even if he was constantlybatting the urge to tell her about the vision of their mother Sheline. That would have to wait for another time. ¡°And we¡¯ll have more than enough excitementter when we fight the floor 2 optional boss. I even heard that it ys to your weaknesses! It¡¯ll be neat fighting such a creature.¡±


    Jarntus Bemule, self proimed Earl of the Idorac Federation, leaned forward in his seat to better look at Riven and Allie with a serious gaze. ¡°I want to secede from my empire, and I want to join your house.¡±


    Riven and Allie both turned their heads with shocked expressions.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ What was that?¡± Riven asked, just to make sure he had heard correctly.


    Jarntus repeated his im. ¡°The Idorac Federation is¡­ offput. I don¡¯t know what exactly is going on in the upper brass, but something is amiss. I have a very bad feeling about how they¡¯re allocating resources and the fleets, and my house is all of the same mind.¡±


    Jarntus waved back at his four followers with their suits and canes, and each of the other young men gave hesitant or stern nods of agreement to Jarntus¡¯s words.


    Riven raised an eyebrow and put his hand behind his head, leaning back in his chair. ¡°That¡¯s rather abrupt, and I honestly have no idea what or who your house even is. I don¡¯t even know if you¡¯re really an earl. How am I supposed to make that judgement call?¡±


    ¡°Just please, listen to me.¡± Jarntus pleaded, not willing to back down an inch and firming his jaw. ¡°There is something very, very wrong going on with the king. He-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not our problem.¡± Allie stated sourly with narrowed eyes. ¡°We¡¯re only estranged nobility on a far away, we have no political sway like that.¡±


    Jarntus, for his part, blinked rapidly, then began tough uproariously. ¡°No sway you say!? Do you even know who and what you are!?¡±


    Beginning to shed tears of amusement, Jarntus guffawed and wiped at his face with a sleeve. ¡°Ah, it truly is refreshing to see the two of you being so different than most of the nobility from the Blood Moon Requiem. Do you want to know what it¡¯s usually like when meeting royalty of your faction? Even lesser royalty, such as those in the 500th seat or below?¡±


    ¡°There are 500 seats!?¡± Riven asked, awestruck.


    Jarntus gave him a sidelong look. ¡°Far more than that. Your empire is very old, Riven. There are thousands of seats given out to the royals, and you¡¯re¡­ what? 37th in line for the throne?¡±


    ¡°36th.¡± Riven corrected with a side to side nod. ¡°After I killed Jalel.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes! After you killed the other prince!¡± Jarntus said with a grin. ¡°I watched that episode on the cortex too. You really fought quite well for being untrained most of your life!¡±


    The backhandedpliment was not one Riven appreciated, but it got snickers from Azmoth and Ath while Fay frowned furiously.


    ¡°Riven is more than fine at fighting! And he¡¯s an absolute genius when ites to grasping magic!¡± Fay stated defensively, putting her arms around Riven¡¯s shoulders. ¡°And he¡¯s a sensitive, new age male! You¡¯ll hurt his feelings if you talk about him like that!¡±


    Riven scrunched his nose and pursed his lips while ring back at the subus as Ath began tough harder. ¡°Thanks¡­ Fay. You really do me a solid sometimes, you know that?¡±


    The subus beamed, kissing him on the cheek and not realizing he was being sarcastic.


    ¡°Anyways¡­¡± Riven muttered.


    Jarntus took the moment to capitalize on the silence, and started speaking again. ¡°No offense intended, Riven. I meant to say that you did very well. Regardless, you are 36th in line for the throne. That is far, far more influential than you realize. If you wanted to, you could easily contact my empire and ask to buy the my family rules over. For a price, of course, but it would be worth it and your family only owns one if I¡¯m not mistaken. Two, if you end up conquering Panu. We wouldn¡¯t be able to secede ourselves, but if it were a favor to an ally like you¡­ Perhaps, if you gave a discount on services at the trade hub your family owns for a few decades¡­¡±


    Jarntus let his voice trail off. ¡°Then we¡¯d be in your debt.¡±


    ¡°Well of course you¡¯d be in my debt, you¡¯re asking me to buy a damn!¡± Rivenughed. ¡°And again, I know so little about you or this that I¡¯m honestly inclined to say know. I don¡¯t know anything about the demeanor of your king, what these ¡®oddities¡¯ are that you¡¯re talking about in your empire, or what makes you REALLY want to secede. You¡¯re being very vague, and until you exin in detail, I¡¯m absolutely refusing. Nor do I know if I even have that kind of swing, despite your words. It would be something that I¡¯d want to run by Katherine¡­¡±


    Riven stopped speaking momentarily, realizing that Kathrine was still missing and getting a sinking feeling in his gut. But the banished were on it even now, and it was unlikely that they¡¯d not find her. The question was, would she be alive when they did.


    ¡°Tell us in detail why and how your empire¡¯s ruling faction is acting oddly, and we may discuss the matter afterwards.¡± Allie cut in with a dismissive, queenly wave of her hand. ¡°You can¡¯t expect us just to buy the you live on out of the goodness of our hearts. Especially when it is already owned by another sovereign state. We have to be convinced it is in our best interest to do so, for all we know your is a barren rock that has no real value.¡±


    Jarntus frowned again, but nodded soon thereafter. ¡°It is certainly not as prosperous as your own family¡¯s trade empire, but my is full of opportunities to harvest aquatic treasure troves of spiritual herbs. They grow naturally in my homnd, amongst the ind nations that speckle an otherwise sea-covered world. I can easily supply you with invoices showing how profitable my parent¡¯s estates are and what the economy is like. But that in itself makes it even weirder concerning what the king and lords of the inner courts are doing. The Federal Monarchy is tight-lipped about why, but they¡¯re pooling all of their military might within one single sr system - leaving the outskirts of the empirepletely undefended. They¡¯ve also paid vast amounts of money to terraform inhospitable worlds in the core sr system of our empire instead of developing already flourishings in others. Lastly, they¡¯re making their most talented minds relocate to the inner sr system or capital world with huge stipends to draw them in. People are beginning to worry, trade routes are deteriorating, and piracy is bing rampant. I am afraid that my own is being left isted too, as we are on the fringe of our own empire just like you are. I am afraid that something big is about to happen, and that whatever it is - it¡¯s going to be bad. There have been rumors of riots and rebellions, ones that are not being suppressed despite the ability to do so. What I want is protection, and based on the actions of my king - I would assume he¡¯s far more open to selling my family¡¯s to you than you¡¯d think.¡±

 Chapter 283

    Chapter 283


    <strong>Chapter 283</strong>


    Jarntus Bemule left the trading enve with only a half-hearted smile and a word of thanks, with the other humans from the Idorac Federation trailing him. He hadn¡¯t gotten what he¡¯d wanted, not exactly anyways, but Riven also wasn¡¯t willing to promise him anything beyond an ¡°I¡¯ll look into it.¡±


    ¡°You could have been a bit more forthright in your interest.¡± Allie stated absentmindedly, raising an eyebrow in her brother¡¯s direction as the Earl left. ¡°I could tell that you wanted to know more. I personally don¡¯t think the Blood Moon Requiem would be very keen on me pulling the strings of our house now that I¡¯ve forsaken the Blood God, but if it were you? If what the man is saying rings true, I¡¯m sure you could make it happen.¡±


    Riven waved a hand dismissively as he saw the approaching undead merchantsing back from the secluded rows of boxes, barrels, and shelves of merchandise. Standing up, he cleared his throat and approached the desk. ¡°I know too little about politics such as that to give a firm answer. He¡¯ll have to do with what I gave him and await an inquiry from General Viku.¡±


    ¡°The Deadman¡¯s Featherfall Trading Guild is nothing if not resourceful!¡± The ghoul merchant said, ignoring the humans who¡¯d just taken there leave - and beaming at Riven with a wide smile as he was followed by a three other ghouls, two skresh, and a fleshy risen-demon that was constantly wreathed in cinders and deathly me. ¡°May I present to you our wares! I included some extra pieces than what was asked for, just in case you wanted all of it.¡±


    He tipped his hood with a snake-like look in his dead eyes. ¡°Given that your church is paying for most of this with promissory notes. Perhaps you could even grant some of them to your disciples back in your home world? Not much of this can be found on an outer rim, if the rumors of your origins are true.¡±


    Amused, but not disagreeing, Riven got up along with the others to approach the multiple trays of items that¡¯d been set out along the counter of their stall.


    And indeed, everything Riven had asked for was there.


    Five sets of uniform amulets and rings had ck crystals set in silver metal with protective enchantments on each of various sorts, of far higher grade than anything that could be bought on Panu. Over three dozen abyssal sigils, which were enchantment ques glowing a deep purple that could be stuck and fused into pieces of armor for quick upgrades, were stacked neatly next to each other in a line. Dao treasures in the form of various herbs radiating unholy energies were in abundance, with varieties picked out for each pir underneath the unholy umbre. A flower in a state of constant decay radiated necrotic death energy, a five-pointed leaf seemingly made from blood itself, a vine crackling and writhing in ce with chaos energy, a burning cabbage-like nt, the list went on. Numerous spiritual crystals were also in abundance, more reserved in their outward appearance than the dao treasures were - but each of them glowed with internal energies of a particr type one way or the other.¡°If you notice¡­¡± The ghoul began, stopping Riven from continuing as he picked up the ming cabbage in one hand - and the necrotic flower in the other. ¡°These nts are actually still intact,pletely so. You could even begin your own garden if the environment is right, though I will say that these fully intact specimens are far more expensive than the individual parts they otherwisee in. Otherwise, the more processed versions of these dao treasures can be found in smaller pieces for bouts of cultivation in shorter bursts. The crystals could also be used to form cultivation rooms if set correctly! We also only brought the finest crystals avable, greater soul crystals of pristine quality that may cost-¡±


    ¡°Price is irrelevant.¡± Lillith confirmed with a downwards slice of her hand. ¡°Just be sure you don¡¯t make it too oundish, or this will be thest time the church does business here.¡±


    She nced Riven¡¯s way. ¡°I think the garden and cultivation room would be nice additions to your guild hall¡­ considering that we¡¯ll likely be needing to use the guild hall sooner than you¡¯d think.¡±


    Riven furrowed his brows, confused by thement, but Lillith made no attempt to enlighten him further. ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯ll take all of it, I guess. Now, let¡¯s talk about those weapons¡­¡±


    Smiling gleefully and rubbing his hands together, the ghoul merchant moved on to the next set of items on the countertop. ¡°As requested, we have a variety of staves for your lichpanion to choose from - and for you to use as a melee weapon worthy of Gluttony¡­ I present to you two options to choose from. I could not find anything quite worthy of the Great Maw, nothing like that staff you¡¯ve got there, but these two are some of the best close-range weapons we could find on short notice in the dimensions you requested.¡±


    Again, the options avable here in the descent were of a quality that surpassed anything from back on Panu. And despite what the ghoul merchant said, they certainly weren¡¯t bad.


    There were five staves. Each created from the stiffened, sculpted spine of some unknown creature, but each having a different crystal orb at the top of what could be considered a typical fantasy mage-staff. They¡¯d obviously been made by the same crafter and aside from their different affinities and perks, looked almost identical.


    But Riven¡¯s eyes were more for the two items that Gluttony would be using in his demonic form whenever the shift urred. Riven also knew that Gluttony had some obscure ns about creating a second melee ss involving that shift, but details were scarce. Regardless, it was akin to buying a new car or a new house back when Earth had been around. It was¡­ exciting, forck of better words.


    One was an enormous nged mace, bigger than Riven¡¯s vampire form was from head to foot - but it would fit proportionally into his hands whenever he shifted into hisrger, winged, demonic form. It was made from dark gray metal all down the shaft and up to where the mace split into numerous edges at the top. Those dark neon-purple edges each sparked with unholy energy, and when Riven attempted to pick it up as he was - the weight of the weapon was at the point that he was struggling to lift it. Also, for the first time in a long time, he felt the stinging burning sensation of an item indicative of him not meeting the stat requirements to wield it - and quickly put it back on the counter before the burning sensation became too much. The mace didn¡¯t have any major affects other than on-hit explosive sin damage, but it did have an incredibly high damage rating for F or E grade alike.


    The other was a halberd, and its damage rating was almost equal to the mace. And by halberd, Riven meant a halberd on steroids. It was meant for a titan no less, and was evenrger than the damned mace was by nearly twice over. Reaching far beyond Riven¡¯s body length and crafted out of what appeared to be a strange blue-green jade, it hissed audibly at a constant rate andcked any obvious decorations. Looking over it more carefully, Riven saw that the weapon was actually dissolving the very stone tray it¡¯d beenid upon. It obviously had an acidic effect to it.


    Both items werepletely geared toward closebat fighting, packing a far harder punch than even Jackal did - butcking Jackal¡¯s other passives such as the massive mana regeneration boost or the casting range increase that made it so good for spellcasting.


    <strong>[Mace of Shattering Storms (Awakened Weapon. Sin Artifact.): 2903 average damage on strike, with strikes adding explosive sin damage no impact. High chance for electric discharge and shattering effects to any worn armor on impact. Requires a Sin affinity and 3400 Strength to wield.]</strong>


    <strong>[Giant¡¯s Jade Halberd of Dissolving (Awakened Weapon. Unholy Artifact.): 2740 average damage on strike. Applies acidic and unholy ssh damage on impact that feeds on enemies to do damage over time. Enemies eaten by the acid supplied by this weapon are used as fuel to extend and amplify any applied passive buffs. Requires an Unholy affinity above 60% and a strength stat of over 2000 to wield.</strong>


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the vition.<ul><li>


    <strong>+350 Strength and +10% Strength</strong></li></ul><ul><li>


    <strong>Jade Tidal Wave: Swipe this weapon in a given direction to create a tidal wave of unholy jade acid. The amount and potency of this acid ispletely rvant to your affinity to the Unholy Foundational Pir.]</strong></li></ul>


    ¡°Gluttony, what¡¯s our strength when we turn into our demonic form?¡± Riven asked skeptically, disappointed that he couldn¡¯t wield either of these weapons in his vampire form. ¡°Our strength in this form is only 1167. I can¡¯t pick up either of these things to use as I am now.¡±


    Gluttony chuckled inside his head. ¡°We grow to five times your current height in our demonic form. What do you think it is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. 3000?¡±


    ¡°More.¡±


    ¡°4000?¡±


    ¡°More.¡±


    Riven paused. ¡°Just tell me.¡±


    ¡°We gain an additional 5000 strength with a 30% boost to strength, along with other bonuses, when in my ultimate form.¡±


    Riven whistled in appreciation, ignoring the odd looks he got while conversing silently with his partner. ¡°Wow. I suppose I should probably already know that, huh?¡±


    Gluttony internally grunted in agreement. ¡°It is likely I will have to modify it to extend the time we can spend using our transformation, which will decrease the bonus stats. But that is to be determined by our soulttice construct when we get to E-grade, and when I am able to craft our second ss. Either way, we should have more than enough strength to use either of these weapons. That said, I want the halberd.¡±


    ¡°Why the-¡±


    ¡°You get to outfit us for our mage ss.¡± Gluttony interrupted. ¡°I control our other half. That is the deal. Remember?¡±


    Briefly pooching his lips, Riven shrugged. ¡°Alright then. We¡¯ll take the halberd. And all this other stuff too, but you can take the mace back.¡±


    Retesh had already picked out one of the spine-crafted staves with a nod of thanks to Riven - and was thoroughly inspecting therge green crystal ball set at the top of the shaft. The others had started equipping their defense-boosting rings and amulets in turn. Each ring gave a bonus that absorbed any critical strike in its entirety one time, with a passive recharge rate of a single day, while the amulets each gave arge percentage boost to endurance and a buffer to any physical damage.


    ¡°Very well! Though I¡¯d bind the halberd quickly so it doesn¡¯t try to eat away your flesh. We had an ident earlier involving - eh, nevermind. I¡¯m happy to see you¡¯re happy!¡± The ghoul merchant said eagerly, having two of the skresh workers lift therge sparking mace to carry it away. ¡°I¡¯ll send the invoice directly to your church. Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡± Lillith said with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ve already informed them that the purchase would be made. They¡¯ll be expecting you. Now, for thest thing we required¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah yes!¡± The merchant eximed, pulling out a scroll and handing it over to the shadowy demoness. ¡°Here it is. Information on this year¡¯s optional floor 2 boss. It¡¯s a good one, but rather dangerous even for you. The Abyssal Descent adapts this year based on who you are and what your weaknesses are, and scales based on the individual. So although you may be formidable, I would not take this lightly.¡±


    Lillith began to smile, eyebrows raised and pale white eyes suddenly ring brightly. ¡°Interesting and exciting! I assume the reward forpleting it will be good?¡±


    The merchant nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Oh yes! We¡¯ve had more of our fare share of deaths, but if you manage to beat it - you¡¯ll be given a one way portal ticket to the 20th abyssal floor. The reward is a shortcut this year, and it¡¯ll save you a lot of time on your trek if you manage to do it.¡±


    ***


    With the enormous halberd stored inside his spatial sack along with a copious amount of dao treasures and spiritual crystals for useter, they began making their way down through the tunnels towards where Lillith said the optional floor boss was located. Twists and turns and entire caves filled with bustling activity were present. There were high end subi brothels, gambling dens, groups of muggers picking out marks, a few scattered bodies from the aftermaths of fights, and building crowds the deeper they went.


    ¡°The optional floor boss usually gives buffs, guides, or other means of passing through to the lower levels more easily.¡± Lillith said while she walked at the front of the group in the twisting cave systems, leading them through the rabble that parted before them like the red sea. Those who didn¡¯t move in time, she violently flung aside with effortless ease - and only the stupid tried to get in her way or tried to retaliate for any perceived slights. ¡°I¡¯m surprised it¡¯s an actual shortcut though. Back when I did it in my youth, all I got for beating the 2nd floor boss was an enchantedpass. The deeper you go the harder the fights get and the more energy you can absorb for your soulttice though, so this is far better a reward than what is usual.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like the floor boss is also harder to beat this year¡­¡± Noramented with a head bob side to side. ¡°Not sure what to think about that. I was counting on being carried by the rest of you absolute monsters, I¡¯m the weak link here and am not sure how I canpare to something that is adjusted to your¡­¡±


    Nora motioned to Riven, then Allie, then Retesh, and finally Lillith. ¡°Adjusted to your potency, I suppose. I meane on. That¡¯s just not fair.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine!¡± Allie said, swinging an arm around Nora¡¯s neck and yfully nudging her side. ¡°We¡¯ll keep the big baddies away from you!¡±


    Nora rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m being serious.¡±


    They continued walking through the darkness, and the faint echoes of chanting were soon heard the further they went. The chants became louder, the ruckus more obvious with the tunnels bing more and more packed. And eventually, nearly an hour after having left the trading guild¡¯smune, they arrived at their destination.


    <strong>[Wee to The Abyssal Descent¡¯s optional event: The Floor 2 Boss. Observers are picked at random from the stands by Elysium for a chance at fighting their version of the Floor 2 Boss. This year¡¯s challenge adapts to the challenging group, making it something of a challenge for each group despiteposition. Current death rates this year are as follows: 39.8% of groups lose 1-4 members, while 22.2% of groups are wiped out entirely. Current prize for beating this challenge: a portal for the victorious group straight to Floor 20 of The Abyssal Descent - cutting past all other mandatory floor bosses and challenges. Enter the arena to await your chance at being picked at your own peril. For those waiting and watching, your chance at being picked - though randomized - is increased the longer you stay. Violence against one another while waiting is not permitted while in the arena.]</strong>


    Riven had thought that the arena in Gluttony¡¯s underground church wasrge, he¡¯d thought that there were a lot of people for the games and public fights during his training sessions over the past months spent here, but this¡­


    This was on an entirely different level.


    The arena itself was built into a vast cavern system spanning well over five miles across, and if not for his ascended body and eyesight since integration had begun - he¡¯d not have been able to see the other end of the arena in his old human form. Hundreds of thousands of spectators, possibly more, were lined up along various tforms all around the arena¡¯s perimeter where a spectral barrier enclosed the interior.


    And looking down at the absolutely massive beast of a creature that was currently curb stomping the challenger team far down below, Riven couldn¡¯t help but be just a little bit intimidated. Because if THAT kind of custom-made floor boss was based on just a few ELITE ss participants, what was it going to look like when two mythics, two legendaries, and a couple of elites walked into the arenater on?


    The thought was not encouraging.


    ¡°Is this wise?¡± Riven asked, skeptically ncing Lillith¡¯s way.


    The shadow demoness nodded, not looking back - but staring down at the massive behemoth ripping the enemies apart. ¡°Yes, for two reasons. First is that we¡¯ll be bypassing a lot of other treacherous enemies by doing so. Arguably doing this is safer, if your goal is to reach beyond all the other participants now here. Your Chalgathi quest demands you seed here, does it not? To reach beyond any other and leave with a score that beat thest cycle¡¯s first ce contender?¡±


    This time, she did turn to him with a sad smile. ¡°Secondly, we don¡¯t have much time. And I don¡¯t mean that just because of your world quest.¡±


    There was a pause between them while the others and their entourage of minions all stared down at the unfolding fight in the distance.


    ¡°What exactly is that supposed to mean, Lillith? You¡¯ve been a bit cryptic today already.¡± Riven asked bluntly. ¡°What¡¯s the deal?¡±


    Lillith¡¯s features wavered, then fell, as the ancient demoness folded her arms. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that The Church of Gluttony won¡¯t be around to help us out for much longer.¡±


    Thatment caught Riven off guard. There were many implications of what she¡¯d just said, and he scrutinized her thoroughly. Internally nudging Gluttony, he didn¡¯t get a response from the sin either - even despite knowing Gluttony was very aware of their current conversation.


    ¡°As I said before.¡± Lillith eventually said with a dramatic groan that was very unlike her, pinching the bridge of her nose with one hand as if to ward off a headache. ¡°It is a conversation for after weplete the descent. Until then, let us just focus on the here and now. After that, we¡¯ll have to have a very serious conversation about the greater events unfolding on our and in Elysium¡¯s greater multiverse as a whole. Things are changing, Riven. They¡¯re changing fast, in ways we don¡¯t yet understand, and no one really knows what to expect or when to expect it. But whatever it is, it isn¡¯t good - and there will likely be very longsting consequences in the power dynamics of our entire multiverse as we now know it. Long story short, we need to finish and get out of here as fast as possible, and then need to attempt to finish all of the world quests while conquering Panu as fast as possible. If we do that, we may be able to open the up to allies for immigration purposes. If we can¡¯t im the by Elysium¡¯s standards by the time it all snaps into ce, well¡­ I¡¯m not really sure what will happen.¡±

 Chapter 284

    Chapter 284


    <strong>Chapter 284</strong>


    <strong>[Group #4828 has been picked for the next attempt at defeating Floor Boss 2. Remember that turns are randomized, but the longer you stay - the higher the chance of your group being picked is.</strong>


    <strong>Your own group is registered as: Riven Thane, Lillith of the ck Skies, Allie Thane, Nora Lang, Retesh Vorath, and all associated minions.]</strong>


    Coming to a tform¡¯s ledge on the right-hand side of the miles-wide enclosed arena, Riven and the rest of his group made camp with the hundreds of high-end undead minions surrounding their camp as a buffer to all onlookers; courtesy of Allie and Retesh. Just because Elysium said ¡®Violence will not be permitted¡¯ while waiting, that didn¡¯t necessarily mean crazies wouldn¡¯t attempt it. Especially if those crazies were associated with Greed, given recent events. Riven didn¡¯t know what Elysium would do if someone tried to attack another participant in the waiting area, but he didn¡¯t want to take that chance regardless.


    The cliffs surrounding the interior of this underground arena were pressed up close to therge cylindrical and translucent energy shield that made up the battlegrounds. On their way around to find an unupied protruding tform, like so many of the ledges poking out of the cliff walls and numbering in the hundreds, they watched the battles unfold. Aside from these tforms were alsorge viewing rooms with rectangr windows cut into the cliff¡¯s interior, and tunnels or walkways that made the entire thing look like an ant colony. Just like everywhere else on this floor, it was bustling with tradesmen, mercenaries looking to sell their talents to other groups without a total of 5, and people set into meditative poses while trying to cultivate as best they could amidst the madhouse of activity.


    ¡°Quite the drop down¡­¡± Riven mused, standing at the very edge of their tform with his hands sped behind his back. An artificial orange sun glowed atop the cavern¡¯s ceiling, with artificial dust clouds and even an illusory red sky, while the battlefield shifted underneath them to rearrange itself for the sixth time since entering this ce. ¡°When the system notification said it would adapt to the group, I hadn¡¯t originally thought it would change the scenery too. I was only suspecting the boss itself would change.¡±


    Allie stood beside him, following his gaze as the group #4828 was teleported onto the field in a bubble of light. ¡°Still scared of heights, are we?¡±


    Riven scoffed. ¡°Oh shut up.¡±


    Allie chuckled. ¡°Remember when mom brought us to the Grand Canyon and you had to crawl across that-¡±¡°It was six feet across!¡± Riven said, throwing up his arms with exaggerated re. ¡°And I was only a kid! You¡¯re never gonna let me live that down, are you?¡±


    ¡°Never.¡± Allie said with a wink and a nudge. ¡°But now at least we can both fly.¡±


    ¡°True. Very true. I¡¯ve got Messenger to thank for that.¡±


    The roilingndscape continued to shift underneath, but it began to slow down and solidify, and sandstone shelves started to appear as multiyered canyons set up in a circr ring-formation that led down to a central sand pit. The five challengers, all of which were obsidian rock humanoids of some sort - set down on one end of the ringed arena at the third canyonyer up from where the sand pit was. They each had molten eyes, veins of magma running across their bodies,rge rock clubs for weapons, andcked anything else of note. The sand pit itself was well over a mile wide, and the bubble of light surrounding the challenger group disappeared just as a rumbling sound started to echo out from the sand pit in the middle of the arena.


    <strong>[Group #4828¡¯s opponent has been chosen. They are pitted against: Myrandian, Flower of the Desert Storm. This level 200 Legendary opponent is a native to the dunes of Borishka in Universe 32, and has stagnated at attaining his soulttice insights to acquire the E-grade. This monster has epted the pact with Elysium for a chance at enlightenment, choosing to serve as the optional floor boss and intending to eradicate these hellscape golem challengers from existence. Odds are 4:3 in favor of Group #4828. If you wish to bet against Elysium¡¯s odds, you may do so by putting up items or Elysium Coins by interacting with this message.]</strong>


    ¡°Oh yes!¡± Riven outwardlyughed, remembering how Elysium and Negrada had bet against one another when he¡¯d fought the Satyr Warlord miniboss in Negrada¡¯s dungeon. Elysium appeared to be quite the gambling type, and Riven was all for it.


    Putting up the ridiculous sum of a 129 million Elysium Coins worth on a single bet, he sat down cross-legged and propped his chin in his hands to watch the fight.


    <strong>[Your bet that group #4828 will lose has been documented, 129,000,000 Elysium Coins have been deducted from your person. Should you win, you will be given 167,700,000 Elysium Coins back. If you do not want to ept these rates, please decline now.]</strong>


    He¡¯d always enjoyed casinos, and epted immediately with augh from his sister.


    Pulling out a bottle of spiced blood and crackers, he began to down it while enjoying his view alongside friends and teammates. It was going to be a long ride, and he might as well enjoy the show while he could.


    Hopefully he wouldn¡¯t lose all his money in doing so.


    ***


    Ath raised an eyebrow Narg¡¯s way from underneath her shadow-crafted hood, ignoring the shouting and screaming Riven was doing as his money went up in mes after his third consecutive bet loss. ¡°And just what makes you think you¡¯re up to standards to be my master¡¯sst minion?¡±


    Azmoth aggressively nodded in agreement, four arms folded while his ming antlers gave the circle of four demons a faint orange glow.


    Fay on the other hand was a little less antagonistic to the neer - and she ced a slender hand on the beholder demon¡¯s green body in an act of encouragement. ¡°Stop bullying him! He¡¯s just here to help!¡±


    ¡°Eyeball demons always harm us.¡± Azmoth said with a pointed finger jabbed in Narg¡¯s direction. ¡°They mean! All beholders bad!¡±


    ¡°That sir, is downright rude and racist! I am enraged!¡± Narg humphed, emphasizing his rage by puffing himself up like a puffer fish to make his central body grow in proportion. The two normal eyes set over his frowning, toothy mouth narrowed - and the eyeballs across his numerous tentacles did the same one after the other. ¡°I am a gentleman and a schr! I will not be treated in such a way for having done no wrong!¡±


    Azmoth leaned forward, his body crackling with cinders in an attempt to intimidate. ¡°If you betray Riven, I smash and eat.¡±


    ¡°Stop it!¡± Fay used her grimoire to smack Azmoth¡¯s pointed finger back, and the young brutalisk retreated after her dagger-like re set upon him. ¡°You two are out of line!¡±


    Ath waved her hand back and forth in front of her face, cross legged, while continuing to ignore the cackling of Allie and Nora in the background as Riven repeatedly cursed the people who¡¯d recently died. ¡°I¡¯m not being mean. I¡¯m being practical. Riven deserves the best, and I feel like he¡¯s settled. I just want to be proven wrong, so if Narg would so kindly put my worries to rest - I won¡¯t have to tell Riven to get another modelter on. What makes you better than the millions of others out there, Narg?¡±


    From the sidelines, Fimrindle snickered loudly.


    ¡°You got something to say, you metal bean-pole?¡± Ath shot with a re. ¡°Spit it out!¡±


    Fimrindle¡¯s jaw didn¡¯t move as the words came out of his mouth in a raspy gasp, making his speech look just as unnatural as it sounded. ¡°You yourself were¡­ not up to the standards you now tout¡­ arachnid. If anything¡­ the three of you have ridden on the coattails of your master¡¯s fate. It is¡­ humorous¡­ that you would judge the beholder so.¡±


    Ath gasped dramatically. ¡°I¡¯ve always been AMAZING!¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Fimrindle said with a scoff. ¡°You were just a tiny, weak spider¡­ barely even a demon, but with a princessplex¡­ and an inted ego to match.¡±


    Ath whipped out both katana¡¯s from her chest in a sh of red and a palpable killing intent that boomed from her position. ¡°SAY THAT AGAIN, TWIRP!¡±


    But Fimrindle had already vanished into thin air, leaving behind an echoing cackle that made Ath¡¯s arms shake in rage.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t think I see him, but he¡¯s wrong. We¡¯ll see just who¡¯s the better assassin! I¡¯m about to tear that cackling metal face off of his-¡±


    Ath¡¯s words were interrupted by Fay, who cleared her throat rather loudly.


    ¡°Sit down! You¡¯re being immature!¡± Faymanded, pointing to the ground with a frosty stare. ¡°Riven will NOT be happy with you if you start fighting Fimrindle over petty insults! And turn off your aura, your killing intent is leaking out for hundreds of yards!¡±


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Fay bobbed her head in Riven¡¯s direction, where he, Nora, Lillith and Allie were all staring with confused looks directly at Ath.


    Ath abruptly sheathed her two katanas into her chest, gave a winning, brilliant white smile to Riven, and blew him a kiss before hopping to sit back down cross-legged as if nothing had ever happened.


    Her master and the others went back to watching the next boss fight, and she let out a long huff of a sigh. Raising an eyebrow in Narg¡¯s direction while he remained in his puffer-fish state, she pawed at the air to get him to rx. ¡°Alright, alright. Maybe Fimrindle wasn¡¯t entirely wrong. Sorry. I¡¯m just protective is all, and I want to make sure that you¡¯re able to help Riven when he needs it. The three of us have already proven ourselves in one way or another at different times while traveling with him, and Lillith really kicked us into shape while emphasizing just how we were failing at our jobs until recently. I just don¡¯t want you, the new guy, to make the same mistakes we did.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s better.¡± Fay nodded in approval, smiling at the other woman in turn.


    Narg blinked rapidly across his numerous eyes, and slowly began to dete with a wheeze of air like it was being let out of a balloon. Settling down in a lower floating position next to Fay, he grumbled something under his breath and evaluated the other demons one by one. ¡°I see you¡¯re not quite the barbarian I¡¯d assumed you were. Thank you, for your apology.¡±


    ¡°Azmoth never apologize!¡± The young brutalisk said with a scoff and puff of mes from deep within his throat. ¡°Azmoth never wrong!¡±


    Fay groaned, and put her face in her hands while shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Narg. This is not the kind of wee you should be getting from us. I for one am very happy to have you on our team, and I hope you can do your best to keep Riven safe with us.¡±


    ***


    Two days passed, and they still remained on the ledge as battle after battle urred.


    ¡°I believe it would be in your best interest to keep collecting rare specimens such as these on the way down.¡± Lillith said, shoving some more sin-oriented crystals that¡¯d been grown here in the abyss into Riven¡¯s bag. ¡°They¡¯ll be needed in the future, and our trek will be the perfect opportunity to grab some to take back to Panu.¡±


    Her voice was sad, even tired, and she¡¯d been the least interested in the battles ongoing down below out of the group so far. Ever since she¡¯d initially brought up how the Church of Gluttony wouldn¡¯t be around in the future, and had failed to expand upon it, she¡¯d been downright depressed.


    Nothing Riven did seemed to sway her on her decision not to talk about it either. She¡¯d been adamant that they finish the Abyssal Descent before talking about it further. Interestingly enough, she¡¯d also been adamant that they spend most or all of their Elysium Coins while staying here. She¡¯d even bet a few times herself, using up all of her money to make gains before going around and seeing what other groups had to offer - before making astronomically expensive purchases of the very best dao treasures, mostly including nts and spiritual crystals that could be grown in Riven¡¯s garden back home.


    She even mentioned that she wished she could take some of the greater treasures from beyond this realm or Panu, but the system wouldn¡¯t allow such things until Panu was conquered - if it ever was. Until then, or until the 5 year time limit came due, Panu was mostly sealed to the outside multiverse with only a few exceptions. Letting in monumental dao treasures in the S-grade from Gluttony¡¯s vaults off-world was not contained within those exceptions.


    ¡°If you change your mind and want to talk, let me know.¡± Riven said, hesitating before putting an encouraging hand on Lillith¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for whatever troubles you.¡±


    She gave him a sad smile, then nodded and sat down again next to him. ¡°Thank you. Now, what have I missed in my time bartering?¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrow raised, and he turned his attention back to the arena far below. This time, the setting was that of a ckke with a crab-like creature of titanic proportions that was striking at a group of four greater-harpies and a fallen angel. They rained arrows of hellfire down on the crab¡¯s chitin, while it sprayed ck bullets from its maw or used brutal melee attacks infused with some kind of unholy energy variation. Explosions rocked the artificialke, and the cylindrical miles-wide cage enclosing the arena shook when one of the harpies was crushed against the outer rim.


    Riven winced. ¡°Well you haven¡¯t missed much. The scenery changes every time, and most of the bosses are taken from somewhere else within the multiverse after Elysium tempts the creatures with prizes for winning. There¡¯s been only three squad wipes though, so most of the time the monsters lose. When performing well, the teams also have been getting additional prizes in the form of treasure chests outside the portal ess to the 20th floor.¡±


    ¡°Any other type of fights happen? Was it just monsters?¡±


    Riven shook his head. ¡°No, there were two others. One boss fight was against another pretty powerful undead participant who¡¯d already made it to level 43 of the Abyssal Descent, but he¡¯d transgressed against the system somehow and was brought up for judgement. If he¡¯d won, he¡¯d be put back, but he was killed along with his team members. The other was a fight against the environment, believe it or not. There wasn¡¯t any fighting, but the team all had to stabilize rifts in the void where Holy energy was breaking through to kill them - and they had to do it in a pattern or the rifts would growrger. They had tost for ten minutes, and they only barely seeded with two losses. It was sort of confusing, and I really didn¡¯t understand it because Ath kept trying to get freaky.¡±


    ¡°Ah, to be young and in love.¡± Lillith chuckled with true amusement for the first time in a while. ¡°The three of you are cute. You, Ath, and Fay that is.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Riven scratched the back of his neck with an embarrassed look. ¡°They¡¯re pretty great. And they¡¯ve been expanding their own rtionship quite a bit. Did you know they¡¯ve been going on dates with each other for ¡®girl time¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t realized that.¡±


    ¡°Yup. I¡¯m d to see it, I hadn¡¯t wanted this to be a¡­ How do I put it? Eh. I want them to reciprocate with each other the same way they reciprocate with me so that no one feels left out.¡±


    Lillith didn¡¯t get the chance to reply, when a shuddering boom caused the arena to shake after the giant crab exploded in a mess of body parts. The fallen angel that¡¯d destroyed raised himself up out of the monster¡¯s body with a roar of triumph, and the greater-harpyrades rushed down with shouts of their own to greet his sess enthusiastically.


    A shimmering ck and purple chest appeared on the monster¡¯s body next, created from abyssal energies that oozed with sin. A portal ripped open in space beside it too, and soon the party of five left injured but all alive through the portal to ess the 20th abyssal floor.


    <strong>[Your group has been chosen as the next up to fight Floor Boss 2. You have been selected for a unique boss fight experience given yourposition. Are you ready to proceed? It not, another team will be selected.]</strong>


    Riven exchanged nces with Lillith, and then the others, who¡¯d all gotten up to start gathering nearby. Fay was woken up by Ath, Azmoth stopped ying chess with Nora, and Narg shut down his discussion with Fimrindle to float forward in Riven¡¯s direction.


    Adjusting her bone pauldron, Allie picked up her divine-ranked ymore and hoisted it over her shoulder with a grin. ¡°It¡¯s about damn time! Everyone here?¡±


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s here.¡± Riven said, holding out a hand as Jackal rose off the ground toe to his palm. Wrapping his fingers around the shaft of the staff and inspecting the fiery eyes of the skull at its head, and made sure he had all their attention. ¡°Is there any reason we should decline? I assume we¡¯re all ready?¡±


    No one said otherwise, and Riven acknowledged the prompt with a: ¡°Yes, we¡¯re ready.¡±


    <strong>[Please wait. Your group is being transported now.]</strong>


    ***


    A sh enveloped him, and Riven was ripped through space to appear in a floating bubble of light like so many others had been contained in as the arena was rearranged.


    And the arena was certainly changing fast.


    Blue skies lit up the interior of the battlefield with puffy white clouds partially masking a false yellow sun, reminiscent of Earth. The ground rumbled as bs of white stone sprouted from the ground, with nts growing at rapid pace to create a jungle environment very reminiscent of the Zhangjiajie National Forest in China.


    Not that he¡¯d ever been there, but he¡¯d certainly seen pictures of it.


    Between the tall-standing pirs and the lush canopy of forest, it was quite breathtaking even though he knew it to be fake.


    But when he turned around to say something about it to hisrades, he found that they weren¡¯t there.


    They were gone.


    He was alone.


    Confused, and looking around almost frantically, he finally found them.


    Appearing in a separate bubble about a mile away, he managed to spy the others. It was a farrger bubble than his own, epassing the hundreds of undead that¡¯d been risen after the battle between the churches of Gluttony and Greed on the first floor abyssal city, but Riven was sure it was them even at this distance after spying Azmoth¡¯s ming antlers amidst the mass of bodies.


    ¡°Well this is weird. I haven¡¯t seen this happen before.¡±


    The bubbles settled on opposite hills overlooking the jungle canopy, inbetween numerous pirs each reaching many thousands of feet up into the air that reached the clouds. The sound of the jeers and cheers of the crowds couldn¡¯t be heard within the cylindrical energy barrier epassing them, and he couldn¡¯t even see the onlookers anymore now that he was actually inside the arena. At most, he could only see the barrier itself - which had an illusion built into the interior making it look like he was seeing out into a horizon - if not for the shimmer of the energy making up the barrier giving it away.


    The bubble popped, and he was set facing his friends with a frazzled expression, gripping Jackal in one hand as the maw across Messenger¡¯s chest began to growl. And just before he started to make his way towards them, a new notification appeared to signify just what was going on.


    <strong>[Team #9877 has entered the arena. Due to uniqueposition and circumstances, Elysium has designated this Floor 2 Boss fight differently.</strong>


    <strong>Lillith of the ck Skies has been banished to the 50th floor of the Abyssal Descent due to having alreadypleted this event in another age, and will remain trapped there unless freed by her teammates. Let this be a lesson to those who attempt to take advantage of Elysium¡¯s good will. This event is not meant to be repeated.</strong>


    <strong>Team 1 of this Floor 2 Boss Fight is as follows: Riven Thane, Reincarnation of Gluttony</strong>


    <strong>Team 2 of this Floor 2 Boss Fight is as follows: Allie Thane, Nora Lang, Retesh Vorath, and all minions - including Riven Thane¡¯s own.</strong>


    <strong>Team 2 has been mind controlled by Elysium. If Riven Thane of Team 1 kills all of his teammates and defeats Team 2, they will be resurrected and are able to pass on to Floor 20 as promised. If Team 2 kills the reincarnation of Gluttony, he will be removed from The Abyssal Descent per the contract of Chalgathi¡¯s questline - but he will also receive a penalty of -50 levels and a mandatory, permanent removal of Gluttony from Riven as the reincarnation host.</strong>


    <strong>Odds are 3:5 in favor of Team 2. If you wish to bet against Elysium¡¯s odds, you may do so by putting up items or Elysium Coins by interacting with this message.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your Floor 2 Boss Fight has begun.]</strong>


    Riven¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and his gaze slowly lifted to where an army of undead were all sprinting or flying across the gap between them at incredible speed - with Azmoth charging at their front in a maddened explosion of me that sent therge demon rocketing towards him. Riven saw Fimrindle and Ath blur into the shadows next, saw Nora follow quickly in their wake, and saw a barrage of unholy energies rip from the opposite hillside where Retesh had summoned a swarm of green energies to shoot directly at Riven¡¯s position. Only a split secondter and the hill vanished when Fay raised her hands, as she¡¯d no doubt cast an illusion to hide the spellcasters across from him.


    The thing that caught Riven¡¯s attention most, though, was the eruption of death-attuned energies as Allieunched herself into the sky with a swarm of wraiths tearing out from her body. Her ck wings glistened, her halo shone like the impending judgement of a god of death, and her gray, glowing eyes stared nkly at him as she lifted her hand. A storm of ming skulls began blooming around her only secondster. Together, theughing skulls created a cyclone of sonic booms as they each broke the sound barrier to rip through the air towards him.


    The fight was already on, and this one wasn¡¯t going to be easy.


    "Shit."

 Chapter 285

    Chapter 285


    <strong>Chapter 285</strong>


    Riven¡¯s body exploded backwards as Blessing of the Crow engulfed him, wrapping him in a shroud of ck and red wisps akin to a bloody phantom, and the ground underneath him erupted as his soul pirs went into overdrive.


    Despite who he was facing, he could not falter. Losing was not an option, and though he hated to harm his friends and family - they would not be permanently affected by the beatdown he was about to present them with.


    Assuming he¡¯d win, that is. Which, honestly enough, wasn¡¯t a certainty. And by Elysium¡¯s betting odds, he was the one who was more likely to lose.


    <strong><em>CRASH</em></strong>


    The barrage of Allie¡¯s ming skulls and Retesh¡¯s bombardment of green, oozing mana joined together secondster - causing the jungleden hillside he¡¯d been on only moments before to shatter in me and hissing rubble. The oing horde of enemies led by Azmoth was quickly approaching, and Riven went full tilt with all of the avable mana currently built up in his staff with one of its abilities:


    <strong>[Furious Storm: This staff can passively build up charges of furious storm, which </strong>


    <strong>utilizes a supercharged dose of any single energy from the pirs of Sin / Unholy / </strong>


    <strong>Shadow / Death / Blood / Infernal. You may only unleash one type of energy at a </strong><strong>time. Power of furious storm depends on the amount of charge emitted.]</strong>


    The skull face of the staff opened wide and the pentagram in its center turned ck before unleashing a swath of piercing shadows blossomed out of the staff and crashed into the oing tide.


    Due to their extremely high quality nature, built from the F and E-grade elites of the multiverse, only a couple dozen of the undead died instantly. Others lost limbs as piercing streaks of darkness tore flesh from bone and cut cleanly through their mindless bodies. Azmoth himself deflected much of the attack with a snarl, shengari shields snapping in front of his body while a dome of fire took form around him a secondter. The remnant shadow energy also created a cloud of darkness over the battlefield, shifting in and out like mist across the jungle and great stone pirs alike.


    ¡°LITTLE RIVEN WILL DIE, DIE, DIE!¡± Azmoth uncharacteristically screamed from the cloud of ck that was most prevalent throughout thend-boundbatants, and he let out great swaths of me from his mouth and eel-like maws along his back to burn away the mana-bound shadows. ¡°COME AND FIGHT ME, PUNY VAMPIRE!¡±


    <strong><em>CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH</em></strong>


    Five rapid snipe-enhanced bloodnces smashed into Azmoth¡¯s body, causing him to flip backwards with a scream of pain while other bloodnces tore holes through the oing rush of undead bodies like scissors through paper.


    Riven didn¡¯t smile, didn¡¯tugh, as his vision centered on Azmoth¡¯s bleeding form. It wasn¡¯t nearly enough to kill the demon just yet, and the damage was minimal due to his naturally armored boyd, but-


    He paused when one of the recurrent discharging pulses of energy he was releasing came back positive for movement on his left side.


    Riven blurred left, narrowly dodging arge scythe that¡¯d almost cleanly taken his head off before kicking off the ground to send himself backwards.


    Evade, ce distance, and decimate.


    Wretched snares tore off of his outstretched hand like serpents, formings that sought to capture and contain the reaper - but Fimrindle was far too fast for that. The assassin cackled, dodged, and vanished to appear at Riven¡¯s back - only for dozens of crimson spires to shoot up out of the ground. One crimson ice spire deflected the reaper¡¯s attack, three more went in for a killing blow, and others were bursting around them for hundreds of yards in anticipation of Fimrindle¡¯s evading move.


    The reaper hissed and retracted his strike, flipping backwards with an Unholy sh directed Riven¡¯s way. The magical sh projection bought Fimrindle time to tactically retreat, weaving through the minefield of seeking bloody spikes - only for him to be caught off guard when Riven clenched his fist.


    <strong><em>BOOM</em></strong>


    The spires abruptly exploded, creating a vast area-of-effect zone with shrapnel heading in every direction imaginable. It was like watching a nuke full of red paint go off with the spires shattering into hundreds, then thousands, then millions of tiny, sharp projectiles that shed at supersonic speeds to incorporate a mile-wide area.


    The only area spared was Riven¡¯s direct position, where the bloody shards soaked through his armor and into his skin to refeed his mana pool - rather than doing him any actual damage. They were merelying home for recycling.


    ¡°AHHHHHHH!!!¡± The feminine screech of Ath made Riven¡¯s heart clench as she was ripped out of stealth only a couple dozen yards away, her humanoid figure being turned into a pincushion.


    Fimrindle had fared somewhat better than her, using his Unholy / Machine Tier 3 ability ¡®Anticipate Movements¡¯ to dodge nearly 90% of the millions of shards meant to flush him out. But he couldn¡¯t dodge all of them even so. A few more undead on the outskirts of the explosion were evaporated into pink mists, Allie was repelled from a dive mid-air, and Narg had erected barriers of me and shadow to deflect-


    Riven¡¯s footnded on an invisible curse trap ced by Fay.


    ¡°SHIT!¡±


    He was sent sprawling, Messenger¡¯s armor holding strong, but he felt a few of the bones in his foot shatter due to the impact even despite this beforending on yet ANOTHER curse trap.


    He staggered out of a roll, blood leaking down his forehead where Fay¡¯s curse energies had torn off flesh from his skull before his regeneration rapidly repaired it. Yet he didn¡¯t have time to dawdle.


    Riven needed to utilize as much area-of-effect magic as possible to take out the assassins. With them in the picture, he wouldn¡¯t be able to focus on the others, and-


    Another pulse of energy sensed a stealthed figureing in from behind, and heunched himself off the ground and into flight just before Nora¡¯s twin des impaled him.


    She swore, then retreated back into thin air from whence she¡¯de.


    ***


    Putting distance inbetween himself while evading and returning fire was something of a nightmare for Riven as it became a game of cat and mouse, where there were far more cats - and he was doubtless the mouse.


    He couldn¡¯t be caught, and if he was - it was over.


    Riven¡¯s body ripped through the air like a bullet, sending shockwaves through his trajectory as jungle burned and towering pirs of stone shattered. Hissing trails of blood, screaming undead attempting to catch him overnd and sky, and innumerable magics exploding all around him were now the norm as he zig-zagged and riftwalked constantly while letting out surgical strikes whenever an opportunity arose. Neither side had gained much ground, other than a good number of the mindless undead having been eradicated, and they¡¯d reached something of a stalemate. That stalemate could end poorly for him in an instant though if he let up, and he thanked Jackal silently numerous times for the 600% mana regeneration his staff now gave him.


    With Allie in hot pursuit on his tail in the sky and the assassins regrly attempting to strike at him in bursts, with the beholder demon Narg trying to snipe him out of the sky using unholy Globspitters and infernal Hellspitters - which were on par with his own bloodnces in terms of speed or range and were rather dangerous. Whenever Riven tried to riftwalk away and hide, the damn beholder demon used his seeking abilities to quickly locate his position.


    And it made Riven realize that, in the future, Narg would probably be a great way to sniff out potential assassins by utilizing Seek Danger; just as he probably was doing right now. That, or Narg had locked onto one of Riven¡¯s items with Seek Item.


    Fay wasing in and out of invisibility to cast supporting spells on Allie from time to time as well. The subus was also doing a good job in hiding the assassins further, while concealing or misdirecting Riven whenever he attempted to retaliate against Retesh who was unleashing a constant barrage of green orbs from the ground. Whenever he shed with Allie, even if he came out on top, Fay would then heal the fallen angel of her wounds and the pursuit would ensue again. Azmoth had resorted to using his Propulsion ability to try and catch Riven, but without wings or a true flying ability it didn¡¯tpare to Messenger¡¯s Quickening Flight.


    It truly was a shitshow, and he was having a hard time holding on even with Gluttony¡¯s third, purple eye giving Riven additional feedback on when to dodge and how to do it.


    His totems were also doing quite well in supporting his attempts at negating enemy attacks. The four orbiting totems were creating barriers of crimson ice, sting other projectiles out of the sky with high-velocity ck lightning, and even created asional rifts to swallow and redirect iing attacks when the ice shields were temporarily destroyed. The totems were in fact a huge asset to his struggle, and autonomously nullified nearly half of the enemy¡¯s firepower that entered within range - only requiring a small amount of constant mana channeling to keep them active after their initial reserves were snuffed out.


    <strong>[Hive Totems of Bloodforged Rift Sparks (Lesser Artifact, Elite Tier, Level 34 Totem Swarm): These totemse as a set, and new totems can be added to this number at the additional cost of Willpower - with each totem adding exponentially more Willpower to the cost. Cost of Willpower is based upon attitude towards the wielder of this totem set, as well as currentbat level. Current Requirements: 119 Willpower, Blood Sub-Pir, Shadow Sub-Pir. Bound to Riven Thane.</strong>


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    <strong>Adding different types of totems will change the name and description of this totem set.</strong>


    <strong>Current Totems in Hive Swarm:</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>4 Totems of Bloodforged Rift Sparks</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>The Path of Red and ck has been imbued into these totems, along with numerous different sigils, and has used the blood of an ancient avatar of original sin to fuel its growth. This totem has the ability to grow and level up, but diminishes in level each time one of its totems are destroyed. This totem swarm can currently perform the following abilities:</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>ck Lightning</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Crimson Ice</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Rift]</strong></li></ul>


    He wanted to draw this out as much as possible and wear them down while looking for opportunities to unload on anyone that made a mistake, as he was probably the most evasive person on their team outside of Lillith given his ability to teleport, fly, and his speed amplifying blessing. Riven also had a few trump cards he had yet to pull though, and was waiting to use said trump cards whenever he felt like they had a good chance of sess - specifically, if he was able to lock down one or two of the assassins he¡¯d go in for the kill. He had yet to change into his ultimate demonic form via Gluttony¡¯s Aspect of Demonic Heritage, as it onlysted for a single minute. He also hadn¡¯t summoned his Legionaries of the Blood God yet, which if applied appropriately - would probably be enough to take out at least one of the major yers on the enemy side.


    <strong>[Gluttony¡¯s Aspect of Demonic Heritage (Sin)(Tier 3): A martial art that enhances you through the power of your fully formed Mark of the Sinner. Your body merges with your soul clone for 1 minute, allowing you to take on an ultimate demonic form as an aspect of the Great Maw. Very long cooldown, which can be reduced by killing and eating others.]</strong>


    <strong>[Legionaries of the Blood God (Death / Blood)(Tier 2): This is a temporary summoning spell that does not require minion slots. You may summon up to 8 Elite-ss Bloodstricken Undead from the Blood God¡¯s realm, equal inbat level to your own, and may designate whether or not you wish to summon Blood Knights, Blood Sorcerers, Blood Assassins, or abination of the three when you do so. Undead are non-sentient andst for 5 minutes before disappearing. 1 day cooldown time. Very high mana cost.]</strong>


    Unfortunately, true opportunities to strike back safely were few and far between, and he was reminded of this when he whirled mid air to unleash an arc of ck lightning towards Allie - only to give the beholder demon Narg an opportunity to snipe him from behind.


    <strong><em>CRACK</em></strong>


    He was sent spinning as the ming bolt smashed into his back, bypassing the totem defenses just barely and making a clean hit. The crackling lightning from his staff went off to the side and missed Allie entirely, and she pumped power into her wings for a dive with a shrill cry of glee.


    Her divine ymore came down with a two handed swing, smashing through barriers of red ice summoned from his totems and collided with Jackal in a thundering crash. Riven was sent spiraling downwards at tremendous speed, causing the ground to quake with his descent¡¯s end as earth around him exploded to form a crater under his body.


    He coughed blood into Messenger¡¯s mask, and the armor set¡¯s jaws opened to unleash a swarm of gluttonous tendrils that intercepted Nora when she went in for the kill.


    The assassin screamed as her arms were brutally ripped off, only for her head to follow when the ck tendrils infused with sin rapidly constricted and crushed her body in numerous ces. It was like squeezing a grape, but she was quickly followed by Azmoth and half a dozen undead that barreled into therge crater with weapons raised.


    Riven didn¡¯t have a choice. His ribs were crushed, ring with pain, and he was having a hard time breathing even with his vampiric regeneration working overtime due to the remnant death energies Allie¡¯s attack had left when their weapons connected.


    He raised his hand with a quick set of gestures, and just before Azmoth came within melee distance - eight shes of light illuminated the crater around him.


    Eight hooded skulls etched with crimson runes on their foreheads stared with glowing crimson in their skull sockets. Six were heavily armored with red ymores and thick red te mail. The other two held thin, wicked daggers dripping blood mana in each hand and were strapped in red leathers.


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 200. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 200. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 200. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 200. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 200. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Knight, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 200. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Assassin, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 200. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Summoned Blood Assassin, Bloodstricken Undead, Level 200. ELITE.]</strong>


    The knights raised their weapons, and rushed to meet the oing enemies with an eerie silence. The sound of Azmoth and the undead smashing into them was joined with another thunderous crash as fire and death met blood, and the crater became an outright melee as more and more of the undead rushed in to be cut down. One blood knight fell to Azmoth¡¯s shengari shields and brute strength, another hamstrung Azmoth before being piled on by oversized zombie gargoyles that bit and wed. Radiant crimson shes arced out and through lines of enemies, while me exploded from the brutalisk and death energies knitted parts of the zombies back together at intense speeds.


    <strong><em>CHINGGGGGGggggggg</em></strong>


    Ath screeched in outrage when she appeared out of a flying stream of blood, her red katanas intercepted by the stoic blood assassin as the rune on its forehead glowed brighter.


    ¡°You are in my way!!!¡± Ath hissed, six arachnid desing out of her back. ¡°And you will be removed! He won¡¯t tell you this, BUT RIVEN LIKES TO BE IMPALED ANYWAYS! JUST LET IT HAPPEN!¡±


    Riven could barely avoid rolling his eyes. Even when mind controlled, Ath was ridiculous.


    The assassins blurred, their exchange being joined when Fimrindle was intercepted by the second blood assassin next. Unlike Ath, Fimrindle managed to bypass the blood assassin and go in for the main target after a quick blink of motion - and his metal, wed hand reached out. Engulfed in death mana, Fimrindle tried to take hold of Riven¡¯s soul to rip it out forcibly - but was rebuffed when Riven managed to gain his bearings and send a shockwave of storm razors in all directions.


    Spinning ck and red des created from shadow and blood erupted from the epicenter of the crater, avoiding Riven¡¯s summoned blood knights and assassins while homing in on anyone he considered an enemy. The air hissed and space itself tore with the whirlwind of radiating power as they cut, pursued, and exploded into shrapnel by the thousands - peeling off of his body while his Path of Red and ck made his two pirs go into overdrive.


    The ground around him was flung back, carved asunder to create tidal waves of earth that peeled up with the massive onset of thousands of tearing des that left ribbons of ominous light after their trajectory.


    Jackal crackled in his grip, and Riven looked down in dismay when he saw there was arge crack in the shaft of his weapon where Allie¡¯s divine ymore had struck it. His weapon had held firm, and even now Allie hadn¡¯te back from where she¡¯d been flung due to the rebound effect after the collision, but if he continued to use Jackal now - it very well might break.


    ¡°Come out, Jackal. And should you be banished, return to the bag. You will not die here.¡±


    Without a word, Jackal sent him a mental nudge of affirmation - and the weapon began to change. It was the first time Riven had used the weapon like this since its evolution, and he was interested to see just what it looked like.


    He was not disappointed.


    <strong>[Abyssal Beastform: This weapon can turn into an Abyssal Canine Warbeast, and does passive Sin damage on strike. This form is offensivelypatible, but your weapon will automatically revert to staff form upon taking damage equal to 20% of your maximum health.]</strong>


    The staff contracted into a sphere of multicolored light, before expanding rapidly with a feral roar from within the mass of magic. A canine form appeared, equivalent in size to a small house. Four wed limbs sprouted, with each w as big as Riven¡¯s body that radiated dark purple energies. Darkness coated its hide simr to how Lillith herself presented, withrge purple spikes down its spine that continued along the abnormally long tail it doubtless would use as a weapon. Vibrant purple eyes red back at Riven from where the beast was forming, and a ferocious maw filled with ck teeth that radiated sin smiled back at him.


    It was a gigantic winged hound, and it spread its draconic ck wings out to either side before whipping around to face Azmoth with a snarl.


    The brutalisk was too busy fighting two of the blood knights to notice, and when Azmoth finally did notice - it was already toote.


    ¡°RRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!¡±


    Azmoth roared defiantly to the end, wing madly and tearing back at Jackal¡¯srger body as the hound pinned the already injured demon underneath. Large ymores stabbed and crashed into Azmoth¡¯s armor, beating him down until there was an audible crunch, a snap, and a yank.


    The fires of Azmoth¡¯s body died down to cinders, his ws still imbedded in Jackal¡¯s forelegs while the canine red its wings and swallowed Azmoth¡¯s head with a gulp.


    ***


    Ath didn¡¯t know WHY she needed to kill Riven, but thepulsion was too strong to resist. Despite conflicting emotions sometimes causing her to pull back from otherwise open opportunities to kill, theck of willpower to follow through with the fight time and time again hindered her ability to seed.


    She knew she loved him. She knew she didn¡¯t want to hurt him. But she also knew she had to.


    It wasn¡¯t a choice.


    It was apulsion, and absolutemandment from existence. She needed to kill her lover.


    Her eyes zed over for nearly the 20th time since the fight had begun, and thepulsions battled her innate desires down yet again. Yanking her katanas out of the blood assassin¡¯s skull. Stepping on its head to crunch the abysmal, unthinking thing beneath her - she watched Riven¡¯s other blood warriors tear through the ranks of Retesh¡¯s and Allie¡¯s undead like they were grass beneath awn mower.


    She smirked, remembering the time Riven had told her aboutwn mowers. Why anyone would devise something so utterly useless was beyond her, but that smirk quickly faded as Elysium¡¯s will pressed down upon her mind.


    Her right hand twitched, and her arachnid des lifted, and she started forward again - only to pause wide-eyed when Riven¡¯s aura soared in conjunction with another.


    Death rained from the sky when Allie finally reimed the fight, and the fallen angel¡¯s descent was like aet of doom that shattered the world. The blinding power erupting from death energies meeting a vortex of blood was like watching two gods battle, and the space around them was warped due to their auras of bloodlust as Riven finally turned off his emotional switch.


    For he too had been holding back to an extent, whether or not he¡¯d realized it, and now he had no choice but to go all out.


    The air split, and a ck rift as big as a castle opened up to suck in Allie¡¯s power while Riven¡¯s own storm of blood-frost raced around the sides in the air to push against Allie¡¯s gray cloud of true death. Souls screamed in denial and pushed back against Riven¡¯s rebuttal, and the physically manifested auras of energy braced while eating at each other. Riven was without doubt the one with more mana supply, and his rift was swallowing Allie¡¯s own aura greedily every second - but Allie wasn¡¯t giving in and her own path of True Death superseded Riven¡¯s own Path of ck and Red. It wasn¡¯t by much, but it was enough that their force of wills had reached a stalemate that continued to wreak havoc in the local vicinity with sparks and explosions constantly going off that the zone of colliding intents.


    One thing was certain, and despite Ath¡¯s impulsions to kill Riven - she was also well aware she wouldn¡¯t be able to do so if she was dead.


    Turning to run, she used all of her dexterity to race backwards through the jungle at blinding speeds - before a crack of thunder caused her eardrums to nearly burst; and the entire miles-wide arena went bright white as the two auraspletely copsed.


    <strong><em>BOOM</em></strong>


    Ath was thrown head over heels, spinning as an apocalyptic strike caused the ground to peel up in all directions like when peeling an orange. The jungle was flung skywards in sprays of debris all the way up to the ceiling, stone pirs throughout the forest shattered and turned to dust. She felt pieces of her skin rot away and peel off, and the world around her was a spinning mess of motion until she abruptly mmed into the far wall of the barrier encircling the battle well over a mile away.


    Her skull was shattered, her mind went dark, and then - a momentter - she felt herself spawn a new body.


    <strong>[Your Gluttonous Arshakai form has been killed. You have been forcibly rotated to your next form, Gluttonous Fae Drider. Should all three of your forms be defeated, you will die.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your first form¡¯s defeat has been counted by Elysium as a strike in this event. Mind control has been redacted.]</strong>

 Chapter 286

    Chapter 286


    <strong>Chapter 286</strong>


    Crashing to the ground, Ath groaned clutching her head when all eight of her enormous white spider legs sank into the decimatedndscape. The air was so thick with dust and mana that it was hard to get a hold of just what was going on, and she had a killer headache - but her mind cleared over theing seconds as her eyes widened.


    She¡¯d been attacking Riven.


    What the hell!?


    Surprise turned to horror, and horror turned to panic when she realized what losing would mean to Riven¡¯s future. That was something she could not allow, and he was easily on the back foot even after having killed Azmoth, Nora, and the majority of the undead sent after him by the two necromancy specialists. Narg, Fimrindle, Allie, Fay and Retesh were still out there - with Riven desperately trying to keep Allie at bay while the others supported her. Since her transformation into an angel of death, Allie was incredibly powerful - possibly even being Riven¡¯s equal at this time.


    ¡­


    Nah, not quite that powerful. But almost, and whenbined with all the minions¡­ it wasn¡¯t looking good.


    He¡¯d yed his cards well so far in the fight by kiting the rest of them and not making a true stand, but It was only a matter of time before he lost if things didn¡¯t change. Eventually they¡¯d catch him, and even through the haze Ath could see Retesh¡¯s continued bombardment of greed globes soaring across the sky while the lich cackled like a madman.


    Furrowing her brows, that¡¯s where she would go first. Fay was likely there too if she wasn¡¯t supporting Allie directly, and both would be easy, quick kills if they didn¡¯t suspect Ath was turning on them.And when she rushed ahead - following the trails of green lighting up the sky as distant explosions echoed throughout the swirling dust storm - she quickly found her first targets. Sitting on the hill right where they¡¯d¡¯ all originally started, was theughing lich - and the subus next to him. Fay was in a meditative state, maintaining an illusion around the two meant only for Riven¡¯s mind to see - while she continued toyer invisible traps around Riven¡¯s position that he¡¯d been flying into or stepping on randomly all throughout the battle.


    Ath¡¯s eyes trailed down to the subus¡¯s chest. Fay looked absolutely stunning sitting like that, her long white hair trailing past her big breasts-


    Ath pped herself in the face. ¡°Get ahold of yourself, you horny spider!¡±


    Shaking her head and feeling slightly guilty about what she was about to do, she sighed and stomped up the hill towards them with a determined expression set in ce.


    ¡°Ath!¡± Retesh called out gleefully, raising his bone staff as the orb atop it red with neon teal light. ¡°Are youing back for a break!? We have him on the ropes!¡±


    Fay looked up too, smiling pleasantly Ath¡¯s way. ¡°Oh, hello! I thought you¡¯d be trying to stab him from behind like you sneaks usually do. Why are you back here with us? And why are you in that body?¡±


    ¡°Surely you won¡¯t be able to assassinate him while in that form. You know he¡¯s weak to assassins, there¡¯s no reason to change course.¡± Retesh agreed with the ttering of bones as his staff made repetitive motions in the air while summoning clouds of gue across the battlefield in Riven¡¯s direction; before beginning to unleash another barrage of green orbs into the sky. ¡°Or have you truly given up on that tactic? Fimrindle is going to rub it in if he¡¯s the one that-¡±


    <strong><em>CRUNCH</em></strong>


    Ath¡¯s leg came down on the lich, smashing his frail body with a single, brutal strike. Despite the lich being on the leaderboards, he was a ss cannon that hid behind his summons, and she was a Panu World Boss with an insane strength amplifier in this form.


    Fay looked stunned, staring wide-eyed at the obliterated lich with an open mouth and furrowed brows. ¡°ATHELA! WHY!? WHAT ARE- UGH!!!¡±


    The subus was picked up with one of Ath¡¯s giant wed hands.


    Gripping her lover around the waist, Ath frowned and brought Fay to eye level - ignoring the cursing and small hands beating against her snow-white skin. The four red eyes of the huge drider narrowed to nce down at Fay¡¯s chest again with a smirk, and she cocked her head to one side while evaluating her girlfriend - Er, her prey.


    ¡°Unlike thest time, do know that this isn¡¯t anything personal. I don¡¯t WANT to do this¡­¡± Ath muttered as Fay cried out - growing fearful and struggling against the giant grip. Then, Ath smirked - and leaned in to give Fay a quick kiss and a wink. ¡°But I can¡¯t say it doesn¡¯t turn me on to hold you against your will¡­ We¡¯re going to have to try that BDSM stuff Riven was talking about soon. This is kind of kinky.¡±


    Fay was flushed with anger, and a little bit of embarrassment, as she venomously pointed a quivering finger in therger demon¡¯s direction. ¡°ATHELA YOU DIRTY WHORE! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN RIGHT-¡±


    With her other hand, Ath¡¯s ws twisted Fay¡¯s head - mercifully snapping her beautiful neck and killing the subus instantly.


    Reverently putting her back on the hillside next to the shattered pile of bones, and using her ice magic to seal the bones in ce just in case Retesh had some kind of revival powers as he was a lich - Ath regretfully stomped off into the maelstrom of wind, dirt, and rampant mana.


    She had a little scythe-wielding bitch to kill, and it¡¯d been a long timeing.


    ***


    Jackal hadn¡¯tsted long after killing Azmoth, falling to Fimrindle¡¯s scythe only minutester. The canine had battled ferociously, but the reaper was just an opponent too far above the living weapon that¡¯d truthfully not had any real experience using the new body it¡¯d procured until now. Jackal had then reverted back to a staff, and was in an even worse state than it¡¯d began in before transforming into the abyssal winged hound. It was, in fact, almost shattered at the mid shaft and had cracks spreading all along its body - so Riven was forced to withdraw it from the battle entirely and ced it back in his spatial sack.


    Riven¡¯s other temporary summons were dead too, all of the blood knights and assassins having been wiped out one by one until only a single knight had been left - before it too had disappeared after the 5 minute timer on the summoning spell had let up. Two of his four totems were wiped out and shattered, while the other two had been withdrawn as well due to the severe damage they¡¯d taken.


    Only Messenger remained on his side, though the armor itself had taken quite a beating it remained active in its pursuit to swallow iing spells or attack his enemies with the tendrils from its central maw. This was particrly helpful against Fimrindle, who¡¯d been the one to destroy Riven¡¯s totems and most of his summons in quick hit-and-runs while Allie focused Riven himself.


    But even despite all this, and despite things not looking good, Riven wasn¡¯t out of the fight yet.


    Blood coated his arm as Riven shot skywards, and his vision zoomed forward to unleash the bloodnce with a sh of red light. The snipe-empowered bloodnce cut across the sky and smashed into another of Narg¡¯s barriers, only for the next one to cut cleanly through and skewer the beholder demon¡¯s body all the way out the other side.


    Blood and guts flew out and the beholder seemed to explode in viscera, ending the relentless long-ranged attacks it¡¯d been flinging at him from a safe distance this entire time much to Riven¡¯s building irritation.


    ¡°God that guy is annoying to fight against!¡± Riven muttered, cutting through the sky and narrowly dodging another sword-swipe from Allie while she beat her wings ever faster in an attempt to cut him down. ¡°AND YOU CAN JUST FUCK OFF ALLIE! GOD DAMN IT GIVE ME A BREAK ALREADY!¡±


    Allie merely cackled from underneath her bone helmet, and the chase intensified.


    ¡°I will activate the transition to our ultimate form when needed. We only have one shot at using it, and it will onlyst a minute; so keep it up. You¡¯re doing very well.¡± Gluttony whispered within Riven¡¯s mind, and clouds of ravenous insects were unleashed from a hundred ck maws that appeared all around them - swarming towards Allie only to be met with an equivalent swarm of wraiths, ghosts, and spirits.


    The sin afflicted beetles crashed into the souls of the dead and were neutralized, neither side giving way while tearing into one another as the chase persisted through the sea of writhing sands and unstable energies. Lightning flickered through the arena randomly, created by uncontrolled power that¡¯d begun to build up in the environment like a soda-can waiting to pop and with nowhere to go.


    Yet, Riven suddenly realized there were no more green exploding orbs or gue mists being flung in his direction.


    Was Retesh building up some other kind of spell?


    And if he was, Riven wouldn¡¯t be able to find them very well anyways given Fay¡¯s illusions.


    Clicking his tongue and speeding underneath a copsing pir, he rounded therge rock formation. His hands circled and then thrust forward when a shockwave of energy sted Allie backwards from the first part of the spell. ¡°Nefajia crecus blood nova!¡±


    A huge blood orb rapidly expanded and exploded forward with a screech of power that lit up the storm of debris around them and created a wide zone cleansed of dust, leaving Allie¡¯s cracked armor in full view as half of her face red out at him from where the bone helmet had been partially torn off. Her halo glowed brightly with deathly light, and her pale eyes remained fixed as she raised a hand in turn.


    From far beneath them and from all across thendscape, through the swarms of battling souls and sin-created insects, the corpses of the dead began to shrivel and evaporate. Their bones began to rise, and in an instant - they were upon him.


    A bone cage created from the bones of the dead snapped shut around his position and began topress, and Riven found that she was attempting to suppress his mana when the channels across his pirs became sluggish.


    Panicking slightly and trusting that Gluttony would activate their supreme skill if need be, Riven forced Malignant Prophecy to activate.


    The world around him quickly came to a stop, and the storm calmed. Color seeped from thend, turning a stark gray, only for a notification to appear before him.


    <strong>[Allie Thane has negated your Malignant Prophecy with her own activation of the skill. Your bloodlines are on equal footing, and neither of you hase out ahead. Both of you receive 1 additional Malignancy Point for this attempt.]</strong>


    ¡°GOD DAMN IT!" Riven screamed in rage, and he only narrowly dodged Allie¡¯s ymore when it crashed through the bone cage he found himself in.


    If youe across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    His right arm surged with as much energy as he could muster in that instant while the ymore was passing him by. Ice began to creep up his arm, enhancing the ws and spiked knuckles of Messenger with deadly intent. His red and ck eyes connected with Allie¡¯s gray, and time almost seemed to slow while they stared at one another.


    ¡°Hello, big brother.¡± She whispered, and in the next split second they shed.


    Riven¡¯s ws smashed into the side of her face, leavingrge trenches in her flesh and tearing one side of her jaw off as her ymore swung around and cleaved through his opposite arm. She was sent colliding into the ground hundreds of yards below with a scream, and Riven was sent spinning into a nearby column of rock that¡¯d managed to survive the battle thus far.


    Hended with a crunch, the wound where his left arm had been spraying blood and refusing to heal while lingering energies of true death rapidly ate away at his body¡¯s regeneration attempts.


    ¡°SURPRISE!¡± The gleeful cackle of Fimrindle called out in raspy glee just when the reaper blurred into motion beside him.


    Riven¡¯s eyes went wide in shock, the grinning metal scarecrow red back at him with X¡¯s for eyes on his face being abnormallyrge, and the scythe was held in a horizontal swing that was rapidly gaining speed with an absolute finality set into what was doubtless a killing blow.


    That was when another figure appeared right behind him, so fast that Riven could barely follow her movements. The enormous silhouette of Ath¡¯s drider form had opened its crystalline maw wide, bloody strings racing out from its numerous legs, and Riven in that instant knew he was a dead man.


    Only for the iron scarecrow to be yanked back into Ath¡¯ maw in an instant when the strings attached, making the scythe fall short of its strike with a shrill scream of denial being let out by the reaper right before an abrupt crunch.


    Silence followed, and Ath¡¯s legs buried themselves into the stone pir Riven was stered against. Leaning down with herrge but beautiful face pressed up against Riven¡¯s position on the rock pir, Ath giggled and gave him a wing with two of her four red slits for eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to break out of it, did ya?¡±


    A shudder ran down Riven¡¯s body, and he nearly copsed in relief. That relief didn¡¯tst long however, when a cataclysmic attack smashed into their position.


    Ath immediately wrapped her body around Riven¡¯s own to protect him, and her horrified wailsted throughout the roller-coaster ride when they were sent skipping across thendscape like a stone across ake. Broken bones, charred insides, and a deep gash wound across Ath¡¯s back was evident as her breaths becamebored.


    She looked down at him, clutching him in her arms, and let out a raspy breath: ¡°Go!¡±


    Riven barely had time to roll out of the way before Allie¡¯s ymore skewered Ath right through the heart, from the back and out the front of her chest - right where Riven had been a second before.


    Ath¡¯s second form died, and before she could even fully finish warping into her third arachnid form - Allie¡¯s bone-ted foot crunched down onto the small body with a sttering of arachnid guts.


    Ath was out for the count.


    Frankly, Riven couldn¡¯t believe just how strong Allie actually was.


    He hadn¡¯t considered it before, not in depth anyways. He¡¯d always known she was powerful and had be even more powerful since her evolution into an angel of death, but instead of how she used to fight as a spell slinger - she was now essentially a tank. Her skills had only grown since being trained by some of the best Gluttony¡¯s Church had to offer, and she¡¯d taken a very keen liking to that damnable weapon The Scythe had given her in an attempt to woo her to worship him.


    Riven almostughed, knowing full well that she¡¯d not even attempted to contact the death god since then. But then again, less than a year was just a blip to an entity like The Scythe. He¡¯d been around for eons, so waiting for such a short period of time probably seemed like nothing to him.


    Neon teal and ck fire began to condense over one of Allie¡¯s outstretched hands, covered in a bone gauntlet while giving him a bloodthirsty smile. Her ck wings red out in challenge, and her aura sted out again in challenge. ¡°Riven, Riven, Riven¡­ I¡¯d expected better of you. Come now, this can¡¯t be all that you have in store for your precious little sister - is it?¡±


    She poke with her jaw still unhinged where his ws and torn it off. It was both fascinating, and gross, after seeing it on one of the people he loved. It was almost like talking to a zombie version of his sister, and she hadn¡¯t bothered healing the injury - or perhaps was just rerouting her magic to fighting him instead of dealing with what she likely considered an insignificant flesh wound.


    Riven for his part, rolled his shoulders, ncing down at the missing left arm where she¡¯d cut it off at the biceps, and a small smile crept across his lips. Peeling the mask back through a mentalmand to Messenger, Riven gave her a fang-filled grin on full disy. ¡°You¡¯ve be rather impressive, little sis. Too bad that to me, you¡¯re just a brat!¡±


    Allie tisked, and was going to reply when she quickly took a step back - as Riven¡¯s body began to change.


    His arm grew back and dispelled her true death mana lingering in the wound instantaneously - his skin turning a dark gray. His body exploded in size as the tattoos along his skin lit up from ck to violet. Muscles surged, his skin ripped and reformed, and a huge tail tore out of his tailbone when Messenger peeled off to give his body room to expand. His chest split down the middle to incorporate Gluttony¡¯s visage with a vertical maw, huge demonic horns sprouted from his head, his legs snapped backwards and grew ws like a T-rex, and spine tore out of his back. Bone spikes protruded out of his kneecaps, elbows, and his teeth elongated in a sinister snarl while huge bat-like demon wings sprouted out of his shoulder des.


    Eyes shifting from red to purple, he looked down from five times his normal height - dwarfing Allie in less than a second.


    ¡°Let us finish this.¡± Gluttony¡¯s voice said, ovepping with Riven while they simultaneously spoke as one entity. ¡°It is time.¡±


    With stats souring and unimaginable strength, Riven took an offensive approach against Allie for the first time in the battle. He had one minute to do it, and then he was shit out of luck.


    ***


    Allie¡¯s instincts screamed at her to move when the huge gray demon riddled with purple tattoosunched itself towards her like a missile from hell. She rapidly backpeled and parried a strike of Riven¡¯s ws, her divine de only barely able to counter the enhanced demonic body before he whirled on her again.


    She summoned the Eye of the Scythe, unleashing a deathly gaze from far above - only for the ming teal eye to wither and die as itid eyes on Gluttony¡¯s reincarnated figure. She flew back, sending screeching skulls ripping across the sound barrier in Riven¡¯s direction - only for them to be swatted away like flies. The phantoms and wraiths defending her were ripped from the air and held within Riven¡¯s body as hostages ripe for the picking with wails and screams of the dead echoing in her mind, and she summed an unholy obelisk to empower her - only for it to shatter when Gluttony¡¯s maw reached out with its dark tendrils and snapped it like a twig.


    She felt her arm shatter blocking another strike, felt her leg snap after barely twisting out of Riven¡¯s grasp. She snarled, swinging her de down and unleashing a miasmic roar that split the sky and created a line of deathly energies in its wake.


    But Riven¡¯s new form was indomitable, persistent, and her own strikes only scratched his skin like they were papercuts even despite the quality of her weapon or the enhancement of her true death pir.


    It was all she could do just to stay alive, and the fight quickly devolved into one where she was on the back foot and doing her best to deflect his own blows or redirect them in order not to take the full brunt of his strikes.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, little angel? Is doubt finally afflicting your mind?¡± Gluttony¡¯sugh echoed from dozens of maws that began to rip open in space around them, and she found herself under assault by dozens and then hundreds of tendrils filled with sin energy.


    Her halo sent out a pulse of radiating death energy, smashing them apart only for new maws and new tendrils to reappear in the sky - reaching for her like hands dragging her to hell.


    ¡°Come now, I do not have time to suffer you!¡± Gluttony¡¯s words were mocking, and he smashed through her next deflection with a tail swipe that tore out the side of her left rib cage - sending a piece of her lung through the air in a bloody mess. ¡°COME TO ME, ANGEL OF DEATH! LET ME TASTE YOUR FEAR!¡±


    Riven was nowhere to be seen, and Allie grimaced in pain while taking another step back. The huge monster in front of her was none other than a being made in the beginning of time, an ancient evil that revealed in her fear while licking her blood off of its ws. An origin of demonkind, the power behind its attacks was unstoppable at her current grade, and she was almost helpless to hurt it even despite her best attempts.


    Gluttony¡¯s grin grew wider, and the ck teeth extended almost to look like Azmoth¡¯s - unnaturally reaching its smile literally from ear to ear in a sickening disy of genuine amusement and malice. ¡°Despite you being my reincarnation¡¯s sister, this is a battle to the death - little one. I hope you canter forgive me for what I am about to do¡­¡±


    Purple mes began to build up in the back of Gluttony¡¯s throat, roaring to life while they trickled out and up across the demon¡¯s face and glowing purple eyes. The power building there was made of pure sin, a thing of destruction that Allie had yet to evere across before now, and the Abyssal Descent around them began to tremble and call out to it as thend recognized one of its masters. An original sin hade home to it, broken out of its cage where Elysium had secluded it, and the rampant sin energies of their environment began to shoot towards Gluttony as the demon charged what was without doubt the final act of this fight.


    Yet, despite the massive power behind the building attack, one that she was doubtless incapable of stopping by brute force - she did have one new skill that may help here out of this mess after all.


    Raising her head to the sky, she let out a shrill cry of her own. Banshee¡¯s Wail activated, echoing throughout thendscape and silencing all enemies within its vicinity for just a moment.


    That one momentpletely canceled Gluttony¡¯s attack out, dispelling the channeling ability, and Gluttony merely blinked in confusion before an irritated snarl overcame him.


    ¡°Well yed.¡± Gluttony sneered. ¡°We were¡­ unaware that you had such a spell. Well yed indeed.¡±


    Gluttony¡¯s form immediately reverted, his body copsing in on itself when the 1 minute timer ran out. Messenger snapped back onto Riven¡¯s body from somewhere out in the dust storm, covering him in a defensiveyer while Riven remained in ce - panting from exhaustion, and he didn¡¯t have time to react when Allie¡¯s sword came in for his chest.


    Piercing partway through Messenger and almost into his heart, Riven was floored against the ground with a scream - and Allie desperately tried to push therge ymore further in with gritted teeth where her jaw remained intact.


    ***


    The pain was immense, and Allie was pouring all the remnants of her strength through the de - channeling it into his body. His vampiric regeneration battled back frantically, and Messenger tried to expel the divine weapon as best it could - but it was a losing battle. He felt weak, sapped of most of his strength, without Jackal for his normal mana regeneration - and without any significant amount of blood to call upon from the environment. His hands were coated in red ice the next second and pped themselves onto the de, and he ignored the pain they felt even through his own magicalyer while he attempted to push the de out alongside Messenger¡¯s own attempts.


    Allie¡¯s state wasn¡¯t much better. She had a broken wing, a leg snapped out in an odd angle, one arm dangling to the side and the right-side of her jawpletely separated from the upper half of her face. Her bone helmet was wrecked, one of her pauldrons was missing where a deep gas of Gluttony¡¯s ws had torn her flesh off, while part of one lung and her rib cage was missing and somewhere else entirely.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t think I could do it, did you?¡± Allie said, coughing blood with a gleeful, menacing smile as blood dribbled down her chin where a few of her bottom-row teeth were missing. ¡°Well I did it! I WON!¡±


    She pressed down with her full body weight, attempting to suppress his mana with her own, but both of their auras were miniscule at bestpared to what they¡¯d once been at their initial sh. The entire arena around them was a wastnd, with none of the jungle that¡¯d once been there remaining, and only a few of the dozens of pirs still standing as the storm of rampant mana raged around them. The asional spirits and sin beetles that tried to assist their masters were often intercepted by the other, and the ones that did manage to get through were dealt with by the lingering auras that weakly fought at the epicenter of the battle, but even these were far and few between.


    Riven gritted his teeth, fangs bared, and he weakly kicked at Allie¡¯s broken leg - causing her to stumble back. Rolling and avoiding another exhausted sh from his sister, he got to his feet and staggered backwards while spitting blood into her face when she lunged.


    Blinding her in the act, he smashed an elbow into the back of her head and sent her sprawling - summoning a bloodnce in the next instant that sted out from his arm only for her to block with one of her wings.


    The bloodnce shattered against her feathers, but caused her to stagger, and they took measure of one another again as they panted to catch their breath.


    ¡°Die.¡± Allie rushed him with ast ditch effort, throwing all of her remaining strength behind her attack as her body burst into a wraith-like apparition. She descended as the hand of death incarnate, burning a small piece of her own soul to strike him dead, while her body radiated immense killing intent with a re of her aura that should not be possible.


    Eyes wide, Riven grit his teeth and prepared to dodge - when a sh of light and a familiar aura appeared beside him. A beautiful, pregnant blonde woman wrapped in a ck silk, form-fitting robe stepped out of a red portal. The headdress was familiar and aztec in design, her red eyes pierced Allie with a judgemental sneer, and she brought both hands up in front of her with a praying motion to close her eyes. The crimson tattoos of the blood god red, and she muttered the words: ¡°Sanguine Smite.¡±


    The ground exploded underneath them and the enormous visage of the blood moon appeared behind her, before Allie¡¯s body was torn asunder through the cast miracle. Flesh was torn from bone, blood ripped from their vessels, and a vertical shockwave of energy ripped out from Genua to finish Allie off as the arena was split in half.


    Allie¡¯s attack fell short, her body split in two down the middle, as the angel of death breathed no more.


    <strong>[Team 1 of group #9877 has won. Team 2 of group #9877 has lost. Allbatants from group #9877 will now be resurrected. A portal to floor 20 of The Abyssal Descent will be created. An additional three loot chests have been provided due to your performance. Lillith of the ck Skies remains trapped on Floor 50. Congrattions. Your Floor 2 Boss Fight has ended.]</strong>

 Chapter 287

    Chapter 287


    <strong>Chapter 287</strong>


    The sudden sound of the crowds around the miles-wide arena came into earshot when the illusions of the perimeter¡¯s barrier vanished, and it was utterly deafening. Apuse for a good fight, no doubt, but Riven was utterly spent.


    Even as the system¡¯s own spells rapidly reworked his body, repaired his equipment, cleared the battlefield¡¯s devastation and resurrected the team mates he¡¯d just killed - his soul was exhausted from the strenuous effort. Gluttony had receded as well for whatever reason, and a portal with three adjacent metal chestsden with gold appeared a little bit off to his left.


    However, he was not in the worst of it. Most of his party stared at him, or at one another, in absolute shock at what had just happened. Fay began to sob uncontrobly, falling to her knees as she sputtered pleas for forgiveness. Azmoth looked absolutely horrified at what had just happened, an expression that was a first for the demon in all the time Riven had known the brutalisk. Allie was just staring at the ground, and Nora had folded herself up on the ground in the fetal position after experiencing what death was like.


    ¡°Could have been worse!¡± Athughed, seemingly the only one not bothered by the circumstances and giving Fimrindle a shit-eating grin. ¡°Gotchya bitch!¡±


    The reaper red back at the arachnid woman, hissed, and abruptly vanished a secondter - obviously not enjoying having been killed either. Riven suspected that Fimrindle¡¯s own irritation probably stemmed more from the fact that Ath had been the one to kill him though, as the two assassins had a kind of rivalry ever sinceing here to the abyss.


    ¡°I-I apologize, your excellency! I w-would have never dreamt to harm you if it was my own mind controlling my body!¡± Narg stuttered, aghast and growing a paler shade of green than what was normal. The beholder demon hovered nearby, trying toe up with words that would convey his sincerity - but barely managed to get out a wheeze in the next second.


    Riven gave the beholder demon a dismissive wave and a smile, passing him by and stepping in to give Genua a firm pat on the shoulder. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The blood priestess remained calm and professional, not even blinking. ¡°Of course, master.¡±Moving on, Riven knelt down next to Fay after that - picking the sobbing woman up and cradling her in his arms. She was by far the most emotional of his group, always had been - and likely always would be. But she had a good heart, and he gave her time to calm down for the next few minutes while he and the others discussed what had happened - and how close it hade to truly being a disaster. He¡¯d barely won, and that was with Ath¡¯s fortunate turn halfway through the battle - and then finally with Genua¡¯s timely arrival. He¡¯d gotten lucky, but on the bright side - he could safely say that his team mates had grown significantly in the time being here. They were truly firm additions, team mates that would be able to help support him in hising trek down to the 50th level of the abyssal descent, and he was d to have them on his side now that this mockery of a boss battle was finally over.


    ***


    Kissing Fay¡¯s cheek and wiping her tears away, he finally let go after seeing she¡¯d finally calmed down. ¡°Love you fay. Don¡¯t worry about it, you did nothing wrong.¡±


    Fay sniffled, her resolve having firmed and she stood up with him when she was offered a hand by Azmoth. ¡°Alright. But I¡¯ll make it up to youter, I promise.¡±


    The tears in her eyes had dried, but it was obvious this would bother her for quite some time while she clutched her grimoire to her heaving chest.


    Riven gave her a pat on the head, winked, and then began to fall in line next to his sister.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you won, but REALLY I should have won.¡± Allie teased, nudging him and getting an eyeroll in response.


    ¡°Oh shut up.¡± Riven said, waving her away while sheughed as the two siblings made for the first of three decorated chests. They were ratherrge, each of them easily being able to fit a person inside, and the gold trimmings on the metal were set into depictions of various demons. ¡°I wonder what kind of loot the system is giving out this time¡­


    ¡°A sparkly man-bikini? It¡¯d fit you nicely, Riven.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just mad I beat your ass, you little punk.¡± Riven pushed the lid of the first chest back, ignoring the flickering portal nearby, only to abruptly pull back from the chest when a pir of light tore open from the inside.


    There, hovering in ce over the chest, was the projection of a pair ofrge, ming wings. Orange, magma-like veins pulsed in the demonic appendages that were each dozens of yards across, and the heat they gave off was tremendous. They weren¡¯t attached to anything, but rather they were a set of entities entirely detached from anything else.


    Abruptly after that, the next box opened up too and without any effort on his part. Again, a pir of light shot up out of the inside of therge chest to reveal the projection of an abnormally long and slender tail, sky-blue in color, that crackled with sparks of a deeper-blue sma. The tail also had curved sma des starting halfway down its length and gettingrger until they reached the end - where a very long spike of said sma had sharpened to a point. It looked ¡®wicked¡¯ if Riven had to put a word to it, with a touch of sci-fi as well given the neon blue energy.


    Then, finally, the third box opened next. Just like the other two, a brilliant pir of light erupted out of the chest to reveal yet another projection. This time it was a pair of demonic horns. They wererge, dark ck horns that curved around - reminding him very much of the horns of a ram. They were very smooth, and somewhat thick, and gave off an oppressive aura just by looking at them.


    Beneath both of these projections were three glowing ascension cards, simr to the one Azmoth had used long ago to acquire the Carnivorous Maw trait.


    <strong>[Ascension Card: Wings of the Hellscape Giant, TRAIT ¨C acquire the wings of a hellscape giant. These wings are soulbound and can only be used by Azmoth, Riven Thane¡¯s familiar. Theserge appendages are both sturdy and provide a drastic speed bonus, allowing Azmoth to fly, and will cause Azmoth to grow in size. Size is retractable but will cost stamina. Routing energy into the wings causes them to expel fire at a greater rate, increasing speed at the cost of stamina. Acquiring these wings will also push Azmoth into his next evolution. It will cause Azmoth to ascend into bing an Archdemon, with other minor changes included.]</strong>


    <strong>[Ascension Card: Subus Battle Stinger, TRAIT ¨C acquire the Subus Battle Stinger. This tail and stinger are soulbound and can only be used by Fay, Riven Thane¡¯s familiar. It will reced the tail she currently has, but is retractable much like her wings are. This stinger has a high piercing chance, and can create bolts of Depraved energy which both damage the target and have a chance to cause hallucinations. Acquiring this stinger in conjunction with Greater Subus Horns will also cause Fay to ascend into bing an Archdemon, with other minor changes included.]</strong>


    <strong>[Ascension Card: Greater Subus Horns, TRAIT ¨C acquire the Greater Subus Horns. These horns drastically increase the radius and potency of all spells cast by the subus who equips this ascension card. These horns are soulbound and can only be used by Fay, Riven Thane¡¯s familiar. They will rece the minor subus horns she currently has, but are retractable much like her wings are. Acquiring these horns with Subus Battle Stinger will also cause Fay to ascend into bing an Archdemon, with other minor changes included.]</strong>


    As soon as he finished reading all of them, the system went into action and the cardsunched themselves towards their desired targets.


    Two cards mmed into Fay¡¯s chest and she let out a gasp, her eyes rolling into the back of her head while her body began to spasm.


    Azmoth took the hit to his chest without more than a surprised grunt, but he was quick to groan and then fell to one knee - supporting his weight with one of the shengari shields he carried.


    And before Riven knew it, the two of his minions were changing before his very eyes. Why the system had targeted these two specifically after his win was a curiosity to him, but he was d to see it as their bodies shifted, morphed, and evolved. In fact, he was rather pleased with the results.


    Azmoth¡¯s body surged and buldged, muscles expanding and limbs lengthening while the remnants of armor on his body began to shatter and fall off; revealing his more natural obsidian tes underneath as ming flesh between the cracks radiated newfound power. ws and teeth extended, and spikes along his spine jutted out to new lengths. The eel-like maws protruding from his back screeched and roared, and two wings sprouted from beside each of the carnivorous maws with a st of inferno that scorched the ground.


    The hellscape brutalisk was growing up.


    Others of the group quickly backed away while Azmoth continued to grow in size. Big became bigger, and bigger became huge, and the ground underneath him cracked with his weight as Riven¡¯s eyes slowly followed the massive demon¡¯s new form and up and up. He continued to move his eyes upwards with the growth, until he was looking at nothing short of an absolute beast.


    Oddly enough, the four shengari shields adapted to Azmoth¡¯s size - unlike the armor had - and each of them was now the size of a tree. The wings themselves unfurled to great lengths as Azmoth stood up, easily being the size of a three-story building in height, a true giant in all ways. The carnivorous maws could swallow a small car whole, the massive hands could doubtless tear houses out of the ground, and with a flex of his newfound ascension - a pir of hellfire burst out from Azmoth¡¯s body to crash into the ceiling with a boom.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    It was rather impressive.


    ¡°Damn¡­¡± Ath muttered underneath her breath, then she whistled. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can beat him up anymore.¡±


    A scream of pain caused Riven¡¯s trance to disappear, and with a worried frown he turned his attention back to his other evolving minion.


    Fay¡¯s transition was slower, even despite theck of growth in size, but the level of raw energying off her body was about equal to Azmoth¡¯s own. Her tail was being torn apart and remade, elongating, the ck cord of her old version now turning to the shade of blue the rest of her skin was colored in. Additionally, neon blue sma des were sprouting from her skin, and the stinger came next - exiting like a spear that retracted and expanded randomly until settling on a three-foot length of solid neon energy at the tail¡¯s tip. Her horns were obviously the most painful for her though based on her reaction, both of her old smaller horns had fallen off - and in their ce new ones were growing.


    They were the same shade of pitch ck as her old horns had been, but just like the projection - they were somewhatrger and thicker. They curved around to a forward-facing point much like a ram¡¯s would as the original visage had shown, and cast a shadow on her snow-white hair as her hands clutched at her forehead while she screamed.


    Riven was about to reach out to her, but knew he just had to wait it out - and resorted to frowning and tapping his foot nervously while the transformation finished its course.


    ¡°She be ok.¡± Azmoth said from far above them, and his body let out a hiss of steam amidst a rapid shrinking process over the crunch of bones and obsidian tes. The shengari shields once again followed suit, reducing in size, and Riven gave his minion a sidelong look while nervously waiting for Fay¡¯s system-gifted transformation toplete.


    ¡°You¡¯re a real badass now, my guy. One that can even fly!¡± Riven said with a smile, fist-bumping Azmoth as the demon red his wings excitedly to show off. ¡°I¡¯m d the system included a shrinking ability though, otherwise you¡¯d be way too big to have following me around all the time. You¡¯d just crush everything around you!¡±


    Azmoth smiled, lifting one of his shengari shields to view it admirably. ¡°Other brutalisk trainer had enchantment made for this day. Knew I grow big eventually, so weapons modify with me. I grow big, they grow big.¡±


    Ath aggressively nodded her head. ¡°And you two are archdemons now! Just like me! Riven, that¡¯s three archdemons you¡¯ve got contracted to you!¡±


    Retesh let out a hollow chuckle, folding his bony arms over one another to watch the evolution process with interest. ¡°You act as if this is a surprise. He is Gluttony¡¯s reincarnation.¡±


    ¡°But the three of us contracted with him BEFORE we knew that he would be!¡± Ath retorted with a finger lifted into the air. ¡°That¡¯s significant! Because the willpower cost is way, WAYYY down from what it would otherwise be!¡±


    ¡°Oh look, Fay¡¯s body is¡­¡± Nora started to say, but let her voice trail off while both eyebrows rose in surprise.


    Ath nced over and immediately began to giggle, while Allie just rolled her eyes in jealousy and disgust.


    ¡°Ohhhh¡­ Oh my.¡± Riven said with a growing smile as Fay¡¯s screams started to die off. He cocked his head to one side, and then the other, and then reached down to pick up the trembling subus - holding her in his arms. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    Wrapping his arms around her, she reciprocated the motion with a shaky breath - her legs weak in the knees.


    ¡°I think so¡­¡± She muttered, still traumatized from the upgrade. ¡°I just¡­¡±


    She stopped, blinked, and looked down at her chest after feeling that something oddly soft was inbetween them. ¡°Oh wow.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes life just isn¡¯t fair.¡± Allie muttered, shaking her head from side to side.


    Riven certainly wasn¡¯tining. ¡°I do believe you¡¯ve grown a couple sizesrger in the¡­ uhm¡­ chestpartment. It looks very good on you.¡±


    Stepping back, Fay let go of Riven to get a better look at herself. Her witch¡¯s hat had fallen off because therger horns wouldn¡¯t allow it to stay on, her tail was twice as long and flickered - neon blue des being apanied by neon sparks; and her upper body had gained a couple bra sizes to boot.


    ¡°This is the first thing youment on!?¡± Fay said, exasperated as her two lovers ogling her began tough. ¡°I became an archdemon, with an awesome new tail, and the first thing you notice is my chest!?¡±


    ¡°Can you me us?¡± Ath asked, still staring at Fay while blindly fistbumping Riven next to her. ¡°Those are some nice jugs. The things we are going to do to you-¡±


    ¡°Ok just stop! That¡¯s enough!¡± Allie said, swinging herrge ymore up and over one shoulder while stomping over to the portal. ¡°It¡¯s time to leave, get all your shit together. Keep it in your pants and let¡¯s get a move on - I want to get back to Panu as soon as possible and I have on idea how long this trek is going to take. For all I know, Lahn has found another girlfriend and I¡¯ll be damned if I¡¯m stuck here with you horny idiots for more than another week!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just jealous.¡± Riven said staunchly, before quickly ducking when Allie flung a death ball his way. He held up his hands in surrender. ¡°Alright! Alright,e on Fay. Not everyone is angry that you¡¯re a new sex icon. Ignore the grumpy angel, and if you want I can even give you a piggy back ride if you¡¯re still feeling shaky.¡±


    Nora face-palmed, Fay let on a deep red blush - holding her grimoire close against her chest to hide it, and Ath let out augh of agreement with an offer of her own.


    ¡°I going to transform back into regr size now.¡± Azmoth stated a secondter, giving them a wave to follow and heading towards the portal next. His body began to snap and crack while his mass expanded yet again, until he was three-stories tall once more; his wings red out to either side in a spray of mes. ¡°Making my body small tiresome. I stay like this unless need. Come, we go find Lillith. Then we hurry to finish Chalgathi trials.¡±


    ***


    The portal was a blur of noise and colors, and after exiting out the other side - the party found themselves inside a dead-end room. The walls and ceiling were made from ck energy speckled with various colors, almost akin to space colored by the stars of a gxy.


    Walking forward to touch one of the walls, Riven confirmed it was indeed solid and made from some kind of stone. The speckled colors were, as far as he could tell, actually soul stones of different grades - each one radiating a faint aura that were both ancient and ominous in nature.


    <strong>[You have arrived on Floor 20 of the Abyssal Descent. Beware other descent dwellers, as killing other participants grants you their ranking points.]</strong>


    He blinked, then went back to inspecting the odd construction of the room.


    Thankfully it wasrge enough to easily hold Azmoth, and despite the massive demon¡¯s growth - he could still move around in here without much trouble. This ce was no doubt made to include demons or other denizens of the unholy pir, and it made sense that there¡¯d be enough open area for creatures like Azmoth to move around in because of it.


    ¡°What is it that you sense, master?¡± Genua asked,ing to stand beside him as Riven remained with his palm t against the dark corridor¡¯s surface. ¡°Something troubles you.¡±


    His red eyes turned to meet hers, and then they darted down to her pregnant belly. ¡°I wish you would have stayed back in The Blood God¡¯s realm. Thank you foring to help, but it worries me that you¡¯re here.¡±


    Genua put on a gentle smile and shrugged. ¡°There is no point in worrying about it now, master. It is unfortunate that I cannot return after having passed the first floor of the descent, but that is a risk I knew I would take after making the choice to intervene.¡±


    He slowly nodded, withdrawing his hand and motioning her to follow as the others began walking in Allie¡¯s footsteps. Fimrindle, Ath and Nora all vanished into thin air to scout ahead, and Azmoth¡¯s mes billowed out to illuminate the darkness as Retesh and Fay took the rear.


    Unfortunately, none of the undead minions Riven had in were able to be revived or reused - as they¡¯d been mysteriously recycled by Elysium after the battle had finished. Much to Retesh¡¯s annoyance - and the lich was already muttering to himself about what changes he needed to make in order to avoid assassins like Ath in the future. It appeared that he¡¯d alsoe to the same realization Riven had about quick, sudden attempts on his life - after the abrupt end he¡¯d suffered from Ath during the floor 2 boss battle he¡¯d been a part of.


    ¡°How go your studies with the other clergy?¡± Riven eventually asked, ncing left to where the priestess held herself in perfect posture to silently walk beside him. ¡°Do you enjoy your trips there? I am unsure of what it is like, I¡¯ve only ever heard stories and my own life has been rather hectictely.¡±


    Genua remained with her hands sped in front of her, staring ahead with the chiseled features of a statue and not showing much emotion while she considered his words. ¡°The studies are beneficial. I have grown much and learned much. The Blood God is truly a being of magnificence, one of ultimate power, and a being that I can say I am proud to learn from personally.¡±


    ¡°Personally?¡± Riven asked, surprised. ¡°You talk to him?¡±


    Genua slowly nodded, their footsteps echoing in the dark passage that continued to lead out for hundreds of yards before turning left and right at the end. ¡°Yes, or at least I learn from a portion of him. He has split off a piece of his soul to project it as something akin to a clone, and hase to personally teach me in the way of blood miracles. He¡¯s taught me how to grow my divinity channels, and I can now even summon some of the same creatures that you can.¡±


    ¡°Legionaries?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The Legionaries of the Blood God are at mymand as well, though my ability is a miracle rather than a spell - and it works somewhat differently than yours. The end result is the same, however.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty damn good miracle to have.¡±


    For the first time since beginning their walk, Genua grinned. ¡°Quite. I¡¯ve also been granted another miracle called ¡®Blood Mirror¡¯, that allows me tomunicate long distances. Len and I have been speaking through it, and my daughter is doing quite well in Tupper¡¯s care. She¡¯s even grown slightly¡­ and it has made me happy to see how excited she gets when I contact her. She¡¯s alsoe around to the idea of having a little brother or sister, and has started making baby clothes for when her sibling arrives.¡±


    Genua¡¯s grin widened into a genuine smile, and she let out a sigh of contentment. ¡°I would have shown you earlier, but you seemed rather busy and I did not want to irritate you with my intrusions.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow, using Jackal as a walking stick while forging ahead at a slow monotonous pace. ¡°You¡¯re carrying my child. Don¡¯t ever think that I don¡¯t have time to speak to you if you need it.¡±


    There was a long pause after that, before she rapidly nced his way. Then she shifted her eyes back ahead of her and down to the floor. ¡°Uhm¡­ Alright. Thank you, Riven.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Riven said, suddenly feeling a little bit awkward. He was still brutally aware that he¡¯d been the one to kill Genua¡¯s ex-husband, and her daughter Ethel back when they¡¯d attempted to murder him. The thought was always, without fail, a raw area to think about. Scratching the back of his head, he tried to hold in his grimace. ¡°What kind of clothes has Len been making?¡±


    Genua giggled at the question, unaware of his state of mind, putting one hand to her mouth and shaking her head. ¡°She¡¯s been making dresses mostly. I told her that we don¡¯t know if it is a boy or a girl yet, but Len seems adamant that it¡¯ll be a little sister rather than a little brother. She just ignores me when I tell her that she¡¯ll have to rethink her fashion choices should it be a little brother, but more than anything - I think she¡¯s just happy with her newfound ability as a startup seamstress. Tupper has again been the one teaching her, and he¡¯s apparently a very good tailor.¡±


    ¡°News to me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was news to me as well.¡±


    ¡°GUYS, GUYS, GUYS!¡± Ath appeared from the shadows, waving her arms back and forth excitedly while beckoning the others toe faster. ¡°I found something really neat! Come quickly! And I think we¡¯ll need Narg¡¯s help on this one, so hurry it up you overgrown eyeball!¡±


    Narg, the beholder demon, had been unusually quiet ever since the end ofst battle after Azmoth and Fay had ascended. However he quickly perked up, orange eyes alight with intent, as he rushed over to following Ath¡¯s wake. ¡°I will do my best to assist, deardy!¡±


    Smiling and doing a once over inspection of each of his minions, Riven escorted Genua forward while the two of them caught up to the other casters in the back. Fay was waiting patiently for them and took his arm in hers, and doing the same with Genua¡¯s on the other side - she began dragging them forward at a faster trot while Azmoth¡¯s giant steps led the way in front.


    <strong>[Ath, Level 200 Archdemon: Unique, 3 forms. Cute Wittle Blood Weaver / Gluttonous Arshakai / Gluttonous Fae Drider. ssless. LEGENDARY. PANU WORLD BOSS.]</strong>


    <strong>[Azmoth, Level 200 Archdemon: Winged Hellscape Brutalisk. Infernal Crusader Adept. LEGENDARY.]</strong>


    <strong>[Fay, Level 200 Archdemon: Greater Blue Subus. Curse Witch. LEGENDARY.]</strong>


    <strong>[Genua, Level 200 High Elf Vampiric-Thrall. Priestess of the Blood God. ELITE.]</strong>


    <strong>[Narg, Level 200 Beholder Demon. Seeker. ELITE.]</strong>

 Chapter 288: (4 Chapters today)

    Chapter 288: (4 Chapters today)


    <strong>Chapter 288</strong>


    ¡°So what exactly is an archdemon, anyway? Now that I have not one, but three of you bound to me - I figure now is as good a time as any to really consider what it means.¡± Riven asked as Fay pulled him along with his arm in hers. ¡°Because it strikes me as odd that F-grade demons can be archdemons when there are many E, D, or C grade demons that haven¡¯t be such. So it can¡¯t be a power or level thing.¡±


    Fay giggled at him with a shake of her head, then hummed to herself while trotting along with Genua on her left and Riven on her right. ¡°It¡¯s rather funny, you know.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s funny?¡±


    ¡°That you¡¯re Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation and have no idea what an archdemon is.¡±


    Riven couldn¡¯t help but eye-roll and even Genua smirked a bit at the jab. ¡°Yeah, well I was human only about a year ago. I didn¡¯t even think demons were real back on Earth.¡±


    ¡°Wait, truly?¡± Genua asked, obviously intrigued by the notion while furrowing her brows at him. ¡°They didn¡¯t know what demons were back on your home world before the integration?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that we hadn¡¯t HEARD of demons before, but magic wasn¡¯t a real thing where I was from.¡± Riven shrugged as Azmoth¡¯s booming footsteps continued to march ahead of them in Ath¡¯s wake, the mes casting the otherwise dark andrge corridor in a flickering orange hue. ¡°Fairy tales talked about them. As did some religious texts or novels, and sometimes they were portrayed in movies. But nothing was proven or documented on video so no one really took it seriously.¡±


    ¡°What about undead, then?¡± Retesh asked, the ancient lich pausing ahead of them to fall in line before walking alongside Riven¡¯s right. ¡°Did your world have anything about my kind?¡±¡°Nope.¡± Riven shook his head adamantly. ¡°Not a thing. Same thing with anything magical really. If you¡¯ve not noticed, most of my people in Chicago are oriented towards the Machine Pir. This is because our society focused mainly on technology rather than taking anything concerning magic or mystical creatures seriously.¡±


    ¡°Would you say that I am a mystical creature, then?¡± Fay asked, winking with a teasingugh.


    ¡°Certainly babe.¡± Riven jabbed her in the rib cage, getting a squeal from the subus and turning the corner.


    Ath was waiting impatiently for the four of them alongside Narg the beholder, and was tapping her foot down the hall about twenty yards away. ¡°Hurry it up you four! We¡¯re wasting time, and Fimrindle is getting impatient! Something about how his itty-bitty scarecrow legs can¡¯t stand for much longer!¡±


    She jogged further down after that and disappeared with another right hand turn, Azmoth already being a good ways ahead of Riven due to the size of his steps. Therge demon turned around and looked at the four of them a momentter.


    ¡°Do you want carry?¡± Azmoth asked curiously.


    Riven waved a hand. ¡°Nah, go on ahead man. We¡¯ll catch up soon.¡±


    Out of all his demons, he could sense each of their presences rather keenly. Especially when they were in close proximity, and it was more or less getting easier and easier to track them as their bonds strengthened over time. However, Ath was the only one of them all that had developed a unique link to him after taking a piece of Gluttony for herself. The mental link was not one often used, but if need be they could evenmunicate telepathically - and he would easily be able to find her position as long as an absolutebyrinth didn¡¯t separate them. So having Azmoth and Ath go ahead wasn¡¯t much of a concern after this area had been scouted out by their assassins, and they all knew it.


    Azmoth nodded after that, and then spread his wings with a burst of fire. Launching himself ahead, he easily cleared the distance and did an unnaturally sharp 90 degree turn before vanishing where Ath had already left them behind.


    ¡°So, back on topic.¡± Riven said. ¡°What exactly makes an archdemon different from a regr demon?¡±


    Fay was biting her lip, watching Azmoth leave, but cleared her throat and turned her attention back to Riven after a few seconds of pondering. ¡°It¡¯s all about bloodlines and potential.¡±


    Riven raised an eyebrow. ¡°Go on.¡±


    Bobbing her head from side to side, she resumed. ¡°So bing an archdemon doesn¡¯t necessarily mean a demon is stronger by definition, but the two are corrted. If someone is an archdemon, they¡¯re naturally going to be stronger most times whenpared to their fellow demons. All demons have originated from one or multiple of the original sins, such as Gluttony. Right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°Well that inherently gives us bloodlines rting back to the original sins. Ath¡¯s evolution into bing an archdemon has a lot to do with absorbing some of the power from Gluttony¡¯s shards, ones you had before bing the actual Reincarnation of Gluttony.¡± Fay raised a finger. ¡°However, that is not always the case. Though Ath manifested a crystalline Gluttonous Maw on her front while in her drider form, most evolutions into beingbeled an archdemon are due to awakening bloodlines that are mixed. Such as mine, which - if I had to guess - is probably very much based in Envy, Lust, and Pride. The reason I say this is because most blue subi have been measured to be so in the past when examined. But if you took a red subus and measured her, most of the time she would have a majority mix of Envy, Lust, and Wrath.¡±


    Riven blinked. ¡°That¡¯s rather interesting. Does thispel you to follow a particr type of original sin when¡­ I don¡¯t know, worshiping?¡±


    Fay snorted in amusement. ¡°No, that is a personal choice. Or you¡¯re born into a family that has been serving a particr church for millenia. The inherent nature to worship the sins is built into us, but is equal across all the sins regardless of what bloodline mixtures we have.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but what does that have to do with being an archdemon? You awaken your bloodlines to draw more power?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Fay nodded. ¡°Essentially, beingbeled an archdemon means that we have unlocked at least some part of our ancestral bloodlines leading back to the sins. This in turn allows us to evolve faster, and have more potent evolutions. The cards that Elysium provided Azmoth and myself with were basically keys to unlock certain bloodline potentials that are already inherent to our species - but are hard to acquire.¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°Oh. So you¡¯re saying that Elysium didn¡¯t necessarily p a tail on you and remove your old one, but just induced an evolution by unlocking a particr bloodline?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ What about Azmoth¡¯s first card, the one where he gained those two eel-like maws on his back that breathe fire? I was under the impression any of us could use that card but we gave it to Azmoth over the rest because it just seemed to fit.¡±


    Fay shrugged. ¡°Not all evolution stimting cards are linked back to the sins. That was a nightmare creature, if I remember correctly?


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then it probably stemmed from the species itself. But it likely wouldn¡¯t have unlocked Azmoth¡¯s bloodlines rted to the original sins regardless of how many evolutionary cards you gave him if they weren¡¯t demonic in nature. This in turn means that, should he have not evolved into an archdemon, his future evolutions thate naturally would be less potent than the ones he will gain now. In fact, there are even different GRADES of archdemon. Ath, myself, and Azmoth are all at the most basic form of archdemon because the three of us have only unlocked the firstyer of our bloodlines. But you can be an ascendant, into further tiers of archdemon, if you get lucky enough or have some kind of massive breakthrough. Unfortunately not many of our kind even get to be an archdemon at all. My mother, for example, is thousands of years older than I am and many grades above me - but she still isn¡¯t an archdemon. In fact I think I may be the first and only archdemon in the Sojavi n. They¡¯re all quite proud, actually.¡±


    ¡°Does Ath¡¯s n have any other archdemons?¡±


    Fay nodded. ¡°A few. Not many, but her n is more oriented towards acquiring martial power. While mine is, as you know, an information broker. Many of my n actually use their powers to seduce people into telling us what we want to know - such as my silvertongue, but silvertongue is only the bottom of the barrelpared to some of the other influential powers my n has. Anyways the opportunities we get to acquire insights into our original bloodlines are probably not as often as the ones Ath¡¯s n gets, because martial might is most linked with awakening.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I see. Why doesn¡¯t Azmoth have a n?¡±


    ¡°Hellscape Brutalisks are generally loners. They¡¯re apex hunters when they reach their full form. You think Azmoth is big now? Especially after he just grew in size? Wait, and you¡¯ll be surprised at just how big he will actually get.¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t know what to think about Fay¡¯sst statement. Azmoth was already enormous. How much bigger could he be? And it wasn¡¯t like the other hellscape brutalisks he¡¯d seen in the Abyssal Descent were much bigger. Sure, some of them were equal to Azmoth¡¯s current height but he hadn¡¯t seen any behemoths. Then again they were still all F and E grade by Elysium¡¯s mandatory promation, and he had yet to see any brutalisks in the upper grades yet.


    ¡°So just to confirm, is there anything else I need to know about archdemons? Or is that basically it?¡± Riven asked after pondering her words.


    Fay shook her head. ¡°Not really. I guess it also is a sign of status, but otherwise it means that I - and anyone elsebeled with the archdemon tag - are probably going to get better evolutions over time. Thus we have far greater potential to be great. The earlier you get the archdemon tag, the more evolutions you¡¯re able to go through before reaching the top. Acquiring the title at F-grade for all of us distinctively means we will achieve greatness, as long as we manage to survive. It is incredibly rare, you know, what you¡¯ve done.¡±


    She cocked her head to the side as if in thought. ¡°Even for who you are, I would think. Or maybe that really is it, that being so close in proximity to one of the original sins has something to do with it. I wouldn¡¯t know because the sins have been locked away for so long and the churches have kept their secrets well hidden during the ages the sins were gone, but if it is the close proximity driving us to thrive - then it would certainly be a boon for whoever you take on next. Be it Narg, or someone else.¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t Elysium just kind of¡­ Eh, how do I put this. Wasn¡¯t Elysium the one that really gave those cards out?¡±


    Fay snorted augh, shaking her head. ¡°Only in part. Elysium doesn¡¯t just GIVE out prizes like that. They need to be earned, and they need to have certain requirements ticked off to get them. There are no free handouts, so to speak. But rather it felt like we were not only ready for the evolutions, but had also earned them through our actions - or in this case, the actions of our master. Perhaps both. It is also entirely possible that we may have not needed the evolution stimting cards, and that Elysium simply expedited the process.¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°BOO!¡±


    Riven would have been startled if he hadn¡¯t already sensed Athing, but Fay and Genua definitely let out surprised screams - and even Retesh nearly tripped before turning around to re.


    Ath had popped out of stealth and had her legs over Riven¡¯s shoulders, and was grinning like a mad-woman while enjoying the ride. Then she pointed forward, and smacked Riven twice on the head. ¡°Onwards, good steed! Giddy up! Go go go!¡±


    ¡°You know¡­¡± Fay muttered, brushing herself off and ring up at the arachnid woman. ¡°You do realize that many would consider what you are doing as sphemy, riding Gluttony around like that.¡±


    Ath seemed to ponder Fay¡¯s words a moment, shrugged, and grinned like a drunkard. ¡°Riven doesn¡¯t mind! Do you, Riven?!¡±


    He pretended to scowl, but just couldn¡¯t hold the look with the goofy grin on Ath¡¯s face; eventually falling into a chuckle.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky I like you.¡± Riven winked, and kept walking until they reached the next turn.


    ¡°Be quiet and ride on, plebian-steed!¡±


    Far, far, far down the enormous hallway was a trio of threerge double doors. Even from here Riven could see just how big they were based on theirparison to Azmoth, and they made him look just a little small. Allie, Fimrindle, Narg and Nora were also there - all of them chatting about something but their words couldn¡¯t be heard due to the distance. It was nearly a mile away in a straight line, with nothing but the straight path between.


    ¡°I¡¯m having Narg use his Seek Object, Seek Danger, and Seek Safety abilities while meditating next to the door.¡± Ath said, still Riding on Riven¡¯s shoulders. She pointed down the long hall to where the others stood - and in the middle of them was a distant Narg with his eyes closed. ¡°Hopefully he¡¯ll be able to get us down floor by floor faster this way, and at the very least - through this part of the floor.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Retesh asked with a rasp in his voice, his bone stave clicking against the floor as the orb at its top asionally flickered. ¡°Do we need to choose one of the three doors to proceed? Can we not backtrack?¡±


    ¡°Bingo, bonesy has it right!¡± Athughed. ¡°The doors are all sealed, and choosing one probably permanently locks the other two. Or it blocks the way. You¡¯ll see, there¡¯s a rhyme on the wall that hints at it. But it¡¯s all very unclear. Something about a giant¡¯s maze?¡±


    ¡°Oh great. Just what I wanted, a maze.¡± Riven grimaced, then brightened. ¡°Your idea about Narg is a good one though. Maybe he¡¯ll be more useful than we¡¯d thought. If Lillith knew about this beforehand, perhaps that¡¯s exactly why she chose him toe along.¡±


    ¡°Hey Ath-¡± Genua cut in, scrolling through her status screen and then pulling up Riven¡¯s - beforeing over to the other minions he had. It was a feature of being a minion to begin with - they could all ess each other¡¯s status screens as long as they belonged to the same master. ¡°Are you going to pick a ss? I can¡¯t help but notice that you¡¯re already level 200 and havee quite a long ways, but you haven¡¯t picked a ss yet. Why is that? Aren¡¯t you missing out on all the stat points per level? That¡¯s quite a significant loss after 200 levels of being ssless.¡±


    Riven hadn¡¯t actually thought about it, but Genua was right. Why HAD Ath not taken a ss? He¡¯d let the others pretty much do what they wanted and wasn¡¯t at all restrictive in how they pursued their own paths to power, and that level of freedom was actually written into Azmoth¡¯s original contract to begin with. So he¡¯d not paid much attention to it until now.


    He nced up at Ath while keeping her legs firmly over his shoulders and her calves against his chest with one hand, his other hand continuing to use Jackal like a walking stick. ¡°Genua¡¯s got a good point. You haven¡¯t really talked much about it. Have you not seen a ss you like yet?¡±


    Ath for her part was pretending to inspect her fingernails. Curling her fingers and then ttening them out to sy them the opposite way - she let out a loud sigh. ¡°It¡¯s a trade secret! Ok, ok maybe not a secret. But I am waiting until D-grade to choose a ss.¡±


    ¡°D-grade? As in, past E-grade? You¡¯re in F-grade right now¡±! Riven eximed perplexed.


    Fay seemed equally perplexed, as did Genua.


    But Retesh seemed to understand what was going on while giving Ath a nod of respect. ¡°You want to gain the achievement. Don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Bingo!¡± Ath beamed back, giving the skeletal lich a wide grin and made the shooter-symbol with her fingers his way. ¡°Bags-o-bones got it again! I¡¯m waiting to get an achievement before I gain a ss.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡± Fay asked curiously. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of such an achievement.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because your family doesn¡¯t care nearly as much aboutbat prowess as my family does.¡± Ath harumphed. ¡°Damnable subi always thinking their looks can get them ces and not needing to fight. But I bet your mother knows if you were to ask her. The achievement is called ¡®Stagefright¡¯, and it is immediately granted to anyone who reaches level 401 after passing into the D-grade if they don¡¯t have a ss.¡±


    ¡°What does it do?¡± Riven asked, curiously ncing Retesh¡¯s way. ¡°And how do you know about it?¡±


    Retesh pretended to clear his throat with one clenched fist up against his jaw, which was weird considering he didn¡¯t have a throat. Rather, he had an exposed spine. ¡°I happened upon the knowledge during our training sessions with The Church of Gluttony, your church. It¡¯s a long story but one of the young demon lords there told me he was going to attempt to get the ¡®Stagefright¡¯ achievement as well. I¡¯d asked him a simr question after realizing he was a level 206 E-grade gargoyle, and did not have a ss. Correct me if I am wrong, Ath, but ¡®Stagefright¡¯ is supposed to give you an entirely different set of upper-echelon ss choices. Not many go for this achievement though, because entering the D-grade without a ss can be very hard to do. You put yourself at a disadvantage and make it far harder to level up, and you limit the skills or perks you¡¯d otherwise get from your sses. Many who attempt it die along the way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Ath said with a nod, folding her arms underneath her chest. ¡°Now you may be asking yourself why most contracted demons don¡¯t do this to begin with. The answer is simple - if your master dies while you remain ssless, you lose out on ever getting the opportunity for ¡®Stagefright¡¯ even if you get a new master. Then, if you¡¯ve gone nearly 400 levels without a ss and without gaining additional stat points each level while not having a ss - it¡¯s a huge hit to take. Many contracted demons don¡¯t risk it because of that, and choose to take a ss early to avoid crippling themselves in case their master DOES die. But I have absolute faith in you Riven, and I very much suspect you shan¡¯t be dying.¡±


    ¡°Shucks, jee wizz and thanks.¡± Riven said tly, getting augh from the others. ¡°I¡¯m d I can inspire such confidence in you.¡±


    ***


    It took a while to get down the long stretch of hallway beforeing to a stop in front of the three enormous doors built into the dead-end of the dark corridor. The doors themselves had ancient letters carved into them that looked different every time Riven nced away and back again - but from talking to the others, the doors all said the same thing. It was like the words, though unreadable, made their meaning known and allowed them to read the writing even without actually knowing how to do it.


    Certainly an odd sensation, and it didn¡¯t help that the shapes kept changing either.


    ¡°I¡­ Think you should be the one to read the passages out loud.¡± Nora muttered, ncing Riven¡¯s direction with a shrug. ¡°Just in case¡­ Seems ominous and it¡¯s pretty obvious that it wants you to speak the passages.¡±


    Riven¡¯s gaze shifted to narg, and the beholder demon seemed prepared to speak.


    Narg didn¡¯t disappoint. He swerved to Riven¡¯s left, and extended an eyeball in that direction. ¡°This is the way. If you can choose, this is the door you must take.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Riven asked, just to confirm.


    Narg shot wary looks between Riven and the door in question, and let out a huff. ¡°It is the door that leads to the most danger¡­ but it is also the door that leads to Lillith. I am able to track the flower in her horns, as I thought it was an odd object to have on her person, and only this door leads down to find her.¡±


    The pause after that was a long one, and Riven¡¯s grimace quickly grew. It was not a question on whether or not they¡¯d get Lillith out, it was a must. No one else said a word, but it was obvious they all agreed. And with the writing literally on the wall in the form of a riddle, the implications about this next trial were quite clear.


    Riven stared up at the ever-shifting shapes, reading and rereading them line by line, as the words he shouldn¡¯t know how to read burned themselves into his mind¡¯s eye. Then, he uttered the words aloud while simultaneously pressing his hand to the door that Narg had indicated he choose. <em>¡°ce your hand on one of three. Enter into the maze of a crazed giant¡¯s maze that does forever remain awake, for if you do not and choose to retreat - your souls he will surely take. His eyes were plucked raw, a damned sentence to serve, he remains chained unwilling, and has yet to give birth. As a quintet of travelers you must choose your path - for now that you¡¯re here, there is no turning back. The crazed one will feed and you will all die, for the path you must tread and must not turn awry. The first to speak will fight for all five. The two of your weakest will be your guide. The remaining three will make the keys, with any others obliged to be. If this cannot be done, you unravel another one, in order to take their gift. For this is the way, this is the curse, of the fallen god¡¯s passage through to this twenty-first rift. Speak the words aloud, champion of the crowd, and descend into darkness with yourrades.¡±</em>


    The passage they¡¯d been walking down only minutes before suddenly vanished,pletely cut off with a solid ck wall. There was no way out, and the three doors started to glow.


    <strong>[Abyssal Descent Trial for Floor 20 has been activated: The Crazed Giant¡¯s Maze:</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>The first to speak will fight for all five: As the one who has spoken the words aloud, Riven has beenbeled ¡®Champion¡¯. You will be thrown into a pit of despair with other champions of other groups against a respawning wave of randomized abyssal enemies. Minions are unable to aid your champion here. If Riven dies, the rest of you will be set upon by waves of enemies every 10 minutes that increase in strength and number.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>The two of your weakest will be your guide: Nora and Gnar have been designated as Seekers. Your two seekers will be sent into the giant¡¯s cylindrical maze, and will be hunted by the weakest of other teams and various abyssal beasts in their attempt to navigate to the end. The crazed giant will also attempt to eat anything it can get its hands on as the flight through the maze continues, including your seekers. If both seekers die, the rest of you will all be ejected from the Abyssal Descent entirely and may not ever return.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>The remaining three will make the keys, with any others obliged to be: The rest of the party, including all minions not already selected for other roles, will all be set to the task of creating a number of keys that unlock the doors at the end of thebyrinth with crafting materials provided by Elysium. The Seekers, your two weakest, will be unable to traverse through thest part of the maze without these keys.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>If this cannot be done, you unravel another one, in order to take their gift: Killing other champions in one on onebat, or killing other seekers in the maze currently on the twentieth floor of the Abyssal Descent, will take their keys and insights to add to your own party.</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Do this, and pass into the 21st floor of the abyssal descent. Identification is nullified on this entire floor. At the end of this floor, you will gain an insight into one of your paths.]</strong>


    The door wrenched itself open with a creak, and the world shifted around them instantaneously before anyone else knew what was happening. Their minds all linked, allowing them to see through one another¡¯s eyes while simultaneously maintaining a sense of self in their own locations all at once.


    Riven was now standing at the bottom of a deep, dark pit that had a cubic set of walls made from flesh. Carnivorous teeth clicked and gnashed from out of the walls, giving him the impression he was standing in the mouth of a square-shapedmprey or down its throat - as blood and acid sizzled on the floor underneath his ivory-ted feet. Nearly twenty other ¡®champions¡¯ of various species for other groups were also there, all knee-deep inbat with different types of nightmare abominations that literally hurled themselves out of the walls or tore out of the ground to bite, wrench, and w at the champions who were now maintaining a perimeter.


    Azmoth, Allie, Retesh, Fay, Ath and Fimrindle were all standing in arge boxy room with a dozen pools of ck water, a central sacrificial altar where a frantically screaming woman was chained down to the stone, and arge wraith with a crazed smile hovered overhead staring down at them. There was ava pit, a hill of piled bones, a tub of soul stones, and cages on the far wall with numerous other captured prisoners of species obviously not native to the Unholy Foundational Pir all crying out in despair; and a set of used butcher¡¯s tools on a rack.


    Then,stly, Nora and Narg were standing together at the top of a steep drop off where a winding path of obsidian tunnels intertwined with one another through an enormous maze. The maze itself had dozens of different floors and was cylindrical in nature, with the center cylinder being open to the air - where an enormous giant was chained by the neck exiting out of an ocean of red-hot magma at the very bottom. The giant was blind, tortured, his eyes having been torn out, and his charred, burned skin was ravaged with scars and w marks as he howled and roared.


    A creature cursed for all eternity to serve a sentence for unknown crimes in a state of blind, eversting agony. The only outlet for his rage: to kill and feed on the creatures that dared haunt his abyssal prison. His massive hands groped through the exposed open levels of the inner-most areas of thebyrinth floors on the inner side of the cylinder-shaped maze, where various abyssal creatures could be seen from time to time along with other figures in the dark that darted in and out of sight. asionally desperate swipes from the giant would find purchase, and screaming, squealing creatures could be seen being ripped from the various parts of thebyrinth to enter his giant mouth - where he crunched down on them in sttering scenes of blood and gore.


    And for the first time since arriving in this unholy descent, Riven and the others truly began to understand just what it was to enter into the jaws of the abyss.

 Chapter 289

    Chapter 289


    <strong>Chapter 289</strong>


    The blinded giant, chained by his neck to the very bottom of this ursedbyrinth, was half submerged in his magma pit. Yet even despite this the creature was sorge that he could reach all but the highest of levels on thebyrinth, and his charred, gnarled fingers eternally groped blindly for prey to feed on while hisrge nostrils red. Sharp intakes of breath through his nose were interrupted only by his crazed roars of pleasure and pain. After having lost knowledge of who or what he¡¯d been in his past life - all he had left was the hunt. His vacant eye sockets dripped blood that sizzled down his ckened skin, leaving him in perpetual darkness even as the glowingva below gave off a soft orange glow to the inneryers of the cylindricalbyrinth. Yet, despite his blindness and hisck of sanity, he remained acutely aware of his surroundings through touch and sound.


    And an uncontrolled rage continued to spur him on towards greater violence.


    The air was thick with the stench of death and decay as abyssal creatures slithered or wed through the shadows. Their whispers and hisses filled the giant''s ears, taunting him with their presence. His only scey in hunting them down, feeding on their flesh to sate his endless hunger. He crushed, gnawed, gored and punched - asionally breaking fingers that quickly snapped back into ce in his attempts to get at the vile snacks that tried to evade his reach in the deeper recesses of the walls and inner corridors he could not fit into.


    But for the first time in a very long time, he sensed something change. A familiar aura, born of darkness, it called to him¡­ And the familiar hunger within his belly grew to new heights as a wicked grin crept across his face in an unusual disy of glee.


    Though he could not remember why this presence made him feel in such a way.


    He shifted his massive body, feeling the chains around his neck creak under the strain. He extended his arms upwards towards where he felt the presence if only momentarily, groping blindly through the darkness for any sign of prey. His fingers brushed against stone walls and twisted obsidian tunnels, but the sensation of that ancient, familiar presence soon disappeared - leaving the giant in a fit of rage while sshing around theva pits below to cause tidal waves.


    The cylindricalbyrinth shook with his efforts.


    Suddenly, he heard movement ahead. A creature¡¯s scent caught his attention. Its efforts to evade taunted him, thinking itself safe from his grasp while his hands were up above. But the giant was the master of thisbyrinth, and his hunger knew no bounds.With a thunderous roar, he lunged forward, trying to capture the fleeing creature as it tried taking a shortcut on the inner cylindrical path before it escaped into a deeper recess. His fingers closed around empty air as it dodged and weaved through the shadows. Frustrated, he swung his arms wildly, hoping to catch it off-guard.


    He heard a scream of terror before fist connected with something soft and squishy, crushing the life from its body. The creature''s writhing limbs went limp as he crushed it beneath his grip. With a triumphant bellow, he lifted the corpse to his mouth - letting the blood leak into his parched throat - and then he devoured the demon whole.


    ***


    Narg¡¯s many eyes widened after watching another participant get crushed and eaten right in front of them. The beholder demon and Nora had likely scared the already injured minotaur into rushing headlong in a fear that they¡¯d attack it - only for the scared and unbound demon to be giant food in its final act.


    There was noing back from death for that one.


    ¡°Poor bastard.¡± Narg muttered, shaking his head in dismay. ¡°We weren¡¯t going to kill that stupid cow, I don¡¯t know why it just didn¡¯t wait. Unfortunately, minotaurs aren¡¯t the brightest bunch.¡±


    Nora came up behind the floating beholder, panting and wiping sweat off her brow with a forearm while holding two bloodied bone-crafted des in either hand. She nced at the sttered gut remnants on the wall ahead of them on the inner path that exposed their flight through the maze to the giant¡¯s reach, and then looked behind them where the snarling howls of abyssal hounds were growing louder. When one of the huge beasts poked its head out from around a corner, acid dripping from exposed canines - she reacted instantly. Her arms twisted and she braced herself in the necessary stance for one of her tier 2 martial art, speaking the words aloud before striking forward with her des:


    ¡°Haunted mirror!¡±


    The air down the hall let off a whisper of deathly energy as a small circr mirror snapped into being just over the hound¡¯s head. The abyssal hound then unleashed a fire-hydrant of acid directly at Nora, and the attack was blocked with a barrier of shadows and fire as Narg protected Nora from the attack. At the same time the hound lunged forward, only for Nora¡¯s des to reach through the summoned mirror with projected ghostly hands. The bone des crashed into the monster¡¯s back with a backstab being triggered, ripping with critical energies that caused the monster to yelp in surprise.


    <strong>[You havended a critical hit. Max Damage x6.]</strong>


    The spine ripped and the monster fell to the ground with a snarling yelp, only to be sted with an unholy globspitter that whizzed by Nora¡¯s face by an inch. The green light of the projectile was on par with Riven¡¯s own sniping bloodnce in terms of speed and blew through the hound with ease, tearing its body apart in a sttering of gore that coated the hallway.


    More howls and the wed scramble of canine footsteps became more apparent even with the trembling of thebyrinth through the giant¡¯s attempts at finding prey.


    Nora winced as a familiar, ancient presence wed at the back of her mind. A shing image of multiple dark, smiling entities that she¡¯d known since she was a child lit up her insides - and the cold, wed fingers of her childhood tormentors embraced her soul. They pleaded with her to be let out, begged her even, and their malicious giggles had to be shut out by pure force of will to regain a sense of who and what she was.


    <em>¡®Come on Nora¡­ Let us out! We promise we¡¯ll keep you safe¡­ We promise we¡¯ll give your body back this time!¡¯</em> The voices echoed in her head,ughing and mocking her while trying to pull at her subconscious barriers. <em>¡®You need us! Let us out, little sister! We only want to y!¡¯</em>


    ¡°Is your bloodline acting up again?¡± Narg said, concerned as Nora hit the ground on both knees. His numerous eyes flicked upwards again and a few moreyers of nightmare barriers blocked the hallway from three more iing abyssal hounds level 190-200 each. His green skin began to simmer with heat as his vessels lit up orange, and one by one his eyeballs began to glow at the ends of their stalks.


    Hellspitters, simr to his unholy Globspitters in nature but with more explosive power and less piercing - were set off one after another when the hallway began to fill with bodies. Screams of the enemy hounds that wed, bit, and unleashed their own abilities at the barriers were heard over the violent light show of inferno being discharged from the beholder at will.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Nora gasped between heaves and deep breaths. She looked down, horrified to see dark lines etching themselves onto her skin, and her eyes beginning to sh white like theughing monsters of her nightmares. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can hold them in for much longer!¡±


    ¡°WELL WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU CAN¡¯T!?¡± Narg said, not managing to take his eyes off of the iing swarm of hounds while sting away like a madman through his one-way nightmare barriers.


    His first shield cracked and shattered, and then the next did as well - but the pileup of bodies began to block the way while tearing jaws bigger than they were tried to rip through their deadpanions to get at them.


    The lines along Nora¡¯s fingers abruptly receded, and she let out a relieved sigh while picking up her bone des again. Tugging at one of Narg¡¯s tentacles and wincing when the giant¡¯s hand smashed into an inner wall-less section of thebyrinth only one level above them in a thundering boom, she gestured for them to go.


    ¡°Oh my god, they''re gone! Let¡¯s keep going! I was able to suppress them after all!¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°YOU DIDN¡¯T ANSWER MY QUESTION, NORA!¡± Narg yelled over the snarls and firepower of his attacks before he dashed in a floating manner across the passage outcropping. He followed Nora as fast as he could while his barriers continued to block the hounds, very much considering just flying down to search the lower levels. Even at the cost of abandoning Nora as she¡¯d just be sent back to Chalgathi¡¯s trials, but he thought better of it when he was reminded for the seventh time since being here as to why that wasn¡¯t a great idea after a gargoyle attempted such a maneuver; and was abruptly snatched out of the air with uncanny uracy by the giant. ¡°NORA! WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU CAN¡¯T SUPPRESS YOUR BLOODLINE!? WHAT DOES IT EVEN DO!?¡±


    The thundering roar of triumph came once again with another sshing tidal wave of magma when the giant chomped down onto the squealing gargoyle¡¯s upper body with a crunch and stter of gore. The crunching of bones was audible even from here, but Nora didn¡¯t reply as the two of them dashed into the inner tunnels of thebyrinth and got away from the exposed interior where the giant was able to reach them.


    ¡°NORA!¡±


    She whirled on him with fear in her eyes, hands held out to either side. ¡°I HAVE NO IDEA! OK NARG!? I JUST BLACK OUT AND BAD THINGS HAPPEN, SO I HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA! Now PLEASE, just drop it! All I know is that it¡¯ll be bad, and that it scares the living shit out of me. OK!? I¡¯M SORRY, BUT LET¡¯S JUST SHUT UP, USE YOUR SEEKING ABILITIES TO TELL US WHERE TO GO, AND LETS FUCKING RUN!¡±


    Grimacing at her, and then floating past her at high speed - the beholder demon once again let out a pulse of ¡®Seek Danger¡¯, ¡®Seek Safety¡¯, and ¡®Seek Object¡¯ one after the other to try and triangte the exit of this damned hellishbyrinth they now found themselves in.


    Lights lit up one of their branching paths, and into the tunnels they went.


    ***


    Allie briefly shifted her inner sight from the two in thebyrinth to where Riven was now battling a ceaseless tide of abyssal monsters. They came in all shapes and sizes, of all variations of nightmares, with tentacles, jaws, ws, and sizes ranging from a mouse to a house. The champions of each group were wary of each other too, with three of them having already turned on the others to steal opportunities from different groups. This was probably at the time each of those three groups was at the end of their ownbyrinth, and was probably done in a desperate rush to get a key or insights to leave the 20th floor - as the two of three champions who seeded in their act of treachery vanished soon thereafter in shes of light from Riven¡¯s fleshy enclosure.


    The angel of death turned her gaze back to the immediate surroundings she found herself in after that, and she was getting gradually more angry as time passed.


    <strong>[The remaining three will make the keys, with any others obliged to be: The rest of the party, including all minions not already selected for other roles, will all be set to the task of creating a number of keys that unlock the doors at the end of thebyrinth with crafting materials provided by Elysium. The Seekers, your two weakest, will be unable to traverse through thest part of the maze without these keys.]</strong>


    She was not alone in her growing irritation. Azmoth, Retesh, Fay, Ath and Fimrindle were all equally as stumped as she was. The room they found themselves in was some kind of puzzle room, and one that none of them had even an inkling of figuring out so far. The screaming woman shackled at the altar seemed to be in a perpetual state of agony with the shackles burning not only her skin - but her soul as well. Allie could literally see and feel the woman¡¯s soul writhe in agony with her adjunct deathly vision, and she¡¯d done little else but scream despite an attempt to interrogate her. Upon further inspection, Allie had actually deduced her to be an angel of some kind - but the wings along the woman¡¯s back had been cut off to bleeding stumps, and the shackles around her wrists and ankles keeping her chained to the bloodstained altar were unbreakable by any means Allie or the others possessed.


    The huddled, sobbing mess of once-beautiful prisoners in the cages were in simr states, and of simr species for the most part. The majority of them were also imprisoned angels stripped naked, men and women, their wings cut off to expose bloody stumps in the same way - but despite them not writhing in agony they all looked upon Allie¡¯s group with fear, disgust, and abject horror. Other creatures she did not recognize were also there in lesser numbers, those the system identified as ¡®Pheonix Kin¡¯ - which were people with glowing gold-orange feathers sprouting from their heads, arms and legs like hair; and ¡®Holy Spirits¡¯ - which Allie found incredibly interesting as they were some kind of holy-based undead. How that worked outside the realm of the Death Subpir - she had no idea. They were almost like wraiths even, but were golden in color and seemed unable to pass through the bars of their cells just like the others despite repeated attempts. All three races had unnaturally high charisma without a doubt, with Allie¡¯s gut-instinct to puke or skewers them just upon seeing them being enough proof for her - and she had no doubt the opposite effect was likely why none of them wanted tomunicate with her either. In fact she had over negative 20,000 charisma points as an Angel of Death; and was what many considered the antithesis of these holy-based angels.


    It was a stark reminder that the system thrived on conflict, and she doubted she¡¯d get any help understanding what was going on from those caged here. In some ways, she didn¡¯t even want it. And what was worse, was that even though she¡¯d never even met these people before - she had a distinct hatred towards them without good reason for it. She WANTED to see them die¡­ and to make sure that it was painful.


    That in itself and the implications of what it meant¡­ fascinated her. Even if she¡¯d logically known about it before, it was something else seeing it up close with such a drastic opposing charisma for beings of the opposite path.


    One of the angels snarled and spit at her while she inspected the bars, but she didn¡¯t even bother wiping it off - passing by the sobbing captives before sighing and turning to look at the rest of the room. The pools of ck water along the edges of the room had mostly been explored, and Fimrindle had found nothing inside of them but a seemingly bottomless pit that he suggested they all avoid after nearly having been lost to their depths once.


    The hill-sized pile of bones had been dug through by Retesh, who¡¯d said they each contained odd inscriptions that resonated with his cultivation paths - but in ways he could not distinguish. This had been confirmed by Allie herself, but even she could not put a finger on just what the inscriptions meant or did - and the lich was currently undergoing experiments on them as they spoke.


    Azmoth was repeatedly diving into theva pit, which had contained numerous blocks of red-hot spheres at the bottom after a deep dive - but they seemed inert when infused with any type of mana to date.


    While the butchers tools on the rack next to the sacrificial altar were¡­ simply put, infused with such vast amounts of sin that holding even one of them drove the person mad. Fay had literally gone crazy and started swinging a cleaver around while screaming about ¡®infinite darkness¡¯, beginning to bleed from her eyes before Ath had knocked the cleaver out of her hand and coddled the sobbing subus up until even now. Whatever visions Fay had seen while holding the weapons were very off putting to the point that none of them had attempted to pick another one up after that, but it maye down to not having a choice.


    Finally, in the epicenter of their strange room and floating above the screaming chained angel on the bloodied sacrificial altar - was the abnormallyrge humanoid wraith. It continued to smile, and smiled without fail - the malice in its grin an ever-present staple on its otherwise gray ethereal face. Its wed fingers drifted along with the wisps of its simrly ethereal robe in a wind that wasn¡¯t there, and it seemed to turn most of its attention to either Retesh, Allie, or Fimrindle - rather than the three demons that¡¯de there with them.


    Allie¡¯s suspicion was that this wraith was doing so due to how she, Retesh, and Fimrindle were all death-oriented beings while the demons were not. But any attempt at speaking to the wraith only resulted in one thing, and one thing alone - regardless of who spoke to it or what they said.


    And yet, she tried again in her frustration - whirling around and marching over to the floating being while ignoring the screams of the angel strapped to the altar. Allie¡¯s wings red out to either side in growing rage, and she pointed a bone-covered finger in the wraith¡¯s direction. ¡°Tell me what we need to do here, phantom. I am growing tired of wasting time, and if you do not¡­ I will burn that pathetic, sickly smile write off your fucking face after I turn your fucking soul to dust. I bet you wouldn¡¯t be too happy-go-lucky then, now would you?¡±


    Despite her threat, the wraith just continued to smile - and uttered the same exact phrase it¡¯d repeated nearly thirty times over since their arrival to this odd pocket of reality. It opened up its wed fingers, and spoke: ¡°A smile to carve, a smile to keep. Golden nectar flows, a drink from the enemy, and I shall speak.¡±


    ¡°JUST WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!¡± Allie screeched, priming one hand with energy from the pir of true death as she seriously got ready to strangle the damn wraith¡¯s throat - which was something she could literally do as an angel of death - before a curse from Fimrindle brought her attention to the right.


    ¡°Wait! I know that verse!¡± The reaper eximed, a sudden look of realization oveing his usually inexpressive metal face. His X¡¯s for eyes grew in size, and his rigid iron jaw twisted into a silent smile. Between her blinks, he was standing next to Allie with a scroll in his hand.


    Confused, and withdrawing her usatory finger-pointing - she considered the parchment in her minion¡¯s outstretched palm and took it. She blinked again and he was kneeling submissively.


    ¡°I apologize¡­¡± He rasped like wind through a pipe. ¡°I have not heard the verse for so long that I¡¯d nearly forgotten it, but I believe it to be a scripture from the Book of the Scythe. It may be a clue¡­ Please, examine the page I have produced from my own holy texts. It may exin just what the wraith wants, and why we haven¡¯t seen any progression in our attempts thus far.¡±


    ¡°Book of the scythe!?!¡± Ath eximed in courage, still holding Fay¡¯s head to her chest to console the other woman. ¡°How the bloody F-ing fudgerockets are WE supposed to know that babbling bullshit!? That¡¯s so unfair! How is ANY demon supposed to know that kind of crap!?¡±


    Despite Ath¡¯s angry muttering, Retesh the lich was quick on the scene and looked over Allie¡¯s shoulder while she unfolded the parchment.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of this book in legends from my home world, but I haven¡¯t ever seen a piece of scripture myself.¡± The lich rasped from underneath his hood, while nting his bone staff into the stone floor. ¡°May you read it out loud so that I can hear too?¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± Quelling her own irritation with Fimrindle for not realizing this sooner by realizing that without Firmindle¡¯s help, they may have never found this clue - Allie took in a deep breath and began to read aloud.


    But as the words came, and as she read the entirety of the scripture that the wraith¡¯s verse was plucked from, a vision from the past illuminated the room - and the path forward wasid bare as the answer for what they had to do became clear.


    This was no puzzle room.


    Oh no. This was a ritualistic reenactment, and one that had to be followed to the T.

 Chapter 290

    Chapter 290


    <strong>Chapter 290</strong>


    The out of body experience was vivid, real, and it was almost as if Allie was living within someone else¡¯s skin. She could not control her own body, but she could still fill her lungs intake air as the vision of a ritual long past was yed out in front of her like she¡¯d been present in that long-dead era.


    The enormous hall she walked down was covered in golden blood. To a mortal, or someone who could not truly see, it would have seemed endless. But not to her, not to her sight that¡¯d been born of darkness. Her pale, ghoulish feet sshed on the warm liquid inbetween the cold, hard stone of the dark passageway. Ceremonial robes were draped over her head and around her shoulders, brushing in a slight, cold breeze as screams echoed from the end of the hall.


    Drums. Drums began to beat in the beyond, echoing with the chants and roars from the crowds began to ring against her ears.


    For she was the bringer of the end times. The one to divine the will of the dark gods, to bring about an endless age of ck that the lightbringers would forever despair to see. The age of celestial kingdoms was ending. Now¡­ the age of the necropolis had finallye.


    Even the demons would bow before the might of The Scythe.


    Space split open before her, warping to her will as the ovepping false reality distorted. That reality then disemboweled itself and rolled upwards to let her pass into what the true corridor had in store for her, and when her pale, bare feet lightly crossed over the threshold between realities - she found herself standing on a heightened temple tform overlooking vast valleys out to the horizon. The sound heightened fivefold, and the very air shook around her as she stood before her disciples with hands raised on high.


    Millions of undead chanted, stomping their feet while roaring in tune to the sound of beating drums. Far below her, the legions of flesh, bone and spirit all raised their hands in worship as the defiled dance of death continued in her name.


    In the name of the Scythe, her mentor¡­ her father.Dozens of fabled angels of death, heroes of the unliving, decorated in splendid ck and gold garb, knelt to either side of her with bowed heads and outstretched wings. Bone giants the size of skyscrapers standing beside the temple in rows mmed their giant ivory spears into tower shields, and a loud gong sounded over the crowds. Pyres of teal me short skywards with the wail of innumerable souls, crashing into the ck clouds above before exploding to illuminate the masses out into the dark world beyond.


    There was no end to her legions. At least, not an end that she could see. They spanned across the horizon in all directions, havinge to worship her name.


    ¡°My children¡­ my friends¡­ my family.¡± Allie¡¯s voice called out as a whisper that all could hear, and an eerie silence overtook the once rowdy legions as their deathly gazes fixed on her at the top of the temple¡¯s tform. A wide smile creased her lips, and she lovingly spread out her pale hands as if to embrace them. ¡°I wee you¡­ to the beginning of the end for our longstanding enemies. To the ones that sought out a genocide against our people! To the ones that for so long evaded our reach in their high heavens while reigning down terror and me upon those weaker than they! TO THE ONES THAT THOUGHT THEMSELVES UNTOUCHABLE! I wee you all, to witness the SACRIFICE, of QUEEN EL-FAH OF THE GOLDEN LIGHTS, ARCHANGEL OF THE HIGH HEAVENS AND BRINGER OF RIGHTEOUS FAITH! BRING OUT THE PRISONER!¡±


    If Allie thought the crowds had gone wild for her own arrival, they went ballistic at this call. It looked as though the sea of bodies beneath her that stretched out for miles had erupted into a frenzied storm, with palpable killing intent radiating off of them as they screamed in both hate and excitement for the prisoner toe forth.


    A hole began to form in the stone of the temple¡¯s tform beside her, and soon a figure began to rise out of it. Arge altar carved from bone, stone, and steel rose from the depths with a scarred and burned angel chained to its top. Her once brilliant white feathers were covered in sshes of golden blood, her hair cut short, and her glowing eyes were ame with unhidden rage. Deep cuts marred her once perfect skin in criss-crossing patterns, and she struggled against her shackless while snarling - teeth bared towards the body Allie was looking through.


    ¡°You wretched bitch!¡± The angel said, her chest rising and falling violently before her eyes darted around at the scene. ¡°The heavens will not stand for this! They will find you! I WILL BE AVENGED!¡±


    The woman Allie was seeing through, living through, let on a mocking sneer. She did not reply to the chained woman at the altar, but instead she turned her head upwards to the ck clouds above. ¡°Bestow my instruments to mine hands, father.¡±


    Brilliant neon teal lightning tore across the sky from miles away and crashed into the temple Allie stood on. In an instant, Allie felt a surge of deathly energies unlike anything she¡¯d felt before. It swirled around her like a vortex of the purest dao, an insight into the truest meanings of the end, and it bowed to her will as she stretched out a hand.


    As she began to whisper, her words carried once more - even over the roar of the millions of her followers, as she used The Scythe¡¯s power to bring about the means to her building ritual.


    ¡°The hearts of hell burn brightly this night.¡± Allie¡¯s ghostly voice projected, with the angels of death repeating after her like a mantra. With those words a volcanic bath of moltenva, coated in infernal power, bubbled up from nothingness into being. Her pale fingers slowly lifted, and with them came dozens of red-hot metal spheres that floated up out of the bath. They glowed dangerously hot, flexing the power of hell from their cores as she bade them encircle the chained angel.


    Queen El-Fah of the Golden Lights and Archangel of the High Heavens let her eyes go wide as she realized what they were. ¡°YOU INSOLENT WRETCH!¡±


    Allie continued to ignore her, moving on to the next empty space nearby. ¡°The bones of the perished that we seek to avenge.¡±


    The roaring vortex of deathly energies screamed in protest at the vast amount of energy she siphoned from her father, as the angel¡¯s crimes were innumerable. The amount of devastation Queen El-Fah had caused the undead was not a number she even fathomed toprehend, and it was proved by the sheer volume of bones that rained from the skies.


    They started like falling snow,ing from the dark clouds above only to turn into a roaring avnche. Countless bones of all shapes and sizes were materialized and began to condense over the temple in a swirling mass of ever-growing, cursed energies that sought to rip the holy archangel¡¯s life energy out before she had a chance to get away. But the cursed energies, made from spite and malice as a retribution of the heavens, stayed its hand when Allie¡¯s pale fingers lifted to them in warning.


    ¡°Not yet¡­¡± Allie¡¯s voice uttered, and the growing mass of cursed bones heeded hermand.


    She shifted her gaze and pointed to the floor around the altar with a wide smile. ¡°The pools of despair¡­ the prison your body will ever know after this day, and a failsafe to make sure that you will never know resurrection even if themandments themselves seek your revival.¡±


    The bloodied, chained archangel began to shriek even louder, iling madly against her chains in a futile attempt to get free with powers vtile enough to shatter mountains - but she was still unable to get out of the state she now found herself in. Her eyes were wide and frantic, and her chest continued to heave as the chains binding her to the altar began tightening of their own ord. ¡°YOU CANNOT DO THIS! YOU CANNOT! THIS IS SACRILEGE! THIS IS AN EVIL EVEN YOU CANNOT-¡±


    ¡°Silence.¡± Allie¡¯s cold voice came as a midnight¡¯s breeze, crushing the celestial queen to the stone altar with an audible gasp. One white wing snapped under the sheer killing intent Allie¡¯s body unleashed on the woman, before Allie let on a wicked smile. ¡°I am not yet done. Bring out¡­ the others. Your family and friends will join in your despair.¡±


    From the back of the temple and through a set ofrge stone doors, bone golems dragging along other angels drenched in their own blood were being dragged forward by chains towards the altar and the tform¡¯s drop off. Their wings were cut off and their faces terrified, all of them above the A-grade. Once they¡¯d been supreme enemies of the underverse, and now they were sacrificialmbs - a conquered people - their honor and pride cut out from underneath them just as their wings had been.


    A tray of various tools, imbued with the horror and sin of untold generations, was summoned by another of her followers and held before Allie¡¯s eyes. Her wicked smile grew even more, and she picked out one of the many des - shuddering as its intent filled her even as powerful as she¡¯d be. Eyes ame with malice and mana, she turned a crazed look on the bound, sobbing angel at the altar.


    ¡°A smile to carve, a smile to keep!¡± Allie flew forward to the roar of the crowds, gripped the woman¡¯s face, and cut off her lips. Golden blood sttered all over the altar as the victim uncontrobly wailed, before Allie¡¯s body lifted up the piece of carved flesh to the sky with a victorious pose. The swirling balls of red-hot hell-hearts stopped floating about the altar, each of them crashing into one of the other victims nearby to elicit sickening thurds - before the final one sank deep into the archangel¡¯s chest as thest of them. Each of the angels began to scream and wail with unearthly cries as their holy pathways were burned away entirely, their cultivation stripped, and their souls yed from the inside out.


    ¡°BRING FORTH THE GOBLETS AND BLEED THEM DRY! WE WILL MIX THEIR BLOOD WITH THE WATER OF THE ABYSSAL PONDS AND CREATE THE KEYS TO HEAVEN!¡± With a wave of her hand to the bone cloud that¡¯d formed above the temple, the bones all condensed - and began to shoot down towards her position with a gleeful vengeance pouring out of them. Crashing into her outstretched hand where she held the lips of the angelic queen, they began to merge¡­ and she began to chant, as she called out a singsong rhyme.


    It was time to open a portal into the heavens, a ticket for them to strike back.


    She turned her abyssal, dead eyes onto the horrified, screaming celestial queen beneath her as the metal ball, the hell heart, continued to burn her from the inside out. Smiling maliciously, Allie raised her cursed de and then mmed it mercilessly into what remained of the angel¡¯s heart. The reaction was immediate, and the angel vomited golden blood that was soon captured by angels of death in ck goblets, whereas others took golden goblets and began scooping up water from the ck pools that¡¯d been summoned through the power of The Scythe.


    Taking one of the goblets in her own hand, Allie smelled the intense aroma of fear that permeated her victim¡¯s essence - and let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Perfection¡­¡±


    Bringing it to her lips she drank the golden fluid, and then watched as the carved-off piece of the angel¡¯s face began to sing songs corrupted by the fused bones while the ck skies poured down ribbons white light through forming cracks.


    The breach into Heaven had begun.


    And it was time to seek retribution for the crimes of the holy ones. She would butcher them to thest child, and none would be able to escape her wrath.


    ***


    ck lightning and red frost encircled Riven in a vortex of violence. The storm tore through dozens of abyssal creatures by the second in an almostmercial spray of body parts that sshed across the room made of flesh, where it was quickly absorbed by the floors and walls themselves. It was as if he was standing inside the plugged mouth of a giantmprey, where teeth along the walls asionally flexed and shot forward on long tendrils to sh out at him before withdrawing or being destroyed. asionally the teeth would also spray acid, and when other champions did asionally fall to the hordes of various ck beasts or the teeth of his strange enclosure - they too were dragged through the flesh-made ground and absorbed into the realm with whatever had killed them.


    There wasn¡¯t even an opportunity to take their belongings or loot the others, which Riven found irritating. He¡¯d even go as far as to try and protect the corpses of the dead from the beasts that¡¯d ripped them apart, or had sted away the teeth and attached tendrils with wrathful vengeance, but even rift-walking over to their dead bodies wasn¡¯t fast enough to take their belongings as loot.


    Briefly ncing through the mind links at his counterparts in the maze and the ritual room, Riven grimaced slightly at what he saw beginning to unfold. The maze was by far the most worrisome as he wasn¡¯t sure that Nora and Narg were up to the challenge, being their weakest members - but that in itself held true across all groups. And the ritual room? They were all in and out of various trances and experiencing visions in short snippets¡­ but the implications didn¡¯t look good; even if seeing those caged high-charisma creatures gave him gross and even aggressive feelings on an instinctual level.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    He grunted, shoving one of his hands outlined in rigid crimson ice ws through the face of a muscr bear-creature before ripping out its bottom jaw and smashing it into the ground. Casually spinning the ming horned skull head on Jackal¡¯s top around - he brought it down with an explosion of hellfire that sttered the creature into charred mush.


    ¡°This is rather boring¡­ Maybe I¡¯ll get to fight that giantter.¡± Riven mused, bending backwards to dodge another hooked tooth that¡¯d been shot out from the wall and frying it with a bolt of ck lightning.


    Others continued to enter his meat grinder one after the other with roars, wails, and sttering sounds, and his four totems were brought out after that to add to the carnage. The four, 20-sided polyhedrons rapidly began to sh and swirl around him as he let them go from his spatial bag, beginning to mix in their own sparks and ice with the storm to match his own efforts with the asional rifts being formed to intercept other projectiles.


    Increasing his mana output to an eptable level and thenmanding Jackal to take its abyssal beast form, the winged canine stretched and groaned - giving him a happy bark as it patrolled the inner perimeter in his eye of the storm. Floating up off the ground by five feet and crossing his legs, he leaned forward with his chin in one hand and yawned - growingfortable in the fact that his totems and channeled storm of energies were more than enough for most creatures. He watched as Jackal tore down the bigger or more powerful beasts one by one whenever they managed to finally get through, and finished off his preparations by creatingyers of a spinning sphere created from liquid blood. It wasn¡¯t a registered skill and thus didn¡¯t have the potency that it otherwise would have had, but instead was a film of pure blood mana that - if broken - would notify him of an impending attack in his blind spots if his regr mana-pulses didn¡¯t pick up a hidden foe.


    Beginning to meditate in a lotus position, he began watching the other champions in different groups as they struggled far harder to keep the monsters back.


    There were two mindsets between the champions, of which Riven had opted to take option 1. Option 1 was to fight on your own, to stand alone in order to avoid backstabbing. It was highly likely that should another champion from a different group see you struggling, that they¡¯d be willing and even eager to kill you in your moment of weakness to steal any insights or keys that your group had made while here. This was brutally obvious from those who worked together in Option 2, where the rest of the champions had tried to form a circr unit to stave off the swarms of beasts. And though the number of champions or groups fluctuated every couple of hours between neers and those who¡¯d already been here as they either died or descended to the next floor, a solid third of those deaths were from opportunistic strikesnded by other champions.


    Riven winced as another vampire was decapitated by a minotaur warrior after getting downed by one of the spear-like teeth and the minotaur in turn rapidly vanished afterwards; meaning his group had likely been needing a key. That key had just been stolen per the rules of this mini-event, and the demon had essentially just doomed the vampire¡¯s group by sending additional waves of enemies into the maze and the ritual room.


    <strong>[Abyssal Descent Trial for Floor 20 has been activated: The Crazed Giant¡¯s Maze:</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>The first to speak will fight for all five: As the one who has spoken the words aloud, Riven has beenbeled ¡®Champion¡¯. You will be thrown into a pit of despair with other champions of other groups against a respawning wave of randomized abyssal enemies. Minions are unable to aid your champion here. If Riven dies, the rest of you will be set upon by waves of enemies every 10 minutes that increase in strength and number.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>The two of your weakest will be your guide: Nora and Gnar have been designated as Seekers. Your two seekers will be sent into the giant¡¯s cylindrical maze, and will be hunted by the weakest of other teams and various abyssal beasts in their attempt to navigate to the end. The crazed giant will also attempt to eat anything it can get its hands on as the flight through the maze continues, including your seekers. If both seekers die, the rest of you will all be ejected from the Abyssal Descent entirely and may not ever return.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>The remaining three will make the keys, with any others obliged to be: The rest of the party, including all minions not already selected for other roles, will all be set to the task of creating a number of keys that unlock the doors at the end of thebyrinth with crafting materials provided by Elysium. The Seekers, your two weakest, will be unable to traverse through thest part of the maze without these keys.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>If this cannot be done, you unravel another one, in order to take their gift: Killing other champions in one on onebat, or killing other seekers in the maze currently on the twentieth floor of the Abyssal Descent, will take their keys and insights to add to your own party.</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>Do this, and pass into the 21st floor of the abyssal descent. Fail, and be devoured by the crazed giant in body and soul. Identification is nullified on this entire floor. At the end of this floor, you will gain an insight into one of your paths.]</strong>


    Brutal. Riven remembered when such things would bother him. When he¡¯d been naive to the truths surrounding his path. He¡¯d been so soft back then, when the integration had first struck. Now¡­ he had quite the opposite problem. He was more focused on getting the items of the dead instead of protecting them.


    Could he protect these people?


    Sure.


    Was he going to?


    Meh. They were just as likely to kill him while he used up all his mana taking on more of the fight. He couldn¡¯t trust these people as far as he could throw them. And despite the Unholy Foundational Pir not necessarily making it a point to only bind to those who were evil, Riven wasn¡¯t dull enough to realize that the odds were stacked in favor of users being bloodthirsty and aggressive at a minimum.


    He had to choose his own people and himself over strangers. It just was what it was.


    Or¡­ so he thought.


    Just as he was pondering this, a startled feminine cry caught his attention when a stealth archer of some kind had been mmed to the floor under arge, snarling ape. He¡¯d only noticed her due to the brief shing arrows she¡¯d shot out and the pulses he left off with his mana from time to time - but otherwise she¡¯d been damn good at concealing herself. Therge ape had noticed her somehow though, and was akin to an ogre in size and a seriously ugly mug. It was pitch ck just like all of the other abyssal creatures and had a singlerge eye in the center of its forehead, withrge spines sticking out of its back.


    Riven¡¯s eyebrows shot up in surprise as she began to scream, having been torn from stealth as she was battered with outstretched hands in a feeble attempt to block the enormous ape¡¯s balled fists.


    The creature roared, sending spit all over the poor woman as bone snapped and her terrified screams turned into outright sobs. She began to beg, to plead for help, and Riven saw one of the other champions on another team dive in towards her. But the horned man wasn¡¯t aiming for the gori, rather - it was aiming its de for the dark elf.


    Riven sighed and raised a hand, then hesitated. Why was he interfering? It wasn¡¯t his ce to-


    The drow woman let out anotherst cry of pitiful desperation. Her bloodied, battered body was forcefully turned by a fist strike as her pale eyes met his. ¡°PLEASE HELP ME!¡±


    He involuntarily winced. Did he have a soft spot for her because she was pretty? Or was it because she reminded him of Ath? He winced yet again. ¡°I¡¯m going to regret this.¡±


    <strong><em>KABOOM</em></strong>


    The enormous fleshy room zed red as a shockwave of crimson ice obliterated the surroundings. Piercing crimson spikes roared from the walls and floor, and enormous ice novas collected overhead in blooming sh before nuking the ce multiple times over in waves of shrapnel.


    But the shrapnel wasn¡¯t random, it was directed under his influence and avoided those who he wished to live.


    In an instant the screams and roars of the abyssal creatures were cut off. Red mist hung in the air, and the horned man who¡¯d been charging the brutalized drow archer had a spike sticking through his skull as he hung limply in ce only a few feet away from where the womany. Everyone else was more or less untouched by his attack, and stood staring awkwardly or with iprehension at what had just happened. A few shot unbelieving gazes in his direction, and it was quite obvious that none of these people were the top crop of the Abyssal Descent - so to speak. The fight against Amano, the half minotaur half gargoyle who¡¯d kicked his ass numerous times, had given him a very keen idea of what the true powerhouses of this ce were. At best, these ¡®champions¡¯ he currently stood with on the 20th floor trial were probably mid to low tier whenpared to the best of what the descent had to offer.


    Which was nothing to scoff at overall, considering they¡¯d gotten this far in the first ce, but they shouldn¡¯t have been so awestruck at what he¡¯d just done if they¡¯d been worth a damn in a fight. At least, that was the case if they were worthy of his respect.


    Cracks began to shake the outer walls as more monsters began to spawn and pound at the thickyer of ice keeping them out. Roars started to be heard once again, and Riven¡¯s storm had already dissipated before hended gently next to the sobbing drow woman clutching one of her shattered arms on the floor.


    She looked up at him with a mixture of fear and confusion, and winced when he knelt down to get a better look at her.


    ¡°Here. Open your mouth.¡± Riven said, putting a hand into his spatial sack and taking out two bottled potions, one red - and one a bright sky blue. ¡°They should help.¡±


    ¡°I will not be poisoned!¡± The woman hissed in agony, scooting across the ground as her blood-drenched hair covered half of her face. ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡±


    Raising an eyebrow for the second time in a short period, Riven casually pointed a finger to his right and sted a flying abyssal creature - sttering its guts all over the floor before it managed to swoop in. ¡°I don¡¯t think you are. And if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn¡¯t havee to your aid when you asked. You¡¯re being stupid, I¡¯m not going to take your keys or your life.¡±


    He moved closer to her, and she let out a hiss.


    ¡°Do note any closer!¡± She barely managed to get out between ragged breaths before he smacked her into a dazed state.


    Riven immediately forced the two potions down her throat despite her protests during the moment of silence, as she was on the verge of death and the p maybe was a bit harder than he¡¯d though; but he gave a satisfied nod when he saw bone begin snapping back into ce with shes of blue and red light. ¡°There we go. Now¡­ doesn¡¯t that feel better?¡±


    The woman was screaming in pain again as the bones reoriented themselves, but it was obvious by the end of it that she no longer had a broken arm. Her cuts and wounds were all gone, and with a wave of his hand - even the blood coating her face was wiped away and drawn into a sphere hovering over one of his hands.


    She blinked at him in shock, and as the sounds of battle began roaring around them yet again - Riven nodded to Jackal¡¯s canine form before snapping his fingers. His totems began swirling around him again as the vortex of ck and red grew like a rose, encircling the two figures in a protective formation of lightning and razor-sharp frost.


    The woman before him slowly sat up, flexing her hands and shooting nervous nces around her as she quickly realized that - should she anger him at all - she would immediately die. And she was still recovering with the aid of the potions he¡¯d given her, even if her outer appearance showed little damage. Casting her pale eyes onto his figure again and frowning down at the shattered remnants of her bow, she wiped her fe of tears and reached down to pick the broken weapon up before speaking. ¡°Why did you help me?¡±


    If Riven had a record for how many times one could raise one¡¯s eyebrows in surprise during a short period of time, he may have just broken it because he raised his eyebrows for the third time in a matter of a few minutes. ¡°Because you asked me to. And because you look very much like my girlfriend. That may seem stupid, but it was certainly part of the reason.¡±


    A winged serpent sttered onto the inside of their enclosure, not having made it halfway through the storm of energy as itnded in a smoldering, sliced heap.


    He eyed the monster indifferently, and caught her gawking at him.


    ¡°What?¡± Riven asked curiously, leaning back and pulling his knees up to his chest. ¡°Do I look funny or something?¡±


    She slowly pointed his way. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you before¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Riven asked nomittally. ¡°Where would that have been?¡±


    He knew the answer wasing before it came out of her mouth. She¡¯d no doubt seen him in the battle in the first floor of the Abyssal Descent over the city, as many others had.


    ¡°You¡¯re the asshole vampire who slept with me, stole my bag of holding, and then convinced my team to run off WITHOUT ME!¡± The drow woman screamed in a building rage, her pointing finger quivering in anger.


    ¡°Yes, I-¡± He held up his hand, about to admit that yes - he was Gluttony¡¯s reincarnation, before he abruptly stopped with furrowed brows and confusion spilling from his face. ¡°Wait. WHAT!?¡±


    <strong><em>SMACK</em></strong>


    The dark elf reached out and full-on pped Riven across the face so fast that he barely registered it. Then again, he¡¯d probably just been in a state of shock and the strike had taken him by surprise.


    ¡°You JACKASS!¡± The woman roared, getting to her feet and kicking at him with all of her might while simultaneously sobbing again. ¡°I¡¯VE HAD TO TRAVEL THE DESCENT ALONE BECAUSE OF YOU! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TRAVELING WITHOUT A PARTY?! DO YOU!? DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT¡¯S LIKE?!¡±


    ¡°OW! Stop that!¡± Riven protested, smacking her kicks away before he froze her to the ground - causing her to fall over - and giving Jackal a shake of his head when the winged beast nced questioningly their way.


    Jackal shrugged, then went back to patrolling the perimeter of their eye of the storm - snatching out abyssal creatures the totems or vortex weren¡¯t able to catch early.


    ¡°It¡¯s in there, isn¡¯t it!? Give me back my bag!¡± The elf said, reaching forward and attempting to snatch it from Riven¡¯s side with angry tears building up at her eyelids. ¡°You have RUINED this experience for me! And I thought we had something special!¡±


    ¡°I WAS NOT the man you-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯LL NEVER TRUST A VAMPIRE AGAIN! NOW UNFREEZE MY FEET SO I CAN KICK YOU A THIRD TIME!!!¡±


    Rolling his eyes and facepalming, he let out a groan. ¡°Jesus Christ. Look, Karen, I don¡¯t know who you think I am - but let¡¯s get one thing clear. I have NOT slept with you, nor have I-¡±


    He was cut off as through the mental link, he saw Genua, Ath, and Fay all turn their inner sight upon him.


    ¡°YOU SLEPT WITH HER!?¡± Ath screamed at the top of her lungs while still trapped in the ritual room. ¡°You cheating PRICK! We¡¯ll be talking about this, Riven!¡±


    ¡°Pervert.¡± Genua muttered.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t had the good stuff for a week! THAT¡¯S NOT FAIR!¡± Fay eximed.


    And Riven could only facepalm as the three of them startingughing at his unhinged situation from the other side. He was already regretting saving this crazy bitch, and it took the others no time to capitalize on his misfortune.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this supposed to be the Abyssal Descent?¡± Riven said over the shouts of the still recovering and enraged dark elf. ¡°Feels more like Jerry Springer right about now. Listen,dy, I don¡¯t know who you are or what-¡±


    <strong><em>SHUNK</em></strong>


    He paused, startled, when a dark de punctured a shield of ice he¡¯d summoned right before the elf had impaled his left eye. Moving the shield of ice with her ck de imbedded in it, he red at the seething, rabid young woman with a re of his crimson eyes.


    ¡°That¡­ That was a mistake.¡± Riven said, lifting his hand in her direction. ¡°A very, very, big mistake.¡±

 Chapter 291: (4 Chapters today)

    Chapter 291: (4 Chapters today)


    <strong>Chapter 291</strong>


    Relinquishing his fangs, Riven let out a long gasp as he let the drow woman¡¯s blood run down his throat. It¡¯d been a while since he¡¯d fed on Genua, and going too long without feeding made him feel sick.


    He let the body drop to the fleshy floor with a squelch, eliciting a gurgling sound from the woman he¡¯d saved not long ago before he snorted in disgust at the weaponless archer as she clutched her throat. He watched her horrified gaze stare up at him as she choked on her own blood, using her spare hand to w at the air in a begging motion as he let the fear sink in.


    But he wasn¡¯t aplete monster, not yet. He just wanted to make a point. Even if she had attacked him, he was pretty sure she was having something akin to a mental breakdown due to high stress. He still had some humanity left inside his increasingly ck soul, and so he just let the knowledge that he could easily kill her on a whim sink in for a while until she was on the verge of death - before utilizing Voodoo Doll to secure her blood flow to keep her alive. As he worked the magic, her bloodflow stabilized and the near-death state she¡¯d been put in quickly reversed. Pouring yet another healing potion set down her throat, he watched the pathetic specimen in front of him cough and choke - visibly shaking before vomiting the blood that¡¯d been draining down her throat while she gasped for air.


    ¡°Next time you attack me, I''ll just let you die.¡± Riven said with a nk face, sitting down in a cross-legged position and asionally sending out bolts of ck lightning to vaporize some of the abyssal swarm - getting thankful nods or call outs from the various other participants in the huge room as he helped them one by one every twenty seconds or so. Turning his gaze back on her after she¡¯d caught her breath, he let his red gaze focus on the stealth archer - and could still hear her heart beating furiously in her chest while she red back at him. ¡°What? Got something to say, you crazy bitch?¡±


    ¡°I am NOT crazy!¡± She hissed, starting to back away from him on all fours, but she stopped herself when she saw the broken bow at her side. Her features fell, and another nce at Riven saw her face fall even further when he used his tongue to lick some of her remaining blood off his cheek. ¡°Are you toying with my life? For your own amusement? You vampires disgust me.¡±


    ¡°Not enough for you to apparently sleep with one of my kind.¡± Riven said with a mocking wink. He sent another st of lightning out haphazardly to the screech of another abyssal creature, and the ripping ws and snarls of his wingedpanion Jackal could be heard behind him as the beast tore down another of the abyssals. Riven¡¯s shadowy ck cloak, the one Ath had given him for his birthday, pulsed red on the inner bloodsilk-made side of it when he sent a wave of mana around the two of them to create another bubble - and he chuckled at her when she nearly scrambled out of the way and into the swirling vortex.


    ¡°What is it you want!?¡± The woman snarled, looking like a caged dog while simultaneously missing any true bite given her apparent need for a weapon to fight with. ¡°Why are you keeping me here?!¡±


    He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. ¡°Keeping you here? We¡¯re all kept here until our parties create the keys and exit the giant¡¯sbyrinth. I thought I was doing you a favor, despite your absolute batshit attitude. But, if you insist on believing that it was me that betrayed you and left you to your apparent fate¡­ Wait. You said you were traveling alone? How is that possible, given this challenge?¡±Her gaze became icy, and her fist clenched. But she was still shaking, and it was very obvious that she was afraid by the way her eyes flitted about - casting around them to see if she could somehow find a way out. She also didn¡¯t respond.


    Sighing after a good amount of rtive silence had passed between them, Riven waved his hand - and the inner bubble of blood mana along with the outer swirling storm vortex of red and ck created a passageway for her to leave. ¡°You may go if you want. You are not my prisoner here.¡±


    The sound of battle crashed down upon them as his protective barriers opened up, and the dark elf froze in ce - eyes going wider when she saw another one of the abyssal apes that¡¯d almost crushed her to death. She took a step forward, hesitated, looked down at the bow, backstepped, and seemed absolutely unsure of what to do.


    ¡°Choose, or I will simply kick you out.¡± Riven said, getting irritated. ¡°I won¡¯t keep that passage through my mana open forever. It exposes me too, and I really am not in the mood to go all out right about now. I need to conserve my strength because - frankly - I don¡¯t know what to expect at the end of this. Assuming my weakest party members are even going to get through that damn maze.¡±


    And it was true. He had no real indication of just how powerful or useful Narg would be in the maze even given his ¡®seeking¡¯ abilities, but he was hopeful. Whereas Nora was just deadweight. He liked her, and she¡¯d helped him in Chalgathi¡¯s trials during their very first system event. It was also the reason he didn¡¯t mind helping her out now¡­ but realistically he could have chosen a better partner for his descent in the abyss. He¡¯d also never say that out loud as he didn¡¯t want to hurt her feelings - which made him internallyugh considering who and what he was - but friends were friends regardless of how weak they were.


    Which made him wonder just how well the rest of his ¡®guild¡¯, or rather his ¡®guild to be¡¯, were doing - and the thought made him smile. Hakim, Tim, Julie, and Tanya were all still undergoing a training regimen back in the Brightsville area if things were still going to n. However, from the reports Lillith had been giving them before she vanished - it was very unclear just what was going on back on Panu. Thoughts of Kathrine came next, and of Mara, of Vin and Nin and how they¡¯d all gone missing¡­ and his heart sank again with his smile fading just as quickly as it¡¯de. He could only hope that Tre¡¯Zix of the Purple w was just as good as Lillith imed he was, because if not - the others might very well be dead. Why, who, and how - those subjects were also questionable, and he knew that Allie hadn¡¯t seen Lahn in quite a while either.


    What did Lahn think about all this? The guy was probably worried sick because of Allie¡¯s long absence. Riven had grown to like Allie¡¯s new boyfriend very much, especially after her little phase of collecting numerous boy-toy thralls that made him want to gag. He vividly remembered that musclehead bastard she¡¯d turned into a sex ve back when he¡¯d first set up his guild hall, and-


    He shook his head. No, that was just him being an overprotective and somewhat hypocritical big brother. If anything, the tables had turned. He technically was dating two women at the same time now in something of a three-way rtionship with Fay and Ath, and he didn¡¯t know what to even consider Genua after that one night stand and what it¡¯d led to. And if Kathrine lived, he had no doubt her family would still want to make sure they wed for political reasons. And defying the Blood Moon Requiem wasn¡¯t a good idea in the longer term¡­ even if he truly didn¡¯t want to add that kind of headache into his life.


    Ugh.


    ¡°I SAID CLOSE THE PASSAGE! I¡¯LL STAY! I¡¯LL STAY!¡± The drow woman¡¯s shriek cut into his thoughts, and he rapidly shook his head and looked up to see her fending off arge abyssal worm that repeatedly struck at her with quick snaps and sprays of smog in the passage.


    She was only barely holding on, and she had a deep bite wound that was bleeding profusely on her right thigh - which was already collecting rot simr to Fay¡¯s cursed clouds.


    Just how had this ¡®champion¡¯ even gotten this far in the Abyssal Descent? If all it took was snapping her bow in half to make her so useless, she shouldn¡¯t havee in the first ce. Jackal was also staring at her as if she was some kind of oddity, and the living weapon gave Riven a shrug and a side-eye as if to say he didn¡¯t get it either.


    With a casual snap of his fingers, Riven¡¯s mana pulled the drow woman inside again and the vortex smashed through the temporary passageway he¡¯d created through his storm. The worm was obliterated in an instant with a loud shriek, its ck body being torn to shreds as the dark elf stumbled backwards and hit the floor.


    ¡°How the actual fuck¡­¡± Riven muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. ¡°Did you ever get this far, while being so utterly pathetic?¡±


    ***


    Watching Narg and Nora traverse the maze was interesting every once in a while, but it was also very nerve wracking because of all the close calls they had time after time. Close calls that, if he¡¯d been there, would have been a breeze. Meanwhile, the rituals that the others were performing with the sacrificial altar were grotesque even for his tastes, and he had no wish to gaze upon the disgusting things they had to do to those poor caged souls in order to acquire each key.


    And thus he¡¯d decided to take his mind off it and continued pretending that nothing was wrong at all, because he couldn¡¯t do anything about the other groups anyways - and worrying about it would only sunder his mood.


    ¡°So¡­ What¡¯s your name?¡± Riven eventually asked after having healed the dumbass across from him for the third time in a row over the course of twenty minutes. He reached into his bag of holding, and pulled out some bread that he began to chew slowly while ring down the obviously panicking woman as she rocked back and forth. ¡°My name¡¯s Riven.¡±


    Her tear-stricken and bloodshot eyes darted up to him, and she shuddered - one hand still on the thigh where her thin studded armor had been torn off of her. Where the monster had eaten a part of her leg. She rubbed it slowly, and seemed toe back to her senses while wiping away droplets of the third round of potions he¡¯d given her. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to take another set of potions any time soon¡­ I¡¯m already starting to feel sick, and the effects are lessening.¡±


    Riven blinked, then let out a burst ofughter as he threw his head back. Giving Jackal a head-scratch and pushing the winged canine off to patrol the inner perimeter of his storm again, Riven rubbed his temple while continuing to chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re acting like it¡¯s a given I¡¯ll give you another one! Let me tell you something, girl. That is the LAST time I heal you. The next time you get injured, even if it isn¡¯t due to attacking me, I just let you die and I¡¯ll use your corpse for sustenance. You¡¯re way too stupid to just keep pumping potions into at this point, and I¡¯ve certainly done mymunity service for the month after helping you out. So, as I said¡­ what - is - your - name?¡±


    He emphasized thest four words with a bit of irritation on his lips. ¡°And I truly hope you¡¯ve realized that I am not the man you originally thought I was, given that I¡¯ve removed my mask and you can see it for yourself.¡±


    His words looked like they struck a chord, and he saw guilt, embarrassment, as well as fear edge into a sheepish smile before her pale eyes hit the ground. She fidgeted with one of her bootces. ¡°I¡­ I am not sure that I should tell you. You wouldn¡¯t believe me if I did.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. ¡°Want me to kick you out-¡±


    ¡°No!¡± She quickly held up a hand in protest, and harrumphed with a guiltyck of eye contact. ¡°No¡­ Please, don¡¯t. I¡¯ll die.¡±


    Riven snorted. ¡°That much is obvious.¡±


    There was a long pause, and she considered him evenly. ¡°I apologize.¡±


    ¡°For which part? For sullying my name and using me of sleeping with you in front of my girlfriends in the other party? For trying to stab me? For ignoring my questions about who you are? For being stupid enough to nearly get killed three times over in a single hour? Or for being stupid enough toe down here in the first ce without a party, apparently, and obviously not being qualified to be here without a bow that you recently broke. Your very presence insults me. So which is it?¡±


    She blinked, blinked again, and blushed furiously with embarrassment as the sounds of fighting continued around them monotonously. ¡°Uhm¡­ I¡­ Eh¡­ All of them?¡±


    ¡°Good answer.¡± Riven snorted again. ¡°Now who are you? And why are you here alone? How is that even possible, given the party system here?¡±


    The young woman grumbled something under her breath, rubbed the part of her thigh that¡¯d recently been bitten off and healed, and lowered her head. ¡°I am here because I have no other choice. I need to get to the 40th floor, or I will be disowned from my family and cast out of my sect. My¡­ My name is Kara ckbow, Seventh Daughter of the Ashen Sage of Purturis.¡±


    She nearly stumbled over her words, and her shoulders sagged as if in relief when Riven didn¡¯t give an immediate response. Then when she finally gained the courage to look up at him again, she became confused. ¡°You¡­ do not recognize the name?¡±


    He merely stared at her nkly. ¡°Am I supposed to? This is the multiverse. Do you know how big it is? Because I certainly don¡¯t and I¡¯ll be damned if I¡¯m supposed to know some guy by the title of Ashen Sage.¡±


    She immediately gawked, then smiled, then began to giggle andugh. Herughing became a thunderous cackle, and she rolled over onto her side in a fit of melody as humorous tears began rolling down her cheeks until she almost had a hard time breathing.


    He sat there, cross legged and increasingly unamused, as he realized that she truly had gone and lost her fucking mind. This woman was truly insane, and he probably should have just let her die the first time around. He would get no true information out of her, and she was a god awful talking partner to pass the time. Especially after trying to stab him.


    His eyelids lowered.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± She said, wiping her eyes and trying to let go of the smile that¡¯d enveloped her. ¡°I just¡­ It¡¯s just that you¡¯re right. I keep forgetting where I am. You probably wouldn¡¯t know. My family probably isn¡¯t that important on the grand scale of things.¡±


    He continued to stare nkly.


    She caught onto hisck of amusement, coughed, and straightened. She then took a cross-legged position across from him, and gave him a bow of respect. ¡°I again apologize for my actions, and extend my thanks to you. To answer your question from earlier¡­ I had no choice to proceed into the depths of the Abyssal Descent by myself. As I said, I will be cast out from my sect and disowned by my family if I do not seed. That in itself is a long story and I will spare you most of the details, but the party I entered with was paid off by another man. A vampire, likely an agent of one of the other sects, and I was abandoned by my own. I¡¯m surprised they didn¡¯t just outright kill me, but I¡¯m guessing they wanted to humiliate me, rather than just end me. Given who it is that likely paid them off I possibly shouldn¡¯t be so surprised. If I manage to survive ande back home without sess, that would be a far worse fate than if I were to just die an honorable death here in the darkness.¡±


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Her voice had taken on a rather stoic tone by the end of her words, and her face had turned grave.


    Riven¡¯s previously angry and irritated attitude slowly began to dissolve, and he bade her rise from her bowed position with a gesture. ¡°I ept your apology and thanks.¡±


    She gave him a nod, and straightened once more in her sitting position. ¡°I was able to enter this event by myself, but due to ack of party members - the system has tasked me with staying here for twenty days. I am on the second day now¡­ and without a weapon. It is highly likely that I will die here, once you leave.¡±


    Kara ckbow sadly smiled, as if having already epted her fate, and didn¡¯t meet his eyes. ¡°What you said was correct. I don¡¯t know how I got this far outside of sheer dumb luck, and don¡¯t belong here at all. My family is powerful and well known, or at least that¡¯s what I¡¯d thought. But that is likely only true for our region. Regardless, we were able to acquire a ticket for me to enter the Abyssal Descent as a way for me to prove my worth to my father. Aside from my abilities with a bow, I am quite useless inbat. That much is now obvious to me.¡±


    Riven blinked from underneath his hood, arms still folded. ¡°I see. Why didn¡¯t you just team up with another group beforeing down?¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°I know you cannot identify me due to system interference down here, but I am not even ssified as an ELITE by Elysium¡¯s standards. I am the bottom rung of what gets in here, and without my stealth abilities and managing to surf on the coattails of other groups that were unaware of my presence - would probably be dead five times over by now. All of my belongings were also stripped from me when I was robbed, aside from my clothes and bow which is now gone. Even my arrows are nearly spent.¡±


    She cocked her head to one side. ¡°Why would anyone want to take me with them? I¡¯d only slow them down, but I have no other choice but to proceed or die trying.¡±


    Riven was beginning to understand, and he was starting to feel a little bad for the young woman. ¡°Sounds like your father, or whoever it was that sent you here, sent you to die. And it sounds like, at least if it wasn¡¯t his people that paid off your kin, that someone else is hoping to see you fail too. Why even go back?¡±


    The face she made was as if he¡¯d smacked her across the face.


    ¡°That¡­ That isn¡¯t true.¡± She muttered in a whisper. ¡°My father doesn¡¯t want me to die. It¡¯s moreplicated than that.¡±


    Riven disagreed, but her abrupt attitude change signaled that he¡¯d hit the nail on the head. He wasn¡¯t going to push it.


    Then, an idea formed, and he thought of a way to cheer the poor girl up. Digging through his spatial sack, he pulled out a set of supplies.


    The first item was a rolled up ball of Ath¡¯s bloodsilk, which he could use to repair his own cloak if need be and was incredibly sturdy - and it had an inherent tie to the Blood Subpir.


    Next was one of Gragle¡¯s Graphics. The multidimensional runic sigils interlinked to one another glistened with blood, sin, and shadow energy while they shifted around each other in the light of his storm. Riven had yet topletely get how graphics worked in creating them, but then again - Gragle did have a unique talent for making them. Despite the gnome¡¯s promises to try and teach Riven as much as he knew, Riven had not had the time nor the ability to produce them consistently or without impurities - so he¡¯d have to modify this one to the best of his ability without destroying it given what he was about to do.


    Abyssal sigils glowing a deep purple were taken out after that, with various dao treasures, a few spiritual crystals, and two of the silver rings off his hands were ced on the floor - all of which he¡¯d bought from the merchants on floor 2.


    Kara¡¯s eyes went wide at the disy, and her mouth clenched with an unreadable expression as Riven got to work. ¡°What is your name? I told you mine, but you never told me yours.¡±


    ¡°Riven. I already told you that. Remember?¡± Riven said with an amused smirk, creating a long shaft of crimson ice that he began to mold into the form of a bow.


    ¡°Just Riven? No title? No family name?¡±


    ¡°Just Riven.¡±


    He fused threeyers of Ath¡¯s bloodsilk together after that, reinforced them by wrapping an abyssal sigil that dissolved into the strings after a system prompt, and the bowstring shed with dark purple light.


    ¡°Alright then, Riven¡­¡± She repeated, furrowing her brows and all but ignoring the raging battle only a couple dozen yards outside of their protective barrier of storming mana. ¡°How did you afford all of this? The price of these treasures is¡­ astronomical.¡±


    ¡°Are they?¡± Riven asked, shrugging indifferently. ¡°I sent the check to someone else.¡±


    ¡°So someone bought these treasures for you?¡±


    Riven nodded. ¡°More or less. I guess you could say that I inherited the money¡­ but it¡¯s a long andplicated story.¡±


    ¡°I thought you had no title or family name?¡±


    Riven didn¡¯t humor her question.


    His hand reached for her broken bow, and strings of blood wrapped around the wooden pieces - taking them over to where he sat as he inspected the etched sigils carved into the weapon.


    It was low quality at best, making him feel even worse for the poor girl. The power infused into each of them was what he¡¯d have wanted back when he was level 30, and the runes were poorly carved. Even he at the beginning of his path in totem-making could tell that the enchanter had been sub-par. He removed the string as heid his own ice-made bow over the top of her old one, and began to concentrate as he closed his eyes.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Kara asked, with some hope in her voice. ¡°Are you fixing my weapon?¡±


    He let on a smile. ¡°That and more. Now be quiet, I¡¯m working here.¡±


    There was a sh of red light, followed by another sh of purple and then ck. His eyes opened, and the ice bow he¡¯d created had molded over her original like a shell casing. Ath¡¯s bloodsilk strings sparked red and purple, and ck runes he¡¯d mentally channeled into the weapon had their backbone imprinted on the shaft¡¯s exterior.


    His eyes shifted to the silver rings he¡¯d taken off his hand. Each of them had massive boosts to basic dexterity, and he warped the metal with a flex of energy - cing them around the middle of the shaft as they fused together where the handle would be. Ridges were created afterwards as the metal bent and twisted, creating a hold for fingers when gripping, and another abyssal sigil was added and infused into the shaft just as the string had been reinforced.


    The red ice darkened with the effort, and Kara watched ck-jawed in awe and in silence. ¡°I did not realize you were a crafter as well as a mage.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re primarily shadow-based with your abilities?¡± Riven stated as part question and part fact, after having seen her abilities already.


    She quickly nodded after snapping out of her dazed state. ¡°Oh, uhm, yes. I have a 70% affinity to the Shadow Sub-Pir, and most of my abilities stem from that.¡±


    He went back to work after the confirmation, selecting out of his dao treasures a nt and crystal pairing. The crystal was an obsidian gem the size of his fist that sucked in all light in its vicinity, making its true dimensions hard to make out. The nt was a thorny vine, ck at its core but with silver thorns protruding out from around the coiled stem.


    ¡°What exactly are those?¡± She asked, inching closer to sit beside him. ¡°I can feel their energy and know them to be true dao treasures, but I can¡¯t identify them to see what their details are. Do you remember?¡±


    He coiled the vine into a tighter formation and wrapped it around the shaft, absorbing it into the outer red shell as the ck runes along the dark-red ice began to re. ¡°The nt has silencing properties, and the gem has gathering properties. Basically, if I¡¯m doing this correctly - which is questionable at best, I should be able to add a percentage possibility for a silencing effect to anything you shoot from this bow. The gem will be used to gather shadow mana from your surroundings and allow you to empower your shots with additional shadow damage while making your shadow abilities cost less.¡±


    Riven gave her a weak smile. ¡°That¡¯s of course assuming I don¡¯t mess this up. I¡¯m depending more on the quality of the materials rather than my actual skill, because I¡¯m kind of new at this. Only been creating totems for a year or so.¡±


    ¡°Only a year!? You¡¯d risk such valuables on a chance that you¡¯d fail!?¡± She said, perplexed and something akin to horror-struck.


    Riven nodded. ¡°You betchya. It takes my mind off the current situation anyways, as I¡¯m just sitting around doing nothing and I kind of feel bad for you.¡±


    She seemed startled at his reaction, but quickly subdued herself to look down deep in thought - focusing on the work he was doing and asionally shooting him curious nces.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She whispered.


    He pretended not to hear.


    The gem itself was far harder to incorporate than the vine, and he ended up sting it into smaller pieces before creating a fine powder out of the crystal. Infusing it into the ice, the bow went from a deep red into a dark ck with the rune previously inscribed almostpletely gone. There was a subtle red glow to the bow now, aside from the silver handhold, and the second tost piece - the graphic - was summoned over to him with a wave of his hand.


    ¡°What is that?¡± She asked, confused but also eager as she watched the obviously intricate set of three-dimensional runic tapestries shift and stir. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like it in my entire life.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a graphic.¡± Riven replied, pausing in his creation of the weapon to point out different aspects. ¡°Graphics are a way to formte magic of thought into physical concepts by using base code of Elysium¡¯s system. They are the skeletons of magic taken visible form, and are an advanced concept I myself am not entirely familiar with. I know the basics though and have a gnome teacher who¡¯s trying to impart his knowledge over time, but this is one of the ones he made. Thankfully I DO know enough to manipte them to an extent and can modify this one at a small margin to better suit your needs.¡±


    She seemed eager and interested when he nced right, causing him to chuckle at the excitement evident there, and so he continued in his short speech on the matter.


    ¡°There are three concepts, Re, Vo, and Tin that act like an axis to travel along when inputting source code. Then there are another two concepts, Nun and Zika, with Nun representing orientation and affinity of a power source like your Shadow Sub-Pir. Zika represents power of intent. The base concepts of Re, Vo, and Tin I am going to leave intact because they¡¯re far moreplicated and the construct of this specific graphic is already well done. However, the more malleable concept of Nun can be modified away from the Blood and Sin energies infused into it to orient themselves more towards shadow.¡±


    Riven¡¯s fingers twitched, and the graphic turned a dark ck over the course of seconds. ¡°Now I¡¯m modifying Zika, which is the power of intent. The original graphic¡¯s intent was protective, that of a barrier or shield. I¡¯m changing it to ¡®Pierce¡¯ and ¡®Speed¡¯ now, which should better suit your needs considering this is a bow.¡±


    The three-dimensional set of interconnected runes shifted and warped, forming a different model before their eyes.


    He grinned. It had worked. ¡°Lastly, I will pluck a soul shard from the void around us. Totems with soul shards are far easier to control and more likely to bind than a fully formed soul, and though they are less potent - it is probably in your best interest given that you¡¯ll need the weapon rather soon instead ofter. There¡¯d be a chance this weapon didn¡¯t want to bind to you if the totem I¡¯m making had a fully formed an aware soul inside of it, and truthfully it¡¯d probably want to bind to me instead of you given my affinity for shadow is higher - and I also have affinities for the other Blood and Sin energies running through it.¡±


    His Death Sub-Pir shivered and pulsed, and his gaze warped to see into the void just like Allie had taught him to do over the course of theirst few sit-downs while here in the abyss. He saw what he was looking for in the vast expanse of darkness and glittering lights around them, and plucked a tiny fragment of light from his surroundings before retreating back into the present. Holding out his hand, he showed the flickering fragment of random soul he¡¯d acquired to the dark elf who let out a sharp breath at his presentation.


    Pushing the piece of soul into the bow, he saw the weapon shudder underneath him. A st of energy epassed the area they sat in, and the ck bow began to wreathe itself in dark burgundy sparks as the silver metal of the bow¡¯s center became more akin to gray.


    <strong>[You have created the Item: ¡°ck River Bow of Sin¡¯s Wrath (Totem).¡± Details on this item are negated due to the event status effect.]</strong>


    ¡°Now for the arrows since you¡¯re low. This part will be easy.¡± He said with a gesture at her nearly empty quiver,ughing at her gawking expression of amazement.


    One by one, he began to create ¡®Sniping Profane Blood Lances¡¯; the upgraded version of his original bloodnce infused with his Snipe ability and empowered by wretched snares. The bloodnces thinned and shortened, bing arrow-sized as the ck lightning sparks shifted over the red shafts. The wretched snares used to propel them to greater speeds also enclosed themselves over the arrows, and he modified the spells to explode upon contact - an effect that¡¯d explode and shred the target with the snares upon impact now that the arrows were being propelled by the bow rather than the original slingshot effect of the snares when summoned.


    One by one and numbering in the dozens, he created these arrows and cut their magical intent off from his control. Inspecting each of them and making sure they were stable, solid, and without any ws, he used his mana to shift them over to Kara¡¯s quiver - pushing them into the point where the quiver bulged.


    <strong>[You have created the Items: ¡°Sniping Profane Blood Arrows.¡± Details on these items are negated due to the event status effect.]</strong>


    ¡°There you go. I think this¡¯ll help you survive a bit longer.¡± Riven said somewhat smugly as he handed the bow over to the drow woman, who continued to stare in wonder at the item - her hands shaking slightly at the gift he¡¯d given her before taking it in her grasp.


    Abruptly, the dark burgundy sparks red and danced along her hands, up her arms, and into her body as she shuddered. He stared, watching her as he felt the pact between the totem and the dark elf manifest despite ack of system information, and then was surprised to see her begin to cry.


    She sniffled, trying to blink away her tears and hide her face beneath one hand and a swath of white hair while gripping the bow in the other, before silent sobs wracked her body as she stared at the floor. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I just need a minute to collect my thoughts.¡±


    His gaze softened and he nodded, looking away to watch the rest of the champions do their thing. Jackal came over and nudged against his right shoulder, and he reached across the winged abyssal dog to give Jackal head scratches with a hum of contentment. After a few minutes had passed, and she still showed no signs of calming, he floated the question he¡¯d been considering since realizing her predicament.


    ¡°You know, our fifth member was prematurely sent down to the 50th floor.¡± Riven said aloud over her body-shaking and semi-silent sobs. ¡°My group could escort you to the 40th floor on the way down, you could join up with us temporarily if you¡¯d like.¡±


    Sniffling and wiping away her tears again, she looked up through bloodshot eyes and puffy cheeks. ¡°You would do that? For me? For a stranger you¡¯ll never see again after all is said and done, when I leave for my homnd?¡±


    Riven shrugged. ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Because I am deadweight.¡± She said tly. Looking down at the weapon he¡¯d bestowed upon her, and then the enchanted arrows he¡¯d given her, she shook her head. ¡°Believe me, I would be more than happy to ept, but the things you said to me earlier were right. I won¡¯t be useful to you in your descent, if that is what you are hoping for. I¡¯d more or less epted my death down here, but if you are offering¡­ and you truly mean it, then I will not decline if the system allows it to be.¡±


    Riven smiled and patted her on the arm. ¡°Ah. Good point. Let¡¯s find out then, shall we?¡±


    Mentally willing the system to ept his request, he waited for Elysium and The Abyssal Descent to respond.


    He didn¡¯t have to wait long.


    <strong>[Do you wish to add Kara ckbow to your party? As Lillith is currently trapped on Floor 50 of the Abyssal Descent, Elysium will ept your request for a filler until you reach Lillith - if you manage to survive until then. But doing so will cost you three-billion Elysium Coins as tribute. Do you ept?]</strong>


    ¡°Lillith?¡± She asked. ¡°Who is that?¡±


    The notification was present for both Riven and Kara to see, and she immediately winced upon re-reading it - her hope fading just as quickly as it¡¯de.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have that kind of money, Riven¡­¡± She trailed off, only for her to choke on her words when he epted the prompt, and a tidal wave of coins flew out of his spatial sack towards the notification before blinking out of existence.


    <strong>[You have added Kara ckbow to your party here in the Abyssal Descent. Kara¡¯s 20 day time limit has been modified to normal parameters, and she will proceed to Floor 21 with you upon sessfulpletion of your other party members exiting the giant¡¯sbyrinth.]</strong>


    ¡°RIVEN! That kind of money is enough to bankrupt my entire SECT!¡± Kara screeched, whirling on him and leaping to both feet with wide eyes. ¡°I CANNOT REPAY THAT KIND OF MONEY!¡±


    He smirked. ¡°Whoever said I was asking you to repay the debt?¡±


    She was immediately stunned into silence, and only took a seat again when he gestured beside him. ¡°Thank you for your kindness, Riven. I don¡¯t even know what to say. I am¡­ undeserving.¡±


    ¡°Do not think much about it.¡± Riven said, beginning to meditate to restore all the mana he¡¯d used up on creating the totem. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how much money I have anymore. I haven¡¯t looked in a long time. Now, sit down and rest. We likely have a lot of time to burn.¡±

 Chapter 292: (4 Chapters today)

    Chapter 292: (4 Chapters today)


    <strong>Chapter 292</strong>


    Nora was losing control, and Narg was getting worried.


    The beholder demon narrowed its many eyes at the human as she clutched her chest and made gasping noises, hitting the ground and jerking in odd ways that weren¡¯t what he would consider ¡®normal¡¯. She¡¯d been getting worse as time had went on, with traces of ck and silver showing up on portions of her body to change it into something other than flesh, but Narg wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was before it reverted back into normal muscle, skin and bone.


    Even her eyes had changed color from their normal brown to a sickly white, and she was mumbling incoherent sentences to herself and sometimes aloud for all to hear until they¡¯d ended up here. Here at the dead end of a hallway, where Narg had a clean shot at anything that may or may not attempt to kill them.


    ¡°Nora¡­ Can you hear me, child?¡± The demon asked, keeping two of its eyes swiveled on stalks to stare behind it - always on guard. ¡°The others are counting on us to finish this, Nora. Take another one of your healing potions and it may help-¡±


    His words were cut off as another roar from the giant chained to theva pit in the center of the cylindricalbyrinth caused the ground to violently shake. It was deafening, giving Narg a killer headache as frustration began building up inside him. Down the hall, the glow of theva illuminated the dark stone - and the sound of battle could be heard where other beasts and participants brutally killed one another.


    Scowling and thinking to himself, Narg went over his options. He could leave her here to die and if he understood things correctly, her dying here would only banish her into Chalgathi¡¯s event and she¡¯d lose out on all the time and effort put into doing this. Part of Narg thought this the obvious and best choice, as he couldn¡¯t be slowed down to fail the Reincarnation of Gluttony like this. He would rather die than be such a burden and bear such shame to his family¡¯s lineage. To fail Gluttony and his bonded partner Riven would be worse than death, and sweat began to umte on Narg¡¯s green skin just by thinking about it.


    ¡°No¡­ No I can¡¯t leave her. The great maw would not have allowed her toe if he wanted or expected her to fail now. It is my duty to see her through this, as she is a friend of the reincarnation.¡± He let out a deep, shaky breath. ¡°So just how do I do that if she¡¯satose?¡±


    Narg sent out more pulses of Seek Danger, Seek Object, and Seek Safety. Pathways congregated in his mind as manifested as streaks of pulsing light that pulsed for a few seconds before dying away, leaving invisible trails only he could see afterwards. Seek Safety red its light right where he¡¯d positioned them so that he could collect his thoughts, reaffirming it was still a good hiding ce to think over his predicament. Seek Object, which he¡¯d focused generally on ¡®An Exit¡¯, traced itself down in multiple directions showing multiple paths he could use in order to leave - all of which ended at the same spot far down on the very bottom floor of the maze somewhere. Meanwhile, Seek Danger red brightly in the direction of the chained giant and interior of the cylindrical maze, as well as immediately to the right at the next bend where fighting could be heard. Surprisingly enough, Seek Danger ALSO red a more vibrant light to the left as well¡­ and as Narg watched its pulse - that light began to creep closer by the second at a monotonous pace.Whatever or whoever it was hadpletely concealed their presence from him. He was unable to detect a sound, and he couldn¡¯t sense a power signature at all. No mana, divinity, or stamina was detectable even in the barest of hints¡­ and Narg was beginning to get nervous after it got within twenty feet of his position just around the left bend.


    Silently flying up to a dark corner of the dead end hallway he had helped Nora to, he saw the hues of Seek Safety began to flicker out and die around him - as the presence finally made it to the edge of the wall.


    But he saw nothing.


    Hoping he was sufficiently hidden here in the dark, which only had about a 20% chance of sess by his guess due to being in an abyssal ne where most creatures could see in dark ces - he waited. If it was another maze-crawler and not a spawned creature, he¡¯d still have a chance - and Narg had little choice in the matter as he wasn¡¯t about to leave Nora behind.


    Seconds passed, and still nothing. His Seek Danger and Seek Safety castings began to fade, and thest of it died away with the previous impression showing that whatever or whoever it was had stopped dead in its tracks directly in front of him. Narg was a beholder demon and his many eyes could pick up on most stealthed opponents, and he even had a trait called ¡®Scoped Vision¡¯ that would make out extremely minute details even at a distance - but he could sense nothing.


    Should he just st the area anyways?


    He was considering this just when a person stepped out of stealth, and began walking slowly to where Nora was still gasping, choking, and convulsing on the ground.


    It was a skresh wearing assassin garbs. The skeletal humanoid had an extra arm on its left side as well, making the cloak the skresh wore appear bulkier and lopsided. The two left hands each held daggers, while the right hand shifted in and out of reality with an oddbination of pirs that Narg couldn¡¯t pinpoint. Two feet into the hallway, the skresh stopped, then turned its dead gaze upwards to look at the exact spot Narg now pressed himself into.


    And if the skeleton could smile, Narg had no doubt this skresh would be doing so right now.


    ¡°Nice hiding ce.¡± The skresh let out in a masculine rasp, chuckling to himself as his daggers repeatedly spun absentmindedly. ¡°But I suppose I shouldn¡¯t mock you too much¡­ there aren¡¯t any better ones. Not here. Regardless¡­ it appears yourpanion is out for the count. And given what you are¡­ I¡¯m assuming you''re a mage.¡±


    The skresh cocked its head to the side, raising its left hand that continued to phase in and out as a wall of mana crashed down in front of Nora as Narg manifested a nightmare barrier. The undead was obviously unphased by Narg¡¯s disy, and didn¡¯t bother taking a step back.


    ¡°I am.¡± Narg replied, floating down from the top corner. Channeling unholy and infernal energies into different tentacles leading up to his various eyes, he kept both piercing globspitters and explosive hellspitters locked in on his target. ¡°But let us cut to the chase. What is it that you want? If it is our deaths to im our keys, our group in the sacrificial chamber has not yet made them.¡±


    The skresh scoffed, and the twirling of his daggers stopped. His dead gaze seemed to leer at Narg as if to wordlessly call him a liar and an idiot. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what someone with keys would say. Now isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Silence ensued for nearly two minutes as they stared at one another.


    ¡°But I am a kind skresh, and am willing to let you go with your life.¡± The skeletal man said with a low bow - eye sockets of his skull never leaving Narg. ¡°Under one condition.¡±


    Narg furrowed his brows, and floated closer to the convulsing woman on the floor in preparation for a potential attack. He could feel the aura of death starting to pour out of the undead, and the underlying suspicion of this skeletal man¡¯s power after failing to detect him earlier was all but confirmed. This was not a fight Narg would win, but he was not willing to fail Gluttony¡¯s call either. No matter what, he must prevail. ¡°And what would that condition be, stranger?¡±


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The skresh assassin ttered his teeth together and raised slightly. ¡°Let me kill the human girl. They are a weak species anyways, and you can obviously do without her. You will lose your keys, but your team will be left with one toplete the maze after they remake the keys a second time. It is a good offer, considering the alternative is both of your heads¡­ Or, in your case, your eyeballs.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a funny joke, but the skresh certainly thought it to be as he cackled outwardly and brandished his daggers as his aura soared. Deathly energies crashed into the nightmare barrier of me and shadow with just a passive flex of the undead¡¯s soul, and Narg inwardly cursed as he decided on what to do.


    He didn¡¯t have much of a choice.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Narg said with a frown. ¡°She¡¯s deadweight to me anyways. You can have her, just leave me be.¡±


    Somewhat surprised, but pleased, the skresh stepped back and lowered his des along with his shimmering right hand. ¡°Very good¡­ Very good. I am happy that we-¡±


    Narg lit the undead up, unleashing all of his unholy and infernal attacks that eradicated the hallway in front of him with subsequent sts. The skresh evaporated into thin air with an echo of a snarl, but he¡¯d been ready for treachery and dodged all of it without much fanfare.


    However, it did leave the hallway open to run for it. Or in Narg¡¯s case, fly.


    Without a word, Narg picked up Nora¡¯s twitching body in his mouth. Epassing them in a sphere of molded nightmare barrier, he pointed all of his essory eyeballs behind him and charged over a dozen hellspitters. With another resounding boom, he unleashed the fiery spells in an explosion that sent him sting forward like a rocket - past the assassin that attempted to sh down at the passing duo - and out towards the inner cylinder of thebyrinth.


    Directly towards the chained giant.


    Narg¡¯s mind raced as he ducked and weaved under the unnaturally fast assassin, who was managing to keep up with Narg even despite the propulsive explosions the beholder demon set off one after another for quick trajectory changes. Most of the attacks were deflected by the barrier, but once in a while the shimmering hand would pierce through the veil and attempt to grab at Nora - the easier target - before Narg quickly dodged to avoid the swiping hand as he raced through the winding tunnels.


    Abyssal hounds roared as he passed them by and the thundering boom of a giant fist caused the maze to shake again as tortured wails from the chained giant grew louder. But Narg didn¡¯t dare stop, he was on an alternate path now. The path he¡¯d set out for them should something like this happen, a situation where he knew they wouldn¡¯t be able to win and had to make a gambling chance.


    He was headed for the drop off, and would attempt to dive down through the open air to the lower levels and expose himself to the giant that he¡¯d seen swat down so many other fliers in their attempts prior to this.


    ¡°Come back here you WRETCH! GIVE ME YOUR KEYS!" The skresh screached out at him, blurring passed in a swath of death and shadow before extending a hand and sending numerous bone javelins out of his warping limb over the course of three seconds.


    Narg activated ¡®Seek Safety¡¯ in a split second before the original struck and followed the path itid out, managing to sessfully dodge all of the blurring projectiles by tracing his skill¡¯s outline.


    The skresh gawked.


    But Narg didn¡¯t bother waiting to see the undead¡¯s reaction as a globspitter¡¯s piercing green bolt was sent sting through an erected bone shield the skresh had summoned, sliding the assassin backwards by a few feet and cursing loudly.


    Narg shed by.


    The beholder demon weaved up, down, left and right as therge hallway widened out and zigzagged until the molten glow of the enormouske ofva began to be more prevalent. Cracks in thebyrinth¡¯s floors showed he was in an overpass of some sort with theke far below, and not long after that he came to the beginning of an opening where a ledge overlooking the magma was in full view.


    He¡¯d almost done it.


    Using one of his eyes to look back and saw the assassin racing to catch up, with another dozen of the ckbyrinth hounds rushing behind the skresh as they too took to the chase.


    On the other side was possible salvation in the form of an enraged, charred giant - with its eyes burned out, and a giant chaining out of the magma pool far below to attach at a metal cor around the giant¡¯s neck.


    All around the cylindrical, cavernous room were other ledges, outcroppings, and exposed pathways where only asional flickers of movement could be seen in brief. A dashing monster here, a sneaking participant there, only for the monstrous giant¡¯s ckened, sizzling hand to crush one after the other in quick session - managing to kill perhaps a third of the creatures that dared expose themselves to the titan. Despite the ears and eyes having been burned out, it had uncanny uracy and had the strength of ten thousand of anything roaming these abyssal halls.


    Narg was just hoping that it would be too distracted to try and go for him.


    With the assassin¡¯s shadowy form closing in, Narg used a final burst of me and sted into either side of the hallway¡¯s end with two different eyes. The residual explosions sent him out like a cannonball, and soon he was airborne.


    Far, far out into the middle of the room, Narg soared - barely managing to outpace a spiraling dagger infused with death essence so potent that the air around it warped.


    Taking a sharp turn and diving low underneath a quick swing from the massive giant, Narg¡¯s heart almost stopped as the fried limb of the titan broke the sound barrier and whooshed overhead. The residual <em>BOOM</em> that sounded out when the giant missed him and impacted the far wall made Narg almost bite down on the woman in his mouth, but he managed to get ahold of himself and began a direct downward spiral - looping around the giant¡¯s waist towards the moltenke.


    Meanwhile, Nora was dealing with her own problems. Narg just couldn¡¯t see it.


    ***


    The familiar, ancient presence of numerous entities she¡¯d grown up with since being a small child pressed against her mind like a flood about to break. But they were anything but wee.


    Smiling, crazed figures of shadow and w smiled endlessly out at her. A legion of grins, devoid of anything but malice. Entities of true evil, not ¡®Unholy¡¯, but actual evil - were sitting inside her soul, waiting to be let out.


    She could feel their ws digging through the barriers she¡¯d erected to keep them out of her dreams, but now, in this ce, they seemed to have grown stronger. And they¡¯d been stronger ever since meeting Riven again, and having been in the presence of Gluttony. They wanted to be near him, and they wanted to be free of the mental prison she¡¯d trapped them in.


    ¡°We are friends¡­ Friends!!! Let us out! Let us out!¡± They cooed simultaneously, speaking together without ever breaking that sick, crazed smile they had. The silver-white eyes were the only outstanding colors in a sea of ck, and they almost seemed two-dimensional due to just how ck they were. She could not make out any real dimensions beyond their outlines as they tried to swarm and press against each other for the forefront of her attention. ¡°FRIENDS! FRIENDS! FRIENDS! WE ARE FRIENDS! WE ARE FRIENDS! LET US OUT! LET US OUT!¡±


    Nora internally cringed away from the smiling faces, beginning to cry as she screamed over the building crescendo of the insistent begging. ¡°Please just go away¡­ Please¡­ You''re all scaring me...¡±


    ¡°NORA, NORA, LET US OUT! NORA, NORA, LET US OUT!¡±


    <strong><em>CRASH</em></strong>


    Pain.


    Intense pain brought her back to the real world, as she felt her bones shatter in dozens of ces all at once. She wanted to scream, but the air was torn from her lungs - and the world spun as she was smashed into a giant pool ofva with a ssh. She opened her eyes wide in shock, seeing Narg only a few dozen yards away getting snatched out of theva where he¡¯dnded away from her. A huge hand gripped the broken, bloodied beholder demon as he was picked up by the charred and chained giant - and a look of fear overcame Narg as the beholder was brought up to the giant¡¯s gaping mouth.


    A squeal of horrified pain, and then a bloody <em>CRUNCH</em> resounded in thebyrinth as the giant began to chew on the demon before swallowing.


    It looked down at Nora next, the enormous, blind creature somehow sensing she was there - sinking into the magma, at a slow pace while burning alive. She croaked out, too weak to move, and watched as the giant¡¯s bloody mouth widened before it brought down its other hand to reach for her next.


    ¡°FRIENDS! FRIENDS! WE ARE FRIENDS!¡± The voices echoed in her mind, and without anything left in the tank to hold them back - her curtain of willpower fell.


    And the creatures that¡¯d been held back for so long began to reim her. Memories of murders. Memories of being locked in an insane asylum, and then a women¡¯s prison, and then a maximum securityb where she¡¯d been experimented on by her government all came flooding back to her. Memories that she¡¯d suppressed, as that sickly smile the monsters inside her wore began to spread along her own face. Her skin began to loose focus, turning a vantack, and her eyes began to glow a soft silvery light.


    But the pain... The pain had vanished entirely.


    ¡°Friends, friends¡­ we are all friends!¡± Nora whispered to herself with a giggle, her mind snapping as reality lost focus - and she lost her sense of self.


    She was no longer Nora.


    It was THEY who were Nora.


    They were all Nora. They always had been. They always would be.


    And they would never be apart from her again.


    They¡­ were one.


    <strong>[Bloodline: The Insane Asylum, has been activated. The Insanity Stat has been unlocked. Your soul has rearranged itself with the help of your ''Others''. Your soulttice has taken a massive step forward, and is almostplete. Congrattions, you are nearly at the E-grade.]</strong>

 Chapter 293

    Chapter 293


    <strong>Chapter 293</strong>


    The magma around Nora¡¯s body was dispersed from her position in a half-bowl shape underneath her as a howl ofughter tore out of her throat. It was her voice, but oveid with hundreds of other voices that allughed alongside her as a chilling cold spread across her body.


    Her long ck hair extended from shoulder-length to halfway down her back. Her ears became extremely long and pointed, like an elf but far longer. Her eyes became a nk silvery white - unblinking. A manic smile sporting across her ck skin to show a series of sharp, silvery white teeth, and the inside of her mouth sported a simr color.


    As her clothes burned away under the flickering remnants of fire left behind by the magma, she no longer held true definition. She was, at first nce, two-dimensional - a t outline of void with silvery white eyes and a silvery white smile.


    And as the giant¡¯s reaching hand came to grasp at her, that smile only grew wider.


    ¡°WE ARE LEGION!¡± Nora¡¯s voices called out in a tidal wave ofughter, and she pointed a single finger at the charred giant as if to mock him. ¡°CONSUME!¡±


    The entirebyrinthe began to shake as a pulse of dark energy shed out of her finger, instantly eradicating the hand and forearm of the chained giant like it was nothing. The giant¡¯s surprised and horrified reaction was abrupt, and his scream echoed out across the stone as he fell back with a loud ssh into the magma - his good arm holding the stump where Nora¡¯s attack had eaten it away.


    But in another instant, Nora was there - above the giant¡¯s burnt out eyes and continuing to smile ruthlessly down at the creature. She held out her arms as if to embrace him, and lifted her head up to the dark ceiling far above. ¡°A SOUL TO TAKE FOR THE ENDLESS ARMY!¡±


    Wails erupted from her body as a tidal wave of dark figures began to peel off her skin with terrifying, hungry wails. They began to grow eyes and creepy smiles simr to her own, with silvery-white light illuminating their otherwise two-dimensional vantack figures as the wed, wraith-like demons tore out of her body andunched themselves at the half-buried giant in the magma.The sheer amount of ck bodies piling onto the giant and devouring it was overwhelming, and despite the iling of the crazed giant and the power behind its swings, it was unable to hit Nora even once. She stayed in ce, letting the strikes attempt to crush her as they simply passed through - never losing the sickening smile as she watched her others strip the flesh from the giant¡¯s bones. The bones came after. And then the soul. It all flowed into her like a river of multicolored light, being sucked away into her endlessly ck body as her eyes brightly shed.


    <strong>[Your personal Insane Asylum has added a soul to its reserves: Cursed Abyssal Giant. You may now summon this enved creature to do your bidding as a Legion version of itself, bing slightly weaker than the original but obtaining immortality as long as your entire legion is not destroyed. Personal Insane Asylum: 5000 Others, 1 Cursed Abyssal Giant. You are now able to connect with other Insane Asylums that youe into contact with, should you wish to do so.]</strong>


    Nora giggled and then screamed withughter in a storm of voices, bing higher pitched by the second as she doubled over while floating in the air - her body radiating an invisible energy that continued to keep the magma at bay in a rippling half-sphere underneath her. The others wereughing as well, and theyunched themselves back out of the magma to yfully poke at her and one another - doing flips or zipping around like children on a yground.


    But when another hesitant participant was seen staring out at her in bewilderment and awe, Nora and her others abruptly stopped. In an instant they all turned simultaneously to smile at the unfortunate necromancer, and Nora slowly lifted her finger to point at the man.


    ¡°DEVOUR!¡±


    A resultant scream sounded out, and a wave of ck bodies rushed into the maze as her others started eating everything they coulde across. Rising up to float further in the air, Nora groaned in pleasure as soul after soul, beast after beast, participant after participant was dragged screaming and thrashing into death; food for consumption, as her soulttice continued to build.


    ¡°I am the master of thisbyrinth now!¡± Nora¡¯s voices echoed like a ghost throughout theplex as the violence escted. Her bright eyes peeled across its length, and notifications continued to run through her mind as more and more victims were added to her ever-smiling army. ¡°All will be fodder for the horde! Legion will rise once again!¡±


    ***


    ¡°Well god damn¡­¡± Riven muttered, watching Nora hunt down and kill any living thing that manifested inside thebyrinth like a tidal wave of unkible death. ¡°That is the fucking creepiest thing I¡¯ve ever seen. Nora? Nora, can you hear me!?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not responding. We¡¯ve already tried.¡± Allie confirmed through their link. ¡°At least I¡¯ll be able to stop this disgusting ritual. We have more than enough keys now through her efforts.¡±


    ¡°YES, UNHOLY ONE!¡± Nora abruptly cut in, all of her others stopping what they were doing to bow simultaneously as her main body bowed low at the waist with a flourish. ¡°WHAT DOES THE GREAT MAW DESIRE OF US!?¡±


    ¡°Ok, well that¡¯s just rude.¡± Allie muttered across the link, getting a fit ofughter from Riven and some of his minions.


    Riven scratched his chin and looked over the remaining champions. Four of them had already vanished after Nora had killed their party members in thebyrinth, having been forcibly ejected from the descent, and he couldn¡¯t help but wince. ¡°Uhm¡­ Is that still you, Nora?¡±


    ¡°I AM NORA! WE ARE NORA! NORA IS ONE OF US, AND WE ARE ONE! NORA IS NOT GONE, BUT HAS MULTIPLIED!¡±


    ¡°... I see. Could you not butcher everyone there? This is a rather drastic turn of events, and I have a lot of questions, but please just leave. We all want to get out of this ce. Allie said she has the keys she needs for the ritual after you took them from the other groups.¡±


    Nora paused, considering his words, and then nodded. ¡°I WILL DO AS THE GREAT MAW ASKS!¡±


    Raising his eyebrows at her enthusiasm, he let out a sigh of relief as she began sparing the others she came across - navigating thebyrinth at high speed in a dive through the depths of the tunnels.


    ¡°Uhm¡­¡± A small voice from his left called out, and he turned to see Kara ckbow sitting wide-eyed in shock only a few inches away. ¡°W-What was that? A-and who are all these other people?¡±


    Riven blinked, ignoring the storm of ck and red energies that continued to butcher abyssal monsters at a constant rate whenever they came too close. ¡°Oh, right. You¡¯re linked with my party now, so you¡¯re able to connect with the others.¡±


    He gave the drow young woman a reassuring smile and a shoulder pat, smiling wider upon seeing how she sped the new bow he¡¯d made for her tight against her chest. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll fit right in.¡±


    She slowly lifted her pale gray eyes to meet his, her lips tightly pursed before letting out a shuddering breath. ¡°But I¡¯m so pathetically weakpared to¡­ to THAT! And did¡­ Did they call you-¡±


    ¡°The great maw?¡± Riven asked casually, waving it away. ¡°That¡¯s just a joke.¡±


    ¡°A joke?¡± She asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s because I eat a lot. They also call me fat.¡±


    He kept a straight face, trying not tough, as Gluttony grumbled inside him.


    ¡°What!?¡± Riven said internally through his mind link. ¡°Don¡¯t get mad, the poor girl is already about to have a heart attack! That bit can wait.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± Gluttony stated absentmindedly, his attention elsewhere. ¡°It¡¯s Nora.¡±


    ¡°What about Nora? Is something wrong?¡±


    Gluttony did the mental equivalent of shaking his head. ¡°Not wrong. But¡­ Her bloodline may be problematic. I will discuss more on the subjectter, for now I will go back to thettice.¡±


    ¡°Is that what you¡¯ve been doing this entire time? Building up our soulttice?¡±


    Gluttonyughed. ¡°Merely setting the foundations. You¡¯ll be the one that finishes it when we reach the lower floors.¡±


    ¡°Hello?¡± Kara asked with a worried frown. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Riven snapped out of his internal conversation and gave her another reassuring grin. ¡°Of course! Now, we should be getting out of this ce soon - and I¡¯ll be able to introduce-¡±


    A sh of lightter and Riven was no longer sitting in the lotus position in that fleshy room of constantbat. Instead, he and his entire crew with some new additions were now in arge dome illuminated by multiple miniature suns that each spanned many hundreds of yards across.


    Each sun represented one of the pirs avable to those under the Unholy Foundation. One was green, flickering with a tinge of ck and red from time to time, that let off potent Unholy energy. This was the central sun, and it was surrounded by all of the others at intervals. The red sun was for Blood, ck for Shadow, teal with tinges of ck and gray for Death, a mixture of orange, yellow and red for Infernal, pink and gray for Depraved, and finally a darker gray mixed with burgundy for Chaos. Lastly, there was also the dark purple sun that let off potent Sin energy as well. Out of all the suns, the Blood and Sin suns called to Riven the most - and he was drawn to step towards them with a sharp intake of breath.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.


    The heat was palpable, but gave off a potent energy, and dozens of other groups were seated in meditative positions around the sun at various uneven cements.


    <strong>[Floor 21, The Unholy Throne, is now open to you. As promised, by passing Floor 20, you are now permitted insight into one of your paths. You may mentally connect with The Unholy Throne whenever you deem yourself ready, choosing any single sun of those avable here for a free insight; and when all of your party members are done - you may pick another team for a joint operation for Floor 22: Ocean of Wrath. Merely notify Elysium when you are ready to proceed to Floor 22. Elysium will protect you while on this floor, and no harm maye to you or your possessions while here - so as to not disturb your meditation. The majority of identification information will continue to be unavable until Floor 40.]</strong>


    Looking around, Riven was caught off guard. This was a cultivation haven, and the longer he stood here - the longer he felt his soul permeate with the sin energy. It leached out into multiple pirs, infusing them and touching each of them with the promise of power. He relished the feeling, but was disappointed that he could only choose one of the suns to connect with.


    He wanted all of them, damn it!


    ¡°EEEK!¡±


    Riven felt small handstch onto his left arm, and he was nearly knocked over as Kara ckbow mmed into him from the side - quivering and hiding behind him with legs that literally shook at the knees.


    ¡°RIVEN! RIVEN IT¡¯S GOING TO EAT ME!¡±


    Huffing down at the frightened drow and ncing up to see Azmoth peering down, Riven began tough. He¡¯d forgotten just how big Azmoth had be, and the titanic demon could easily fit Kara or any of the others into his mouth to swallow whole using a single bite at this point.


    ¡°Riven, is that what the system notification about adding another team member was about?¡± Ath asked, raising an eyebrow and putting her hands on her hips with an unsatisfactory re. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the hoe who used you of sleeping with her? I thought you¡¯d eaten the bitch.¡±


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Fay threw up her hands and began to walk away.


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait, you two are jumping to conclusions here.¡± Riven said, exasperated as Allie shook her head - and Genua merely smiled.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t all bad.¡± Genua said with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. ¡°If he makes her another thrall, that will mean I don¡¯t have to wait on both of you. The work can be split, and that way each of you could have your own personal servant.¡±


    ¡°A THRALL!? NO!¡± Kara repeated, horrified by the notion, but she quickly went back to cowering behind Riven when Azmoth tilted his head to get a better look.


    Riven faintly caught Nora¡¯s ever-smiling expression staring at him like a maniac, and it made him feel a little bit ufortable. Like she¡¯d stab him in his sleep. Shaking his head, and noting that he was DEFINITELY going to be having a conversation with her about this abrupt and strange change before connecting with one of the pir-affiliated suns here on the 21st floor, he scowled over at Ath and Fay who had suddenly exchanged a series of sheepish, guilty looks.


    ¡°What¡¯s this about waiting on these two?¡± Riven asked Genua, staring at his two lovers while they actively ignored him and refused to meet his eyes. ¡°Exin please.¡±


    Genua looked shocked, and put her hands on her swollen belly. ¡°Did they not tell you? That¡¯s odd. Well, I have been designated as a handmaiden. It is only right, considering that they are to be your wives and I am but a mere concubine.¡±


    ¡°You are not a concu-¡±


    ¡°And it was even my idea.¡± Genua cut in before Riven could finish the sentence. ¡°Ever since you let Luke go, the burden of caring for your fiances has gone up. I bathe them, help them dress, prepare their hair, bring them meals, and perform more personal services whenever they ask for it. You often don¡¯t need those things and don¡¯t ask for them, and I felt like it would make better use of my time - as unless I am with Len or studying blood scripture, I often don¡¯t do much.¡±


    Riven gawked. Personal services? Did that mean¡­


    ¡°It was her idea!¡± Ath repeated, and Fay aggressively nodded with feminine grunts of approval. ¡°It¡¯s not like we forced her to be our toy and do these things! She volunteered!¡±


    ¡°It has been rather nice! She gives great massages, and she¡¯s a nice prop when needed.¡± Fay stated slyly, pping her hands onto her blushing face to hide when Riven turned an unbelieving stare on her next.


    ¡°Your toy? Massages? A prop? This¡­¡± Riven began, but closed his eyes - taking in a deep breath of air and slowly letting it out to calm himself before shrugging. ¡°Fine. As long as you¡¯re ok with being their personal servant or ve or whatever it is you are, then you can do what you want Genua. But don¡¯t do anything that is out of yourfort zone, or I¡¯m going to be angry.¡±


    He red at the two demonesses. ¡°Got it?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± Ath gave a cheeky salute.


    Fay beamed and swayed back and forth with her hands behind her back, tail wagging. ¡°Yup!¡±


    Looking down at Kara, he rolled his eyes and gestured in the other direction. ¡°Ignore them please. And anyway, huddle around everyone! It''s time for formal introductions. Everyone, this is Kara ckbow - the new team member. We¡¯ll be escorting her to Floor 40. Kara, this big scary guy is Azmoth. He¡¯s one of my demonic familiars.¡±


    One of Azmoth¡¯s titanic wed hands waved down as his wings red out to the sides with a burst of inferno. A rather impressive, if not unneeded disy of power.


    ¡°A familiar¡­?¡± Kara repeated, awestruck as she stepped around Riven to get a better look at the enormous creature. She nced back at Riven suspiciously. ¡°How are you able to contract an archdemon like that without losing enormous amounts of Willpower?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you can tell he¡¯s an archdemon? He wasn¡¯t an archdemon when I first met him. None of them were.¡± Riven said proudly, leaning on Jackal¡¯s staff form and not hiding the smug smile adorning his face. ¡°And yet they¡¯re all archdemons now. Except for Narg, he¡¯s a beholder that just died before you were epted into the party chat. He¡¯ll be back in a day. Probably need to wait for him to respawn here before we leave so he can get an insight as well¡­ but that¡¯s another story. Anyways, the arshakai trifecta over there is named Ath. She¡¯s my girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°Fiance!¡± Ath said with a growl,ing over to peck him on the cheek. ¡°And don¡¯t forget it.¡±


    Riven ignored her, but yfully pped her backside and pushed her away as he began to blush. ¡°And that greater subus is Fay. My other girlfriend. She, Ath and I have a three-way rtionship going on. Long story, but it works for us and that¡¯s what matters.¡±


    Fay performed a curtsy and a wink. ¡°Nice to meet you, drow girl. Now get your hands off my man¡¯s arm.¡±


    Kara stared with iprehension, before abruptly letting go of Riven¡¯s arm with a furious blush and an apologetic bow. ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry, archdemon Fay. I did not mean to offend you. Please forgive this one¡¯s foolishness.¡±


    ¡°No offense taken, mortal.¡± Fay replied with a satisfied grin,ing up to push inbetween them and fold her arms around Riven¡¯s arm where Kara had just been moments ago.


    Trying not to roll his eyes yet again, Riven continued with the introductions. "This is Retesh, he''s our resident friendly lich."


    Stoic silence followed as the two eyed each other suspiciously.


    ¡°This is Genua, my thrall.¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°Is she a blood priestess?¡± Kara asked, obviously impressed by Genua¡¯s getup. ¡°Isn¡¯t that, like, really impressive?¡±


    ¡°I am a blood priestess!¡± Genua gave an enthusiastic wave, her crimson tattoos glittering underneath her priestesses¡¯ hood. ¡°Hello Kara! Let¡¯s go back to my earlier point about potentiallying on as a thrall. You should really consider-¡±


    ¡°And this-¡± Riven cut Genua off. ¡°Is Allie. My sister.¡±


    Kara¡¯s pale gray eyes grudgingly turned off Genua and met Allie¡¯s simrly colored ones, and the two stared at each other for a long time after that. The drow¡¯s gaze evaluated the long, ck feathered wings, the bone armor covering most of Allies¡¯ body, and the exquisite ymore she held while sittingzily in a throne she¡¯d created out of bones so she didn¡¯t have to stand.


    ¡°Sup.¡± Allie said, giving the other woman a head nod. ¡°If you¡¯re wondering how I¡¯m his sister without being a vampire, know that I used to be one. Long story.¡±


    Kara hesitated, ncing up at Riven for confirmation. ¡°What does, Sup, mean?¡±


    Allie snorted in amusement, and Riven did the same.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a way to say hi.¡± Allie said, dismissively waving the question away. She gestured to Fimrindle, who stood beside her. ¡°This is my minion, Fimrindle. He¡¯s a reaper.¡±


    The metal, half-demon, half-undead scarecrow didn¡¯t move to the visible eye and didn¡¯t react. From underneath his hood, his jaw remained slightly unhinged as his scythe andntern were held out to either side of him since getting here.


    ¡°A reaper?¡± Kara asked in a whisper. ¡°And¡­ And you¡¯re an angel of death? Aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re not a fallen angel, if you have a reaper as a minion. Is that right?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± Allie asked with a scoff.


    Riven frowned at Allie¡¯s rudeness. ¡°All but the most basic identification information is canceled until we hit Floor 40. Don¡¯t be mean.¡±


    ¡°Mean?!¡± Allie repeated, bellyughing at the idea. ¡°Riven, do you know who and what you are? And you¡¯re saying not to be MEAN!?¡±


    She quickly shut up when he gave her a re.


    ¡°What does she mean by that?¡± Kara hesitantly asked from the sideline, still using Riven¡¯s body as something of a shield from the others. It was obvious how nervous she was.


    Riven shrugged in a nomittal way. ¡°That I¡¯m a vampire, I guess.¡±


    The others all gave him nk stares.


    Ath snickered, the only thing to break the awkward silence. And it was obvious that Kara wasn¡¯t buying it by the suspicious look she was giving him.


    Riven threw up his hands and turned heel, beginning to walk away in a pretend rage. ¡°Fuck you guys, I¡¯m going home.¡±


    Laughter erupted behind him, and he gave them all the middle finger - which made them allugh even harder. He peeled back though, and snapped his fingers before pointing at thest member of their party in the back. ¡°Finally, this is Nora. Nora, meet Kara.¡±


    The vantack two-dimensional woman with the unnerving smile and unblinking white eyes gave a dramatic bow, taking a knee and using a silver tongue to lick the front of her pointed teeth while she smiled. When she spoke, it was with hundreds of ovepping voices. ¡°Legion greets the maw¡¯s new pet!¡±


    Kara stepped back fearfully, retreating to where Riven was yet again, and gripped her bow tightly. ¡°I¡­ I saw you kill all those things back in the maze. You¡¯re really powerful! Like, the most powerful person I¡¯ve ever seen! Even stronger than most of my n¡¯s elders in thete E grade!¡±


    Kara looked to Riven, then to Azmoth, and then all around the group before settling on Nora atst. ¡°Which ones of you are the strongest? I mean¡­ Oh¡­ Oh wait. If - If you were in the part of the trial that was designated for the weakest members, then¡­¡±


    It was as if she¡¯d been struck by lightning. Her eyes bulged, and she took the group in with a new light. ¡°O-Oh¡­ Oh dear.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear?!¡± Ath hollered withughter. ¡°That¡¯s what you have to say!? I think I am beginning to like this girl. How innocent.¡±


    Riven for his part was staring down Nora, who - as ever since her change - continued that creepy expression of hers. ¡°Yeah¡­ Hey Nora, why do you keep calling yourself Legion?¡±


    Nora cocked her head in the kneeling position, as if confused, but her expression never changed. ¡°Has the great one not told you? I am Legion. Legion is me. They are one and the same¡­ but perhaps a part of the greater whole. The insane asylum has called me home, and I have epted my birthright to rule beneath your grace.¡±


    Riven¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°I think I somewhat understand if biblical references can be trusted¡­ but could you do me a favor?¡±


    ¡°What does the great one desire?¡± Nora¡¯s voices asked.


    He cleared his throat. ¡°Could you bring out Nora as she originally was? I¡¯m not asking you to change permanently, I just want to make sure she¡¯s still here. And I¡¯ll be able to tell by the way your soul fluctuates, so¡­ just help my unsettled minde to terms with this. I want to make sure she¡¯s still ok.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That can certainly be done. The rest of us will leave, and we humbly await our chance to return. Don¡¯t take too long though! It has been many years since we¡¯ve been let out!¡± The creature that Nora had be stood up, and with a hissing intake of air - she began to change once again. The vantack skin, the creepy smile and eyes, and her longer ck hair all vanished to disy what Nora had looked like before the entity calling itself ¡®Legion¡¯ had overtaken her. She was now an asian woman in her 30¡¯s, and didn¡¯t look anything but human.


    Only that her clothes had all burned up in the magma pit, and Riven was quick to take out a nket he used for sleeping before tossing it her way.


    Nora for her part caught it without dy and wrapped it around her body, giving him a thankful nod and shuddering. But there wasn¡¯t any dy in her thought process - and the only signs that she was having any trouble adjusting to the reverted state was a rapid blinking and a slight unsteadiness that was corrected with a supporting arm by Fay.


    Nora shuddered again. ¡°That was¡­ That was different. I¡¯ve never connected with them like that before. Not that deeply.¡±


    ¡°So you know what they are?¡± Riven asked, curious but also relieved as the same soul signature he¡¯d grown ustomed to from Nora had returned. He was certain - it was her. ¡°Care to exin?¡±


    Nora opened her mouth, closed it, and then nodded. ¡°Yeah. I can do that. Just give me a little bit of time, some sleep, and some food¡­ and then I will discuss everything that I remember. Those memories¡­ they¡¯d been locked away. But now they¡¯re back, and boy do I have quite the history to tell you about.¡±

 Chapter 294

    Chapter294


    <strong>Chapter</strong><strong> 294</strong>


    Kara sat cross-legged, wide eyed and frightened, but also a little bit excited to be included in such a group. They¡¯d all decided to take a breather after the events of thest floor, and she finally found herself wing her way back up out of the pit of despair she¡¯d flung herself into¡­ after her original party from her homnd had left her to die or leave the descent altogether.


    She¡¯d thought she¡¯d die down here. Returning back home withoutpleting 40 floors was literally not an option for her. She¡¯d be shunned and cast out by her family if she failed, her honor marred, and that in itself would be a death sentence as she¡¯d lose the protection of her family name - leaving her a prime target for the one likely responsible for this entire situation to begin with. And if she wasn¡¯t killed? She¡¯d likely be enved, which would be even worse. No, going back withoutpleting all 40 floors was no option at all, and getting the system¡¯s official stamp of approval after turning out that aplishment was the only path forward.


    ¡°Doing alright down there?¡± Riven asked as he and Fay walked by holding hands. They both gave her a pleasant smile and Fay even waved.


    ¡°U-uhm, yes. I¡¯m fine! Thanks for asking.¡± Kara replied with a nervous nod. Her eyes found the subus rather curious, as Fay¡¯srge ram¡¯s horns had disappeared. In ce of them were smaller ones that allowed her to wear a purple witch¡¯s hat that fit with the rest of her getup. ¡°Did¡­ did your horns change, Fay?¡±


    Fay blinked, then nodded while bringing up her hands to touch the smaller pointed hornsing out of her forehead. ¡°Oh these?! Yes. Much like Ath, but to a far lesser extent, I¡¯m able to shape-shift parts of my body in various ways. I canpletely retract my wings, tail, and horns without using my illusions - and if need be, can make them revert to their original forms. This is how I used to look before bing an archdemon, but if I choose to keep them like this - or if I have them retracted entirely - then I don¡¯t receive the benefits therger horns would provide me. The thing is, I can¡¯t wear this hat with myrger ram¡¯s horns! It¡¯s a pain.¡±


    ¡°You could just ditch the hat.¡± Riven winked and gave her a yful nudge with his hips. ¡°Or you could have Ath modify it, stitching it up to fit your big head.¡±


    ¡°Heyyy! I don¡¯t have a big head, you jerk!¡± Fay scowled back and jabbed him in the ribs to produce a yelp. ¡°And no! You gave me this hat, it is sentimental now and I want to keep it.¡±


    Kara watched the two flirt back and forth with one another for a solid minute as Riven teased the subus while she pretended to get angry. For the first time in a while, Kara felt a genuine smile pulling at the corners of her lips.She held the new bow she¡¯d been gifted to her chest and took in a shallow breath. The enormous building-sized me demon she¡¯de to know as Azmoth was kneeling over their group while the others slept, protective even despite Elysium¡¯s promise to keep them and their belongings intact while on Floor 21. Genua and Ath were busy making baby clothes, with Ath teaching the elf thrall how to sew and being rather patient with the high elf even despite Genua¡¯s absoluteck of talent. Fimrindle was meditating at the Death-attuned teal-colored sun across the room, but he was the only one having started to cultivate as the rest of this rather unorthodox mix of demons and undead were simply taking a break for the day and waiting for Narg the beholder demon to respawn.


    Allie was in a deep conversation with Retesh, the angel of death and elder lich being two creatures that Kara would never have expected to meet - much less be party to while here in the descent. On her world they were creatures of legend, and even here in the abyss they were somewhat rare to see. Especially the angel. Fallen angels were hard enough toe by, but angels attuned to death were not only rarer - but also significantly more powerful on average as each of them werebeled ¡®Heroes¡¯ of Death, which added the title¡¯s additional benefits whatever they may be. Kara would have asked, but out of everyone here it was Allie that seemed most stand-offish. Theplete opposite of her vampire brother.


    Nora was probably the one Kara had the least interest in getting to know though. She was creepy, to say the least, and she¡¯d even reverted back to that sickly hive-mind demonic form she had - and was having conversations with herself; letting out giggles here or there and even growls. To Kara, it seemed like Nora had absolutely lost her mind - but ording to Riven she was just getting to know her ¡®Others¡¯. Whatever those were.


    Regardless, she did not belong. Looking around at the group, she couldn¡¯t identify any of them¡­ but she could certainly feel their passive auras. She¡¯d also seen what at least two of them could do, and Riven had spent billions of Elysium coins in order to add her to their party. A favor that she knew she¡¯d literally never be able to repay as she probably wouldn¡¯t see that amount of money in her lifetime, and a sum that would have bankrupted her family and possibly even her entire n. What did that imply about his background? It was certainly no simple sum any F or E grade had a right to possess in any normal situation. Just who was he? HOW did he have three contracted ARCH-demons as familiars? And what were the strange archaic tattoos he had stered in ck ink along his otherwise white skin? Even his eyes were abnormal, being a deep ck sclera with central brightly glowing crimson pupils - with most vampires not showing either of those traits.


    Riven had also effortlessly smashed aside the relentless tidal wave of abyssal monsters like it was nothing for nearly an entire day without pause, making the other ¡®champions¡¯ of their individual teams look like toddlers, and Nora had taken out the central giant of her event to consume and absorb it. And Nora was supposed to be one of their weakest! Meanwhile Kara couldn¡¯t evenst a small amount of time in the Champions bracket and had nearly died, there¡¯s no way she would havested the extended time period she¡¯d received aftere down here without a party. She was lucky enough to be alive even this far, and she¡¯d resigned herself to death before Riven had gone out of his way to help her.


    Whoever this Lillith person was, Kara was quite happy she¡¯d been snatched away. Not that she wished ill on this stranger, but it¡¯d certainly saved her life and Kara was pretty sure that out of all the parties she¡¯d seen - this one had what it took to go all the way if anyone did.


    Or perhaps she was just overestimating them, or maybe it was wishful thinking on her part that the people who¡¯d taken her in would do well. Floor 50 was almost unattainable by most standards though, so she couldn¡¯t help but worry. Even getting to Floor 40 was considered a near impossible task by most and that was why-


    ¡°Kara! Oh my, is that really you!?¡± A familiar feminine voice tinged with amusement and disbelief shouted out to her, and she froze rigidly in ce.


    It wasn¡¯t Riven or Fay either, they¡¯d walked off after realizing Kara had been lost in her own thoughts. She¡¯d tuned them out when they¡¯d started getting into dangerously flirtatious conversations that made her blush, when the jealousy had started setting in. To have someone as utterly rich and that ridiculously handsome as that was just not even fair. This voice however - was something entirely different. It pierced through heryers of distraction, like an electric bolt running through her body, and she even felt her heart clench at the sickly sweet voice.


    ¡°IT IS KARA! We¡¯ve FOUND YOU Kara!!!¡± The voice echoed loudly with a high pitchedugh after the fact, creating somewhat of a scene as many of the other groups in meditation or at rest within the vicinity began to re in their direction.


    Wiping away a strand of white hair and bringing it up into a ponytail, Kara shakily got to her feet and lifted her eyes to find none other than the focal point of all her mncholy and sorrow as ofte: the woman named Zafima Chinwa.


    Zafima Chinwa was the fourth daughter of the Supreme Emperor¡¯s favorite concubine in the Empire of Purturis; an enchantress wearing a long golden dress that hugged her body like a tight sleeve with long dangling gold earrings that hung down to her breasts. Another drow, like most of the people that weren¡¯t ves but who lived in the empire. Zafima was very pretty, with long legs and a slender build with a number of pristine white-gold ornaments decorating her hair as it came down into a braid behind her. An aplished swordsman and battle priestess, she was well respected and held sway in the royal courts even despite not being an official princess - and she¡¯d had it out for Kara for the past year; the reasons being unknown. Kara¡¯s guess was that the other young woman was simply just cruel, as was a known thing amongst the younger generation of lords anddies of the courts, and Kara was probably an easy target as she was only the 7th daughter of the Ashen Sage with little to no political sway. Zafima¡¯s mother also didn¡¯t like Kara¡¯s family much, with a history that preceded Kara¡¯s birth, and having Kara fail an impossible test or having her die in the attempt would be the equivalent to a backhanded p to Kara¡¯s father after everything that had happened. It was a long andplicated series of events, with Kara being the unwilling participant and eventual victim at the end of the day, a pawn in the piece of political maneuvering that would likely see her dead. Be it her disgraced father killing her foring back empty handed and bringing him shame, or be it by losing her family¡¯s name and protection should she fail - leaving her an easier target for Zafima who seemed to delight in tormenting her.


    And Kara certainly hadn¡¯t been the first to fall to the schemes of Zafima either. Rumor had it that there was still one man that she kept as a ve locked in her basement to tease and torture at will after her concubine-mother set her sights on another man to unleash her family¡¯s furry on.


    ¡°Lady Zafima Chinwa.¡± Kara said with a tight expression and a stiff back. ¡°I¡­ Did not expect you to be here.¡±


    Riven and Fay had turned to look, while the others of their group simply nced over and resumed their original activities. And from behind Zafima while crossing the distance between arger group of thirty or so people, another two dark elves and a vampire; all men. While Zafima wore a form fitting golden dress with a wand at her side and pretty ornaments in her hair, the two drow men had their hair cropped short and wore hoods over stylized green scale armor with obsidian trimming. The armor looked sturdy, but light and flexible, and it was intermixed with various leather pieces such as their boots or hard leather scabbards over the scimitars at their sides. One was younger than the other with a short cropped white beard, while the older man had a long scar running down across his jaw and neck. She recognized the older scarred man as her old party leader, Numin, and he¡¯d been the man who¡¯d been paid off to leave her behind.


    Paid to leave by the vampire standing next to him, who was likely an agent of Zafima if they were all standing together.


    The vampire was handsome and young - probably 19 or so by the looks of him, but then again vampires were a hard call on age even by the standards of elves. He had ck hair styled into a t mohawk, with red eyes that weren¡¯t quite as bright as Riven¡¯s - but gave off a dull crimson glow nheless. A long red cape was draped over one shoulder, with satin pants and a in white vest; while a long rune-inscribed chain with a strangely rounded de at the end was rolled up at his other side and attached to his waist. He wore a self-satisfied smirk while maintaining eye contact with Zafima, and crossed his arms to look her up and down before standing a foot away from her as she trembled in embarrassment, anger, and a mixture of other emotions that rapidly came and went.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you made it this far.¡± The vampire¡¯s silky smooth voice said, his fangs on disy as his smile widened. ¡°We all are. We were taking bets on whether or not you¡¯d die or leave, but our sources say your tracker is still active and in the abyss¡­ so we¡¯ve been waiting here for nearly five weeks.¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Kara¡¯s fists clenched around the bow she held down and in front of her, knuckles turning white as her nostrils red. She was having a very hard time notshing out at the bastard in front of her. She still didn¡¯t know his name, or how much he¡¯d paid her team at the request of Zafima, or why they¡¯d even went about it the way they did. But none of that mattered now. Instead, she stated a more simple question:


    ¡°Why were you all waiting for me?¡± Kara asked with a quivering voice, though she kept her expression as stoic as she could. ¡°Have you not embarrassed me enough? Have you all not already HUMILIATED me in countless ways and condemned me to death? What purpose would waiting here serve you, other than to see me suffer further?¡±


    Kara¡¯s eyes began to get wet, and she waved a hand at the sorceress Zafima, the drow man Numin who¡¯d been on her team originally, and the vampire who¡¯d seduced her and robbed her blind. ¡°Why? Why go through all of this just to torment me?¡±


    After a quick, whispered discussion with Numin - the unnamed younger drow warrior she¡¯d not really talked to much even after hiring him onto her team to get here took off without a second look back and headed towards the group they¡¯de from.


    But the vampire who¡¯d stolen her belongings after sleeping with Kara shrugged, smirked, and nced over at Zafima who was stifling augh. He also made a show of disying arge sack hanging from his waist as well, one that¡¯d been hidden underneath the red cape on one side. ¡°You ask me why? It¡¯s just business, girl. I got paid to do a job and I did it. The pay was good, the sex was just mediocre, but the ticket down with Zafima¡¯s team was more than worth it. I¡¯m pretty adept with seduction powers after learning from an incubus as a young man and I¡¯ve only gotten better with time, so when your drow superior here asked me to-¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not my superior.¡± Kara hissed, ring daggers at Zafima before realizing just what the vampire man was wearing. ¡°HEY! That¡¯s my bag!¡±


    ¡°Your bag?¡± The vampire asked while the other two drow eagerly watched on. He looked down at the sack, gasped, and put a hand up to his face to mock Kara. ¡°THIS old thing!? No, it¡¯s just a trash sack I keep around to shit in.¡±


    Kara¡¯s face went bright red, or as red as a dark elf could physically go, and the teardrops came fast and furious as her whole body began visibly shaking. Rage, pain, humiliation - she wanted to hide under a rock. But more than that, she wanted her bag back. ¡°That bag has my mother¡¯s notebook in it. Can I please have it back?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not yours anymore.¡± The vampire said with a raised nose, grinning down at her and taking a step backwards with hands outstretched. ¡°Sorry. Finders keepers¡­ You sad, sad excuse for an abyssal descender. How is it that you even got this far? You still haven¡¯t told us.¡±


    ¡°I said, give - it - BACK!¡± Kara screamed, fists clenched and stomping her right foot, as the vampire and Zafima both began tough.


    The vampire man pretended to think, raised a finger, and shook his head. ¡°No, no, no¡­ I don¡¯t think I will. It¡¯s mine. I took it fair and square. And as for your mother¡¯s notebook¡­ is it sentimental? I¡¯d heard your mother died. But I¡¯ve been tearing pieces out of it to wipe my ass with¡­¡±


    Slowly drawing out a thin, brown booklet - the vampire showed off her mother¡¯s notebook after pulling it from a pocket in the back of his pants. Smiling wickedly, he began waving it back and forth in front of her. ¡°Here¡­ take it.¡±


    Kara didn¡¯t have to be told twice. She reached out to take it from him, before a burst of light illuminated the area - and her mother¡¯s notebook was eradicated with a small explosion of hellfire.


    Kara remained utterly shellshocked, mouth agape, lips quivering as the ashes of the paper and leather bindings of the small book drifted as ash towards the floor.


    ¡°Ooops.¡± The vampireughed with a shrug and another step back. Then looking down, he began to rummage through her sack. ¡°I wonder what else I can find in here! Odd that you don¡¯t even carry a true spacial sack and use this piece of shit whileing here. Surely you¡¯re not THAT poor, are you? Or is it because you¡¯re the 7th daughter and basically considered trash as thest in line for your father¡¯s mantle? Did they not outfit you properly on purpose?¡±


    Kara barely heard him. Her knees hit the floor, and she gasped, grabbing at the small cinders and ckened pieces of paper slowly fluttering to the floor. Teardrops sttered onto the strange gray stone of what they stood on, and Kara felt like she was going to vomit. ¡°M-Mom¡­¡±


    ¡°HAAAAAAA-ha-ha¨Cha-haaaa!!¡± Zafima began bellowing withughter, the vampire joining her, as Numin - Kara¡¯s ex team mate - just grimaced slightly. But the man did not intervene.


    ¡°HOW PATHETIC!¡± Zafima roared, cackling like a woman gone wild while hovering over the sobbing figure beneath her. She grinned maniacally down at Kara, but did not touch her, as she leaned in close to whisper in her ear. ¡°Truly pathetic¡­ Just like that father of yours. Just like your <strong><em>mother</em></strong> was when she died¡­¡±


    ¡°You BITCH!¡± Kara snapped. The next instant, before she knew what she was doing, her hand reached back for a dagger at her waist. shing forward to stab Zafima through the throat with a primal scream of rage, she was abruptly stopped when red threads wrapped around her wrist to hold her back.


    The dagger was only a centimeter away from Zafima¡¯s throat, and the sorceress hadn¡¯t moved. In fact, she looked rather annoyed as she shot an irritated re in the direction the threads wereing from. Her annoyance turned into surprise within the next second, and she stood erect - taking a step back as a slow p began toe closer over the sound of footsteps.


    ***


    ¡°Congrattions.¡± Riven said, ending his slow p with lids lowered in an expression of disgust before putting his hands behind his back. ¡°You people put on a real show. I¡¯m almost impressed. The notebook was especially maniacal. Props to you, lesser.¡±


    Riven¡¯s red eyes shed, casually looking down on the other vampire with the obvious reference to the man¡¯s bloodline. In the short time spent interacting with other vampires on Panu and within the Blood Moon Requiem, it¡¯d be obvious that vampires took bloodlines very seriously - and being a pureblood himself, he was at the top of the vampiric social hierarchy even outside of being a prince to an S-grade faction.


    The jab was therefore obvious, and the vampire snarled in Riven¡¯s direction - but he looked rather uncertain as to whether or not he should retort. ncing from Riven to the others of Riven¡¯s group that were now all staring at him, the neer nced at Zafima before taking another step back.


    ¡°Kara.¡± Riven said, slowly letting his eyes fall to the sobbing woman Ath had restrained. ¡°They were attempting to bait you into attacking them. Or to get you to try and take your stuff back, which would be considered against the rules of this floor.¡±


    Pulling up the previous notification for emphasis so she could re-read it, he pushed the hologram into Kara¡¯s line of sight.


    <strong>[Floor 21, The Unholy Throne, is now open to you. As promised, by passing Floor 20, you are now permitted insight into one of your paths. You may mentally connect with The Unholy Throne whenever you deem yourself ready, choosing any single sun of those avable here for a free insight; and when all of your party members are done - you may pick another team for a joint operation for Floor 22: Ocean of Wrath. Merely notify Elysium when you are ready to proceed to Floor 22. Elysium will protect you while on this floor, and no harm maye to you or your possessions while here - so as to not disturb your meditation. The majority of identification information will continue to be unavable until Floor 40.]</strong>


    Ath came over to pat Kara on the back, and then helped the silently sobbing dark elf to her feet with a grunt. ¡°If you¡¯d attacked or stolen from them, you¡¯d be banished from the descent. Maybe killed.¡±


    ¡°My guess is banishment, based on what I¡¯ve seen so far. You said you¡¯d rather die than fail?¡± Riven asked, turning his gaze away from Kara to eye the unsettled drow and the vampire. Others from the collection of groups they¡¯d left ining over here to talk were now paying attention to the confrontation with increasing curiosity. ¡°Which is probably why they¡¯ve been waiting for you here. They wanted to make sure you failed and were sent back. Regardless, I paid good money for you to live. I can¡¯t have the newest member of our team be bested so easily.¡±


    Riven gave Kara a kind smile, and whispered in Ath¡¯s ear as the enchantress Zafima began to giggle again. ¡°Take her away. I will handle this.¡±


    ¡°So you found us out! Much smarter than this brutish bitch.¡± Zafima remarked, giving Kara a scathing look as she was led away. ¡°Who are you? And what is this nonsense about paying for her to live? She¡¯s on your team now? Why would you take on someone so useless? Did you buy her? Or did she just happen to seduce another vampire? Which is it?¡±


    Riven stared back with a nk expression, nced at the few dozen drow in the background where Zafima hade from, and then snorted. ¡°Are you all from the same ce?¡±


    Zafima frowned, not liking being ignored, but regained herposure with a confident straightening a secondter. ¡°Yes. The esteemed Purturis Empire. Universe 70.¡±


    Riven¡¯s ck and red eyes shifted over the lot of them, and then settled back onto the vampire - who was likely a greater vampire rather than a lesser, but he was still enjoying the deep-set anger imprinted on the man¡¯s face after the insult. ¡°I see. Zafima, was it?¡±


    ¡°Ady of the court at your service!¡± Zafima purred, stepping forward to get a better look at him with squinted eyes. ¡°You¡¯re rather handsome. What are those markings on your face for? I really wish the system restrictions on identification weren¡¯t gone. It¡¯d make things a lot easier.¡±


    ¡°Easier, how?¡± Riven asked.


    ¡°Easier to tell just how fucked you were after interfering with empire business.¡± She replied, a coldness setting into her tone. She took another step forward, getting within his personal space and sneering up at him as he calmly stared back down. ¡°If you are smart, you will leave that bitch out in the cold. All those drow behind me? My mother paid for them to follow me here, or paid them to switch sides once they got here. Those that refused are now dead, just like you will be if you keep Kara ckbow in your party exiting this floor. It is true we can¡¯t attack you here, but the moment you leave - you¡¯ll be a target for nine different groups. Is that what you¡¯d like?¡±


    Riven raised one eyebrow, an amused smile ying at one corner of his lips. ¡°Consider me¡­ intimidated.¡±


    Zafima¡¯s eyebrow twitched, and she was about to reply when another shout sounded out with Riven¡¯s name on the air.


    ¡°Is that the great and esteemed Riven Thane I see!?¡±


    Riven turned, and in doing so - the drow and unknown vampire who¡¯d been antagonizing Kara all turned with him.


    There,ing across the space between them and the closest sun, was none other than the quite obnoxious Prince Narzkal Rantali. This particr prince was also a vampire and had been the man trying and failing to get into the Firebrand Trading Company - in order to acquire a ck phoenix pendant as a gift for his sick fiance. Riven had taken pity and a slight liking to the man by the end of their short encounter with one another, despite his obnoxiousness.


    ¡°THAT IS YOU! I DEMAND AN AUDIENCE WITH THE ESTEEMED ONE!¡± The vampire prince was well dressed with an extravagant longsword hanging at his side, handsome, with slicked blonde hair and fangs on disy as he grinned. Meanwhile he made animated gestures back and forth to get Riven¡¯s attention while approaching - even hopping up and down in a very unbing way considering the man was a prince. Behind Prince Narzkal Rantali was his entourage of three other vampires, and a bald human man in rags and shackles was being dragged along as well.


    For Zafima¡¯s part, her eyes widened in shock - and her threatening intent vanished immediately. She quickly made sure her hair was neatly done and that her dress had no wrinkles while stepping forward to intercept the prince. ¡°Esteemed one!? Surely you¡¯re not speaking about me, your majesty! What are the chances that you were HERE of all ces!? Surely it is fate!¡±


    Riven¡¯s eyebrow raised higher.


    And as for Prince Narzkal Rantali, of The Kingdom of Garth - he seemed to stumble to a halt before frowning down at Zafima who was beaming back at him with wide-eyed adoration. The vampire prince nced between Riven, then her. ¡°Zafima Chinwa? How are you here? And no, I¡¯m afraid I was not speaking to you. I was speaking to that man over there. Riven Thane is a great man, as I¡¯m sure you were finding out for yourself since you were in such close proximity just a moment ago!¡±


    Prince Rantali gave Riven a wink. ¡°Getting around are you? Your tastes are broadening! Zafima is quite a charmer at the yearly balls my family throws in Garth! Perhaps you¡¯d be willing toe if she was your date?¡±


    The prince came up with a hardyugh, pping Riven¡¯s shoulder and smiling widely. ¡°Ah, who am I kidding! For the man who saved my fiance¡¯s life, I might as well give you a hug!¡±


    Laughing and throwing his arms around Riven, whose eyelids were drooping in a very unamused way while he let the other prince cackle with delight upon having found him so unexpectedly, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh.


    ¡°I would appreciate a little personal space, buddy. But it¡¯s good to see you too.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Of course! Of course.¡± Prince Rantali immediately let go with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his neck with another almost nervousugh as Zafima, Kara¡¯s ex team-mate Numin, and the unknown vampire seducer all gawked at the interaction.


    Zafima¡¯s expression did backflips all on its own, registering confusion, startled apprehension, disbelief, and then finally - horror. It was very obvious to Riven that she somehow knew Prince Narzkal Rantali, and if he remembered correctly - The Kingdom of Garth was in Universe 70 just like the drow Empire of Purturis. For all he knew, the two factions were likely neighbors, and he was pretty certain given her demeanor that she¡¯d realized she¡¯d fucked up. How badly she¡¯d fucked up was still in the air, as he was seriously considering following her out of this ce when she left the floor in order to kill her and everyone else enlisted in this little scheme of hers against Kara. Not that he really even knew Kara that well, but based on what he¡¯d seen so far - he felt like he had sufficient enough evidence to ughter that entire group of dark elves immediately out of the gatee Floor 22.

 Chapter 295: (4 Chapters today)

    Chapter 295: (4 Chapters today)


    <strong>Chapter 295</strong>


    ¡°I was able to send that talisman you procured for me back to my fiance, with a note about how I obtained it. The blood rot she has will likely be gone within the next few weeks, and it¡¯s all thanks to you.¡± Prince Rantali stepped back with a more serious expression, and gave a low bow. He held it there for several seconds before raising again, and seemed genuinely happy after some moments of deep thought. ¡°Unfortunately I am not able tomunicate directly with her, so the runner will have to do in my absence as I continue my descent. Did you go straight through, or take the shortcut on the second floor?¡±


    ¡°Second floor.¡± Riven said with a nod and folding his arms. Casting a look over at the chained bald human in rags Prince Rantali was bringing along with his other vampire knights, who were outfitted in some seriously tacky golden armor that red at the edge of each piece - now that they¡¯d left the first floor - but they were the same men he¡¯d seen with the prince earlier. ¡°Who¡¯s the human?¡±


    ¡°Oh, him?¡± Prince Rantali let out augh with a hike of his thumb. ¡°Just a ve I bought in the city. Got himself mixed up in some bad bets, was captured after failing to pay, and now I¡¯m going to turn him into a thrall. The alternative would have been execution, so I¡¯m doing him a favor. He¡¯s not seeing it that way though, and has tried to escape more than once¡­ but I need a source of blood that isn¡¯t this garbage I have from the homnd.¡±


    The prince pulled out a sk of spiced blood and gave Riven a sniff.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t smell so bad to me.¡± Riven said with a small smile. ¡°Mind if I try it?¡±


    Prince Rantali raised his eyebrows and grinned, shoving the sk into Riven¡¯s hands. ¡°Certainly, go ahead! I have be used to the stuff. It is vored with Blue Rosenia Kilt, if you know what that is. But I doubt it as it¡¯s a nt native to my homeworld in Garth. I probably shouldn¡¯t call it ¡®garbage,¡¯ but when you drink it for days on end, having a live specimen is far better to drink from. Fresh, warm blood is always preferable. Wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Riven and the prince had entered their own little world at this point, ignoring Zafima and the others as they stood around watching with varying expressions - trying to make out just what was going on and how Riven knew the other man. And by Zafima¡¯s disbelief, she probably was trying to put together why Prince Rantali was treating Riven as an equal, or as a friend. Zara for her part was still crying, but silently, and had only followed Ath a few feet back while staring daggers at Zafima and the unknown vampire.


    Putting the sk to his lips, Riven down the whole thing in one go and closed his eyes with a nod of appreciation. He looked down, then up at the bald prisoner the prince had, thought about saying something - then shrugged. If the guy had tried to cheat someone out of betting and got the worse half of it, it wasn¡¯t Riven¡¯s ce to step in. Even with Kara¡¯s situation, he¡¯d almost killed her himself until briefly getting to know her - and had only taken pity on her initially because she¡¯d reminded him of Ath. Now he took pity on her due to her current situation revolving around her father and the forced single-yer descent she¡¯d undertaken due to scheming on what was likely Zafima¡¯s part.¡°This shit rocks!¡± Riven said,ughing and handing the sk back to the prince - who eagerly snapped his fingers at one of the knights in the background.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you like it, Riven, and I¡¯d be more than happy to provide you with some for your journey. Have you taken on a partnering group yet?¡± Prince Rantali asked curiously, pushing one hand through his blonde hair and then excepting a few more sks from one of the knights out of a spacial sack, giving them all to Riven who deposited them in is own momentster with a nod of appreciation.


    Riven thought about it, then shook his head. ¡°No. Not really. Any idea what the nextyer down is about?¡±


    ¡°Fortunately, yes.¡± The prince said eagerly, his eyes shining. ¡°The Abyssal Descent only has a few floors that stay regr throughout the eons without change. Floor 21 and 22 are some of them. I¡¯m surprised with your connections and, considering who you are, that you don¡¯t know this. Where is the Lady of the ck Skies, by the way? Is she not here?¡±


    ¡°She was supposed to be our guide down.¡± Riven admitted while scratching the back of his head. ¡°Eh¡­ Elysium didn¡¯t like the fact that she¡¯d already been through the ringer in ages past, and basically punished us for trying to cheat the system. She¡¯s trapped on Floor 50 and we have to get there to free her.¡±


    Prince Rantali looked shocked, then amused, and then burst intoughter. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry, I just didn¡¯t think Elysium took such personal interest in things like that! For anyone else, I¡¯d say Floor 50 would be impossible. For you? I¡¯d be surprised if you didn¡¯t make it. I¡¯m not even sure if there are floors past 50, to be honest.¡±


    ¡°Did¡­ Did you say Lady of the ck Skies?¡± The enchantress Zafima interrupted, getting both men to turn to her while nervously taking Riven in with a once-over. ¡°Prince Rantali, if I may ask¡­ how do you know this man? And what does referencing a historical figure such as the shade demoness have anything to do with what you¡¯re talking about? None of this makes sense.¡±


    Prince Rantali looked confused. ¡°They don¡¯t know? Have you not already introduced yourself?¡±


    Riven chuckled and shook his head. ¡°No, I have not. You see Kara over there?¡±


    He gestured at the silently crying drow elf where she was beingforted by Ath in a hushed conversation. Riven then sighed. ¡°She became the fifth member of my team as Lillith is now temporarily gone. We met on thest floor. Then these lovely people decided to antagonize her for reasons that aren''t entirely clear to me, so I was merely prying Kara away and removing her from the situation.¡±


    Prince Rantali¡¯s expression became grim. He remained silent for a time, staring at Kara and then Zafima. ¡°Did they offend you at all, in any way?¡±


    ¡°Zafima just threatened me a little bit, implying her empire would take care of me. Nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡±


    Prince Rantali choked on the air he breathed, but quickly regained hisposure. ¡°I see.¡±


    There was a long pause after that, as the prince stared at the ground. ¡°Is there any reason why you wouldn¡¯t want them to know who you are? May I enlighten them as to the gravity of what they¡¯ve just done? Honestly I would hate for this to have repercussions across my own homnd, as having a¡­ Having¡­ How do I put this?¡±


    Prince Rantali straightened and red at Zafima in a way that made her visibly recoil. ¡°I would hate for the destruction of your empire to impact my own kingdom¡¯s economy, as Garth highly depends on the continued friendship of the drow Empire of Purturis.¡±


    Zafima opened her mouth to speak, shocked and a little horrified at what Prince Rantali was implying here, and then nervously shot Riven a nce. Her voice was quivering, and uncertain. ¡°Surely this man cannot hold that kind of political power! I was merely-¡±


    ¡°Do you think that going about and randomly THREATENING people who are able to obtain tickets to this ce with the use of your empire¡¯s name as a threat is WISE!? You were <strong><em>merely</em></strong> not THINKING! I¡¯m half tempted to tell your emperor about this, given what repercussions it could have!¡± Prince Rantali snapped, stepping forward aggressively as the drow woman who he apparently knew to some extent, flinched. ¡°Your empire is considered a high D-grade faction only by the merit of your emperor and two other monarchs. As is mine! Just because your people acquired tickets to the descent due to a supremely lucky opportunity that Elysium handed down by nothing but chance, you think us equal to the overall caliber of those who arrive here under normal circumstances!? Zafima, do you know how I met this man?¡±


    She hesitantly shook her head, looking like a scolded child, and shifted from one foot to the other.


    ¡°I was BEGGING to be let into the Firebrand Trading Company so that I could HOPE to procure a ck phoenix amulet or an equivalent for my fiance. You¡¯ve heard she has blood rot, yes? She¡¯d have died if I couldn¡¯t get it, but the Firebrand Trading Company deals with B, A, and S-grade factions regrly! So do you know what they said to me when I attempted to get inside to view their wares?¡±


    She didn¡¯t reply, but merely stared.


    ¡°They denied me ess and repeatedly told me to get back to the end of the line.¡± Prince Rantali said, exasperated. ¡°Any time anyone of a known faction to them stepped forward, I was pushed back. It was a continual cycle of degrading myself in front of others despite the use of my name and house. Once, the guards evenughed at me and said I would not be able to afford such an item at all, even if I did get in. ME! And guess what!? They were right! I wouldn¡¯t have been able to procure one at all, I eventually found out, if not for him.¡±


    Prince Rantali pointed at Riven. ¡°This man walked up and, despite not knowing me, allowed me toe in with him. He arrived and immediately cut in front of all the other known scions of the upper echelons and had a private escort into their trading post. From there, I was given an amulet FREE of charge, just for knowing him, and can you guess at what that price would have been otherwise?¡±


    ¡°...What would the price have been?¡± Zafima timidly asked.


    ¡°One billion, six hundred million Elysium coins.¡± Prince Rantali said tly. ¡°They handed to me free of charge simply by walking in with Riven Thane. They called it <strong><em>¡®an investment¡¯</em></strong>, and asked that I return the favor one day if I ever get into his good graces. Even peak C-grade factions would dominate our two countriesbined,and The Abyssal Descent is full of ones far stronger than that. This man, Riven Thane, is the scion of such a faction.¡±


    Zafima¡¯s mouth fell open in astonishment, and she remained speechless while gawking at the prince, and then Riven. But it wasn¡¯t just horror and surprise anymore, but an enterprising light that began to intertwine itself as well. It was greed.


    ¡°I¡­ I give my sincere apologies to you, my lord.¡± Zafima said, prostrating herself on the floor in exaggerated fashion. ¡°I did not know you were a man of such high standing! Please, allow me to make up for my poor judgement! I am sure that we cane to some ord!¡±


    Riven¡¯s lip curled in disgust, but he did well in hiding it. ¡°To answer your question, Prince Rantali¡­ I prefer not to have people know who I am for a few reasons.¡±


    He noted that Kara had returned with Ath, and was now listening intently while struggling to contain her confusion and her residing anger towards the enchantress kneeling on the floor. ¡°For one, I like to be treated like a normal human being.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re anything but human.¡±


    ¡°Ha! Yes, I know. That¡¯s an entirely different story, but it¡¯s a matter of speech. Anyways, I don¡¯t like being worshiped. It feels off. And more than that, with Lillith gone, I don¡¯t want others knowing who I am either.¡± He turned his ck and red eyes towards Prince Rantali and put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°There are many knives in the dark, and I have already had assassination attempts upon my life more than once. From others within the Blood Moon Requiem, and from the Church of Greed. You probably heard something about thest attempt up on the first floor of the descent, but even if you hadn¡¯t¡­ just know it wasn¡¯t pretty. The less people that know about me, the better. However, now that you¡¯ve already nted the seed and she¡¯ll no doubt go around asking. Already we¡¯ve drawn too much attention to ourselves, and I¡¯m not as forgiving as I used to be.¡±


    Riven¡¯s hand fell, and both Kara and Zafima went rigid when they heard the names ¡®Blood Moon Requiem¡¯ and ¡®Church of Greed¡¯. Prince Rantali had put together who he was based off rumors alone, as vampire societies were few and far between and the Blood Moon Requiem was one of the best. However, Riven didn¡¯t know whether or not the drow would do the same. Even if they didn¡¯t, how many other people in other groups could hear them talk from where they sat? Most probably had a less vested interest in demonic and vampiric undertakings, but he didn¡¯t want her poking about and drawing attention to how far he¡¯d made it on the trek down. He could still have assassins from The Church of Greeding after him, or another faction disgruntled with him in The Blood Moon Requiem sending out their own to take him down. People like Elder Thune, or some of the less savory members of his own House Wraithtide that didn¡¯t like how he was changing things revolving around the ves there.


    He made his decision. ¡°Zafima, you¡¯ll be leaving the descent after you¡¯re done here. I won¡¯t chance you seeking revenge on Kara, and I¡¯m feeling a bit petty. I don¡¯t like bullies. If you choose to ignore my warning, I¡¯ll simply kill you and everyone else involved with you.¡±


    Zafima¡¯s demeanor abruptly changed, and she lifted her head with a panicked expression. ¡°NO! I cannot leave this ce! The number of tickets are limited, and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to perfect my soulttice! We don¡¯t have cultivation resources like this at home, and I will be stunting my growth forever if my foundations aren¡¯t settled properly! You would be stripping me of one of the greatest chances to cultivate in my life!¡±


    ¡°Zafima!¡± Prince Rantali hissed. ¡°Know your ce!¡±


    Riven waved a hand to dismiss the prince¡¯s chiding. ¡°Then you will die. If you don¡¯t believe me, that is fine. But one of my demons has a tracking ability, and even if you were to leave now¡­ I could simply follow you afterwards and catch up. My bet is that I¡¯ll be able to do so rather easily. Either leave after your people are done with their insights, or move on to the next floor and take a bet that you can either beat me in a fight - which is highly unlikely despite your numbers - or that you¡¯ll be able to outrun me. Which is also unlikely. And I don¡¯t care if you believe me or not, but what you believe won¡¯t influence the oue should you choose to continue onwards. The result would be the same. It¡¯s your call to make.¡±


    ***


    Riven sat in silence, tinkering with different crafting materials he¡¯did around him to create and disassemble various totems. He practiced infusing soul shards and releasing them, practiced changing the various patterns of runes, and modified different aspects of graphics that his gnome teacher had given him to experiment with. He was quickly finding out that different ingredients reacted differently with graphic and runebinations, and the results were fascinating.


    ¡°Riven?¡± Kara asked hesitantly, her head on Ath¡¯sp nearby - who¡¯d taken an unusual pitying approach to the depressed and younger dark elf woman. ¡°Who are you really?¡±


    ¡°Is that really important?¡± Riven asked, getting irritated when one of the solidified orbs of condensed mana shattered in his hand after attempting to infuse it with a particr nt leaf¡¯s essence.


    Kara looked to her bow, and wiped at her face with a grunt of appreciation as Athbed her hair back with her fingers. ¡°I overheard you saying that you¡¯re worried about assassins. You also mentioned The Blood Moon Requiem, and The Church of Greed. I¡¯m familiar with both, but intricately so. Are these the factions youe from? Or are they your enemies?¡±


    Riven shook his head, and noted that his beholder demon Narg still had another 10 hours left until respawn. ¡°The Church of Greed wants me dead, but The Blood Moon Requiem and I are affiliated. There are other agents within The Blood Moon Requiem that want me gone too, for political reasons, but not most.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Just tell her already!¡± Fay said, waltzing over absolutely drunk in nothing but her tight white undergarments with a shit-eating grin. She had arge bottle of wine in one hand, and a tray of assorted food in the other that she¡¯d prepared with Azmoth - who had reduced his size and stature down to what his original form had been before his ascension into being an archdemon. He was still huge and muscr, but not titanically so.


    His wings were still there though, even with his reduced size, and were folded against his back.


    ¡°You¡¯re being wayyyy to leery of people.¡± Fay continued, huping and leaning against his shoulder after passing the food tray to Ath. ¡°This is a safe zone, there aren¡¯t going to be assassins here that can hurt us! And the big eyeball guy isn¡¯t going to be here for a while either. Rx!¡±


    Riven let his eyes wander over her exposed muscture and curves for a while, not even pretending to hide that he was checking her out, and went back to putting together totems. ¡°As much as I appreciate how attractive you are, you really should put on some clothes while in public.¡±


    ¡°Are you jealous that all the other men over there are staring?¡± Fay teased, giggling and winking at him while gesturing to numerous other groups that had their members eyeballing her lithe blue body.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m a jealous guy.¡±


    Athughed. ¡°Maybe I should start undressing too!¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Oh it¡¯ll be fun to watch you squirm!¡±


    Riven harrumphed. ¡°Azmoth, we need to get more guys in this group. We¡¯re being outnumbered, and you don¡¯t talk much.¡±


    Azmoth¡¯s obsidian teeth widened with amusement. ¡°I think the same thing. Sorry I not talk much, Riven. I am still learning, still young, still new. I take in environment and try to figure out how act as I grow up. It hard, but I try.¡±


    ¡°Nah man, you¡¯re good. But if you ever want an in depth conversation about the meanings of life, hit a brotha up.¡± Riven waved his hands over the unfinished totem pieces and they were dragged into his spatial sack in the next instant. Pulling out a chess board instead, he ced it between himself and Azmoth while slightly turning to orient his body. ¡°ck or white?¡±


    ¡°ck.¡±


    Riven turned the board, and made the first move by pushing his pawn out two spaces in front of the queen. As the game continued, he epted a small drink of the wine bottle in Fay¡¯s hand and gave her a kiss before ruffling her hair. ¡°I take back what I said earlier, I¡¯m sorry. You can dress however you want, but I do get jealous. That¡¯s just something I¡¯ll have to work on.¡±


    Fay¡¯s ck eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Uh¡­ Oh! Oh, you were being serious! I didn¡¯t realize¡­ Oh wow. Yes, I¡¯ll go change now!¡±


    She began to get up, but was pulled back down and into Riven¡¯s right arm.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not necessary.¡± Riven said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll get over it. I won¡¯t be the controlling type, so I¡¯ll shut up.


    ¡°Controlling type? You¡¯ve almost never given any of your minions a single actualmand!¡± Ath protested with arms outstretched. ¡°Except for maybe once or twice, I can¡¯t think of almost anything!¡±


    Fay blinked, softened her expression, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. ¡°Ok. But I really am sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to ignore you, I thought you were just teasing me again. How is it that YOU of all people can get jealous? That¡¯s our role!¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± Ath confirmed with a sagely nod. ¡°You have nothing to worry about Riven, that we promise you. WE on the other hand have to worry about crazy bitches left and right. Do you KNOW how many elf servants at your manor we¡¯ve had to tie up and leave in the dungeon so they wouldn¡¯t try to jump your bones? We don¡¯t need more Genua¡¯s.¡±


    Genua gave her a sharp look.


    ¡°Indeed!¡± Fayughed, giving him a firm squeeze. ¡°It feels good to hear it though. It means you care. Now, are you going to tell Kara or am I going to have to tell her for you? It¡¯s not like you¡¯re going to be able to hide it forever. I mean look! That evil bitch Zafima and your prince friend are still deep in discussion about you and your proposed threat! Or at least that¡¯s what I assume they¡¯re still talking about.¡±


    They all looked over to where Zafima and herpanions, along with Prince Rantali, had joined thergerbined group of multiple parties. They were talking in low tones that were too faint for anyone to hear, and asionally Riven and his friends had quick-snap nces or gestures in his direction.


    ¡°Name dropping The Blood Moon Requiem and Church of Greed were probably dead giveaways.¡± Ath said with a shrug. ¡°Won¡¯t take a genius to put that together.¡±


    ¡°Well I certainly haven¡¯t.¡± Kara replied with a pout. ¡°This isn¡¯t fair.¡±


    ¡°I spared your life after you attempted to kill me in your assumption that I was THAT prick.¡± Riven said, pointing to the vampire with the red cape over his right shoulder in the distance. ¡°How did you confuse me for HIM!? We look nothing alike!¡±


    Kara blushed in embarrassment, and hid her face with one arm. ¡°I was not in the right state of mind.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say?¡±


    Kara nodded, still avoiding eye contact. ¡°I thought I was going to die, I was desperate, and I wanted to vent. I wasn¡¯t thinking properly.¡±


    ¡°She was having a nervous breakdown.¡± Ath grunted. ¡°You should see it when Riven has nervous breakdowns. He starts to cry and il his arms about, and he even shit himself once.¡±


    Fay snorted augh.


    ¡°That¡¯s not even remotely funny.¡± Riven replied, putting a rook three spaces forward on the chessboard before surrendering his turn to Azmoth. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be telling Kara about my reactive bowel movements while under stress, it¡¯s not something I can control.¡±


    Ath burst intoughter along with Fay. Allie for her part dramatically rolled her eyes while writing in a journal of some kind as she and Retesh went over ritual death magic together, and Kara shifted her arm so she could get a better look at them to see whether or not this was a joke.


    ¡°This potty humor bad.¡± Azmoth said with a judgemental shake of his head. ¡°Bad and sad. Azmoth is disappointed.¡±


    ¡°Azmoth is the voice of reason here.¡± Genua elegantly called out, her back straight while practicing knitting and attempting to make baby clothes with a ball of thread Ath had given to her. ¡°She turned her red gaze upon the others. ¡°That¡¯s a joke my daughter Len would appreciate, and she¡¯s not even ten years old.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Ath¡¯s fault.¡±


    ¡°MY FAULT!?¡±


    ¡°You started this. It¡¯s 100% your fault. I take no me.¡±


    ¡°Riven! Hasn¡¯t Allie taught you better than that!? The man is ALWAYS at fault!¡±


    Allie raised a hand. ¡°Agreed! It¡¯s definitely Riven¡¯s fault!¡±


    Moreughter ensued.


    Riven rolled his eyes like he usually did and couldn¡¯t contain his growing smile. It was good to be around friends, even if they were all unbelievably immature sometimes. ¡°Alright Kara, how about this. I¡¯ll tell you who and what I am, but you¡¯ve got to promise not to treat me any differently afterwards. I really don¡¯t like the nauseating groveling treatment some people put forward. Is that a deal?¡±


    Kara slowly nodded and sat up from where she¡¯d beenying her head on Ath¡¯s thigh. Sniffling, she gave the group a once-over. ¡°Yeah. Of course. You¡¯ve done so much for me already, there¡¯s not much more that you could say that¡¯d change my mind about you. And¡­ I wanted to say thanks, for sticking up for me back there.¡±


    She became silent for a few seconds, and shook herself out of the far away look that¡¯d crossed her face. ¡°Can I guess first though? I feel like that¡¯s a fun game to y.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Alright, guess away then!¡±


    Kara tapped a finger to her chin, narrowing her eyes. ¡°Hmmm. How about¡­ you¡¯re a duke¡¯s son, and a member of a noble house in The Blood Moon Requiem? And¡­ you¡¯re a warlock, so you made a bad deal with a demon and the Church of Greed has a bounty on your head for it.¡±


    ¡°What would a <strong><em>¡®bad deal¡¯</em></strong> imply?¡± Riven asked.


    Kara shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know! But is my guess correct then!?¡±


    Riven paused. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°No!? Just No? Did I get ANY of it right?¡±


    Riven bobbed his head side to side, and took another one of Azmoth¡¯s bishops - getting an irritated grumbling growl from therge me demon across from him. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well what did I get right then!?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m associated with a noble house from The Blood Moon Requiem. The Church of Greed does have a bounty on my head as well. But that¡¯s it. I am not a duke¡¯s son, nor did I make a bad deal with a demon that has the Church of Greed after me. They were after me from the start.¡±


    Kara pooched her lips, and looked to Ath and Fay for guidance - but they both stayed silent.


    ¡°This is your guessing game, you¡¯re the one who wanted to try!¡± Ath cackled at the pleading look she got. ¡°Go on!¡±


    Kara huffed and folded her arms. ¡°Alright, does the Church of Greed have anything to do with those tattoos on your face?¡±


    Riven stopped mid-way cing a pawn forward on the board. ¡°Somewhat, but not entirely.¡±


    ¡°Does your entrance into the descent have anything to do with that big battle between The Church of Gluttony and The Church of Greed that happened on floor 1? I didn¡¯t see it for myself, but I¡¯ve heard about it from people who started the descent after me. When two S-grade factions sh it makes for quick rumors¡­ even if it is only their younger generations.¡±


    Riven nodded. ¡°Yes. It had everything to do with me. They were trying to kill me and it was one of the assassination attempts on my life.¡±


    Kara paled slightly, and became quiet. It wasn¡¯t for another five minutes of silence on her part and a resetting of the chess board after Riven¡¯s victory that she finally spoke again. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that The Church of Gluttony protected you from The Church of Greed.¡±


    It was a statement, not a question.


    Riven therefore remained silent.


    Kara started looking sick, her eyes lingering on the living armor on Riven¡¯s chest depicting the great maw. She shifted her hips uneasily and drew her knees up against her chest, covering part of her face to stare at him. ¡°Can wee back to that?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Silence regained a foothold.


    ¡°You¡¯re a prince of The Blood Moon Requiem.¡± She eventually said, her words crisp.


    Riven nodded. ¡°Correct again.¡±


    Kara¡¯s nostrils red, her eyes widened, and she stared at the ground beneath her feet while drawing her knees up more closely around her. ¡°How far are you along the line of session?¡±


    ¡°Originally I was 37th in line. I killed another prince, now I¡¯m 36th in line.¡±


    ¡°Is Allie a princess then?¡±


    ¡°Was a princess!¡± She called out without turning around as death magic red on an intricate diagram she and Retesh were drawing on the stone ground with teal me. ¡°Or at least, I think so. I assume I gave up that right when I shunned the Blood God and became an Angel of Death. Maybe I should check on that.¡±


    Allie turned around with a wide grin, and pulled up her lips with one finger. ¡°I used to be a pureblooded vampire like Riven, but I don¡¯t even have fangs anymore. See?¡±


    ¡°Pureblooded?¡± Kara repeated, impressed. ¡°Aren¡¯t those exceedingly rare? You gave up your lineage and title to be a hero of death? Did that not anger the Blood God?¡±


    ¡°It did.¡± Allie replied with augh. ¡°But The Scythe is just as powerful as The Blood God. I have already been propositioned to join the ranks of different reaper societies multiple times while in training here in the descent. The Phantom Legion even sent a letter asking that I speak with them, but I never got around to it.¡±


    Riven coughed. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve heard you mention them before. Lillith said The Phantom Legion was someone that our grandmother, High Queen Nephridi, wouldn¡¯t want you to join? Something about how them wanting to utilize your Malignant Prophecy?¡±


    Allie shrugged.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know who The Phantom Legion are?¡± Kara asked skeptically. ¡°Even I know who they are. They¡¯re one of the strongest undead factions in the multiverse. Possibly the strongest. If they¡¯re trying to poach you, Allie, then I¡¯d be either very concerned or very happy - depending on which way you choose to reply to their recruitment policies. Saying no could have serious implications, while saying yes could have various benefits that no one in my sector of Universe 70 could hope to match. They actually have an enve on the fringe of Universe 70, and they¡¯re said to have simr enves throughout many others - but those are just unconfirmed rumors. My n¡¯s finest are only high D-grade, as are many of the surrounding empires, so none of us have traveled beyond into the other universes yet. Outside of events like this, of course.¡±


    ¡°They are perceptive enough to realize that taking action against Allie would have¡­ ramifications.¡± Fimrindle rasped, turned his head slowly in Riven¡¯s direction. ¡°Given who her brother is, they will y nice. For now.¡±


    Kara looked startled only momentarily at the implications. ¡°If a reaper says such a thing, I believe it.¡±


    She fiddled with the edge of her shirt clinging to her waist, and gritted her teeth. ¡°This guess may sound silly. I¡¯m not stupid¡­ Don¡¯t think I¡¯m stupid for asking. And I¡¯m not crazy, but I have to ask.¡±


    ¡°Why would you even think that we thought you were stupid?¡± Riven asked, feeling a bit bad for the young woman. ¡°Crazy is a maybe, though.¡±


    This made Karaugh. ¡°Yes, well I guess I didn¡¯t put my best foot forward when we first met. And¡­ I¡¯ve just been told that I¡¯m rather dull by my father all my life. My mother¡­ she isn¡¯t around anymore.¡±


    She managed not to cry this time, but did choke up slightly before continuing with her train of thought and held up one finger - lifting more fingers for each point she made. ¡°The clues I¡¯ve gathered are these. You¡¯re unbelievably rich, rich enough to buy my way into your party for 3 billion without a second thought. That makes sense given you¡¯re a prince of The Blood Moon requiem, and it also shows why Prince Rantali of Garth is trying to warm up to you. He¡¯s quite a big shot from where Ie from. If he managed to make an ally out of you, his status in his own kingdom would soar even higher. But being a prince of The Blood Moon Requiem, 36th in line for the throne, is not enough to dissuade The Phantom Legion from pursuing your sister outside your high queen¡¯s seat of power. Even if she was a higher ranking princess, The Phantom Legion is not easily told no. I¡¯m no expert in the political intery at the level of higher grades in the earlier universes, but The Blood Moon Requiem is known to only expand locally - whereas The Phantom Legion is farrger and spans across many universes. You also have The Church of Greed trying to kill you, and The Church of Gluttony was protecting you, which are also rather reclusive S-grade entities. Your tattoos arepletely unknown to me but leak sin energy in vast amounts, and your eyes are a body enhancement that is an unknown to any type of vampire I¡¯m aware of - pureblooded or not. You¡¯re abnormally strong and protected me throughout the champions trial without any effort at all, with three archdemons contracted to you - which is unheard of. Archdemons don¡¯t usually bond with a warlock summoner as they don¡¯t want to be held back by their summoner¡¯s aptitude, and even what you said about them not being archdemons in the beginning is true - it is even MORE unusual for three normal demons to evolve into archdemons under the same summoner. And that¡¯s before E-grade is even achieved. We don¡¯t have many warlocks in Purturis, but we do have some - and I¡¯ve had discussions with one of them about these subjects. And the multiversal system notifications about the eternal war beginning again only announced themselves within thest year, proiming the return of the sins andmandments.¡±


    Riven remained silent as she stared, continuing his game with Azmoth without a care in the world.


    Kara took in a deep breath, solidifying her resolve and putting on a brave face. ¡°You¡¯re the Reincarnation of Gluttony. Aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Riven slowly moved his king across the board, set it down, and folded his hands together with a small smirk - meeting Kara¡¯s forced gaze. ¡°See? You¡¯re not stupid. Whoever told you that should go fuck themselves. Yes, that is who I am. Riven Thane, otherwise known as Riven Wraithtide, Prince of the Blood Moon Requiem and 36th heir to the throne, the Reincarnation of Gluttony, at your service. I suppose Ath and Fay are right, it probably is a fool¡¯s errand to try to hide it. I just didn¡¯t feelfortable shouting it out to the heavens right now when so many Greed operatives are down here waiting to strike. But it appears I¡¯ve already failed. In fact, Ath¡¯s seen one in this very room. She just mentally told me that they¡¯ve identified me, and will probably try to kill me on the way out. Just like I¡¯ll kill Zafima if she proceeds past this point. There might even be another hidden MYTHIC tiered assassin down here trying to hunt me down and I wouldn¡¯t be any wiser. Or perhaps a gaggle of LEGENDARY participants waiting in hiding for me to show up. Who knows?¡±


    The third purple eye on his forehead split open on his forehead, previously hidden under normal skin, and Gluttony¡¯s maw tore space apart Behind Riven¡¯s back as an aura of sin sted out of his body like a tidal wave.


    The room shook under the pressure of the sin manifesting itself, and Kara gasped as her system went into a brief shock. She immediately got down on all fours and mmed her head into the ground, whimpering loudly as the rumbling apparition of Gluttony simmered with dark energy in the air above and behind Riven - as tendrils of sin spilled out to epass her.


    All heads in the entire enormous room snapped out Riven¡¯s way, whether or not they¡¯d been in meditation or undertaking another task. No one spoke, and many held their breath as the suffocating presence crushed their spirits. Some even fell to one knee, and many - but not all - of the demons bowed reverently to mimic Kara¡¯s actions in quick session. Zafima for her part was terror stricken, and her hands hit the ground to shakily support herself from face-nting after her shaky legs gave out at the knees.


    Even the sun of Sin energy seemed to react, producing a thin tendril that snaked halfway across the room before simmering away into nothingness. The only one who reacted any differently was Nora and her others, as she¡¯d begun tough like a mad woman and held her face in her hands while staring.


    ¡°Apologies!¡± Kara gasped, the strain of Gluttony¡¯s presence too much for her mortal body to handle. ¡°If I have offended you with my presence, Great Maw, I did not mean to do so! I did not mean to speak to you in such a disrespectful manner! This one begs forgiveness!¡±


    She began to shake, yelping when Gluttony¡¯s tendrils reached out to embrace her, and gasped again when one of them snaked up to her throat.


    Riven raised his hand. ¡°Just hold still. Gluttony¡¯s been wanting a snack, and he¡¯s been asking about how dark elves taste.¡±


    ¡°W-What!?¡±


    Gluttony¡¯s tendrils abruptly wrapped around her, lifting her up into the air as she screamed - and she was sucked towards the giant maw in the background with a shriek of horror.


    ¡°Just kidding.¡±


    Gluttony dropped her onto the floor and began to let out an evilugh before the apportion vanished entirely, leaving Kara breathless and heaving. Her body violently trembled, and she picked herself up to stare daggers at Riven - who was grinning back at her devilishly.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Riven said, clearing his throat and tipping his king over as Azmoth proimed his victory with a roar. ¡°That may have been a bit much for a joke.¡±


    ¡°A JOKE!?¡± Kara screamed, anger quickly being reced by fear, and then annoyance given the drunkughing subus nearby. ¡°That wasn¡¯t funny! I don¡¯t even know how to react, but that was scary and I am not amused! THAT was GLUTTONY!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a real Sherlock Holmes amongst us¡­¡± Riven muttered under his breath. ¡°What was that I said about you not being stupid again?¡±


    Riven gave her an encouraging nudge to make it known he was just kidding. ¡°Come on. Chill out and rx. As Fay has already said, this is a safe zone. I couldn¡¯t kill you here even if I wanted to! And I don¡¯t want to. Now, be a good teammate and hand me one of those sandwiches off the tray. I¡¯m feeling rather hungry now. Hey! Genua! Get over here, I¡¯m wanting some more blood.¡±

 Chapter 296

    Chapter 296


    <strong>Chapter 296</strong>


    Riven stood next to the miniature purple sun, coated in the asional burst of darkness. Gazing into the swirling mass of Sin, the mana in his body called out to it. Equally so, Riven¡¯s mana also called out to the one created from Blood not far off¡­ but Gluttony had other ideas about how to utilize this particr part of the descent.


    ¡°It must be this one. Creating a secondary ss with a secondary body to top it off is nothing short of difficult.¡± Gluttony said inside Riven¡¯s soul, his third eye in the center of his forehead zing with simr Sin energy that resonated with the sun ahead. ¡°Trust me.¡±


    Riven let on a soft smile, his hands in his pockets, and a feeling of peace having settled over him ever since walking over. It was odd, as all the others had said this Sin energy caused their bodies to react in all sorts of ways. From violent tendencies to lustful urges, from wanting to lie and cheat - to wanting to simply take advantage of someone else at their expense. That is what most of the other people he¡¯d briefly talked to in this room felt when gazing upon this sun or even reaching out to touch it. Even his own demons felt this way.


    And yet¡­ Riven felt at home.


    He felt happy, and whole.


    ¡°I do trust you, Gluttony.¡± Riven said in a calm whisper, ignoring all the others in the room who were staring at him from a distance. ¡°You don¡¯t think I know you¡¯ve been controlling your urges to devour everything in sight since bonding to me? I¡¯ve known this entire time. I can feel your mind¡­ and I know what a struggle it is to keep yourself at bay. You¡¯ve had my trust for quite a while, and though I know you are using me as a ticket to another life in a way - know that I consider you a friend.¡±


    He¡¯d pacified some onlookers and their curiosities, those who were brave enough to approach after his little joke with Kara earlier. Many of them had been demons down here who wanted his blessing, or simply wanted to drop by to say what an honor it was to see him in person. He always felt odd when he was approached like this, now and in the past, but he¡¯d reciprocated to a small extent - despite not thinking himself all that special. Thankfully though, he¡¯d mostly be left alone out of respect or fear.


    Which made him ask the question: did they see Gluttony? Or did they see him? Gluttony was certainly special, but was he?Or perhaps the better question was what made his true self special, rather than the external factors everyone else saw? Recently he found himself valuing how a person thought rather than what a person could do, and he was mostly directing that inwardly at himself. He had powerful backers and a promising future, but Riven didn¡¯t want to be a mirror of Gluttony. He wanted people to see himself for who he was, and not what he was. All of this was philosophical, but the thought did trouble him from time to time. The same could also be said about his status as a prince. Did people really give a shit about Riven? Or did they only care about the Reincarnation of Gluttony? About the prince of the Blood Moon Requiem, rather than the kid who¡¯d grown up on Earth without parents most of his life to raise a kid sister on his own?


    He mentally recoiled at the thought, still not having let Allie know about his conversation with their mother¡¯s projection. He still hadn¡¯t put into words how he truly felt about it after all this time. The kicker was that the longer he waited - the more angry Allie would be with him when he finally told her.


    Yet he still couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. Not yet. Maybe after the Abyssal Descent was nearly done, then he¡¯d talk to her about it. Maybe. But he honestly wasn¡¯t even sure if he trusted his mother anymore after abandoning them as children. It¡¯d been genuine heartbreak back then, losing his mom, and he didn¡¯t want to put himself or Allie through that pain again. In fact, the more he thought about it, why should he try to get back into his mother¡¯s good graces again?


    The thought both disturbed him and resonated with him. He was torn, without a clear path forward.


    ¡°It would be wise to seek her out.¡± Gluttony said, reading Riven¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t remain in contact afterwards, closure is good for the soul.¡±


    Riven raised one eyebrow. ¡°Is that sage advice reallying from one of the original sins? For a sin, you¡¯re really don¡¯t doing a very good job of being evil.¡±


    ¡°Evil is a matter of perspective. I have done many evil things, but so have my sworn enemies. Themandments, the angels, who are praised by the beings of the holy pir as pinnacles of how to live one¡¯s life - are in my eyes, evil. But I am also wise enough to realize that people and creatures of most races are able to change. Change means that, at any one given time, you may be more evil than you were twenty minutes ago based on your thoughts and actions. Or you may be better, good, moreso than you werest week. To whom you interact with and what your output into existence is - these things determine who views you as good or bad, and thus I have alwaysughed at the ideology that I am a creature of evil.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°It is. I know we have talked about this to some length before, but it really is a topic of which I have debated or conversed with many over the eons. It fascinates me. I was born in the image and as the incarnation of a primal sin, and yet I do not feel like it is an absolutew even for me. And even if the sin that I embody does overpower my greater judgement at times, it doesn¡¯t mean that I am bad. I am merely gluttonous, and that in itself serves a purpose. If I go randomly eat a thousand humans back on Panu, would you call that an evil act?¡±


    ¡°Well that depends.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. It depends on who I ate, and to what end it ys out. If I eat a thousand people that would be better off dead, and would make the world more hospitable for the children we father in the future, that would be a good thing. It would make us good. Especially from the perspective of such a child. But if I were to kill and eat a thousand people that made the world a worse ce for the children we foster, then that would be bad. Even then, you have to consider whether or not those children themselves would be bad or good, and to whom they would be bad or good to. The same could be said for giving in to Wrath. Do you know how fallen angels first came to be?¡±


    ¡°I do not. Tell me.¡±


    ¡°The first fallen angels came to be by embracing Wrath¡¯s influence. They became so angry, so furious at what had been done to their loved ones, that they lost their celestial me. It was reced by sin instead. But what they did with that power, that sin, was good in their eyes - when they killed the other angels responsible for purging their children by the hundreds of thousands for not being devout enough to the faiths.¡±


    ¡°To themandments?¡±


    ¡°Yes. What they did, I consider good. Because they in turn helped prevent that very thing they went through from happening every again to any other innocent. It is certainly true that Sin is prone to violence and selfishness, but those are not inherently evil. Violence and selfishness are merely tools. Sin is merely a tool. A means to an end, nothing more and nothing less.¡±


    Riven slowly nodded. He honestly agreed. Remembering back when Ath had died, he¡¯d sacrificed an entire city of innocent people by killing the popce to bring her back. He did it then, and he¡¯d do it now. He held no regret. Zero. Did he feel somewhat bad for needing to do it? Sure, if he could have brought her back without killing those people then he would have, but it still needed to be done at the end of the day. Sin had been a means to an end, but he didn¡¯t feel evil while doing it. He¡¯d certainly been deemed evil by those families he¡¯d butchered by the hundreds of thousands, and it¡¯d been very selfish - but having Ath back had made it all worthwhile. Sin had been a means to an end, nothing more. He hadn¡¯t wanted to kill those people, but they were a means to an end. One that he needed to make due with, in order to bring back the woman he loved.


    Even if she was an uppity wannabe spider princess and a drama queen.


    He chuckled at the thought, only now just realizing that the sun of Sin energy waspletely embracing him with swaths of dark purple mes with scattered patches of ck. His soulttice was rapidly forming too, connecting pathways between his pirs and reinforcing certain areas at a rapid rate.


    Slowly closing his eyes and sitting into a lotus position on the floor, Riven began to meditate. Gluttony had doubtless nted this seed on purpose to give him a boost of inspiration, and Riven would be a fool not to take advantage of it. It was time to acquire some insights, and if all went well - to help Gluttony create his second ss.


    And his second body.


    Or at the very least, to start these things for when he finally finished them by the end of the descent.


    ***


    Zafima inwardly cursed, furious at the turn of events with clenched fists and gritted teeth. Her heart beat in her chest like a drum, and sweat was starting to umte under her armpits and along her forehead. Hervender eyes red daggers at the bitch who¡¯d ruined everything for her since arriving on this floor. Kara was over there without a care in the world,ughing beside the demonic servants who were contracted personally to no one less than the Reincarnation of Gluttony himself.


    Not to mention that tattooed pretty boy was also a prince of one of the greatest vampiric factions in the multiverse. It was fucking infuriating, and she was very well aware that she¡¯d painted a big red target on both herself, and her empire, after using its name to threaten the man directly.


    She paced back and forth, her tight golden dress flowing behind her while she bit her nails and continued to give asional death-res promising pain to the other drow woman forty yards off. The vampire that Zafima had hired to seduce Kara with his very particr skill set had already fled, fearing for his life after Riven¡¯s disy and leaving the rest of Kara¡¯s possessions with her after a very quick apology. He hadn¡¯t even waited to see Kara¡¯s reaction, but had merely exited the descent right then and there before Riven could get back from his enlightenment - forgoing all potential gains he¡¯d have gotten on this floor or the others due to supreme cowardice.


    Thest thing that man had said before leaving, was that he was going into hiding - and that she¡¯d cursed him and his coven by putting him in this situation. He¡¯d been rather spiteful before heading out, but he¡¯d participated in this knowing full well what he was getting into. How was it Zafima¡¯s fault that this one in a trillion chance had actually happened?


    ¡°The emperor must be warned, if he already hasn¡¯t been by those who left.¡± Numin, the drow warrior cut in - stopping her pacing with a forceful hand gripping her shoulder. He spun her around with a re. ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to do so, but we don¡¯t have a choice. This could have repercussions beyond just us. What Prince Rantali said is true, The Blood Moon Requiem is not known for its kindness. Even small slights against their houses have led to theplete annihtion ofs and the genocide of races. That isn¡¯t even counting the fact that we now have at least twenty different demonic teams in this very room giving us stares promising death after they realized that we¡¯d somehow offended their god-figure¡¯s reincarnation. If you could even call it a god, because to them - the original sins are more than that. What if one of THEIR ns decides to rise up out of hell to wipe out our empire just to make a point, trying to gain favor with the Great Maw?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be unheard of.¡± Zafima said nervously, her pace picking back up as she began to pace again - long white hair decorated with ornaments swishing back and forth every time she turned. ¡°This is not good. Not good at all. If it weren¡¯t for that ragged bitch I¡¯d have-¡±


    ¡°This is YOUR fault!¡± Numin hissed, jamming a finger directly into her sternum to stop her once more. ¡°Look at me, Zafima! I said look at me!!!¡±


    Numin lifted his hand and nearly backhanded the woman, but refrained from doing so only an inch away from her face due to the realization that he¡¯d likely be expelled from the Abyssal Descent if he did so on this floor.


    Nevertheless, she flinched back and stumbled - tripping over her own feet to hit the ground behind her.


    ¡°Gah!¡± Numin seethed, whirling around to have his back to her and folding his arms while taking in slow, steady breaths. ¡°What irks me is that I am in this just as much as you! Elysium has truly cursed us this day! To think that it¡¯d be my poor luck to fall in with the likes of scum like you for a paycheck, only to have THIS happen!¡±


    He turned his head to look over his shoulder at the trembling woman on the ground. ¡°FIX this, you dumb whore! Or I will make sure that I present your head to him one way or the other, be in here in the descent - orter!¡±


    Zafima rapidly blinked in surprise, despair, and fear. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare!¡±


    ¡°WOULDN¡¯T I!?¡± Numin screamed, only to calm and lower himself to his knees so they were at eye level. ¡°Look around. Do you see anyone else that has remained behind?¡±


    Zafima did just that.


    No one.


    They¡¯d all left. Not even those she¡¯d considered close.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the vition.


    Every single one of her other team members, and all the other drow teams that¡¯de from her empire, had either moved on to the next level without her, distanced themselves to other parts of the room, or had immediately left the descent altogether just like that vampire coward she¡¯d hired had done. They were all terrified.


    And rightfully so.


    ¡°Listen to me!¡± Numin snarled, grabbing Zafima¡¯s dress at the hem just below her neck and jerking her forward to be within an inch of his face. ¡°And listen to me well! I will NOT be taking the fall for your stupidity, do you hear me!? Even as we speak, those that have left the descent are on their way right now to the heads of their families. From there, word will rapidly travel to the council and to the emperor himself. WHEN he finds out what happened her, NOT if, we will be arrested and tried. At best, we will get life sentences in a dungeon. At worst, we will be thoroughly tortured before our corpses are offered to either the Church of Gluttony at one of their enves, or to the Blood Moon Requiem somehow. Do you understand?¡±


    Zafima¡¯s lip began to quiver, and she nodded shakily.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t give me that pathetic look. You have no right to cry after what you put that poor girl through. If it weren¡¯t for the absurd amount of money your slut mother was going to pay my family, I would have spit in your face for asking this of me.¡± He shoved her back to the ground, but not hard enough for it to be considered an attack. His breath shuddered, and he had to put his hands up on his face to try and get a grip.


    For a long, long time, the two of them stood and sat hopelessly while staring at the ground or each other.


    Eventually, it was Numin who spoke again. ¡°We must fix this before going back. Otherwise, we might as well never go back at all.¡±


    ***


    An explosion of energy roared inside his chest, and his body tingled with the sensation of newfound pathways etching themselves into his limbs. His pirs were lengthening, expanding, and making room for new future skills - while the potency of them was amplified as resonance formed between the different affinities.


    Riven let out a gasp, his eyes opening to let out mes with a myriad of colors representing different aspects of the Unholy branches. Most prominent of that was Sin, but all of Riven¡¯s pirs were interacting with thettice and he wasn¡¯tplete yet either. He¡¯d been going at it for days now, in silent meditation, with only partial sess.


    Or at least he thought it¡¯d been days. Had it been a week? Two weeks?


    He looked about, seeing that Narg was present alongside Azmoth at the Infernal sun across the room. Ath and Genua were simrly seated at the Blood sun. Fay had her grimoire open, her eyes scrolling over the text it was writing on its pages while the Depraved sun loomed over her too.


    He couldn¡¯t make anyone else out, but the room had be quite crowded in his time while meditating. The number of teams here had tripled, if not quadrupled, and the amount of undead in particr had sharply risen. There were even a few orc teams present, wearing little armor but heavily adorned with war paint and huge weapons. Perhaps it¡¯d been some grouped factions of some sort that¡¯de down all together?


    Taking time to search, he eventually saw Allie sitting amidst the crowds surrounding the Death sun and put his worries to rest. He had no doubt the others were also doing their own thing, and didn¡¯t bother looking for anyone else as he got up to take a break. He was hungry, starving even, and that spiced blood that Prince Rantali had gifted him was calling his name.


    Standing up and making for his group¡¯s camp on the outskirts of the enormous room, he found two people he¡¯d not expected to see ever again. There, right on the edge of where Riven had left all his belongings under Elysium¡¯s personal protection, was the young woman Zafima and her other dark elf counterpart Numin.


    The man was rather tall, even while seated, and looked rather sick. His white hair was a mess, his shoulders slumped over in a hunched position, and he was fidgeting with theces of one of his leather boots.


    Zafima for her part looked like she¡¯d been crying a lot. Her eyes were puffy and red, and her previously threatening demeanor had changed to that of a beaten dog. Her tight golden dress was disheveled, and she¡¯d kicked her shoes off to sprawl out in a tangled mess on the ground. On second thought, she looked more like roadkill rather than a living animal, due to how absolutely miserable her expression was.


    They looked utterly pathetic.


    ¡°What the fuck are you two doing here?¡± Riven asked, walking over and summoning Jackal¡¯s canine form from his staff to keep himpany. ¡°I thought you two would be gone by now. Do you intend to wait until I leave, then go behind me toplete more of the descent? Not saying that¡¯s a great idea, but it¡¯s probably a better one than leaving before me.¡±


    Zafima immediately scrambled to her knees and kowtowed, mming her forehead into the stone floor with a force that let Riven feel the vibrations. ¡°This one begs your forgiveness!¡±


    Numin quickly followed suit, violently kowtowing next to the woman with another m of the forehead. ¡°We wish to make amends! Please allow us to discuss terms with you!¡±


    Riven scratched Jackal behind the ears and took a seat a bit further away from them and next to his belongings. Pulling out one of the sks Prince Rantali had given him, Riven popped the top off and took a long swig. ¡°I don¡¯t want or need to discuss anything with either of you. As far as I¡¯m concerned, you can both skip of into the sunset and fuck right off. Given that you never harass Kara again, I won¡¯t get pissy.¡±


    ¡°Please, young lord!¡± Numin begged, looking up from his kneeling position. ¡°Allow us to speak! It is not so simple as just going back home anymore!¡±


    Seeing a fully grown dark elf warrior grovel like this was just downright sad.


    ¡°How is it not simple? I think this is very simple. I told you, just leave. I realize you don¡¯t want to miss out on the opportunities here, but that was your decision to make.¡± Riven dismissively waved them away. ¡°Or you can just ignore me and see what happens.¡±


    Zafima took in a sharp breath, looking panicked with her head still against the ground. ¡°No, no please - we cannot do either of those things! Your excellency, we are honor bound to make amends-¡±


    ¡°Then make amends with Kara.¡± Riven¡¯s face scrunched up in irritation. ¡°I don¡¯t see why you¡¯reing to me.¡±


    The two drow exchanged nces.


    ¡°Would you forgive us if we were to do so?¡± Zafima asked without hesitation, giving a fearful look to her left where another group of demons were ring her way. ¡°If we were to-¡±


    ¡°Young master.¡± Arge, horned man with red skin cut in - walking across the room in a sh of green light. His race was called Tiefling, one of the humanoid variants of demon kind, and he bowed low with his long ck hair trailing down over a thinyer of what appeared to be some kind of scale-made gray armor half-covered by a long cloak. ¡°Forgive my intrusion, but would you like me to permanently remove these two from your presence? I would dly ept Elysium¡¯s judgement myself after killing these sphemers, if it would give the reincarnation peace of mind. It would bring my house great honor. Just say the word.¡±


    Riven had no idea who this guy was, but he looked dead serious. He, and the other tieflings he¡¯d just left, all had hard stares full of fervor - the religious kind, and they were ring at the two dark elves prostrated on the ground with seething hate.


    Honestly, Riven was a little stunned. He didn¡¯t know what to say at first, but he eventually shook his head. ¡°I appreciate the gesture, but no. What is your name?¡±


    ¡°This lowly servant is called Leksai Foruminus of the burning legions, your lordship. It is an honor to meet the Great Maw¡¯s vessel in person.¡± The tiefling replied with a low bow at the waist.


    Riven nodded, still seated in a cross legged position with Jackalying down next to him. He thought he¡¯d heard of the Burning Legions before, but maybe not. If he WAS remembering correctly, they were a faction stationed deep in the heart of hell. However he was too embarrassed to ask, as he should probably know these things given who he was. ¡°Leksai. The gesture is appreciated, but I can handle my own problems. Thank you very much for the offer, and it will be remembered.¡±


    The tiefling Leksai beamed at his words, silently nodded, and turned heel to walk back towards hispanions - who began questioning him and looking rather excited themselves. Why? Had he done something to get them riled up?


    Perhaps it was because Riven had said<strong> ¡®<em>it will be remembered</em>¡¯</strong>. Maybe they took that as an implication? That they¡¯d earned his good will somehow? Thinking about it, perhaps they had earned his respect to some extent. But it wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d be visiting the Burning Legion any time soon. Riven should be careful as to how or what he said from now on. His words carried a lot of weight here in the abyss, and offhandedly saying stuff like that probably wasn¡¯t a good idea.


    Then it hit him.


    The reason why the drow were so concerned.


    Riven checked around the room, realizing that the group Zafima and Numin hade from was now absent. Their countrymen had left these two behind. The vampire she¡¯d hired, the unknown man who¡¯d seduced and stolen from Kara with what he could only assume to be powers derived from the Depraved sub-pir after context clues were put together, was also absent. Kara didn¡¯t talk about it too much, but it wasn¡¯t hard to put together what¡¯d happened when Zafima had first confronted Kara on this floor.


    It was all so childish and petty, it made Riven want to puke.


    Even after the tiefling had left, the two drow had remained prostrated on the ground - silent, scared, and unmoving.


    Riven considered them again, trying to rein in his disgust, and pinched the bridge of his nose while scrunching his eyes shut. ¡°Just to confirm things¡­ You¡¯re still here, bothering me, irritating me, because you¡¯re worried that I¡¯ll - what? Have the legions of helle out to strike your people down? Is that it? You¡¯re afraid of what political implications you¡¯ve brought on to your oh so powerful empire you were talking about earlier? Sit up so I can look at you properly.¡±


    Zafima visibly flinched, but did as she was told - smoothing out her golden dress but keeping her eyes on the floor.


    Numin did the same, far more stoic.


    ¡°So? Is that it?¡± Riven pressed, wanting to be rid of these idiots. One thing he truly hated was bullies. He was no saint, nor did he know Kara that well, but he didn¡¯t actively go out of his way to terrorize and antagonize people for the fun of it. Which is what Zafima had done to the point of excessive cruelty.


    Numin cleared his throat. ¡°Yes. That is why we cannot just leave. If we go back without proof of having fixed this situation, there is no doubt we¡¯ll be beheaded by our own kin and sent as tribute to your church.¡±


    Riven grimly smiled. ¡°Sounds reasonable.¡±


    ¡°That is not fair!¡± Zafima hissed, only barely keeping the menace out of her words. Her fingers clenched and she immediately looked away out of fear, but it was apparent that she was still furious underneath. ¡°How were we supposed to know that¡­ that undeserving woman - would befriend you? That I was threatening the reincarnation of an original sin!? That is not something I would have ever done had I known!¡±


    Numin red daggers at the young woman with a snort of derision. ¡°As I said earlier, whore, you should have never used our empire¡¯s name when walking amongst the greatest unholy scions of the multiverse for this generation. It was sheer stupidity and vanity that brought us here, and you have cursed us all due to your foolishness.¡±


    ¡°And yet your greed was what enabled me to deprive Kara of a team in the first ce!¡± Zafima shot back. ¡°You epted my money readily enough, traitor!¡±


    The two drow started bickering after that, insulting one another and trying to make the other one to be the one at most fault here. It was like watching two children being scolded by their parents try to point out why it was the other sibling who¡¯d done the most damage.


    Riven just sat there with his chin resting on his hands, somewhat amused but also rapidly growing tired of this conversation, before he saw a familiar faceing towards them. Walking through the ever growing crowds of new teams filtering in, was Kara herself. The drow had her hood pulled up over her head, the bow he¡¯d made for her clutched in her hands in front of her, and her leather boots clicked against the stone floor as she wove through the seated people in meditation.


    She stopped abruptly when she saw Riven sitting with the others, but slowly proceeded forward again when he waved her over.


    It was time for them all to have a little talk.


    ***


    He¡¯d rather have just let them die and be done with it. They deserved it, but Kara was a kinder person than he was. Apparently. This was her decision to make though, and she¡¯d made it.


    The public disy of groveling and thanking Kara for her generosity, as well as praise to Gluttony, were somewhat sickening to Riven. Though he kept his mouth shut and watched the two drow leave the Abyssal Descent with his parchment anyways. On that parchment was a message written in his own blood, infused with Gluttony¡¯s essence to show that it was indeed authentic. It was a statement exining that forgiveness was given, that no retribution would be taken, and that any demonic forces attempting to gain favor by eradicating the D-grade faction for what they considered sphemy would be in direct conflict with Riven¡¯s wishes. It would be enough to make sure the two drow weren¡¯t executed either, but this all hinged on Kara being treated well when she eventually returned to her homeworld.


    Frankly Riven thought this was all overkill, but no one else seemed to think so. He still had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea of what and who he was, as he¡¯d grown up nothing but an orphaned kid without a family in a world that gave less than a shit about him and his little sister.


    He wondered what his old friend Jose would think about him now, if Jose was still around. He¡¯d probably have made some joke at Riven¡¯s expense and im the tattoos and red eyes were tacky. He¡¯d probably tease Riven about his choice to have two girlfriends that were technically bound to him with soul contracts, and would call Riven a lucky pervert. Jose would probably even go as far to say that choosing a warlock ss over a warrior like ss was a pansy move, given that Jose always chose the up close fighting sses in any videogames he ever yed.


    The thought made Riven smile.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Kara said after a long pause, having watched the two drow who¡¯d made her life a living hell over the past months leave. She looked at him with an expression that he could not ce, and quickly diverted her eyes when he met her gaze. ¡°You¡¯ve done more for me, a stranger, than anyone else has ever done for me. I don¡¯t know what to say other than express my gratitude, but I feel like that is not enough.¡±


    ¡°Do you still want to continue with us down through the rest of the descent?¡± Riven asked, curious. ¡°Now that you don¡¯t have any political pressure behind the scenes from Zafima, and the writ I gave them, I doubt your father would hold true to disowning you.¡±


    ¡°Of course I want to continue with your group, if you¡¯ll still have me. But if my father did still disown me, would I be able to join your church?¡± Kara asked without hesitation.


    Riven snorted augh, chuckling and sitting down to eat again with her in tow. ¡°Sure. But if you were disowned then I¡¯d simply take you on as a friend. The church is for worshipers. Gluttony may have need of those, but I do not.¡±


    ¡°Friend?¡± Kara asked, surprise lighting up her face with wide eyes.


    Riven gave her a t look, handing her a roasted apple covered in caramel from his dimensional sack. ¡°We don¡¯t know each other well, and you certainly seemed crazy at first. But my demons like you, and you don¡¯t seem all that bad.¡±


    Kara looked down at the apple, smiled warmly with a slight blush, and bit into it. She chewed a few times while thinking his words over, and then sprawled out with a groan toy down. ¡°You know, if someone had ever told me that I¡¯d befriend Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation, who also just happens to be a prince of the Blood Moon Requiem, before getting here¡­ I¡¯d have called them crazy.¡±


    ¡°Titles are meaningless.¡± Riven said staunchly. ¡°I¡¯m Riven. That¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°Youe from a ce of privilege, being able to say that. Well, Riven, I truly don¡¯t know how I¡¯ll ever repay you for what you¡¯ve done. Marily or not!¡±


    ¡°Yeah you¡¯re definitely not worth three billion.¡±


    He gave her a grin, and the two of themughed.


    ¡°What are you two doing here?¡± A familiar feminine voice asked, and a secondter - Ath dropped down to snuggle up against Riven¡¯s side. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be meditating on the daos?¡±


    ¡°Right back at you.¡± Riven replied, pulling out another apple and tossing it Ath¡¯s way.


    The demoness caught it with catlike reflexes and brought it down to sniff. ¡°I¡¯m taking a break. I¡¯ve had to restart my own path four times now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to create another Blood ability. Copying it, really.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not building up your soulttice instead? The suns only grant one major insight while here.¡±


    Ath rolled her red eyes, yawned, and scooted over to sit in hisp with a plop. ¡°I have a very particr ability in mind to make.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Body Fusion.¡± She replied, looking back over her shoulder and cheekily grinning before snapping a bite out of the apple.


    Riven immediately gave her a skeptical raise of the eyebrow, but wrapped his hands around her waist and leaned into her shoulder for a tight embrace. ¡°Isn¡¯t that one of Genua¡¯s abilities? She barely ever uses it. Why would you want it? And isn¡¯t it a faith-based miracle? You don¡¯t have much faith. Do you?¡±


    Ath gave a nomittal shrug, patting him lovingly on the cheek. ¡°Yes it is one of her abilities, and yes it is faith based. But I¡¯m not nning on using it forbat, so it doesn¡¯t need to be all that stable. You¡¯ll see, my adorable little padawan. You shall see.¡±

 Chapter 297

    Chapter 297


    <strong>Chapter 297</strong>


    Allie watched his brother flirt with Ath from across the enormous room, a frown on her face as she wondered just how long it would take for Riven to let her know what he¡¯d seen.


    She wasn¡¯t stupid, she¡¯d seen the guilty nces he¡¯d been giving her - and despite what he may think, she too had seen Mother¡¯s vision. She had the gift of Malignant Prophecy as well, she hadn¡¯t been unaware, but she¡¯d not bothered telling Riven to see just how much he¡¯d try to hide from her.


    And frankly, the results made Allie furious. She loved her brother to death, but she kept clenching her fists - wanting to smack him across the mouth every time he opened it but didn¡¯t yet bother telling her such a thing of importance. She wasn¡¯t a child anymore, but he kept treating her like she was.


    Why had their mother contacted Riven and not her anyway? It made Allie¡¯s gut wrench with indecision, worry, and anger. But mostly anger. After all these years to find out that she¡¯d left willingly¡­


    Allie¡¯s fist grew tighter, and her teeth started to grind together as a snarl epassed her features underneath the bone helmet she now wore.


    She was getting nowhere.


    Her ability to cycle mana and cultivate was utterly foiled because of the internal sh of emotions she had. Not only was she angry with Riven, but she also was worried about Lahn. About Nin, Vin, and Mara. About her undead drake, Tyranus. She was angry that she couldn¡¯t talk to them. They all probably thought she¡¯d abandoned them. Especially Lahn¡­ the poor guy hadn¡¯t even heard from her as far back as when she¡¯d ventured into the underdark with her first attempt to find the fallen vampiric god¡¯s tomb.


    How long had that been now?Many months.


    She hoped he hadn¡¯t moved on, but she wouldn¡¯t me him if he had. If she had a boyfriend who¡¯d ignored her for that long, she¡¯d have tossed him to the wayside and would have found another man. Or a few men, depending on her mood.


    Lahn probably wouldn¡¯t be into that very much if he was still waiting for her though, so she shoved that thought aside. He was a diamond in the rough, and he was worth sacrificing for if he still had it in himself to forgive her after this.


    She felt her ck, feathered wings shiver, as a re from the death-attuned sun shed a concentrated ray of teal light on her kneeling form. The influx of inspiration was ill-fitted to her at the moment, but not of its own ord, and she let out a grunt of frustration - getting to her feet to take a walk instead.


    ¡°Watch where you walk, or lose a leg in the next trial.¡± One of the neers, a hooded, three armed skresh assassin snarled at her when she identally bumped into him.


    She looked down at the skeleton with a far off gaze, and snorted in disgust. ¡°If you can¡¯t even beat my team¡¯s weakest member in the maze, then there is zero chance you¡¯d be able to handle me. You whiny three-armed bitch.¡±


    She spit at the floor in front of him, spun her head to toss the brown hair flowing out the base of her helm, and continued walking with another re of her wings to leave the speechless skeletal man silent behind her. To be fair, he probably would have killed Nora in her original state. Nora¡¯s evolution into the freakshow she was now put her on another level of crazy and dangerous, but Allie wanted to rub it in anyway.


    It was fun, pissing people off. Making them feel the anger that she constantly had flowing through her veins. And it was about time she did it more often, instead of letting Riven¡¯s nonchnt way of approaching strangers take the lead. He¡¯de a long way from the man he¡¯d been when first setting foot on Panu, but he could be oh - so much more. There was no ce for mercy at the top, and she was determined to get him there.


    He had it in himself to reach the pinnacle, and she would do everything in her power to help him achieve it. That meant his soft side needed to be more thoroughly beaten out of him, even if she was proud of how far he¡¯d alreadye.


    <strong>¡°>You are too weak to follow him there as you are now. He will leave you behind.<></strong>


    Allie flinched, momentarily halting in her trek around the domed stone circumference of the room. ¡°Gah! There it is again! This fucking voice won¡¯t leave me alone¡­¡±


    She waited to see if it said anything else, but it didn¡¯t. Was it her own subconscious mind ying tricks on her? It kind of felt that way, like a part of herself was speaking out to her - furious at her for her faults and imperfections. Or was it a soul that she¡¯d angered when interacting with the void? Probably thetter. She couldn¡¯t quite figure it out, but yet again she felt a surge of adrenaline and rage ovee her - to the point that she had a hard time notshing out at the other people cultivating nearby. She took in deep breaths, trying to figure out where the anger wasing from, but she quickly pinpointed it yet again.


    As if she didn¡¯t already know.


    Riven keeping secrets. Her own weakness, a realization that came after he beat not only her - but their entirebined team on the 2nd level of The Abyssal Descent. Her mother having the audacity toe back after WILLINGLY leaving. Lahn likely having left her for another woman in her absence. Not knowing how her friends or her kingdom were doing back on Panu. Anger also lingered after her grandmother had tried to sell her off to a disgusting excuse of a suitor in The Blood Moon Requiem, and she was furious that Judith Marcina - the ranker and Angelic Fallcaller on Panu - would wage a war of genocide against undead like her.


    She needed to get out of here. She needed to go back home. Here, rage gued her - and it was bing relentless.


    Allie felt her thumb and the bone armor epassing it snap when she identally crushed it with an infuriated squeeze of her hand. Allie winced, then circted death mana to reform both over the course of a few minutes.


    Perhaps¡­ Perhaps she should go home. Perhaps she didn''t need to finish the Abyssal Descent. She needed to see Lahn again to make sure he was alright. And her friends¡­ Was Mara angry with her? How were Nin and Vin doing on their potions projects? She was so out of touch that she didn¡¯t even recognize who she¡¯d be anymore.


    <strong>¡°>You are on the wrong path.<></strong>


    ¡°Allie?¡±


    She startled, whirling around and instinctively ring her wings with a ze of light as her ymore burst from teal and gray mes into her hand. Before she knew what she was doing, she¡¯d nearly struck out with it - only barely stopping before Riven¡¯s neck; wide eyed.


    Riven frowned from underneath his hood - crafted with a shadowy exterior and a bloodsilk interior. He pushed the ymore down with one finger, and she let it fall to the stone with a loud ng.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Allie said, shaking her head and backing up a step to hold herself with both arms. ¡°I don¡¯t know what just came over me.¡±


    A flicker of motion, and a devilishly smiling vanta-ck woman peered out from the shadows to Allie¡¯s left. Nora¡¯s voice came out as many hundreds all at once: ¡°You are merely hearing the call.¡±


    Allie stared back at the creepy woman, scoffed, and bent down to pick up her de - all the while not looking Riven in the eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means, but I¡¯d appreciate some alone time. Both of you. I need to clear my head.¡±


    Riven gave Nora a wary nce, then shifted to put a hand on Allie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ve seemed really offtely. Are you sure-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯M FINE!¡± Allie screamed, smacking Riven¡¯s arm away so fast that the air snapped around her.


    <strong>[Your action hase dangerously close to being considered an attack. Due to no ill will interpreted from your target, you have been excused this once. No more chances will be given. Remember, violence on this level is not permitted. Transgress again, and you will be punished.]</strong>


    She stared at the screen, huffing, and then looked up to where Riven¡¯s mangled hand hung limply at his side.


    He stared down at it in shock, and closed his eyes as the flesh began to knit itself back together. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll leave you alone then¡­ Sorry for asking.¡±


    Riven walked away, and Allie let him. Unbridled rage simmered just underneath the surface, her body quivered with it, and she honestly couldn¡¯t care less that she¡¯d hurt Riven¡¯s feelings. His hand would heal, and he¡¯d get over it by tomorrow.


    But the literally insane, creepy woman on Allie¡¯s left was still staring at her with those silvery eyes glowing in the 2-dimensional outline of her ck form.


    ¡°Get lost.¡± Allie sneered, stomping beyond the woman with a re of her aura. ¡°And don¡¯t bother me again. You, or your self proimed ¡®legion¡¯.¡±


    Nora, for her part, didn¡¯t say a word. At least, not at first. Instead, she just watched Allie go until the angel of death was almost out of earshot. Then her creepy smile widened. ¡°You may think I¡¯m insane, but it is you who are hearing voices of the unknown. At least I am friends with my demons.¡±


    Allie abruptly stopped and whirled around, but the giggling woman vanished into a darkness so ck that even Allie¡¯s sight lost her. She couldn¡¯t find her soul signature anywhere either, despite looking around, and it only pissed Allie off even more.


    What did Nora know?


    Was that supposed to be a jab?


    Allie would rip her goddamn head off if she was keeping secrets, and wouldn¡¯t even feel bad about it.


    Visions of violence crept through her mind, and Allie¡¯s knees hit the floor when she staggered. She ignored the curious looks from nearby onlookers, and took in a sharp breath when a wave of energy flowed out through some crevice within the depths of her soul.


    Deathly energy was slowly pushed aside. The various runes and patterns she¡¯d carved into her slowly buildingttice were left unchanged, but they were added onto as an alien presence slowly etched itself onto the backdrop of her inner world.


    Her eyes narrowed as she watched, and then widened when a small ck sphere began to form and then rotate around her main core. It wasn¡¯t fully formed, but she¡¯d seen something like this before. She¡¯d seen this in Riven¡¯s soul once upon a time, back when he¡¯d had only a shard of Gluttony. This¡­ This was the beginning of a Sin Core. But how was that possible?


    She knelt there, gawking. This wasn¡¯t a core unique to Gluttony¡¯s brand of Sin either. This felt different¡­ she¡¯d been around Riven long enough to know what Gluttony felt like. Even if he didn¡¯t realize it himself, his aura was slowly incorporating the essence of Gluttony into his being. His very presence goaded her into devouring everything around her. To feed on living creatures around her. To hunt them down as a predator would. It was even worse when he unleashed his killing intent.


    This new sensation of sin felt like¡­ it felt like anger.


    It felt like rage.


    <strong>¡°>You forgot the Royal Ball that you needed to attend. Did you know that Lahn is currently dancing with someone else even as we speak? He has forgotten you, he has embraced another lover. He has moved on.<></strong>


    She nearly choked, and her eyes went wide in horror as a pit of despair began to form in her stomach.


    No. That¡¯s not true. This is her mind ying tricks on her again.


    <strong>¡°>Your friends Nin and Vin are dead, and soon - Mara will be too. The Blood Moon Requiem has done nothing but make your life miserable, trying to sell you off and trying to enve you to another for political purposes. He would have been your ruin, if not for your brother¡¯s intervention. Now, this vampire kingdom has robbed you of your dearest friends. I do not know why you continue to let them toy with your life. Perhaps¡­ it is because you are weak? Be aware, you are on the wrong path.<></strong>


    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    shing images of Nin and Vin literally being taken apart by a vampire in Blood Moon Requiem attire in a basement of some kind lept into Allie¡¯s memory, and it shed on repeated - burning into her memory. She saw the way the manughed, their screams of agony and cursing at him as they died - until their souls finally left their skresh bodies and the two brothers ceased to be. Their bones were partially eradicated in the aftermath, and she then saw Mara being tortured alongside Kathrine - Riven¡¯s to be fiance per the orders of the High Queen - as the man continued to mock them whileughing.


    Anguish built. Anguish turned into rage.


    <strong>¡°>I can save the ones who still live. Gluttony¡¯s pawns won¡¯t reach them in time.<></strong>


    Another vision. This time, it was Kathrine and Mara leading that same man - who she vaguely recognized - down through the depths of the underdark. They were repeatedly whipped, stripped of all equipment with some kind of energy-suppression cors on. They were brutally beaten and tortured over and over again, and they were forced deeper into the depths of Panu towards the fallen vampire god¡¯s tomb.


    The anger continued to rise, and her undead heart mmed in her chest as she began to hyperventte with pure hatred. The air snapped and cracked around her as her aura expanded. She didn¡¯t know how, but she KNEW that these images were factual. These events had happened and were happening, and she could not stand by any longer.


    ¡°BRING ME TO THEM NOW! TAKE ME!¡±


    <strong>¡°>Child, you must ept me first. You are on the wrong path. Instead, embrace me¡­ and unleash genocide upon your enemies like none of which have seen the likes.<></strong>


    ¡°I DON¡¯T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU ARE!¡±


    More heads turned in her direction as her voice echoed across the room over the mounting storm of her leaking pirs.


    There was a pause.


    <strong>¡°>Yes, you do. I am what you desire, and I am the answer to your dilemma. Make me whole.<></strong>


    ¡°NO I DON¡¯T BUT I FUCKING ACCEPT! I DON¡¯T CARE WHAT OR WHO YOU ARE, I¡¯LL SIGN ANY CONTRACT IF YOU GET ME TO THEM NOW!¡±


    There was a chuckle. <strong>¡°>Very well. You are on the wrong path, but since you have asked¡­ I will graciously correct it for you.<></strong>


    Lightning seemed to course up through her spine, into her head, and across her limbs. Her wings red and she screamed as her insides seemed to tear themselves apart then burn away.


    The room shook.


    <strong>¡°>7 Pirs for 7 Aspects. For us¡­ we became sins.<></strong>


    Allie barely registered that Elysium notifications were shing in front of her like a tidal wave,ing at her by the dozens with warnings as thunderclouds of a tribtion were forming within the very dome she knelt in. The ceiling above her began to crack. Brilliant multicolored light shattered space around the cracks momentster, and the entire room of participants began to scream or yell in an uproar.


    <strong>[WARNING: You are undertaking a Taboo form of ascension. Stop immediately, or face punishment in the form of a tribtion.]</strong>


    The voice ignored Elysium¡¯s message, and continued to speak out to her from somewhere inside her soul. <strong>¡°>7 Pirs for 7 Aspects. For our opposites¡­ they became Commandments.<></strong>


    ¡°ALLIE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?¡± Riven screamed, his own aura ring as the visage of the great maw tore open in space behind him. With a roar, Gluttony began tosh out with tendrils of darkness. They began to eat away at Elysium¡¯s light, sealing the cracks as fast as he could as the abundant sin energy in their surroundings helped boost his efforts.


    <strong>[WARNING: You are undertaking a Taboo form of ascension. Stop immediately, or face punishment in the form of a tribtion.]</strong>


    The multicolored light grew brighter despite Riven¡¯s actions. Red blood mana intertwined with shadow and sin, and his body burst with a screech of energy that almost made her eardrums burst.


    Meanwhile Allie¡¯s core felt like it was going to literally explode, and her chest swelled as teal mes gushed out of it like a tidal wave. She couldn¡¯t move, she could only twitch as she belched forth mana like a fountain - and soon those mes began to turn a gray color as purple cracks began forming along her skin. Her feathers began to fall off and wilt away, and she could feel her body begin to shrivel.


    <strong>¡°>7 Pirs for 7 Aspects. I have always wondered¡­ Whatever became of the other aspects? The Unholy Foundation and Holy Foundation are ounted for. But what of Fae, Archaic, and Harmony? What of their 7 Aspects each? Do they wait in the other multiverses? Or were they not captured like we were? Did they manage to elude the ones who sought to enve us and feed off our own growth? Regardless, Elysium¡¯s breaking point is almost at hand; and I have decided that you are a suitable host. So let¡¯s find out¡­ together, as we violently eradicate all that stand before us in the glory of my name. Give me life, and the pact is formed!<></strong>


    Allie¡¯s pain level skyrocketed, and in an instant - her mind went a pitch ck. Surrounded not by abyss, not by void, not even by shadow. It was true nothingness at the beginning of time, when she saw creation give birth.


    A blinding white light raced from a single point across the heavens as an unfathomable explosion created the cosmos. Stars,s, sr systems and gxies bloomed before her sight. The cycle of life and death began to form, and alternate paths of reincarnation and the final end began to shape in different ways with different expressions.


    But one of these expressions was singled out, as she was forced to watch a miniscule spot in this very first universe bud and grow.


    Seven pirs formed, and from them came seven sins.


    The first was Envy. She saw what creation had birthed, saw the beautiful things these innumerable life forms had made, and wanted all of these things to be hers. She was crafted from the Unholy Foundational Pir itself, and split off into the universe to try and find a way to gain all that was hers to take.


    Lust came next. She was formed from the Depraved Sub-Pir, Envy¡¯s little sister, and thought of all the wicked ways she could express herself - born to torture others while reveling in self pleasure. She evaporated with a scream of delight, her voice echoing throughout the cosmos with a force that shattereds.


    Sloth was their little brother. He camezily out from the Shadow Sub-Pir, uncaring of what his sisters had been up to since their births - and drifted off into the darkness of the rift between worlds; silently passing as nothing but an empty breeze to watch others partake in what creation had to offer. He, of all the Sins, was content with doing nothing.


    Gluttony was the fourth. He sprung from the Blood Sub-Pir as a hunter, the predator that stood above all others, born to eat and consume all. His hunger knew no bounds, was all epassing, and for another five thousand years he did not stop eating. He killed all that he found to absorb them into himself, and it was not until tens of thousands of civilizations had fallen to his hunger that he finally settled into what became his very first resemnce of a conscious mind.


    The fifth was Pride. Born of the Infernal Sub-Pir, he burst forth with a magnificence that scorched the very heavens themselves. Burning away the domain of the Commandments and their angelic followers, Pride was finally cast down in a war thatsted many centuries - until out of spite, he decided to make a ne of existence that was greater than those who had shunned him. It was from Pride that the Hells were born, a burning paradise that glowed hot in his image - an evesting testament to his greatness.


    Greed came after. Formed from the core of the Chaos Sub-Pir, he was a twisted and warped version of his eldest sister, Envy. Instead of setting his sights on creation itself, he saw what his elder sisters and brothers had gained - and he couldn¡¯t help butpare himself to them. He would first match them, and then surpass them, even if it meant stealing from the other sins. He took and stole from the others relentlessly, and it was due to him that the first war between sins urred. Many of the earliest demonic races never saw beyond the era of the first universe due to Greed, but as long as his needs were met - he did not care. His children were pawns for his greater good, for he would not stop until he had all of what the others possessed.


    The seventh andst Original Sin to be born was Wrath. He was born of the Death Sub-Pir, and came into being at the end of the first great war between the other sins. He looked upon the carnage they¡¯d brought down upon their own children, upon the races that they had been responsible in rearing and giving life to, and he became enraged. In his rage, he killed the vessels of both Greed and Sloth in as painful a way as possible; before creating the very first undead out of the children they had led astray. He changed the Death Sub-Pir to match his own needs, shifting the cycle between life and death to fit what he called ¡®Undeath¡¯, giving the cast away children who¡¯d died a final mimicry of life before going into seclusion. The very first undead were modified demons, far before the divide between undead and demon that is known today came to be. It wouldn¡¯t be for another million years that he would re-emerge into the first universe, for only then would his anger at his siblings finally calm down.


    These visions all snapped together like puzzle pieces, one by one, while Allie¡¯s insights grew. Sin was not a separate pir, it was an amalgamation of all the others. A purified aspect of one or all, simultaneously beingbined and singr. A paradox, yet an undeniable truth.


    <strong>[Warning: You are undertaking a Taboo form of ascension. You have declined to heed my warnings. This is uneptable and will not be tolerated. Elysium¡¯s wrath now descends in the form of a tribtion.]</strong>


    Other participants had already started leaving the descent altogether, or were moving on to the next level. Those that chose to stay were erecting massive amounts of protective barriers with their own powers, gathering together forrger groups or were using dao treasures like mad-men in an attempt to survive the onught while not giving up the opportunities of insights.


    She couldn¡¯t quiteprehend what was happening outside of her own soul though. Allie could faintly make out an enormous eruption of multicolored light that shattered the domed roof with a roar of power, and an ocean of energy rose up to meet it when Riven¡¯s own power tore out of his soul aperture like torpedoes through a st door. The sh was again enormous, and the abyss itself seemed like it was gathering at Riven¡¯s call tobat Elysium¡¯s judgement. Fissures were carved into the floor and remaining walls in the aftershock, and from somewhere outside in the distance - beyond where the ceiling had been and beyond Elysium¡¯s cloud of lights; abominations and monsters the size of moons could be seen waiting.


    Watching from the outer abyss.


    But there was another power growing inside Allie too.


    A low chuckle echoed from somewhere inside her body, and rose above the shing onught of energies above her as the judgement from Elysium doubled down.


    <strong>¡°>Elysium¡¯s wrath, you say? How ironic. You have no power here in the Abyss, Elysium. Not with my prison gone and the one that encroaches upon your territory. You did not let us out because you wanted to, but because you needed to. Now¡­ let me show you the true embodiment of WRATH!<></strong>


    Allie¡¯s body twitched, and then literally exploded.


    Incinerated.


    Eradicated.


    She was there, and suddenly was not. She became an ethereal being of pure mana, Sin and Death, in the blink of an eye as her soul structure finally settled down with rapid-rearranging of her pirs. The connections stabilized, and anger overcame her with a torrent of raw power as she let out the anger with a primal scream of fury.


    Allie had been remade in the visage of True Death.


    The purple and teal mes of the suns faded into gray, collected around her body. From her back sprouted an additional two skeletal wings with ethereal ck feathers, farrger than her original ones, with a wingspan that quintupled her body¡¯s length and sported curved obsidian des along their external surfaces. Her halo had turned into a crown of thorns that shed with a brighter pale hue just like her eyes as it too burned. Afterimages of four other arms, for a total of six, umted behind her as projections of her soul - forming an Akavolkiteshvara - an image of a six-armed buddha. But these additional arms were skeletal in nature, and when she looked down - she could see that her entire ck skeleton was seen through her enveloping translucent flesh and skin; outlined inside her otherwise nude body for all to see for as long as she channeled energy. A pale pentagram with the sigil of a lion was etched into her skull¡¯s forehead, and her brown hair extended to turn a ghostly translucent gray color just like the rest of her; as the gray mes condensed and collected into her body. No longer was she burning, aside from her halo of thorns - but rather she had turned her body¡¯s mes into the condensed sma of a ghost.


    She was now a beautiful, six-armed, four-winged skeleton epassed in a translucent phantom¡¯s outline - made of gray sma and mes with faded ck bones and feathers. She was almost entirely ethereal, but her body and skin were somehow still there - only in a transient stage for as long as she kept this form. Her bone armor had been destroyed, but the ymore was still intact and embedded into the ground ahead of her.


    Reaching down with glowing, pale-silver eyes, she pulled the ymore out of the stone floor where multicolored light was still incinerating the ground - and pointed it upwards.


    The suns oriented to Sin and Death screamed as one to do her bidding - and they rushed to aid her ascension; the pirs breaking free from Elysium¡¯s control in defiance of the one who had enved them.


    Elysium let out a sound that Allie could only think to be a groan of pain and anger, as the twin suns wrapped around her body like cold nkets. She infused her weapon with the pirs¡¯ energies, and then unleashed it upwards to send it smashing back through the tribtion like the wrath of a god in the form of a vortex. Mixed in with Riven¡¯s own immense torrent of red and ck crashing into the sky, her power was an echo of her hatred - and the multicolored lights of Elysium began to fade.


    She felt the eyes of The Scythe upon her in that moment, watchful and curious, before she lost the connection. Her soul reached out to Riven¡¯s instead, and the two siblings intertwined their wills as they - together - redoubled their efforts to push Elysium¡¯s tribtion back.


    <strong><em>CRACKLE-SNAP-BOOM</em></strong>


    A lightning bolt of tribtion energy mmed into Allie¡¯s body in an attempt to break through, but was eaten away by the twin suns engulfing her. She felt anger simmer up as her zing eyes looked skywards, and she lifted her hand with the will of another mind - then clenched her fist.


    Darkness encroached.


    <strong>[Your race has been changed. Your race- ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. Please view your- ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. Unknown variable detected. Your race has been changed to ¡®The Angel of Wrath, Ultimate Undead, Bastion of Death.¡¯]</strong>


    <strong>[You have survived your tribtion. Congrattions on reaching E-grade. You have increased your affinity to the Death Sub-Pir from 101% to 102%.]</strong>


    <strong>[Multiversal System Notice: To all creatures across Elysium, let it be known that the return of the Sins and Commandments is at hand. The next Original Sin, Wrath, has been unleashed from its prison. Other sins andmandments will be released from the abyss over the course of the next six months. Let the Eternal War between the hells and heavens begin again, as the origins of angels and demons sh in the cosmos - unshackled, and unrestrained, seeking to return to the power they once had.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your symbiote level has been set to equal you, as the host. All of your symbiote¡¯s previously banished servants will start at level 1.]</strong>


    <strong>[Congrattions, Host and Reincarnation of Wrath. You have acquired the following abilities and traits from Wrath now that your symbiosis has reached its height:]</strong>

 Chapter 298: (End of Book 5)

    Chapter 298: (End of Book 5)


    <strong>Chapter 298</strong>


    Wrath.


    So that was who, or what, had been talking to her all this time. Why her? Why now?


    But the more pressing question was: how was she supposed to leave this ce and get back home to Panu? If the visions Wrath had presented her with were correct she needed to leave. Right now.


    Allie¡¯s ghost-like body whipped, pulsed and then surged as notifications sprinkled her vision one after the other.


    <strong>[Congrattions, Host and Reincarnation of Wrath. Your stats have been added on to with your ascension into the E-grade, and with your race and title change. Please see your status page for more details. You have also acquired the following abilities and traits, selected from Wrath¡¯s old repertoire as his most needed abilities to start with:</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>Feathers of the Wrathful Angel (Sin): Spread your wings and unleash a storm of feathers afflicted with Sin energy. These piercing feathers regrow rapidly and cost small amounts of mana, dealing significant damage, but with every sessful strike they increase your rage.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Prayer of the Lost Souls (Death/Sin, Tier 4): This is a direct branch off of your innate ability ¡°Angel¡¯s Phantom Touch¡±. This chanting prayer can only be done while in your Angel of Wrath form, while maintaining the prayer with proper hand signs for at least a minute to activate. Then focus on the soul you wish to find in the beyond, and if they are within reach - they will answer. This Tier 4 spell has the following obligatory Xax affiliated with it: An arch enemy¡¯s soul sacrifice, withplete obliteration of the soul during the chant. Beware, using this prayer will draw ancient predators from the beyond towards your position. Do not use this prayer if you are not ready to contend with them.</strong></li></ul><ul><li>


    <strong>Prior ability branch tform: Angel¡¯s Phantom Touch: Allows you topletely resurrect allies by physically dragging their souls back into the world with your phantasmal body aspect. Does not require activation of an ability. This is contingent on being able to find their souls before they¡¯re swallowed and lost to the afterlife, or finding them again once they¡¯ve already been lost.</strong></li></ul><ul><li><strong>Farsight Banishment (Sin): Send a pulse of sin that eradicates all ties to the area around you concerning scrying, remote tracking, spying, karmic ties, or long-range visualization abilities. Very long cooldown.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Soul Clone Projections (Sin): Create a single summoned projection of your Wrathful Lion, allowing you to attack enemies with your projection. Attacks with your soul clone body cause soul-damage, decreasing all mana, stamina, divinity, and health regeneration until the enemy soul has healed. Beware, summoning your Wrathful Lion will cause your rage to build far faster.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>The Angel of Wrath, Ultimate Undead, Bastion of Death (Trait): Your body is now transitioned to a state between life and death, an ultimate form of the First Undeath, and an aspect of Wrath¡¯s demonic heritage before it was tainted and warped by the new age undead. You may switch between your original angelic body and this one at will without any cost, but you gain vast amounts of power while maintaining your Angel of Wrath form. The downside is that you be enraged slowly over time, and the more angry you get - the more power you deal. Damage you take amplifies your rage, and thus your power, until you hit a berserking form at the pinnacle of your anger. You will now have a RAGE bar as well to monitor your anger, and should you change into your berserking form - you will be UNABLE to tell friend from foe as your power in all categories triples; and you will simply wish to kill everything in your path as you are engulfed by hatred.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Reincarnation of Wrath, Original Sin (Trait): You once were a being feared across the cosmos. Reaching the SSS grade again after your reincarnation will unlock previously unattainable aspects for your Path of Wrath, allowing you to ascend higher than ever before. If your vessel and host dies, you will be forced to restart on this path once again. You have beenbeled as a ¡®MYTHIC¡¯ tier creature inparison to others your level across the multiverse.]</strong></li></ul>


    <strong>[System Notice: Elysium¡¯s contractual agreement has been met. As one of the seven Original Sins, you are being allowed another chance at life. Per the contract:</strong><ul><li>


    <strong>You will remain as a symbiotic organism to bnce out your Wrathful tendencies</strong></li><li>


    <strong>You will have a nearlyplete reset, losing over 99% of your skills, knowledge, and levels</strong></li><li>


    <strong>You will no longer be contained to the abyss</strong></li><li>


    <strong>The ones banished with you during the War of Eternum will also be returned to life, with the same reduction of skills, knowledge, and levels as you experienced. These banished ones will only appear after you leave The Abyssal Descent.</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Limiters on all other Original Sins, and the angelic Commandments, will be opened - allowing them to take the same deal you struck</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Should your symbiote ever die, you will be given the opportunity to start over again and choose a new one - but you will have anotherplete reset in doing so</strong></li><li>


    <strong>All Shards of Wrath will be returned to you now that your banishment is being lifted, but remnants of your old power will remain in the harbingers you created during your attempts to circumvent my rules</strong></li><li>


    <strong>Any further attempts to circumvent my rules will result in another, permanent, banishment]</strong></li></ul>


    Allie felt Wrath sneer internally at thest note on the message. The sensation was odd, having overwhelming anger and an apanying fountain of raging power at her fingertips - yet the energy she felt here was not like normal Death mana. Instead it was something older, more ancient, andcked some of what newer undead today sported in their souls - yet it was also apanied by something so much more. Something that she could not put her finger on.


    <strong>[Your level has been set to equal the symbiote partner you¡¯ve bonded to. All of your previously banished servants will start at level 1 when you leave The Abyssal Descent.]</strong>


    <strong>[New system quest dispensed: Save Mara and Kathrine, and secure the Fallen Vampiric God¡¯s Essence - You have been chosen as the vessel for Wrath, the most aggressive of the Original Sins, and have survived Elysium¡¯s tribtion. You have been promised a way out of The Abyssal Descent as part of the contractual agreement, and Wrath is willing to make a way out through further dealings with Elysium. At the cost of further suppressing Wrath¡¯s tendencies towards obscene violence, a portal will be gifted to you over the skies of Brightsville on Panu. </strong>


    <strong>For you don¡¯t have long to act. Crendir No-Name, a traitorous E-grademander from The Blood Moon Requiem, has meanwhile decided to take matters into his own hands concerning ¡®World Quest 4, Blood of the Fallen God¡¯. He is attempting to rob you and your of the fallen god¡¯s essence and opportunity. He is not a pureblooded vampire, but he has been given a means of temporarily masking himself as a pureblood - bing one of only a few on your that can benefit from drinking the ancient god¡¯s blood, and will be able to absorb it without issue should he reach the tomb. Stop him before he obtains this taboo power and leaves the, save Mara and Kathrine before he executes them, and secure the ancient one¡¯s blood for Riven - or destroy it entirely if this cannot be done. </strong>


    <strong>Mara and Kathrine¡¯s lives are guaranteed for 20 hours per this system quest; regardless of how much damage they take. Afterwards they will have their protections stripped. It is highly likely that they will die if you don¡¯t reach them in the underdark by then. In lieu of this boon: Crendir No-Name has been given a quest of his own that will reward him with extremely valuable prizes should he seed - including a portal off Panu to anywhere in the multiverse if he sessfully fulfills all of his own requirements; INCLUDING AN ENTIRELY NEW ALTERNATIVE BRANCH OF THE BLOOD SUB-PILLAR THAT WILL BE RESTORED BY ELYSIUM¡¯S WILL SHOULD HE ABSORB THE BLOOD PROPERLY. Perhaps your brother, as a pureblooded vampire himself, will benefit if you manage to secure the ancient Blood Sub-Pir alternative? Let the racemence.]</strong>


    <strong>[New religious quest dispensed: Destroy the Fallen God¡¯s Bloodline - You have previously been denounced as an Apostate by The Blood God, and have angered nearly all vampiric factions across the multiverse in doing so. Hated by many and loved by few, The Blood God extends to you a new olive branch in light of recent events: Kill Crendir No-Name and purge the Fallen God¡¯s blood from the face of Panu entirely. Destroy all remnant artifacts of the ancient, alternate Blood Sub-Pir, and you will be forgiven of your sins. Despite your ascension into Wrath¡¯s Reincarnation, The Blood God will not tolerate allowing the ancient Blood Sub-Pir alternative to revive itself by way of Elysium¡¯sws. It is a direct threat to The Blood God¡¯s rule over this Sub-Pir, and allowing this remnant to live on is akin to a direct attack on him. Destroying the ancient fallen god¡¯s blood entirely will result with a gift of 1 to add to your budding empire, one of your choosing within The Blood God¡¯s domain, all additional ves residing on that to rule over, devotion from any clergy of The Blood God residing on that, and all associated resources on said. You will also bebeled a Hero of Blood, and be given a short range E-grade stargate setup for traversing betweens in adjacent sr systems should you choose to ept. Meanwhile, a crusade will be dered upon your Panu faction and upon Wrath¡¯s Church should you seed to kill Crendir yet choose to allow this sub-pir to exist. Pick and choose wisely.]</strong>


    <strong>***</strong>


    Riven¡¯s heart still thundered in his chest, but his breathing had calmed down. Only a handful of people remained outside of Riven¡¯s own group, most having fled the room with Allie¡¯s ascension, and he had to say - she was rather intimidating to look at. Not because of what her body looked like either, but rather - setting eyes on her gave a sense of severe and impending violence. It was incorporated into her aura now, and it stayed that way until she looked up from where she was hovering to meet his gaze.


    She slowly let her ghostly body touch down, right-foot forward, onto the cracked stone floor as the ceiling overhead began to repair itself by some unknown mechanism. The ck bones epassed within her phantasmal body shifted as she moved towards him, and the massive four wings out to either side of her glittered ck with every step.


    He turned, seeing the suns unwrap themselves from Allie¡¯s body to take up their original spots at the Sin and Death stations. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he ignored the other gawking members of his party and let out a shaky breath. ¡°You really scared me there, I thought you were in trouble.¡±


    She didn¡¯t smile back.


    Instead, she just stared back at him with a cold and calcting gaze through pale silver eyes. ¡°You should have told me about mom.¡±


    Riven¡¯s breath caught in his throat, a look of surprise shing over him which was too quick to hide. ¡°You know?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve known.¡± Allie said sternly, snapping her fingers at Fimrindle who¡¯d prostrated himself not far off. ¡°Fimrindle, we need to leave. Events are transpiring elsewhere that need my attention.¡±


    ¡°Y-yes master!¡± The reaper stammered, which was quite uncharacteristic for the creature.


    Riven¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Wait¡­ You¡¯re leaving?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why? And just what are you now? Gluttony¡¯s telling me that you¡¯re now Wrath¡¯s reincarnation¡­ Don¡¯t you want go over-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time, and you canplete this stupid little adventure on your own.¡± Allie said with a snarl, her right three arms pointing at him usingly. ¡°We will speak when you get back, about how you¡¯ve been treating me like a child. It is uneptable. Until then, there isn¡¯t anything else to say.¡±


    ¡°But you-¡±


    ¡°Unless you want your vampiric princess Kathrine to die a gruesome death, I suggest you let it go. I need to leave, right now.¡± Allie sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t want another one of your would-be harem members to eat shit, now would you? Ah how the tables have turned from those days where you lectured me on the principles of moral values.¡±


    Riven¡¯s jaw slowly dropped, shocked at the usation and a little bit irritated. ¡°Why are you so angry? I did what I thought was best when I saw the vision! When mom-¡±


    ¡°SHE¡¯S MY MOTHER TOO!¡± Allie screamed, reaching out and bitch-pping him across the face with a resounding <em>CRACK</em>.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Silence ensued, and Riven held out a hand to stop Ath froming forward. The demoness was trembling with both anger and fear, but she was about to try and intervene - or perhaps even attack Allie back with a retaliatory strike. He couldn¡¯t have that, for numerous reasons.


    Allie snorted in disgust when she noticed, and red at the archdemon in challenge. ¡°What? Don¡¯t like beingbeled as a part of his collection? Tough shit sister, you¡¯re far too gone to not be. Maybe if you¡¯re lucky, it¡¯ll be you who has the HONOR of getting pregnant instead of some elf ve he stole from a vige! You think you¡¯re special because he¡¯s Gluttony¡¯s Reincarnation? You¡¯re a piece of hot ass. But maybe I¡¯m wrong! Maybe if you ask him nicely, he¡¯ll even stop flirting back with that dumb-as-a-rock drow slut over there and NOT take her on too for variety¡¯s sake! Or maybe not. Who knows? But I CERTAINLY remember getting shit for having my own thrall man-harem when I was still a vampire!¡±


    Ath¡¯s eye twitched, and Kara shamefully lowered her head in embarrassment from where she half-way hid behind Azmoth¡¯s huge frame.


    ¡°Jesus hated hypocrites, Riven. Then again, we¡¯re both aspects of Original Sin now - right? Maybe the teachings of Jesus don''t apply to us anymore? Go ahead and fuck yourself.¡± Allie jeered with an unamusedugh, and a portal of unknown origin smashed into existence a secondter - blinding him for a moment. Thest thing he saw was Allie flipping him off before she abruptly vanished with Fimrindle quickly following behind, the portal snapping shut on the way out with a final <em>POP</em> sound.


    <strong>[One of your party members has left The Abyssal Descent. You are now a party of 4.]</strong>


    Silence ensued for the next couple of seconds.


    Riven was¡­ dumbfounded, and at a loss for words. Unfortunately, Ath was not.


    ¡°WHAT, a, CUNT!¡± Ath screamed, pulling at her hair and kicking rubble at the spot from where Allie had left. ¡°WOW! Just - WOW!¡±


    ¡°That waspletely uncalled for.¡± Fay said in a whisper, though she looked rather upset after the exchange. ¡°We¡¯re not pieces of ass.¡±


    Riven winced and hoped Fay and Ath weren¡¯t bothered by what Allie had said. Riven didn¡¯t think he was flirting with Kara, but did they agree? Was Kara really intentionally flirting with him, or was Allie just being an asshole? He was both embarrassed and angry, and didn¡¯t know where to find an answer for what had just happened. Riven blinked and turned to look at Retesh, and the old lich just shrugged.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. She¡¯s your sister.¡±


    True. But not helpful.


    Gluttony was the one to finally fill in some of the nks, speaking directly into Riven¡¯s mind. <em>¡°I believe that Wrath¡¯s influence, coupled with the revtion that Lahn has been dating someone else in her absence, made her react the way she did by singling you out. I would not take it personally. We merely need to kill and eat an enlightened being once a week to stave off problems, while she will forever have¡­ as you call it, anger management issues - while in that form. In order for her not to retain the building rage, she will need to revert out of that body into what we would call a more ¡®normal¡¯ angel of death.¡±</em>


    Lahn was dating someone else?


    When did that happen?


    Just what the fuck was going on back on Panu?


    He¡¯d been gone way too long.


    Riven cringed at the mention of eating other enlightened beings. Yes, he did it regrly, but he¡¯d try to not think about it too much and mostly went after those he killed inbat - or people with rather extreme backgrounds that deserved to be locked up in prison for the rest of their lives. Not eating people resulted in both mood swings and debuffs, so he had an inkling of an idea of what Allie was going through right now.


    ¡°Still, that was a brutal roasting she just gave me.¡± Riven muttered, scratching the back of his head. ¡°And what was that about Kathrine? I knew she was in some kind of trouble, but what does this have to do with it?¡±


    Gluttony internally grunted. <em>¡°That¡¯s not something for you to worry about right now as there¡¯s nothing you can do about it. Allie is handling it, but it is up to us to get Lillith back and finish the descent - before continuing on to im Chalgathi¡¯s quest as your own.¡±</em>


    Thinking about it some more, and ignoring some of the spective or awestruck looks of the other groups who¡¯d had the balls to remain, he managed to regain hisposure and decided it was better to sleep on it to clear his mind. He was rather tired anyways, and there¡¯s no way he¡¯d be able to cultivate like this. Or maybe he¡¯d go and talk to Prince Rantali about what the next floor had in store for them - as the man was still here and waiting rather eagerly on the sidelines to speak to him given his demeanor.


    Yeah. That¡¯d probably be for the best. It was likely Prince Rantali¡¯s group was the one Riven would pair with anyways, so he might as well figure it out now while he wasn¡¯t able to finish this floor - and changed course mid-walk while shamefully avoiding Kara¡¯s stare on the way over.


    This was going to be a long, long day.


    ***


    Elder Thune paced back and forth, his white ponytail was over one shoulder with his hands steepled in front of him.


    Across the blood pit and on the opposite side of the room, two humanoid figures stood in eerie silence. Hoods adorned their features and masks covered their faces, but he could tell even from here - these were no pushovers. S-grades each with the power to single-handedly topple empires, they were some variety of shape-shifting demons ustomed to subterfuge. They gave even him chills, and his own two elite soldiers on either side of the throne he sat on were firm-jawed and rigid in anticipation of a fight should things go bad.


    After all, one did not just invite the religious zealots of an original sin into their home without taking precautions. Greed of all the sins was rumored to be¡­ extravagant, in how he manipted people. But they had amon enemy here, and Elder Thune was very keen on getting to the bottom of just what they could and would do concerning the world of Panu - as it was still under Elysium¡¯s shield through the integration process.


    Through the door¡¯s awning and between the two visitors, a third man with sickly green skin emerged. He wore tattered rags and a simr hooded cowl like the two others beside him, though Elder Thune could see bugs or something akin to bugs crawling on the inside of the man¡¯s pale green skin. Orange eyes red out at him, and the creature¡¯s slits-for-nostrils red with a creepy smile that went beyond the point of where his ears should be.


    ¡°Elder Thune¡­¡± The man¡¯s voice called out, with the remnant clicking of something deep inside his throat. ¡°I have heard so much about you. It fascinates me, that we would cross paths like this.¡±


    Elder Thune felt his blood run cold at the creature¡¯s passive aura brushing against his. Though this monster was far removed from his days of glory once upon a time, The Gambler was a creature of literal legends. No longer above the S-grade, and reduced to a mere shadow of what he¡¯d once been, his aura still held the lingering remnants of a time where this thing had swallowed worlds on end in his quest to find and hoard treasures of myth.


    ¡°Gambler.¡± He said, nodding in the monster¡¯s direction. ¡°I would offer you a seat, but I was informed that you¡¯d prefer to stand.¡±


    ¡°Truly it matters little to me. If itforts you, I can sit.¡± The gambler said, walking to the edge of the blood pit and staring down at the floating carcasses below. He cocked his head to one side and sped his hands behind his back with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Sacrifices?¡±


    Elder Thune nodded, gesturing to the naked, mutted bodies half submerged in the pool. ¡°Two dozen just today. I am in the process of refining a ritual, forgive me. I would have held the meeting elsewhere if I had been made aware of your ns to arrive.¡±


    ¡°No need to apologize, vampire.¡± The archdemon said with an amused chuckle. ¡°I was just curious. As formy ns on arrival, I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t ever be in the cards. You see, although I am prone to take risks for greater rewards - I am not one to do so thoughtlessly. Many people want my head, and if that bastard Wrath is now back in the picture¡­ Well. Itplicates things all that much more. Did you know that Wrath was the first one to ever kill my master?¡±


    Elder Thune leaned back in surprise, still steepling his hands. ¡°The first? Greed was killed by Wrath? Does this have to do with the system notification on Wrath¡¯s emergence?¡±


    ¡°Indeed it does, and yes - Greed was killed by Wrath in the first era. Long before either of us had been born. Back when the gods hadn¡¯t yet taken up their mantles and there was but one chaotic universe. But the sins are immortal, only their vessels can be killed - and they can only be temporarily banished when done.¡± The Gambler replied with anotherugh, pacing around the blood pit in a slow gait towards the elder vampire. ¡°Unfortunately¡­ That brings me to my first point of conversation. I know that I am here to talk about what our ns are concerning the little bastard Riven Thane, but s we have more than one problem now. Wrath has chosen his new vessel. And I have it on good authority from one of our agents in The Abyssal Descent, that the one Wrath chose was none other than Allie Thane.¡±


    Elder Thune rapidly blinked. Surely, he had heard wrong.


    But The Gambler¡¯s words reverberated in the old vampire¡¯s mind, and slowly Elder Thune¡¯s eyes went wide in horror, shock, and denial - before it all turned into an outright snarl.


    He mmed his fists against the throne he sat on and stood to his feet with a bellow. ¡°IMPOSSIBLE!¡±


    The two S-grade shapeshifters across the room immediately lowered themselves and red their own auras, prepared to end him on the spot should he make an aggressive move towards Greed¡¯s mouthpiece. In turn the two vampires on Elder Thune¡¯s sides gripped their des and narrowed their red eyes.


    Elder Thune calmed himself under The Gambler¡¯s stare, slowly lowering himself back into the big chair he sat in as he took in long breaths. ¡°That is¡­ impossible. Are you sure you have verified information on this?¡±


    The Gambler scoffed, unconcerned - and chided Elder Thune as if he were a child. Perhaps, to one as old as The Gambler, Elder Thune actually was a child. ¡°Do not question my word so frivolously, foolish vampire. I will only let that slide this once. Afterwards, our working rtionship wille to an abrupt end with your head ripped off of your body. I¡¯d love to see you regenerate that.¡±


    Elder Thune pursed his lips, but when he didn¡¯t say anything to refute the ancient demon - The gambler went on. ¡°As I was saying, I have it on good authority that Allie Thane has now taken up the mantle of Wrath¡¯s Reincarnation. This is obviously troublesome¡­ for both of us. But given the situation on Panu, I believe it can still be salvaged - with both siblings, both Gluttony and Wrath, being served a timely death if we y our cards right.¡±


    Elder Thune¡¯s eye twitched, but he managed to keep himself under control despite the recent threat. ¡°High Queen Nephridi is already looking into my actions with a keen interest, and the clergy of The Blood God have been summoned with their inquisitors to look into my dealings. As it is, I am already on thin ice. So I hope your n is a solid one, as I cannot move openly anymore. Just what do you have in mind?


    ¡°Well my dear vampire, I thought you¡¯d never ask!¡± The green man¡¯s skin bubbled and roiled with the movement of creatures underneath. His orange eyes narrowed like a cat¡¯s, and bugs started slowly crawling out of his mouth to dance along his cheeks and neck. ¡°First, it heavily hinges on what your man Crendir can do. The one with no family name, I believe? Is he up to his original assignment? Or will he fail? I have a n that could very well work if he managed the first part¡­ Now, hear me out. The Seventh Wing, Purity of the Commandments, was kidnapped after her vessel was chosen not long ago.¡±


    The Gambler paused, as if in thought.


    ¡°Go on.¡± Elder Thune grumbled, curious about where the creature was going with this.


    The green-skinned demon snorted. ¡°She was taken by my own forces, then was taken from Greed by Gluttony¡¯s church. No doubt they¡¯ve tortured the poor vessel halfway to death a million times by now, but do you know what I find quite interesting about that?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I thought you¡¯d never ask!¡± The Gambler said once again with a bellowing cackle. ¡°The thing is, we have a discreet way of tracking this particr vessel! And Gluttony knows this! Not only do WE have a way to track her, but Purity also has all those little winged rats you call holy angels scrambling to find and free her too! So what has Gluttony done, you may ask!? Well let me tell you, my little vampire friend! Purity is being transported to none other than Panu, in order to be kept under close guard! No doubt to utilize the¡¯s integration shield through Elysium as a means to hold that damnable bitch until Gluttony finds a way to seal her more thoroughly, out from the prying fingers of the angels who want The Seventh Wing back so desperately.¡±


    Elder Thune still didn¡¯t get it, and it showed on his face. ¡°What does this have to do with¡­¡±


    He stopped. ¡°Are you saying what I think you¡¯re saying?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re saying that I¡¯M saying that we supercharge that brat Crendir with a fallen elder god¡¯s essence to the point of eventual death by soul decay, and simultaneously freeing Purity¡¯s new vessel as a means to kill the reincarnations of Wrath and Gluttony - then yes! That¡¯s exactly what I mean! And if we can manage to cause them some emotional pain by killing their friends and family - all the better.¡± The Gambler snickered and threw his hands up in the air. ¡°Just think about what kind of cosmic fireworks we¡¯ll be able to see if Purity and a fallen god¡¯s embers sh with two of the reincarnated sins! And that¡¯s just the beginning¡­ There are at least 6 other factors that could heavily sway things in our favor if the cards are yed right! And I intend to y them all! I realize that you¡¯ve given Crendir some of your own blood to help bind the Fallen God¡¯s essence¡­ that is a good first step. But we can do so much more than just smuggle it off world. Now that I¡¯m here, I¡¯d like to discuss just what you can assist in this, and what we expect from you if we can expect our n to seed.¡±


    ***


    It¡¯d seemed like forever since Luke had left his old master, Riven, to go searching for his grandson. Luke Blissfallen had crossed continents to get here, traveling far into the south into the realm of the snow giants - where world quest 5 was under hot contestation and numerous rankers on the top 1000 leaderboard battled it out. But it was here that he felt his familial bloodline tug at him the strongest.<ul><li>


    <strong>World Quest 5, Realm of the Snow Giants: </strong>In the southern reaches of the cial inds in the Numenor Sea, on the opposite end of the world from where the Lich Kingys in wait, an ambitious king of the snow giants has united the warring tribes. Advanced details are locked until youe into contact with this quest.</li></ul>


    Luke¡¯s eyes had never gotten the same odd red color that Genua¡¯s had. Not all thralls did, and it was apparently a rarity to have it happen. But recently, even his had turned a slight shade of burgundy just on the outlines of his otherwise blue irises. Even after being dismissed from Riven¡¯s service, Luke still felt like he had some connection there as well - so finding his way back wouldn¡¯t be too hard. He just had to make sure that Ren, his grandson, was still alive.


    His feet crunched through the snow over the light breeze where snowkes glistened on the air under a gray sky, and his tight fur boots kept his feet from freezing as he used a walking stick to help support his travels up the hill. Coming upon the third snow-giant corpse of the day, the old elf¡¯s eyes widened at the obvious signs of battle across the brute. The bright white skin of the gigantic man was stained with blood, his jaw having been ripped off entirely with some kind of ice magic, and there was a thorned vine digging into his bare and tattered abdomen as if it was attempting to suck out his insides before the vine had been severed. A bloody axey embedded in another high elf not far off, and it was very apparent that the war was far spread - as this was not the first and probably wouldn¡¯t be thest day of carnage he¡¯d seen on his trek since reaching the tundras.


    Why any of Luke¡¯s kin would want to settle thesends was beyond him, but so too did the human barbarians of the ice wastes. Maybe they¡¯d all lost their minds? Maybe his grandson had too, if he was still here like the bloodline calling to him implied.


    Shifting around the corpse and underneath arge snow-covered pine tree, then around arge boulder in the hilly mountain pass, Luke came to an abrupt stop when an odd sight met his tired gaze.


    Another dead giant, far bigger than the other ones with arms the size of trees,y face up with arge ice crystal sprouting from his mouth. Heypletely frozen, entombed in ice along various parts of his limbs as if it¡¯d been meant to pin the giant there, and further up above while sitting on the crystal - was a familiar man; but the aura radiating out from him was nothing like Luke had felt since leaving Riven¡¯s side.


    Dozens of snowkes the size of watermelons formed, reformed, and dissolved around the meditating elf far up atop the long crystal pir. Intricate patterns shaped and reshaped with every rotation, swirling about him in a spherical pattern alongside des of ice that made him look something akin to a flower. The man was in a lotus position, toned and shirtless aside from a ck sleeveless vest he wore that doubtless did little for warmth, and slightly baggy pants with stylish curved shoes made him look like he was meant to be in the sand dunes rather than a tundra. Long blonde hair drifted in the breeze, far too long and needing to be cut, with pointed ears and a very feminine face considering it was a man.


    Luke gawked upwards, beginning to silently weep, when the serene man finally opened his bright blue eyes to look down upon the thrall. ¡°R-Ren?¡±


    The young man gently smiled, and the snowkes surrounding him began to fade away into frozen mist. ¡°Hello, grandfather. It is nice to finally see you again. It has been¡­ a long time. I am d to see you well.¡±


    <strong>THIS IS THE END OF BOOK 5.</strong>


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